Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

Before the Great War— The Primordial Age of the Tower

Titanomachia.

A war between the Tower's original masters—the Ancient Species, led by the Native One—and King Zahard with the Ten Great Family Heads.

Once, the Ancient Species had been revered by the Tower's natives almost like gods of folk religion.

But after their defeat in that war, their status collapsed instantly.

Most of the Ancient Species were killed.

The few that survived were sealed away or cursed.

At that moment, everyone realized something:

The masters of the Tower had changed.

From the Great Old Ones to the Great Adventurers.

Later, when some of the Tower's natives rebelled against their rule in the Great War, the King and the Ten Family Heads triumphed again, securing their position as the Tower's rulers.

The surviving Ancient Species lost hope once more.

Some slowly perished under their curses.

Others fell into deep slumber—

Waiting for "that day" to arrive.

.....

[The scent… of a soul…]

A massive tail slid through the black mist.

The moment I saw it, my body stiffened.

Then a huge head slowly emerged beyond the fog.

A creature with the face of a dragon.

Eight eyes, red as rubies.

Its dark navy scales—mixed with black—rippled like gentle waves.

Alien.

Mesmerizing.

As I stared at it—

It stared back at me.

"…!"

My reflection appeared in its eight crimson eyes like mirrors.

[Not a soul… merely his blood…]

Grrrr—

It bared its teeth and growled, clearly displeased by my existence.

Seriously…

Father.

You're supposed to be the most gentle and honorable among the Ten Family Heads.

What the hell did you do in the past?

While I tried to gauge whether I could fight this thing—

Asinus lowered his scythe and bowed deeply to the Ancient One.

"Greetings, great former master of the Tower. I am Illensia Asinus, leader of the order that serves the Ancient Ones."

[There is one inside your body as well.]

"Yes. From the one residing in me to you—I have released the seals."

"You are free now, Ancient One. However…"

[…]

The creature snorted heavily, as if telling him to continue.

"Zahard's army is stationed nearby. The ones present now are not a great threat, but your resurrection is not yet complete."

"Only six souls have been combined. One soul remains—with that Arie boy."

"I will retrieve it. For now, we should annihilate the Zahard army nearby and retreat before reinforcements arrive."

[Is that your wish?]

"…Yes. For now."

[I accept.]

"But before that—"

BOOM.

All eight red eyes turned toward me.

Burning with murderous intent.

The Ancient One turned its body toward me.

[Your father owes me a debt.]

The sheer pressure of its enormous body forced me to take a step back.

The moment I did—

It noticed instantly.

It pushed its head closer and opened its massive jaws.

ROOOOOOOOAR!!!

"Ugh—my ears…"

CRACK—

Before I could even cover them, white shinsu condensed inside its mouth at terrifying density.

White lightning crackled around its jaws.

Then—

A colossal shinsoo blast fired straight at me.

Too close to dodge.

Too strong to block.

Only one option left.

Just before the blast hit—

Space opened.

And closed.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The Ancient One's condensed shinsu blast shattered the lowest level of the floating fortress instantly.

The underground bedrock below was hammered violently.

RUMBLE—

As the lowest level collapsed, the entire fortress began to shake dangerously.

But with an Ancient One revived—

No one cared about structural damage.

[…You use something similar to soul power.]

The Ancient One turned its head.

On the other side—

I stood there, panting after barely escaping with teleportation.

As if one breath attack wasn't enough—

It casually began walking toward me.

[Being that man's son…]

[That is why you will die here.]

Each word dripped with killing intent.

It opened its mouth again.

Before that insane breath attack could fire again—

I immediately spread my shinsoo wings and flew up toward the top of the fortress.

ROOOOOOOAR!

"…!"

Another white breath blast shot toward me.

I tried to teleport again—

But it predicted where I would appear.

The beam followed instantly.

You've got to be kidding me.

BOOOOOOM—

The Ancient One's breath chased me relentlessly.

Every time it nearly hit, I barely escaped using flash steps.

But after using teleportation repeatedly earlier—

My head was throbbing.

Damn… my brain…

Still better than before though—

"Whoa—!"

BOOOOOM!!!

Only after it destroyed a distant mountain instead of me did the breath finally stop.

Then—

The Ancient One moved.

Emerging fully from the black smoke.

From the lowest level—

Rising toward me on the top level.

FLAP!

RUMBLE—

It smashed through the fortress as it spread two enormous wings.

Only then did I realize—

The head I saw earlier had been just the tip of the iceberg.

ROOOOAR!

