Sob!
“Shit…!”
The White Dragon headquarters on the seventy-sixth floor was a giant castle that had once been home to Red Dragon, which had ruled over the Tower for hundreds of years. However, the castle had lost its former splendor, and it now looked like forlorn ruins.
White Dragon had tried to restore it to its former glory as they took care of their internal conflict, but it wasn’t easy. Most of the Eighty-One Oculus, the pillars of Red Dragon, had either died or gone into hiding, and most of the troops had deserted.
Still, Waltz tried to gather the remaining forces and lift White Dragon as the new version of Red Dragon. Her martial arts had improved day by day as she retrieved the Summer Queen’s legacy, and her subordinates were starting to believe in a comeback.
Waltz tossed the dice and decided to help the resisters fighting Arthia. She had been planning on fixing the battle lines on the seventy-sixth floor, but she realized that no one would defend them if the resisters fell. It was a calculated risk, with the possibility that the resisters would be able to fight Arthia to a standstill, and she had even gone to the fifty-second floor herself. The battle lasted longer than expected, and they’d even managed to successfully push Arthia back to the fiftieth floor with a surprise attack in the middle of the night.
White Dragon hoped that they would have a chance to keep Arthia below the fiftieth floor since other large clans like the Daud Brethren and the Sea of Time were also moving to keep Arthia at bay. When the battle to force Arthia to retreat began, Waltz launched a raid to attack Arthia’s leaders. She even successfully reached the detestable floating castle.
Then, they lost.
“Waltz…!”
Everyone stood up to greet Waltz when she arrived, their faces filled with sadness. They were having a funeral for their dead soldiers. They hung their heads in dismay as they saw the bandages that wrapped around Waltz’s entire body. They could glimpse her injuries through her clothing, and her eyes were unfocused because she was temporarily blinded from using too much magic power.
Waltz had been seriously injured during a battle with Foxy Tail Doyle, who were protecting the floating castle on behalf of the Shadow King. She should have been recovering in bed, but instead, she knelt and bowed to the clan members. “I’m…sorry.”
Everyone in the funeral hall was shocked. Dragons were always lofty creatures. Waltz tried to maintain the Summer Queen’s principles, and she remembered to stay aloof no matter the situation they were in.
Some disparaged her, saying she was putting on unnecessary airs, but the clan members believed in the might of the dragons and followed her. But she was now bowing to them and apologizing as tears dripped down her face. “This is all…my fault. This happened because I’m not strong enough. I don’t have the face to see you all.” Drip. Drip. The tears falling from her eyes stained the floor.
* * *
“Waltz.”
“I want to be alone for now. Would you mind?”
“Then…all right.”
Troy escorted Waltz to the sickbed and left with a sigh when he saw Waltz’s trembling eyes. Only when he was gone did Waltz sit on the bed and close her eyes. Thoughts flooded through her head. ‘What happened?’
She had been right on the verge of defeating Doyle in Laputa while the key members of Arthia—Phante, Edora, and Kahn—had been busy with the suicide attackers. The war wouldn’t end until the Shadow King was eliminated, but Waltz thought it was a good opportunity to raise morale. From what she knew, Doyle was a high ranker, but he was most definitely not a king.
And yet, Waltz had lost to him. Right as she was about to slash his neck, a mysterious black-red light flashed and blew her away.
“What…happened to Yeon-woo?” Even though he was the one to perform the miracle, Doyle also seemed shocked. Now that he had the upper hand, he attacked, and White Dragon were forced to retreat in humiliation, eighty percent of their suicide troops gone.
‘The Shadow King…something’s definitely changed with him.’ Waltz knew the black-red light surrounding Doyle belonged to the Shadow King. It exuded the same energy of the contract that connected the Summer Queen to her children.
However, there were limits to an Apostle’s strength, and there was only one reason that an Apostle’s power might suddenly increase like this—their master’s level had increased, as well. ‘Exuviation.’ Yeon-woo had definitely achieved something like htat.
Thump! She punched the ground in anger. Even though she had unified the seventy-sixth floor, she had never been able to complete the seventh step of the awakening. She didn’t know why. It should have occurred naturally, but it failed again and again, and she was in a stagnant state.
Now that the Shadow King had enhanced his strength, the difference between them had grown larger. She had even been defeated by a mere Apostle. The Shadow King was untouchable. White Dragon had lost, and the resisterse were all scattered. Now that she was injured and could no longer fight on the front lines, Arthia cleared throught the floors without any challenge at a scary pace. When she asked Troy about it at the funeral hall, he’d said they already reached the sixtieth floor.
