The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 24

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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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Chapter 24
‘Consciousness?’
Consciousness, what do you mean?
At the sound of a voice in his ears, Lee Gang-han opened his eyes.
And then.
“……Where is this?”
A sight he had never seen in his life came into view.
A vast Wasteland stretched out before him.
Within the dim space.
An ominous presence settled over everything.
“…….”
He had definitely fallen asleep just moments ago.
Could this be the world inside that Red Portal?
Lee Gang-han surveyed the surroundings with hollow eyes.
For now, aside from bloodstains, nothing else caught his attention.
He’d need to venture deeper.
‘What’s at the ceiling…… what is that? Could it be a tower?’
When he looked upward.
Where the sky ought to be.
Black towers were densely packed in place.
Not reaching upward from the earth.
But towers hanging downward from the ceiling — inverted.
Thousands of them.
No, more than tens of thousands.
They formed the ceiling of this world.
‘The Tower of Light is keeping this place dimly lit, at least.’
Among the towers packed so densely together.
The Tower of Light, radiating pure white brilliance.
Cast its faint glow across this dark realm.
“Hm…….”
What had he done here to end up so drenched in blood?
‘I should look around for now.’
Step. Step.
Lee Gang-han moved forward cautiously, surveying his surroundings.
After walking for roughly ten minutes.
‘This on the ground…… is that a bloodstain?’
Just as his eyes caught the crimson streaks staining the earthen Wasteland.
Ding.
[You have entered the First Tower.]
[Infinite Authority is now active.]
[Upon death, you shall be revived.]
A message appeared before his eyes.
‘First Tower?’
This place is a tower?
Lee Gang-han regarded his surroundings with fresh eyes.
The only connection to a tower was those densely embedded towers in the sky overhead.
‘Then again, worlds inside towers haven’t always looked like towers themselves.’
In fact, starting from the tutorial.
Despite the name, the spaces within weren’t fundamentally different from other worlds, were they?
If anything, seeing towers hanging upside-down from the ceiling here.
This could be said to be the tower world most closely resembling an actual tower so far.
‘And Infinite Authority…… does that grant resurrection?’
Revival upon death.
This was a basic function granted to players challenging the Infinite Tower.
Though Lee Gang-han had never actually died and revived while climbing until now.
‘I might need it here though.’
As Lee Gang-han thought this while observing the ominous surroundings.
An Open Ground bathed in crimson light appeared.
[You have entered Heavenly Demon Valley.]
[One thousand candidates compete to earn the qualification of the Heavenly Demon.]
He’d been told this place was Heavenly Demon Valley.
‘Heavenly Demon Valley?’
A thousand candidates.
A thousand people competing here in this open ground?
Then I should have prepared beforehand—
[You have already achieved victory.]
No need for that.
Lee Gang-han swept his gaze across the surroundings with a bewildered expression.
They call it Heavenly Demon Valley, but—
aside from the red stains, there was nothing particularly striking about this open ground.
‘So I competed against a thousand people here and won?’
He had no memory of it whatsoever.
As Lee Gang-han tilted his head in confusion—
A brilliant flash—!
From the north, south, east, and west directions around the open ground,
four massive crimson portals materialized.
‘They look similar to what was recorded in that video.’
The red portal that had pulled in Lee Gang-han when he’d been lying in bed.
These four portals now had much the same appearance.
Lee Gang-han moved toward the nearest portal to the north.
[Would you like to train in the Training Hall of Strength?]
The moment he drew close to the portal,
a system message appeared.
‘Training Hall of Strength, then.’
Could he cultivate his strength by entering this portal?
At first, Lee Gang-han had interpreted the message that way.
Ding.
[Player Death Count: 999 or more]
But upon seeing the follow-up message, his eyes widened.
“999?”
I died here 999 times or more?
Me?
‘How could anyone die so many times in a training hall?’
Lee Gang-han stared at the death count in disbelief.
He made his way to the portals in the other directions.
Then—
[Would you like to train in the Training Hall of Agility?]
[Player Death Count: 999 or more]
[Would you like to train in the Training Hall of Vitality?]
[Player Death Count: 999 or more]
From the portals to the east and west,
the death count displayed identically: 999 or more.
Only at the southern portal
[Would you like to train in the Training Hall of Mana?]
[A Training Hall you have never entered.]
[Player Death Count: 0]
Never having entered it,
the death count showed zero.
‘I died in Strength, Agility, and Vitality, but not Mana…… This seems connected to my stats somehow.’
Lee Gang-han, whose Strength, Agility, and Vitality all exceeded 10.
A stat of 10 was what Olympic national team athletes received.
