Chapter 126: The Demonic Realm (2)
The moment I saw the Constellation Murderer’s eyes, I was speechless for a moment.
What kind of eyes are those? I wondered.
I had met all kinds of people so far. I had met someone who used to wield a sword colder than a snowfield. Another person I had met used to have a heart colder than silver. However, the gaze of the man in front of me was unlike anything I had never seen before.
They were expressionless, like white papers. There was not even a trace of emotion in them. It was as if, deep down, he was empty, devoid of emotion.
“Uh...”
I was wondering what to say, but the holy sword responded faster than me.
[Shiny feels touched to meet her former master after such a long time!]
[Shiny, however, still does not understand why her former owner betrayed her.]
[Shiny wonders if she should be consumed by anger before feeling touched!]
The Constellation Murderer looked down at my waist. There, the holy sword was trembling, violently expressing herself.
“You have a unique sword,” he said. His eyes now had a hint of curiosity. “Is it a magic sword? Or is it a sword with an ego of its own? It’s best to hide your unique items here as much as possible, stranger. Many hyenas here target the Skills and items of beginners who have just entered the fiftieth floor.”
I was puzzled. This whole interaction was strange. The Constellation Murderer was talking as if he was seeing the Goddess of Protection for the first time. If the young man in front of me was the real Constellation Murderer, there was no way he couldn’t see through this holy sword.
I unfastened the holy sword from my belt and showed it to the Constellation Murderer. “Hey. Do you recognize this sword by any chance?”
When I slightly pulled out the sword, bright smooth light flowed out. However, even after facing the light of the holy sword and the trace of the Constellation who used to be his loyal subordinate, the Constellation Murderer narrowed his eyes as if he knew nothing.
“I don’t.” He tilted his statue-like head to the side. “By the looks of it, it seems to be an item that has something to do with me. But I don’t remember... No, actually, it’s wiser not to expect me to remember anything I’ve had ties with in the past.”
“What?”
With a calm expression, the Constellation Murderer said something unexpected. “I have amnesia, stranger. I don’t remember anything from more than a week ago.”
***
The Constellation Murderer then guided me away. “It’s dangerous to continue talking in a wasteland like this. Follow me. I know a relatively safe bar.”
Since it was my first time setting foot on the fiftieth floor, I calmly followed his guidance.
“Hey...”
“Look over there. It’s the Constellation Murderer.”
On the way to the bar, we ran into some Hunters. Perhaps all of them had exceptional combat prowess. But even those Hunters hurriedly stepped back, shaking once they saw the Constellation Murderer.
“What is that maniac up to again...”
“Will the Spiders of the Magic Tower be quiet today?”
“Shh. It’s better not to have anything to do with that guy... ... .”
It wasn’t just Hunters who were whispering.
[The Lonely Seeker is intrigued by a being he has never seen before.]
[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye expresses caution toward the Constellation Murderer’s companion.]
[The Eternal Plains Warhorse recognizes you.]
[The Surface-Reflected Lotus is observing you.]
Numerous Constellations were watching me and the Constellation Murderer. The Constellations I had met so far were limited to the rulers of each floor. No other Constellation had tried to talk to me. However, it looked like that changed starting from the fiftieth floor. Constellations I had never heard of before suddenly revealed themselves.
“Bothersome.” The Constellation Murderer also seemed to have sensed them. With a cold voice, he said, “All of you, get lost. If a Constellation continues to bother me, I will find their apostle and kill them. Keep at it if anyone wants war. This is my final warning.”
The Constellations’ messages abruptly stopped coming. The pressuring air around us became lighter.
“They’re noisier than usual...” The Constellation Murderer sighed softly and looked at me. “It seems some of them are interested in you. Stranger, have you done something to these Constellations?”
“Uh, I once killed an apostle of the Eternal Plains Warhorse.”
“An apostle of Mahos?” The Constellation Murderer took out an old notebook from his pocket and read something, his eyebrows arched in surprise. “You’re more skilled than you look. Every one of Mahos’ apostles is excellent in combat. And they’re under this annoying blessing. The apostle surely was a difficult opponent... How did you kill them?”