She and White Dragon were like a candle about to be blown out by a windstorm. Was there nothing they could do to stand against the tides? ‘Mother, why are you not responding to my calls?’ Waltz guessed her awakening was failing because the Summer Queen’s will in her legacy wasn’t responding. Others would be puzzled at this and wonder how the dead Summer Queen would be able to do anything, but Waltz was certain the Summer Queen’s will was still alive somewhere.
The Red Dragon’s Spark that continued to flicker in Waltz’s Dragon Heart was proof of the Summer Queen’s existence, no matter how small. But if so, where was the Summer Queen’s will, and why wasn’t she taking care of her children? Why hadn’t she shown herself to her faithful subordinates? Waltz didn’t know what to think. Was it possible that…the Summer Queen abandoned her? The thought occurred to her, but she shook it off. She didn’t want to even think of it. She had no desire to become an abandoned child once more, but the doubt began to slowly eat away at her.
She suddenly opened her eyes and quickly moved away from the sickbed into a defensive posture. An intense storm of magic power whirled around her. “Dear, dear. The princess abandoned by two mothers is still so touchy.”
Someone appeared through the fog: aman wrapped entirely in bandages. The Sword God grinned at her, his canines glinting.
* * *
[This is the 60th floor, gate of the ‘Great Sword Tomb’.]
Yeon-woo appeared through a blue portal, feeling swords of varying shapes and sizes under his feet. He could scent the smell of blood and fire as though a battle had just swept through.
[The trial of the 60th floor is beginning.]
[Trial: A long time ago during a forgotten age, a species existed that was intent on proving their courage with just a single sword. Other than eating and sleeping, the only thing they did was fight. Many species went extinct after clashing with them. They began to think they were the only great species under the sky, and no one could defeat them.
For eons, their species was victorious in the countless battles they fought, and they ruled vast lands. Those they defeated became their subjects, and other species, frightened of their prowess, fought with each other to join them.
When there was no longer any land to annex, the species split up into various factions and fought among themselves, choosing to kill their own kind to prove their courage. Eventually, they fought war after war until only one remained, and they disappeared from the world. They became the only species to rise with their own strength and also fall because of it.
This is the last battlefield where this species fought. Swords large and small remain in the bodies of their dead owners, only adding to the bleakness. However, the yearning of the fallen species is still strong despite all the time that has passed. Now, prove your courage according to the yearning of this species. If you receive their acknowledgement, you will be counted among the ranks of great warriors.]
Yeon-woo clucked his tongue as he looked at the desolate fields. He’d planned on heading straight for the sixtieth floor after returning to his climb, but he didn’t expect to get here this quickly. ‘I didn’t think Arthia would already be here.’
Doyle said he had awakened along with Yeon-woo and forced Waltz and White Dragon to retreat. Now that there was nothing in their way, they had swept their way up the floors to this stage. Yeon-woo had been forced to rush from the fifty-second floor to the sixtieth. Although the floors weren’t difficult because of his ability, it still took some time because he had to break the stage records. Fortunately, he’d managed them all in a day.
“Hyung!” Just then, Doyle came out to greet him from the castle after sensing his presence. Yeon-woo folded his wings and landed in front of a waving Doyle. Next to Doyle were Heidi and the other Children of the Forest. They looked at Yeon-woo as if entranced because they could feel the aura of a higher being, and something about Yeon-woo made others feel compelled to bow to him.
However, Yeon-woo just nodded at them and turned to Doyle. “Did you get what I asked for?”
“I prepared it already, but are you really leaving? Everyone’s been waiting for you to return.” Doyle pointed at the items the Children of the Forest brought with a dejected expression. He didn’t know how Yeon-woo was going to use them, but he could tell Yeon-woo was planning on getting straight to business right away without any rest.
Phante, Edora, Kahn, and the others were all still on the battlefield, working together to simultaneously expand Arthia’s influence and clear the floors at the same time. Although they’d probably return immediately if they heard Yeon-woo returned, Yeon-woo had ordered Doyle not to tell them since he’d only be a bother.
Since Yeon-woo was currently at odds with the heavenly world, he didn’t know what they might do to disrupt him, and so they had to work separately with Arthia on the front lines and him taking care of other business himself. Yeon-woo grinned, patted Doyle’s head, and put all the objects the Children of the Forest brought into his subspace. Then, he left. It was time to search for Valdebich.
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