With a single beat of its wings it reached my altitude.

Annoyed by the floating fortress in its way, it folded its wings—

Then spread them even wider.

The resulting shockwave and shinsoo storm blew away the entire upper section of the fortress.

Finally—

The Ancient One's full body was revealed.

The villagers froze.

Even Zahard's fleet in the sky couldn't hide their shock.

"Temporary Commander! What is that?!"

I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

"…Oh. Didn't I mention? That's why Leruie came here."

"Anyway, if we stay here we'll all die."

"Raise altitude to the maximum. When I say so, open fire."

"Yes sir!"

The Zahard fleet immediately climbed toward the ceiling of the sky.

Without the Corps Commander present—

Sending them to charge that thing would be suicide.

And if they all died, Maschenny's reputation would suffer.

"That leaves…"

"How do I deal with that monster?"

"…Maybe I should just grab Cheonhwa and run."

No.

It's targeting me.

Running won't work.

While I was thinking—

The Ancient One looked down at the village.

Then at the ascending Zahard fleet.

Almost as if remembering something.

Then—

It slowly opened its eight eyes again.

Grrrr—

The air trembled in response to its emotions.

Its crimson eyes glowed even brighter.

ROOOOOOAR!

[This hateful village that sealed me!]

[Those hateful red three-eyed enemies who slaughtered my kin!]

[Even the child of my hateful rival!]

[None of you deserve to live!]

"…Tell the Vice Commander to fire immediately."

WHIIIIIIIII—

The cannons, already fully charged, aimed at the monster floating in the sky.

Charging sounds echoed everywhere.

CRACK—

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

Cannons capable of turning the village into wasteland fired simultaneously.

Blue and red beams slammed into the Ancient One.

A massive explosion engulfed its body.

The effect looked impressive.

But everyone present knew—

That wouldn't be enough to kill it.

Soon the Ancient One unfolded its four wings again, which had shielded its body.

Its red eyes glared down.

[If you wish to stall against me…]

[Bring forth your decisive weapon.]

"Wretches of blood and flesh. Sorcerer—just as you said, I'll leave the retrieval of my soul to you."

"Yes."

With a powerful flap of its wings, the Ancient One shot upward in an instant, reaching the altitude where the Zahard army had retreated.

Before I could even react, I had to face the scythe flying straight for my neck.

CLANG!

Though my chest was cut deeply, Asinus withdrew his scythe with a far more relaxed expression than before.

"As expected… the direct bloodline of one of the Ten Family Heads is truly something. Judging by your appearance, you look like a child who hasn't even been a Ranker for long. Astonishing talent."

"I'm not a Ranker."

"…? Ah, I see. A High Ranker then? My apologies—you look too young."

Sighing lightly, I showed him my identity registered in my pocket.

– A-Rank Regular, Arie Hoaquin –

"I'm not a Ranker. Not a High Ranker either. Just a Regular."

"…."

For the first time since the ritual ended, Asinus's face filled with shock.

Seriousness. Disbelief. Shock. Even a trace of fear.

After showing all those emotions, he glared at me with colder purple eyes.

"Boy. How old are you?"

"179 this year."

"…Ha."

He let out a hollow laugh.

"Do you know my ranking?"

"No idea."

"Sixty-five."

"Among the roughly one hundred thousand Rankers who have climbed to the 134th floor, I am the 65th strongest."

"Of course, being the leader of Leruie helped raise my ranking somewhat… but one thing is certain."

"In this vast Tower, there are fewer than a hundred people stronger than me."

"Even ordinary Rankers—who are far below me and die like insects before us—exist on an entirely different level from Regulars."

His scythe pointed toward me.

His shadow twisted and pulsed again, radiating murderous intent.

I silently took my stance.

The tension between us tightened until it felt like our weapons might collide at any moment.

"And yet… what are you?"

"You casually decapitate Rankers who toy with Regulars like playthings."

"You, a mere Regular, can fight someone ranked 65th."

"What kind of reversal of the food chain is this?"

SHHH—

All shadows around us—except mine—were sucked into Asinus.

The strange environment left light everywhere, but no shadows.

Asinus slowly spun his scythe.

"If you are not on our side, you are far too dangerous."

"And since I must retrieve the Ancient One's soul anyway…"

"I will kill you here."

"I don't understand why FUG or any other faction allowed you to live this long."

"…Maybe they just weren't interested in me, unlike you."

SHHHRAAAK—

The absorbed shadows burst outward again.

They became razor-sharp blades and rushed toward my entire body.