“That is something I have to talk about too.”
We went into an open-air bar, which he described as relatively safe. There were no walls. Only tables and a bar counter were outside. Funnily enough, a door was still standing.
“This is a safe bar?”
The Constellation Murderer calmly talked about the advantages of this location. “There are no walls to block my view. Even if I’m attacked, I can retreat at any time. There is no risk of being trapped inside if a terrorist attack happens. One downside is that I'm vulnerable to snipers. Bartender, give me the usual.”
A bald bartender muttered a curse. “Hey, are you aware that it’s your fault this bar became open-air? It was blown up because of you...”
The Constellation Murderer calmly sat by the table. “Sorry. I don’t remember.”
The bartender turned to me. “Young man, I don’t know what your deal is, but don’t get involved with this maniac. Over six hundred Hunters around here are just waiting for the right moment to kill him. Don’t get involved unless you have a death wish.”
The Constellation Murderer took out his notebook again. “To be exact, 1,127 Hunters want to kill me, but there are only three who are actually capable of threatening me. One of them went missing 154 years ago, and I haven’t heard about him since. Strictly speaking, the stranger would be safer with me than traveling without me.”
The bald bartender looked fed up with the Constellation Murderer. “Nuthead...”
Apparently, the Constellation Murderer was famous for being a lunatic on the fiftieth floor.
“So, what do you have to talk to me about?” he asked me.
“It’s a bit awkward to say this since you have amnesia.”
I slowly told him what I had experienced so far.
The Aegim Empire he had founded was almost destroyed. The cause of the destruction was none other than the fact that he had sealed the Goddess of Protection, giving the Demon King of Autumn Rain a chance to emerge. Because of what he did, the world of the Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon was destroyed, and the Story of Sormwin Academy had also been in danger. I told him everything.
The Constellation Murderer listened to me attentively while drinking a mysterious red drink. His expression didn’t change as I went on. He just occasionally took out his notebook and checked stuff there.
He nodded. “I see. I verified your story through the diary, and most of what you said seems to be true.”
“The diary?”
“It’s where I store my memories.” The Constellation Murderer showed me the notebook which was filled with words. “It may look like an ordinary notebook, but even if it looks like this, it’s a relic of the Constellation known as the Great Puppy. It has an infinite number of pages and a search function. It’s quite convenient. I write down what I did in this notebook every day. Thanks to this, I’m still holding on to my life even though I suffer from amnesia.”
“As you said,” the Constellation Murderer continued curtly, as if he was talking about someone else’s life, “It looks like I did build a country called the Aegim Empire. In the empire, I sealed the Goddess of Protection, the Constellation who had been with me for a long time. The world called Heavenly Demon Chronicle that you mentioned is similar to the world recorded on page 236. I killed the Yellow Dragon of the Great Lake. The world called the Story of Sormwin Academy is similar to the place recorded on page 3215.”
“...”
“The goddess’ fragment that was passed down as an heirloom is... Prayer, isn’t it? I once bedded a woman in that world. There is a high possibility that the woman you met, Raviel Ivansia, is a distant descendant of that woman and me. You said she has silver hair like me... so that’s probably true. It’s quite a coincidence. One possibility to consider is that you might have Skills like Cringe History Reveal or Historian and used it to see my past.”
Something... Something wasn’t right.
“However, I don’t have a past for someone to read. It’s possible that you stole this relic and read what’s on it, but it’s written in a code that only I can understand. Hence, stranger, I acknowledge that everything that you said is true.”
I came here to hold the man in front of me accountable for his wrongdoings, to confidently say that countless people had been sacrificed. Innocent people were harmed because of his so-called principles. But what was this? How was I supposed to hold him accountable for something that he didn’t even remember?
“So, what reward do you want from me?” he asked.
Anger began to stir in my heart. “Reward?”
“I’m talking about the reward for pointing out my mistakes.”
“Do you know what you did wrong?”
“Of course,” the Constellation Murderer answered. “I made two mistakes. First, I didn’t consider the possibility of a new Constellation being born again in a world where a Constellation perished. The second mistake is that I underestimated how bad of a curse a Constellation can cast on their world upon their death.”
