Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

Ten swordsmen surrounded me in an instant, hands resting on the hilts of their blades. Their faces were covered, and each of them wore the same white robe — expensive-looking, at that. And most importantly…

"…Huh. Robes and masks, but a big fat Arie crest embroidered on the front? You all weren't even trying to hide who you are, were you?"

I had no clue why they were here or what they wanted. Maybe they had the wrong person?

Just as I wondered that, one of the men in front slowly stepped forward, removing his robe.

"That crown. And that face."

The man beneath had long, ponytailed hair and the pale skin and white eyes typical of the direct Arie line — a model of aristocratic beauty. He studied me for a moment before continuing.

"You must be Arie Hoaquin."

"…And you are?"

If he knew my name, then they clearly knew who they came for. But I didn't know a single one of them.

No one answered. Their cold, expressionless stares made the atmosphere downright eerie.

Ignoring my question entirely, the leader fished something out from inside his coat — a white chain, the same type one of them had used to ambush me earlier.

Holding the chain up for me to see, he finally spoke.

"Arie Hoaquin. You are hereby charged with treason against the family and will be escorted to the Main Estate. If you surrender quietly, you will be restrained only by this chain. Resist, and you may be killed on the spot. Choose wisely."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

Only a hundred and fifty years old and I must've started hearing things early.

"I won't say it again. Drop your sword and get on your knees."

"...…"

I was too dumbfounded to respond. Treason? Out of nowhere? Seriously?

After several seconds of stunned silence — and several emotions rapidly cycling through my head — I finally realized my mouth was still hanging open.

That's how absurd this was. No— actually, it was downright insulting.

"I won a championship for the clan, and I've spent the last hundred-plus years hunting FUG by the hundreds, maybe thousands, and now I'm a traitor?"

My disbelief bounced off him without effect. Instead, as if to intimidate me, he slowly drew his sword.

"Having difficulty grasping the situation, I see."

Shing—

The blade leveled toward me.

"Whether the decision makes sense to you is irrelevant. What matters is that the proxies governing the family — the Elders — have declared you a traitor. This is the final time I will speak. Choose: will you surrender and travel to the Main Estate unblemished? Or—"

At his gesture, the swordsmen surrounding me all drew their blades and aimed them my way.

"—will you be dragged there broken and on your knees?"

Even as he issued his ultimatum, my thoughts refused to settle. I still had no idea what the hell was going on.

But one thing was decided.

"If you think you can, then by all means."

"..."

The leader, and even the swordsmen behind him, visibly stirred at my response. If the Elders were behind this, letting them seize initiative would be dangerous. Those old snakes would kill me if they got the upper hand.

No way in hell I could allow that—

SLASH—!

"Whoa—!"

A blade whistled toward my head— I barely dodged. The Enforcement Unit's appearance was so sudden, so unexpected, that I couldn't even plan my next step. Thinking deeply while fighting Rankers wasn't just foolish — it was suicidal.

CLANG—!

I blocked a downward strike aimed at my skull, and as I went to counterattack, another sword was already coming for my back.

I ignored him and lunged for the one who had tried to split my head— but of course, another swordsman had already stepped in to intercept.

Meanwhile, the one behind me was now directly at my back.

Without hesitation, I altered the flow of my strike. Arie swordsmanship — attacks from the front that defend from behind. My blade instantly reversed its path, intercepting the incoming back attack instead.

No more distractions. Full focus.

Their teamwork was maddeningly tight, but individually they were weaker than me. I needed to disrupt their formation— scatter them. Once the circle broke, I could force one-on-ones.

I poured shinsu into my sword and swung with deliberately wide, reckless arcs. Being surrounded by enemies meant swinging wildly gave more targets to hit.

With every slash, the range widened and shinsu bursts expanded outward in sharp detonations.

The battlefield shifted— the Enforcement Unit now forced into full defense, desperately blocking the rain of slashing shinsu.

Unlike before, when they crowded me relentlessly, now they could only guard.

They were blocking well enough for now — but my sword grew faster with every passing moment, and more unpredictable.

"—Kh!"

Finally, one swordsman failed to defend properly, taking a cut to his shoulder and arm. Five had been covering that side; now one gap opened.

The formation shattered.

The moment I'd been waiting for, I seized it without hesitation.

I adjusted my grip and took stance.

Hoaquin-Style Swordsmanship — "Blooming Pandemonium"

Every stroke I had carved into the air until now — every erratic, tangled slash — flared to life with light.

Yes, the reckless swings earlier served two purposes: to break their formation, and to set up this.

It was as if each glowing arc sneered back at me: "Look at what a mess you made."

The overlapping trails of light formed a chaotic snarl of sword lines — embarrassing to look at as an Arie swordsman, really — but I didn't have the luxury of feeling shame.

FWOOOOOSH—!

Ugly pattern or not, the scale and range were immense— wide enough to engulf us all several times over.

And as the sword trails wrapped in white light revealed themselves, they began absorbing the shinsoo around them. The scene resembled white branches gathering energy to bloom.

