I got into school for nothing - Chapter 375
I got into school for nothing (375)
Lesson 73. The True Form of the Tower of Babel - 5
The Ortima family's Authority, in a single word, was ‘Domination’.
It resembled the Tower Lord's Authority, yet differed; it was more one-sided, narrower in scope, and—often—the Authority would become so bloated that it would ultimately consume its wielder.
If he, too, were such a case, when had he been consumed by his own Authority?
Staring at his foe through a vision blurring with crimson blood, Lumen idly pondered this.
—You wavered, Ortima.
Even as blood gushed from his abdomen, the Chancellor wore a triumphant smile.
Wavered. Indeed.
At the time, he must have been truly pleased—but then, realizing the Ortima dimension was beginning to Collapse during his battle with the Chancellor, realizing he might be defeated.
The thought, "If this happens, what was the meaning of killing my own son?" made him waver.
His mind, once devoured by the arrogant Authority of Domination, had finally faltered.
—You underestimated the new Tower Lord.
The Chancellor seemed overjoyed, even in his half-dead state.
He himself had constantly clashed with Ban Yuwon, yet never ceased to test him, earning him nothing but the deepest dislike.
Even now, with their paths irrevocably diverged, the Chancellor bore no resentment towards Ban Yuwon.
That was because he believed, "A Tower Lord must be so—".
Had he not, in truth, proven himself magnificently?
Though he had deviated greatly, immensely, from his predecessor's will, still.
Ban Yuwon was the Tower Lord, and would remain the Tower Lord.
Reaching a far loftier stature than any before him, for all eternity.
The Chancellor was unbearably joyful about that fact.
“Hah—Surely, the calculations were perfect.”
Both legs severed.
His right arm lost as payment for piercing the Chancellor's gut and deeply wounding his soul.
One eye lost in exchange for attempting to seize the eye of a legendary being.
Lumen Ortima, who was forcefully maintaining his vitality by 'commanding' his own body, spoke with a wry voice.
“Why were you stronger, Chancellor?”
—It is arrogant for a mere traitor to presume to gauge the Tower Lord's legacy. However, as a sign of respect for a transcendent being's final moments, I shall kindly inform you.
The Chancellor gave a wry smile and patted his own shoulder.
It was the shoulder Ban Yuwon had patted before entering the Tower.
When what had been unknowingly affixed to the Chancellor's shoulder was revealed, Lumen let out a blank murmur.
“A Talisman...?”
—Indeed.
The Chancellor, too, wore a wry smile, as if finding the situation absurd.
—It is the Authority of a student who grew up in a lower-rank dimension, once a dimension pirate, and now a subordinate of the new Tower Lord. An Authority that strengthens all his allies. The new Tower Lord sealed it within a small Talisman, amplifying its power.
“So now... you are telling me...”
Lumen's lips trembled.
Rage, on the verge of erupting, could not escape, merely heating his dying body.
“That a mere worthless wretch, a discarded lower-class being, dared to stand in my way. Is that what you're saying?”
—He himself seems to consider himself something of the Tower Lord's slave—but yes.
The Chancellor chuckled and nodded.
—At the very least, that is why I could stop you here until the end.
“Haha—Hahahahahahaha!”
He couldn't help but laugh.
Ever since that fellow appeared, everything had gone awry.
He ruined everything with his mere clown act.
He casually trampled the ambitions of the Ortima family with a ridiculous love game.
He surpassed a realm painstakingly achieved through countless years of suffering, by merely toying around for a few short years.
And in the end, he used a childish Talisman to seize my ankle and drag me down!
—Do you despise his talent?
“Yes! I despise that accursed talent that so easily crushes my resolve, the countless years of the Ten Great Families!”
The Chancellor scoffed, looking with pity at Lumen Ortima, who had so easily fallen for his question and was now screaming.
—It was something the Ortima family stole from the predecessor. Because they couldn't steal it completely, they keenly feel its inadequacy.
