The shadows attacked fiercely. They were many to begin with, and as if they were planning to smother their enemies with sheer numbers, they poured in continuously without any signs of stopping. The shadows on the upper floor attacked them before they could take the next set of stairs, and the shadows they left behind didn’t stop chasing even after they climbed those stairs. They were perfectly trapped in between enemies.

These shadows were not strong individually. Zich and his companions were incomparably stronger than them, and they weren’t running away because the shadows posed a real threat but simply because they didn’t want to waste strength on creatures that were chasing after them for who knew how long. Yet, it was true that they were bothersome. 

Leona shot her arrows at the shadows running at them from the front. After checking that the shadows had been extinguished, Leona pulled apart the arrow container she had been holding and threw it away. The container was empty, so she took out another container from her magic box and nocked another arrow. Then, she shot again. There was no hesitation in her aim, and she had plenty of arrows in the magic box. 

Baaaam! The fire sparks shooting out of Walwiss’ staff wiped away a whole cluster of shadows, and an empty space formed inside a room that had been blackened with shadows. Shadows filled the space instantly, but that was still enough time for Zich and his companions to go to the next floor—where not only shadows waited for them, but also a number of the same golems they had already defeated dozens of. 

Of course, just because those two gathered forces did not mean that they could block Zich and his companions. The party simply crushed the golems and blasted apart the shadows. And many floors higher, the party finally reached an empty room.

“There are no more enemies,” Til stated plainly.

“I’m glad to hear that. Does that mean we’re done climbing?” Walwiss asked. Yet, Leona crushed his hopes the next moment.

“As if. If you think about the height of the tower that we saw from outside, we’re not even halfway up yet.”

“Damn it. Don’t crush an old man’s hope so mercilessly.”

“Futile hope will just result in pain.”

“Wow, we have some elf sage here.”

“Isn’t it time for you to grow up instead?”

Yet, the party didn’t move rashly in front of the next set of stairs. Why had their enemies vigorously chasing after them like an army of ants at the sight of food suddenly disappeared just because they had arrived on this floor? It was truly strange, and they knew that any abnormalities that appeared in enemy territories weren’t a good omen.

Pop! There was an explosion coming from the stairs before them. The shadows that chased after them were wiped away by the light emitted by Estellade. Although no new enemies appeared, the enemies chasing after them were still following them.

“I will take the lead from here on out,” Zich said and stepped up from the back of the party to the front. Til naturally replaced Zich at the back and dealt with the shadows and golems climbing up to their current floor.

“What is here?”

“It’s a trap.”

“I don’t think a common trap would exist in a place like this…is this black magic?”

“Yes.”

Curiosity filled Walwiss’ eyes again, but his face was soon overcast with a deep sense of anguish. “Yup, I’m sure of it now. I am the saddest mage in the entire world.”

“Then, let’s go!” Zich shouted.

“You guys don’t even respond to an old man’s grumbling anymore. Is that why a person should die when they get too old?” Walwiss lamented while Zich dashed forward. In that instant, a great amount of mana began to whirl around them, and the tension of the party soared. In particular, Walwiss—whose sensitivity to mana was almost as high as Zich's due to being a mage—gave up on the carefree tone he had used just a second before and gripped his staff tightly with a solemn expression on his face.

Still, that didn’t mean his great desire for research had disappeared. “Damn it! There are only things that I want to research…”

Wiiiing! The mana flowing from the tower's outer walls strayed away from its original path and began to pour inside. On the floors, there were shining magic circles, letting their existence known.

“It’s probably flame magic! Be careful!” Walwiss said while raising his voice and shaking his staff.

Shaaaaa! In an instant, the floor they were on was swept by a wave of fire. Sparks popped up from the ground in tide-like waves, and fog covered the ceiling like dark clouds. Between the sparks on the floor and the fog at the ceiling, a tornado of fire whirled wildly. Yet, the fire failed to swallow up Zich’s party.

Crunch! Mana flowing out of Walwiss’ staff formed a giant ice wall. 

Baaam! Flames clashed roughly against the ice wall. Its surface melted and gradually cracked more and more. Walwiss moved to use another spell when a light sparkled. 

Baaam! A strong shockwave swept the surroundings and pushed the fire sparks, heat, and Walwiss’ ice wall far away. Zich glanced at the flames that had escaped far away and rested Estellade on his shoulder.

“Let’s run.” Zich’s party quickly moved to the next set of stairs. The flame continued to chase after them as if it was intent on not losing them, but it was too late. In the end, it aggressively burned the shadows and golems chasing after them and then settled down. 

While looking at the remains of shadows that burst in the air and the melted golem body parts, Lubella shook her head.

“I now understand why they didn’t set up any defense at the tower door. Most humans wouldn’t be able to survive against these shadows, golems, or traps. They would die immediately.”

