Episode 77. The Future of the Black Tower (1)
Killian asked.
“Why do you have an aura, kid?”
Killian grabbed the bottle. His eyes were filled with cold hostility, but Rubin was calm. He pulled up a chair and sat down across from Killian.
“Okay, I’ll answer.”
This was an exchange of information. Rubin wanted to know about the six-star realm he had felt in the arena. The undetectable darkness was ridiculous.
If I could figure out whether it was Killian’s unique ability or a trait that only the 6-star Darkness possessed, I could give away one of Rubin’s hidden secrets. Of course, with a little bit of work.
“Is there something I don’t know? Have you found a way for the dark and the aura to coexist in your home?”
“No, it would have been better if that had been the case.”
“Then that means you’re a mutant.”
Gulp, gulp. Killian brought the bottle to his lips and drank it down. Even so, his hazy eyes were fixed on Rubin.
“Kha… … !”
A familiar scent of alcohol wafted from the blue glass bottle that Killian had placed on the table.
Rubin’s nanny, Purée, also occasionally sipped the special liquor of the Roinen family, ‘Oakum’. It was a liquor made with patchouli and blueberries. Killian seemed to have brewed it himself while living in the Black Tower.
There were over a hundred bottles of oasum on the table, and dozens of empty bottles were scattered about on the floor as well.
Killian opened his mouth.
“Darkness and Aura, both are in the same realm of nothingness, but they take different paths.”
Aura is the power to cohere into a ‘point outside the body’.
Darkness is the power to ‘spread inside and outside the body.’
To be more precise, Aura is a power that can be focused only on weapons, while Darkness is a power that can be spread outside the body, including to body parts.
“Theoretically, the aura can only be manifested when the sword is naturally infused into the body. But isn’t there an essential condition for that?”
“… … .”
“That means you have to be someone who is free from all shadows.”
It is said that those who have dark smoke cannot manifest aura. In reality, these two, which have different natures, do not reject each other, but they can never be contained in one ring. It can be seen as the relationship between water and oil.
This was the concept Killian had been holding onto all this time. But today, after witnessing Rubin emitting a black aura in the middle of the arena, it all came crashing down.
“What the hell are you?”
The gaze looking at Rubin was not kind. It was as if he was looking at someone who should not exist in the world. Rubin answered indifferently.
“It’s thanks to the dark side.”
“what?”
“It’s because of the darkness that I can manifest my aura.”
Killian, not understanding Rubin’s answer, raised one eyebrow and hiccupped nervously.
It’s impossible for an aura to exist because of the darkness, but it’s said that the aura was created because of the darkness. I couldn’t help but think it was a pun.
“… … ?”
At that moment, Killian doubted his own senses, because he sensed ‘two layers’ of darkness from Rubin.
‘Not one, but two?’
At first, I thought it was Kuze’s dark side because I couldn’t believe it. However, Kuze sensed his dark side separately.
“What kind of trick are you playing now?”
It was natural to think of it as a trick. The concept of a double layer of darkness did not make sense to Killian, who had lived as a vassal of the Assassin Sword Family for half a century.
One body, one ring. This was the way of nature.
If that’s the case, then this kid was a mutant and a strange species, meaning that two layers of darkness were embedded in one ring. It was more believable that one sun was split into two.
Rubin, on the other hand, was calm. He revealed his two dark sides without hiding anything, and made Killian accept the reality. Of course, he mixed in some lies.
“I can split the darkness into two layers.”
“what?”
“One is 4 stars, the other is 3 stars.”
The added remark was true.
The dark aura I gained while being reborn is now 4 stars.
Before returning, the Darkness was originally a 5-star, but now that only about 60% of it can be used, it would be more correct to say it is a 3-star.
“What the hell is this?”
But, even Killian could sense it.
Eventually he had no choice but to accept that there was no trickery here, and that he had not been mistaken. He was so dumbfounded that he almost burst out laughing.
“Oh my. Splitting the dark smoke in two? Dark smoke is not like a piece of candy. I’ve never heard of something like that before. Why don’t you just say there are two rings instead?”
Although it stung, Rubin hid his feelings. He thought that if he told the truth about the three rings, they might try to dissect him.
“Then what the heck is an aura? You can use an aura thanks to the dark side?”
“I don’t know about that. I think a small crack appeared in the ring while splitting the dark smoke.”
“Darkness and aura in one ring? Ha! Now I want to believe whatever you say. The siren gave birth to a monster. Dividing one into three, is that something like that?”
“Well, maybe it will stay for a while and then evaporate.”
Rubin shrugged.
“Instead, the two dark sides are separate. They cannot be combined.”
