307 – The Returner’s Fight (26)

Cheonma was definitely different from the usual Guntar. He wasn’t just different, he was ‘very’ different.

“It’s Guntar.”

“When did you come back?”

“Why do you look like that?”

The previous Guntar would avoid people after a battle. Under the protection of the arena, he would secretly return to his quarters.

Cheonma was different. He walked without caring at all whether people were watching or not, or what they were saying. To put it nicely, he didn’t care about others, and to put it badly, he saw others as bugs. (Since it was the early days of the return, words like “You’re a piece of shit” like before weren’t heard.)

How long had he been walking like that? When he had entered a quiet hallway.

“Aim your sword.”

“… What?”

“He told me to aim my sword.”

Cheonma said casually as he walked. His expression was incredibly calm, but his ears were twitching unnaturally.

“There is a personality implanted in my body by angels. I agreed with him that I would take the initiative ‘during battle’, but now he is threatening to come out again. An appropriate threat will help.”

“Ah.”

That’s right. You said there is a personality implanted in my body by angels. That’s why other people thought ‘Guntar is crazy.’ But I think

Cheonma said he took the initiative because he felt his life was threatened during the fight with the emperor. Now that we’re not in a battle, his original personality is trying to come out again.

Well, it doesn’t seem like I can kill Cheonma even if I don’t cooperate right now. I obediently drew my sword and aimed it at his neck. Even if I stab him now, he will avoid instant death, and if he holds on with the vitality of the water man and releases his magic, I will return. It’s better to gather information than to go on an adventure.

-Sreung.

In fact, when I aimed my sword, Cheonma’s hand that was trying to strangle himself stopped. Even though his body had gone out of control just before, Cheonma didn’t seem to care at all. He just kept walking.

“You don’t seem that surprised.”

Cheonma said casually. Wait, was I too indifferent? Should I have acted? No. If I were thinking about the lies I was going to tell anyway, it would be more natural if I knew. Let’s hold back for now.

“…”

“We’re here.”

I didn’t answer, and Cheonma didn’t urge me either. As we walked and walked, it became a scene in my memory. It was the living quarters prepared for the rankers in the arena. Why, that dark and empty space. The same was true of the leftover food crumbs on the floor.

“The Suin species is a blessed species, but they lack the will to truly become stronger. It’s such a shame that they burn their lives for momentary pleasure.”

Cheonma said, pushing away food scraps with his feet. Suddenly, I became curious and asked him.

“I heard you wiped out the humans on a planet.”

“It’s true.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I found it

disgusting.”

It was a casual tone, as if he was talking about the lunch menu he had today.

“Why was

it disgusting?” “Because I’m weak.” “Is being weak a sin?”

“I’m not blaming physical weakness. Being born weak isn’t a sin. However, not trying to become strong is a sin. The weak have no right to choose. Even with the advent of the space exploration era and all sorts of laws, this is an unchanging truth. If you’re alive, you should try to become strong.”

“There must be some who trained among the dead.”

“If that kind of strength is effort, then it’s worth dying.”

“…”

I’d felt it before, but the reason Cheonma was talking to me normally… I guess it was because I had gotten pretty strong. It seemed like he considered being weak a sin.

“Then.”

Cheonma sat down. He got straight to the point.

“Are you a climber?”

“… You know about the tower.”

“Even though I am from thousands of years ago, my consciousness remained. I was observing the form that was infused into the sword. I know that the tower appeared in my world, and that those fools failed.”

Cheonma speaks while looking at my sword blade.

“I failed to conquer the tower… My soul was extracted during the process of the world coming under the rule of the gods. They said that someone like me did not fit the ‘balance’ and had to be eliminated. I didn’t know that I would survive like this.”

“… Why did you fail?”

“Because I was weak.”

“…”

“I failed because I was weak. That’s all. If I had the chance to climb the tower, I would have succeeded.”

Cheonma’s expression as he speaks… I don’t know. Is it because he is a beastman and looks different from a human, or is it because his emotions are dull because he is from thousands of years ago?

