Chapter 143: The Silent Queen
[Ding! You have entered Floor 98!]
After climbing the long staircase piercing upward through the sky, and passing through the closed door floating in the heavens, Alen finally reached Floor 98.
He looked at his surroundings, trying to detect any hint of danger hidden behind the darkness. Fortunately, nothing hostile was visible. Peering through the shadows, there was nothing in the place except a large, imposing door directly in front of him.
The room was spacious enough to be considered a grand bathroom of a luxurious hotel (yeah, those really big ones).
Without wasting any time, he stepped forward toward the large door. He had nothing exciting or worthwhile to do in this dark room except challenge the dangerous floor waiting for him.
As he stood before the large door, he remained cautious. He didn’t know what new trouble was going to be standing in front of him. Since this was the first time he was attempting this floor, he didn’t know what lay behind that door, so his every step turned cautious and measured.
After taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he finally opened the door and stepped forward.
Fortunately, no giant knight was protecting the entrance from beside the door. Even if there had been, Alen did not have the slightest bit of worry about it anymore. He could simply kill it if he wanted to. With his current strength, anything was possible, at least within the boundaries of what he expected.
*CREAK—!*
As the large door opened, what lay behind was the blinding illumination of a bright light which almost made Alen lose his sight. Since he had just passed through a pitch-dark room, it took him quite a bit of time to adjust his vision to the glare. Fortunately, whoever might be present in the hall—some boss monster or any other divine being—didn’t step forward to take advantage of his blindness. It was as if they didn’t even care if he stood before them completely vulnerable or at full power.
This sheer arrogance made Alen curious. He stepped forward while opening his clearing eyes.
Once again, he was standing in a throne room, or what looked remarkably similar to one. The room was comparatively brighter and much more luxurious than the previous ones he had been in. The air here was fresh and soothing, unlike the disgusting, putrid smells of the valleys he had just been through.
The hall looked beautiful as he stood on the polished pathway leading to the throne.
As his gaze turned to the front, a figure sat on the luxurious throne calmly. Her knuckles supported her head as her elbow rested casually on the armrest of the throne. She was wearing an elegant, black gown. Her face was hidden behind a thin, transparent veil covering the lower half of her features. A few strands of raven-black hair could be seen escaping from the veil, and her golden, shining eyes stared right through the fabric.
Alen felt eerily familiar with the being sitting in front of him, but he couldn’t quite put a name to the face. Still, the uncanny feeling remained firmly planted in his chest.
He stepped forward toward her calmly, not daring to back down. He intended to climb this floor without wanting to waste anymore of his precious time.
His fist was covered with a dense layer of pure mana as he stepped forward.
"Sorry for making you wait for me here for so long. I guess I have to pay you back for wasting your precious time, Miss... Well, whatever your name is..."
With a sudden blur of motion, leaving fading afterimages in his wake, he directly appeared in front of her. His hand, coated by a dense, volatile layer of mana, shot toward her face with incredible speed.
[Overload Punch: Maximum Output!]
*BOOOOM!*
Before he could even register a hit, his own body was pushed backward like a broken ragdoll. His body skidded violently across the polished floor of the hall. He finally halted his momentum, sitting up and looking forward while wearing a deep frown on his face.
An invisible barrier was covering the entire area around the throne where she sat comfortably. She didn’t react even a tiny bit to his outburst. She just stayed exactly like that without speaking a single word.
But that was exactly what made Alen feel far more irritated. If the other figure was actively playing with him, torturing him, beating him, or just having sick fun with him, he had gotten familiar with such a situation. But the silent treatment from the one in front of him was completely unique for him.
Just as he had mentally branded the person as the most arrogant boss he had ever met, she slowly lifted her head from her knuckles. She gently looked down at Alen with piercing golden eyes, still without uttering a single word.
Alen felt a sudden, icy chill run down his spine. Out of all the terrifying enemies he had faced in this Spire, the one sitting in front of him made him feel the most cautious. His primal instincts screamed with pure danger.
Alen narrowed his eyes and glared at her while stepping forward again.
"Who are you?..."
She stayed seated quietly without answering. For a few tense seconds, Alen genuinely thought she might be deaf and mute, which was why she remained quiet. But his thinking proved wrong as her soft lips finally parted behind the veil.
"Who are you...?"
Alen looked at her in a daze. He was the first one who had asked that! But now, instead of answering him, she was questioning him with the exact same words?! Alen forcefully calmed down his rising irritation.
