Prime Minister Maeda finally managed to reach the Black Tower after enduring unimaginable hardship.

The moment he arrived in the bustling district packed with people—

“Huh?”

“W-what’s with that guy? Why is he carrying a weapon?”

“He looks familiar... isn’t that the Prime Minister? Prime Minister Maeda.”

“I think it really is the Prime Minister.”

“Gasp! There’s another one. He’s holding a spear.”

“Your phone—hurry, get your phone out!”

“We have to film this.”

People instinctively pulled out their smartphones.

How could anyone miss something this bizarre?

Yakuza Nomura Daikinzo arrived in the Black Tower district as well, still in pursuit of Maeda.

He was completely bewildered.

From the start, he had lacked information.

And because of that, his judgment had been wrong.

The possibility that the Prime Minister might be wearing a Liberation Rune Necklace had been within expectations.

Japan had already reached the 71st floor, after all.

What he had failed to account for were two things.

The first was level.

Prime Minister Maeda’s level was not 31.

Even if he had raised it, Nomura had assumed it would be two or three levels at most.

When had he raised it that much?

A politician climbing the Tower, of all people?

Nomura’s own level was 60.

Excluding the nationally cultivated Japanese players, was there really any ordinary player in Japan with a higher level than his?

He was unregistered, but he was probably at the very top.

Because of that miscalculation, the very first step had gone wrong.

He should have killed the Prime Minister on the elevated highway.

After killing him, he should have staged it as a rampage by Chinese players.

When people heard “villain player using a Liberation Rune Necklace,” China was the first thing that came to mind.

No one would have doubted it.

Japanese politicians would mourn Prime Minister Maeda, supposedly killed by Chinese players, and immediately move toward military action.

The Self-Defense Forces—reduced after the failed coup in the past—would rise once more, join hands with Japan’s right-wing politicians, and seize control of the country.

And Nomura himself would become the oyabun of the Tokyo yakuza syndicates, ruling all of Kanto.

That was how it was supposed to go.

That was the correct scenario.

But what was this?

The Prime Minister had blocked his strike, counterattacked, and fled all the way here—and Nomura still could not finish him off.

And then there was the second variable.

The belt Maeda was wearing.

Every time it flashed with red light, it automatically healed his wounds.

That had not been part of the calculations either.

It was the greatest obstacle of all.

It was no different from fighting someone with a potion bottle shoved straight into his mouth.

The whole tedious process—pulling a potion from the inventory, opening it, and either pouring it over the wound or drinking it—had been skipped entirely.

A cheat item.

I want it.

I’ll kill him and take it for myself.

Before the police special forces arrive.

“Damn it!!!”

SLASH! SPURT-SPURT-SPURT!

Nomura launched a lightning-fast thrust toward the Prime Minister’s neck.

CLANG!

Maeda blocked it with his longsword.

But it was too much.

He had barely managed to protect his vital point.

Even so, the impact made blood gush from his mouth.

His arm had been cut, his shoulder pierced, his side stabbed, his thigh slashed—

Yet each time the belt flashed red, the wounds closed again.

But the belt was nearing its limit.

Once the healing potions stored inside were exhausted, the automatic healing would end.

They were extremely expensive healing potions without the tower-exclusive designation—

And he had only managed to fill the belt with them after tremendous effort.

Even so, he endured somehow.

Prime Minister Maeda poured all his strength into activating his skills and swung his longsword.

He barely managed to launch a counterattack—

But after blocking the magic-infused blade with the shaft of his spear, Nomura drove a kick straight into Maeda’s abdomen.

WHAM!

“Ghk!”

The Prime Minister was sent flying.

WHOOSH!

The area around the Black Tower was a tourist district.

A dense cluster of food stalls and souvenir shops.

Maeda’s body slammed directly into a takoyaki stand.

CRAAASH!

“Aaah!”

“T-this—!”

“Run!”

“My shop...!”

“Get away from here! Is your shop really the issue right now?!”

People scattered in panic.

Staggering, Prime Minister Maeda stubbornly forced himself back to his feet.

I have to live.

I have to survive and get revenge.

A yakuza player.

Who was backing him?

Obviously the right-wing faction of the Liberal Party.

‘You think I’m going to die here?’

He too was descended from a samurai family.

He had made it this far through sheer grit.

If you survive, you win.

Just hold on until the police arrive.

Meanwhile, the live broadcasts had descended into chaos.

