I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Inherited the Basement 1 of the Tower – Episode 31

The Emperor had fallen.
Struck down by a noble of the Empire—no less than the Border Count himself, who was meant to protect the imperial family while defending the realm from foreign invasion.
It happened in an instant.
And because no one had anticipated it, a moment of stunned silence descended.
Then cries of fury and confusion erupted in all directions.

“Light! Appear here now and banish this darkness!”

The mages of the White Horse Tower began casting brilliant white magic.

“The Emperor has been assassinated! Kill that traitor!”

The imperial guards, terrified of the consequences that would fall upon them,
drew their blades with eyes blazing crimson.
The encirclement closed in moments.

【Barkalor is shocked by your act of treason.】
【Loyalty decreases by 10.】
-Current value: 74.

“What in the—! What are you doing?!”

Barkalor, reeling from shock, clutched his head.
Only 24 points remained before the mission failed.
Barkalor was, after all, a nobleman and the Emperor’s servant.
He served the Border Count, but even that was rooted in the belief that the Border Count himself was the Emperor’s loyal subject.
Which meant that if I wasn’t careful, he could betray me this very moment and move to protect the Emperor.

“What are you all doing?! Get the Master to safety at once!”

But my expectations were completely shattered.
Barkalor, his shock giving way in an instant, immediately moved to shield me.

“Yes, sir!”

The knights of the Border Region stepped forward before the escort knights and the mages of the White Horse Tower.
To protect me alone.
They did not fear becoming traitors.

“Hold the line!”
“Yes, Captain!”

Of course, standing at the very front was my loyal subject, Yahwi.

Boom!

When the two forces collided.
My body was dragged backward.

“Come this way quickly!”

It was Barkalor.
Despite his wavering loyalty, he was still trying to get me to safety by any means.

“….”

I could resist.
But I watched him for a moment and followed along naturally, like water flowing downstream.
Finally, when the sound of clashing weapons grew distant.
I opened my mouth.

“Why?”

Barkalor adjusted his glasses with an urgent expression.
As if asking what nonsense I was spouting while we were fleeing.

“Pardon?”
“A clever mind like yours should understand. I’ve betrayed the Empire, and the mages of the White Horse Tower cannot be stopped by the knights of our territory. If we’re captured, all of us—you, me, and every subject in the domain—will be slaughtered.”
“That’s…!”

Barkalor’s expression became dumbfounded.
As if asking how I could do this knowing that.
Then he roughly grabbed my collar and twisted it.

“That’s right, all the territorial residents could die! But if you step forward, Master, we can at least avoid the worst.”

Ding!
【A new choice has arrived.】

Above Barkalor’s urgently pleading face,
a choice materialized.

【1. Take responsibility as the Border Count and make a sacrifice.】
【2. Proceed with the rebellion as planned.】

“…This is how I take responsibility. I will save ‘all’ of my territorial residents. You are also one of my subjects.”

Ding!
【You have selected option 2.】
【Barkalor is shocked.】
【Loyalty decreases by 10.】
-Current value: 64.

“Master!”
“Barkalor. Come to your senses. There’s no turning back now. And I have no intention of doing so.”
“If only I had become the Demon King, this would all be over!”

I paused.
My movements halted at the anguish in his voice.

“Do you think I didn’t know? Nonsense! Every letter that enters the Border Region and reaches you, Master, passes through my hands as your butler. Even if it bears the Emperor’s seal!”

Yes.
This was the kind of man he was.
But.

“I knew too. That you knew. Someone as capable as you couldn’t possibly not know.”

The future Barkalor from the Temple had told me as much.

“That’s precisely why I’m giving you this command. Help me.”
“Help you with what! There is no blind spot in the Empire where the Emperor’s power does not reach!”

There is no blind spot for the Imperial family within the Empire’s borders.

“Well spoken. We do not flee.”
“No, Master! I am actually from the Black Magic Tower! That very tower which once produced the Demon King! I am the most suitable candidate to become the Demon King!”

