[25th Round] 90th Floor
“My home planet is uninhabitable, both culturally and religiously. Compared to it, the world of Fantasy is a really good place to live in.”
“There’s something worse than this world?”
It was hard to believe that life somewhere else could be worse than this absurd dimension where the power of love and friendship killed both the strong and the weak.
The world of Fantasy was rotten through and through.
The strong were persecuted because they were strong, and the weak were persecuted because they were weak.
And yet he said his motherland was even worse than this?
Satan smiled bitterly.
“Haha… My home planet fell victim to a stupid god. He gave eternal life to the fanatics who worshiped him. Their descendants, too, and the descendants of their descendants… As a result, the planet, once called paradise, turned into a hell that no longer has any free space due to the endlessly growing population.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“What else could immortal and ageless men and women do? Our population grows by about 20% annually, slowly but surely destroying our planet. The natural food chain has been disrupted due to the sky being polluted with methane and carbon dioxide exhaled by humans and the extinction of animals and plants deprived of their habitat. Countries collapsed since laws failed. How could they not, when even the death penalty doesn’t work on criminals? My race’s birth rate got out of control as well… Before I was summoned to this world, our population was about eight quadrillion… I can’t even imagine what’s become of my home planet now that 200 years have passed.”
“Hmm…”
Did they look like bacteria?
I would love to see what a human-infested planet might look like, but if their rule of law had collapsed, their situation definitely wasn’t good.
“I will return to my home planet and defeat the god who made hell out of heaven. However, I’m going to need comrades, for I know I can never win alone against him. As you can see, I’m not doing very well…”
“Right.”
I believed his desire to save his home planet was extremely worthwhile.
But his enemy was a deity.
A being who didn’t possess divine power couldn’t defeat him through mere noble convictions and efforts.
Without external variables, they would lose.
But I couldn’t tell him this cruel truth.
“That’s an interesting story.”
“So you were listening too, Eve.”
“Oh! I apologize if I caused any form of disrespect by overhearing your conversation. However, can I voice out my opinion on this?”
“Sure. Any advice would be helpful.”
“If the deity you speak of can indefinitely grant immortality on a planetary scale, then his rank must be 6 stars or higher… Hmm. That’s comparable to the God-Creator of Fantasy or perhaps slightly lower.”
“… Does that mean that he can’t be defeated?”
“No. There are options. However, Hero Satan’s current plan is unlikely to succeed. The only way to resist a god is to ascend to godhood yourself or borrow the power of a deity rank higher than him.”
“Thanks. I’ll take note of that.”
“Hehe.”
She seemingly intended to appoint this distinguished student as an “Apostle” after graduation, luring him to work for Mollansoft.
No, she had already recruited him.
Disco already showed her business card, after all.
[Devastation]
“What’s that?”
“It’s a power far more useful than the comrades you’re looking for.”
“…”
“I understand it sounds like a diabolic temptation, so think it through.”
“… Then, Adam, are you also a god, like Mistress Eve?”
All gazes were suddenly directed at me.
With a reproachful glance at Disco, I replied, “No.”
This body wasn’t a “God.”
In fact, I was sitting on my throne right now, with my wife on my lap and singing a lullaby to our little son.
Of course, one couldn’t say that this particular ‘me’ wasn’t real, and that one was.
This was the dimension of Fantasy.
All this was ‘me.’
“I thought so…”
“But I can give you some advice. There are many gods in this universe. Meet at least a few of them before deciding.”
“But how can I meet them?”
“One of them is nearby.”
I pointed my finger at the ceiling of the tower.
“Ah!”
“And don’t forget. You are already using the power of gods. Divinity and Dark Energy. Where do you think the skills you take for granted come from?”
“… Adam.”
“What?”
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you talk so much in 19 years.”
“Ahem.”
Disco tried to recruit the student even before he graduated, so it was necessary to intervene.
Dastardly inspector!
Satan laughed, raising his eyebrows. “My companions always complained to me that Adam was just playing around and wasting the party’s resources, but I was rewarded for all this trouble. Thank you for providing me with such valuable information.”
Hero Satan’s party took a short break on the 50th floor, the center of the tower, then went to the 60th floor, where the fourth angel Potatoel was waiting for us.
However, since the fraudulent effect of their race only applied to the Second Angel, he was nothing but a regular chicken head.
“Brother!”
“Elder brother?”
“Second Angel Bananael,” who surrendered to Hero Satan, rushed to persuade his younger brother Potatoel.
… But as absurd as it was, it worked.
The 60th-floor boss Potatoel gave up with tears in his eyes after being purified by Bananael and stripping him of the Fallen Angel title.
He then officially joined Satan’s squad in the role of a “Universal.”
A total of 81 people.
Hero Satan, his advisor Adam, and his 79 dummies climbed to the 70th floor!
***
“So you’ve reached this place, Chosen Hero! I am Demon Lord Pedonar, the incarnation of evil itself, the one who will plunge this world into darkness!”
“My name is Satan. I am the Hero who will defeat you.”
“Haha! I like the determination in your eyes, Hero! So be it! I accept the challenge humanity has presented before me! But why are you alone? Where are your companions?”
“I’m more than enough to defeat you.”
“Hmmm! How arrogant! Hero Satan! You shall die at my hands!”
“Let’s begin, Fake Demon Lord!”
Hero Satan refused his companions’ help in this battle.
He decided to fight one-on-one to preserve his forces for the battle on the 80th floor.