It was strange enough to have three stats above 10.
But if he’d died more than 999 times in these training halls while cultivating those three stats,
then possessing such abilities made a certain amount of sense.
And—
‘If I died over 999 times…… it doesn’t seem like I entered after obtaining the Heavenly Demon Body.’
Rather, it was connected to the ‘sleeping sickness’ that had seized him ten years ago.
Wasn’t that the link?
Lee Gang-han made a careful inference.
‘It never made sense that my body would simply improve from sleeping twelve hours a day.’
Even though he never exercised separately.
Lee Gang-han possessed muscles sculpted like a statue.
People asked him all the time what supplements he was taking.
But here, he’d undergone training while dying over 999 times.
And if that was reflecting back onto his real body—
Then it made a certain kind of sense.
Which meant—
‘Could it be that patients with Tower Syndrome are also connected to Heavenly Demon Valley somehow?’
He suddenly recalled people who’d contracted Tower Syndrome and recovered on their own.
They hadn’t become muscular like Lee Gang-han.
Some had wasted away to skin and bones, others had ballooned with fat, sleeping twelve hours a day—
Before gradually returning to normal over time.
But the number of them…
‘It seemed to exceed ten thousand by quite a bit…….’
Heavenly Demon Valley had said there were 1,000 candidates.
The numbers didn’t match up.
‘I need to collect more information for now.’
As Lee Gang-han thought this, his mind drifted to the Training Hall of Magic Power.
“But why didn’t I ever enter the Magic Power one?”
At three of them, I seemed to have entered so relentlessly I died 999 times.
So why was the entry count zero for Magic Power specifically?
‘Magic Power being 7 was a bit disappointing, but maybe I should try going in once.’
All his other stats were 10+, yet Magic Power alone was 7.
Could training here bring it up to 10 as well?
Lee Gang-han wanted to see what lay beyond the portal anyway.
He moved toward the Training Hall of Magic Power portal.
But as he approached the portal—
Ssshhh……
White smoke billowed up in front of it.
[Wait a moment!]
A pale form materialized.
Blocking his entry.
* * *
Lee Gang-han stared intently at the figure before the portal.
It was about the size of a palm.
Dressed in a pristine white inner robe.
With black hair unbound and cascading long across its face, the figure—
“……A virgin ghost?”
It resembled the image people typically conjured when they heard “virgin ghost.”
[What!? A virgin ghost? I am a Priestess of the Heavenly Demon Divine Church!]
“A Priestess, you say?”
[That’s right!]
The woman bristled at Lee Gang-han’s murmur, revealing her identity.
This ghostly wretch claiming to be a Priestess of the Heavenly Demon Divine Church?
‘But no matter how I look at it, she just looks like a virgin ghost.’
Moreover, her form seemed indistinct, translucent—
Making her feel even more like a phantom.
“If you’re a Priestess, isn’t that quite a high position?”
Ever since acquiring the Heavenly Demon Body, Lee Gang-han had taken to devouring martial arts novels.
In those stories, the Priestess of the Heavenly Demon Divine Church was either the second-in-command of the demonic sect,
Or some kind of religious symbol.
She didn’t seem like the sort who would appear in this ghostly form.
[Yes, you could say I’m second-in-command in some respects! Though in terms of martial prowess, I cannot match the Four Guardian Kings…….]
“So it’s something like a religious symbol, then?”
[My, you’re quite knowledgeable!]
“I’ve done some research, after all.”
At that—
Flash!
Between her unbound black hair, white-hot eyes gleamed with sudden intensity.
With eyes flashing like that in that ghostly form, she really did look terrifyingly like a true specter.
One.
[Every time you wandered about with your soul scattered… now that you’ve come to your senses, your judgment is quite sharp.]
Hearing what the spirit Shenü said next.
Lee Gang-han furrowed his brow.
“……You’re saying I wandered around with my soul scattered every time?”
[Yes. That’s right.]
“What kind of state was I in while doing that?”
To Lee Gang-han’s question.
[Please speak to me casually, since you’re the Heavenly Demon.]
“You want me to speak informally?”
[Yes. I really can’t stand a Heavenly Demon who uses formal speech.]
“Got it.”
If she was asking him to drop the formality, he’d do it.
Lee Gang-han switched to informal speech right away.
Shenü’s eyes flashed again.
[A hundred words don’t compare to one look. I’ll show you directly.]
Whoosh!
With that, Shenü flew to the center of the Open Ground.
Then she pressed a finger to the earth.
Scritch. Scritch……
The ground gouged itself out, and a formation that looked complex at first glance was etched into it.
[Formation Activation!]
Shenü tapped this with her finger.
