VIP Chapter 467 Undead Swordsman (4k)
“What if… we’ve already found the one you’re looking for?”
“For the ‘mission’ he left behind, why not try a little harder?”
The researcher demon pushed up his monocle and moved aside, making space.
“What kind of joke is this?”
“We know you checked that box because you personally dealt with an Undead Swordsman in our ‘Coliseum.’ But what if… you haven’t defeated them all yet?”
Behind him, the existing space began to crumble to the sides, as if the entire enclosed area was expanding, stretching violently outwards until it distorted.
It transformed into a narrow passage, with a dazzling white light radiating from the outside.
Treya knew what that place was.
She raised the Shadow Nightmare Sword and walked step by step out of the dark passage.
It was a…
exceptionally large coliseum.
The sky of the coliseum was strange, like a black sun hanging in the heavens.
This place should have had color, but under the illumination of that black sun, the original colors reflected into the eyes, becoming indistinguishable black and white.
Although it was the same black and white, the black and white here was not the despair that made one abandon and forget everything in self-destruction…
The overwhelming black and white here was a deadly solemnity.
This was the 230th floor of Zero Demon City.
Also known as the “Demon’s Coliseum.”
The 230th floor in Zero Demon City was not far from the final floor.
Zero Demon City currently had about 250 floors in total. This place could be considered a minor hurdle en route to the final BOSS.
…In the week after Will’s death, this was Treya’s favorite place to visit.
Because here, as the Empress, she could choose any monster in the entire dungeon to challenge—the monsters were not afraid of losing, because as the ruler of this place, Treya could grant them a second life.
And being challenged by the Empress was, for them, clearly a supreme honor.
Treya followed her habit from months ago and walked to the center of the coliseum.
The black sun cast her shadow long, and her silver hair appeared even whiter in this light, like the only beacon in the darkness.
The giant coliseum also had stands, and naturally, there were “spectators” in the stands.
Even after such a long time away, she could still hear cheers from the stands—
“Welcome, Your Majesty!”
“Welcome, Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, this way—”
These were the cheers of the various monsters in “Zero Demon City.” The monsters here were born over two hundred years. Because very few people had conquered this dungeon, many of the monsters had actually lived for two hundred years.
However, their self-awareness was weak. They had no true “personality,” and were more like tools to enhance the atmosphere, swayed by Treya’s emotions.
In other words, they were the “atmosphere group” of this venue.
The creation of dreamscapes has always relied on people’s “inherent impressions.” As long as it possesses some things that “should be here,” it will make the dreamscape more believable.
This was also why each floor within Zero Demon City was constructed with challenges based on people’s “memories.”
“Too noisy.”
Amidst these chaotic cheers, Treya’s words were quickly drowned out by the roar of voices.
But…
It was also like a small bomb within the sonic wave. As her words spread through the din, it could be clearly heard that the sounds grew quieter and quieter.
Then, the vast arena returned to silence.
As solemn as its black and white appearance.
“Your Majesty, welcome back to the Coliseum. You haven’t experienced it for two hundred and twenty-one days, four hours, and fifty-eight minutes. May we ask if you encountered any issues? Inform us, and our feedback will be swift. We will surely improve next time.”
Beside Treya, there was a hunched-over little demon.
It was multicolored, dyed red, green, blue, and yellow from head to toe. Strangely, in this entirely black and white environment, it could still maintain the colors on its body.
It claimed to be the “manager” of this coliseum, serving her.
“Stop talking. Her Majesty is here today to complete a ‘mission’.”
“You’re the one who should stop talking to me. Hmph. Just a doctor? I think you probably have no idea why our Demon City would need a doctor. If anyone gets hurt, doesn’t Her Majesty heal them instantly?”
“Is it possible… cough cough.” The doctor demon’s wings flapped rapidly, allowing it to hover and stand at attention. “I’m here to treat Her Majesty’s heart ailment?”
“Don’t joke. What heart ailment could Her Majesty possibly have?”