【A new choice has arrived.】
【1. What? You dare conceal the past? Become the Demon King and atone for your sins.】
【2. Proceed as planned.】

“Not interested.”

Ding!
【You have selected option 2.】
【Barkalor is taken aback.】
【Loyalty decreases by 10.】
-Current value: 54.

At my immediate response, Barkalor’s expression grew hollow.
Even his meticulously groomed hair swayed wildly.
His entire body trembled.
My gaze turned back toward the front lines.

The sound of clashing weapons had grown quieter.
Knights lay scattered across the ground.
Only a handful of strong knights, led by Yahwi, remained standing.
There was no longer any need to persuade Barkalor to prevent the mission from failing.
Now then.
I had already bought all the time I needed.

Ding!
【Black Armor reports that preparations are complete.】

Whoosh—!

The amount of darkness blooming from my fingertips was extraordinary.

“Well done.”

Ding!
【Black Armor is bashful at the praise.】
【Black Armor strikes the Black Dragon’s Consciousness on the back of the head, telling it to come to its senses.】
【Black Dragon’s Consciousness hurriedly kneels, overwhelmed with gratitude for the master’s praise.】

“Good.”

I let a smile play across my lips.
This had been my preparation since the moment I drove my blade into the Emperor’s abdomen.
I couldn’t afford to act thoughtlessly and fail.
No matter how important my convictions were, I had no intention of failing this task.
Of course I had the confidence to succeed—that’s why I dared to attempt it.

“Just as the Empire has no blind spot in the Imperial Household, and the sea exists as its own world regardless of a fish’s awareness of it—if night exists, then she cannot be absent.”

I combined the fish passage from the office and the words Barkalor had spoken to me.
Nix is the Goddess of Night.
Even if she hadn’t manifested directly, and this wasn’t Nix’s own memory.
Night still existed in this place.
I gazed beyond the light magic at the dark night sky.
If night exists, then Nix exists.

‘Well, this would be an impossible loophole outside, certainly.’

No matter how much night existed, I couldn’t simply summon Nix recklessly.
If that were possible, why would Nix have cultivated an apostle to act in her stead?
She could have simply stepped forward herself and achieved what she desired.

‘Whatever the reason, there must be restrictions on her activities.’

I didn’t need to understand that much.
All that mattered was that this task was constructed from Nix’s power—pure and infinite Darkness.
And that the current time was night, making this mad feat possible.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!

Everything trembled and shook.

Ding!
【Trait, Apostle of Nix activates.】
【Checking if your body is suited for the night.】

Darkness boiled and surged across my entire body.
It was the same phenomenon as that bright day in the Central Plains long ago.
There was one difference, though—

“Ugh…”

Ding!
【Your body is unsuited for the night.】
【You may perish if you fully awaken Nix’s power.】

‘As expected.’

That’s what I thought.
In the Central Plains, I had fully realized I was Nix, and that reality wasn’t far from the truth, making it possible. But now it was different.
I was summoning Nix where she didn’t exist.
Calling upon a god required a proper vessel.
And I was not a vessel capable of fully containing Nix.
I was merely an apostle, merely human.
But.
But.

Tsk-.

I didn’t erase the twisted smile from my face.
He did not erase the twisted smile.

I expected it.

And if you anticipate it, you can prepare for it.

“Black clothes!”

【Due to Black Dragon’s Consciousness, Black Armor’s performance increases by 100%.】
【Black Armor concentrates all defensive power on resistance against external pressure.】
The black robe concentrates all its defensive power to resist external pressure.

The repulsive force emerged as the night’s external pressure clashed against the darkness’s resistance.
My body slowly lifted into the empty air.

“Grrrrgh.”

It was agony as though my bones were shattering and my organs were about to rupture.
I gritted my teeth and endured it.
And finally.

… Ding!
【Verification complete.】
【Your body is partially composed of darkness.】

‘Tsk.’