People were cheering wildly at the unprecedented spectacle of a duel between Japan’s Prime Minister and a yakuza.

L: Prime Minister or yakuza—which side are we supposed to cheer for?

L: Obviously the Prime Minister.

L: Hang in there! Prime Minister, hang in there!

L: Show them the Prime Minister’s power!

L: L-look at that tattoo. Ugh, that creepy yakuza bastard.

L: The tension is insane, though.

L: They’re both using Liberation Rune Necklaces.

L: But what levels are they? They’re ridiculously strong. Wasn’t the Prime Minister supposed to be level 31?

L: No way he’s 31. He has to be in the upper 40s at least.

L: Since when did a politician climb that high?

L: That’s why Japanese politics are such a mess.

The footage looked like a hero action movie.

The Prime Minister rising again and again despite his wounds.

The yakuza relentlessly trying to kill him.

L: But don’t they have magic-sealing scrolls? Somebody could just tear one and end this.

L: Japan hasn’t brought them in yet.

L: Tsk, tsk. They’re the country closest to Korea.

L: How do they not have even one?

L: Somebody fly to Korea and bring one back.

L: Seriously, if civilians get caught up in this, it’ll be a disaster.

It had already been over ten minutes since the battle began.

Anyone could see the yakuza had the upper hand—yet the Prime Minister was far more tenacious than expected.

White Tower Floor 17.

The summoned entities had gathered in a tight circle around a single smartphone.

A live-streamed duel between players using Liberation Rune Necklaces.

Who could have imagined something like this?

Japan’s Prime Minister and a yakuza manifesting magic in the real world and fighting each other?

“Oh, man! That was close!”

“Hey! He missed his chance there. He should’ve grabbed the ankle and cut him when the kick came in.”

“Like this, then bam!”

“Easy for you to say. Do you think they can actually pull that off? He’s doing his best with the sword.”

“He’s unqualified to be Prime Minister. The head of a nation ought to be at least level 60...”

No one knew what level had to do with being qualified to serve as Prime Minister.

Still—this was bad.

At this rate, the Prime Minister might die.

They had to save him.

The newly replaced Japanese cabinet was a major client.

At the very least, it was much better than the Liberal Party administration.

And if this continued, civilians could get caught up in it.

From the footage, even children were scattered around nearby.

The thought of children made his chest feel uneasy.

Growing up while watching things like this was terrible for a child’s mental development.

Children ought to see good things, if possible.

At that moment, the Mad Demon glanced at Juhyeok’s furrowed expression and spoke to Commissioner Jeon Gwangil.

“Hem, hem. Commissioner Jeon?”

“Yes, Mad Demon.”

“Why doesn’t Japan have magic-sealing scrolls?”

“They placed an order, but supplies are limited. We are distributing them in order of purchase.”

“That Prime Minister truly is a fool. Even the United States, which is much farther from China, moved quickly.”

That much was true.

If they had prepared sooner, none of this would have happened.

This won’t do.

I’ll go to Japan myself and use a scroll.

“I’m going to Japan. With the Ring of Tower Exit, it won’t take long.”

“... Pardon?”

Cossack flinched in shock.

“That will not do. This is a conflict among the Japanese themselves. There is no need for the young master to waste his mental energy on it. Please reconsider.”

The Mad Demon also chimed in.

“Lady Dallae is right. What if some blind blade so much as grazes your skin? If someone must go, then let this old man accompany you. The summoner need only bring me to the Japanese Tower.”

The other summoned entities joined in as well.

“Then take this mage instead. I’ll burn everything to ash.”

“No, take me. I can put them to sleep on the spot.”

“One paralysis round from Veronica Caliber would be enough.”

“Send the warrior. Leave it to me.”

“We have Bardin as well.”

“Me! Me!”

Hmm.

Now everyone was fighting over who got to go.

Except Blood Wolf and Mari.

“Then let’s all go.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll prepare.”

“Japan again, huh.”

“Afterward, ramen?”

Juhyeok left White Tower Floor 17 and summoned his companions in the penthouse.

Enter the Tower—then exit.

SPOT!

Juhyeok’s group appeared near the Japanese Black Tower, a short distance from the battle.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on the Prime Minister and the yakuza, so no one noticed their arrival.

And even if they had, it did not matter.

“Should we use a magic-sealing scroll first?”

“Hm. If magic vanishes in the middle of the fight, they may lose their strength and drop their weapons. Then a spear or sword could go flying and hurt civilians.”

