CH 103

“El…” Gi-Gyu murmured, not knowing what to do. The current situation was different from what happened on the 30th floor: Lou had sided with Gi-Gyu and his psyche had been intact. Gi-Gyu just had to take care of Lou’s shell back then. 

-That’s 100% El. Mind and body. I always knew that bitch would do something like this. 

Lou spat out the words angrily. Lou and El never got along, so Lou’s resentment toward her had exploded. 

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed and took a step back. The shockingly beautiful woman held El, the sword, and gazed down at Gi-Gyu emotionlessly. Her airplane-sized pure white wings flapped and created rough gales.

Whoosh, whoosh…

“El! Snap out of it!” Gi-Gyu shouted as loud as he could. At this rate, he would have no choice but to fight her. He wasn’t worried about that since he also wanted to see if he could beat her. However, what next? What would happen to El? Battles like these never ended with one side suppressing the other: They ended with the loser’s death. 

-You fucking idiot. Are you just going to let her kill you? You’re gonna give that bitch your neck willingly? Traitor! Bitch! 

Lou cursed at El with a fit of explosive anger. Gi-Gyu could understand why Lou was overreacting in this situation. Given what happened in the past, betrayal was a sensitive topic for Lou. 

“I guess it can’t be helped…” With a whisper, Gi-Gyu tried to convince El again. “El! Wake up!” 

The beautiful woman moved her lips and replied, “All angels have their duties.” 

After a short pause, she continued, “And my duty is—”

“El!” Gi-Gyu interrupted her, but she continued, “To eliminate.”

***

“This is…?” Lee Sun-Ho muttered in surprise as he looked to his side. The elixir had only temporarily stabilized his corruption; he had to pass through several more seals to strengthen his shell. 

And that was exactly what he was doing. Shirtless, he swung his sword as streams of sweat rolled down his back. 

He murmured, “Perhaps it’s finally awake…?”

Lee Sun-Ho was referring to the god he served. It was different from what the people on the earth believed in. The being he served wasn’t some formless religious figure: It was a real existence that was possibly the master of this whole world. 

Lee Sun-Ho could feel that his god was much stronger now. He suspected the awakening he felt wasn’t of his god; it was of the being that used to serve his god. 

‘The grave…’ Lee Sun-Ho thought when he noticed his two holy swords shivering.  

While Nine trembled in fear, Lee Sun-Ho’s swords shivered in anticipation and excitement.

“Is it your king?” When Lee Sun-Ho asked, his swords shook again as if answering him.

Shiver.

“I guess the change has finally begun.” Shaking his head, Lee Sun-Ho resumed training. They might serve the same god, but Lee Sun-Ho didn’t interact with all the followers.

“After all, I alone should be enough to serve it,” murmured Lee Sun-Ho in determination. This was why he had to become stronger and conquer the Tower. 

“And once I accomplish my goal, I will finally get my salvation.” Suppressing his swords’ shaking by force, he continued to swing them. 

He had promised Lucifer a year of peace, but he still smiled in satisfaction.

***

“And you’re telling me you need to eliminate me?” Gi-Gyu asked, tense. 

El stated that her duty was to eliminate. Was she referring to him? 

“That’s…” It wasn’t much, but now there was a hint of uncertainty, unease, and maybe even confusion on the statue-like woman’s face. Noticing the first sign of emotions, Gi-Gyu shouted, “I asked if it’s me you must eliminate!”

The confusion on El’s face intensified. Gi-Gyu couldn’t be sure exactly what was happening right now, but it didn’t look like El was trying to kill him of her own volition. 

Gi-Gyu yelled again, “Are you sure your duty is to eliminate me? Don’t you even know your target?”

El’s face crumpled again, and the gales her airplane-sized wings created became even more robust. 

“The seal you were protecting to keep that demon imprisoned—” When Gi-Gyu shouted, El interrupted him, “My duty is to eliminate.” Her blank face was back again. 

Gi-Gyu muttered, “I guess I have no other choice… If you can’t wake up from this on your own, I better help you.”

Gi-Gyu stopped trying to talk to El since their conversation was going nowhere. As if she was under a spell, El’s replies were repetitive and mechanical. It was time for action, not words. 

Gi-Gyu announced, “Let’s get you under control before we chat again.” His tone became consoling, and what he said was more for Lou than El as he was trying to appease Lou’s increasing anger and resentment.

-Tsk. Fine.

To Gi-Gyu’s relief, Lou accepted his decision. Of course, there was still one problem.

Flap.

How could he defeat El with her giant wings? Gi-Gyu couldn’t even guess how strong she must be. Lou said sarcastically,

-All that divine power you fed El will bite you in the ass.

“And how was I supposed to expect this?” replied Gi-Gyu bitterly.  

Clank.

El, the angel, swung El, the sword, lightly while Gi-Gyu swung Lou with everything he had. When they clashed, a giant shockwave was created. 

“Grrr!” 

Bi dug his nails in the ground so that he wouldn’t get blown away. The two summoned beings stood behind the steel giant Kersetu for protection.

“Ughh!” With an odd groan, Gi-Gyu put more strength into his arms. Currently, Gi-Gyu was holding Lou with both his hands, so an incredible power, much stronger than usual, was flowing into Lou. 

