Chapter 0
-SPLURT!!!
I feel a cold pain in my abdomen. Bright-red blood sprays before my eyes, and a blade thrusting up from my abdomen comes into view.
"Kugh!"
-BOOM!!
An explosion that flies in from somewhere immediately engulfs my entire body, sending me flying dozens of meters before I slam my head into the half-destroyed asphalt.
"Gnnngh...."
I barely manage to haul my mangled body upright, and the surrounding landscape comes into view.
The downtown area has collapsed into rubble and ash in the battle against the 72nd-floor boss.
The dark gray storm clouds part, and brilliant sunlight pours down.
Bathed in that brilliant sunlight, my companions approach.
The top-ranked players in their respective fields—the guild masters of Korea's seven major guilds and their elite guild members—appear with the light at their backs, like heroes of justice.
And then,
They address me as though passing judgment in the name of justice.
"Lee Do-hyun!! I sentence you to eternal death!!!"
"Resonant Fusion Magic, deploy!!!"
[Mana Drain]
[Bind]
A gigantic magic circle forms on the ground, gluing my feet to the floor, and even the last handful of mana I had left after nearly exhausting it in the boss battle vanishes.
'What on earth is going on....?'
Everything proceeds as though they had planned it for a long time and practiced working together over and over.
This is unbelievable......
Since when have they been plotting this?
Why on earth would they want me dead?
It wasn't long ago that we were all united by our pride as the world's best raiding team....
Even as I think, the mana remaining in my body is sucked away until I'm completely empty.
Mana Drain is a trash skill with less than ten percent efficiency, but when it's used by hundreds of the highest-ranked players, its power far surpasses that of any individual.
"His mana is sealed. Attack, everyone!!"
"Kuh....! Why!!!"
Ignoring my words, my companions charge at me with murderous intent.
I don't know why, but I can't just die pointlessly like this.
The hole in my abdomen heals in an instant, and I face them.
The problem is that with no mana, there's no way I can put up a proper fight against them.
To begin with, I'm a magic swordsman who fights with mana buffs covering my body. I even need subspace magic to summon my weapons, and I can't use that either.
Even so.
Even with my bare hands.
I fight back!
-THUD!!
The huge man charges out at the front. I tilt my head and upper body in opposite directions to evade his right hook, then immediately send a right counterpunch that knocks him down.
In the meantime, an icicle flies in and tears a huge hole in my thigh.
The dependable top-class tank brings his large shield down on me.
I punch through his shield, then thrust my hand forward and strike him in the solar plexus, sending him flying.
An arrow that came from somewhere lodges in my body, while magic of every attribute flies at me, burning and shattering my body.
The sword of the man once known as the Sword Saint comes rushing for my neck.
As my neck is severed halfway through, I grab his face with both hands and gouge out his eyes with my thumbs.
-SQUISH!!
His eyes burst from their sockets.
"Aaaaargh!!! You fucking monster!!!"
Then intense blue flames erupt from beneath my feet and burn my entire body as though devouring it.
The scorching flames bore through the gaping wounds into my body, roasting my organs and brain to a crisp.
"Kill him, kill him completely!!!"
"Is he finally finished....?"
I die without managing to leave a single last word, let alone an excuse.
'No, this isn't the end.'
The SSS-rank Trait [Immortal's Blessing], obtained as a reward for clearing Floor 50 and enhanced to its maximum level.
-CRACK....
When the flames die out, my severed, charred head reconnects to my body, and my wounds heal.
"That bastard... He's resurrecting!!!"
"Damn it, what kind of bullshit trait is that!!"
"Don't panic. It's all according to plan."
As if they had anticipated this, they cut my neck off again and burn my body.
After clashing with me several times, they too have suffered considerable damage, but there are simply too many of them.
'Ah.... I thought they were my companions....'
My mistake was genuinely mistaking them for comrades and telling them everything.
The rate at which my body is being destroyed begins to outpace the rate at which it regenerates.
"You fool. Fighting isn't a matter of will alone."
Baek Do-hyun, the leader of a massive guild standing aloof at the very back of the enemy forces, curls the corner of his mouth into a sneer.
'So he's the ringleader.....'
