Omega Seed had expressed an intent to surrender completely.
Lord Seed’s appearance as he obediently revealed himself and approached was—
“?”
It was far removed from the grotesque creature I had seen in the photo.
Back then, it had been a seed covered in sprawling red veins, riddled with thousands of tiny holes.
But the current Lord Seed looked exactly like a girl, as if imitating a human.
- Dyu?
- Uh...?
- Isn’t that Yuyeon when she was ten?
White hair. Blue eyes. A maid uniform.
When Lord Seed, whose appearance strangely reminded me of my old self, looked up at me, it felt very odd.
- Hm... Somehow I feel like we should hear her out...
- She’s kinda pitiful, should we talk to her a bit?
- Snap out of it, that’s the monster that drove humanity to the brink of extinction
Why had he appeared in this form?
“Lord Seed. Why did you suddenly put on a human disguise?”
“It is a strategic choice to increase my probability of survival.”
“?”
“The majority of humans show weakness toward the appearance of a young girl.”
“Aha.”
- Look at this meticulous bastard?
- Let’s just kill it
- What if it backstabs us later for no reason?
He was certainly cute.
Cute enough that I wanted to pick him up and cuddle him like crazy.
“I thought that if I manifested the same clothes you are wearing, the probability of you listening to my story would increase.”
“!”
“I thought that with this face and these clothes, my words would become more persuasive.”
“!!!”
“This is how serious I am about survival. Transcendence, in the end, is only possible if one is alive.”
“But shouldn’t you not explain that?”
“It also means I am speaking only the truth, without lies.”
“Oh dear. But I’m not the one who decides what happens to you, Lord Seed.”
If there had been no casualties at all, it might have been different, but because of Lord Seed, the Iseurein Empire had nearly fallen.
Even if its lineage could be continued again, there were clearly people who had died.
That was why the remaining judgment belonged to the mages.
It belonged to the mages who had watched the Iseurein Empire collapse, who had become zombies and spent all that time in despair.
“The mages are going to burn you, Lord Seed. Please be happy in your next life. If possible, be born human and live kindly.”
“There should be room for negotiation.”
“Would you like me to hug you one last time?”
“It will not be the last time either.”
“I hugged you...”
“?”
- Fuu!!ck!!!
- We’re killing it, right??????
- Okay, death penalty
- (I will kill you... swordsman emote)
- (Burn it! mage emote)
Crunch— craaack—
An incredible sound came from Lord Seed’s body.
“Spare me.”
“Gasp. I’m sorry.”
- So close, just a little more and it would’ve worked
- This spoiled bastard, Yuyeon hugged you and you still say spare me
- I don’t care if I get crushed to death, I want Yuyeon to hug me...
- (I hugged you maid emote)
- Uuuugh, uuhhhg
His physical defense was weaker than I expected.
I had hugged him gently, but such a terrifying sound came out that I felt terribly sorry.
When I let Lord Seed go, I heard the mages’ voices from behind.
“Ohhh...! So Omega Seed could mimic a human!”
“?”
“How fascinating. By what principle is such a thing possible?”
“???”
What was this? I couldn’t feel any desire for revenge at all.
The eyes of the mages, who had regained their senses, were filled only with interest and curiosity.
“Mages. Are you all right? Lord Seed tried to destroy humanity.”
“Thanks to him, we got to burn the capital planet and learned about Flame Peace, so it was a net gain.”
“We even saw the Maid Cosmic Triple Flame Tornado Peace, so if anything, it was good.”
“?????”
- Is this for real...?
- So this is what happens when only mage freaks are left
- What does ‘thanks to him, we got to burn the capital planet’ even mean...?
- Mage freaks are scary...
Just what was the mentality of these mages like?
The mages, who were kneading and touching Lord Seed’s unresisting arms and legs here and there, felt frightening to me.
With his cheek pinched, Lord Seed calmly said to me,
“Spare me.”
“Oh dear. Mages. Then what will you do with Lord Seed?”
The one who answered my question was Eldrion.
“Originally, our goal was to burn him to death no matter what... but now that the situation has changed, I think we’ll keep him alive.”
“Why?”
“If we bind him so he can’t flee to another star, keep him under control, and practice Flame Peace on him, wouldn’t that be perfect? We can conduct various experiments as well.”
“Gasp.”
“Spare me.”
So they weren’t keeping him alive to get help with rebuilding human civilization.
I avoided Lord Seed’s gaze as he pleaded for help.
“It would be truly ridiculous for me, who dared threaten humanity, to beg forgiveness now, but—”
“It’s fine. From now on, you can just periodically take Flame Peace for us.”
