Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

FUG.

Even now, after what could only be described as a miracle—after somehow getting two of them back through incomprehensible luck—

in the end…

They were the ones who killed Leblanc noona.

Albelda. Anna. And Vicente.

They were the ones who slaughtered my family on the 99th Floor's floating castle.

I've gotten better.

But there was a time when I dreamed almost every night of my family being caught in FUG's attack, screaming as they died.

It wasn't just the four I was closest to.

Most of the direct Arie descendants on that floating castle had been on good terms with me.

Anna's friends—the ones I bought sweets for? Dead.

Vicente's sparring partners? Dead.

Albelda's friends—the ones who visited her with me? Dead.

David's friends?

Most of them were gone.

For over a hundred years, I lived trapped in that despair and those nightmares.

And in the end… I committed a sin that can never be erased.

If Arlene could fill her pocket's diary with words of resentment and hatred toward Zahard—

I could fill the entire Tower with my hatred and rage toward FUG.

Back when I climbed the Tower alone, slaughtering FUG wherever I found them, that was certainly true.

After committing that sin, I shut myself away in a corner of the Outer Tower.

Time passed.

I reunited with family. With comrades. With the woman I loved.

The boiling, reckless emotions cooled.

But hatred is not something that erodes so easily.

FUG—

The most hateful turning point in my life.

That was what they were to me.

.....

I forced my racing heart to calm down and narrowed my eyes at Chaplin.

No—

I glared at him.

"Director Chaplin… were you FUG?"

He had offered shelter when we were about to be chased out of the village.

He had offered us dinner.

That's what it looked like on the surface.

Chaplin looked momentarily flustered.

Then he sighed.

"…How troublesome."

"…Please answer properly. While my hand is not yet reaching for my blade."

He straightened his posture.

"I was FUG."

"—!"

Shhhk—

A white shinsu blade, infused with Shinwonryu, formed in my hand.

My heartbeat spiraled out of control.

Reason slipped.

An instinct screamed that this was what I had to do.

Family's enemy.

Vile creatures.

Shuaaa—

"Hoaqin, wait—!"

Hwarang tried to stop me.

But the blade was already flying toward Chaplin.

I didn't intend to stop.

Even as it neared his chest—

He did not dodge.

He did not counter.

Why wasn't he making excuses?

Why wasn't he retaliating?

"Stop!"

"—!"

"Yale!"

If even a fraction of a second had passed—

My blade would have pierced his heart.

But a woman I had never seen before threw herself between us.

Both Chaplin and I were shocked.

Chaplin shouted her name and reached out.

I tried to dismantle the blade—

Too close.

Damn it— stop—

BOOM.

Shinsu burst outward.

I waved my hand, dispersing it.

I had weakened it as much as possible—the explosion was contained within the room.

When the dust cleared—

Chaplin had blocked the blade with his arm.

The woman was unharmed.

She coughed, then glared at me sharply.

"What is wrong with you?! What did my father ever do to deserve this?!"

"…Father?"

"Yes! And he's a Ranker! Even if you're some high-born Arie young master—if you keep acting like this, my father—"

"That's enough, Yale."

Chaplin gently patted her.

"Trust me, just for a moment."

Before he could speak again, I asked:

"Are you living while hiding your identity as FUG?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yale snapped back.

"In this village, almost no one doesn't know my father used to be FUG. You outsiders couldn't have come here without help. Didn't the resident who helped you tell you?"

"…."

Cheonhwa never told me.

Behind me, Hwarang and Luf approached with guilty expressions.

"…Hoaquin."

"Hoaquin hyung…"

"Yeah?"

"We all heard directly from Director Chaplin earlier that he was former FUG. Except Maschenny—she went to pick you up. We didn't tell you because… given your past… we thought it might stir things up unnecessarily."

"…Sorry."

If I had a mirror, I'm sure I would've seen my pupils shaking.

I wasn't disappointed in them.

