Previous | Table of Contents | Next
Kim Hajun lay on the ground and stared up at the sky with a blank expression. The ground was grassy and soft, almost like a plush carpet. There might not have been a single injury on his body, but anyone would’ve mistaken him for a corpse: his face was pale and covered in bloodstains; his clothes were tattered and bloody; and his eyes were glazed over as he stared beyond the clouds.
Jasmine leaned forward and looked around Ashley to peek at Kim Hajun. “I’ve never considered using healing magic as a form of torture before,” the Wind Lord said. She tugged on Ashley’s sleeve and whispered, “I thought you said these guys were good people.”
Ashley sipped on a glass filled with bubbling liquid. Her legs were extended, her feet resting on Sir Selddup’s fluffy body; they were buried in his fur, completely shielded from view. Ashley lowered her glass and nodded at her friend. “They’re good people. Didn’t you see how they healed him before he died? They saved his life.”
“But….” Jasmine scratched her head. “They were healing him for Mary to beat him again.”
“You know what they say,” Ashley said and wiggled her feet, causing some of Sir Selddup’s fur to stick out. “The road to heaven is paved with bad intentions.”
Jasmine’s eye twitched. “That’s not what they say.”
Ashley shrugged. “A good deed is a good deed,” she said. “Besides, we’re going to need their help to defeat the Oebu Sin, so let’s not get on their bad side.”
“You’re always so practical,” Jasmine said and sighed before shaking her head. She put on a smile on her face and looked at Vur’s group, who was sitting across from them, a small campfire placed between the two groups. “Alright, since I didn’t get to introduce myself before we were interrupted by Kim Hajun seeking death, I guess I’ll do so now. Hello, everyone, I’m Jasmine, the Wind Lord and leader of Poetry Society. I’m a songstress who buffs allies and weakens enemies through song and poetry.”
“And the occasional piece of steamy er—”
Jasmine leaned over and covered Ashley’s mouth with her hand.
“Oh, Prika would love to meet you,” Lindyss said.
“You have more companions?” Jasmine asked and looked around. Other than Jeffery, Melody, and Kax, she couldn’t see anyone else. “Is Prika strong?”
“We have lots of strong companions, but they’re not here,” Tafel said. “Once we open the portal back to Erde, we can invite them to solve the tower’s problems. If it’s just beating things, they’re very good at that.”
“That is a solution, but I’m not sure how the other lords would take that,” Jasmine said and scratched her head. “You see, if a whole bunch of strong people show up, wouldn’t the lords lose their spots at the top?”
“Who cares what they think?” Mary asked and crossed her arms over her chest. “They lost. They’re lucky they’re not dead. If they have any complaints about the way my best friend wants to do things, I’ll silence them for good.”
Jasmine let out a half-hearted laugh, and her gaze happened to land on the one-hundred-percent-alright-in-the-body-but-dead-in-the-mind man lying on the ground. A shiver ran down her spine, and she fixed her expression before nodding at Tafel. “Right, we’ll help you guys eliminate the Oebu Sin. Now that you’re the new bosses of the tower, we’ll do our best to assist you,” the Wind Lord said and wrapped her arm around Ashley’s shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Light Lord?”
“Yes, of course,” Ashley said, her voice monotone.
“About that,” Tafel said, stretching out her words. The demon rubbed her chin and squinted at the two lords sitting across from her. “Are the lords really the strongest beings inside the tower?”
Jasmine pursed her lips. “Well, obviously, not anymore.” She shifted her gaze onto Vur, who was more preoccupied with eating fruits than paying attention to the happenings around him.
“No, I mean, no offense, but you guys were pretty weak,” Tafel said. “Isn’t the ninety-first floor of the tower occupied by dragons. How did you get past them in the first place to reach the top? One dragon beat the nine”—Tafel’s glanced at Ashley—”well, eight of you combined.”
“I want to say something in our defense,” Jasmine said and puffed her chest out. “It’s not that we’re weak, Vur’s just really, freakishly strong. It doesn’t make any sense. He’s better at controlling earth than the Earth Lord, better at controlling water than the Water Lord, and he has the same kind of constitution as the Lightning Lord where he can absorb lightning to heal himself.”
Stella poked her head out of Vur’s chest. “If he didn’t trounce the Flame Lord in one punch, you would’ve figure out Vur’s better at controlling fire than the Flame Lord.” The fairy queen completely exited Vur’s body and flew over to Jasmine, hovering in front of her face. “Now that I’m getting a better look,” the fairy queen said and nodded. “He’s probably better at controlling wind than you too.”
A vein bulged on Jasmine’s forehead. “Yes, yes, he’s great and awesome, so much stronger than us human lords,” the Wind Lord said and pursed her lips.
“There,” Tafel said, her eyes lighting up. “That’s the problem. Why are all the lords human? We’ve been hearing a bit here and there about Volearden, a really strong dragon. Aren’t there really strong elves or phoenixes living in the tower as well? How did the nine of you end up as the strongest in the tower?”
Jasmine swept her gaze over the surrounding people before scratching her head. “Well, that’s because … of all the races … humans are the strongest?” she said in a small voice, her statement sounding more like a question to avoid offending the elf, demon, and dragon sitting across from her.
Tafel’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“No, actually, it does,” Lindyss said, causing everyone to look at her. She frowned and lowered her knitting needles. “Humans breed like rats, eat garbage to grow, and aren’t above ruining the lives of everything around them to get what they want—and, boy, do they have a lot of wants.”