Chapter 169

Chapter 169
## Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Karas Forfeits

……I consumed the star belonging to the defeated Wilhelm.

Simultaneously, a massive torrent of recollections flooded my mind, plunging the champion into a state of utter disarray.

Following Wilhelm’s passing and the absorption of his essence, that internal chaos had surged to its breaking point.

The reason was simple.

‘Who am I?’

Demigod Karas

“Observe! Wilhelm! He is bringing the saga to its peak!”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

“Wilhelm! Wilhelm! Wilhelm!”

“A mad warrior who gains might the more blood he spills?”

“That is the mark of a true paladin!”

“I am yours, Wilhelm!”

If one were to inquire who the most sensational contender in the spire had been in recent times, any long-term observer of the Fighting God Tower would point to ‘Wilhelm.’

Yet, upon his debut, the reception had been frigid.

A warrior clad in heavy plate armor wielding a blade simply did not resonate with the primal, savage energy of the Fighting God Tower.

The audience craved brutal, unrefined carnage.

However, Wilhelm exhibited mercy toward his rivals, offered them acclaim, and spoke of sanctity and pride.

‘He is out of place.’

Though he eventually earned fame, Sansha could never find peace with it.

Paladins had no business in the Myth Tower.

This was a pit of slaughter.

An arena where reality was absolute and performance reigned supreme.

If a soft-hearted individual rattling around in a metal suit seized the throne of the champion, the entire essence of the spire could be tainted.

And if that essence shifted, revenue would plummet.

If revenue failed and the spectacle lost its luster, the Fighting God Tower would have no justification for its existence.

“Level 18! He stands at the very threshold of the champion’s seat!”

“Can this virtuous knight actually seize the crown?”

“The reigning champion hasn’t missed a single one of Wilhelm’s duels, has he?”

“Does that imply he welcomes the confrontation?”

“The champion and Wilhelm are locking eyes!”

“Tonight will be a night that no one sleeps!”

Wilhelm possessed true power.

His strength scaled with every encounter.

The artistry of his blade was captivating, and every stride he took radiated authority.

Merely witnessing him was a crushing experience.

‘If the champion and Wilhelm were to clash…’

Who would emerge as the victor?

It was the question on everyone’s lips.

Within the Fighting God Tower, the champion was more than a man; he was a legend.

He was, for all intents and purposes, the spire itself.

Regardless of Wilhelm’s prowess, the champion had remained undefeated within these walls.

And the champion himself seemed to be yearning for the fight against Wilhelm.

‘I must prevent that.’

Sansha was set on stopping it by any means necessary.

Consequently, he resolved to place an insurmountable barrier on level 19.

“Only one floor remains—19—before level 20. The seat of the champion.”

“The sentinel on 19 who will halt Wilhelm’s advance is… Wait, what is this?”

“Karas?”

“The previous champion?”

The former sovereign, Karas.

Sansha had gone out of his way to pull the man out of his seclusion.

The original master of the spire and a legendary figure known as the ‘Fighting God.’

“Ah… the former king and tower lord has returned.”

“Did he not step down for the current champion and vanish?”

“This… this is going to be grueling.”

“Will the tale of Wilhelm reach its end here?”

Sansha was certain.

Anyone familiar with the history of Karas anticipated Wilhelm’s downfall.

Karas was akin to a divine being; it was the only logical outcome.

He had only stepped aside for the current titleholder due to private motivations.

He was a titan who manipulated the very laws of the spire.

‘I sacrificed much to secure your return, so unleash your fury. Demigod Karas.’

Sansha grinned.

Wilhelm stood no chance against Karas.

Not while they were inside this tower.

However, that certainty and that grin were destined to shatter very soon.

On that particular day.

Sansha was a witness to the impossible.

“What… what kind of freakish entity is that?”

“Rabbit girl!”

“Looking as provocative as ever!”

“Just once, let us see what’s behind the mask!”

……Auril clamped her eyes shut.

She had endured this countless times by now, yet the discomfort never faded.

This location was a pit of filth and lust.

For an elf of her nature, it was a literal toxin.

“You’ve stirred up quite the commotion, but I’ll show you the true difficulty of level 10.”

She was at level 10 now.

Her rival was a polearm user sporting crimson plumage on his head, resembling a rooster’s crest.

Even his facial features mimicked a bird.

He immediately struck a dramatic pose for the onlookers, showing off his build.

“Witness! These colossal sinews that make your fragile body look like a twig! The level 10 crowd adores me more…”

“Boooooo!”

“Get out of here, bird-brain!”

“Ugh, my eyes are bleeding.”

But the crowd’s response was freezing.

Auril’s fame in the Fighting God Tower was currently reaching the stratosphere.

There were few challengers who possessed her talent while also providing such high-tier entertainment.

Despite the roar of the crowd, however, Auril’s nose twitched.

‘Repulsive. The scent is unbearable.’

The bird-man gave off a stench like a frightened skunk.

The higher she ascended, the more the odor of the challengers worsened.

The pulses of raw desire from the audience were becoming more intense as well.

But she persevered.

Was it perhaps because she had spent time with Randolph, the literal avatar of desire?

Or was it the pact she held with him?

She was beginning to find him far more tolerable than these lowlifes.

‘Ugh… so humiliating. I just want to disappear……’

She felt like burying herself in a hole.

If it weren’t for the direct commands of Randolph, she would never have stepped foot in this spire wearing such a degrading outfit.

