“Wh-wh-what’s th-that?”
“Huh?”
It was a normal day when the Outer District fell into panic mode. Although the news that Heaven Wing had returned raged everywhere, it was initially treated as nothing more than a passing distraction by the inhabitants of the land of dropouts. They had fun chatting about it, but the consequences and significance didn’t hit home until the floating castle Laputa tore through space and slowly appeared in the sky.
The daily activities of the players and inhabitants of the Outer District were interrupted, and they looked up in surprise as the shadow loomed over them. Although it had sustained damage from the Crawling Chaos, Laputa was still the lair of the last dragon king, Kalatus.
Its size was impressive and overwhelmed everyone who looked at it. At the same time, a message window popped up for the players and inhabitants of the Outer District. It was a decree from Laputa, and everyone was taken aback when they read it.
“A-Arthia has reappeared…!”
“Heaven Wing has declared war!”
A piece of news as shocking as Heaven Wing’s reappearance struck the world of the Tower.
* * *
“I hereby announce that Arthia has returned.”
The message dispatched to all players and inhabitants of the Outer District was only one sentence written in an arrogant tone as though it expected its audience to understand its significance. However, its assumption was not misplaced because everyone who read the decree trembled.
The rumors that Heaven Wing had returned and that three of the Nine Kings had died, most players felt concerned about the future but didn’t understand what it would mean. Although there was an atmosphere of war in the air, and it was clear a massive battle would soon take place, most players didn’t think they would be involved.
However, the decree frightened them as they grasped its meaning: Arthia hadn’t forgotten its struggles and grudges, and they were prepared to avenge themselves. They also wouldn’t have delivered such a message unless they had the power to stand against the rest of the Tower, ready to face all possible scenarios.
As if evidence of this, another piece of news shook the Tower: “Blood Land has fallen.”
It had been one of the Eight Clans that ruled at the top of the Tower. However, this impregnable fortress had been breached, and the massacre was so complete that not even a mouse was left.
Players who had believed that there was nothing left to achieve in the Tower grew panicked. Other people responded differently. For every person fearful of the coming war, there was another person who couldn’t contain their excitement. Some stayed quiet and decided to observe first.
Soon, other big incidents erupted one by one.
“The Elohim has been partially destroyed!”
“The Lion Alliance has chosen to disband.”
“The Fantasy Regiment has cleared the upper floors and taken over Green Dragon.”
“Black Dragon is going through internal strife.”
“White Dragon is closing off floors to get a chance to catch their breath.”
The Lion Alliance had split up without contributing much in the Dragon Labyrinth. Only painful outcomes awaited the different groups: the mercenary alliance was crushed, the Magic Tower dissolved, and other clans were annihilated. Arthia’s sudden attack had left the Elohim on the verge of destruction like Blood Land, but they had managed to just barely defend themselves. The Fantasy Regiment, only recently considered an emerging clan, turned their blades to the upper floors and nearly ruined Green Dragon, forcing them to give up their territory. The leaderless Black Dragon had fallen into different factions that fought for control. White Dragon had suspended their activities in the Tower and retreated to their Outer Space to recover indefinitely.
The chaos that had resulted from the events of the Dragon Labyrinth had spread far and wide, and the news were completely unprecedented.
The Eight Clans’ power, which seemed to be immovable, had begun to shake from the foundation, and obviously, players had strong reactions to this. Voices from different groups began to rise up.
“The Nine Kings must be changed!”
“The fall of Blood Land is only the start.”
“The system around the Eight Clans will collapse, and a new system centered around Arthia will take place.”
“From now on, the history of the Tower will be written by Arthia and Heaven Wing.”
The first thing to change was the list of the Nine Kings and the Eight Clans. The Nine Kings had once included the following: Allforone, the Martial King, the Head Bishop, the Spring Queen Waltz, Autumn Lord Tom, Roman Dictator Magnus, the Gluttony Emperor, the Black Prince, and Moonchild.
Waltz and Tom had taken the vacated slots of the Summer Queen and the Sword God, but now, three new places were empty. Busybodies who liked ranking people quickly filled the empty spots with others: Heaven Wing, the Fantasy Regiment Leader, and a player called Anti-Venom.
After he eliminated the Gluttony Emperor and Magnus, Heaven Wing was comparable to the Head Bishop and Waltz. The Fantasy Regiment Leader had brought Tom down and raised the Fantasy Regiment to a large clan akin to Black Dragon.
Before this moment, Anti-Venom Bayluk had already been powerful enough to be one of the candidates for the Nine Kings even though he wasn’t affiliated with any group. Now that the Elohim were behind him, his name was added to the bottom of the list.
Huge adjustments were made to the list of the Eight Large Clans too. Blood Land and Black Dragon were removed, and two other groups took their place. The final list was:
Allforone.
White Dragon.
The Devil Army.
The Elohim.
Daud Brethren.
Sea of Time.
The Fantasy Regiment.
And lastly, Arthia.
