The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 26

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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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Episode 26
A voice telling him to die without using skills.
Even after recognizing that the voice resembled his mother’s.
‘Why is Mother here of all places……?’
Lee Ganghan couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
Lee Ganghan’s mother.
Yu Isoo fell squarely into the category of “ordinary.”
A child of the orphanage.
A woman who had married his father at a young age, in her early twenties.
‘She went missing while searching for a cure for me.’
After his mother disappeared.
He had searched for her through the long years, yet found not even the smallest thread of a clue.
And now to hear her voice in a place he’d never imagined?
[You have to die! Ganghan, you have to!]
He’d never expected her to urge her own son to die like this.
Ssssss…….
And as she kept crying out.
A shadow fell across the wall from which the voice came.
A grotesquely shaped face emerged from the darkness.
[Ahhhhh! A ghost!!!]
Shinnyeo, the spirit, shrieked at the sight of it.
Hearing Shinnyeo’s scream, Lee Ganghan instead found his mind clearing.
That’s right.
Nothing was certain yet.
It could be someone else — the voice was merely similar.
“I’ll ask again. Are you truly my mother?”
[Don’t use skills!]
“You won’t answer, then.”
Don’t use skills.
Just die.
To a voice that only repeated these words.
Lee Ganghan’s eyes grew dark and distant.
“Then I’ll proceed in a direction you don’t want. Celestial Demon Divine Art.”
As he activated the Celestial Demon Divine Art and stretched his right hand upward.
Thud……!
The boulder that had been crushing down on Lee Ganghan.
Stopped, caught by his single palm.
Indeed, with the Celestial Demon Divine Art activated.
Even at “Impossible” Difficulty Level, the weight became bearable.
‘But if I hadn’t used the Celestial Demon Divine Art, I’d have been crushed flat.’
That’s right.
He would have died just as that voice wanted.
Lee Ganghan, sustaining the boulder with his right hand.
Clenched his left fist with all his strength.
And then.
[Skill “Celestial Demon Divine Fist” activates.]
The moment the Celestial Demon Divine Fist activated.
Bang!
His fist slammed directly into the rock.
Then.
Crack-crack-crack……!
Fissures spread across the entire boulder.
Chunk. Chunk…….
Fragments of the shattered rock tumbled to the ground.
[Wow! You’ve completely internalized the Celestial Demon Divine Fist. Your grasp of the Celestial Demon Divine Art is truly profound!]
Witnessing Lee Ganghan’s Celestial Demon Divine Fist.
Shinnyeo marveled at the level of internalization he’d achieved.
“It’s just the system and the skill doing the work.”
[But you’re wielding the power as though it were entirely your own…….]
Lee Ganghan answered offhandedly.
Shinnyeo’s ghost had continued to assess Lee Ganghan’s level highly, whatever she had seen in his Celestial Demon Divine Fist.
Meanwhile.
[You have failed the ‘Strength’ training.]
[Would you like to adjust the Difficulty Level?]
Breaking the boulder didn’t count as training, apparently.
A system message appeared, urging him to change the difficulty.
Well.
He’d been sent to roll the boulder to build strength.
But since he’d smashed it to pieces instead, failure was the fair verdict.
Then.
[Set the difficulty to impossible.]
[You can only build strength through the impossible.]
[You need to reach Stat 20, Stat 20.]
[Choose impossible! And die!]
The ‘voice’ that had only repeated warnings against using skills
now kept pushing Lee Ganghan toward the impossible difficulty.
“Twenty……? You’re saying I can raise it to twenty on the impossible level?”
To Lee Ganghan’s question,
[Set the difficulty to impossible.]
Starting from that phrase,
his mother’s voice simply repeated what it had said before.
Now that he thought about it, there was no real dialogue happening—
it was as if a pre-recorded message was playing automatically on loop from the other side.
‘When I use a skill, it says don’t use skills, die, something like that. When setting difficulty, it says set to impossible and die, that kind of thing.’
Either way, the conclusion was always the same: die.
Lee Ganghan examined the wall where black stains had appeared, his face grim.
Whenever the grotesquely-shaped face contorted,
[Set the difficulty to impossible.]
the command to keep the difficulty on impossible echoed repeatedly.
[Hmm. Now that I listen, it’s just saying the same thing over and over……? Before, it told me not to use skills.]
“It seems like once a certain situation occurs, it only says things relevant to that situation.”
[That does seem to be the case. But what in the world is its true nature……? Oh. Didn’t you say it was your mother earlier?]