“...I can be of great help in rebuilding human civilization.”
“Not needed. We can manage just fine on our own.”
“......If foreign enemies appear later, I can fight alongside you.”
“We have Flame Peace, so that is not needed.”
“......”
- CPT is screwed...
- Just ask them to kill you now
“Han Yuyeon. Spare me. If you speak, the mages will listen.”
“Oh dear. You won’t die, though. Stay strong. Fighting. Fighting.”
- (Stay strong! priest emote)
I left my spot so that the mages could catch up on old times with Lord Seed.
Then I rummaged through my subspace pouch and took out a lunchbox.
“Everyone. Have you eaten? How is Earth right now?”
- We’re just wiping out the gates
- Earth is safe
- Waaah, Yuyeon mama, feed me too...
Naturally, since I couldn’t see the chat, I couldn’t properly communicate with the viewers.
Still, I’d heard my broadcast was extremely popular, so I said it in advance.
“I think I’ll be going back to Earth soon. If an option appears to return to Earth after clearing the 20th floor, I should be able to stay on Earth for about 24 hours.”
- What!!!!
- Should I go to Korea right now???
- Where do I have to go to behold you?
“I hope Earth is peaceful when I go back this time.”
- It really is peaceful, just come comfortably
- Even if a ton of gates open, we’ll take care of them ourselves
The time it had taken from the 11th floor to the 20th floor was extremely short.
Subjectively, it felt like not even forty hours had passed since I entered the Tower again.
If I returned to Earth, I might be able to meet Rabina.
Or not. Would it be difficult?
At the very least, I should probably help the Iseurein Empire rebuild and prepare some means to make sure Lord Seed could never threaten humanity again before I left.
“I want to eat bungeoppang. Ones filled with red bean, ones filled with custard, and all sorts of different kinds.”
- Fuuuck, that’s all you want to eat?
- Just come, I’ll buy you 100 or 1,000 if you want
“I also want to open a maid café. How much money would I need for that? Later, after I clear Hell, I’ll have to look for a job first.”
- Why do you need money when you have us?
- We’ll buy land or whatever else, don’t worry
- We’ll build you the best maid café on Earth
If I wanted to become a building owner, I would probably need a huge amount of money.
Once I returned to Earth, I’d have to try earning some.
For now, I ate the lunchbox I had taken out.
“Om-nom-nom.”
- Om-nyam-nyam
Even though I had come quite far away, the flames still looked large, blazing fiercely with Lord Seed as kindling.
***
By the time I finished eating, the flames had gone out.
Oh dear. It seemed Lord Seed had died after all.
May you be happy in your next life.
Just as I was about to look up at the sky and raise a double peace sign in mourning, a voice came from behind me.
“Han Yuyeon.”
“?”
- ???
When I turned around, I was standing there.
What was this? A mirror?
I tried making a peace sign, but since it didn’t copy me, it wasn’t a mirror.
“It is me.”
“Are you perhaps Han Yuyeon?”
“I am Omega Seed.”
“? How are you speaking if you died?”
“I did not die.”
“You somehow managed not to die.”
“When I mimicked your appearance, they hurriedly put out the fire. I took the opportunity to escape.”
“!!!”
- This bastard is cunning for real...
Having discovered one hope, I asked Lord Seed for a favor.
“Lord Seed. Please grow to seven meters in that form.”
“I have consumed too much energy. Physical transformation is impossible for the time being.”
“Hing-ing-ing.”
The mages rushed over in a crowd and looked at me.
“To dare imitate Lady Yuyeon’s appearance...!”
“How blasphemous. We must burn him and eliminate him immediately.”
“Let us burn him with Star Peace until not even ash remains.”
“?????”
Ah. They had misunderstood because we looked identical.
To clear up the misunderstanding, I explained.
“Mages. I’m the real Han Yuyeon.”
“Mages. I’m the real Han Yuyeon.”
“?”
“?”
“Lord Seed. Impersonation is bad.”
“Lord Seed. Impersonation is bad.”
“???”
“???”
- Look at this crazy bastard...?
Lord Seed copied me perfectly.
From my voice to my tone, expression, and even the smallest gestures.
Left with no choice, I performed a Maid Grace Double Peace that Lord Seed would have difficulty imitating.
“VV.”
“VV.”
“I-I can’t tell who the real one is.”
“They are completely identical...!”
To think he even copied that. Lord Seed’s adaptability and speed of evolution became frightening.
In the end, I even performed a Maid Grace Triple Peace.
“VVV.”
“VV... How did you do that?”
“It’s this bastard!!!”
“Hang him upside down and burn him!!!”