***

Zich’s party went up the tower. Traps continued to be activated on every floor, but Zich’s party broke through all of them. Some of the enemies reappeared on the floors, but Zich’s party also went right through them. The more they climbed, the level of the traps became higher, but there was nothing beyond what Zich’s party could handle.

“Oh wow, we finally reached a place that looks livable.” Like Walwiss said, the place they had arrived at wasn’t just one big space without any pillars or walls. They saw a straight corridor in front of the stairs, which led to several passages and doors on both sides.

“Is this the living space of those Bellid bastards?” Lubella looked at the doors with a disgusted gaze as if she was looking at a house full of cockroaches. Anyone could see that her eyes were filled with the intense desire to throw a fireball at each door and set the whole place on fire.

“That’s probably the case, but it’s probably empty right now.” Zich kicked one of the doors near him. The door was smashed, and the inside of the room came into view. A space with some traces of human living was revealed, but there was no one inside.

“They might still be able to ambush us here and there. Let’s tread carefully,” Zich said.

“All right,” Lubella answered.

Even though it was a new type of structure, this floor was the same as all the other floors since enemies continued attacking them and traps were installed in hidden places. Moreover, just as Zich had predicted, some people suddenly jumped out of a room and ambushed them. The newly emerged walls and columns also hindered Zich’s party. Unlike the lower floors, where they merely had to go straight to the stairs on the opposite side, the pillars and walls often blocked the path to the next set of stairs. However, the party soon found a solution to the pillars and columns blocking their path.

Bamm! Zich’s fist shattered the wall. They could see the stairs leading up through the open wall.

“It seems like these walls and columns can be destroyed, and the location of the stairs is the same as before. There’s no need to go around it since we can break through it and move forward in a straight line,” Zich said in a very refreshing tone and took the lead. The others were also all used to Zich’s behavior, so they calmly stepped over the remains of the wall and pressed forward.

Leona recalled her past traveling days with Zich and sentimentally said, “Come to think of it, we never followed the normal path when I traveled with Zich.”

* * *

Boom! Boooom! Boom!

“Ugh…!” 

In a dark place without a sliver of light, a groan full of pain filled the area. 

Someone was tied to a chair. Dried blood was stuck everywhere on his body, and his hair was messy and disheveled. His face was so swollen that he couldn’t even open his eyes properly. However, there was no need for him to open his eyes—because his eyes were no longer attached to his body. The blood dripping from his ears also indicated that he had lost his sense of hearing. His nails and toenails were no longer in their original places, and all of his tendons had been cut off. He was the perfect image of a helpless captive—and he was Glen Zenard. Even though Glen Zenard used to once plot all kinds of conspiracies and aim for the position of the world’s greatest hero, he was so broken that he couldn’t even control his own body anymore.

“Uahhhhhh…!” Glen moved his mouth. He tried to say something, but he couldn’t pronounce the words properly; unless his severed tongue was reattached, he would never be able to talk again. 

While all other sensory organs had been compromised, his sense of touch was still functioning normally. A gentle vibration stimulated this last remaining sense.

Boom! Boom! The sounds gradually grew louder and louder. The sound of something crashing and colliding came closer.

“Uahhhh…!” However, Glen showed no signs of movement. He couldn’t hear any sounds anymore, and the gentle vibrations he felt were meaningless to him. While being swallowed up by the darkness, the only thing Glen could do was keep groaning like an animal.

* * *

Baaaaam! Estellade scattered the lightning darting towards them, and Zich kicked the golem swinging an ax.

Crunch! Zick’s kick, infused with mana, turned the golem into a heap of scrap and splattered it on the floor. The front was now open, and they saw the stairs to the next floor. 

Zich ran up the stairs in an instant. He wondered what would be the first thing to greet him on the next floor. Shadows? Golems? Or another trap? 

However, none of those were the answers. A huge door greeted Zich when he reached the top. The elaborate and intricately decorated door made it obvious from a glance that this place was of extreme importance in the tower.

‘We’ve arrived.’ There was no need to hesitate. Zich kicked the door as he had done so far.

“Tch, tch! Such a violent guy. I didn’t lock it, so you could have just quietly opened it.”

Zich heard a voice full of disapproval, and he laughed with his teeth showing. “Then why didn’t you leave the tower’s door unlocked in the first place?”

“Yeah, that’s true too. That’s definitely my fault.”

“Well, even if the tower’s door was open, I would have still kicked this door in the same way.”

“As expected. Then I guess it’s not my fault.”

“No, it is your fault.”

“I don’t understand. You said you’d break the door regardless of whether I lock it or not. So then, what is my fault?”

“Everything is. From beginning to end, all of it!” Zich shouted at the man he was looking for. “All of it is your fault, Ultel!”