“You, you would hinder me until the very end.”
—It's also what countless beings you called 'worthless wretches' and ignored thought when they looked at you. Now, you have become like them.
“They were merely materials to create a perfect world! You would have treated them the same way!”
—Of course. That's why I'm telling you, you've become the same.
Crack.
Lumen Ortima realized something was biting his neck.
A truly beautiful snake, with strikingly white, gleaming scales, was there.
A venomous snake would inject poison, but this was the opposite.
He felt all the elements that composed him being siphoned out through the wound and was horrified.
“A snake...?”
—Ah, I had forgotten. Allow me to introduce you.
The Chancellor spoke in a leisurely voice.
—This is the first familiar created by the new Tower Lord. It seems to have remained to monitor me—.
Eve nodded silently.
Indeed, it was utterly reprehensible to have secretly moved without even her master's knowledge, yet her reason wasn't to stab Ban Yuwon in the back, but to prepare for dangers even he couldn't foresee and nip them in the bud.
Finally, the snake, having siphoned everything it needed from Lumen Ortima, withdrew its fangs from its foe and flicked its tongue.
“If you had just died, the Floating Island would have collapsed. I had to prepare for that.”
And then, in a beautiful voice, it spoke.
—You can speak, too.
“I was shy in front of my master.”
Eve, responding with an air of innocence, swam through the air and retreated.
Realizing he had become an empty shell, Lumen Ortima thought once more.
What had I killed my son for?
“You were a valuable ingredient.”
Flipping her body in the air, Eve replied in a languid voice.
Only after absorbing all the concepts of the last traitor did everything she needed finally gather.
Like a snake shedding its skin to grow, she cast off her serpentine guise in the air and transformed into a dazzlingly beautiful girl.
Dazzling white hair, and cruelly transparent cerulean eyes like a snake's.
Her face was beautiful enough to draw admiration from all who saw it, yet it simultaneously exuded a peculiar aura, as if one might forget it the moment they turned away.
“You completed me. Be content and die.”
Lumen Ortima was no longer in a state to reply.
The death of a man who, as the ruler of a family daring to claim itself the strongest among the Ten Great Families, and who had even succeeded in deceiving the current Tower Lord by concealing his emotions and true self until the very last moment, felt excessively hollow.
Eve looked somewhat disappointed as she watched it.
“I should have killed him more painfully.”
—Is that your master's inclination?
“It's my inclination.”
Eve, answering curtly, flicked out her tongue and licked her lips with a 'shwik,' as if retaining a habit from her time as a snake, and then looked at the Chancellor.
“And now it's your turn. You tormented my master far too much.”
—I am going to die anyway.
“If you just die, the island will collapse, didn't I just say that?”
Eve, making an annoyed face as if to ask if he couldn't even remember that, extended a hand, formed a snake head with her thumb and four fingers, and snapped them together.
“From now on, I'll manage it. You've suffered enough; now die.”
—Indeed... Finally, a new order has arrived.
He had considered that things might turn out this way once Ban Yuwon perfectly inherited the Tower Lord's position.
His role, after all, was merely to guard the Tower of Babel until the Tower Lord's successor appeared, and nothing more.
But he felt a little regretful.
Having, of his own will, shattered all the plans left by his predecessor.
Yet, he had tidied everything up to prevent its complete destruction.
The man who, in the end, completed the new Tower's system.
He wished to see the man he had painstakingly nurtured, just one last time—.
“Crazy old geezers are always like this.”
Eve, having absorbed all of the Chancellor's concepts, frowned and muttered.
“Because you indulged them, they genuinely believe they did well until the very end.”
Eve, who had been muttering in a cold voice, suddenly detected a massive change and turned her head.
She had just finished receiving and adjusting the Floating Island's control authority from the Chancellor, and now, as if on cue, she felt the Tower being reorganized.
