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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Entering the Tower
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Clang!
The sound of swords clashing echoed across the clearing.
The ones crossing blades were a group of people.
On one side was Dante, a knight affiliated with the Banpellyon family.
On the other was Volants of Glasis and his squad members.
They had never intended to fight fair and square from the start.
As proof, Dante had been facing them one against many right from the beginning.
It was a situation where chivalry could go to the dogs.
The Glasis knights hadn't treated Dante like a knight from the outset.
"Where'd all that smug attitude go?!"
Volants shouted as he pressed Dante back.
One-on-one might have been different.
But no matter how skilled Dante was, taking on multiple active knights alone was impossible.
As evidence, Dante was barely blocking their swords, breathing raggedly.
He'd taken down a couple, but far too many remained.
"Bring your master here right now to apologize, and maybe I'll let you off!"
Volants taunted him even more.
His swordsmanship might leave something to be desired, but his trash talk was top-tier.
Yet, as if to prove why other families were eyeing him.
Even exhausted, Dante showed no openings and fought back fiercely.
However, their numerical advantage inevitably wore down his stamina.
Dante fought well.
But he couldn't overcome the limits of his endurance.
Clang! Clang!
In the end, Dante's sword was struck by Volants' blade and sent clattering to the ground.
He'd given them an opening while fending off the others.
"Still gonna be stubborn?"
Volants pointed his sword at him.
Seeing Dante—the one always standing tall before him—cornered like this was a sight to behold.
"Right now, even..."
"Volants, shut your mouth."
Dante bellowed through labored breaths.
"No matter what nonsense you spew, I won't tolerate insults to Banpellyon."
A man who forgets favors has no future.
That was the stubborn, steadfast Dante.
"Haha."
Volants looked at him pitifully.
"Then I'll just make sure you never knight again."
Volants raised his sword.
The aura swirling around it targeted none other than Dante's wrist.
He planned to sever the grudge from knight academy days once and for all.
"Farewell."
And just as he swung down...
Thwack!
He went flying through the air.
"Gahk! Blegh."
After soaring far, he tumbled across the ground, vomiting.
His mind reeled from the pain in his gut.
"Vice Captain!"
As the squad members' voices rang out.
A man now stood where Volants had been moments ago.
Sheathing his sword like a club over his shoulder, he dug into his ear.
"I was just watching the kids fight, but you crossed the line."
"Mr. Havel?"
Dante called out his name in shock upon seeing him.
Meanwhile, Volants staggered to his feet.
His organs felt twisted, but.
Fueled by rage at being struck by this stranger, he rose.
"Wow, you've got some tough guts."
Havel gave him curt praise.
A tone clearly looking down on him.
That only fueled Volants' fury more.
"Cough... You bastard, do you know who we are?!"
"Just street thugs, aren't you?"
"St, street thugs?! We're the Meteor Knights of the Glasis family!"
"...Glassis?"
For the first time, Havel paused.
Volants thought he'd been spooked by the name Glasis.
Sneer filled Volants' eyes.
"That's right, Glasis. One of the Five Great Families. Getting the picture now?"
"Glassis is one of the Five Great Families?"
But Havel's reaction was different.
It was as if he'd heard utter nonsense.
"What bullshit is that? Glasis is a vassal family of Banpellyon."
Five families that swore loyalty to Banpellyon a century ago.
One of them was none other than Glasis.
Glassis, one of the Five Great Families?
When their lord Banpellyon had fallen to this state?
"Mr. Havel, how do you..."
Dante was shocked Havel knew that fact.
Glassis being a Banpellyon vassal was their sore spot.
That's why most kept it hushed up even now.
Yet Havel knew and spoke it aloud.
"Wh, what the hell is this lunatic babbling about?"
Volants, oblivious to the truth, looked baffled.
Having no interest in Banpellyon, he cared little for figures from a century ago.
Thus, he didn't even react to the once-forgotten name Havel.
"Ha."
Havel let out a short breath.
He didn't know what was going on, but the situation after 100 years felt off.
"Dante, hiding behind trash like that, no shame...?"
Volants started yelling at the bizarre turn.
"Quiet."
Havel snapped.
His low voice carried raw displeasure.
And that emotion manifested as his presence.
Thud!
He'd merely bared his feelings.
But that alone sealed Volants' and the knights' mouths.
They suddenly couldn't utter a sound.
Cold sweat dripped down their backs.
They couldn't even breathe.
In their eyes loomed a massive beast.
A predator no human could handle.
It stared down at them.
It wasn't just them silenced.
The chirping insects around.
The tiny patter of mice feet.
Even the wind itself.
As if time had stopped, all fell silent.
This scene, from one shout by Havel.
Dante swallowed hard.
What in the world was this?
Volants and the knights' eyes rolled back, nearly fainting.
Havel's unleashed presence had shattered their minds.
A monster.
There was a monster here.
"Dante."
Havel's tone had shifted to command.
"Yes!"
Dante replied loudly, like a knight academy freshman.
It felt like he had to.
"I need to hear what happened between Banpellyon and Glasis."
Like back in his family head days.
Havel turned with domineering presence.
Dante followed immediately.
Thud!
Ignoring the collapsing Volants and knights behind them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Havel heard everything that had transpired from Dante.
