The black graviton bomb exploded, tearing the sky asunder.
Amidst the gravitational waves, swirling like a galaxy, the night sky itself convulsed violently.
Yet—the emotion reflected in those colossal eyes was neither fear nor rage.
It was closer to ‘interest’.
“■■■■■■-!!!”
As the Deep Night’s Stillness emitted a peculiar wave, the surrounding stars simultaneously began to vibrate.
Immediately, flashes of light poured forth from tens of thousands of stars at once.
It was a pinpoint concentrated beam, raining down from the entire night sky!
“[Density Barrier].”
However, Crow calmly formed a gravitational field with his left hand, enveloping his body.
Nevertheless, the energy density contained within the torrent of light was far too immense for a simple defense to withstand.
A crushing pressure, as if the very cosmos were pressing down, bore heavily upon him.
‘I cannot endure this much longer.’
“[Gravity Dispersion].”
Crow immediately scattered gravity around him, simultaneously creating dozens of miniature black holes.
The beams of light bent, curved, and twisted under the gravitational distortion.
Trajectories that had been hurtling towards his demise now narrowly began to miss their mark.
In this manner, Crow barely pierced through the assault, continuing his vertical ascent.
In a fleeting moment, he once again emitted ‘[Diffuse Gravitational Waves]’, decelerating his speed, and landed inverted ‘above’ the night sky.
Then, a realization struck him.
‘This night sky possesses a true form.’
‘Though it appeared as the heavens, it is clearly an entity composed of ‘flesh’.’
‘That means—it cannot escape the laws of physics.’
“I’ve got you.”
Crow seized the night sky of the Deep Night’s Stillness with both hands, activating the most potent skill at his disposal.
“[Gravitational Collapse].”
At that instant—
-KWOOOOOOOOOO!!!
All gravitational vectors applied to the Deep Night’s Stillness collapsed, causing the surrounding night sky to twist, crumple, and compress as if being crushed.
“■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!?!?!?!”
A wave, like the shriek of a monster, reverberated throughout the entire night sky.
Confusion, terror, and—a sense of impending doom.
The Deep Night’s Stillness began to panic profoundly.
However, Crow’s true assault was only just beginning.
“[Supernova Explosion].”
This was the final stage induced by gravitational collapse, where nuclear fusion ceased in a star’s core.
It was the most powerful and malevolent explosion resulting from gravitational collapse.
Crow forcibly met those conditions using ‘Gravitational Collapse’ and triggered the phenomenon.
The Deep Night’s Stillness attempted to unleash another beam of light in retaliation.
“[Wormhole].”
Yet, Crow had already calmly cast himself into the wormhole.
And then—
-TOO-KWA-AAAAANG!!!
An explosion.
A shockwave powerful enough to engulf the entirety of the 95th Floor tore through the night sky.
In an instant, the darkness became as bright as day, and even the plains below were overturned and utterly devastated.
Though its power might pale in comparison to a true supernova in the cosmos, its destructive force was absurdly potent, capable of leveling the entire floor.
Thus—
The night sky vanished, and the entirety of the 95th Floor plunged into darkness.
****
Ariel Tricia held her breath, her gaze fixed upon the crystal orb.
Within the orb, the 95th Floor had long since lost its original form, ravaged by the colossal explosion.
Fortunately, the Warp Point, perhaps shielded by the system’s protection, remained precisely where it had been installed.
‘…Wow, it actually turned out like this?’
Ariel Tricia replayed the battle scene from moments before in her mind.
Even for an Awakened Climber, the ability to manipulate gravity with such absolute freedom was astonishing.
However, Ariel Tricia did not merely assess Crow’s combat prowess by his strength alone.
‘His mental fortitude is truly monstrous.’
The boss of the 95th Floor, the Deep Night’s Stillness.
Even a slight release of its power allowed it to possess potent hypnotic abilities, capable of shutting down surrounding senses, obscuring vision, and paralyzing thought.
Yet, none of these hypnotic effects had any sway over Crow.
In truth, even without hypnotic effects, one might reasonably be terrified by such a cosmic horror; yet Crow showed no fear whatsoever.
On the contrary, Crow charged directly at the Deep Night’s Stillness, unleashing a barrage of attacks.
Moreover, had Crow not attacked swiftly, the Deep Night’s Stillness’s power would have progressively grown stronger over time, potentially leading to a disadvantageous situation for him.
However, Crow responded with lightning speed, and as a result, he was able to deliver the ‘Supernova Explosion’ to the Deep Night’s Stillness.
This man’s true weapons were his extreme mental fortitude and judgment born of experience.
“He’s on a completely different level from the Climbers who first arrived…!”
This was something beyond human limits.
The emergence of a true powerhouse, unlike the ordinary Climbers she had witnessed before.
Ariel Tricia replayed the entire battle once more, exclaiming in awe.
In her hands, a popcorn tub already lay empty.
“Jibsa!”
“Yes, milady!”
“Bring me another tub of popcorn!”
“I shall fetch it immediately!”
Just how entertaining had it been for her to have already devoured an entire tub and be requesting a refill?