I had suspected it ever since our opinions began to differ, but I never expected him to incite everyone from behind the scenes like this.
Meticulous planning and preparation.
An overwhelming difference in forces.
My stupid, naive companions wouldn't have willingly joined this plan. He must have used some means or other...
'I will never forgive them..... Someday, I'll come back and have my revenge!!!'
But against my wishes, my consciousness gradually begins to fade.
'No.... No!!!'
"Do you think we'd attack without a way to counter that trait?"
-CRUNCH!!!
Someone wielding a massive greatsword cuts my body, which has just rejoined, completely into pieces.
Even so, the cells slowly regenerate.
The scattered blood gathers in the air and forms veins, followed by bundles of nerves, muscle, and bone attaching themselves in turn.
Those tissues then clump together, slowly forming arms, legs, and a head.
"Damn it, I guess we really should have killed this guy right away."
"What a fucking monster...."
"Seeing it in person leaves me speechless...... Is this really the same person?"
They then follow the plan, dividing my regenerating body into pieces, freezing them, and placing them inside special containers.
"This should be enough to stop him from resurrecting."
'Ah... Is this really the end?'
The price of trust is betrayal for reasons I don't even know.
Once my body is divided into seven pieces and placed in special containers, my vision blurs, and my consciousness sinks deep into darkness.
***
How much time has passed?
It feels as though I've been left alone in a dark universe.
I can't see what lies ahead.
No matter how far I run, this dark space filling every direction never changes.
Even after waiting endlessly, this dark space doesn't change.
A space like an endless black universe.
But even so, I run.
I struggle desperately to grasp even a thread of hope.
Revenge.
The end of the Tower.
There are still so many things I haven't done! It can't end like this!!!
And then,
I see a small light in the distance.
A tiny light, so faint and precarious that it seems it would vanish in an instant if I don't concentrate.
There.
I have to catch it.
I sprint madly through the dark space.
How long have I been running?
A minute? A year? I run endlessly through the black space, where space and time warp, repeatedly stretching and contracting.
The small light grows larger and begins to emit a pink glow.
Glittering motes of light spilling from the crack whip past me.
Up close, I see that the place where the pink light is flowing out is a tiny hole just large enough for my hand to fit through.
At this rate, I won't be able to get through.
But I can't give up here.
I grab the hole with both hands and wrench it open.
-CREAK...
It feels like I'm touching some strange wall of flesh.
Even as an unidentified, viscous liquid spills out, I push my head through and widen the opening with my arms.
At last, my body enters the sticky, pink hole I've widened enough.
-SCHLUP!!
***
"Guh!!!"
The first things I feel as my consciousness returns are a cramped body and a desperate lack of air.
Something like vinyl is wrapped tightly around my entire body.
"Nnngh!!!"
Instinctively, I raise my arms over my head and tear the vinyl wrapping around my body.
One layer, two layers.....
I peel away the vinyl piled up layer upon layer.
'Gnnngh, I can't breathe.....'
Back then, I could have torn through plastic like this with a single finger, but it seems my body isn't in good shape now.
-RIIIP… RIIIP!!
Just when I can no longer hold my breath.
“Phaa!!!”
At last, I tear through all the vinyl and emerge into the bright world outside.
I open my eyes as I gulp down the sweet oxygen entering my lungs for the first time in ages.
A clear, clean blue sky.
Dazzling sunlight that illuminates the world pours down from the heavens.
“Haha!! I'm back…?”
Hmm?
‘But something feels wrong…?’
I can chalk up the garbage dump surrounding me to the fact that my corpse was dumped somewhere.
‘Why is my voice so thin…?’
I look down, thinking, No way... no way.
“Eek?”
There...
Two impossibly plump mounds of flesh hang enticingly.
'Why... are these on my body?'
Wondering if something might have been attached to me by mistake, I grab and feel them with both hands, but....
MUSH~ MUSH~
The plump, soft boobs, so ample they spill out even when held in both hands, bounce in my palms.
"Huh?"
My mouth falls open involuntarily, and a foolish exclamation escapes it.
“No way... ah, dick—no... where's my dick?”
I quickly lower my hand to search for my precious club, but, sure enough, it's gone.
'Aah...'
I died today.