If anything, I was grateful.

They were trying to protect me.

And yet—

I felt strangely stunned.

My heartbeat had already calmed.

My reason had long since returned.

I turned back to Chaplin.

"…Can you explain?"

"First, allow me to apologize for not telling you sooner."

"Father, why are you apologizing—"

"Yale."

She fell silent.

Chaplin rolled up his sleeve.

A brand—starting from his back—was visible.

"After being falsely branded a criminal by one of the Ten Families and exiled, I joined FUG out of vengeance. I climbed to Ranker. Then I realized it was meaningless. I left. I have lived quietly since, using what I accumulated. That is all."

He bowed.

"You likely harbor hatred toward FUG, as I once did toward the Ten Families. I cannot erase the sins of that time. So I run this orphanage, raising children, trying to atone. If you wish, I will arrange another place for you to stay."

I bowed too.

Damn it.

I almost killed another civilian.

A man with a family.

I almost repeated the same mistake.

I thought I had changed.

Apparently, I still have far to go.

"…No. It's fine. I'm the one who should apologize."

Chaplin blinked—then laughed softly.

"…Thank you. Truly. Though this may be awkward timing… dinner is ready."

"…After what I just did, if you still offer dinner, I'll accept gratefully."

I hesitated.

"Earlier… why didn't you dodge?"

He scratched his cheek.

"To be honest, I thought I could take a hit from a Regular and then explain. But judging by that power… I likely wouldn't have had the chance."

"…."

We stepped into the hallway again.

And the mystery of the ransacked room was quickly solved.

Clatter—

"Pwah! I couldn't breathe!"

A small child, covered head-to-toe in expensive ruby and amethyst jewelry, crawled out from under a shelf.

So that's what it was.

A tiny jewel thief.

Yale dragged the child away.

As we walked toward the banquet hall, Maschenny stared at me with a displeased look.

"Hoaquin."

"…Yeah?"

"Why do you keep looking at that girl?"

"…What?"

"You were staring. Even now, you're looking at the back of her head."

"That's just because she's in front of—haha. Alright, Maschenny. I'll only look at your face while walking. Our princess is jealous, huh?"

"W–what?! I'm not jealous—"

I gently patted her head.

After twenty years together, I had learned one thing:

Pet her head, and she calms down.

I kept stroking her hair as we walked.

She's too cute.

Like a cat.

Inside the banquet hall, dozens of children were already seated at a long table, happily eating dinner.

The scale and splendor of the place felt like something straight out of an old wizard movie—like the grand dining hall of a magical academy.

"Your seats are prepared over there," Chaplin said.

Following his guidance, we took seats near him.

I was cutting Maschenny's steak for her when I noticed an empty chair.

"Director Chaplin, that seat…?"

"Ah. Do you know Cheonhwa? A girl I'm acquainted with was supposed to join us for dinner tonight. She's late."

Cheonhwa?

I turned to Hwarang.

"Hwarang, try contacting her."

"I already did. No reply. She's not picking up either."

Just as I was about to say something—

BOOM!

A blinding flash erupted beyond the window, followed by a massive explosion. The building trembled violently, and before the echoes faded—

BOOM!

Another one.

This felt wrong.

There were barely any Regulars or Rankers in this village.

To produce explosions of that scale without being a Ranker…

Ignition weapons.

"I'll go check on Cheonhwa."

I stood up. Naturally, everyone else did too.

Of course they would. None of them would sit idly by if one of us was in danger.

But this time, they couldn't come.

"Feels like two people. One of them is at least High Ranker level. You'd only be putting yourselves in danger."

"…Alright."

They were rational. After a moment's calculation, they sat back down.

Though their expressions were grim.

We were the type who'd rush in for each other without hesitation.

Staying behind must've felt wrong.

But the gap between a Ranker and a Regular was absolute.

"I'll be back soon. Don't worry."