“At times like these, I really need a cola!”
The only slight regret was that while popcorn had been manifested, cola had not.
Fortunately, she had managed to procure sparkling water, so she was sipping on soda as a substitute.
With that, Ariel Tricia fully immersed herself in movie-watching mode!
By this point, Jibsa, too, began to feel a stir of concern.
“—Milady Ariel Tricia, wasn’t that the Deep Night’s Stillness that just got obliterated?”
“Yep. That’s right.”
“……What? Isn’t that dangerous, then?”
“Don’t worry! It won’t die!”
“…Pardon?”
“That wasn’t its true body to begin with; its real form is separate.”
Jibsa was dumbfounded.
‘Its true body is separate?’
“That scoundrel, it caused so much trouble back when it was in Ariel, so my companions and I sealed it away.
Afterwards, we stuck it onto the 95th Floor like a glowing wall decoration… but it just so happened that when this place became a Tower, the sealing effect weakened a bit.”
“Is that so?”
“So I just roughly set it as the 95th Floor boss.
We can always reseal it later!”
It wasn’t even a cherished companion to begin with; it seemed she had simply sealed away a troublemaker and repurposed it.
“Milady Ariel Tricia, then the seal, could it be…”
“Yes. That night sky which just vanished.”
She manipulated the crystal orb with her hand, rewinding the battle scene from a few minutes prior.
Then, pointing at the colossal night sky, she declared:
“—This ‘night sky’ itself was the seal that suppressed it.”
“……!!!”
“That night sky… was what sealed the monster?”
“Indeed.
It was quite some time ago, so you wouldn’t have known, Jibsa.”
“And now that the seal is broken… that Climber will surely die, then.”
“Right? But even if he dies, he’ll just revive, so it’s not a huge problem—”
Ariel Tricia’s words faltered midway.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning.
‘That Climber didn’t ascend through the regular route from the 1st Floor.’
“…The Revival Buff!”
That meant… there was no Revival Buff!
Which implied that dying here and now would be permanent.
Ariel Tricia’s expression darkened.
Frankly speaking, if that Climber were to die, a substantial amount of Tower Coins would be acquired.
Therefore, there would ordinarily be no reason for her to intervene.
However—
‘It would be a pity to just let him die like that.’
If such a powerful Climber were to perish, it was highly probable that even greater commotion would soon erupt.
Casualties suddenly appearing in a place where revival was guaranteed?
That was not the scenario Ariel Tricia desired.
Her conclusion was firm.
‘She couldn’t allow him to die like this.’
“Jibsa, I’m going to pay a visit to the 95th Floor.”
“…Pardon?”
Ariel Tricia spread both her wings wide and soared towards the 95th Floor.
****
The 95th Floor lay utterly devastated.
At its center, a wormhole shimmered, and Crow reappeared.
“…It’s done.”
The fragmented earth, the evaporated sky.
It was a brutal landscape, so utterly destroyed that no one would believe an enemy could have survived.
Yet—something felt amiss.
Despite having undoubtedly defeated the Deep Night’s Stillness, the system had not declared the trial cleared.
Before he could even ponder his confusion, another system window materialized before Crow’s eyes.
However, it was not a message of congratulations.
“[The Deep Night’s Stillness reveals its true form.]”
“……What?”
Instinctively, Crow lifted his head, gazing up at where the night sky had once been.
No stars, no sky remained there.
Only absolute darkness, untouched even by light, persisted.
Void.
A world of nothingness that the eyes found impossible to adapt to.
Yet, within that profound darkness, Crow perceived something.
A form.
A singular core into which everything was silently drawn.
There, ‘two eyes’ emerged.
Endless rings of abyss, drawing in his gaze like scorching black holes.
And simultaneously—
Gigantic wings, shrouded in an inscrutable noise,
Unfurled, devouring all the surrounding void.
“……What in the world is that?”
Even Crow held his breath.
He had contended with countless monsters, yet this was profoundly different.
Its head was draconic, its body a human silhouette.
Yet, an utterly alien sense of unease strongly whispered that this form ‘should not exist in reality’.
The entity opened its mouth.
“────────────”
A vibration, inaudible to the ears.
However, its waves tore through space and warped even time itself.
Crow’s gravitational field distorted greatly, convulsing.
In an instant, he lost his balance within the very ‘gravity’ he manipulated, bracing himself with one hand on the ground.
“…The real one has appeared.”
The tide had completely turned.
For the battle just moments ago was merely a ritual to unseal it.
The true fight was only just beginning—
“Stop it, you idiot!!!”
KANG!
“@#$%─!”
Tearing through all the tension and darkness, Ariel Tricia’s ultimate palm strike detonated!
The crown of the Deep Night’s Stillness’s head was dented in the shape of Ariel Tricia’s palm!
Simultaneously, a system window appeared before Crow’s eyes!
“[The Deep Night’s Stillness has been stunned.]”
“[You have cleared the 95th Floor!]”
“?”
The battle, the tension, the grand climax.
It all ended with that single strike!
