C553
Baltak paused for a moment.
It seemed like he was giving Lucas time to process the information, or simply observing his reaction.
"Of course, that's only if you continue ascending the Tower."
Only then did Lucas understand why Baltak was suspicious of him.
It was a reasonable suspicion. From an impartial observer's perspective, the connection between Lucas and the Darkness was irrefutable.
"I've explained the Tower's position to you in general terms. Have you understood the situation?"
"......"
"Do you have anything to say?"
Baltak pressed Lucas relentlessly, waiting for a response from him.
"What relationship do you have with the Darkness? Did you deceive the Lord and infiltrate that thing into the Magic Tower? Are you a Apostle of Destruction? Is your goal and role to turn this territory into a wasteland? What other secrets are you hiding?"
The moment his voice grew harsher, the air around him turned cold. The lamps, flasks, and beakers on the dusty table vibrated.
Lucas, gently halting his disciple Min Harin, who was about to channel her mana, responded one by one:
"I didn't deceive the Beginning Wizard. I'm not an Apostle of Destruction, and I have no intention of destroying this territory. I have many secrets, but they have nothing to do with this incident. And..."
Lucas paused for a moment before responding, but ultimately shook his head.
"...I don't know what relationship I have with the Darkness."
"You don't know? Is that what the responsible one says?"
"Yes. I don't know what the Darkness is. I haven't figured it out yet. But if everything you've said is true..."
He paused and then corrected himself.
"No, all the facts are true. That's why I can't assert that I have no connection with the Darkness."
Baltak wasn't foolish.
"...So, is it possible that, unknowingly, you've formed some kind of connection with the Darkness?"
"Yes."
"That's a convenient answer."
"I'm just being honest about my situation."
"That's not an answer."
"Then what answer do you want from me?"
Lucas returned the question.
"Do you want me to confirm it? No matter what I say, will you ignore it and confirm me as a risk factor? Is that your role?"
"...That's right."
"You won't accept my denial either. You said, 'that's not an answer.' Why not be honest? Just say you don't like me."
"...It's not that."
Baltak sighed and excused himself.
"I swear, I have no personal feelings towards you."
Was that true?
Lucas fell silent for a moment and then changed the subject.
"...If the Darkness and I really move at exactly the same speed, then there's definitely a connection. But what that is, is something I'll think about from now on."
"..."
Baltak couldn't help but look at Lucas with a perplexed gaze. Despite being interrogated, there was no trace of anxiety in his voice. Even as he responded, he was concise, as if he were defending a third party.
That attitude made Baltak feel two contradictory emotions at the same time.
Doubt and trust.
"..."
Incompatible words coexisted, and that soon turned into curiosity.
Baltak looked at Lucas. It was he who had the authority to decide this man's fate. For now, he was 'Haik,' the Magician of the 55th floor of the Magic Tower who had given him that authority.
"...Alright. For now, I'll choose to believe your words. However, you must stop ascending the Tower. And there are some things I would like you to do following my instructions. There's something I want to test."
"If it's something that doesn't endanger me or this girl, I'll do it."
"Then please, wait a moment."
Baltak stood up and left. He entered the adjacent room and seemed to be communicating with someone.
[Unexpectedly, he has quite a docile side.]
Residue said with a mocking smile.
[Indeed, he seems convenient. Even the lie.]
'What are you talking about?'
[Do you think you can deceive me? I've told you several times. There's nothing you can hide from this venerable one.]
Residue chuckled. Lucas lowered his head heavily.
The Darkness,
It first appeared on the 77th floor and is slowly expanding downwards.
In other words, its course has always been downwards. Naturally, the probability of it appearing on the 76th floor is eliminated.
So, did the Darkness simply fall from the sky and appear on the 77th floor? Is the universe of the 77th floor the first target of the looming Destruction?
I don't know.
Lucas pushed his mind away from that and focused on something else.
The 77th floor wasn't the highest. There was a space arranged one floor above. The Beginning Wizard's room.
[Interestingly, it has already been said that contact with the Beginning Wizard has been cut off. But that boy Baltak claimed he's still alive.]
'...'
[It's not a matter of blind faith. They probably have a means to determine whether the Beginning Wizard is alive or dead. That's why he must act so confidently.]
The issue is what comes next.
[But that guy is strange. If he had even a bit of reasoning and judgment, he would have dismissed the most obvious possibility from the start. There's no way the "Seven Magicians," considered the top wizards of the Magic Tower, haven't thought of this.]
Residue's voice grew lower.
[...The "Darkest Darkness" could be the Beginning Wizard. Isn't that what you're thinking? If you think about it, that would explain most of the absurd situations that have been occurring.]
'......'
[Alright. And yet, despite all circumstances pointing to a single conclusion, Baltak remains silent on this as if he's experiencing cognitive dissonance...]
His voice filled with mockery. It seems that his ego as an absolute being has not completely disappeared yet. Judging by the fact that he still has the margin to mock the stupidity of mortals.
[How to interpret this entirely depends on you, Lucas.]
--------------------
What Baltak called "something he wanted to test" naturally related to the Darkness. More precisely, it seemed he wanted to know to what extent the Darkness mimicked Lucas's movements.
First, Lucas descended one floor. From the 27th floor to the 26th.
The purpose of the experiment was to verify if the Darkness, instead of moving up a floor when Lucas descended, remained still.
"The Darkness doesn't move. No. It's more..."
Baltak said with a perplexed expression.