“The owner of this body, Guntar… was originally the one who obtained the sword containing my soul. I taught him various martial arts, and although he wasn’t very good, he tried his best.”

“The angels said that Guntar died from poisoning by toxic gas.”

“Do you think that makes sense? In an age where technology for interplanetary travel has been developed, isn’t there a countermeasure against gas? Guntar died while climbing the tower. The current point of view of this world is simply ‘the world before the tower appeared. ’”

So, from Cheonma’s perspective, his disciple, the b*stard Bisreum, died while climbing the tower. Does that mean Cheonma’s own soul was extracted and put into his disciple’s body? It seems he was literally treated like a toy, so you might understand his hatred for the angels.

“Now it’s your turn.”

“What turn?”

“Tell me. What is your relationship with the angels? What do you know about me?”

“Ah.”

Of course, you shouldn’t side with the angels. The Heavenly Demon hates the angels. But if you’re too far apart, the current situation doesn’t make sense. The only way to get information about the Heavenly Demon is through the angels. You’re

on a somewhat awkward level, but you can still get information from the angels. If you think about it logically, then…

“I’m being threatened by the angels.”

“Threats?”

“Yes. They threatened to completely destroy the 28th floor if I didn’t cooperate.”

“Hmm.”

As I felt earlier, the Heavenly Demon’s senses are sharp. You shouldn’t just make up lies. You should mix truth with lies to make it work.

It’s true that the angel threatened me. He said that if I didn’t stop the Heavenly Demon, all the players coming to the 28th floor would die. He also asked me to help him. Well, he omitted the part where the Archangel would come and solve it. He didn’t lie.

“So, the balance of the 28th floor collapsed, so I sent you in. But unexpectedly, your personality still remained. He said that he had no choice but to kill you. “You asked me for help, saying that the 28th floor would become hell if you were there.”

“I see… that’s what happened.”

Cheonma nodded and immediately looked up at the sky.

“It seems that the archangel who expelled me is absent.”

“… Suddenly?”

“You, a climber, may not know, but an archangel would be able to intervene in me. He’s that strong. However, he didn’t show up even though we talked about the tower and the angels. You’ve bought me some time. If you were a puppet of the angels, you would have been listening to this conversation right now.”

So, was it some kind of bait to suddenly talk about the tower to me? It seems he was also trying to see if I was trying to lead him on.

“I was anxious, but I guess I can calm down a little. I’ve bought him some time.”

It seems that the reason Cheonma seemed anxious all this time was because of the archangel. He licked his tongue without taking his eyes off the tip of my blade.

“Are you afraid of me killing all the climbers?”

“… Yes.”

“I intend to escape the tower. So the situation you are worried about will not occur. Cooperate.”

“…?” This is

the first time I have heard that. This is the concept I have never heard of. Escape from the tower? Escape? Does that make sense?

“I can do it. If I can fully regain my strength, I can do it.”

“… How do I regain my strength?”

“Currently, most of my soul is sealed. I am able to talk to you now because you are pointing your sword at me, but if it becomes safe, the false personality will pop out again at any moment.”

Cheonma tapped his blade.

“That is why, in order to maintain control and regain the power of my soul, I must fight. I must fight the strong and fight again to increase my soul occupancy rate and at the same time, release the restrictions that are enveloping me.”

Restrictions. The word I was concerned about came out, but I nodded without showing it.

“If you cooperate, I will not touch the climbers. However, you must not stop me from killing the angels.”

“How do I cooperate?”

“As I said before. The more I fight, the stronger I become. But openly massacring the arena guys is very likely to attract unwanted attention. There is also a possibility that the archangel guy will return. So, originally I was planning to kill only disgusting humans… no, only the weak. Since the angels already knew, I almost did something meaningless.”

Chuck. The guy’s long claws pointed at me.

“Instead. You fight me. Moderately, just enough to not reveal each other’s true feelings, while maintaining the line. Keep fighting. In a secret place where no one can see.”

At that moment, I had a gut feeling.

“Until I regain all my strength.”

This guy really is a smart guy.