“Is that all?”
“I had it written down that a Constellation’s death can lead to different Constellations invading the world. Still, no matter how many worlds a Constellation rules, their reign will ultimately end if I kill them. There is no problem in reducing the number of Constellations in the long run. Therefore, my mistakes could be summarized into the two oversights I mentioned earlier.”
After finishing speaking, the Constellation Murderer took out a pen and scribbled something in his notebook.
“Done. I won’t make the same mistake in the future. To express my gratitude for your advice, I offer a reward.”
Advice... Gratitude...
I shut my eyes. “The commoners who lived in gangho turned into jiangshi and died.”
The holy sword, which was sitting on my belt and had been quietly listening to our conversation, trembled.
My rising anger made my voice louder. “An old man from gangho launched a boat to drown himself despite already being on the verge of death, saying he didn’t want to cause problems for others. A child of the Beggar Gang struggled to survive and protect her siblings until the end.”
“...”
I looked straight into his eyes. “Each of their deaths couldn’t have been more horrifying. So let me ask you something, Constellation Murderer. What do you think about that?”
“Nothing,” the Constellation Murderer replied. “As I said, it was definitely my fault for not considering the aftereffects of a Constellation’s death. But mistakes are bound to happen. All I can do is to compensate you for pointing out my mistakes.”
“Ha.” My red aura around me became a little darker. “Then, will you let me kill you here as my reward?”
The Constellation Murderer shook his head. “That is a reward I can’t give. I have a duty to eradicate all Constellations. Until I fulfill that duty, I have to go on.”
It felt like I was talking to a machine.
Shiny kept on trembling.
“What a great sense of duty you got there. Why did you decide to do this in the first place?”
“I can’t answer that,” the Constellation Murderer said monotonously.
“I knew you would say that. Why? Do you think I won't understand this noble duty of yours?”
“I can’t answer that either.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I coldly glared at him. “Then can you at least answer me this? You say you need to eradicate all Constellations, so why are you using a Constellation’s relic? Things don’t seem to add up.”
“That is a question I can answer. I plan to destroy it after eradicating all other Constellations.”
“You learned from the incident of the Demon King of Autumn Rain that even if you kill a Constellation, another one will be born in its stead. What are you going to do about that?”
“I have a plan.”
“And what would that be?”
“I can’t tell you.” The Constellation Murderer looked at the diary. “We sidetracked for too long. Let’s go back to the main topic.”
“This is my main topic.”
“It’s not mine. Tell me what reward you want. As I said before, I can’t let you kill me because I haven’t completed my duty yet.” He seemed to be reading the first page of the diary. “I can’t quit. I’m nothing if I abandon my duty.”
The first page would be what he had written before he lost all his memories.
“So tell me something else that you want. I’ll give it to you.”
Yes, not many things in the universe could be resolved by having a conversation. I reached for my dagger but stopped midway. Instead, I took out the handkerchief that had been neatly tucked away in my inner pocket. I briefly buried my nose in the handkerchief that had Raviel’s scent on it.
“Okay.”
My anger subsided a bit. I quickly started thinking. The Hunter in front of me was incomparably more powerful than me, so how could I hunt him? I soon came up with an answer.
“Then, please do me a favor.”
It was actually simple. This wasn’t my first time hunting a stronger Hunter than myself.
“What is it?”
“Please protect me no matter what happens while I’m on the fiftieth floor.” I put my handkerchief back in my pocket. “I’m not just asking you to protect my life. Please protect me both physically and mentally. Of course, I forbid you to use any tricks to force me out of the fiftieth floor.”
“You’re asking me to be your bodyguard?”
“Something like that.”
The Constellation Murderer got lost in thought as he tapped his fountain pen on the table. After a moment, he muttered, “I’m not sure what you’re thinking. After listening to your story so far, you seem like an extremely righteous human. Not only are you just, but you’re also smart and have high combat prowess. Your proposal doesn’t fit your character.”
“Aha, so you’re saying you can’t do this for me either?” I scoffed. “You can’t die, abandon your duty, or protect me on the fiftieth floor? That’s awesome. What in the world can you give me as a reward then?”
