Chapter 837: Nightmare Tower.
"How many Souls should we use, Darling?" Roxanne asked.
"We'll start with 500 million." With so many Souls stored within him, 500 million was nothing.
"Okay." Roxanne made a hand gesture, and soon, hundreds of thousands of Souls began to leave Victor's body and head toward the Tower.
"Holy..." Gaia, Aphrodite, Persephone, and Beings with Divine Senses who could see the Souls, opened their eyes in shock at the sheer number leaving Victor's body.
"Done," Roxanne said.
Victor nodded satisfactorily and then turned to the girls.
"Welcome to The Tower of Nightmares."
"...Tower of Nightmares?" Violet swallowed; that name was definitely not intimidating at all.
Don't get it wrong, Violet wasn't afraid of the name; she was worried about the meaning behind it. She knew very well that despite her Husband's bad naming sense, he tended to be quite truthful, oftentimes literal, with the names he gave. If he said it was a Tower of Nightmares, then it definitely is a Tower of Nightmares. Now, the lingering question for Violet was just how 'terrifying' this tower was.
"Heheheheh, Victor, did you make a Hyperbolic Chamber for us to train in!? That's amazing!" Pepper asked
"...."
"Victor, why are you silent and giving me that pitying smile?"
"...."
"This is a Hyperbolic Chamber, right?"
"...." Victor just continued to smile gently at her.
"... Right?"
Instead of answering Pepper, he just approached her and ruffled her head.
"Hehehe." As if by Magic, her turbulent thoughts were completely erased, and she just enjoyed the sensation on her head.
"Father...!" Ophis and Nero exclaimed in a low tone as they watched this scene.
Victor just looked at the two of them and smiled gently, but he didn't say anything. It wasn't the time to pamper them, so he just looked at Violet, Sasha, and Ruby with a very serious expression.
"Are you ABSOLUTELY sure you want to get stronger quickly?"
"... Yes!" Even though it took a while to answer, they still replied determinedly.
With all this 'seriousness' from Victor, it was making them a bit scared.
"... Haah, very well, I won't doubt your determination any longer, and I'll just explain how the Tower of Nightmares works."
"There are 777 floors in this Tower."
Some of the girls wanted to ask why specifically 777 floors, but they remained silent, waiting for Victor to finish speaking.
"On each floor, the level of opponents gets stronger, to the point that from the 700th floor onwards, only High-Level God-Class Beings will appear."
"The final floors will be composed of Primordial Gods that I absorbed."
Gaia and Nyx nodded in understanding at what Victor meant. It seemed that even in death, Thanatos, Erebus, and Erebus's son would not rest.
"Setting aside the difficulty scale, the Tower's System is simple."
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Victor's words caused a deafening silence all around.
Victor looked at the Tower. "Only when the Soul is near its end will it demonstrate its true potential."
"Using this Concept, I created this Tower."
"You will face my old enemies, those of whom I had killed, and Souls I'd absorbed."
"Monsters, Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Gods, Youkai, Humans – all the Beings I've killed are present in that Tower."
"With each fight, victory, and defeat, you will grow stronger. Time in The Tower passes faster than outside. Using The Principles of Time that I stole from Kronos, I made 6 months inside The Tower equal to 3 days outside."
"You will spend all that time there, and you will only be allowed to leave after six months."
"... So it's like a Hyperbolic Chamber. I wonder why you made such a mystery about it!" Pepper huffed.
Victor just smiled gently at the girl. How could he say that the real purpose of this Tower was not training but 'death'? And the whole process involving 'death.'
It was only when they were on the brink of death that the Energy of the Souls and The Tower would nurture the girls' own Souls, advancing their Power even further, a process that Victor had to personally oversee to ensure no problems occurred.
After all, they weren't Victor, who had ridiculous potential. Despite being geniuses, it would take them hundreds of years to reach the High Level of Power, the level of Gods.
Fight, die, absorb traces of Souls, drink Victor's stored blood in that Tower, and repeat.
This was the most efficient and cruel process.
Victor couldn't say all of this, not now; they first had to experience the Tower to understand for themselves.
Aphrodite, Roberta, and Zaladrac, who could deeply sense Victor's feelings, narrowed their eyes slightly when they felt Victor's 'pain.'
It was as if he didn't want them to go to that place, and it was at that moment that they understood that there were more things in that Tower than he had mentioned. If it were only the 'death' of the girls, he shouldn't be feeling so much pain.
While Zaladrac had helped Victor create The Tower, she didn't know exactly how it functioned since she left all of that in Victor's hands.
Victor sighed internally. He didn't want them to do this. He didn't want them to go through this suffering, but he wouldn't step on their determination; he would respect them and help them.
"And so, will you go?"
"Yes!"
"Okay." Victor floated in the sky, his face as hard as stone.
"A warning. Do not underestimate your opponents."
Victor snapped his fingers, and in the next moment, Violet, Ruby, and Sasha disappeared.
Three screens appeared in front of the group, showing the three women. Unlike their previous clothes, they were now fully armed, but it wasn't the High-Level equipment Victor had made for them; it was standard leather gear.
...
With Ruby.
The girl looked around and saw various iron weapons of different types. She also noticed that there was a bed and a door with the symbol of a woman on top, clearly indicating a bathroom. She saw a refrigerator with a sign on the side that read 'blood supply'; it was clear that this place was designed for people to spend a lot of time.
For a moment, she looked at her clothes and realized she was no longer wearing sleepwear but rather simple leather armor.
