One thing was certain: this man's explosive technique was no invincibility skill.
I knew because the Treasure Keeper's grip had crushed me hard enough to make me cough blood.
It had to be some kind of self-defense reflex—a last-ditch measure to ward off attacks.
I, on the other hand, had an actual invincibility skill.
Death's Edge Invincibility.
If I slit my own throat with this scythe, I become invincible.
And if I attack at the exact same moment—I can strike while invincible.
I could eat the explosion's damage and kill this bastard clean.
No hesitation.
Had killing one person already stripped away every last shred of guilt?
The only thing that had given me pause was the danger of Death's Edge Invincibility itself.
— You must never use Death's Edge Invincibility again!
My master's warning.
I'd become a wanted criminal in the Death God Realm, and there were whispers that setting foot there again would draw attacks from the other Death Gods.
But it was fine.
I didn't need to linger there the way I had last time.
I wasn't going to the Great Stone Tablet to find a name and claim an instant-kill skill.
I only needed to be invincible for a single moment.
Just long enough to survive the explosion.
After the explosion, the man would die.
So the moment I crossed into the Death God Realm, I'd smash the hourglass immediately—and that would be the end of it.
Last time I'd been confused, wasted time because it was my first visit. This time was different.
The instant I arrived, I would shatter it. Right away.
That was the plan.
The plan was executed.
"Death's Edge Invincibility."
*Shhhhhk—!*
The Void Scythe carved a single line through my own nape and the man's throat simultaneously.
My vision inverted and plunged into darkness.
Every sound cut to silence. A sensation of weightlessness wrapped around my entire body.
The boundary of death.
I had crossed the line.
*
*
*
*
An ashen sky. A plain of white bones.
The place I always slept.
My sanctuary.
Everything that had just happened—all of it was a dream.
Me, climbing the Demon King's Tower from floor 1.
What a strange, exhausting dream.
I had never left the Death God Realm.
I rubbed my eyes and rolled over on the bed of white bones.
Turning it over in my mind, I thought I'd woken up once before, just a few days ago. I couldn't quite remember.
Either way, my sleep had been restless lately.
"Mmm…"
And today… for some reason, there were so many intruders.
"Why is it so loud…"
Death Gods were everywhere, moving in enormous numbers.
An absolute commotion.
It had been a long time since I'd seen this many of my own kind gathered in one place.
But that mattered less than my sleep.
"I want to keep sleeping…"
Too noisy. Impossible to drift off again.
What had brought them all here?
They all looked so busy.
*What are they doing?*
Tap. Tap.
Just then, a Death God passed directly in front of me.
It was striking the ground ahead of it with its Death Scythe as it walked.
Tap. Tap.
Tapping every patch of ground it stepped on, one after another.
Incredibly irritating.
Why would anyone have such an obnoxious habit?
"Excuse me, could you stop that? It's loud."
"……"
"I'm trying to sleep."
I snapped at it bluntly. It stopped swinging the scythe and turned its head toward me.
I saw its face.
That was answer enough.
Where the Death God's eyes should have been, there were only two hollow, empty holes.
I softened my voice and apologized.
"Ah… I'm sorry. I didn't realize you couldn't see."
The Death God had turned its head toward me but said nothing.
I filled the awkward silence with a question.
"Um… so what's everyone doing? Why are so many Death Gods gathered here?"
The eyeless Death God answered in a low murmur.
A faint, deep voice. Old and worn.
"A criminal who violated the laws of the Great Stone Tablet has been found. The Watchers have assembled."
"A criminal?"
"Yes. We are searching for that Death God. I too have taken on the role of Watcher, contributing to the search in my own small way."
Violated the laws of the Great Stone Tablet.
"What could they have done to summon hundreds of people?"
"They say the criminal erased the name of an apprentice Death God without authorization and stole the Great Stone Tablet's scribing authority."
"……"
Oh, for—
Because of one person, all these Death Gods had been called out and ruined my sleep.
"Good grief, to think someone that inconsiderate actually exists…"
"Everyone feels the same way. Apparently this one has long been known for viciousness—said to work under the Demon King."
To think even this eyeless Death God had been conscripted as a Watcher to catch this criminal…
Feeling a pang of sympathy, I said:
"Wouldn't you rather rest? You can't even see… Surely someone among all these Death Gods will find them."
But it shook its head.
"I cannot rest. A Death God must always serve the will of the Great Stone Tablet."
I couldn't believe it. Wanting to serve the Great Stone Tablet. That made no sense at all.
"The reason you lost your eyes—wasn't it because you devoted yourself to the Great Stone Tablet in the first place?"
*Sight.*
This old Death God had clearly lost its vision from overusing *Sentence of Death – Sight* during its active years before retirement.
"What has the Great Stone Tablet ever done for you, that you'd obey it so completely? Why not just rest, like me?"
At my suggestion, the Eyeless Watcher gave a quiet laugh.
"I envy your youthful naivety."
"Pardon?"
"The Great Stone Tablet is the one who gave our lives meaning. That is why we follow its will."
I tilted my head.
"I don't know… that seems a little foolish to me."
The Watcher fixed its hollow gaze on me.
