WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 188: Floor 17 Hidden (5)

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After the Great Warrior duel was over,

the Dapriya Family ultimately acquired ownership of the God-Slaying Sword.

“That was an excellent duel.”

Grand Duke Bilford stopped Gakhil and me.

“To think there was another demon of such skill... Who exactly are you?”

Grand Duke Bilford was very curious about my identity.

I gave him a vague answer.

“I’m just a wanderer.”

“Just a wanderer... If all wanderers were like you, the human race would have been wiped out long ago, and demons would rule the entire continent.”

Grand Duke Bilford laughed heartily.

“Kim Seo-hyeon, was it? I have no intention of prying into your identity. I merely wish to offer my gratitude in Bilford’s name. Thanks to you, we stopped the Keilteir Family from carrying out their madness.”

Grand Duke Bilford kept rambling on.

But my attention was elsewhere.

‘The clear completion message hasn’t appeared...’

Participate in the Great Warrior duel and prevent Keilteir from winning.

Apparently, that alone was not enough to clear it.

I was acting to prevent the resurrection of the Fighting Demon God, but I still could not be certain whether preventing their resurrection was actually the clear condition.

Still, if I had not stepped in, Keilteir would have won in the end. It did seem right to stop them, but...

After giving Grand Duke Bilford a suitable response, I spoke to Gakhil.

“If Dapriya has gained ownership of the God-Slaying Sword, can we take it wherever we want now?”

Gakhil shook his head.

“How could that be? This is only a temporary authority granted because the Demon King’s seat is vacant. Unless we are to perform the resurrection ritual for the Fighting Demon God, the God-Slaying Sword will remain stored in the Demon King’s Castle treasury as it is now.”

Hmm...

I had a bad feeling about this.

The God-Slaying Sword seemed to be the key to this Hidden Route.

I spoke again.

“Then can I at least take a look at it? I’d like to see the legendary God-Slaying Sword for myself.”

Grand Duke Bilford answered.

“That much should certainly be possible.”

My request was accepted.

The elderly butler who had overseen the Great Warrior duel led Gakhil and me. Grand Duke Bilford came along as well.

Now that I thought about it, the old butler seemed to be the chief administrator of the Demon King’s Castle or something like that.

“This way.”

The treasury storing the God-Slaying Sword seemed to be underground.

Following the butler into the underground space beneath the Demon King’s Castle, I found the paths almost maze-like and the staircases endless.

We only reached our destination after walking for quite some time.

When the large door opened, we entered a room piled high with all kinds of treasures.

Without sparing the treasures a glance, the old butler continued farther inside.

Only after passing through several more doors...

we finally arrived in the room where the God-Slaying Sword was kept.

“This is the God-Slaying Sword Ryuon.”

I looked up at the sword floating in midair.

It was an ordinary, rough-looking sword without any special decoration.

...That was the God-Slaying Sword that had killed a god?

It looked so plain that I wondered if they were showing me a fake.

- Hah...

At that moment, the Demon King let out a sigh.

- This is absurd. It truly contains divinity.

‘So it really is the God-Slaying Sword?’

With the Demon King’s confirmation, it seemed to be genuine.

But his tone turned grave.

- We should consider this bad news.

‘...What? Why?’

- I had hoped otherwise, but seeing this confirms that the entity called the Fighting Demon God is a true god, does it not? I never thought the Tower could use even the power of gods as part of a clear.

Ah... So that was how it was.

An object containing divinity.

Naturally, that meant that the being they were trying to resurrect, the Fighting Demon God, was not a god in name alone but an actual god.

I asked Grand Duke Bilford.

“Can’t the resurrection ritual for the Fighting Demon God be performed without the God-Slaying Sword?”

“That is correct. The God-Slaying Sword is essential. How could one perform a ritual to resurrect a god without a divine artifact containing a god’s power?”

I stopped time for a moment and thought.

Let’s sort this out...

Stopping Keilteir’s victory had not completed the clear.

That meant something else remained.

And if I had to guess what that something might be... Someone might try to steal the God-Slaying Sword, or something along those lines.

If so, what I needed to do now was simple.

Watch over the God-Slaying Sword and make sure it remained safe.