- Uh, wait, if you hold him upside down?
The mages grabbed Lord Seed’s legs and lifted him upside down.
I thought Lord Seed’s skirt would flip over with gravity, so I tried to hold it down with telekinesis, but—
- ?
- Is that a steel skirt?
Lord Seed’s skirt did not flip over at all and stayed stiff.
What was this? Come to think of it, how had Lord Seed manifested clothing in the first place?
“Lord Seed. How did you manifest the clothes?”
“Actually, these are not clothes, but skin.”
“?????”
Which meant—
“Lord Seed, are you naked right now?”
“Strictly speaking, one could say that.”
“!!!!!”
How could he be so shameless?
I could no longer look directly at Lord Seed.
“Lord Seed. Please mimic a different appearance.”
“Physical transformation is impossible for the time being. My regeneration has reached its limit as well. Spare me.”
“Mages. Lord Seed says he’s at his limit.”
“Then we’ll let him rest a bit before burning him.”
“We have plenty of time from now on, so let’s take it easy and burn him slowly.”
Perhaps because he had my appearance, even while holding Lord Seed upside down, the mages carefully lowered him.
“Mages. Would you like to eat?”
“Ah, we’re fine. We want to analyze the Maid Cosmic Triple Flame Tornado Peace you showed us earlier.”
“Please excuse us for a moment.”
“We must seize inspiration when it comes.”
“Still, thank you for offering us a meal. Sorry that we’re this kind of people.”
“It’s all right. Have a pleasant peace.”
“VV!!!”
Droop. Skipping meals is bad for your health, though.
Since I was left alone with Lord Seed, I asked him as well.
“Lord Seed. Would you like to eat?”
“You will give some to me as well?”
“If you can eat.”
“Why?”
“Because going hungry is sad.”
“If you give it, I will eat.”
- Why is the real Yuyeon so kind...
I rummaged through my subspace pouch and took out a lunchbox for him.
「You have acquired Maid Points.」
“Why are you taking it out from there?”
“Is there a problem?”
“There is no problem, but I asked because I was curious.”
“When eating in my appearance, please eat with grace and om-nom-nom.”
“Om-nom-nom.”
“VV.”
“It tastes as if my strength is recovering immensely.”
Perhaps he was able to eat even while mimicking my appearance, because Lord Seed ate the lunchbox very deliciously.
A little time passed, and after emptying the lunchbox, Lord Seed said,
“Han Yuyeon. Let us make a contract.”
“Ing.”
“I will bind myself with a spell contract so that you can trust me.”
“What kind of contract?”
“From now on, I will do everything in my power to help humanity rebuild, will not cause harm, and if foreign enemies appear, I will fight alongside you. If I break this contract, I will lose my life.”
“And the price?”
“Spare me.”
He really was consistently asking to be spared.
I had heard that one should carefully check the contents of a contract, so I asked again.
“From what?”
“From you. No matter what happens, I never want to oppose you again.”
“What if the mages try to kill you later?”
“I will make sure that does not happen.”
Hm. In any case, the mages had decided to keep Lord Seed alive.
And if we made a contract, the possibility of him using a moment when I wasn’t there to threaten humanity would disappear, so there was no reason to refuse.
Whether the contract would be maintained if I left the Tower or climbed to the 21st floor or higher was something I would have to see.
“All right. Please serve diligently from now on.”
“I will serve diligent—”
“What!!! You’re going to serve!!!”
“?”
Had they been enhancing their hearing?
The mages rushed over like ghosts, grabbed Lord Seed’s arms and legs, and lifted him up.
“Serve as much as the lives you killed!!!”
“You’ve recovered a bit, haven’t you? Let’s go burn~”
“I think I’ve attained enlightenment, and I need a test subject.”
Seeing Lord Seed dangling as he was dragged away in my appearance gave me a strange feeling.
“Spare me.”
“Lord Seed. Could you please mimic a different appearance?”
“This appearance increases my probability of survival.”
“Oh dear. Then please serve diligently. I have something to check for a moment.”
I didn’t know when it had happened, but the trial had been cleared.
I decided to check the clear log and rewards later, and first checked the most important part.
「You can return to Earth.」
「If you do not return to the Tower within 24 hours after returning to Earth, a new climber will be designated.」
「If you return to the Tower after returning to Earth, a rest floor will be provided.」
「You may move to the next floor whenever you wish.」
I could go back. When I went to Earth this time, I really had to eat bungeoppang.
Let’s finish only the things I had to do here before leaving.
I would handle them quickly and eat bungeoppang together with Rabina before she returned to Servein.
My enthusiasm surged up wildly.