Chapter 174: Nightmare Floor 15 (6)

[Floor 13 has been cleared on all difficulties.]

[The Tower is summoning new participants.]

My body wasn’t physically exhausted, but I felt completely drained.

I remained sitting there for quite a while.

'Why...'

The Annihilation War had ended only a few dozen seconds after it began.

There was only one way that could have happened.

Kanyuk had taken his own life.

...It was an outcome I had never expected.

With my thoughts still tangled like a knotted ball of thread, I got to my feet.

[Skill: Blood Frenzy (Epic+)]

Drives the body to its absolute limit, doubling Physical Ability for 30 minutes and greatly increasing regeneration. While the skill remains active, stamina consumption increases drastically.

Classification: Physical

Willpower Cost: 500

Cooldown: 24 hours

[You have learned ‘Skill: Blood Frenzy (Epic+)’.]

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 16]

[Level: 187]

[Willpower: 18,430/18,430]

[Skills: Radiant Incarnation (Legendary+), Elemental Arrow Barrage (Epic+)(+3), Destruction Ray (Epic+), Blood Frenzy (Epic+), Weakness Insight (Epic)(+4), Hellfire Eruption (Epic)(+1), Subspace (Epic), Air Walk (Epic), Finger Flick (Epic), Life Devour (Epic), Decisive Strike (Epic), Phantom Shift (Epic)...]

[Nightmare]

Participants: 1,373,610

Time Limit: 7 years 338 days 18 hours 59 minutes 13 seconds

Highest Floor Reached: 16

[Would you like to leave the Tower?]

I casually learned the skill reward and immediately left.

When I returned to the living room, I saw my family.

“Ah...! You worked hard, Seo-hyeon.”

My family welcomed me with relief.

But my mother must have noticed that my expression looked bad, because she asked with worried eyes.

“Are you all right? Is something wrong?”

“...No. I’m fine.”

I shook my head and asked.

“Did anything happen?”

Kanyuk had also been transported to Earth before taking his own life.

Where had he been transported?

Even when I asked, my family seemed to know nothing.

I told them I was tired and needed to rest, then went into my room.

I quickly searched through the news, and soon a breaking report appeared.

“...!”

An article about an unidentified creature that had appeared in Gangnam, Seoul.

Just as I had been transported to the land where Kanyuk’s tribe lived, Kanyuk had also been transported to South Korea.

- ...Reports have come in of an unidentified creature appearing and then disappearing in Gangnam. Witnesses say the creature suddenly appeared in the street along with a flash of light. It had a humanoid appearance, and at the exact moment the unidentified creature disappeared, Nightmare Floor 16 was cleared...

I was also able to find footage recorded on a phone by a passerby who had been at the scene.

In the middle of the street.

Kanyuk stood motionless among people screaming and running away.

He stared into empty space as though reading messages, then looked around at the people nearby.

He didn’t look confused, the way I had.

If anything, he looked more like someone who had already resigned himself to something.

Soon, Kanyuk began shouting something.

Since the Tower’s translation function wasn’t working, I couldn’t understand what he was saying...

But I could at least make out him calling my name, Hyeon, in awkward pronunciation.

Finally, Kanyuk burst out laughing, “Kyak-kya-kyak!” and raised his glaive.

Then he brought the blade toward his neck...

And without hesitation, severed his own head.

“...”

Kanyuk’s corpse, killed instantly by decapitation, vanished like smoke.

His glaive disappeared with him.

I replayed the video again and again.

What had Kanyuk wanted to tell me?

No matter how much I wondered, there was no way to know.

I lowered my phone and bowed my head deeply.

'I don’t want to extend the lifespan of my own world by trampling another world underfoot.'

Those were Kanyuk’s words.

I could easily imagine what kind of feelings had led him to his decision.

He must not have been able to bring himself to personally massacre people and destroy an entire world with his own hands.

Rather than let one of the two worlds be destroyed, he had chosen a third option.

He must also have considered the possibility that the people of his own world would be slaughtered by me.

Kanyuk wasn’t indecisive like I was.

He was far kinder than me.

Far more upright...

Far more selfless.

Unlike me, who had genuinely been prepared to destroy his world, Kanyuk had ended the Annihilation War by killing himself without even a moment’s hesitation.

I owed Kanyuk an enormous debt.

A debt far too great.

...It had been a very long time since I had felt this utterly powerless.

In the face of the Tower’s tyranny and malice, I had always been endlessly helpless.

At the same time, I felt a deep rage.

It was so suffocating that I felt sick.

After stewing in helplessness and anger for a long while, I sank back into my chair.

I stared into empty space and quietly muttered.

“...No matter what happens.”

I can never forgive you.

You...

I will be the one to finish you.

Even for the sake of Kanyuk’s world, now left behind without hope, I had to.

After pulling myself together, I opened the Communication Channel.

I intended to immediately write a post about Floor 15.

Kanyuk had protected Earth, a completely different world, even at the cost of everything he had.

Because of Kanyuk, Earth was safe, and I had been able to clear Floor 15.

Other people deserved to know that too.

It was the very least I could do to mourn Kanyuk.

***

The unidentified creature that appeared in South Korea.

News of it spread around the world in an instant and quickly became a major topic.

It had already been a long time since the appearance of the Tower had shattered conventional common sense.

Even so, there had never before been a case where an unidentified creature other than a Fallen suddenly appeared in reality.

[Barik: I saw the video, and it didn’t look like some ordinary monster. It says something and then just kills itself.]