As long as I protected the God-Slaying Sword, the Fighting Demon God could not be resurrected.

The variable was whether preventing their resurrection really was the clear condition...

Still, for now, I had no choice but to keep acting to stop it.

What else was I supposed to do, help Keilteir resurrect the Fighting Demon God right now?

If that was the wrong answer, there would be no way to undo it.

The best option was to adapt as events unfolded.

I resumed time.

Unknown glowing characters circled around the God-Slaying Sword floating in midair.

“What kind of magic is that?”

“That is correct. It is sealed with defensive magic so that intruders cannot touch it.”

The old butler answered.

Could I break that seal by force if I had to?

The best option would be to secure the God-Slaying Sword and keep it by my side.

But to do that, I would need to subdue everyone here, break the magical seal, and flee.

It was not impossible, but... would that be okay?

Hidden Routes were the kind of thing that would pull some bullshit like, “Clear failed because you attacked someone you should not have attacked,” if you got even one thing wrong.

Of course, things were a little different this time because the Tower had imposed several conditions.

[If the proposal is accepted, 'Person123' must enter Floor 17 on Nightmare difficulty within 24 hours and cannot leave until the Hidden Route is cleared.]

I could not leave until I cleared it, but could I fail partway through? Did I still have three chances?

There was no way to know.

Since I did not know, I needed to be cautious for now.

Rather than causing a commotion, I would watch quietly.

I set my current location as a warp point.

After finishing my look at the God-Slaying Sword, I followed the old butler out of the treasury.

On the way back to the surface, I stopped time now and then to memorize the entire route, just in case.

“Kim Seo-hyeon, if you do not mind, I would like to invite you to the Bilford Family. What do you say?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Hmm, that is unfortunate. Then let us look forward to another opportunity.”

Grand Duke Bilford kept trying to rope me in, but I politely declined.

Gakhil, meanwhile, seemed to be heading straight back to his family.

He had rushed to the Demon King’s Castle because of me, but he must have had mountains of work waiting for him back home.

“Grand Duke Bilford has promised the Dapriya Family considerable support. It is all thanks to you, so I offer you my thanks.”

“It was nothing.”

Still, the Dapriya Family seemed to have gained a lot from this incident.

“Will you not return with us? Heillin must be waiting for you as well...”

“No, I need to go my own way now. I’ll leave on my own with Teleportation, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

After saying that to Gakhil,

I warped to the point I had set.

Pop.

The treasury containing the God-Slaying Sword.

Fortunately, it seemed there was no device blocking Teleportation like there had been in the Floor 4 Hidden Route.

I sat in a corner of the treasury and stared at the sealed God-Slaying Sword.

[Time remaining until successful clear: 3 days 18 hours 5 minutes 15 seconds]

There were now about four days left until the clear.

Even if I could not find the clear condition, I only had to survive until then.

Of course, paradoxically, that timer was also proof that something was bound to happen before then.

There was no way the Tower would let me clear this so easily.

[Time remaining until successful clear: 2 days 23 hours 41 minutes 26 seconds]

Nearly a full day passed.

Without sleeping, I kept watch over the God-Slaying Sword.

Then it happened.

“...!”

I sensed presences approaching this way.

There were several of them, and they were moving quickly.

I pressed myself into the farthest corner and concealed myself with Diul’s ability.

A moment later, the treasury door opened.

Masked, robed intruders entered.

Blood stained various parts of their clothing, as though they had fought their way here.

At a glance, they were clearly intruders, not ordinary guests.

I immediately recognized one of them.

‘Grand Duke Keilteir.’

Other than the two Grand Dukes, there was no one among the demons who felt this strong.

And Grand Duke Bilford had no reason to do something like this.

The conclusion that it was Grand Duke Keilteir came naturally.

“Break the seal.”

It was Grand Duke Keilteir’s voice after all.

At Keilteir’s order, the intruders approached the God-Slaying Sword.

Just as expected, they were here to steal it.

I was considering whether to watch what they did for a little longer or step in to stop them when...

Grand Duke Keilteir looked toward where I was hidden.

Damn, Keilteir noticed me.

Supreme Combat Sense activated, and a red warning swept over me.

KRAAASH!