With that, I unfurled my shinsu wings and shot toward the source of the explosion.

.....

The road was cratered like a battlefield.

Buildings lay shattered.

And—

Damn it.

My bad premonitions were almost always right.

A blonde man stood before a blonde girl collapsed on the ground.

I descended quickly, shielding her with my wings.

The man didn't appear to intend another attack.

"Cheonhwa!"

"…Hoaquin."

She didn't seem visibly injured, but she struggled to stand.

Every time she tried to rise, she faltered.

I gently wrapped my wings around her and laid her back down.

"Don't push yourself."

"Ugh… I ignited twice in a row…"

So those explosions were hers.

I turned to the man before us.

He studied me with curiosity, then smiled faintly.

"Hoaquin… ah, yes. The Regular who took Narmada. Nice to meet you. I'm Hong Ryuhwa. Cheonhwa's older brother."

"So you know my name already. Then I'll skip introductions. Care to explain why you've laid hands on your sister?"

We were both confident.

He stood straight before me—what gave him that confidence?

Then again, to him, I was just a Regular.

He smiled easily.

"I love my sister dearly. But the greater cause comes first. I intend to protect this land—this village—from the plunderers lurking above the clouds."

Zahard's army.

But what did that have to do with Cheonhwa?

Something about this situation was more complicated than I'd thought.

I should've asked Maschenny to intervene.

For now, I needed information.

"And Cheonhwa?"

"She bears responsibility too. As a member of the Hong Family, she holds power tied to this land. But she refused. I had no choice."

He looked genuinely sorrowful.

Cheonhwa forced herself to speak.

"What are you talking about?! I was thinking of ways to protect our land too! Give me back Arjuna!"

So he'd taken Arjuna.

I'd heard Ryuhwa also wielded Brahma.

Why did he need another ignition weapon?

Then Ashul's words from earlier came back to me.

—Except for the swords held by the Regular who came to this village and his blood relative, and the one you hold, the rest are fakes. Someone siphoned them off. And none of these fools even realize it.—

Ryuhwa shook his head.

"Cheonhwa. You said you were thinking of protecting this land."

"Yes! I—"

"How?"

Silence.

"Will you clash head-on with Zahard's army? Do you have connections within the royal family? Or will you stand with powerless villagers holding protest signs and expect the army to retreat?"

She couldn't answer.

He turned to me.

"Then, Hoaquin. Return Narmada. It belongs to this village."

"I was planning to give it back to Cheonhwa. But seeing this situation… that might not be wise. Do you have a plan to defeat Zahard's army?"

He smiled again.

And drew his sword.

"Of course. But it's regrettable you refuse to return it."

"Haha. Ownership in the Tower is relative. If you need it—"

Shk—

Without Baekya, I drew another blade from my inventory.

White Lightning—Baekroe.

"Take it. If you can win."

A vein bulged on his forehead.

"…You arrogant—"

He lunged.

"Hoaquin! My brother's a High Ranker!" Cheonhwa shouted desperately.

So he was.

His blade wasn't Arie-style, but it carried weight and power.

But—

He wasn't fast enough.

Baekroe met his sword.

I tilted the blade slightly, redirecting his strike.

Then swung at his torso.

He bent low to dodge—

"Never fought an Arie before?"

The trajectory shifted mid-swing.

Blood scattered in the air.

He staggered back.

I stepped forward, smiling faintly.

"Let's start with Arjuna. And Brahma too."

"…Not yet!"

He stomped hard.

The ground trembled.

Shinsu crushed the earth around him.

Blue light gathered along his blade, illuminating the area like a beam of pure energy.

High Ranker indeed.

Even the shockwaves alone made Cheonhwa pale.

Then—

He stepped forward again.

The pressure intensified.

So I raised my hand.

Stopped.

"…?"

I lowered my sword and lifted something else.

Both Ryuhwa and Cheonhwa stared in confusion.