"—! Fall back! Get away from him!"

Momentarily entranced by the strange and wondrous sight, the Enforcement swordsmen finally widened their eyes and hurriedly retreated. It seemed they had finally grasped the danger.

But I had deliberately swung my sword in large, sweeping motions. The coverage of the arc was far too wide for them to simply escape.

Once the branches had gathered enough power to bloom, they sent a small signal to me—almost as if asking for permission before it happened.

"To move away now is far too late."

With that permission granted, I lazily swept my sword through the air.

The white branches bloomed.

Every sword trail I had carved through space blossomed into white shinsoo flowers. The tangled web of erratic lines erupted into petals all at once, blooming in full splendor.

BOOOOOM—!

Naturally, they were never meant to be harmless flowers.

The blossoms born from my sword trails were condensed masses of high-output shinsoo. Ideally, the arcs should have been drawn into elegant flower shapes for this technique… but I suppose I can draw them nicely another time. Ha.

Petal after petal—tens of thousands of them—swallowed the Enforcement Unit whole.

They tried to resist, each unleashing their own swordsmanship. But this was a technique that traded preparation time for sheer destructive output. There was no time. The petals were already upon them.

Every petal detonated as it passed, intent on turning everything around me to ash—everything except me, that is.

Thankfully, the blast radius stopped just shy of the fortress. With an effect this dramatic, Uncle Dickel would surely notice and come help.

FWOOOOOSH—!

Even so— they were Enforcement Unit swordsmen. A few of them crawled out through the storm of beauty and destruction.

Two swordsmen rushed at me with fierce glares.

"Five of you couldn't handle me. What can two possibly do?"

Especially when both of you are already injured.

"You traitor! What wicked heresy have you committed to—!"

"Hah. Now you speak properly. I thought you lot were emotionless statues."

With Baekya raised high, I brought the sword down.

Though the swing came only once, Arie swordsmanship turned that single stroke into a hundred.

Hundredfold Execution — a hundred slashes from a single strike, each flying in a different direction.

The two charging swordsmen were forced to retreat, unable to even touch me, suffering fresh wounds as they defended against the barrage.

Of the original five, three were still trapped within the Blooming Pandemonium's storm. The two who had escaped had now pulled back again after my strike.

Having a moment of breathing room at last, I began thinking about the aftermath.

Like it or not, the Elders had declared me a traitor— and right now, I was defying their decree. The Arie Elders… I met them once as a child. Sinister, dangerous, and absolutely not the kind of people one wanted to get entangled with.

Even if I surrendered to the Enforcement Unit now, they would just drag me before the Elders— and things would only get worse from there. Assuming I wasn't maimed first.

BEEP—

"—!"

A message popped up on my Pocket. After scanning it, I finally found a thread that could lead me out of this mess. If I used that method…

BOOOOOM—!

A sudden high-output shinsu cannon shot roared through the air.

Since I'd been reading the message, I had no time to dodge. I unfurled my shinsu wings in haste, wrapping them around my body as the blast struck me full force.

CRAAAASH!

"Ghk—!"

Damn. Should've tried cutting it instead. Even with the wings absorbing the brunt, blood seeped up my throat. Without the wings, I would have been in pieces.

The power was in another league compared to the previous five swordsmen. I quickly scanned the battlefield.

The earlier two swordsmen were gone— and the storm of flowers was fading. Not naturally— artificially.

"Even if they were merely Second Division, they were still Enforcement Unit Rankers…"

His sword was greedily siphoning away the storm's lingering shinsoo. Slowly, yet instantly, the chaos dissolved into nothing.

Caressing his blade, he looked back at me.

It was the direct-line swordsman— their leader.

"I find it difficult to believe, but after seeing it with my own eyes, I acknowledge it. My subordinates alone won't be enough to take you."

He threw aside his robe, revealing clothing more fitting of the Arie— white and black, elegant and Eastern in aesthetic.

"Second Division, withdraw. From here on, the First Division and I will handle it directly."

At his command, the five wounded swordsmen retreated, and the five who had been watching from the rear stepped forward.

The leader approached at a calm, confident pace. I tilted my head toward him.

"And your name?"

"…Ah. I suppose I have yet to introduce myself."

Once within striking distance, he adjusted his grip and settled into stance.

"Second Squad Captain of the Arie Family Enforcement Unit— Arie Cain. One more time, Arie Hoaquin: You stand accused of indiscriminate destruction of the 96th Floor and collusion with FUG. For these crimes of treason against the family, you will be escorted to the Main Estate."

With that, he said no more.

Honestly, those accusations alone raised a mountain of questions— but he clearly wasn't going to answer any. From here on, our conversation would be spoken only through swords.

I raised Baekya to meet his stance.

The pressure, the shinsu, the strength from that last cannon blast— I was unsure if I could win. But I'd already figured out my escape route.

Worst case, I'd fight for a bit and run.

His presence stirred something in me— something I hadn't felt in a long while. The corners of my lips lifted slightly.

It had been a while since I'd met a proper opponent.