"Even lowly humans have such things, do they not? Parents, children, friends—or a king. Humans throw away their very lives for those things."
"……That's stupid."
"Devoting yourself and sacrificing for the things that form the foundation of your life is not foolishness. It is something beautiful."
I didn't understand it.
"I will never live like that."
At my words, the Eyeless Watcher was silent for a moment, then gave a small, quiet nod.
"I see. That is your way of thinking."
"Yes…"
Just as I was about to lie back down, the Watcher suddenly extended a hand.
"I must check whether you are carrying a hourglass."
"Haah…"
A sigh escaped me.
I'd wasted my concern on this one.
"You suspect me? I've been sleeping here the whole time, so what… And besides, those hourglasses are for Death Gods who go outside the Death God Realm to operate. I've been here the whole time, so there's no way I'd have one."
"I am aware."
"I've never left the Death God Realm…!"
"It is a formality. Please cooperate."
"…"
I'd sensed it the moment we started talking—this one had absolutely no flexibility.
As if someone as adorable as me could be a criminal.
"Do as you like."
I spread my arms and allowed the search.
*Just get it over with so I can go back to sleep.*
I'd decided that arguing would be more trouble than it was worth.
Its groping hands swept across the hem of my clothes.
Tap.
Swish.
Feeling around here and there.
*This is a little unpleasant…*
Being blind, it seemed to have no reservations whatsoever.
And it appeared to have absolutely no concept of the sensibilities a lady might be experiencing.
I was enduring my discomfort, chin raised, when—
The Watcher's hand stopped somewhere around my waist.
*Why is it grabbing my waist…*
Swish—
Then it pulled its hand away.
The search seemed to be over.
"Done? Nothing there, right?"
I said that and looked down.
And in that instant, I saw something caught between the Watcher's fingertips.
I worried it had snagged a decoration off my dress while pawing at it carelessly—
But that wasn't it.
"Huh?"
Since the Watcher couldn't see, it was running its fingers over the object, tracing its shape by touch.
I needed that same amount of time.
Because I couldn't believe it.
"Huh…?"
My mind went completely blank.
That was an hourglass.
An hourglass filled with blood.
No matter how many times I looked.
"Why do I have this?"
"…"
Silence.
I was still blinking in bewilderment, lips parting wordlessly—
When the Eyeless Watcher turned around and let out a shriek that could split the air.
The frail, listless voice from moments ago was gone entirely.
As though it were wringing out the last strength of its life.
"THE CRIMINAL IS HERE!!!!!!!"
The thunderous cry shook the entire plain of white bones.
*Fwap—! Fwap—! Fwap—!*
And in an instant—
The gazes of hundreds of Watchers snapped toward me all at once.
That was the moment.
"…Right."
Memories I had forgotten came flooding back into my mind.
The Demon King's Tower.
The Gallery.
Floor 100.
The Treasure Keeper.
The invaders.
Death's Edge Invincibility.
"Oh, shit—!"
Only then did I remember what I'd been trying to do, and why I'd come here.
"I was supposed to leave immediately—why did I—!"
The Eyeless Watcher had stolen my hourglass and was fleeing.
It seemed intent on preventing me from going back.
"Stop right there!!"
I kicked off the pile of bones and launched myself forward.
"Black Shift!"
*Crack!*
I teleported, caught up to it, and kicked it in the back, sending it sprawling to the ground.
"Give it back!!!"
I snatched the hourglass from its grasp.
At the same moment, Death Gods came surging toward me.
Dozens of scythes were flying straight for my throat.
I didn't think about dealing with them.
I frantically swung my scythe at the hourglass.
*Clang—!*
The hourglass shattered into pieces and blood sprayed outward.
At the same instant, my vision snapped back and the weight of reality crashed over my entire body.
*
*
*
*
*Whoooosh—!*
The moment I returned, the dying roar of the blast and the heat of the explosion swept across my skin.
It seemed the third explosion had just gone off.
My body was completely unharmed.
And I was still suspended in midair.
*Thud—*
I landed and drew ragged, heaving breaths.
"Hah—! Hah—!"
My head was spinning.
*Going to the Death God Realm… my memories go wrong there.*
Goosebumps rose across my skin.
It had happened last time too. But I'd assumed the confusion was just because it was my first visit.
Just now, inside the Death God Realm, I had been moving on the memories of this Death God girl—the one I'd possessed—from before I ever inhabited her body.
It must have been memories from before she was assigned to the Demon King's Tower. She had believed she'd never left the Death God Realm.
*If that Watcher hadn't been blind, I would have…*
*I can still go back to the Death God Realm, right…?*
*The Death Gods will have marked my last known location…*
Those thoughts swirled through my head, and I shook them away.
The situation wasn't over yet.
The man whose throat I'd cut the moment I activated Death's Edge Invincibility.
I needed to find the body and confirm he was actually dead.
…That turned out to be unnecessary.
The hologram window's message announced success.
[You have acquired a massive amount of EXP!]
[Level Up! Lv 100 → Lv 101]
[Level Up! Lv 101 → Lv 102]
…
[Level Up! Lv 109 → Lv 110]