I dodged the flying sword energy, dropped my concealment, and faced Grand Duke Keilteir.

The intruders surrounded me.

The Grand Duke spoke in a cold voice.

“...You are Dapriya’s Great Warrior. How are you here?”

I drew the Sword of Heaven’s Gatekeeper and spoke.

“If you lost, you should accept it quietly. Is this really something you should be doing?”

There was no need for further words.

Killing intent poured in from every direction.

Keilteir did not seem willing to speak any longer.

I stopped time.

Now then, what should I do?

It would be better to subdue them all rather than kill them carelessly, right?

The problem was that Grand Duke Keilteir was an opponent nearly on my level.

That was only if we compared our levels, so I was confident I could win without much trouble. But subduing Keilteir alive would be rather difficult.

And fighting near the God-Slaying Sword bothered me too.

‘Demon King.’

I decided to use the easiest method.

‘Freeze them all. Be careful not to touch the God-Slaying Sword.’

I handed the baton to the Demon King.

Shhhhhhhh!

The moment time resumed, the Demon King’s cold engulfed the space.

All the intruders froze solid.

The Demon King focused especially on Grand Duke Keilteir.

Hiss...

Breathing out cold air, I approached the frozen Grand Duke.

I asked the Demon King to thaw only Keilteir’s head, then removed Keilteir’s mask.

The Grand Duke’s face showed considerable shock, as if they could not believe the situation.

“What... are you?”

The Grand Duke’s voice trembled, perhaps from the cold that had seeped into the body.

I spoke.

“You were going to take the God-Slaying Sword and resurrect the Fighting Demon God, right?”

“...”

“What are you planning to do by resurrecting the Fighting Demon God? I heard the Demon God could go berserk and destroy the world. Is that what you want?”

The Grand Duke stared blankly at me before suddenly letting out a sinister laugh.

“It is unfortunate that Keilteir could not secure the God-Slaying Sword as well. I wished to witness with these very eyes the glorious moment when that one descended into the world...”

That was when it happened.

Black energy suddenly writhed above the Grand Duke’s head.

A black sphere bristling with spikes like a sea urchin.

Flash!

The center of the sphere split open, revealing an eyeball.

‘A familiar...?’

At the same time, alarms rang wildly through my Sixth Sense.

The red warning from Supreme Combat Sense covered the entire space crimson.

I immediately stopped time.

‘A self-destruct attack?’

It seemed to be the Grand Duke’s final move.

Judging from how violently my Sixth Sense warned me, it was terrifyingly powerful.

I made a quick decision.

The instant I resumed time, I Teleported in front of the God-Slaying Sword.

Then I activated Armor of Karma.

...KRAAAAAASH!!

With a tremendous explosion, pitch-black darkness covered the space instead of light.

When the darkness disappeared, the area had become complete ruins.

Everyone but me, including the Grand Duke and the intruders, had been annihilated.

I deactivated Armor of Karma and checked whether the God-Slaying Sword was safe.

“Whew.”

It was safe.

Since I had blocked the force of the explosion head-on, it seemed to have suffered little effect.

I stood still for a moment and looked into empty space.

“...”

Nothing appeared.

Even after I had stopped the theft of the God-Slaying Sword and Grand Duke Keilteir had died,

the clear completion message still did not appear.

I had continued to feel uneasy.

For something the Tower had supposedly increased the difficulty of... nothing so far had been particularly difficult.

A flash of unease crossed my mind.

The Grand Duke’s words before Keilteir died came back to me.

It was unfortunate that Keilteir could not secure the God-Slaying Sword “as well”...?

The Grand Duke’s tone almost made it seem as though the resurrection ritual had not yet failed.

I stopped time and thought.

The resurrection ritual for the Fighting Demon God required the God-Slaying Sword.

Because the God-Slaying Sword was a divine artifact containing a god’s power.

But what if... Keilteir had another divine artifact besides the God-Slaying Sword?

What if that would also be enough to perform the resurrection ritual?

‘Fuck.’

A chilling feeling ran through my body.

I should not have been guarding the God-Slaying Sword.

I had to cross into the Demon Realm immediately, where the remains of the Fighting Demon God were said to be.

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