CHAPTER 139: AS THE WORLD TAKES THE NEXT STEP

[Ding!]

[The 3rd floor has been cleared!]

[You have successfully finished the Hidden stage.]

[Area: Dan of the imprisoned demons will open up on the 3rd floor!]

[Players can access the New area with an appropriate party!]

[The 3rd floor will be made available from this point forth.]

[The 4th floor will now be made available to the Players.]

[Reward calculations will begin. The contribution list will be made available according to the established rules.]

[Penalties will be given to the Rule disruptors. Additional rewards will be given to the Individuals with unique achievements.]

...

⟪ Your achievements will be highlighted in the [Akashic records]. ⟫

⟪ May the fortune be on your side. ⟫

There were some messages before them, but along with the messages, there was also a message from the Angel.

{ "The dark demon who mastered Darkness, Kaka, is dead." }

With that final, ethereal voice, the angel vanished in a bright explosion of light.

With the light covering their face, their identity or faces could not be seen; however, their holiness and ’purity’ were obvious to everyone who saw them from below.

Be it Captain Rose, who knew the identity of the angel, or the natives who, once again, were overwhelmed with awe, could tell there was something Divine to this Heavenly messenger.

Izzy only shook her head with a helpless smile, though, and Ziggy focused on the after-war procedures.

KiRA, who had reappeared in the middle of the battlefield in his normal form, divided his thoughts.

’Win the battle and kill the demon, complete. Use the Skill during the battle, done.

Remind the demon of their dead family... well, some of them aren’t dead, so the last thing should count.

Reveal the true name of the demon to the world, done. Use a holy item to land the final blow; the holy power was what actually killed the demon, so that’s that.

Get affected by Mind corruption and overcome it without any help... I looked at the demon’s eyes, but it did not affect me, thanks to the halo, so it could still count. And lastly, whisper the true name of the Demon’s master in their final moments and induce fear in their heart, done.’

The checklist was complete, so he waited for the system message.

The demon was dead, the floor was cleared, the sun was up on the horizon, and now that the threats were no more, now that he himself had become the core of this curse, there was no reason he should be denied his obvious rewards.

[Ding!]

[As a Causal reward ID: KiRA will be granted the Skill: Darkness of the Abyss.]

[As a Causal reward ID: KiRA will be granted the item: Key of a Forgotten Temple’s Gate (Quest).]

[As a Causal reward ID: KiRA will be granted: Purity(+6).]

[As pre-determined by the system, ID: KiRA will receive the (Quest: Rune of Tatar Holy Lands).]

[Contribution rewards and additional rewards will be counted separately.]

’Oh... hell.’

KiRA stared at the skill that he had just obtained. Then he stared at the causal reward, the key he had obtained.

The system quest was already decided after he used his Halo Skill to take down the Dark tide like Slime before their city, but these Casual rewards were pretty unexpected.

’Having a skill representing the Celestials and one directly representing the Demonic side must have triggered the Causal quest. But I will have to do the system quest first, which will make things difficult.’

The other rewards aside, the two quests he just got were going to take up a good amount of his time.

Because of the nature of the quests, he will undoubtedly have to do the system quest first, and since the quest itself was attached to a place that worshipped the actual angels, his new skill will cause some disturbances.

’But the rewards are too good to skip.’

Once he finishes the quest, he will get something pretty good. And when he finishes the new quest, he will get a very important item for his Class Selection on the 10th Floor.

’This is good, but also dangerous.’

The time he would need to finish these two quests was enough for the others to finish the next few floors of the tower.

’As things are right now, they should be–, they are most certainly strong enough to finish the next few floors on their own.’

He looked around himself and saw the twins who had managed to save someone he cared about, the dark swordswoman who had obtained a draconic legacy, the people of the Association and the Eastern alliance, as well as the people of his own guild.

These people were strong.

The 3rd floor was special, but the next few floors should not be as great a threat to them. Considering there will be one rest floor as the 6th floor, they will be free to do what they want for a while as well.

’By the time I finish the two quests, they should be on the 7th or 8th floor.’

But if the Floors had become more challenging, then they would face some difficulties.

’They shall still be on the 7th floor though...’

The two quests were going to be a challenge only he would have to take up, so he would be by himself for that. However, that was something he could think about later...

"Kai, what’re you doing there? Come. We won." Izzy invited him and brought him back with her to the group they had fought this entire battle with, the soldiers of the 12th city.

Throughout this battlefield, countless celebrations were happening now that the sun had kissed the ground.

With the presence of various teammates, fellow brothers and sisters that they had fought with, they were celebrating a win that did not seem real even now.

They fought with the determination to survive; they lost some of their friends, some of their family members, but at the end of the day, those who were present here right now, those who were here for the celebration, had won their victories.

They jumped and hugged each other. Those in love embraced their partners. The battle was won after a long fight, after countless expended resources, over the dead bodies of countless monsters.

But past the Red night, this was a victory they would not forget. This was truly a victory that they would remember forever going forward.

"There. We won." Dame walked up to the man who was still doing his work as his colleagues celebrated the victory around him.

"That we did... It was a long night." Looking up at her exhausted, attractive face, he could not help but be curious.

"Dame Althea," Handing her a handkerchief, he asked politely, "Shouldn’t you be with your people as well? They seem to be waiting for you."

He could see them behind her, some distance away, and he knew she knew they were waiting for her as well.

Then, why was she here?

"Oh, right. I just wanted to check if you were fine. Instead of telling me, shouldn’t you go celebrate with your people as well? We won this war thanks to your great contribution as well."

She had only now realised she was here instead of by her group side as well. She had just naturally walked here to see how he was doing... she did not find it strange until now, but now that he had pointed it out, she found it strange herself.

"I will celebrate as soon as I’m done. You go now... I’m fine as well. Thanks for looking out for me." Ziggy felt the warmth behind his natural actions as well. She was, well, considerate.

He gave her a look that she found a little strange, a little anticipating, a little confused. But then he shook his head and nodded at her with a smile.

"Go now. We can have a chat once all this is over. How about having some tea together?" He did not understand why he was inviting her for tea, but it should be obvious to him.

As heroic, attractive, or charming as he may be, he had his priorities. In this world, there was a need for something more than the mundane for someone like him.

"That..." The Dame thought about it, not thinking much about the suggestion. "That sounds lovely, yeah."

She would love having tea together as well. But since they lived on different continents, they would have to meet inside the tower only.

Thankfully, there were 30 cities with good culture and excellent food that could host their first little date.

So, there was nothing to worry about.

"Go now. They are waiting." Looking past her shoulders, he could see the people waiting for her. Her soldiers, her aides, who had relied on her throughout this entire night.

"You, too. They are waiting for you as well." And looking past his shoulder, she saw the association people as well, all waiting for his arrival.

The two of them were leaders of their factions, the leaders who guided their people towards new victories.

The 3rd floor, for both of them, had been a big challenge.

They had lost some of their members, and many were still injured from the previous battles.

They still needed to return to their cities to celebrate with the rest of their parties and share this victory with the natives who believed in them.

[ "You did it..." ]

The one who had watched everything from the start of this Event to the very end was emotional right now.

The losses were inevitable, but most of them made it.

She did not understand how he pulled off such things every time, but as the only player beside her who held an Authority, she could not help but wonder just how amazing he truly was.

[ "Thanks... KiRA." ]

She had not played the Tower of Beginning. Ever.

All her powers, all her knowledge, all her abilities came from a chance encounter. But he was different.

Unlike her, he had earned everything he had right now.

And for that, instead of being envious, she was grateful to him.

At the very least... There was someone who could guide the people of her world towards a relatively safer end.