In other words—they had to disarm them first.

“All right. Let’s disarm them. Who wants to go?”

“This old man can use Air-Seizing, Bone-Stealing...”

“I can slip in under stealth...”

“My lord! Grant this one the honor!”

“Let the warrior take one.”

“I’ll snipe—”

Do we really need to go that far?

“Diamat?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Put them all to sleep with the dream domain—”

At that very moment—

“Me! Me! Let me do it!”

Rajix jumped up and down, waving both hands wildly.

No—why Rajix?

What was a laborer supposed to do?

“Our farmhand is too valuable. What if you get hurt?”

“I can do it.”

He kept insisting.

That was dangerous.

Cossack chuckled.

“Don’t underestimate a laborer. Idiots like these can be handled with farmhand-level pickaxe work.”

“The assassin speaks true. Muscles forged through labor are the real thing.”

“No need for a pickaxe. A broom would be enough to sweep them away.”

“At his level, just rolling around near them would make them collapse.”

... Really?

Now he was suddenly curious.

About Rajix’s fighting style.

“You’re confident?”

“Yes!”

“All right. Go ahead.”

The moment Juhyeok gave permission—

BOING!

Rajix leaped into the air, spun three times midair, then rolled forward like a beam of light.

“... Fast.”

Insanely fast.

BOOM!

A battle was unfolding with the Black Tower in the background.

The food stalls and shops around it had already been wrecked by the clash between two players using Liberation Rune Necklaces.

Prime Minister Maeda’s consciousness wavered.

The healing potions in his belt were almost completely depleted.

Regret flooded him.

‘I should have rested today.’

If he had not entered the Tower at all.

Climbing at dawn had become part of his routine.

And now that routine had come back to bite him.

If he had managed to escape into the Tower, this would already have been over.

There would have been no need to come this far.

‘Damn it!’

Why were the police taking so long?

With this much chaos, they should have arrived long ago.

Obvious.

Someone was delaying the police response.

Someone high up inside the force.

Even after the administration changed, he had very few allies among the established power elite.

Why else would he have earned the nickname “Dishwashing Prime Minister”?

He was just a short-term stopgap brought in to clean up the Liberal Party’s mess.

Meanwhile—

Nomura was growing desperate too.

At this rate, the police would arrive.

Helicopters would be deployed.

Snipers would take position.

If he did not kill him now—

Then he would be the one who died.

Nomura pressed Maeda without letting up.

A fierce battle.

And it was nearing its end.

Prime Minister Maeda’s movements were visibly slowing.

WHOOSH!

SHWAAAAK!

Nomura hurled his spear at Maeda’s back as he tried to flee.

THUD!

The long spear skewered Maeda clean through like a kebab.

Prime Minister Maeda collapsed forward.

Nomura strode over and yanked the spear out of his back.

“Heh heh heh. In the end, it was always going to turn out like this. What a pain.”

“Kghk... you, you bastard... I, I’ll definitely—”

“You’ll what?”

He would die even if left alone.

Lifting the spear high above his head, Nomura said:

“No time. I’ll finish you quickly. I’m busy too—I need to get somewhere safe and enter the Tower—”

That was when it happened.

BOING! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL.

“... Huh?”

BOUNCE-BOUNCE! ROLL-ROLL-ROLL!

“What the...?”

It came from the direction of the Tokyo Black Tower.

Nomura turned his head.

“Hm?

What is that?”

Something white and round came bouncing and rolling toward them at incredible speed.

BOUNCE! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL! BOING! ROLL-ROLL-ROLL.

Like a fluffy rubber ball covered in fur.

“What the hell...?”

Nomura completely forgot about killing Maeda and stared blankly at the bouncing furball.

Prime Minister Maeda did too.

He was already on the brink of death.

No—even if he just lay there, he would die soon anyway.

He had been about to give up and let everything go when—

“That is...?”

A dog?

No.

It could not be that round.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! BOING! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL!

Feeling threatened by the rubber ball charging straight at him, Nomura instinctively took an attack stance—

“Take this!!!”

SWISH!

“Huh?!”

The spear vanished from his hands.

And not just that.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—

His pants, his shoes, his shredded top, even the fundoshi he wore underneath, and the Liberation Rune Necklace hanging around his neck—

Everything vanished without a trace.

Complete disarmament.

All that remained was his naked body, covered in tattoos.