The conclusion was simple.
Taking advantage of Havel and the Dawn Knights' absence.
Glassis and the other vassal families had colluded and betrayed them.
'These ungrateful bastards I took in.'
Havel's brow furrowed deeply.
Havel and the Dawn Knights' absence had dragged on.
As a result, the next family head was his younger sister, Aria Banpellyon.
But at the time, Aria was only fifteen.
Too young, she lacked the strength to lead Banpellyon.
Intrigue festered among the vassal families.
'And in the end, they betrayed Banpellyon.'
In the process, Banpellyon was stripped of vast wealth, reduced to this state.
Anger flashed in Havel's eyes.
He wanted to drag them to the guillotine right now.
But the betrayers had long rotted to bones.
That was the regret.
'I gained immortality, escaped the Demonic Palace, but some things are still impossible.'
His revenge targets all dead, vengeance impossible.
What an absurd situation.
"Uh, Mr. Havel."
Then Dante cautiously spoke up.
"What exactly is your identity?"
They'd been effortlessly crushed, looking ridiculous.
But Meteor Knights weren't for just anyone.
Glassis' past aside, they were now one of the Five Great Families.
For mere presence to shatter their minds was abnormal.
Havel looked to the sky.
The world had changed.
A full century had passed.
Everyone saw him as a figure lost to history.
Despite desperately escaping the Demonic Palace.
No one to welcome him back.
'Maybe I...'
That first regression day.
Like others, perhaps he'd died.
"Haa..."
So Havel sighed briefly.
"I am."
And then.
"Havel."
He introduced himself as at the beginning.
"A mercenary hired by Banpellyon."
Like his initial introduction, he had no intention of revealing his true identity.
What mattered to the family wasn't past glory, but the strength to live now.
Dante watched him for a moment.
He couldn't know his circumstances.
Nor why his eyes held such loneliness.
Just that he felt tied to Banpellyon somehow.
'Why?'
A thoroughly suspicious man.
But to overturn the board, you need a wildcard.
Havel seemed just that.
'One thing's certain.'
Havel was strong.
Top among those Dante knew.
Then.
'He might turn Banpellyon into a storm.'
Banpellyon's rise was young lord Arthur's wish.
As his guard knight, he had to make it happen.
That was a knight's role.
Today's events proved it.
He couldn't climb the Tower alone.
"Mr. Havel."
So Dante called to him.
Though he'd already hired him as a mercenary.
This time, with genuine sincerity unlike before.
"Will you climb the Tower with me?"
Havel smiled slowly.
"Yeah. That was the plan from the start."
This time, not for the Empire, but the family.
Havel intended to climb the Tower.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Tower.
That place called one of the Primordial Three Calamities.
The third calamity to appear in the world.
A place countless climbed for honor and wealth.
Byproducts from the Tower brought riches.
Climbers gained honor from battling the Primordial Three Calamities.
Those two drew hordes to the Tower.
Families especially obsessed over it for honor's sake.
Honor was power.
Power drew strength and wealth.
Thus, they hyped the Tower relentlessly.
"He who conquers the Tower conquers the world."
Such rumors solidified their own power.
And now, Havel and Dante stood before that Tower.
They'd talked last night and set out at dawn.
"You can enter the Tower and come back out?"
"Yes. Same for the other calamities."
Havel looked baffled.
'Am I cursed with every worldly misfortune?'
For a moment, he felt like a sage.
Some got trapped inside forever.
Others came and went freely.
'Life.'
Over a century lived, yet life's vanity remained.
"Why the long face?"
"Nothing."
Havel shook off the thought.
One clear difference: unlike the Demonic Palace, a city surrounded the Tower.
The Tower in the mountains.
The city carved into the slopes around it.
City name: Babel.
A city thriving solely on Tower byproducts.
More bustling than ever.
Where heroes rose and fell.
Some called Babel the city where the sun rises.
"We're going in."
Dante led, and Havel nodded.
The Tower's entrance came into Havel's view.
'Exquisite. Feels entirely man-made.'
Unlike the Demonic Palace abandoned in the forest.
The Tower resembled a meticulously carved artwork.
Especially the angel and demon statues at the entrance amplified that vibe.
Thus, as Havel and Dante entered the Tower.
Just like his first step into the Demonic Palace.
A strange sensation swept over him.
'Still not used to this feeling.'
Havel grumbled, looking up.
Then, a path of blue bricks appeared before his eyes.
This was the 1st Hierarchy, encompassing floors 1 through 10 of the Tower.
The Trial Corridor.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The master of the Demonic Palace's 10th Hierarchy has entered the Tower's 1st floor.] [Achievement 'Tower Challenger' registered.]
'Huh?'
They were the letters from the day he exited the Demonic Palace.
He'd ignored them after Fenril, but here they were again.
'Like with Fenril, tied to calamities?'
Was he tangled in something more troublesome than expected?
"Mr. Havel."
As Havel pondered, Dante's voice came.
Before them swarmed man-sized rats.
"Squeak, squeak!"
Giant rats that preyed on humans.
They eyed Havel and Dante as today's meal.
Tower newbie Dante tensed into stance.
But Havel just tilted his head.
'What're these rat punks?'
Weak—way too weak.