His enemy was my father-in-law.
Of course, even though he thought he was real, he was but a clone based on a personal file.
However, his strength was real.
I didn’t know what my father-in-law’s strength in the primary and secondary education was, but from what I recalled, Demon Lord Pedonar could only use his hidden power “Dark Matter” properly in the tertiary curriculum.
Regardless…
“Kh! Hero Satan, where does your mighty power come from?”
“My wrath against God!”
“I see. It’s your desire for vengeance that’s defeated me, then? It was a great fight…”
Bang!
The boss of the 70th floor had fallen.
Even Hero Satan had a hard time, but what’s important was that he survived.
In the Demon Lord’s Tower, death meant the end. However, if one were just to lose their limbs, the Saintesses could still heal them.
“Please gather around me.”
“Hero! You need to heal your wounds…”
“This is more important!”
⤷ Satan: As requested, here’s a photo with the fallen boss of the 70th floor, Pedonar. As you can see, the number of my companions has increased to 80 after we successfully recruited the 60th-floor boss, Potatoel.
⤷ Sieg: ;;;;;
⤷ Odin: Sir Satan, I want to ask a serious question. Are you the grandson of the director?
⤷ Zeus: Wow … Is that even possible?
⤷ Allah: Stop showing off and get your diploma already.
⤷ Isis: Do you have a girlfriend, Lord Satan?
⤷ Luke: Senior Satan! Share your strategy, please! I also want to get into a higher curriculum.
I had prepared a small gift for Satan.
I instructed Great Sage Shakespeare, who ran the mollanphone servers, to post a notice that said, “The images in the mollanphone community cannot be tampered with. They are all genuine.”
The effect was obvious.
“Oh…”
Satan took a deep breath and sighed, this time of relief.
Even so, he didn’t relax.
Although he cleared the 70th floor without any losses, that was made possible only by the fact that he already reached this far in his last round.
“Your power is amazing, Satan.”
“You single-handedly defeated the former Demon Lord Pedonar…”
“That’s amazing, Hero!”
“The end is indeed near.”
Not only other Heroes from the mollanphone community but also his eighty companions recognized his merits.
Modestly, he replied, “But we’re not there yet. The real battle begins now, and I’ll need all of your strength for it.”
That was right.
We were now headed to the 80th floor, where he had to fight with himself and five other powerful individuals.
But Satan was in no hurry since he didn’t plan on sacrificing anyone, even though he had gone this far.
His goal was to get to the 100th floor!
Therefore, he wanted to keep all his strength up to the 90th floor, which he hadn’t yet seen.
“What do you think, Adam?”
“About?”
“Do you think Hero Satan will be the first to reach the 100th floor?”
Disco seemed to like Satan a lot.
I shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
I would have to leave the party soon. After all…
The man he considered to be his comrade was actually the final boss!
That scenario… wasn’t bad, but this information would travel too quickly through the mollanphone community.
Therefore, Counselor Adam would simply have to die in battle.
“On the 80th floor, a group of six is waiting for us, including the Fake Hero, my clone. His group consists of a saintess, wizard, warrior, assassin, and archer. My copy aside, his companions themselves are incredibly powerful. However, there are more than ten times more of us. We will definitely win, but if the damage we sustain is too severe, we might fail on the 90th floor. Hence, we’ll only challenge the next boss after careful preparation.”
“As you wish.”
“Roger that.”
“We’ll follow you, Hero.”
“Got it.”
Hero Satan’s true strength wasn’t his combat power.
For the past 19 years, he had led an entire army.
He had gone so far while keeping his members’ jealousy, arrogance, and stupidity under control.
… That alone made him worthy of my respect.
Oh! The battle had begun.
“There’s too many of them!” Shouted the fake Satan.
I could understand him.
He had five companions, and the real Hero had eighty.
It wasn’t just about numbers.
All of the people Satan collected in the past 19 years acted harmoniously, like a platoon of Spartans.
“Kh?!”
“Ah!”
“Aaaaaagghhh!”
It all ended swiftly.
This one-sided onslaught wasn’t what he experienced in his last playthrough.
Fake Satan didn’t know that he would have to face so many enemies. On the other hand, Real Satan already knew their abilities and quirks.
Such was the power of information!
The Hero led his clone away to prevent the other five from coming up with a countermeasure. Hence, it didn’t take long for the battle to turn into Satan vs. Satan and 80 people.
The 80th floor Boss fought to the very end, but he was unable to cope against such a huge difference in strength.
“… Victory is yours.”
“You fought well.”
Bam!
Fake Satan had fallen.
There were several wounded, but still no deaths.
“Wow… That was an amazing sight.”
He broke through even the 80th floor without casualties!
However, before us awaited the 90th floor.
From this point on, we’d be exploring uncharted territory.
Satan stopped giving briefings on every floor and began to emphasize only the “power of friendship.”
Even he didn’t know what awaited us next, after all.
“Forward.”
SKRRRR!
Not long after, Satan and his 80 companions opened the gates to the boss room, revealing a huge space.
Inside it was but one man, waiting for us and guarding the huge door leading upstairs.
“Is that…”
“Yes…”
“Indeed…”
The boss of the 90th floor, who was sitting on a white toilet, slowly opened his eyes.
“If you want to go higher, leave your spine as payment. Pretty simple, isn’t it?”
Demonstrating the smile of the Righteous Hero, “I” greeted us.
