Tantalos is a prison. The military nation, while cleaning up the remnants of the kingdom era, stuffed all the dregs, malice, and darkness beneath Tantalos.
Beasts that feast on human flesh, priests who incite duels, morticians who scavenge the corpses of dead knights, knights who touch forbidden arts for greater power. Assassins who kill them.
All the filthy things that grew eating the kingdom's dregs were thrown into the trash can.
They were filthy to harbor but too wasteful to kill. These were powers close to the divine, born from the kingdom's darkness. The military nation, perhaps preparing for the future, imprisoned and monitored them inside Tantalos. So they could be taken out and used at any time.
The venomous ones trapped in the prison called the Abyss ate each other and grew even more gloomy and cruel.
And an unparalleled genius named Rankart Spendrai pulled them out.
Some left. Some resisted and died. And the remaining few followed Rankart to the Magic Federation.
Raised in an assassin syndicate, a qi practitioner called only "Poison Centipede" with no name.
And Kuram, a pharmacist who walks the boundary between life and death with poison and medicine.
They are only two, and they have a record of being subdued by Rankart.
But in the ability to kill people, they are superior to even Rankart Spendrai.
"Holy knights. They don't die easily. And there are many of them."
Kuram, who had been counting, muttered darkly.
"Poison Centipede. Rejoice. You need to take your medicine."
Then Poison Centipede stopped swinging her blade and gaped wide. Wiping the drool trailing from her mouth, she clung to Kuram, forgetting there were enemies behind her.
"R-really? It's happiness time?"
"Yes. Though it's misfortune for me."
"Give it, give it! Give me my happiness...!"
Kuram snapped a finger. It was bent almost to the point of being torn off, but strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed from the stretched finger. Only a single drop of transparent liquid seeped from the folded crevice.
Kuram, the pharmacist who had turned all the bodily fluids flowing through her body into medicine and poison and modified her body, was a walking pharmacy. What was contained in the finger was a narcotic. The forbidden poison that awakens Poison Centipede's reason flowed out.
Just as she was about to hand over the glistening medicine—
"May the Holy Spirit dwell within my body!"
Cardinal Elton, who had offered a prayer, gripped the cross hanging around his neck. The necklace snapped and the large cross fell into Cardinal Elton's hand. Then, a pure white blade rose from the bottom of the cross, becoming a one-handed sword with the cross as its hilt.
Cross Sword, Crossword.
The sword of faith wielded by holy knights in the name of God.
The blade made of light stretched out long. Poison Centipede didn't dodge the attack, but Kuram, who found the holy light repulsive, quickly pulled her hand away. Light possesses the properties of purification and denaturation. The poisons and medicines Kuram possessed were vulnerable to light.
Cardinal Elton, having seen the reaction, shouted.
"You villains! You've practiced dark arts!"
"My... happiness..."
Poison Centipede's skin darkened. The area around her eyes grew bloodshot and red glint flickered.
She learned, trained, and fought relying solely on drugs. Only when she achieved results was medicine administered, and when she failed, she had to suffer terrible withdrawal symptoms and endure agony all night long.
Burning passion, steadfast and consistent will, enlightenment gained through training, heaven-bestowed talent, and heavenly fortune.
The conditions a human needs to become a qi practitioner.
Poison Centipede was the exact opposite of all that.
She substituted passion with narcotics that burned her nerves, replaced will with craving for drugs, and attained skill through survival instinct rather than enlightenment.
The result of making her run like a racehorse, using drugs as the carrot and torture as the whip—that was Poison Centipede.
Normally, she should have died fighting while intoxicated by the drug's effects. For dark arts cultivated through narcotics and poison consume the body.
However, heaven-bestowed talent and heavenly fortune existed even in her.
"Don't take it away---!"
She lowered her body like a beast and instantly leaped. It was a spasmodic reaction only a human addicted to drugs could show. In the blink of an eye, she flipped her body and swung the large blade loaded with thick, dark qi. The blade with a tyrannical aura struck at Cardinal Elton's neck, and his neck fell to the ground....
