A battle had just finished on the first floor between two of the Kings, and no one had any idea that it even took place. Since this wasn't during a trial of the tower, it wasn't broadcasted.
If it were broadcasted on Floor Zero, everyone would've been shocked out of their lives. The person they thought couldn't even finish the First Trial successfully was now holding one of the strongest Kings of the Tower by his hair.
King of Pride Michael... Who had gained the respect and worship of most of the commoners in this tower was on his knees, bleeding before the man he only recently called a beggar. Even the other Kings wouldn't have come to believe their eyes if they had watched the scene.
If someone had said that something like this was even possible, people would've considered that person crazy, but currently, this was the reality.
Despite being defeated, Michael was still so confident that it surprised Azekiel. Azekiel didn't desire to waste a single second. He didn't want Michael to live more than he had to since he was very suspicious at the moment.
Azekiel brought down his knife, ready to kill the King of Pride to satiate the hunger inside his heart.
Seeing the knife coming toward him, Michael lowered his head. His bleeding lips crept upward, forming what appeared to be a smile.
"No!" At the same time, Raphael noticed something which placed him on alert. Without wasting a single second, he dashed towards Azekiel.
Azekiel stopped his attack midway as he gazed at Raphael in confusion, hearing his sharp voice.
"Argh!" Another scream soon followed, seemingly belonging to Michael.
Azekiel looked down, confused. He hadn't even stabbed Michael. Why was he screaming?
It was only when he looked down that he realized why. Michael roared in pain as his right arm was completely detached from his shoulders. His arm was lying on the ground.
A small yet beautiful gem was rolling on the ground as if it had just fallen.
Azekiel picked up the small crystal. "Escape Crystal? Were you attempting an escape?"
In the meantime, Raphael sliced even the other hand of Michael to make sure that he couldn't pull a trick like this again.
"I saw the Escape Crystal appear above his hands. It was about to land on his hand, but before it could happen, I sliced his hand," Raphael explained, relieved. "We seem to be lucky. If that crystal had landed, he might have escaped to the fourth floor."
He had stopped Michael's escape by being alert and observing his every move.
"This... I really should've been careful. I thought the so-called King of Pride would never attempt an escape. I thought his pride would make him accept death over running like a coward. It seems I was wrong." Azekiel was surprised. Even he hadn't noticed this.
"Thank you for keeping an eye." He patted the shoulder of Raphael before going down to his knees, facing Michael.
"Michael, the King of Pride. I thought you would never run away because it was too cowardly. I overestimated you. I won't make the same mistake again. Enough talking…"
Azekiel placed his left hand under the chin of Michael and raised his head to look straight into the fearful eyes of Michael.
The eyes that always seemed to be filled with pride were now filled with fear and tears. All the confidence of Michael was gone now, and Azekiel was cherishing this moment.
Michael hadn't thought he would end up in this situation when he arrived here to kill Azekiel. Not only did he lose his strength here, but he also ended up defeated. As if even that wasn't enough, his last path of escape had also failed him as he was caught at the wrong time.
Filled with fear and seeing no hope, Michael started blabbering, attempting one last thing.
"Azekiel, I-i was joking. You think I would have actually killed you? I was just messing with you. We're childhood friends! I was just testing you to see if you'll believe me! The real reason I came down was to congratulate you! Don't misunderstand me!"
"E-everything that happened here was a prank! Even the battle was just to test your strength as a King! A-aren't we best friends? You won't kill a friend over a joke. Right?" Michael was almost on the verge of pleading.
All his Pride, all his confidence, it was all gone as he stood at death's door. All that was left was a man who had tears in his eyes and a pale fearful face.
As Azekiel heard the words of Michael, his lips curved slightly. "Ohhh! That was a prank! I should've known. You were always a prankster. I completely fell for this prank! Man, I'm really sorry for what I did. What can I do? Your acting was just so good."
"I-it is alright. As long as we have cleared the misunderstanding. As for my wounds, they can be healed later. Don't worry about it, my dear friend." Michael repeatedly nodded as he felt that Azekiel had believed him.
However, in his heart, he was still snickering. 'You idiot, you'll always stay a stupid bastard. Believing such nonsense even now? Just wait until I'm healed and get my strength back. I'll show you the true meaning of fear.'
Azekiel, on the other hand, hugged Michael firmly. "I am really sorry for ever doubting you."
"It's alright. My acting was probably too convincing." Michael grinned as he finally calmed down. He had escaped the clutches of death.
However, just as he let out a breath of relief, his eyes widened as his lips opened, letting out a pained gasp of breath.
Azekiel was still hugging him; however, there was now a beautiful silver knife that was stabbed in the back of Michael.
"My dear friend, since you pulled a prank, let me pull a prank too," Azekiel whispered in the ears of Michael as he pulled out the knife again before aiming it at the back of the neck of Michael. "Goodbye, Michael. I know this early death is too merciful for you, but I can't take a risk with you."