The two layers of darkness are like the left and right arms, for example. They can perform different roles, but they cannot become one.
If they could combine, Rubin’s Darkness would have become 7 stars in one breath. Then he wouldn’t have been defeated by Killian in vain.
Was it a blessing or a curse? Killian couldn’t decide. He just stared at the phenomenon for the first time, his eyes sparkling with curiosity like a child.
“Isn’t it completely impossible? Combining the two dark forces? If they coexist while splitting into one ring, it might be possible.”
“There won’t be any.”
As Killian said, it might be possible if there were two layers of darkness in one ring.
But they are two separate dark smokes contained in two rings. Combining them is dangerous and the results are unpredictable.
‘That doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible, though.’
Rubin recalled an incident at Gillyfield Arboretum, when he had injected pure ash into a misty tree, and there had been a brief moment when the two ash trees had mingled.
‘But that place was like the origin of darkness.’
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I didn’t think it was something I could do anywhere, anytime. At least not yet.
“And I think it’s better if we don’t merge.”
“Why is that so?”
“Someday, I will make both of them reach 6 stars.”
“Ha, how cheeky.”
Gulp, gulp. Killian took another sip of Oakum. Haha, his expression was not bright as he smiled bitterly.
Darkness is the source of assassins. It is used for alertness, exploration, and detection.
On the other hand, it expands the limits of the body at every moment of battle. It sharpens dull senses like a sheet of paper, and wraps around body parts to amplify strength.
However, there is an absolute amount of dark smoke. When you spread dark smoke widely and are on guard, there will be less dark smoke to cover that part of your body. This means that you must move while calculating the total amount of dark smoke carefully.
So Rubin’s idea was efficient. It was much more beneficial in terms of usability to raise each dark realm than to integrate them into one and reach a higher level.
‘But that’s only up to 5 stars. If they both become 6 stars… … .’
Killian’s face contorted as if a painful memory had come back to him. He quickly grabbed the bottle of Oakum and drank it in gulps.
“Hey, kid.”
“… … ?”
“Why do you think I drink?”
“Because you like alcohol? I think you like Oakum in particular.”
“Heh heh, it’s true that I like Oakum. But that’s not the only reason.”
Killian finished drinking and laid the empty bottle on the floor, rolling it around meaninglessly. The bottle rolled away and hit the wall before stopping.
“Anyway, Siren seems to be quite indifferent to her own son. You just said that you would both achieve six stars, didn’t you?”
Rubin nodded.
Of course, it won’t be easy. Even geniuses who went from 1 star to 5 star in 10 years often didn’t reach 6 star until they died of old age.
That is why the six-star realm was also called ‘God’s play.’
But it’s not entirely impossible.
As he was reborn, the path to growth that had been blocked in his previous life was opened up. Rubin was experiencing explosive growth.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. If you have to be a 6-star to handle a flawless dark smoke like yours, then you should do so even more so.”
“Okay, kid. Then tell me honestly. Tell me how I am right now.”
“situation?”
“What you just said was ‘the perfect darkness’. I call it ‘the bitter darkness’.”
The Darkness of the Cold? It was a name I had never heard before. However, since naming things is up to the individual, I thought it didn’t have much meaning.
however.
“Remember, I’m going to tell you something that even the Sirens won’t tell you. When the darkness reaches the sixth star, there will be a price to pay. A price you can’t avoid.”
The price? Rubin waited for the next words. I had no idea. I thought it was just getting stronger.
“You will receive a reward only after paying a heavy price. The reward your dark side will receive.”
Does that mean that if you overcome hardship, you will gain something stronger? Killian snickered as if he had read my curiosity.
“Are you curious? Let me explain. When I became a 6-star, I ‘successfully’ paid the price. Thanks to that, I gained the ‘undetectable darkness’ from other assassins. It’s a kind of trait, you know?”
Traits. Enhanced Darkness. It seemed like they were talking about something like that. It was understood that if you were a 6-star, and paid the price, you would get these special perks.
“Can you reveal something like that so easily? It could be your weakness.”
Killian laughs heartily as if it’s a good idea.
“Why, do you think I would be beheaded by a brat like you? Who would think I’m the son of a siren?”
Rubin was able to laugh along because it wasn’t a joke that felt malicious. Rubin regained control of the conversation.
“Is that trait different for each person?”
“Oh, that’s quite a lot. Yes, that’s right. Your mother is probably… completely different from me.”
“So that means you don’t know either.”
“Yes. I haven’t sparred with a Siren since I became a 6-star. Their characteristics vary greatly from person to person, so I can’t even guess.”
“Then, the ‘price’ would be different for each person?”
Killian nodded. Then he opened a new bottle of Oakum. He couldn’t even guess how many bottles he had already had.