“Isn’t it obvious that this place has turned black and white? That’s Her Majesty’s heart ailment!”
“There are plenty of black and white places in Demon City. What does that have to do with a heart ailment?”
As the two demons bickered incessantly, a sound tore through the air.
The black Shadow Nightmare Sword was drawn, poised between the necks of the two demons. Without touching either, it lifted both of their chins.
At the far end of the sword, Treya’s eyes glared fiercely at them, her silver hair scattered by the desolate wind of the coliseum.
“If you speak again, I’ll remove both your tongues.”
She continued to walk forward.
Just two more steps and she would see…
the “broken swords” of the Undead Swordsman.
One after another, they had transformed this once peaceful coliseum into a tomb of Undead Swordsmen.
Although Undead Swordsmen were known for wielding many swords, after being defeated, their bodies would consolidate into one.
There were two hundred and thirty swords on the ground. That week, she had come to this coliseum and slain two hundred and thirty Undead Swordsmen.
Unlike the other two.
Treya could complete Will’s final mission from the “Quest System” whenever she wished.
Undead Swordsmen were one of the most common monsters in Zero Demon City.
Will’s last mission for her…
She could fight as many as she wanted.
She could make the difficulty as hard as she wanted.
And…
She could win using any method she pleased.
These two hundred and thirty Undead Swordsmen were killed by sword tips, slashed by sword bodies, bludgeoned by sword hilts, torn apart with her bare hands, dispersed by her undead magic, burned by her fledgling fire magic, or ordered to their deaths by her gaze…
She used countless methods, as if to vent her anger, to kill the Undead Swordsmen.
Then she resurrected them and fought her again.
Afterward, she stopped.
It wasn’t because she was tired, but because as the two hundred and thirtieth one fell…
She was somewhat dazed. She turned her head, wanting to seek praise from someone who “should have been sitting in the audience.”
But…
There was no one.
Among the audience seats filled with all sorts of demons, the one person she wanted to see was not there.
Thus, she suddenly realized something—
She was merely venting her anger, or in other words, simply pretending that Will was still watching her and applauding her progress by completing the mission of killing Undead Swordsmen.
This battle without him by her side was meaningless.
After all…
The so-called “Quest System”…
was always a mission he wrote for himself, not a mission for each of them.
“So, the one you’re talking about is…”
“We’ve also read that ‘Quest System’.”
“Get to the point.”
—They were prepared.
Treya, who had walked this far, realized she had fallen into the demons’ scheme. They hadn’t lied, but they were constantly using what she saw to guide her towards their desired outcome.
—But it didn’t matter if they were prepared.
—Still, since it’s like this…
—Let’s play along and see what they’re really after.
“This one is your fated enemy. Its name is the same as the one that appeared in the ‘Quest System.’ It’s called Reyel.”
“Reyel…”
As soon as she said that, Treya heard a familiar sound.
*Ching.* *Ching.* *Ching.*
The sound of two swords being grinded together in a rhythmic fashion reached her, accompanied by an eerie howl, like the sound of wind passing through a very, very narrow canyon.
It was the sound of an Undead Swordsman.
It came from the entrance on the other side of the coliseum. Having fought so many Undead Swordsmen, she knew its sound all too well.
“Think about it. If you were to truly meet your fated enemy, regardless of whether you want to destroy things now…”
“For the future he left you, which he couldn’t complete, will you fight to the bitter end?”
“Oh.”
She didn’t need its reminder.
Treya’s purple right eye glowed. A flame ignited within the black and white coliseum. She turned towards the deep entrance on the other side.
From her waist, she drew the black “Shadow Nightmare Sword” that Will had gifted her.
She raised the sword high, pointing its tip at the ominous black sun in the sky.
No matter what level of Undead Swordsman it was, even a 230-level Undead Swordsman, even an Undead Swordsman far stronger than the one Will had assigned her, she had killed them all.
Even a fated enemy…
What of it?
Treya looked up.