Cheonhwa finally blurted out—

"Wait… what are you doing?"

"…A finger?"

Yes.

My hidden trump card.

Was my finger.

"There's a limit to how much mockery I'll tolerate!"

Cheonhwa tilted her head in confusion, and Ryuhwa snapped in anger, thinking I was still fooling around.

Well… I was being considerate, actually.

He'd understand after taking one hit.

"Haaah!"

With killing intent blazing in his eyes, he swung his blade of light toward me.

It didn't seem like he had activated a weapon—probably a technique.

While I was briefly admiring it, a crescent-shaped blue slash closed in on me. It was massive—large enough to swallow not only me, but Cheonhwa and the surrounding buildings as well.

Do your job, my trump card.

As the condensed energy rushed in to slice me apart, I slowly dragged my finger downward.

The change was immediate.

Kzzzzzt—

"W-what? Hoaquin, what did you just do?!"

"Haha. I told you—it's my hidden move."

What I sliced with my finger… wasn't air.

It was space.

The space containing Ryuhwa's attack twisted and warped under my finger. His roaring crescent slash split cleanly in half.

The massive attack that had been racing toward me parted instantly, curving around me like a river split by a rock.

Even Ryuhwa stared wide-eyed at my finger.

It was a technique I'd stumbled into while desperately trying to survive during Father's trial. Since then, it had failed every time I tried to use it—and burned like hell whenever I forced it.

But I don't quit.

I had grasped the sensation. All that remained was practice.

I couldn't teleport or anything flashy. I could only slightly distort a small portion of space.

But against Ryuhwa?

That was more than enough.

"My ultimate slash—!"

He shouted in disbelief as his attack split apart.

"The view's much clearer now."

With the slash parted, I could see him.

I reinforced my finger with shinsoo and thrust it forward along the split in space—like parting the Red Sea.

A flash.

Shinsoo burst from my fingertip and pierced straight through his body.

It wasn't as overwhelmingly powerful as a certain someone's technique from outside the Tower…

But it was enough.

While Ryuhwa struggled to recover from being struck by what was essentially a compact shinsoo cannon, I summoned around sixty shinsoo swords around me and unleashed them all at once.

It didn't take long before his stamina collapsed under the barrage.

…

"…There's nothing?"

My voice came out flat.

Arjuna wasn't there.

Brahma wasn't there.

The weapon Ryuhwa had used wasn't Brahma either.

I grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

"If you tell me where you hid them, I'd really appreciate it."

"Haha… We both win, Hoaquin. You used our conversation to gather information. I used it to buy time for my comrade to escape with the blades."

"—!"

I immediately spread shinsu waves outward.

Nothing.

They were already gone.

When I looked at Cheonhwa with an apologetic expression, she simply shook her head, as if to say it wasn't my fault.

Ryuhwa continued speaking.

"Hoaquin, you're from a great family. You wouldn't understand the position of one who protects. When an overwhelming power sets its eyes on what you cherish… what would you do? You wouldn't know. You're one of the 'privileged.' You've never needed to struggle to protect anything."

His careless generalization made my blood boil.

He knew nothing about how I'd lived.

"…Don't talk like you know anything."

He ignored me.

"There is one year left until Zahard's Army's deadline. That's far too short for the villagers to abandon everything and leave. And we shouldn't leave to begin with. This land… must be protected."

At this point, I had to ask.

Why were they all so obsessed with this land? And what were they planning to do with the swords?

"So. Do you actually have a way to defeat Zahard's Army?"

"Haha… Me? No."

"…?"

Before I could respond, he cut me off.

"But they do. That existence does. The power to repel invaders… lies with them."

"…Who?"

He didn't answer.

It was obvious he wouldn't say another word.

Cheonhwa's face darkened.

And I couldn't bring myself to tell her that the other blades were all fakes.

That meant the only real blade left… was Narmada in my possession.

Ashul Edwaru's arrival.

The village legend.