To Shinnyeo’s question, Lee Ganghan nodded.
“Yeah. The voice was so similar to my missing mother’s. That’s why I thought—”
Lee Ganghan tapped the wall where the black stains were with his hand.
“I think I need to destroy this wall.”
[You…… want to destroy the wall?]
“Yeah.”
[But isn’t that your mother?]
“Which is exactly why I need to break through it.”
Breath.
Lee Ganghan held his breath for a moment,
then drove his fist into the wall with all his strength.
Immediately,
the wall shattered with a deafening crack.
The wall collapsed in an instant.
He didn’t directly strike the black stain that produced his mother’s voice,
but once he smashed the section above it,
wisps and wisps of black smoke rose up thickly.
And above it, black smoke billowed abundantly.
Then.
[Ahhhhh…… you fool…….]
[It was all for you…….]
A voice identical to his mother’s echoed through the training hall,
and soon the black smoke dissipated.
‘……for me, it said.’
The impossible difficulty set in the training hall.
Continuing to die there while training.
Was that really for my sake?
Lee Ganghan let out a bitter laugh.
[It didn’t feel like an automatic response this time, at least…….]
“True. Though we couldn’t actually have a conversation.”
He gazed at the shattered wall and found his thoughts turning to another training chamber.
If traces of his mother’s voice echoing there existed as well.
Then he’d need to go and verify it.
Especially.
‘I need to do this before the Celestial Demon Divine Art’s duration ends.’
Had he not activated the Celestial Demon Divine Art.
Lee Ganghan would already be dead, crushed under the voice’s design.
The other training chambers might hold similar ordeals.
So he had to hurry there and investigate while the Celestial Demon Divine Art was still active.
‘Come to think of it, the 24-hour limit didn’t activate here.’
He’d activated the Celestial Demon Divine Art in the tower that morning, fallen asleep, and only then entered through this portal.
By the clock, 24 hours shouldn’t have passed — yet the Celestial Demon Divine Art activated just fine.
Did the First Tower have different cooldown mechanics?
‘I’ll need to check on that later.’
With that thought, Lee Ganghan.
stepped back into the portal opening behind him.
Then.
Zing…….
He returned to Celestial Demon Valley.
‘Time to head into the next training chamber.’
Lee Ganghan sprinted toward.
the Agility training chamber portal at full speed.
[Let me come too~!]
Shinnyeo’s ghost followed quick as a flash.
Perching on his shoulder just before he entered the portal, she.
[I’ll pay close attention this time. It was a little scary before…….]
“A ghost frightened by ghosts.”
[I’m not a ghost!]
Despite her perfectly ghost-like appearance.
Shinnyeo cried out insistently that she was not a ghost.
“Alright, Shinnyeo.”
Lee Ganghan chuckled softly.
‘This time…… let me understand this properly.’
He entered the Agility training chamber with a serious expression.
* * *
[Cultivating ‘Agility’.]
[Difficulty Level Setting – Impossible]
The Agility training chamber.
Here, countless arrows flew in dense waves.
Testing how many he could evade.
But with the Difficulty Level set to Impossible.
there was almost no space to escape in the Agility chamber.
[You have to die! You must die, Ganghan!]
This time, a black stain rose from the floor.
And his mother’s voice urging him to die echoed through the space.
“…….”
Batting arrows away with his hands.
Boom!
He stamped the ground with his foot.
Hiss…….
Black smoke rose from that spot.
[He’s grown too strong too quickly…….]
[The Divine Blessing should have lasted longer…….]
Then it.
spoke new words, just as it had in the Strength training chamber, before the smoke vanished.
‘The Divine Blessing is connected to that voice as well.’
While under the domination of the Divine Blessing, Lee Ganghan had been unable to realize the truth.
If the Celestial Demon Physique hadn’t been enhanced to D-rank.
Still dominated by the Protection.
She would have continued meeting death in the training chamber.
When Lee Ganghan’s expression hardened like stone.
[The energy emanating from there…… it’s pure Demonic Energy.]
Shinnyeo, who had declared she wouldn’t be afraid this time.
caught the scent of Demonic Energy within the black smoke.
Pure Demonic Energy.
‘It’s not the kind of aura Mother would possess.’
Lee Ganghan left the Agility training chamber.
still holding his doubts.
“Let’s go to the next one right away.”
And so he entered the third training chamber.
In the Stamina training chamber.
[‘Stamina’ training in progress.]
[Difficulty Level — Impossible]
Iron chains wound around both his arms and legs.
