Chapter 132: An Unexpected Alliance Proposal

[Leon of South Korea has cleared the First Floor on Eerie difficulty.]

[He becomes the Ruler of the Tower, replacing Altain, the previous clearer of Incomprehensible difficulty.

[Leon has been appointed as the Administrator of the Tower’s First Floor.]

[By the Administrator’s authority, no one in the world may access the First Floor until entry conditions are set.]

The messages hammered into my ears.

‘…He did it.’

Honestly, I hadn’t expected much.

Even though Leon had obtained the Rank of Creation and its complete power, the period I had spent teaching him was short.

There was still so much more to teach him, and because he was immature, I thought he might lose to Salmora—or rather, to the perfect species that creature had created.

Of course, that wouldn’t have meant a permanent defeat.

I expected that I could eventually turn the tide as I continued to train him, but what was this?

He had achieved the feat of surpassing the perfect species from the very beginning.

‘Salmora must be feeling quite a bit of a headache right now.’

This news would have surely reached Salmora’s ears, and it would likely be causing him a great deal of trouble.

It was only natural.

‘Because the failed creation he personally discarded surpassed his perfect species.’

What kind of emotions would he feel upon realizing that his failure was actually his greatest success?

It was a crying shame I couldn’t see his face….

-Whoosh!

…Or so I thought.

However, someone suddenly appeared before my eyes.

A middle-aged gentleman who had once introduced himself as Emile Ricard.

He, who still radiated the presence of a human rather than a member of the Demon Clan, stood before me.

“…It’s been a long time.”

I wasn’t speaking to Emile.

I was addressing Salmora, who was making no effort to hide his presence, letting it radiate freely.

“Hehe. It has been a long time. It’s rare for us to face each other without any masks.”

He didn’t deny it.

Just as I expected, the man was Salmora.

“You’ve become much more human since I last saw you. Did you change your species?”

Species conversion.

Normally, people would say it’s impossible, but for Salmora, it was well within his capabilities.

“I had to. Since this Earth is a world ruled by humans, I felt I should change to match it. Hehe~”

“You certainly are closer to a human than a member of the Demon Clan. Your endless greed, your scholarly passion—all of it.”

What I felt when I first saw Salmora was how much he resembled a human.

Of course, his Martial Power and strength were entirely that of the Demon Clan.

But his bottomless greed and desire?

I always thought those traits were very human-like.

And now, he had undergone a species conversion to become human.

It was as if he were finally wearing clothes that actually fit him.

“Is that so? Well, I’m a man without prejudices. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest to be called human.”

Salmora looked at me.

“So. What is the reason you’ve come here?”

The bastard who had been hiding so thoroughly suddenly came looking for me?

He definitely had a goal.

“A goal. Rather than that, shouldn’t you show a bit more hospitality to a friend you haven’t seen in ages?”

“A friend….”

I contemplated his words for a moment.

A friend.

Since when did the definition of a friend become a relationship where we tried to kill each other?

“At least for now, let’s forget the past. I think there was a time when we could have been called friends. Wasn’t there?”

“I suppose there was such a time.”

Back during our days in the Demon King’s Legion.

He and I maintained a relationship that could be called friendship.

Of course, that was only on the surface; in reality, we were using each other.

But even then, a relationship where things are being exchanged can still stand.

One could call that a friendship.

But.

“…”

I looked around.

This was the Penthouse where I lived.

It was a home, but I didn’t have anything prepared to eat.

“…My apologies. I don’t have anything to serve you….”

“That’s easily fixed.” Salmora laughed.
“Snap!” He snapped his fingers.

Surprisingly, in an instant a table appeared along with fruit, meat, snacks, and a bottle of champagne that wafted a fragrant, fruity aroma.

His decanting skills were also exceptional; the way he poured the wine into the glasses was far from ordinary.

“Have a drink.”

“…”

Someone might have wondered if it was poisoned but not me.
“Clink”

I touched my glass to his and downed the champagne.

The fragrant fruit scent told me immediately that this was no ordinary vintage.

“It’s good.”

The benefit of fully integrating my personalities wasn’t just my emotions; it included my sense of taste.

Taste stems from human emotion.

Happiness.

Satisfaction.

In the past, my personality was fragmented, so I couldn’t properly experience those flavors, but things were different now.

I could taste things accurately and feel the emotions associated with them.

“Hehe. Seeing you say that, you must have recovered your separated personalities.”

“Well, as you can see.”

“You were so desperate to split your personalities back then.”

“I survived because of it, so there’s no reason to complain.”

“What about my efforts in helping you with that personality split?”

“I thanked you several times back then. And didn’t you enjoy it because you were able to obtain experimental results from it?”

The separation of personalities.

That too was something possible because of Salmora’s help.

His experiments had reached the point where he could separate a human’s persona.

No, it wasn’t just humans.

By studying the Demon Clan, gods, and other species, he could separate their personalities and create clones.

That was why he had been a huge help in splitting my personality so that I could survive.

“Thanks to that, it was a great help in birthing the perfect species. I won’t deny it.”

“…”

Not many words were exchanged after that.

We simply enjoyed a brief moment of leisure, consuming the fragrant champagne and snacks.

‘It’s strange.’

It felt fresh and bizarre.