The seven blades.

The mysterious attackers at the auction.

Baekya fusing inside the furnace.

Hong Ryuhwa.

Six stolen blades.

Zahard's Army targeting this place.

I looked up at the Bolalite ceiling of the Tower.

All of it was happening here.

It felt disconnected… yet strangely intertwined.

Something was definitely in motion.

"Cheonhwa… I've got a bad feeling."

"…Me too."

What unsettled me most was that we were being carried along like driftwood, without even seeing the current beneath us.

Maybe we'd been looking in the wrong direction all along.

Instead of the sky… we should've been looking below the surface.

The Tower had a saying:

"It's darkest beneath the lighthouse."

Today, it felt more real than ever.

.....

Paradise Orphanage

Maschenny chewed her steak with an expression like she was eating cardboard.

In another setting, that would've been rude.

But no one said anything.

The mood was too heavy.

"At this rate, I'll just be staring at my boyfriend's back for the rest of my life."

Hwarang let out a bitter laugh.

"There's too big a gap between Hoaqin and the rest of us. Sardines don't swim beside sharks."

"I'm not a sardine."

Maschenny shot back—but her energy quickly drained again.

Lately, they kept getting dragged into Ranker-level situations.

And every time, Hoaquin handled it.

Sure, they were still Regulars.

But so was Hoaquin.

Maschenny. Hwarang. Luf. Yura. Asensio.

Every single one of them was thinking the same thing.

"Are we just baggage?"

Regulars gain overwhelming power upon becoming Rankers through their contract with the Administrator.

Unless you were an extreme anomaly, a Regular couldn't surpass a Ranker.

And their sticky rice cake of a friend?

He was that anomaly.

Hoaquin could cut down Rankers with his eyes closed.

They couldn't even reliably defeat one.

When Hoaquin told them to stay behind because an upper Ranker-level presence was involved—and left alone—they had felt it clearly.

They were lacking.

They wanted to stand beside him.

To help him.

Especially now that Hoaqin was growing explosively—and even his heart condition was resurfacing.

They couldn't keep being protected forever.

They were all prodigies.

Future High Rankers.

But Hoaquin was simply beyond scale.

The door suddenly burst open.

A man they'd never seen before entered, carrying someone unconscious over his shoulder.

"Who are you?!"

Asensio leveled his spear.

The man raised his hands.

"It's me. Chaplin. Ah—different face."

His face was wrapped in bandages, then unraveled.

Chaplin's familiar features reappeared.

"A spell item from my younger days. Something felt off outside."

He glanced down at the unconscious man.

"A Ranker tried to sneak in. I knocked him out with a frying pan."

"…What."

Luf blinked.

"So if you hadn't done that, we'd have had to risk our lives fighting a Ranker. All of us."

"It wasn't just a frying pan. It's special."

"…Right."

No one looked reassured.

If Hoaquin had been here, he could've cut the Ranker down with a finger.

They'd need everything just to survive.

Chaplin tried to console them.

"When I was a Regular, I lived watching Rankers' moods. Once you become Rankers yourselves, you won't worry about such things. The power difference is incomparable."

"Right. That's it."

Maschenny suddenly smiled sharply.

"If we become Rankers too… wouldn't that change things?"

She looked at all of them.

"Wouldn't it?"

"Of course that's reasonable… but by then Hoaquin will be a Ranker too, won't he?"

Asensio's objection was perfectly logical.

Maschenny didn't hesitate.

"Asensio, Hoaquin can't leave the village right now. He has to fuse his soul with Baekya. While he's stuck here, we climb. We become Rankers first."

Asensio's eyes widened.

He looked like he was about to begin his usual Maschenny-praise routine, but the others were already thinking seriously about it.

She was right.

Yura was the first to openly support the idea.

"I agree with Maschenny. Hoaquin has a reason to stay. We don't. Us sitting here is just wasting time. We should climb faster—at least become Rankers half a step ahead of him."