'--O Holy Saintess of the heavens who blessed me!'
Such a future briefly flashed through Cardinal Elton's mind.
Battle Precognition.
A great power of precognition obtained by holy knights who dedicated their bodies to faith.
Unlike the Saintess's Precognition, it can only foresee a very short time in extremely tense situations. But in a fight where victory and defeat can reverse in an instant, it is truly a cheat-like technique. Cardinal Elton, having predicted the future after that fleeting moment, tilted his head and radiated holy light.
The dazzling light struck Poison Centipede. Poison Centipede, who had aimed for Cardinal Elton's neck, was hit by the holy light and sent flying. The holy knights rushed in to finish her off as her stance crumbled, but—
"Gasping!"
"Urk!"
The premonition of death flashed through their minds, and they stopped without even taking two steps. Seeing them drenched in sweat and taking defensive stances, Poison Centipede ground her teeth in frustration.
"Tch...! So annoying! They're the ones getting in the way and yet!"
"Battle Precognition is troublesome. Without qi that twists principles, it'll be difficult to kill them."
"Give it to me, Kuram! I'll slice up all those bastards who want my misfortune!!"
Battle Precognition foretells ill fortune. Though not as perfect and intense as before, it transmitted an ominous and fear-filled premonition to the holy knights.
If Poison Centipede took the medicine and wielded principles, even Battle Precognition couldn't protect them.
"The Heavenly God protects us! May His light reach even the darkest and deepest places!"
Cardinal Elton shouted and charged in. The holy knights also immediately judged the situation and followed, protecting him. In front of the raging Poison Centipede, Kuram flicked the squeezed medicine.
A poison so deadly yet with no side effects, a narcotic that only slowly brings one closer to death. Poison Centipede, even knowing it brought her closer to death, stuck out her tongue.
"Rankart."
"Ah, right."
Innate Demonic Art. The World of the Right-Handed.
Rankart stepped between the two groups.
"Stop."
Boom, boom.
The two forces brushed past each other in circles. Cardinal Elton and the holy knights, Kuram and Poison Centipede. The two forces floundered, drawing arcs centered around Rankart.
Light and blade alike. In the world of the right-handed, the two on the opposite side of Rankart can never clash.
"What is this...!"
In the world of the right-handed that nullifies all leftward rotation, the coordinate system is reversed. In a world where leftward rotation disappears, straight lines become secondary. However, neither Cardinal Elton nor Poison Centipede could accept the overturned common sense. Both failed to control their own power and crashed into the ground.
Cardinal Elton was bewildered, but Poison Centipede, who had experienced this power before, was struck with fear.
"Rankart Spendrai?"
"Hieek... W-why are you here."
"No need to fight. Stop."
Rankart didn't explain. He left only a command and turned his back. The moment his defenseless back was revealed, Poison Centipede bared her teeth by instinct.
"If you block my happiness, even you...!"
The blade flashed and gouged through space. The fierce aura laden with qi pierced through the world of the right-handed and targeted Rankart.
But it never reaches. No matter how much qi is trained, even if it touches principles, without understanding this mind-landscape, one cannot reach Rankart.
"I said. Stop."
Rankart muttered dryly. He drew magic from his gauntlet without even chanting. A pale blue light ignited from the jeweled gauntlet, which he had interpreted and modified standard magic in his own way.
"Right-hand Screw."
The beginning was a tiny explosion. That explosion circled around Rankart dozens of times and accelerated. It drew a spiral but was closer and faster than a curve. In the blink of an eye, the small explosion grew as large as a person and crashed down on Poison Centipede.
She couldn't dodge. Poison Centipede was still inside the world of the right-handed. Even if she moved, the explosion would chase her trajectory.
At that moment, Kuram reached out her hand. Her arm stretched out as if it had six joints and grabbed Poison Centipede by the collar. The stretched arm retracted like a spring, and Poison Centipede narrowly escaped Rankart's attack.