“You’ve even stolen the hearts of my fans! I will end you ri—”

The bird-man hit the stone floor before his threat could even form.

Auril shook her hand as if she had brushed against garbage and continued her walk.

Her expression was one of pure loathing.

‘Mortals are truly foul!’

Level 15.

I had surged through the spire’s ranks in a mere seven days.

And this velocity could only mean one thing…

‘Sansha is favoring me.’

It was a complete reversal of Wilhelm’s experience.

In those days, Sansha used every resource to obstruct him.

Now, he was doing everything in his power to accelerate my progress.

But the speed was jarring.

It far exceeded my original plans.

‘Is Sansha looking for a change in leadership?’

Had his perspective evolved?

The rumors suggested the champion hadn’t deigned to fight a challenger in over a year.

Perhaps that lack of activity was grating on Sansha.

“You slippery little brat…!”

Refocusing on the present, I looked at the man in front of me.

A combatant wielding twin hatchets, pushing forward with mindless aggression.

His face was flushed with embarrassment and heat.

Swoosh!

Whoosh!

I evaded his swings by the smallest of margins.

Yawn.

I let out a wide yawn and lazily covered my mouth with a palm.

I was playing with him.

Utterly and completely.

“Haha! Give it a real try!”

“Missing like that takes actual effort!”

“The Double X Master name is being dragged through the mud!”

“Emperor Penguin! Give us another show today!”

The audience joined in the mockery.

I slipped inside the warrior’s defense for a light shoulder check, then ducked between his boots to tug his trousers down to his ankles.

Stripped of his dignity, the warrior went ballistic.

“Arrrgh! You flea-bitten mutt!!!”

“Kuahaha! It looks like someone is triggered!”

“The Rage Inducer does it again!”

“A masterpiece of a performance today!”

They had dubbed me the Rage Inducer.

It was the title I had earned during my climb.

“Profits are up 20% in a single week.”

“Tickets for Emperor Penguin’s bouts are going for twice the price on the underground market.”

“The rabbit girl is drawing a massive crowd as well.”

Sansha grinned as the data came in.

Those two were a gold mine, through and through.

The more he promoted them, the greater the impact.

Emperor Penguin, in particular.

He was a rare find.

“Rage Inducer, indeed…”

The man who could drive his rivals to the point of madness.

He had injected fresh energy into the stagnant Fighting God Tower.

‘Humiliating the established veterans. There is nothing more captivating for the masses.’

People loved seeing the graceful swans on the lake get disturbed.

The crowd went wild for the one who created waves in the calm water.

And he was devastatingly capable.

Strong enough to treat high-level combat as a joke.

Furthermore, he didn’t end things abruptly—he ensured the performance was lengthy and entertaining.

Where had such a talent been hiding?

Sansha was infatuated with his success.

“How has the champion responded?”

“No reaction of note so far.”

“Hm. That won’t do.”

Sansha rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Emperor Penguin was exactly what he wanted.

Only the reigning champion had ever given him this much satisfaction before.

But the crux of this situation was the champion’s interest.

The champion had shown a fierce reaction to Wilhelm.

It was almost like a tragic longing for a lost companion.

But once that potential fight vanished, the champion went back to being indifferent.

No one else had managed to catch his eye since.

Emperor Penguin currently lacked the specific quality needed to draw the champion’s focus.

So, how could he force the champion to take notice?

Without the champion’s consent, there would be no grand finale.

Then…

‘Perhaps he needs to be seen fighting with intent, rather than just mocking opponents with superior skill.’

He needed a rival capable of forcing Emperor Penguin to show his true depths.

But the upper limit of his power was unknown.

Picking someone too formidable might ruin the momentum.

‘The rabbit girl who arrived with Emperor Penguin.’

She was the only viable candidate.

Unlike the penguin, her legend was built on ending every duel in precisely three seconds.

What if he staged a clash between the two of them?

It would certainly be a spectacle.

‘But it’s too telegraphed.’

Yes, it lacked the element of surprise.

Predictable pairings didn’t excite the blood. The showdown between the rabbit girl and Emperor Penguin required more preparation to maximize the impact.

Sansha weighed his options.

Should he call back previous legends?

Or should he take a bigger gamble?

After a long silence, Sansha made his choice.

“……I suppose I will have to summon that man one more time.”

Level 17 now.

I looked at the figure standing in my way with a surge of genuine curiosity.

I hadn’t anticipated seeing him here.

Only level 17. Still three levels away from the peak, and a monster of this caliber appears?

A beast-man with the visage of a crow and the frame of a human.

A living legend. A divine creature.

Karas!

“You are…”

But his eyes widened with recognition as he looked at me as well.

He was the final wall I had faced as Wilhelm during my previous ascent of this spire.

Our clash had been the most grueling and protracted battle of all.

Within the rules of the Fighting God Tower, he was a near-divine entity—a nightmare to fight.

But I am no longer Wilhelm.

He shouldn’t have any way of knowing who I was.

Even the administrator, Sansha, had failed to see through me.

Then, Karas lifted his left arm and spoke into the silence.

“I yield.”

Wilhelm’s Star

“Yield?”

“Karas is surrendering?”

“That can’t be right…”

The unprecedented declaration left the entire arena in shock.

The anticipated clash between the rising star and the former king.

The stadium was packed with spectators who had paid a fortune to be there.

Not a single soul expected Karas to simply walk away.

“Have you ever heard of this?”

“Never. Karas has never stepped down from a fight. Not once in his history!”