The ending of the hellish stage went plain and uneventful. Even the congratulations from the System looked forced and non-informative. There was no reward for finishing the floor. There was no loot from the giant body. No new skills, no bonus experience, nothing. Everything was like before with such a greedy System. Still, Rob wasn’t dissatisfied with the outcome as the mere fact that he could end his staying in empty demonic land was a reward in itself. Moreover, his mood was already quite high after dealing with Behemoth, despite the needed time to do it. Or maybe because of it.
The System tried its best to create a really powerful foe. Exchanging the variety of skills for the insane toughness of the beast, created a walking tank the size of a mountain that could withstand insane levels of damage. By the moment he was almost finished killing it, the creature had lost half of its skull and still was alive. Robert had to evaporate every single piece of its brain to finally get the notification. Heavily breathing, he stood motionlessly for a few minutes just more until he could say he felt better.
Despite the improvement in control of “Energy Blast” that lessened the toll on him, and Rob’s heightened level of regeneration, the hundreds of projectiles stressed his body quite strongly. In the end, it turned into mechanical actions without any thoughts and no pauses, as Behemoth was recovering at an unpleasantly fast rate. So, his self-feeling of being a squeezed lemon was fully justified. Fortunately, the portal that appeared in front of him didn’t demand any immediate action, giving him time to gather his thoughts after the short break.
The silence together with the absence of any rush, danger, or need to do anything felt surprisingly disturbing. From the moment Robert got into the Tower, he was always on timer or on the move. The cycles of the challenger’s appearance, the unclear goal of contribution during the siege, the Hell with draining haze and constant fighting – just about every single thing pushed him into action. Therefore, Rob forced himself to simply lie calmly just to release the accumulated pressure. At least a part of it.
The first thirty minutes were the hardest. Every cell in his body tried to make to get up and do something. They all shouted that there was a danger, constantly sending signals to his nervous system to be alert. His improved Perception wasn’t helping too. Even not sensing anything near, his mind was constantly whispering that if couldn’t hear anything it didn’t mean there was nothing. And only after the next half an hour, Rob started to relax. It could be his recovery that fixed his body. Or the disappearance of the conditions set by the System that helped to ignore the need for sleep or nutrition. Or he just reached his limit. The darkness enveloped him, pulling him into the realm of dreams.
The wake-up was abrupt. It felt like someone pushed the button, activating him back. Still, Robert felt as if he was full of energy. He could say perfectly well but taking into account his look of the beggar directly from the nearest dump, he wasn’t so sure. However, that led him to clean himself. Using the sand to wipe the most disgusting spots as if he was rubbing not his own skin, Rob conjured steel on top of it. Pushing from the surface of his body, he almost recreated his shaving technique which made him bald. Only after such refreshment, Robert turned his attention to the floating portal.
The thing looked like a flat mirror with a twisted image instead of a proper reflection that was constantly turned towards him, no matter how he circled around the transportation object. A tiny bluish halo encircled it from all sides, looking similar to a dancing flame, but without any heat radiating from it. Nothing indicated what was waiting for him from the other side. The System also didn’t explain what to expect, finishing its last notification with a “Please, proceed to the next stage”. So, Robert just did what he was asked for, stepping inside the portal.
The transition was instantaneous like before. However, he was still momentarily startled by the scene in front of his eyes. A pretentiously decorated hall with an insanely high ceiling that could fit a middle-sized building with ease. A marble floor with golden veins inside formed a complex pattern right under Rob’s feet. Each of the lines was connected to its counterpart, creating a real image from what appeared to be random marks, made by nature. The wall, on the other hand, had grandeur pictures, painted right on them. Showing epic images from never-existed battles, they were almost like competing with each other in an attempt to capture the imagination of the observer in this contest for attention.
The light was coming from narrow in comparison to their height windows. It was so bright, but stable and constant that it created a feeling that there was nothing else there, outside of this place. As if the outer world consisted only of the pure light. Taking into account that Rob was currently in the Tower, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. Still, the very same light not only obstructed the view from the other side of the glass but also had another odd property. It was equally spread everywhere, even in far corners. There was literally not a single shade in the hall. On the other hand, it gave Robert the ability to see others in detail.
Apart from him, there were five more figures. Four of them together with Rob were standing in a semicircle. Each of them had a contrasting appearance, differing one from another as if they were trying to show off their uniqueness. The frozen time allowed him to observe them by turning his head. It didn’t give a good angle for view, but he had no choice – Rob’s feet seemed to be glued on contrary to the siege stage. Still, just from the nearest tall creature, as he couldn’t name it neither human nor beast, Robert understood what he was seeing.
