The Villain's Story

“…”

Harrison stayed silent as he viewed the trials of Alan and Elijah.

‘So they were worthy of story-type trials huh.’

He thought.

Floors eleven to twenty were strange. They consisted of two types of themes. One was a battle against an endless horde of monsters, a survival theme and the other was the empire Story theme.

Most that entered those floors would be faced with the first theme and only a select few would go on to face the second theme, the Empire story theme.

No one knew why it was so but Harrison deducted that the tower probably gave the Story theme to qualified challengers. He was one of the challengers who was given the second type on the floors.

The tower was beyond Understanding. Humans could never understand it. They were just lucky to have it descend upon their world.

“Alan Peccator and Elijah Ardor have been deemed worthy by the tower and are participating in the Empire Story quest! We all should cheer them on!”

He announced it was his job to keep the audience satisfied right now.

‘I wonder how they will clear the trials…’

He thought. Each challenger would clear the trials in their own way.

He wanted to see whether Elijah or Alan would satisfy the tower.

*******

[Trial 13.]

[In this desolate and haunting landscape, you find yourself standing within a plain of dead grass that stretches out as far as the eye can see, its lifeless blades swaying in an unfelt breeze. The sky above is a seamless expanse of gray, devoid of any discernible features, casting an eerie and diffused light over the scene below. There is no sun, no moon – just a monotonous gray canopy that seems to absorb all color and vibrancy.

However, the most unsettling aspect of this scene lies in the countless corpses that surround you. These are not ordinary remains, but rather a multitude of lifeless bodies that are imbued with the power of shadows. Each corpse exudes an otherworldly aura, a deep and encompassing darkness that seems to pool and swirl within them as if the very essence of shadow has replaced their life force.

The bodies lie in various states of decay, some mummified and barely recognizable, while others appear to have only recently met their demise. Their forms are contorted and twisted in grotesque positions, frozen in the midst of a macabre dance of death. The shadows within them seem to stretch and reach out, creating an illusory play of movement that dances across their features, making it seem as though the bodies themselves are alive with an unholy energy.

As you step cautiously among the corpses, the ground seems to absorb your footsteps, as if even the earth itself mourns the presence of this dark congregation. The air is heavy with a sense of foreboding, a palpable feeling that you are an intruder in a realm where the boundary between life and death has been twisted and violated.

Despite the absence of color, the contrast between the gray sky, the dead grass, and the shadow-imbued corpses is stark and unsettling. The scene evokes a sense of profound sorrow, of a world forgotten and forsaken, where the power of shadows has consumed not only the bodies but the very essence of existence. It’s a haunting tableau that challenges your perception of reality, leaving you to contemplate the mysteries and horrors that this world of gray and shadow holds.

What will you do here?]

For the first time, the tower actually gave a description of the trial.

I scanned the surroundings carefully and was ready for anything…But nothing happened.

The corpses just surrounded me in a circle, they didn’t move a single inch. They just looked at me eerily.

I had thought that maybe they would all rush towards me at once, but I was wrong. Instead of swarming me they were just peacefully standing.

The corpses were of all kinds, some wore tattered clothes, some were aristocratic clothing, some were wearing formal attire, some were knights, some were commoners, some even slaves and some were priests.

No matter what position they held when they were alive, they were all the same here. Mere corpses.

‘Is this trial supposed to be a lesson or something?’

I used mana sense and found out that there were a total of 78,861 corpses here.

It was an entire army. An army of corpses even skilled necromancers couldn’t conjure up.

I don’t think even Kazikato can create an army of skeletons this big yet.

[What will you do?]

The mechanical voice of the tower resounded in my ears once again, And I steadied my stance and said.

[What will you do?]

It asked again, and I declared.

“If they won’t attack, I will.”

The Ame-No-sakahoko vibrated. Strange, I feel as if it’s stopping me. It’s as if it doesn’t want me to attack them.

I dismissed my worry, thinking that I was just coming up to false conclusions. .

I stabbed the spear into the ground and released its energy which drove away the shadows.

And started my attack.

***********

[Elijah PoV]

I walked towards the corpses, my sword still sheathed. I had an inkling that they would not attack me…

They were crying, I was hearing cries of pain.

But why?

[The Supreme Dragon of Fire Agri explains it is because of your affinity to Fate.]

Ah, So it’s an effect of that huh?

“I don’t mind.”

They are still alive, Although their faces have rotted away I am still able to see the emotions hidden in them.

Sorrow, and a longing for true death.

“…”

It saddened me, they were suffering for so long.

“Why do you do this?”

I asked the Tower of Trials.

[I am not the one who did this.]

It answered, but I refused to believe its words.

[It’s the opposite. If I had left this world alone, they would have suffered for all eternity.]

“..?”

[I gave them a chance, to be either saved or be damned by challengers like you.]

“…”

I fell silent.

[What will you do?]

It asked that damn question again.

𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