The inhabitants looked at the new list, which had changed practically overnight, concerned about the brewing storm. Players began to contemplate how they could ride the storm to become one of the stars in the sky. Others moved in a different direction.
* * *
“He’s finally begun.” Heidi suspended climbing the floors with her subordinates after receiving news about Arthia. She clenched her fists with resolve. Because of her divine blood, she had a bit of power to see the future. After she’d split up with the Hoarder on the twenty-ninth floor, Heidi had predicted that he would rise higher than anyone expected. His potential was too immense.
It was only that others couldn’t see this because he was like the moon, something that was often obscured by darkness but the closer they grew to being full, the more brightly they lit up the night sky. Back then, the Hoarder had been a half moon, and once he grew into a full moon, he would practically burn up the night with his splendor.
However, the night sky also needed stars to accompany the moon, and Heidi wanted to be one of them. It was why she, Dylan, and Jun had struggled to expand their forces, and they could now reap a bit of what they’d sowed.
“Heidi!” Dylan ran over frantically. He knew how long Heidi had been waiting for this, so his face was red with excitement as well.
Heidi nodded solemnly. “Yes. Let’s go to the Outer District. We have to be there.” Her eyes darkened. “Gather the rest of the clan.”
* * *
“Hahaha! I see! So, that’s what it was! Heaven Wing! If it’s you, then anything is possible. I understand now why you have Hanryeong with you.” Faceless slapped his knees and burst out laughing. Then, the rough voice of a middle-aged man turned into a woman's high-pitched voice. “Yes. I came back from the dead too, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. Isn’t that true, my children?” When he looked down with insane eyes, various ghosts twisted into strange forms and circled him, making monstrous noises together. Oooo.
“All right, my children. Let us all dance together!” On that day, five castles on the forty-sixth floor burned down, and all the inhabitants of the floor disappeared. Caw! Caw! Only crows were left flying in the sky.
* * *
“As expected of you, Captain. The way you cheat people and your preparations to unleash your temper are truly entertaining. Very good.” Jang Wei ripped the decree and slung his bow on his shoulder. The bolder his captain was, the more he could do. He slowly slid into the darkness of the street and disappeared.
* * *
“It’s quite noisy.” Edora covered her face with her hood, peering at the people who were gawking at Laputa. She had expected things would become chaotic as soon as the castle appeared, but the response was beyond her expectations.
The Outer District had lost its purpose—its inhabitants moved far from the dangers of the upcoming war, and the players were also moving elsewhere. It had likely spread through the Tower that Laputa was Arthia’s clan house. It would be a huge headache for many clans since they usually placed clan houses inside Outer Spaces to protect them from their enemies.
However, with Laputa in the sky over the Outer District right in front of everyone, the large clans hostile to Arthia had a dilemma: they couldn’t attack Laputa easily but they couldn’t leave it alone, either. They were probably racking their brains to calculate what kinds of traps had been set up in Laputa, just like the Dragon Labyrinth.
This made the Outer District especially noisy, and there were likely more than a few people who were talking about how they could attack Laputa.
However, Edora knew that Yeon-woo would probably just leave Laputa alone even with all the dangers coming in its way. It was already so high that it was hard to approach, and unless one of the Nine Kings stepped up, any attacks would be little more than just attempts. ‘I never thought the Summer Queen herself would step up to help.’ She narrowed her eyes as she thought of the Summer Queen, who was probably sitting in Laputa’s control room at the moment.
“The last residence of the dragon king…all right. Fine. A place like this will have hidden magic and useful equipment somewhere.” It was incredible that the Summer Queen still existed, but it was even more incredible how easily she had agreed to Yeon-woo’s request to protect the castle. The Summer Queen said it was because Laputa was Kalatus’ lair, and she’d have much to learn, but Edora’s Insight told her that wasn’t the true reason. ‘It’s because of her longing for Oraboni’s brother, for sure.’
Anyway, with the Summer Queen looking over Laputa, there was no need to worry about attacks. Also, staying in the Outer District had some benefits. They were finally showing confidence that they could stand against any enemy. ‘Second, it’s a signpost for any forces who want to work with or under Arthia.’
Heaven Wing had been destroyed in the past, but his influence in the Tower wasn’t small at all. Although they kept quiet, many supporters still missed him, and just as many had enjoyed a good relationship with Arthia. Not all of them would return, but even if a few came, they would be a great addition. There were also groups who wanted to forge new relationships with Arthia.
‘Oraboni definitely won’t create Arthia as a mere clan like his brother. He’s going to make something big, maybe even an empire.’ Its influence would take over the Tower, and in the end, he’d probably crush the Tower with his own hands. From what Edora knew, Yeon-woo’s mission was to break the Tower, not play political games.
He was someone who would use his brother’s legacy as a tool to reach his goal. Organizing her thoughts, Edora quickly followed Yeon-woo, who hid his identity as they walked through the crowd. Their destination was the village of the One-horned tribe.
‘I wonder how he’s been doing.’ It was to pick up her foolish brother, Phante.