Generals… They are generals of the main boss. The so-called Overlord. And I am one of them…
The familiar Archi-Lich was standing beside him, not having changed in the slightest. Even the clothes were the same as if the System was too lazy to create more outfits for foes. On the other hand, its imagination wasn’t any better. Orc’s warlord with bloody red tattoos all over dark green skin was to the right of the undead. Half-naked, with only a leather skirt covering his groin, he was boasting with oversized muscles. A pair of short axes with thick blades were hanging from his belt, while its owner was grinning with a toothy smile. Two protruding canines from the lower jaw carried traces of battles, having several marks and a broken tip of one of them. His only black hair was tied in a pigtail with bone hairpins, opening a view of the long ears.
The other two were no less imposing. The giant ogre in a full knight’s armor and enormous spiked mace. Over three meters tall (around 10 ft.), it had a big belly, unproportionally long arms, and quite short legs. The latter were still thick enough to carry the huge weight of the battle ogre. Robert managed to identify it only with the help of the System as the steel simply left no opening. Even the eyes of this general were set deep inside the helmet under a complex visor, leaving no accessible weak points to exploit.
The fourth powerful subordinate was a female. Dressed in a tight dress that exposed more than it hid, she was leaning on a metal staff with a glowing stone. Emanating a purple light, it only emphasized the ebony skin of the dark elf. An oversexualized figure with noticeable and unnatural curves was additionally intensified by the fact that she seemed to be a vampire. At least red eyes and recognizable fangs were quite telling. Maybe in some different situation, it would be hard to see them, but the scene froze her right in the moment of licking her cherry lips, showing long white teeth.
So, the undead lich, the orc’s warlord-berserk, the ogre-knight, the dark elven vampire warlock… and the demon, me. And who we are supposed to serve?
Raising his sight upwards, where on a moderate elevation stood a throne. No, the Throne. Despite the simplicity of the form, it was a masterpiece of creepiness and ugliness. Made from dark solid matter that looked darker than black, it was in constant motion. And not just any motion, no. It seemed that inside the thing there were hundreds of souls imprisoned. Their constant struggles and attempts to break free pushed the surface, creating an image of the yelling face before it would disappear a moment later, being pulled by the magic cage. Such waving of the villainous chair didn’t disturb the sitter.
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The Overlord even had an expression of boredom, lazily leaning with the face on his hand. The main boss, as always, didn’t look anything special in his “ordinary” form. Just a normal middle-aged man with pitch-black hair, a neat beard, and a perfect movie star smile. The dark leather pants, high boots, and wide snowy-white shirt opened a view of the hairless muscles on the chest. Average appearance, no weapons, relaxed posture – everything shouted about its insane hidden strength. That, and the finger ring with a few red stones, which he wore on his thumb.
And what I am doing here?
Your role for a current floor is to become a Demon General, who is summoned by the future Dark God to serve as one of his protectors, while he would be occupied with the ritual of the Ascension. The legions of the rest Generals have been already defeated outside the hall, and their leaders are the last obstacle to overcome. The last, but the most powerful one.
This floor is a single-timed event with all remaining challengers participating in it. Depending on the outcome of the fight, the challengers would win or lose.
The conditions of the win: The Overlord is dead. The result: all sureties will be released, while the killer of the Dark God will keep all gained powers. The challengers who survive will leave the Tower.
The conditions of the loss: All challengers are dead. The result: all sureties will die. The Tower will wipe out all the life from the world, preparing the next cycle for the trial of being worthy.
Your goal is to prevent the challengers from killing the Overlord. Good Luck!
The System’s message once again appeared well timed, as if answering to his inner thought. Moreover, this time the admin indeed did it – answered his questions. The biggest attention was captured by the sureties and their fate. Rereading it a few times, Robert felt a huge relief, finally knowing that he wasn’t guilty about the death of innocents. It didn’t change much as he did what he did for the sake of his survival, even not being completely sure of the result of his deeds. Rob still was a killer, no less than before.
I am still a bad guy… I made a choice, not knowing this and thinking that I was taking more lives, not just the ones who came after me. The intention matters… But to more important things – to my set goal.
However, this was the moment when the whole world decided to unfreeze, finally pushing the time into motion. The familiar eyeball that served as a camera appeared above them, floating in mid-air. Slowly moving to show possible observers the scene from different angles, it was looking at them without blinking, creating an unpleasant feeling of being watched by a crow. At least the Overlord started to talk, turning his attention away from the giant eye.
“I am really disappointed in your forces, my Generals… You came searching for me and woke me up from deep slumber just to ask for help. I agreed, despite the fact it would push me into a confrontation with other Gods. And what did I get from your service? The united royal army with multiple summoned Heroes is sieging my own castle, while your troops have already failed to stop them. It was centuries when the filthy humans stepped inside my home! What a disgrace!”
Just another cutscene… Okay, I still can’t move, but what about my steel?