Whirrrrr……
The formation on the ground shone with pure white light.
Then, moments later.
Lee Gang-han’s figure materialized in a semi-transparent state.
‘His eyes…… they’re completely vacant.’
Two eyes staring blankly into nothing.
The figure of Lee Gang-han glanced around for a moment.
Then—
He gazed at the Red Portal to the north.
And suddenly bolted toward it.
Though his physical ability supported the movement, making his speed impressive.
The figure of Lee Gang-han moved with a distinctly awkward posture.
Soon after he entered the portal.
Flash!
Back at the center of the Open Ground.
Lee Gang-han’s figure appeared again.
[……]
His entire body was covered in wounds.
The figure of Lee Gang-han stood motionless, blood dripping from his frame.
Then—
He turned his gaze west.
And began running toward the western portal.
Paying no mind to however many wounds tore open on his body.
Just with his eyes rolled back, Lee Gang-han entered the northern, western, and eastern portals in sequence.
“……The Training Hall logs said he died over 999 times, so this is why?”
[Probably. When you die here, you revive right in the center of this Open Ground.]
“But why is he doing this? Do you know the reason?”
[I don’t know either. At first I tried stopping him several times.]
Shenü shook her head while watching Lee Gang-han’s figure.
[But he wouldn’t respond and just kept running…… so eventually I just watched.]
“How long has he been like this?”
[Hmm…… it’s probably been going on since about ten years ago.]
Ten years.
Then it coincided with the time period when he had Tower Syndrome.
When he fell asleep.
Had he been repeating this behavior—throwing himself into the Training Hall like a moth to flame?
“Shenü, can you explain the current situation to me?”
“Yes. I’ll answer everything I can.”
“What is this place, exactly?”
“This is Heavenly Demon Valley. It’s the trial ground for selecting a new Heavenly Demon.”
As she spoke, Shenü’s eyes gleamed as she regarded Lee Gang-han.
“You were the only one to pass the trial among one thousand competitors.”
“What kind of trial was it?”
“I have no knowledge of that. I was only summoned after the trial ended.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Though I’ve heard it was a trial to select the person with the most exceptional physical abilities.”
The person with the most exceptional physical abilities.
‘Ten years ago, I was just a middle school student.’
Back then I was only tall and scrawny as a rail.
First place among a thousand competitors in that condition?
Lee Gang-han found it difficult to accept.
‘Among Tower Syndrome patients, I was the only one with muscle mass. Could that be connected?’
That was his working theory for now.
“Hmm. Last time I woke up, there was a note in my hand. Did I write something like that here?”
“A note? I never saw anything like that. You were wandering around the whole time in a daze.”
The note that had explained how to advance the Heavenly Demon Body.
The handwriting was definitely his own.
But Shenü’s spirit didn’t know how it had been written.
‘If it’s my handwriting, then I must have written it… Maybe the memory will come back later?’
Lee Gang-han shelved the question in his heart and asked something else.
“When I first entered here, it said this was the first tower. Do you know anything about that?”
“Yes, I know it’s called the first tower… but I don’t know the details beyond that.”
There didn’t seem to be much useful information.
Lee Gang-han set that matter aside.
Instead, he asked about what had been nagging at him.
“Before I regained consciousness, I heard something about a certain blessing that no longer dominates you. Do you know anything about that?”
“A certain blessing? A blessing was dominating the Heavenly Demon? Ah… so that’s why you were so out of it…?”
She said she’d answer everything she could.
Yet she knew nothing.
“Why did I get Tower Syndrome in the first place?”
“What is Tower Syndrome?”
“It’s a kind of sleeping disorder where you sleep twelve hours a day in reality. It seems connected to this place somehow.”
“Well… isn’t that a good thing though? Sleeping that much? Is it really an illness?”
Shenü’s spirit asked innocently if sleeping a lot was actually a bad thing.
Lee Gang-han let out a quiet sigh.
“…What exactly do you know?”
“Uh… I feel wronged too! Why do you only ask me about things before the trial!”
Shenü’s spirit appealed to Lee Gang-han’s eyes with a sense of grievance.
True, she’d said she was only summoned after the trial ended.
“Fine. Then teach me what you do know.”
Without much expectation.
Lee Gang-han said this with an indifferent expression.
“…Understood. Then I’ll tell you the authentic secret incantations of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“The authentic secret incantations?”
What Shenü’s spirit was about to teach him
was far more valuable than he’d anticipated.
The Heavenly Demon Demolishes the Tower (Serialized)
Author │ Yeom Bi
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Yeom Bi 2025
※This work has been published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and its contents may not be used in any form or means without permission from our company and the author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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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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