“I’m just concerned about possible traps in your proposal.”
“Even if there is a trap, what’s wrong with that? You seem confident in your skills. Do your best to break out of my trap.”
The Constellation Murderer stared down at the diary, moving his fountain pen. He carefully left his trace of life in the diary. “Okay. I’ll write your proposal on page 1. Until the end of my life, your proposal will drive the logic of my thoughts and actions.”
Alright, I got him. I turned back to the Guardian. Mr. Sword Emperor.
—Yeah?
You said that you knocked down one of the Magic Tower’s buildings one hundred and fifty years ago.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
As soon as the Guardian and I landed here, he had pointed to the high towers stretching into the gray sky and mentioned that.
The Guardian fervently nodded.
—Yes, I did. There are many accomplishments in my life that I’m proud of, and that is among my top six.
What did you say when you knocked it down? Do you remember?
—Ooooof course! I remember every single word.
He sneered.
—“Hello, idiots! You should air out your rooms every now and then. If you stay in your rooms all day and night, it messes with your brains, you guys. Well, I’m feeling generous today! So I’ll remodel your place for free today! Hehe.”
While recalling the glory of the past, the Guardian suddenly tilted his head.
—But why are you asking me that? What are you up to?
I turned my head and stared at the towers.
—Huh? Hey, Zombie.
The Guardian called out from the side.
—I told you not to look there. They sense you if you look at the towers for more than twenty-three seconds. You’ll never be able to handle those guys at your level. Or what? Are you trying to ask them to get rid of the Constellation Murderer? Come on. Even they won’t pounce on a guy like him. If they fight, it’s a loss for both sides.
I continued to look at the sky-high towers in the distance.
—Huuuuuuh? Kim Zombie! Look away right now!
But it was already too late.
—Ah, ah. Mic check. Mic check. Who are you over there? What are you looking at?
I heard a telepathic message in my head; just like the Guardian had warned, the Magic Tower sensed my gaze.
—From the looks of it, you look like a kid who hasn’t even graduated from beginner level. You’re a first-time offender, so I’ll let it slide. If you want to walk around this neighborhood with your head on your shoulders, stop looking over here.
The voice was very lethargic. The person talking sounded like a civil servant who obviously didn’t want to work.
—Oh, you’re with that maniac who is hellbent on killing Star Signs. Hehe. How unlucky. Do you want help? Right now, I can send you an instant escape magic scroll in return for a thirty-year subordination contract.
“Hello, idiots!” I said.
—Hmm? You asshat, do you have ramen noodles for your brain? Who...
“You should air out your rooms every now and then. If you stay in your rooms all day and night, it messes with your brains, you guys. ”
—...
“Well, I’m feeling generous today. So I’ll remodel your place for free today. Hehe.”
I was met with complete silence. Only the Guardian was muttering absentmindedly.
—Holy wackadoodle.
Creaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!
A tearing noise erupted from the five towers. It was as if five fingernails were scratching the sky.
Clatter!
The bald bartender dropped the glass he was holding, startled. The Hunters walking down the street also covered their ears.
“W-what is it?”
“What’s happening now...”
A thunderous voice echoed in the gray sky. Dumbfounded, all the Hunters looked up.
“Sword Emperoooooooooooooor! You’re back! I knew you would come back someday! Even when all the Constellations said you were dead, we had no doubt that you were a son of a bitch who would never stay dead even if you did indeed die. Did you possess someone or get reincarnated? Oh, forget it! It doesn’t matter either way!
“We’ll kill you! We’ll kill you no matter what! We’ll tear your soul to pieces, scatter them all over the universe, and shit all over them! We’ll kill you! We’ll kill you!!! We’ll kill you, right now! In the name and history of the Magic Tower, I swear we’ll chase you all the way to hell!”
Hundreds, thousands, no, tens of thousands of shadows rose from the towers. They made a formation in the sky, all on broomsticks.
“Now.” I glanced back at the Constellation Murderer, who looked at me with an expressionless face. “You promised, right?”
“...”
“Please protect me.”
A meteor shower poured down from the sky.