The final Core cracked… then shattered completely.
Tssh—
A short hissing sound rang out, like the last breath of an old machine finally giving up. The red pulse inside the pillar went out, the mechanical runes on the walls dimmed one by one, and the blades that had been ready to mince me froze in midair before finally retracting back to their original positions.
Silence.
A silence so sudden that my ears rang.
I stood there, panting in the middle of the arena, both hands braced on my knees. Sweat dripped onto the metal floor, now cold and lifeless.
"…Done?" I muttered, barely believing it.
As if answering that question, a system notification appeared before me.
[Congratulations, you have successfully overcome the challenge of the Master of Trap, Kaleon]
[You have gained the respect of Kaleon]
[You have been granted a reward by Kaleon]
[Red Core has been added to your inventory]
I blinked.
"…Huh?"
Master of Trap?
I hadn't even finished processing it when another mechanical sound echoed. From the opposite side of the room, a massive door—previously hidden behind the wall—slowly opened. Soft light poured out, revealing a stone altar standing quietly, as if it had been waiting for me from the very beginning.
I stared at it for a few seconds.
Then I laughed softly.
"Hahaha…"
Not a triumphant, explosive laugh. More like a laugh of relief—the laugh of someone who had just realized he was still alive after brushing against death too many times.
And right after that, I felt it.
Klik.
Something inside me opened.
A flow that had been cut off reconnected. The heaviness binding my body vanished in an instant. Qi flowed once more, skills that had been locked responded like limbs receiving signals again.
My power… returned.
And not just that.
More notifications appeared.
[Floor conquest confirmed]
[Universal Gacha Ticket x4 obtained]
"…Four?" my eyebrow lifted. "Not bad."
I let out a long breath, this time truly relieved. My body was still tired, but it felt different—lighter, more whole. However, there was one more thing that caught my attention.
Red Core.
Curiosity overcame exhaustion. I opened the system inventory and took the item out.
A dark-red sphere, perfectly sized for my palm. Its surface was smooth, almost crystalline, but it didn't reflect light normally. From the outside, it looked… ordinary.
"Yeah, this is just an ordinary round object…" I muttered.
Then—
"Wait."
The moment I focused my senses, a strange sensation struck immediately. From within the Red Core flowed an energy that was extremely dense. Not qi, not pure magic, but something more raw—more feral.
Energy from a dimensional rift.
So abundant it made the skin on my arms prickle.
"…Oh," my voice dropped. "Oh, this is… good."
The corner of my lips lifted, and the laughter spilled out before I could stop it.
"Hahahaha!!"
Finally.
This was it.
Not just a floor reward. Not merely a rare item.
This was raw material I could use to go further—to strengthen myself before the great storm arrived.
However—
My body reminded me of one important thing.
That mental fatigue was real. My head felt heavy, my thoughts were starting to dull. If I forced it now, I'd only end up making a stupid mistake.
I exhaled and stored the Red Core away again.
"Alright," I murmured softly. "This one later."
I glanced at the altar once more, then turned around.
"Time to go home."
My small hut might be simple, but right now… it sounded like heaven. I would rest, steady my breathing, and lay out my plans.
Because after floor 40—
I was no longer standing on the same starting line as before.
...
In contrast to what happened inside the Tower, the real world moved along its own path—a path already steeped in the stench of blood, betrayal, and barely concealed malice.
Earlier, Freed Selzen should have been dead.
At least, that was what many believed.
A brief yet brutal battle with a masked figure calling himself Cheon Ma had shattered Freed's psyche. The light sword he once took pride in was destroyed, his body grievously wounded, and for the first time in a long while, the "rogue" exorcist felt something he rarely admitted—
fear.
But Freed Selzen was like a cockroach.
Half-dead, he fled into the darkness, leaving behind a trail of blood that was eventually washed away by the night rain. He lived. Wounded. And most importantly—still usable.
Because the problem in Kuoh had long surpassed that of a mere mad killer.
Betrayal had surfaced from within the Church itself.
Valper Galilei.
And behind him, the true mastermind—
Kokabiel, a high-ranking Fallen Angel who should have been sealed since the Great War.
Kokabiel's presence in Kuoh changed everything.
For the devil faction, this was no longer a minor incident or a gray-area territorial conflict. This was a high-level threat. Kuoh City lay under the management of the Gremory clan—and if something happened here, the responsibility fell directly upon its heir.
Because of that, Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri could no longer remain idle.
All day long, both factions mobilized.
Peerages were deployed. Information was gathered. Abnormal auras were tracked. Every corner of the city was combed—shopping districts, abandoned buildings, even forest areas rarely touched by humans.
But Kokabiel and his allies left no easy trail to follow.
Until that afternoon—
A faint aura was detected from the direction of the forest.
Rias and Sona arrived almost simultaneously, bringing their peerages with them. And there, they found her.
Irina Shidou.
Her body lay on the ground, her nun's clothes torn and soaked in blood. She was still breathing, but shallowly. The wounds on her arms were clearly not caused by wild animals—but by holy weapons used brutally.
"Irina…!" Issei reflexively stepped forward, his face pale.
Rias knelt beside the girl, her expression hardening. "She's alive. But her condition is bad."
Something felt… wrong.
The forest was too quiet. Too neat. There were no signs of further struggle, as if Irina had been deliberately left there.
And just as Rias reached out to lift Irina's body—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of applause echoed from behind the trees.
"Well done, Heir of Gremory."
A black-winged figure descended slowly from the air, his smile wide and full of mockery. His aura pressed down on the forest instantly—heavy, cold, and brimming with intent for war.
Kokabiel.
At the same time, two figures emerged from the shadows.
A blond man with a crazed smile—Freed Selzen, his body still wrapped in rough bandages.
And a wild-eyed man with a fanatical expression—Valper Galilei.
"You arrived right on time," Kokabiel continued casually. "I was starting to worry the bait wouldn't be interesting enough."
Sona clenched her fist. "Kokabiel… so it really was you behind all of this."
"Of course," he replied lightly. "Wouldn't it be boring if this world were too peaceful?"
Rias slowly stood, positioning herself protectively in front of Irina. "Trespassing into our territory without permission, involving Church traitors, and harming innocent humans… what is your true objective?"
Kokabiel chuckled. "Objective? Simple."
His black wings spread wide.
"War."
The pressure of his aura surged. The peerages immediately braced themselves. Issei held his breath, Kiba gripped his sword, Koneko lowered her stance, and Saji stood in front of Sona with a tense expression.
//--//
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