It was different from what she had imagined…
This fated Undead Swordsman was actually just a girl with black hair, similar in age to her. Only the ends of her hair were faded, scattering like a ghost.
Her eyes were hollow, like the eye sockets of a skeleton.
*Whoosh.*
Three hundred and thirty-three swords appeared behind the Undead Swordsman, a dense mass.
Treya had never seen such a quantity of swords before.
Strangely, this was even ten times more than the fated one described in Will’s writings.
The black swords cut through the air, creating shadows as if slicing through space.
The Undead swordsman, with soul-like silver blades, as if to perfectly contrast with Treya, unleashed an endless sword light amidst the tomb of its predecessors who had fallen—
A collision of black and white.
Two sword techniques, one characterized by speed and the other by quantity, clashed fiercely in the coliseum.
And then—
Even Treya’s nerves couldn’t react. Amidst the intense clashes and blocks—
“Wh-what’s happening…”
Treya’s Shadow Nightmare Sword, along with her right hand that held it.
In a moment of weakness…
It was instantly severed.
It flew towards the black sun in the sky.
“Ha…!”
She opened her eyes and lay on her bed. Above her was a magnificent royal canopy. The black sun in her vision had transformed into a giant blue rose printed on the canopy in reality.
She had regained color once more.
“A dream?”
She flexed her wrist, feeling the pain. The fatigue in her body hadn’t cleared at all.
“No, this challenge was real.”
She glanced at her sword. The Shadow Nightmare Sword wouldn’t break so easily, but the wear and tear on it were still severe.
“…Meaning, I lost?”
Treya woke up from her bed, feeling an agonizing headache.
Between blinking and closing her eyes, the world before her flickered back and forth between black and white and color.
Only after about the thirteenth blink did it finally stabilize.
It stabilized into the appearance of the black and white Zero Demon City invading.
“Your Majesty, it appears she is indeed a very powerful enemy for you. To be safe, we will forcibly exit you each time you fail. Please do not worry.”
She heard the voice of the “doctor demon” again. It floated in the air, still wearing its strange stethoscope.
“So this is the one… from the mission.”
Treya ignored the demon in front of her, merely clenching her fist.
“I will defeat her, no matter how many times it takes.”
“Then, the coliseum to heal your heartache is open to you at all times.”
It flapped half of its demon wings, rubbing its hands together excitedly like a fly, and bowed to her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We succeeded. She’s been defeated once already. So the progress of our fusion has advanced a little further.” came from 1.
“Is that so? Can we now have Demon City cover areas outside her bedroom?” came from 3.
“It seems to have expanded to the garden outside her window. But be careful, she must not notice at all.” came from 5.
“Before that, she had better not realize that her reality is also changing.” came from 7.
“She has walked into the trap. It’s highly likely she won’t notice.” came from 1.
“It’s just strange, why these past few days… the adventuring teams conquering the dungeon seem to have slowed down so much?” came from 3.
“That’s right. They are currently stopped at floor 170. Just a little further to 230, and they could reach our Empress.” came from 10.
“Hehe, could it be they also know the little girl’s birthday is approaching? Let her celebrate her birthday before facing the executioner’s meal?” came from 6.
“We’ve stumped them, we’ve stumped them.” came from 4.
“But, that one… the newcomer we picked up from floor 333, is she really that strong?” came from 9.
“Of course not. That swordsman, who was inserted from who knows where, was merely strengthened by the Empress’s nightmare, the bedrock symbolizing her fusion obstruction, and a bit of newcomer’s luck.” came from 1.
“Does newcomer’s luck really exist?” came from 4.
“It’s just a demon’s joke.” came from 1.
“So, how much longer will this trial take until we can completely control her?” came from 7.
“Until Zero Demon City returns to the human world?” came from 8.
“Until we can kill that detestable Carver from a realistic perspective?” came from 3.
“13 times.” came from 2.
“Why that number?” came from 10.
“Demons like it. Hehe.” came from 6.
“Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee.” came from 12345678910.