El, on her part, was fighting back with ease. 

“Saint’s Void.” Gi-Gyu heard El murmur. Noticing El, the sword, vibrating mysteriously, he quickly backed away as he shouted, “Accelerate! Rush!”

Milliseconds later, the spot he was standing on was ravaged by a giant magical storm. A quick glance, and he knew a second’s delay would’ve hurt him fatally. 

“Ugh.” Gi-Gyu panted as he stared at the black hole-like phenomenon that El had created. 

“Saint’s Void.” When El whispered again, dozens of similar magic vortices surrounded him. Lou ordered,

-Use Death. Else, you’ll die.

Gi-Gyu slowly nodded. He wanted to avoid using Death since it harmed its target’s true form. It might damage El beyond repair; in the end, Gi-Gyu decided.

“Everyone, return.” Lou’s summoned beings were useless at this point; the magical vortices were getting closer.

“Elemental Dark,” murmured Gi-Gyu. Bi, now in his necklace form, turned Gi-Gyu into darkness. Gi-Gyu was now like a drop of black paint, dirtying the entire white space around him.

"Spirit Fusion.” When Gi-Gyu announced, this drop of blackness enlarged with incredible power. Wearing armor made of darkness, this being used the surplus power around to metalize wings comparable to El’s wings.

“Death.” Finally, the familiar violet smoke made its entrance.

***

The pure white space was now messy with a mix of black and white. From afar, it looked like a bottle of black ink was splattered all over a piece of white paper. Darkness and light fought for domination over that white page. 

“Haa…” When Gi-Gyu exhaled in fatigue, Lou muttered angrily.

-That bitch sure is well-versed in healing magic and long battles. 

“I can’t even tell how much time has passed,” Gi-Gyu whispered as he dodged dozens of feathers. He had been so focused that he didn’t even notice the passing of time. 

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu looked around. Feeling how much stamina he had lost and the state of his surroundings, he guessed that much time had passed. While he was fatigued and covered in sweat, El was…

“El’s a total beast too, isn’t she?” El didn’t even have a drop of sweat on her. Still looking down at him, she continued to shoot her feathers. Unlike ordinary feathers, her feathers were incredibly fast and could create an explosion of light. These feathers were the fastest arrows he had ever seen; calling them light beams would be more accurate.  

“I’m almost all out of magic,” murmured Gi-Gyu. Lou’s violet smoke was also becoming cloudier. 

-You won’t last much longer. We gotta end this soon.

“Don’t you think I know?!” Gi-Gyu couldn’t hide his frustration. He treasured El, but he couldn’t sacrifice himself to protect her. So, he discharged more of that violet smoke to end this battle quickly. 

No ordinary human could endure Death, but he amplified its might even further with Lou’s help, making it darker with time. 

-At this rate, you will suffer from Death instead. I can’t even believe you lasted this long!

“I said I got it!” Gi-Gyu didn’t need Lou to tell him this. He knew it was time to make his final move. El’s attacks were becoming stronger, indicating she had been holding back to go all-out once Gi-Gyu was fatigued.  

“Let’s try this,” Gi-Gyu announced. The violet smoke of Death appeared again; this time, it was shaped like a sword. 

“I’m trying to mimic what Soo-Jung did, and I think it might work.” Gi-Gyu held the violet sword with the hand he used to hold El before. He got the idea from Soo-Jung, who used her black flames to form her swords. The smoke of Death hardened to create a perfect sword. 

“I feel most comfortable with two swords in my hands.” Gi-Gyu was currently using all the buff skills he possessed since it was now or never. 

Kaboom!

Kaboom!

Lou, who was becoming tired himself, and the Death sword cornered and cut El. The shock waves scattered El and Gi-Gyu’s wings. Gi-Gyu felt like he was in a trance because he could no longer form coherent thoughts. All he did was slash his opponent in front of his eyes. 

He needed to rip his enemy apart.

He needed to kill.

Slowly, Gi-Gyu’s eyes turned violet. This time, the violet was darker than ever. As his eye color changed, his speed also changed.

-You’re growing even now.

It didn’t seem like Gi-Gyu could hear him, but Lou murmured nonetheless. Even during this life-or-death battle, Gi-Gyu was becoming stronger. He was fighting his Ego and risking his life, but he was becoming more powerful by doing so. 

-Ha!

Lou had a short laugh because he realized how different Gi-Gyu was from him. After being betrayed by his followers, he had lost everything and was now cursed to live for an eternity. Unlike him, Gi-Gyu knew how to study his situation and learn from it. So, Lou couldn’t help but be envious.

Finally, the battle was close to ending. 

“Ackkk!” El screamed as the Death sword ripped her wing. The giant wing fell to the ground with a loud thud, followed by El losing her balance and falling. 

Gi-Gyu didn’t miss his chance and followed El down to the ground. He poured every ounce of his power and more into Death and Lou to create a magic sword. Slowly, Death and Lou became one to form a giant sword, which Gi-Gyu held firmly. 

They were all falling: The angel who finally regained consciousness and her old master.

With a loud stabbing sound, the battle finally ended. 

“M-Master…?” El, the holy sword and the Empress of Holy Swords, had pierced Gi-Gyu’s heart.

“Dammit.” Gi-Gyu cursed, but there was still a smile on his lips.