[FriedChicken: Yeah. It felt more like some fantasy race or something.]

[Knife: Maybe it’s some new kind of Fallen?]

[PeanutButterJam: It doesn’t even have horns, what kind of Fallen would that be]

[Butterfly: Looks like the Tower is pulling some new bullshit again]

[Kkeutu: Apparently Nightmare Floor 15 was cleared the moment that monster disappeared. Isn’t it related to Floor 15 somehow?]

[NorthStar: Person123 still hasn’t said anything]

[Sonata: Floor 15 was only just cleared, let him fucking rest]

[Wine: But is it really related to Floor 15? Tower clears can affect reality too?]

On top of that, the bizarre behavior of the unidentified creature suddenly killing itself, combined with Nightmare Floor 15 being cleared at the exact same moment, was more than enough to make people suspect some connection.

While the world celebrated the Floor 15 clear, everyone waited for Person123 to post something in the Communication Channel.

[Person123: This is about the Floor 15 clear.]

And soon enough, a post really did appear.

[Person123: Floor 15 was a floor that required two Nightmare Climbers to clear it together.

The being who appeared in South Korea was a Nightmare Floor 15 Climber from another world who cleared Floor 15 alongside me. His name was ‘Kanyuk.’

By another world, I mean exactly that: a world in another dimension outside Earth. It appears that Earth is not the only world that exists, and the Tower seems to exist simultaneously across multiple worlds. The contents of Floor 15 were...]

.

.

.

The post contained information far beyond anything people had imagined or speculated.

It began with the fact that Floor 15 was multiplayer, something that had never appeared before.

The Nightmare Climber from another world, Kanyuk, had entered first and had already been waiting for nearly a year.

The three rounds.

The rule that if one participant died, the survivor would immediately clear the floor.

The contents of the final Round 3.

Kanyuk’s proposal to end in a tie.

The Annihilation War that began as a result, forcing them to destroy each other’s worlds.

And even why Kanyuk had appeared on Earth.

Person123 explained everything that had happened during the Floor 15 clear, including the full chain of cause and effect, from beginning to end without leaving anything out.

[Person123: Kanyuk tried until the very end to avoid an outcome where either of us failed to clear the floor. He said that he did not want to extend the lifespan of his own world by trampling another world underfoot.

That is why Kanyuk appeared on Earth and took his own life. Kanyuk was a powerful Climber and possessed enough strength to destroy Earth. Even so, he chose to sacrifice himself without harming a single person. Unlike me, who had truly made up my mind to destroy Kanyuk’s world, he did not.

Earth owes Kanyuk a great debt, and I was able to clear Floor 15 because of him.

I am writing this because I want everyone to know that fact, and because I hope you will mourn his death together with me.]

Person123’s post turned the world upside down.

It was filled with too many shocking revelations.

- According to Person123, worlds other than Earth exist. Scientists are debating whether these are worlds on other planets within our own universe, or entirely separate universes...

- Waves of mourning are pouring in for Kanyuk, the Nightmare Climber from another world who sacrificed himself for Earth...

News media around the world reported on it, and the Communication Channel erupted.

[DarkKing: Wow... this is seriously shocking]

[Rhythm: Kanyuk was the highest-floor Nightmare Climber in his world too, right? He gave up his own world rather than destroy Earth?]

[Christopher: Even if they went through with the Annihilation War, there’s no way the surviving world would come out unharmed. Maybe he figured that rather than let that happen, giving up completely was better even for his own world.]

[Sato: Watching the video again makes it fucking heartbreaking... He killed himself for Earth.]

[Wormhole: It looked like he said something before dying. Wonder what he said?]

[ExplosivePower: More importantly, Person123 had really steeled himself too. He genuinely intended to destroy Kanyuk’s world.]

[Glory: That just shows how much he cares about Earth... From our perspective, it’s something we should be grateful for.]

[StrongestHuman: Everyone observe a moment of silence for Hero Kanyuk]

According to Person123, Kanyuk had possessed enough power to destroy Earth.

And yet, he had not.

Everyone mourned Kanyuk’s sacrifice.

Waves of condolences continued endlessly across communities and social media.

- Kanyuk, as one member of humanity, I offer my deepest gratitude and condolences for your heroic choice. We will never forget your sacrifice...

The governments of numerous countries, including the United States and China, even issued official statements.

Since Person123 himself had asked people to mourn Kanyuk, governments reacted quickly.

- This is the street in Gangnam where Kanyuk appeared. At present, the area is filled with enormous crowds...

A street in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea.

The place where Kanyuk had appeared was surrounded by barricades and police officers.

Kanyuk’s body had vanished without leaving a trace, but the government was conducting an investigation to determine whether any substances from another world remained behind or whether any dangerous materials could be detected.

And on one side outside the barricades, flowers had begun to pile up.

Over the past several days, countless people had personally visited the site to honor the hero from another world.

Among the packed crowd, a couple placed flowers down and offered a short prayer.

“Thank you. Please rest in peace...”

The woman finished her prayer sincerely and opened her eyes.

“Let’s go now.”

“Okay.”

As the couple turned to leave, they bumped into someone.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

A man with his hat pulled low over his face gave a small nod as if to say it was fine, then walked past them.

The woman stared after him for a moment.

“What is it?”

“Hm? Nothing...”

At her partner’s question, the woman tilted her head and said,

“That man... his eyes looked really sad.”

Among the countless flowers.

In the place where the man had been standing, a single yellow rose had been left behind.