The Tower, which had been extending towards Earth at such an angle that the entire Floating Island tilted, shrank in real-time even as she watched, until it was still immensely tall but its peak could now be seen with the naked eye.
Not only that, but the image of Earth, visible in the night sky beyond, was gradually fading.
As the connection between the Tower and Earth completely severed, the two worlds were once again being isolated.
In truth, although the distance between the two worlds was said to be close, they had come too far to become one now; for the sake of the stabilization Ban Yuwon desired, it would be better for the two worlds to be isolated.
“My master has finished his work....”
Eve muttered quietly, then transformed back into her snake form.
By a hair's breadth, Ban Yuwon and his party emerged from the Tower.
“Honey!”
The moment Kang Eunyoung saw Ban Yuwon carrying Ban Juseok on his back, she rushed over, snatched him from her son's back, and embraced him.
Just then, Ban Juseok, who had finally opened his eyes, chuckled upon feeling his wife's touch, only to be slapped on the back for his troubles.
“What's so funny that you're laughing, you clown!”
“It really hurts, honey....”
“Then why did you make me worry! Someone so frail, truly—!”
Watching his wife hit her husband's back hard, her face twisted in a tearful scowl, Ban Yuwon cast a glance at his party, his gaze asking, 'You guys won't be like that, will you?'
Everyone immediately seemed to avert his gaze, and then Rucell quietly murmured.
“At least Master won't be kidnapped anywhere, so that's a relief.”
“No.”
Dokgo Yeon directly contradicted Rucell's words, then took one of Ban Yuwon's hands.
“From now on, I plan to kidnap him myself.”
“Huh?”
“Wait, Dokgo Yeon?”
Rucell, flustered, tried to grab Dokgo Yeon, but even fully awakened as a Divine Beast, she found it difficult to surpass the movements of Dokgo Yeon, who had resurrected beyond a Constellation.
She interlaced her fingers with Ban Yuwon's, holding him tightly so he couldn't easily escape, then looked back at the dumbfounded Ban Yuwon and smiled.
“If there's anything you absolutely must do right now, finish it quickly, Won. Is there?”
“Uh, huh? I think everything urgent has been sorted out, but—”
“Then come with me.”
Dokgo Yeon, seeing Kang Eunyoung dragging her husband aside and lecturing him, touched her own face and then removed her hand.
Then, the cross—no, the concentric circles—that had been clearly etched in her pupils vanished, replaced by ordinary eyes.
Her large, deeply shining eyes had, of course, been beautiful even when an alien pattern was etched into her purely black irises.
But now, with pristine white sclera appearing and making her dark pupils seem even deeper, she truly displayed a beauty close to the pinnacle of East Asian aesthetics.
“No, I mean! If I hadn't been caught instead of my father back there, it would have been a huge disaster, really! Our son should just applaud my excellent judgment—Ouch!”
“What if something had gone wrong! Didn't you think of me, waiting for you!”
“Greetings, Mother-in-law, Father-in-law.”
“Oh my.”
At Dokgo Yeon's calm voice from beside them, Kang Eunyoung's angry expression miraculously softened.
Perhaps the title 'Mother-in-law' held a magic that could soothe even the greatest rage.
As Ban Yuwon, unable to free himself from Dokgo Yeon's interlaced fingers, instead chose to interlace his own with hers and thought such things, Dokgo Yeon, who had instantly defused Kang Eunyoung's anger, bowed deeply to her and Ban Juseok.
“Though I have formed a deep connection with your son, I am late in offering my greetings. My name is Yeon of the Dokgo family.”
“Yes, young lady, you are that....”
“As expected of our son, only choosing refined young ladies—”
Ban Juseok, seeing his wife's glare, stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.
Dokgo Yeon smiled shyly at being called 'refined' and continued.