"We had made a judgment error. The Darkness hasn't moved a single step from the beginning."
"What do you mean?"
"The Darkness has only been increasing its mass."
"...From the 77th floor down to the 55th, has Darkness taken over all those universes?"
"Yes."
If that were true, Darkness already had an inexplicable mass and volume from a physical standpoint.
Lucas opened his mouth heavily.
"In other words, 23 universes have already been destroyed."
Baltak didn't respond, but Lucas felt that what he had said was true. Darkness wouldn't have been so kind as to select and devour only a portion of the universe, that is, "the administration space of the Magic Tower."
...How long had it taken him to climb 23 floors?
Even counting the "23rd floor," where time had inevitably slowed down, not even a day would have passed.
One day, 24 hours, 3,600 minutes.
In that time, 23 universes had been destroyed.
Doing a quick calculation, that meant one universe disappeared every hour. And Lucas, the absolute being he was, knew how many lives existed in a single universe.
All of that had been annihilated. Or rather, devoured.
It wasn't an instant event as Diablo had said, but considering the possibilities that had been lost, the expression "in an instant" was valid.
─Lucas followed Baltak's instructions on several occasions after that. Of course, the results were not as expected.
Regardless of how Lucas moved, Darkness remained on the 55th floor without expanding its territory. Even when Lucas exited the Tower.
The only information they obtained in the process was that the damage on the lower floors was more severe than anticipated. More than half of the wizards had died.
"There are two possibilities."
Baltak spoke with a grave voice.
"Either Darkness no longer follows you…."
Lucas completed his sentence.
"Or it only reacts when I ascend."
"…"
Lucas and Baltak had to admit that the latter possibility was much more likely.
"What are we going to do now?" Lucas asked.
"If you wish, I won't ascend the Magic Tower again."
In the current situation, maintaining the status quo was not a bad outcome. Baltak, aware of this, nodded heavily.
"...For now, could you wait only on the 27th floor?"
"That's not difficult, but what if I want to move through the lower floors?"
"That…."
Baltak hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. However, if Darkness starts moving again…"
"I'll cease my activities immediately."
"Yes."
Baltak fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Come to think of it, you know Altata, don't you?"
Altata was a Magician on the 44th floor, a woman with green hair. She had acted as a mediator when Lucas had a confrontation with Redrun outside the Tower.
"Yes…"
"I think it would be best if you brought Altata with you."
"Is there any reason I should see her?"
"We've exchanged many opinions about Darkness in a short time. If she shares her insights with you, you might find something useful."
"You could just relay it to me. Using that thing called communication."
"That communication is very limited. The usage time is also very short."
Now that he thought about it, Residue had also said that establishing interuniversal communication was quite complicated.
"So, until you return, I ask that you behave as calmly as possible."
Baltak left those words and departed. From their first encounter, Lucas had noticed that Baltak was a man of very pragmatic attitude.
Lucas looked up at the sky. He was on the 26th floor, the floor of the giant labyrinth. It was also a place where the fragmented sky was clearly visible.
"Master."
Min Harin, she, spoke in her characteristic dry tone.
Now that he thought about it, from a certain point she seemed to be pondering something, and from her current expression, she seemed to have come to her own conclusion.
"I've understood how dangerous Destruction is."
"…"
An unexpected comment. Lucas didn't fully understand what she meant and glanced at her sideways.
"I've come up with a good idea."
"…Good idea?"
"Yes. I will be the one to experience Darkness."
"What?"
Lucas made a face as if he had heard the most absurd reasoning in the world. With a contrasting expression, Min Harin continued speaking.
"Currently, I don't have emotions. Since I didn't feel fear even when seeing the Waterfall of Destruction, it shouldn't be difficult for me to approach."
"…And then? What are you going to do once you approach?"
"I'll try to make contact with it."
"……."
"My body will probably disintegrate, but that process won't be instant. Therefore, until my body completely collapses, I will convey to the Master what I experience and feel upon making contact."
"…"
"Fortunately, I now have a high pain tolerance. Which means I can rationally explain everything I experience. With that as a basis, the Master could formulate a strategy to combat Darkness…"
"Are you serious?"
Lucas replied in a low voice, then bit his lip.
What kind of stupid question was that?
The current Min Harin had become a being who could only be sincere in everything.
"Why are you angry? Anyway, if Destruction comes, all beings will die. So, combining my advantages with yours, isn't it better to try to turn the situation around?"
"…Never again."
Lucas opened his mouth.
"Don't say something like that again."
"…"
Min Harin half-opened her mouth and then closed it, but her expression didn't show that she was convinced… Perhaps what she said was for the best.
However, that would imply Min Harin's sacrifice, and…
‘No.’
Lucas shook his head. Sacrifice was a personal right. Even as Master, he had no right to interfere in that. The reason Lucas got angry was because there was no determination in Min Harin's sacrifice. There was nothing emptier and sadder than a sacrifice without determination, especially when it came to his own disciple. Lucas's heart was filled with unbearable heaviness.
Seeing Min Harin calculating even in front of Darkness that instilled terror in anyone, Lucas felt a deep compassion.
Lucas's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. Suddenly, he felt a sense of incongruity.
…Is this the level of intimidation that Destruction possesses?
Due to the lack of emotions, does the terror that even overwhelms the Rulers not affect her?
No. It's different. There's something I'm overlooking.
And...
"…Ah."
Suddenly, he realized a fact.
Tags:
TGMRA (Novel)