"It doesn’t matter who I am... What matters is for you to tell me how to get out of this place. I want to leave as soon as possible..."
She remained silent for a few minutes, as if actively considering whether or not to answer him, while he waited impatiently for her to speak.
"You can’t leave this place..."
"Why? Is there a grand party going to happen in this place that means I can’t leave yet?..."
She looked at him through the thin veil. She stood up and stepped forward toward him, gracefully descending from the higher position of the throne.
Alen stood perfectly still, letting her come closer until she halted her steps, standing just a few feet away in front of him.
"I won’t let you go... You have to stay with me, right here... Forever..."
Golden energy started to radiate blindingly from her body. A sharp sword made up of pure divine energy manifested directly into her hand. Her golden eyes stared at him unblinking. With a light, effortless step, she directly appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. The sword made of divine energy shot toward him—not to kill him, but to restrain him.
Alen felt his mana rapidly being sucked inside her blade. It was as if the sword was not just made of divine energy, but of a hungry void. His mana started draining rapidly as the glowing sword descended on him.
[Phantom Step!]
He quickly stepped backward, rapidly making a safe distance from her.
But his speed turned completely useless as she directly appeared at his back with a speed which defied all logic.
Her sword finally descended. It did not cleave through his flesh and blood like how a normal sword would do. Instead, it passed through his body seamlessly and attacked directly into his mana core.
As the divine sword hit his core, the center of his power started to crack. Alen’s eyes widened in shock for the first time. If he really lost this fight now and let his core shatter, he wouldn’t die, but he would definitely become a cripple with no magical power, which he desperately didn’t want to happen.
Suddenly, his Crimson Essence started to surround his core, preventing any further external attack from the sword. But even that violent red energy seemed to remain ineffective against her pure divine energy.
In that exact moment, Alen made a split-second, desperate decision. He coated his hand with a dense amount of mana, along with multiple elements dancing around his knuckles.
[Elemental Punch: Maximum Output!]
The devastating punch, made of pure elemental energy, shot toward her with unnatural speed as he attacked her directly.
But instead of hitting her squarely in the chest, the punch passed right through her body as if she were just a projection, not an actual physical being.
*BOOOOM!*
The punch, made of elemental energy, hit the wall right behind her.
The heavy stone wall started to crack and shatter as even the floor of the hall trembled violently from the impact.
Alen pulled back, clutching his chest tightly as he felt his core almost shattering.
He quickly started to absorb the atmospheric mana by breathing as fast as he could, desperately trying to heal the fragile core as soon as possible.
’What the f*ck is this person? Who is she?! Why does she remain totally unaffected by any physical attack?...’
The divine sword in her hand radiated even brighter after losing its target. She simply turned and stared at him through the veil.
’It seems there is no need for me to hold back against her anymore. I will be finished in a second if I wait for her to strike again...’
Without waiting, Alen summoned Godless. The Crimson Dagger materialized instantly into his hand.
The veiled figure looked at the dark dagger, tilting her head as if remembering something she had forgotten.
Alen clutched his hand tight and took a stance. He positioned himself to attack her as the Crimson Essence started to emit from the dagger. But suddenly, his dagger started to disintegrate into light particles! The Crimson Essence forcefully receded back into his body.
’What the heck? Hey, you shitty kid, this is not a time to play around! Just get back here!’
[No... You do not get to attack her!]
He heard Ravena’s stubborn words and frowned deeply. He didn’t know what the weapon was trying to say.
’What the f*ck happened to you now?! Don’t tell me you are afraid of that person?! Do you not mind me dying here... What a shitty weapon I got...’
[...You just don’t get it. Look at that person in front of you. She is not an enemy. She seems to be a real person...]
’What are you even trying to say? How do you know she is a real person and not just the boss of this floor?! Do you know her?’
[...Well, just trust me! It is my gut feeling!]
’I don’t care about your gut feeling! I am dying here! Come out and fight before I beat you up.’
[...]
Silence followed without any further reply. Alen looked at the front with a complicated gaze. He was completely disarmed.
The figure stepped closer to him, the divine sword still glowing in her hand. Alen’s feet felt weak somehow; he found he wasn’t able to move away. The figure reached directly in front of him. Her pale, white hand raised up and softly cupped his cheek.
Her touch remained incredibly gentle, a stark contrast to the attack of her sword just moments prior.
Her half-covered face was still hidden behind the transparent veil. The golden glow in her eyes flickered softly, and a distinct hint of violet returned to her irises as she parted her lips to speak a single word.
"Alen..."