“Many things have happened, so it would be best to calmly sort out the situation and catch up... However, having been in a restricted situation for over two years, I haven't yet been able to formally introduce him to my family. Since the urgent matters are concluded, if you two would grant permission, I would like to take him to my family home for a short visit. Would that be acceptable?”
“Now?!”
In the current situation, with the Tower Lord changed, the system revamped, the Chancellor dead, and the Ten Great Families, including Ortima, left in tatters.
Moreover, with Rucell, Asha, Aire, Stella, who came out of the Tower together, and Ban Yuwon's other familiars—Yumina, Mira, Professor Campanella, Rio, Shati, Kiira, Anneri, Ulrike, and even Ban Yumi—all having just dealt with the chaos and now eyeing him, right now!
“Or how about this? Since you two have reunited after a long time, it would be good to relieve the accumulated fatigue in a scenic place and enjoy a relaxed rest together, catching up on old times. Would you like to come along?”
“Oh, really...?”
His mother glanced at Ban Yuwon at Dokgo Yeon's words.
Ban Yuwon, who had been half-lost in thought while listening to Dokgo Yeon's words flow like a clear stream, as if she had been meticulously planning and preparing for this, received his mother's gaze and recalled the Shin-gyo.
Indeed, the scenery was beautiful. There were tall mountains everywhere.
And there were many natural hot springs, perfect for relaxation.
When he nodded inadvertently, Kang Eunyoung's face brightened, and she pulled Ban Juseok's arm, embracing him, and said.
“Then, if you'll excuse us?”
“Huh? No, wait, honey, first, our daughter and father too.”
“Our daughter-in-law is taking us to a good place, just let her.”
Seeing that his mother's grip on his father was unusual, it seemed he would have to give his father a second Candy of Life as soon as dawn broke.
“Then I'll go too—Guaack!”
Ban Yumi, who had been approaching from behind, tripped over someone and fell.
Immediately after, a loyal maid, whom one could not name but who wore an all-black stealth suit, appeared with Lilyth, disguised as a spaceship.
“It's been a long time, young lady. From now on, I will serve you....”
“Heukseol, you stay here.”
“Young Lady?!”
However, there was no forgiveness from Dokgo Yeon, who already knew that Heukseol also coveted Ban Yuwon.
Dokgo Yeon, after hastily boarding Kang Eunyoung and Ban Juseok onto the spaceship, turned to the others, who were dumbfounded by the instant abduction, and grinned.
“Then, I'll leave the rest to you. It might take a while, though.”
She stuck out her tongue in a 'beh' sound, then pulled Ban Yuwon into the spaceship and slammed the door shut.
“[Then, launching! After all, the fewer rivals, the better for us!]”
“Shhh...”
Before anyone realized it, with the exception of Eve and Lilyth, who were now wrapped around Ban Yuwon's arm, no one could interfere, and the spaceship simply departed.
Those left behind stared blankly at it for a moment, then finally came to their senses.
If they let them go like this, they wouldn't just miss the formal introduction to the family; it felt as if they wouldn't see Ban Yuwon again until Dokgo Yeon returned with his child!
“Let's follow them.”
“Coordinates, who knows the coordinates?”
“I know.”
Heukseol said.
“Since it's come to this, I won't hold back either, Young Lady.”
On this monumental day, when the Tower of Babel's system was reorganized, operating with a completely different mechanism than before.
As not only the new Tower Lord but also all those who had greatly influenced the Tower's revamp vacated their spots, the students left behind merely stared blankly up at the sky.
And it was understandable, given that the Chancellor had just died right here, and Vice-Chancellor and Professor Campanella, even Professor Clio Hecate, had all departed.
Even if Campanella's absence was due to a sabbatical, Mira, who was substituting for her lectures, had also disappeared....
Someone muttered.
“...Who's going to teach our classes now?”
Shati, who was left alone in that spot for being the newest full professor among Team Rebellion, and the one with the least experience, clicked her tongue with a 'tseup' sound and muttered.
“Should I just become the Chancellor myself?”
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