Prime Minister Maeda ended up in much the same state.

BOUNCE! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL.

“Huh?!”

SWISH, SWISH-SWISH—

His armor vanished.

So did the longsword in his hand, and the Liberation Rune Necklace as well.

Fortunately, his ordinary clothes were left untouched.

“This is insane!”

Unbelievable.

“That creature... I’ve seen it somewhere before... Ah!”

He finally remembered.

The creature that had appeared during the terrorist incident at the opening ceremony for the Pyongyang branch of the Korean Awakening Administration.

The hamster that had smoothly made the terrorist’s nuclear backpack disappear.

A sliver of hope emerged.

Had it come to save him?

Nomura could not hide his shock.

Stripped naked in front of everyone.

That thing.

That animal—not even a human—had dared to do this to him!

“Yaaah!!!”

SWISH!

Nomura pulled a mass-produced Japanese sword made from Tower metal out of his inventory.

Pointed it at the furball and shouted—

“Die!!!”

But—

“There!”

BOING! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL—WHAM!

Struck head-on by Rajix’s violently spinning rolling attack—

“Kgh!”

WHOOSH!

CRASH!

Nomura was slammed into a Black Tower souvenir shop and lost consciousness.

Rajix had stored away everything that could pose a threat into subspace.

The subspace ability he had developed after his evolution—

Remote storage.

With most of the danger removed—

Rajix leaped and landed in front of the dying Prime Minister Maeda.

BOING! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL—THUMP!

“Huh?”

Tilting his head—

SWISH!

He pulled out a healing potion without the tower-exclusive designation and splashed it all over Maeda.

SIZZLE, SZZZT, SZZZT.

The wounds closed.

The bleeding stopped.

“T-thank you...”

Then he pulled out another healing potion and pushed it into Maeda’s mouth like a baby bottle.

Only then did he take out a magic-sealing scroll.

RIIIIP!

PWAAAH!

A wave spread outward.

“Hahaha, seriously.”

Juhyeok let out a hollow laugh.

“Using the sealing scroll after everything’s already over.”

The order felt a little backward.

“But the result’s the same anyway.”

Tokyo clash—finished.

The yakuza subdued, the Prime Minister saved.

The people watching it live went wild.

Thunderous applause.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

Social media exploded.

L: He’s back again!!!

L: He’s so cute!!!

L: Is he trying to attack my heart? That’s cruel.

L: So cute.

L: He did it!

L: Look at him go!

A life-and-death duel between the Prime Minister and a yakuza.

It had been thrilling, intense, and unforgettable.

That is, until the fluffy bouncing furball appeared.

The furball stole not only the yakuza’s equipment and clothes, but everyone’s attention as well.

The tourists who had come to see the Black Tower ended up witnessing something truly extraordinary.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

The applause did not stop.

Rajix responded to the cheers.

Waddling around and waving his short arms.

People waved back.

How could they not?

Puffing out his chest, shrugging his shoulders, and strutting proudly around the scene, Rajix drew stunned reactions from the summoned entities.

“His hunger for validation is worse than any mage’s.”

“It seems he was starved for attention.”

“Maybe he just wanted to show off the fact that he evolved.”

“Attention-seeking is incurable. Once you’ve tasted it, you can’t quit.”

“That’s cosmic-level attention whoring.”

And then—

ROLL-ROLL-ROLL—

Rajix started rolling again.

SHUK-SHUK! SHU-SHUK-SHUK!

BOUNCE! BOUNCE-ROLL-ROLL!

SHUK-SHUK! SHU-SHUK-SHUK!

Juhyeok stared.

He could not believe his eyes.

“... What is he doing now?”

“Looks like he’s cleaning.”

“No, why is he cleaning now?”

“He cannot stand filth. He is the great laborer in charge of dimensions, after all.”

“Or maybe he’s just putting on a show to get even more attention.”

That did seem likely.

The concrete and asphalt became spotless.

L: The cutie is cleaning!

L: And he’s good at it!

L: Vacuum cleaners can’t even compare!

L: Come clean my room too—

L: My ex is trash, can ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) you take him away too?

At that moment—

WIIIIING!

Sirens blared as the police finally arrived.

They sure came quickly.

After making absolutely certain the yakuza had already been subdued.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

And then—

SPOT!

Watching from a distance, Juhyeok entered the Tower with his group.

Thus ended Rajix’s live Tokyo performance—

In overwhelming success.