Salmora, sitting right in front of me, was my ultimate adversary.

Yet, even with him before me, I felt more comfortable than ever.

The feeling was like sharing a drink with an old friend from back home.

Was there any reason a meeting with an enemy should feel this comfortable?

“…It’s because we are kindred spirits.”

As if he had read my mind, Salmora continued, “You might deny it, but we are of the same kind. We possess the same emotions, thoughts, and tendencies. Kindred spirits recognize each other and feel a sense of comfort. That is why, even if we are destined to kill each other, the time we spend meeting like this cannot help but be enjoyable.”

“You sound as if you feel the same way.”

“Hehe. Of course! I feel just as comfortable as you do. More than ever before.”

“I see.”

For a while, we exchanged drinks in silence.

And then.

“…So. What is the purpose of your visit?”

The idea that he came here just to see a friend without any motive wouldn’t fly.

There had to be a reason he appeared here.

A very important one at that.

It likely had something to do with the Tower’s message from moments ago.

“Hmm.”

His face looked slightly troubled.

It seemed even this cold-blooded being was capable of worrying.

“The truth is, I’ve never felt affection for anyone else. I’ve lived as a maverick, as if I were the only person in the world….”

He looked me straight in the eye.

“You. Valdevron Brocia—no, Kim Si-won—you are different.”

“I’m flattered. Thank you for treating me as someone special.”

“I’m not just saying that. I consider you my only friend.”

“A friend. What are you planning to gain by expressing such goodwill?”

“Hmm. I spoke from the heart, yet you don’t believe me.”

“If you were me, could you believe those words right now?”

“Hehe. Of course I wouldn’t.”

“Same here.”

“Hehehehe—”

We both knew each other too well.

I think I understood what he meant by “kindred spirits.”

We certainly shared similar traits.

Because of that, I could guess to some extent why he had approached me.

“The perfect species. It’s not quite perfect yet, is it?”

“…”

It had been a while.

The smile that always filled his face stiffened slightly.

“And the material needed for that is Leon.”

He laughed without speaking.

“You probably didn’t expect it. That I would create the perfect Rank of Creation.”

The reason Salmora discarded Leon was likely because he lacked the confidence to make him perfect.

Actually.

It was only natural, as persuading the God of Darkness was close to impossible.

In fact, if I hadn’t used a specific trick, the Darkness would never have been absorbed by Leon.

“No. I fully expected it. Making a perfect creation was also part of my plan. However, even with a perfect creation, it wasn’t close to the perfect species I desired. That’s why I willingly chose to discard it, but…”

“But?”

“The one I didn’t expect was you, Kim Si-won.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Your teaching, your experience, and the Karma you possess.”

Ah!

Only then could I realize what he was trying to say.

“You’re saying you didn’t think I could make Leon grow this much.”

“…”

Was his pride a bit wounded?

He didn’t give any answer to my words.

But soon.

“…Yes. I hate to admit it, but I failed to predict your leadership.”

What he hadn’t expected.

That was my leadership as a mentor.

Salmora had arbitrarily defined Leon’s limits.

Because of that, he thought that even if Leon achieved perfect creation, he would never become the vessel or the test subject for the perfect species he desired.

He assumed that since he had created Leon, he understood all of his possibilities and potential.

However.

‘I made the impossible possible.’

I hadn’t just made Leon absorb the Rank of Creation entirely; I had also made him grow through a short period of teaching.

That had been proven by him passing the First Floor’s trial just moments ago.

The Altain that Salmora had made into a perfect species had only managed to overcome the Incomprehensible trial, while the Leon I taught had surpassed that by clearing the Eerie difficulty.

“I truly hated admitting it. To think that I, the one who created it, could not predict its limits. And that you, the friend I know better than anyone, was the one who recognized them.”

It was likely because it was me that he hated admitting it even more.

But when the reality hit him, he had no choice but to accept it.

“So. The purpose of your visit regarding Leon is…”

“I’m not asking for him for free. I’m suggesting we form an alliance.”

The words were unexpected.

“An alliance?”

I never thought the word “alliance” would come out of Salmora’s mouth.

As I said before, the man was a maverick.

He never dared to join hands with anyone, and his time with me was purely for mutual gain.

A man like that was swallowing his pride to propose an alliance?

To me, who knew him well, this was an incomprehensible phenomenon.

“…”

“We’ve been at odds, but haven’t we always known? That we need each other. It’s simple. In your life, which doesn’t have much time left, you need a reliable pillar of support, and I need the experience and Karma you possess.”

When there is something both parties want from each other, the conclusion is simple.

“I am formally requesting an alliance. If we combine our strengths, we can pave a path into the realm that even gods cannot reach—the realm of the Unknown.”

The Unknown.

I had caught a glimpse of its existence.

Something above the gods.

Something in a realm we had yet to reach.

What Salmora desired was to reach that realm.

Originally, he probably wanted to accomplish that alone, but after seeing my usefulness, he seemed to have changed his mind.

He said this and extended his hand, “Take my hand, Kim Si-won. If we are together, we can conquer not just this world, but the Unknown that created that arrogant Tower as well.”

I stared blankly at the hand he offered.

And then.

“My answer is…”

There was no need to hesitate.

From the moment he arrived, my answer had already been decided.