Chapter 236: Seven Layers
Far away from the screaming civilians and panicked Climbers, the hooded figures gathered in a hidden clearing. Their heavy grey hoods were finally pulled back, revealing their true appearances beneath.
They were not human. Their skin was a pale, sickly blue, like the sky just before a cold dawn. Small, sharp black horns curled out from their foreheads. Their dark eyes completely lacked pupils, making their gaze feel hollow and wrong.
The female figure was on her knees. Her hands were pressed flat against the cold dirt. She was shaking uncontrollably.
"Su... Superior-Class Tower?!"
Her voice cracked. She stared up at the glowing red System notification that hovered in the air before every single person in the Tower.
[SUPERIOR-CLASS TOWER: LORD CREATION]
[FIELD TYPE TOWER: 7 LAYERS]
The bulky leader stood completely firm. He stared at the red text. Then he looked at the other figures, and then back at the notification.
"Get up," he said.
The female figure didn’t move. "We summoned a Superior-Class Tower. We’re trapped inside. With thousands of weak civilians. We—"
"I said get up."
His voice was freezing cold. She flinched, but she slowly pushed herself to her feet.
The bulky leader turned to look at the other seven figures. His voice remained totally steady, betraying no panic.
"This Tower is not natural," he said. "It was created by our ritual. It is artificial."
He paused, letting the others listen.
"Artificial Towers are less lethal than natural ones. The Babel System does not fully control them. They are glitchy. They are unstable. That means we actually have a chance."
One of the other blue-skinned figures spoke up. "A chance for what?"
"For what we came here to do." The bulky leader pointed a thick finger at the red notification. "The hint is right there in the name. ’Lord Creation.’ The Lord is still being created. It is not complete yet. If we can reach the final layer, if we clear this Tower, the Lord will be ours."
"Probably," the female figure muttered under her breath.
The bulky leader ignored her. "We have come way too far to stop now. We have lost our world. We have lost everything. But we will not lose this. We will claim the Lord. We will gain the power we deserve."
The other figures exchanged quiet glances in the dark. Then, one by one, they nodded.
"Agreed."
---
Across the forest, Nathan stood in a tight circle with the other party leaders.
Kaito Shimizu. Arthur Reinhardt. Han Seo-jun. Long Wei. Amara Okoye. Representatives from the top teams in the world. All around them, thousands of civilians huddled together in the silver grass, frightened and confused. The uninjured Climbers were already moving through the crowds, offering what comfort and basic healing they could.
Nathan looked up at the red System notification again.
[SUPERIOR-CLASS TOWER: LORD CREATION]
[FIELD TYPE TOWER: 7 LAYERS]
Kaito spoke first, his hand resting on his sword hilt. "Lord Creation. What even is that? Anybody familiar with the lore of this Tower? Even a little?"
The circle was dead silent.
Arthur shook his head. "I’ve studied Tower lore my entire life. I’ve read the oldest records in the north. I’ve never heard of a Tower called Lord Creation."
Han Seo-jun spoke up quietly. "The Southern Republic has extensive digital archives on Tower spawns. I’ve read them all. There is absolutely no record of this Tower."
Long Wei frowned, crossing his thick arms. "The Western Federation has ancient texts gotten from towers... Some of them seem to predate the Towers themselves. But none of them mention a Tower called Lord Creation."
Amara closed her eyes. The translucent spirits swirled anxiously around her shoulders. She listened for a moment, then opened her eyes.
"The spirits are afraid," Amara said. "They say this Tower is not natural. It was made. By someone. For something. They just don’t know what."
Nathan stayed quiet.
His mind was racing.
Lord.
The word echoed loudly in his memory. The Pale Shepherd Lord. The title the Shepherd had taken for himself. The rank he had claimed within the Babel System. "Lord" wasn’t just a monster tier; it was a special distinction. A rank of absolute power. And this Tower was literally called "Lord Creation."
Could this be tied to the Shepherd?
Nathan briefly met the eyes of his party members standing just outside the leader circle.
Elise. Garrett. Dillon. Smithy. They all knew exactly what he was thinking. They all remembered the Shepherd’s past. The horrifying vision Nathan had shared with them. The dark truth about Babel and the Lords that ran it.
But the others didn’t know. Kaito, Arthur, Amara—they didn’t know anything about the Shepherd’s past. They didn’t know about the Lords. And they certainly didn’t know everything about Nathan’s Overlord subclass.
For now, he needed to keep it that way.
Nathan spoke carefully to the group of champions. "We don’t know what Lord Creation means. But we know we’re trapped. We know there are thousands of civilians relying on us. We know there are seven layers between us and the exit."
He paused, looking at each of the leaders.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"We need to focus on survival right now. We need to protect the civilians. We need to find a way out of this forest. We can figure out what ’Lord Creation’ means later."
Kaito nodded sharply. "Hmm, Agreed."
Arthur pounded a fist against his chest plate. "We work together."
Amara nodded. "The spirits will help guide us."
The other leaders quickly voiced their agreement. The meeting ended, and the champions scattered to organize the terrified crowds.
Nathan immediately pulled his party aside.
"We need to talk."
They gathered in a quiet, shadowed corner of the glowing silver forest. The summons sat in their small bunny forms on the ground, listening closely.
"The Shepherd was a Lord," Nathan said quietly, making sure no one else was close enough to hear. "A Lord of Babel. This Tower is called ’Lord Creation.’ That is not a coincidence."
Elise frowned. "You think this Tower is connected to the Shepherd?"
"I think it’s connected to the Lords. To Babel. To everything we’ve been fighting in the dark."
Smithy pushed his glasses up. "The hooded figures summoned this Tower. They wanted to create a Lord, maybe? They wanted power. But it looks like they didn’t get what they wanted."
"We don’t know that yet," Garrett warned, gripping Volcan.
"We know enough," Nathan said, looking around his party. "We keep this to ourselves. For now. We don’t tell Kaito. We don’t tell Arthur. We don’t tell Amara. We don’t tell anyone. The Lords are a massive secret, and we can’t afford to share it until we understand exactly what we’re dealing with."
Dillon nodded, his face serious. "Agreed."
Garrett nodded. "Agreed."
Elise nodded. "Agreed."
Smithy nodded. "Agreed."
Nathan looked down at his summons. Mirko, Kuro, Shiro, and Ororo.
’Agreed,’ Mirko said through the link.
’Agreed,’ Kuro echoed.
’Agreed,’ Shiro chimed in.
’Agreed,’ Ororo added softly.
Nathan nodded, drawing Moonlight from his back. "Then we move to clear the first layer. We protect the civilians. And we figure out what this ’Lord Creation’ really means."