And the stray flash flew all the way to the distant wall and caused a massive explosion. The shockwave surged in the sealed tower, and vibrations shook the floor and ceiling. Faced with the overwhelming destruction, both Cardinal Elton and Poison Centipede lost their fighting spirit.
"Stopped, I see."
Rankart said that, showing no particular interest in whether Poison Centipede lived or died. Cardinal Elton looked at Rankart walking away and asked.
"...Are you, acquainted?"
"I called them."
Rankart answered briefly. Cardinal Elton gripped his cross and fell into thought.
'They unleashed killing intent the moment they saw the holy knights. Without the grace of the Holy Saintess of the heavens who blessed us, five would have died long ago. Moreover, the other one uses poison... He called such evil and filthy people?'
Fear spreads into suspicion. Fortunately, they didn't die thanks to Battle Precognition, but the holy knights suffered large and small injuries from Poison Centipede's attacks. And they clearly realized that if those two demonstrated their full power, they might die.
It was peaceful until the 6th floor. Trouble arises on the 7th floor.
Breathing heavily, Poison Centipede seemed frightened and sat clutching her head. Rankart ignored her and asked Kuram.
"By the way, how did you get up to the 7th floor? It shouldn't be possible with your knowledge."
"I know a little magic too. And the mercenary mage we picked up was quite competent for a scavenger."
When Kuram sent a glance, Hilde flinched and pulled her pointed hat down low. She hadn't done much to disguise herself, but Rankart wasn't the type to remember faces well, so he ignored it.
"And there were mages we met every time we went up. We asked them and climbed the tower."
"Hm? They chose a similar method."
"Similar?"
"Of course, Hughes and I solved most of the problems. But they weren't that difficult, so with this many heads put together, they should have been able to solve them."
"...I see."
Kuram nodded as if unconvinced. That was only natural.
Kuram and Poison Centipede's mercenary group had tortured the mages they met, fed them poison, and forced them to solve the problems.
The mages they met, poisoned and with their lifespans decreasing by the moment, had to desperately solve the tower's problems. Even though they barely managed to solve the problems while seeing their lives flash before their eyes, Kuram killed them all and took what they had.
Every mage Kuram met must have met a gruesome death. Ambitious and good-natured mages who had climbed dreaming of the Dragon Gate must have died in vain without leaving a single letter of their name on the brick.
Rankart knew that fact but paid no attention.
It wasn't his business how many died.
[How about it, King of Humans! You can clearly see it, can't you? Their malice?]
A voice like a cuckoo's, or perhaps a sparrow's, echoed in my ear.
[King of Humans! I know you. I studied and analyzed you hard! As a conceptual existence, you would believe in all humans. You would accept both good and evil and affirm that as human nature!]
No one else could hear this voice. It wasn't through the ears but seemed to be forcibly hammered directly into the brain.
But for something forced, it was remarkably beautiful, sweet, and gentle.
[But not everyone can become human. You can't affirm everyone. Weak and feeble humans doubt each other, fear each other, and after worrying... ultimately, they 'choose.' They eliminate evil and leave good. They keep only what is good and trustworthy within the fence.]
Who is it? Who planted a listening device by my ear? I don't know when I was infected by something like this.
UlFRblVJeEt0R01oWGZFZXFXMGFSLzk2UGh1b3dzV1Q0RFBEdEZjYVJWblo5QXcyR2pvUVpDWXNodGVuYW1leA
[The Demon King may not be to your liking, but his argument is correct. Only chosen humans should board the ark! We must choose! Who to let on, who to let die!]
Choose? Ark?
What on earth are you talking about? Who are you to say such things? Hiding somewhere gloomy and transmitting your voice!
My inner thoughts couldn't be heard, but the voice chattered as if belatedly remembering.
[Ah! My introduction is late! You must have already guessed, but one should still introduce themselves. It's manners, after all! I am the Holy Saintess of Light, Lue!]