Several massive iron spheres appeared, weighing down Lee Ganghan’s body.
And from behind.
Whoosh—!
A tremendous blaze erupted.
And began to advance slowly toward where Lee Ganghan stood.
‘So I’m supposed to run with these iron spheres attached, or burn to death?’
Stamina training from this? That made no sense.
Lee Ganghan stared at the iron chains binding him with an expression of utter disbelief.
Crack—!
And simply tore free from his restraints.
Then.
[‘Stamina’ training failed.]
[Would you like to adjust the Difficulty Level?]
A failure message appeared the moment he broke the iron spheres.
[Set the Difficulty Level to Impossible.]
Then, from behind where the massive inferno had been raging.
A woman’s voice reached him.
More precisely, from the wall at his back.
“…….”
Bang!
Lee Ganghan walked toward it and shattered the wall.
Hiss…….
The black smoke that had been rising this time.
did not dissipate but gathered into a single mass.
And formed a face.
A face identical to his mother, Yu Isoo.
“……Are you truly my mother?”
At Lee Ganghan’s question.
Whoosh.
The ‘face’ opened its mouth.
[Ganghan, you will come to regret the choice you made today.]
[Stat 20 was truly a crucial number.]
Emphasizing Stat 20 once more.
[If you wish to reverse your choice…… grow weaker.]
[Then I will bestow the Protection upon you again.]
Speaking as though conferring a favor.
It said it would grant the Protection anew if he weakened.
Was this asking him to lower his Celestial Demon Physique back to E-grade?
Lee Ganghan furrowed his brow and spoke again.
“Answer my question first. Are you my mother?”
[Are you curious?]
Grin.
The mouth within the smoke stretched wide.
The corners rose far beyond any human limit.
It looked like an exaggerated clown’s smile.
[If you grow curious, you’ll weaken. I’ll have to lower my Protection again.]
“…….”
[Or perhaps…… yes. Come down, to below the First Tower.]
Whoosh.
The face that had been staring at the ground
offered Lee Ganghan one more bright smile.
[Then you’ll be able to understand.]
With those final words,
Wissshhh…….
A form dissolving into smoke.
Lee Ganghan stood motionless, watching it fade.
“Weaken, or come down…….”
For the Celestial Demon Physique to drop to E-Rank,
he would have to die while climbing the tower in reality.
True, he’d only been at D-Rank for a short while,
so dying once was no great feat—
‘But I have no intention of weakening.’
He’d already died countless times without knowing it, all because of that mysterious Protection.
He had no desire to repeat that cycle.
He didn’t understand why Stat 20 mattered so much,
but he was done with this crude method of training.
Which meant
“I need to go down and meet her.”
To confirm whether she was truly his mother,
or some impostor claiming to be.
[……That’s quite an intense concentration of Demonic Energy. To meet that person, you’d need to venture down to the tower’s middle levels…… no, perhaps even further down.]
“You can sense that too?”
[Ah, though I can’t be entirely certain…… but that person is certainly no ordinary being. Is that why you, as their child, are so extraordinary yourself?]
“I don’t know. The mother I remember was quite ordinary…….”
Lee Ganghan recalled the day his mother left home.
Then he thought of his father in America.
‘Once I get out of here, I’ll need to ask him about what happened back then.’
He’d been sleeping through so much that he hadn’t fully grasped the circumstances,
but his father might know something more.
When Lee Ganghan returned to Celestial Demon Valley with those thoughts,
[Ah…… Heaven-Defying Celestial Demon! Your body…….]
Shinnyeo’s ghost pointed at his form with a trembling finger.
“Hmm?”
Upon leaving the Stamina Training Hall,
Lee Ganghan’s physical body had become half-transparent.
And then,
[Your time remaining in the ‘First Tower’ has expired.]
[You are returning to your original world.]
A message appeared announcing the end of his time.
Whoooosh……!
A crimson portal opened behind Lee Ganghan’s back.
‘What? Why is the time so short?’
He still had so much left to do here.
That’s what Lee Ganghan thought,
but swooosh……!
The portal pulled his body inside.
[P-please, Heaven-Defying Celestial Demon! I’ll definitely see you next time!]
“……All right.”
Lee Ganghan accepted Shinnyeo’s farewell
and returned to the original world—
back to his home.
The Celestial Demon Who Demolished the Tower (Serialization)
Author │ Yeom Bi
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st Building)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
© Yeom Bi 2025
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express permission of the publisher and author.
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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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