So it wasn’t “Endless Darkness” like last time.
There’s no helping it.
Even with the Black Dragon’s assistance, the Black Armor pales in comparison to the pitch-black night that Nix commands—it’s merely a faint twilight.
Even this much is more than I could ask for.

‘And with just this much, this task is nothing at all.’

Ding!
【You awaken to 5% of Nix’s power.】

With my current body alone, it’s only 5%.
Yet with just that 5%, the possibilities of what I could accomplish exploded in my mind like fireworks.

“S-stop, Border Count!”

An urgent voice called from below.
Suspended in the air by Nix’s power, I looked down at him.

“…Emperor.”

His pierced abdomen had been bandaged, apparently treated with first aid.
I had deliberately avoided his vital points, thinking I might need to take him hostage if necessary.
The White Horse Tower’s mages had healed him, which was why he could speak so brazenly now.

‘Looking down from above like this, it’s quite something.’

A laugh escaped me.
The difference in status between the Empire’s Emperor and the Border Count. The authority of the White Horse Tower.
From Nix’s perspective looking down, none of that mattered.
In my eyes now, the Emperor was nothing more than a pig clinging desperately to power.

“How insolent! How dare you speak to His Majesty—”
“Shut up, shut up! Don’t provoke me!”

Smack, crack!

“Ugh, ughhhh.”

One of the White Horse Tower’s mages stepped forward.
But the Emperor kicked his shin and trampled the fallen man repeatedly.

‘So he’s an Emperor for a reason, isn’t he?’

This Emperor had decent instincts.
He understood who he needed to be careful around in this situation. Who he couldn’t afford to offend.

“Huff, huff.”

He no longer bothered maintaining any dignity or stern composure.
Ever since I rose into the air, he’d been feeling the threat to his life.
The wound in his abdomen must be throbbing painfully too.

“P-please, calm yourself. Border Count. I was wrong. I ordered your precious subordinate to become a Demon King.”
“You understand?”

He stated exactly why I’d caused this chaos.
I fully understood Barkalor’s expression of disbelief—that he knew this and still did it anyway.

“I beg your forgiveness! Blinded by my power and ambition, I failed to recognize a loyal subject! My ears were deaf to the whispers of treacherous schemers!”
“He speaks well. Don’t you think so, Barkalor?”
“But! From this moment, things shall be different! Though I may appear inadequate, I am still the Emperor! I can grant whatever you desire! Speak your wishes!”

In that moment.
A new choice materialized before me.

Ding!
【A new choice has arrived.】
【1. Accept the Emperor’s proposal.】
【2. Flee.】

Since neither option appealed to me.
My brow furrowed.
What kind of ridiculous choices are these?

【If you select option 1, the reward will be enhanced.】
-Random Temple Resident Selection Ticket → 2 Rare-Grade Resident Selection Tickets.

‘Enhanced rewards?’

I hesitated for a moment.
Two residents of Yahwi’s caliber.
I needed a blacksmith and an alchemist.

“….”

I stared at the status window for a moment.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was demanding my submission.
That was likely the source of my irritation.
I glanced at Barkalor.
He was staring at me blankly.
That loyal butler would harbor no resentment even if I chose option 1.
No, his loyalty would only deepen.
Recall what he said to me in the Temple.
He clearly assessed the Border Count as an honorable man who valued integrity and principle, one who cherished his subjects.
A man who would surrender his loyal servant to the Emperor’s power.
Therefore, choosing option 1 was the condition to clear this ordeal.
So I spoke.

“…I told you in my letter before. If you don’t hand over Barkalor, I will regard this Border Region as the Demon Realm and myself as the Demon King.”
“That’s—!”

Clang—!

I drew my sword without hesitation.
I hadn’t chosen option 1—submission—nor option 2—escape.

Crack—!
Fractures spread across the choices that had materialized before me.

“Demon King, huh? I rather like the sound of that.”

I had chosen option 3—one that didn’t exist on the list.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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