Suddenly, Rubin remembered the question Killian had asked.
The question of why one thinks one drinks alcohol.
When I asked him, he gave me a clear answer.
“To forget the pain. You said it was a price, but it would be better to call it a ‘curse’. It’s that painful.”
“What kind of pain is it?”
“I live each day feeling as if my insides are frozen solid. Siren probably lives with a curse that is similar to mine or even more painful.”
The excruciating pain he had been suffering from for so long. Killian wanted to show it to these rookie assassins. Even if it meant cutting himself in half.
If you see that, no one will be able to pull out the 6-star ‘ㅇ’.
Every moment he was awake, a chill pierced through his body. Killian had to endure the extreme pain, as if a cold field of snow was spreading out beneath his skin.
The Continent’s famous doctor, the master of healing magic, and the assassin’s swordsman were of no use. Only the alcohol with a high alcohol content, Oakum, could bring a momentary peace.
Could this little boy bear such pain?
“I have two dark powers. When I become a 6-star, I will have two curses as well.”
“Ha! Are you feeling a little scared now? This isn’t a pain that just anyone can bear… … .”
“doesn’t care.”
Rubin’s soft words echoed throughout the room.
“what?”
“I don’t care about curses like that.”
“… You little brat who can’t see even an inch ahead. You can say that now. But later, you’ll come to me and beg me. Tell me I was wrong. Tell me to please end this suffering.”
Rubin shrugged. He wasn’t bragging. He really didn’t care if that day came.
Especially after he had completed his revenge on Telmah. He had been ready to laugh and enjoy any pain for a long time.
Rather, his heart pounded. What Rubin was seeing now were not two curses, but two rewards.
‘They are two different characteristics.’
My mouth is watering.
What characteristics will you gain?
And how to utilize it.
“Killian. If you’re just asking me to put you out of your misery, then you can whine all you want. I’ll fight you in a proper fight someday and I’ll make it happen.”
Killian chuckled at those words, but at the same time felt strange. It was just the words of a little kid, but strangely enough, it was comforting.
Even that tone of voice, those eyes.
It strangely overlaps with Siren’s childhood appearance. The bold mother and son’s appearance gave me a brief moment of relief from the cold, as if I had drunk oasum.
‘… Anyway, the Roinen bloodline.’
After the information that needed to be obtained from each other has been exchanged.
Now it was time to reveal the original purpose. As Rubin took out the letter, Killian stroked his short beard and spoke softly.
“Ahem, that must be a letter from the mayor.”
As expected. I expected that since it was Killian disguised for the brawl.
In fact, Killian had been preparing since Rubin met the mayor last night. He didn’t know what they talked about, but he had the idea that he might come to the Black Tower.
It was easy to convince Yorick. He was bored to death day after day. The head of the beheading team, Killian, was willing to participate in the fight himself, wearing a lion’s head. There was no way he could turn down such a thrilling spectacle.
“So you’ve finally decided. Here, take it.”
After reading the letter, Killian placed it down on the table indifferently. Thanks to this, Rubin was able to check its contents.
It was engraved with the magical seal of Amret, and behind it were written just two sentences.
-Kill Yorick. Send his body to the White Tower.
“When are you going to run it?”
“Yorik is a six-star necromancer. He’s a nasty guy who deals with negative mana. He’s not ordinary. His subordinates are also just guys who do the same thing.”
He said that, but he didn’t seem to think it was an impossible mission. Instead, Killian sipped Oakum and hummed softly.
“It’s finally time to get out of this damn black zone.”
Rubin asked sarcastically.
“So when? Could it be after the death row lottery?”
Once a week, when the snow of atonement falls, there is a lottery drawing for the death row inmates. So, there are only a few days left.
“Probably so.”
Rubin thought for a moment.
Should I tell you what’s going to happen next?
The fact that Amret has decided who will be chosen as the death row inmate in this drawing is none other than Killian.
This triggers a conditional mission that will kill both Yorick and Amret.
‘Let’s stop. It’s going to happen anyway, whether I intervene or not.’
Rubin, who had decided this, told Killian that he would use the base warehouse. Although he was called the Chief of the Black Tower, his original role was as the manager of the Assassination Blade base warehouse. He smiled.
“In the warehouse? You caught me, dude. I just had a pile of supplies and was planning to ship them out next month.”
“Oh really? That’s good.”
The weapons in the base warehouse are taken out to the main house and collateral branches at a certain time. It was a perfect time to visit. You can also get the items that are only available here.
Before going down to the basement of the mansion, Killian called out to Kuze, who was standing on one side.
“Hey! Lesser Roynenser! You come with me.”
