「Breaking news. The Death King has set out to conquer the Tower’s hundredth floor, but we haven’t heard from him for quite some time. Many believed he failed. There have been a lot of talks going on about sending out search parties from within the Black Dragon Guild, along with the other Five Guilds and the Death King Clan. Now, I believe that those talks can end. The Death King, the Rank 1 Hunter, has cleared the Absolute Heavenly Peak!」
Thunderous cheers rang through the Tower’s plaza.
「As you can see, Babylon Plaza is now in a frenzy. It’s probably because everyone has heard the Tower’s message before we could go live with the news. You heard it too, right?」
The anchor turned to his colleague, who nodded.
「Yes, based on what we’ve checked so far, it seems everyone in the Tower heard that message.」
「It’s like the time when the OJP Sect Master and Constellation Ruin-Harvesting Cow crafted an item with an immeasurable rarity level.」
「Exactly. Back then, there was a prophecy that the Ruin-Harvesting Cow would stand in the Death King’s path, plunging the Tower in chaos. I remember there were heated debates over whether or not the worlds of our Tower should unite and form a large-scale punitive expedition or wait a little longer.」
「The debate ended only after the OJP Sect Master returned and explained what happened.」
The anchors wiped their foreheads.
「Compared to that time, there’s barely any chaos this time. The worst chaos we’ll see in this Tower is probably a shortage of alcohol or chicken[1].」
「Yes, it’s great that there’s no room for misunderstanding.」
「Yet it looks like the Death King’s haters—the Organization Demanding Truth from the Death King—want there to be a misunderstanding. What do you think?」
「We’ll now hear from our staff at the scene.」
People with masks had gathered and raised placards.
—Death King (X) Fraud King (O).
—Death King, the Fabricated Hero.
—Corrupted Connection Between the Death King and the Aegim Empire.
—Earth’s Traitor. Sormwin’s Puppet.
Those at the front shouted into megaphones.
「We’re the Organization Demanding Truth from the Death King, also known as Organization Demanding Death[2]. Today, it was said a certain message was sent to everyone in the Tower, so we have gathered experts from the Tower here today to point out that there is a high chance the message has been fabricated. According to the experts… (…) the Death King has bribed the Tower. Don’t we already have eyewitness accounts of the Tower’s managers showing favoritism toward the Death King on many occasions? (…) There is also the possibility that the message was sent by a Skill. Even if it was a Skill or a real message, our organization believes that the Death King becoming a Constellation warrants an investigation. Still, if he is a Constellation, he could send the same message to many people at once. (…) How can a previously jobless man become the Hunter representing this Tower and conquer the hundredth floor? Even an elementary student would say this doesn’t make much sense—」
After listening for a while, the anchor narrowed his eyes.
「What are those people saying?」
「I’m not sure. I feel like their yapping can be summarized to “It’s fabrication,” “The Death King is a fraud,” “Even if he did clear the hundredth floor, he rigged it with the Tower, so the Death King has basically done nothing,” “So what if he reached the hundredth floor? It’s not like our lives are going to get any better.”」
「This info seems useless. Anyhow, it’s been a while since the Tower’s general message announcing that the hundredth floor has been cleared. Has there been any contact from the Death King himself?」
「We’re staying in touch with the Broadband Communicator, the Five Guilds, the Ducal Family of Ivansia, and the vassals of the Death King Clan, but no news— Ah. 」
The anchor’s expression changed at once.
「The Death King has made contact just now!」
「Is that so? Which one did he make contact with?」
「The Black Dragon Guild.」
The anchors knew that if they got the message that the Black Dragon Guild had contacted the Death King, it meant that everything had been sorted out. What to keep secret had been decided, and the Death King was ready to make a public announcement. This reduced the burden on the broadcasting station, so the anchor smiled with a light heart.
「Patch us to the site, please.」
The screen changed, showing the Black Dragon Guild’s hall. There had once been a vote carried out within the Tower on whether they should pioneer or settle down. In that vote, the people of the Lion Realm had chosen to move forward instead of settling with what they had. There was no doubt that the Death King’s speech at the time had decided the vote’s outcome.
The hall of the Black Dragon Guild shown on screen looked like the very place where that speech had taken place. This was likely part of the Black Witch’s plan. Kim Gong-Ja, the one responsible for stirring up the Tower, was standing exactly where he had been during that speech.
「Everyone, this is the Four Kings!」
「Sixteen years have passed since he left for the ninetieth floor! After all these years, the Death King finally showed himself!」
The anchors were so excited that they raised their voices. Beyond the screen, faint noises could be heard from the Black Dragon Guild’s hall.
「There’s no need to rush, everyone. You’ll be able to meet the Death King soon.」
「Reporters, please enter in an orderly way.」
The Black Dragon Guild members led the reporters to their places, keeping them under control.
「Ah, the Death King isn’t actually in the venue. A screen has been set up. It’s a video conference.」
「The Broadband Communicator is standing right beside him. Since the Inventor King is also there, it seems that the feed is live.」
「The Organization Demanding Death has just stated that if the Death King doesn’t actually appear at the venue, then this is just the Black Dragon Guild pulling the strings behind the scenes. What are your thoughts?」
「I’ll say it again. I believe that there’s no need to listen to them. I was a little disappointed when I saw that the Death King wasn’t actually at the venue, but the mere thought of having a similar opinion to those people made me not care that the Death King isn’t actually there. I’m actually grateful for that.」
「The press conference site seems ready. Let’s focus.」
A group of reporters gathered around the projector showing Kim Gong-Ja and asked their questions.
「Greetings, Mr. Death King! Or should I call you Mr. Scream-Gathering Sky now?」
This was the first question asked after the Death King’s return. He smiled.
「Call me whatever you like. The people from the Organization Demanding Death seem to be here too, so you can just call me Fraud King, but I prefer being called Kim Gong-Ja. Calling me Mr. Gong-Ja would put me more at ease.」
「I also received the message that you cleared the hundredth floor. Congratulations! What is beyond it?」
「What reward did you get?」
「What happened?」
「What are your plans from now?」
Despite the Black Dragon Guild members’ best efforts to keep order, questions erupted at once like a snake with many heads. It didn’t matter. He had to answer them someday.
Kim Gong-Ja took a deep breath.
「I—」