“But my lord, I sacrificed all our tribal warriors in an attempt to defend it. Not even one of my kind ran from this battle. The number of Heroes is just too huge, and each of them is bestowed with the power from the Gods,” the battle ogre tried to explain, but was interrupted by a loud shout.
“Silence! There would be already dead if you didn’t come to me. Must I remind you what the royal knights were doing with your dear ogres? Or orcs? Or undead? Or vampires? Dark mages? Demon? They were all marked for complete extermination as a possible threat to “civilized” races. You wanted an all-out war to change the situation, and I gave it to you. Now do your part or I will kill you all before finishing the remnants of your kind!”
Yep, it works. Good. Now I need a very-very thin thread…
“Mercy, my Lord,” the Arch-Lich bowed slightly, “we gathered everything for the Ascension ritual as you wished.”
“And we are still alive, my Lord. There is no chance that they can walk through us while we are holding our weapons,” the orc chief grinned with a wide smile, “I will make them taste my axes. I will create pictures with their blood in your honor, my Lord. I will turn their death into a painful experience that they won’t forget even in the afterlife. The stories about their horrible demise will scare others for centuries. I will…”
Crap, man, we’ve already got it. Do you know where to stop? Wow, I can’t even say anything aloud. Hey, System, it’s not fair!
“I will believe you this LAST time, my Generals. Either you will fulfill this command and stop those insects from interrupting the ritual, or you will perish together with your kind, erased not only from existence but also from the memory of this world!
“My Lord, there is no chance that any walking bags of blood can put any resistance against us, who gained a part of your divine part,” licking her red lips, the vampire spoke in a prideful tone.
“Good. Then I will create portals for each of you to cover all four main directions of the attack. Become an insurmountable obstacle that will stop the humans from reaching me while I conduct the ritual. Only through the Ascension, I can rewrite the rules of the world. But I must remind you that any, even the tiniest distraction, will lead to failure. It will put me in a weakened state, so don’t let it happen, or else forget about your dreams! Are you ready for the final battle, my Generals?”
Glancing around and noticing how everyone lowered their head in the bow, Robert turned his head and focused on his conjured construct that made it way far from himself. Thin as a thread, it used the veins on the marble to cover itself, while stealthily approaching the throne. Going around the pretentiously ugly chair of the main boss, it moved behind the Overlord’s back before rising upwards. The sharp end point of it was already near the ear of the potential Dark God when the latter asked his question. So, when he lazily raised his hand and made a motion with a palm to create four portals, Rob had one thought.
Yes, I am, moron!
“Now go befo…,” Right in the middle of the Overlord’s speech, the steel shot forward, entering the ear of the disguised creature. Robert was already giving another mental command, summoning all available steel through this thin connection just to cover the enemy. The first fraction of a second covered the head, cutting off the last words. Pushed by Rob’s will, it entered the mouth and nostrils, filling every possible spot. The next instant the rest of the sitting body was enveloped from all sizes, putting the main boss inside the huge steel cocoon with a single empty spot. However, the third and the last moment made the dark green metal disappear without a trace as if it was just an illusion.
Robert still managed to notice a completely motionless expression on the Overlord’s face that failed to proceed with what was happening before dissapering under the layer of steel. It was the last thing he saw before the white light covered the sitting figure. The following explosion not only blasted everything away but also destroyed half of the hall, seemingly being intensified by the Overlord himself. Not that Rob could observe anything as the bright flash blinded him, burning his eyes, while the powerful shockwave and heat mutilated his own body, partly turning into ashes. Not to mention the insane backlash from the collapsing all available to him steel.
Surprisingly, the overwhelming pain lasted just a mere second before disappearing without a trace. Robert, on the other hand, found himself in pitch-black nothingness, simply floating before the huge System message that tried to press onto him.
Congratulations! The Tower was completed successfully! For the next thousand years, the world will have immunity before the new trial emerges to confirm your worthiness. You, as a challenger, who killed…
Error! The status of the winner is the Transcendent. The Trial’s results for testing the worthiness of the world become invalid as a non-challenger non-local resident was a winner. Searching a solution…
The Tower gives you two options to choose from:
Option 1. The Tower will reset. You will gain the status of a common challenger. All powers gained inside the Tower before the reset will be gone. All dead challengers will be resurrected. If the Tower is completed again, the world will gain immunity for two thousand years. In this case, you will gain back all powers from the first attempt in addition to the second, even if you aren’t a killer of the Dark God.
Option 2. You will immediately leave the Tower. All gained powers will be yours forever. All dead challengers will stay dead, while all sureties will be released. Another trial will take place in five years. You will be forbidden to participate as a challenger, but not as a surety.
Choose wisely, Transcendent!
Why do you even ask? You already know the answer, System!