With Baekya glowing white, I blocked and cut them apart one by one.

Then I reached Asinus.

Our weapons clashed again.

CLANG—!

Pentagrams. Hexagrams. Heptagrams.

They formed chaotically as strange spells and scythe attacks poured toward me.

Each time—

All I could do was the same thing an Arie always does.

Swing my sword.

Unleash Arie swordsmanship.

One swing produced ten slashes.

Ten swings shattered spells.

A hundred swings blocked his scythe and returned the attack.

Dozens of exchanges like that followed.

Both of us covered in wounds.

Yet neither stopped pushing forward.

Seven Black Stars — ZENON

Killing Technique — Seven Spirit Scar Sword

BOOOOOOM—!

Our techniques devoured and canceled each other, creating a massive shinsoo vortex.

We tore through it and collided again.

This time—

Neither of us was pushed back.

…That was strange.

Nothing had changed.

Then—

WOOOOOOM—

Asinus's shadow stretched toward me.

Something inside it lit up.

At that moment Baekya shouted urgently.

[Hoaquin, be careful!]

ROOOOAR—

From the ground beneath me—

A massive Black Maw burst upward with its mouth wide open.

But the place it should have devoured—

Was empty.

When I first dropped the Judgment Sword, I had already realized Asinus controlled that creature.

So every time we fought—

I kept one step of distance in reserve.

Now that preparation paid off.

Using the bizarre martial arts I had learned from Ari Han (Data) in the hidden floor, I twisted my body and slipped out of the Maw's attack range.

Even so—

My distance from Asinus never increased.

While he paused after summoning the Ancient One, I thrust my sword forward immediately.

"…!"

Asinus leapt backward several times in surprise.

Ari Han (Data) Style Martial Arts — Shadow Step

Using the strange body technique, I appeared silently behind him.

Before he could even turn around—

I unleashed my attack.

Hoaquin Style Swordsmanship — Transcendent Technique: Falling Blossoms

WHOOOOSH—

All the countless slashes Asinus had deflected, blocked, or redirected earlier—

The ones drifting aimlessly through space—

Suddenly regained their brilliance and power.

Then they fell toward their target at once.

Like countless white flower petals raining down.

Standing in the center of that storm of white blossoms—

I wrapped them all around my sword—

And drove the blade down into Asinus.

"GRAAAH!"

Falling Blossoms pierced straight through his back, dealing a critical wound.

Then—

The next moment—

I saw a gigantic Black Maw burst out of his back.

CRUNCH—

....

High above the village—

Where the Zahard army should have been.

But the sky was empty.

The fleet I had seen climbing earlier was nowhere to be found.

What happened?

SHHH—

[…]

The Ancient One Heukrin scanned the sky repeatedly.

No ships.

No fleets.

Only a purple pathway floating in the air.

It didn't matter.

Zahard's army wasn't the only target for its hatred.

With eight crimson eyes burning with vengeance, Heukrin looked down.

The entire village lay beneath it.

The village built by the seven swordsmen—

The ones who sealed it after its defeat against Hon.

That disgusting place.

Reducing it to dust still wouldn't satisfy its rage.

GRRR—

CRACK—

It opened its massive jaws again.

A powerful breath attack began forming inside.

ROOOOAR!

Finally—

Heukrin unleashed the breath.

BOOM!

…Or rather—

It tried to.

At the moment the breath was about to fire—

Its head was pierced by a gigantic purple arrow.

The explosion just heard—

Was the sound of that arrow blowing its head apart.

[ROOOOOOOAR!!!]

Its head regenerated instantly.

Heukrin looked toward where the arrow came from.

[…]

In front of it—

A gigantic buffalo-like beast, nearly its own size, breathed heavily.

And beneath it—

A man stood alone, holding a purple bow.

.....

CRUNCH—

CRUNCH—

CHEW— CHEW—

From inside Asinus's shadow, the Maw chewed on what it had bitten earlier.

The sound was horrifying.

I endured the pain and pressed hard against my wound to stop the bleeding.

"..."

"Hah… hah… heh… a one-armed swordsman now."

"No matter how skilled an Arie you are…"

"This will be much easier now."

Cough— cough—

Asinus staggered.

A massive wound pierced through him from back to stomach.

Black blood poured from his mouth continuously.

Yet instead of losing fighting spirit—

He smiled even wider.

Meanwhile—

Blood dripped endlessly from the arm that had just been torn off by the Maw.

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

If you want to read more chapters advanced.

Visit my patreon: /Leonzky