Thrust~
The knife was stabbed into the neck of Michael, making him gasp for breath as he bled. Before long, Michael lost his life as his eyes closed forever. Even until the moment he died, he couldn't believe that Azekiel was the one who had killed him. The person he thought to be nothing but an ant was the one who killed him!
Azekiel freed Michael from his hug, letting Michael's lifeless body fall to the ground with the knife still stabbed in the back.
"Tell me, Michael, Does it seem like Poetic Justice? You backstabbed me in the friendship, bringing me to my death. Today, I stabbed you in the back, bringing you to your death..." He gazed at the lifeless body of Michael.
Finally, he killed Michael. However, this wasn't the end of it. As soon as Azekiel killed Michael, multiple notifications resounded in his head, one of which was something he never could've expected
[You have killed King of Pride]
[Experience +100]
[Level +4]
[Weapon of Sin unlocked]
[New Skill Received: Gluttony of Knowledge]
[Passive Ability: Gluttony of Knowledge Activated]
As Azekiel's hand was still over the body of Michael, who he had just killed, his newly received ability started without him needing to do anything.
Some strange memories started floating into his head as his vision turned blurry.
*****
"Michael, you need to stop playing with Azekiel now that our family is rich. It doesn't look good on us. Moreover, I heard that Azekiel's family doesn't even have enough money to feed themselves nowadays. It's not long before he comes begging us if you're his friend. He will just use you."
"Exactly. These poor people are never trustworthy. Just stay away from him. You understand what I'm trying to say?"
"Yes, Father."
"Yes, Mother."
"I understand clearly. I was also thinking the same thing."
*****
Through the memories, Azekiel saw many things that he never knew about. Michael didn't change just because he got money. It was also because his family didn't like Azekiel. They kept feeding this rich-poor nonsense to Michael, which transformed him.
It didn't mean that Michael was a good man. He had truly changed for the worse. His family could so easily convince him; that only meant he also wanted this deep down.
From then on, everything that Azekiel did, Michael took it in a negative way. Azekiel also saw Michael insulting him when he was with his wealthy friends about how Azekiel was a beggar who never stopped harassing him.
The memories continued to the point of the Apocalypse, where Michael lost his family. Azekiel could see that just the morning of the Apocalypse, Michael had a fight with his father, and before leaving, he even said, "I hope you die! All the wealth will end in the right hands then!"
It was as if God listened to him. His parents died that day, but they weren't alone. Millions of people died with them. As for all his parents' wealth, it was worthless in the apocalypse with monsters running outside.
Azekiel also saw the journey of Michael in the tower from the first-person perspective. As a Porter, he had seen the other Kings a lot, but it was only when he received the knowledge of Michael that he understood all the Kings better.
However, that wasn't where the memories ended. To Azekiel's surprise, the memories continued even after he saw Michael's death at his hands.
It was as if a different set of memories had continued from that point on in which Michael wasn't informed about Azekiel becoming a King.
Instead, in the new set of memories, Azekiel hadn't even awakened! Azekiel was selected as a Porter for Michael in these new memories.
As Azekiel received these memories, his eyes slightly widened. Was he receiving the memories even from the old timeline that wasn't going to exist because of his travel back in time? If that were the case, then this skill was indeed more impressive than he thought.
However, what he was going to see, even he hadn't expected. He didn't know that the secret those memories contained was going to change everything.
For the most part, the memories were pretty ordinary. Michael kept moving up the tower, racing against time and the other Kings. He went through challenges, occasionally interacting with the other Kings. He never left his Proud self though.
However, something happened when Michael was on the tenth floor. It was during the last few days of peace for Azekiel in the old timeline.
Even Azekiel remembered that moment from his own memories. When he was a Porter, he had seen a prominent King of Sin arrive to meet Michael on the tenth floor.
The King was taken inside the tent of Michael to talk to him. In fact, the one who escorted him was none other than Azekiel himself.
Through the next hour, there were only two people inside the tent. No one knew what the two talked about. Michael also didn't tell anyone.
However, now that Azekiel was receiving the memories of Michael, he could see that meeting... The secret of the meeting between the King of Pride Michael and King of Wrath, Lucifer!
*****
The King of Pride was sitting on a chair that appeared like a throne when the King of Wrath entered the tent. Michael also had a glass of wine in his hand, which he was taking a sip from, seemingly looking somewhat annoyed. It was as if he didn't particularly like Lucifer.
The silver-haired Lucifer picked a chair from the side before walking closer to Michael. He placed his chair right before Michael and sat.
Michael gazed at Lucifer with an amused expression.
"So, what brought the King of Wrath to me?" Michael asked, taking a brief glance at the expressions of Lucifer, which were stale. "Are you here to show off how you won the title of the last three floors?"
The King of Wrath simply shook his head. "I saw a blue-haired guy outside."
"Are you talking about that rat, Azekiel? He is one of my Porters. What about him?" Michael asked. "Don't tell me you came all the way here to talk about a beggar? Get to the point. What do you want from me?"
Lucifer took a brief pause before he opened his lips and said in an emotionless voice, "I want his death."