Hwarang and Luf, who had been listening quietly, finally curved their lips into faint smiles.

"Yeah. It might be a bit of a shortcut," Hwarang admitted. "But it's better than tagging along unable to properly face even a single Ranker. How many floors left?"

"This is the 127th floor. Seven more."

"Then it's decided."

Hwarang shifted his gaze toward the unidentified Ranker Chaplin had captured.

"But first… we find out who that guy is."

.....

127th Floor – Deep Seafloor

Submerged Floating Fortress, Leruie

As if by silent agreement, a sea of black-robed figures parted.

Another robed figure walked through them, cutting a path forward.

Step.

Step.

Step.

At the deepest depth beneath the seabed—where no light reached and even existence felt suffocated—the figure advanced without hesitation.

Finally reaching the innermost chamber of the floating fortress, he knelt before the one seated upon the throne.

"The villagers do not fully trust us yet… but they no longer reject us."

Silence.

Despite the number of robed figures present, not a single breath could be heard. The stillness was suffocating.

The kneeling servant continued.

"And six of the seven have been recovered."

"Ooo… at last."

A murmur rippled through the robed assembly.

They showed faint signs of excitement.

All but one.

The master of the throne remained unmoved, violet eyes cold and detached as they gazed down at the kneeling servant.

Ruby ornaments gleamed faintly against the darkness.

Those violet eyes alone were enough to make the servant's body go numb—as if every nerve were dying under that gaze.

The throne's master remained silent.

The others quickly fell silent as well.

In the darkness, violet eyes blinked once.

Then the master rose.

Each step down the throne's staircase crushed the air itself, overwhelming pressure pressing down on everyone present.

At the fifth step, the violet eyes spoke.

"And the remaining one?"

The servant slammed his forehead into the ground with a heavy thud.

"Hong Ryuhwa succeeded in recovering Arjuna and Brahma. However… the final blade, Narmada… retrieval failed."

"Failed."

The word echoed softly.

"It has been some time since I last heard that word."

The servant trembled violently, unable to speak further.

The violet-eyed master descended fully from the throne. A chilling hand gently stroked the servant's head.

And then—

Crack.

Crunch.

"Ah… it feels better to fill my stomach after so long."

When the "merciful" touch ended, the servant had vanished—leaving behind only a few droplets of blood.

The violet-eyed master brushed the blood aside lightly.

"I am merciful. I forgive you. Narmada houses the weakest soul among the seven. The six important blades are already ours. The last can be reclaimed later."

The violet gaze lifted upward.

Above this deepest seabed lay only ocean water.

But the master's sight pierced further—toward the Bolalite of the Tower.

"…It appears to be night."

"How many nights remain?"

"Three hundred and sixty-six nights remain."

"Not long."

The master turned as if to return to the throne, but one of the black-robed figures dared to speak.

"However, Cult Leader… the three hundred sixty-sixth night is also the day Zahard's Army intervenes in the village."

The one addressed as Cult Leader closed his violet eyes briefly.

Then ascended the steps once more and sat upon the throne.

His eyes opened again.

"Once we awaken the Ancient One sleeping within the blades, there will be no issue. On the three hundred sixty-sixth night, when the shattered blades reunite and one of the Tower's former masters awakens… all impure forces shall be annihilated. This floor will return to primordial freedom."

"For primordial freedom."

The black-robed figures bowed in unison.

One by one, they vanished back into the darkness.

The violet glow faded last.

Their purpose was clear:

Awaken the Ancient beings sealed within the blades.

Return the Tower to its primitive era—before the Ten Great Families, before Zahard.

Break the curse placed upon the Native Ones and all ancient species.

To achieve that, awakening the one slumbering within the blades was inevitable.

On the three hundred sixty-sixth night—

Leruie would rise once more.

----------------

If you want to read more chapters advanced.

Visit my patreon: /Leonzky