'And to think that with just a snap of his fingers, he would do so many things.' Once again, she realized how 'divine' her Husband had become.
And this thought strengthened her resolve to get stronger. Without even thinking, Ruby picked up the spear that was nearby and walked toward the door.
The moment she passed through the door, her world changed, and she found herself in a narrow cave so tight that if she spread her hands completely, she could touch both walls.
Ruby narrowed her eyes, immediately realizing that the spear would hinder her in such a narrow space. So she dropped the spear and created two simple ice daggers.
Walking through the narrow corridors, the lack of light didn't impair her vision; as a Creature of The Night, she could see in the dark.
Suddenly, she stopped walking when she smelled something strange. Focusing her attention more on her eyes, she saw a huge creature that looked like a white wolf.
...
"An Ice Demon... Seriously, Victor?" Scathach asked.
"They need to understand that they can't always use their specialties in a fight."
"Humph, don't underestimate my daughter. Who do you think trained her?"
"It's precisely because I know who trained her that I didn't underestimate her."
Involuntarily, Scathach displayed a sweet smile. "Good."
Pepper, Lacus, and Siena just rolled their eyes when they saw how their mother reacted.
"Hmm, I don't think this is as simple as it seems," Haruna commented.
"Yes... This whole situation is making me uneasy," Mizuki nodded.
"Agreed." Maria, Bruna, and Kaguya nodded together.
The girls looked at Victor, searching for something, but they only saw his stone cold face. Realizing they wouldn't get anything from him, they turned their attention back to Ruby.
...
'An Ice Demon, huh.' As a researcher, Ruby knew very well what kind of creature that was. After all, she often met Aline, a Commander who belonged to the Ice Demon Race.
'Darling is underestimating me. Does he think a low-level creature like this will defeat me?' The weaknesses of the Ice Demon flashed through Ruby's mind.
'It will be easy to kill it.'
The moment Ruby took a step forward, the creature's eyes opened, and suddenly, an overwhelming bloodthirst was felt by Ruby.
"W-What?"
In the next moment, the Ice Wolf vanished in a burst of Lightning, and Ruby felt her world spin.
Ruby's head fell to the ground, and it was at that moment that something went through her skull, piercing both her head and her heart at the same time.
The next moment, Ruby was back in the room.
"AAHHH!"
...
"... As expected, she let her guard down. Sometimes being so smart leads to arrogance," Victor shook his head in disappointment. He had even warned them not to underestimate their opponents.
Roxanne simply squeezed Victor's hand when she felt the pain in his heart as he saw Ruby's head fall to the ground. Even though she wouldn't 'die' permanently, it was still a challenge for Victor's own heart.
A deafening silence fell around the group.
"... V-Victor, I don't recall an Ice Demon having Lightning abilities," Aline, who had just arrived with Helena, Lilith, Lily, Vine, and Vepar, spoke.
Victor briefly looked at his Demon ladies and then turned his gaze back to his three Wives. "As I said, never underestimate your opponents."
...
"What… just happened?" Ruby asked, a bit shaken, as she touched her neck, not even having time to activate her defenses.
She sat on the floor, reviewing the memories of the recent encounter.
Suddenly, Victor's words echoed in her head.
"I see... I got arrogant." Ruby closed her eyes, and in the next moment, she opened them again.
Pure determination was visible on her face.
Ruby took two iron daggers and covered them with the Power of Ice, and in the next moment, her entire body visibly grew paler as she used her Ice Powers to create natural armor from how proficient she was.
Soon, she opened the door again to go back to that narrow corridor... Only to find that now, she was in an open space like a mansion... An open mansion that let the sunlight through.
Ruby squinted and put her finger in the sunlight, and in the next moment, she pulled her finger back when she realized that it was the actual sunlight and not a projection.
...
"What happened to the corridor?" Natashia asked.
"Randomness, unpredictability, uncertainties. The Tower simulates all Aspects of Combat. You won't always fight in a favorable territory, so you must be prepared for everything," Victor said.
Scathach nodded in agreement with what Victor said.
The group watched Ruby covering the entire area with her Ice Power, effectively blocking out the sunlight.
"Smart, she eliminated her disadvantage... But..." Agnes spoke.
"She alerted the enemy," Eleonor finished.
...
Various noises were heard, and in the next moment, three Ice Wolves appeared with a burst of Lightning.
Despite being surprised by the number of enemies, Ruby was not helpless this time.
She defended against the attacks with her Ice powers, and in the next moment, she created a spear and pierced the first wolf in the head.
Taking advantage of this moment, the second wolf tried to bite her leg, but Ruby's defense was impenetrable now.
Soon, the outcome was obvious, and the three Demons were killed.
"... I did it..."
At that moment, a shadowy claw pierced her heart.
Cough.
Ruby spat blood and looked behind her, seeing a Creature of Shadows... Not just one, but hundreds of them.
Soon, her entire body was pierced by the shadows, and she died.
Ruby woke up in her room again. "What the fuck is this place!"
...
"... Letting your guard down just because the enemy died... My daughter... Do I really need to train you again?" Scathach spoke disapprovingly.
Even if it was just for a few seconds, Ruby had let her guard down, and to Scathach, that was unforgivable. Her daughter was in hostile territory, and just because she killed the first threat, she lowered her guard, a mistake only an amateur would make.
"Victor... Is this only the first level? Aren't you being too harsh?" Hestia asked.
And all she got was Victor's serious gaze directed at her.
"They wanted Power. They wanted to get stronger quickly. And Power like that doesn't come without consequences."