The surroundings had changed from science-fiction style to fantasy again. An enchanting hall, like the scene of a ball. At the front was a door with an old-fashioned design, and the Saintess was standing in front of it.
I can’t see the people I was with before. It seems I’m the only one who’s been sucked into a strange place.
“If you’re going to do something like this, at least give me a warning.”
【I’ll pay more attention next time.】
“Why did you call me here?”
【How cold of you. Can I call you only if I have business to do so? We are not strangers.】
We are strangers. I don’t remember having a family that looks like they came out of a fantasy game like you.
“Can you call me at any time?”
【I’m afraid I can’t. It takes a certain kind of power to interfere with the world. A gap in the bonds of space and time, or a world that has already been destroyed … I rarely get to communicate with someone unless it’s an opportunity like this.】
【That’s why I try to call you when I get the chance. It doesn’t happen often enough.】
The Saintess was smiling radiantly in front of me. I looked at her with a shaken expression. After all, the Saintess had saved my life, and she had supported me through the system, but why did I feel so nervous whenever I saw her?
Is it simply the sense of distance I feel from a transcendent being? Or….
【What are you thinking, The Eligible.】
“What exactly is this Eligible person thing?”
Mieum said that an Awakened chosen by the system itself was an Eligible. If the Saintess had chosen me according to that, I wondered what she wanted from me.
But instead of answering, the Saintess said something unexpected.
【Your grandmother died because she tried to defy fate with the power of her fairy eyes.】
“……!”
She didn’t die of an illness? No, that’s ridiculous. I can still vividly remember the day she was admitted to the hospital. That can’t be possible. No way … it can’t be.
【Don’t look at me like that. I also wanted your grandmother to live a long time.】
【But she tried to twist her fate, and she lost her life for defying the law of Causality.】
“What on earth is this causality that you speak of?”
I felt suffocated. The Saintess continued her words with a wry smile.
【The laws that make up the world, the chain of fate that runs from the past to the future.】
【A flower blooms because a seed is sown. A stream of water flows in one direction.】
I didn’t think I knew what it meant. I put the next question I really wanted to ask.
“Then, the causality that my grandmother defied … what is it?”
【…….】
Wordlessly, the Saintess tilted her head to the side. Her eyebrows arched. A human expression crossed her face, unlike the painted smile she had worn before.
It made me uneasy. The answer I’d been subconsciously suspecting was right around the corner.
“Tell me. Please.”
The Saintess remained silent for a moment longer, a look of sadness on her face, before she answered.
【…….】
【…….】
【She saved your life.】
My breath got caught in my throat. I felt like covering my ears, but the Saintess’ voice went directly to my head, not my ears. I can’t resist the truth.
【The first rift, twenty years ago. You were meant to die that day, along with your parents.】
【Your grandmother tried to save you, and lost half of her remaining life in the aftermath. And the new fate that has been granted to you who survived … that’s what makes you the Eligible one.】
【Your regression, your awakening, your abilities …… and everything else. It was done according to the fate your grandmother had arranged.】
Zzzzzkk━
The landscape around you blurred like a noisy television screen. A hazy light swallowed and collapsed the space.
I knew intuitively that my conversation with the Saintess would end here. I knew I had to get more information out of her, but I didn’t know what to say.
Why is she telling me this now? If my grandmother had saved me, what can I ever do to repay the debt? As I stood there speechless, overwhelmed with debt and longing, the Saintess spoke again.
【Don’t forget, what lies beyond this door is a future we have not yet reached.】
【You will reach the other side of the door.】
That was as far as I managed to stay conscious. My eyes were closed, and I felt my body was floating.
***
“Uh … ugh, heuk, heugh!”
“Rieul-ssi, are you okay? Rieul-ssi!”
I blinked my eyes slowly. All the sensation in my body hadn’t returned yet. My breathing was strained.
When I finally opened my eyes, I found myself leaning against Lee Yoomi. My forehead was damp with a cold sweat.
“You suddenly stumbled when you opened the door.”
It was the same as before. The encounter with the Saintess was only a fleeting moment in reality, but the feeling was so vivid that it could never be dismissed as an illusion.
“I’m sorry … I must have been a little dizzy.”
“Then why don’t we take a break before we go inside? Your complexion is very bad, Owner-nim.”
HingHungHong spoke kindly to me, but I shook my head.
“I’m fine now. Let’s go. I can’t wait to join others.”
My head was a mess, but I figured it was better to get moving than to rest here.
We were on the second floor. Beyond the door was a long staircase leading to a large hall on the first floor. There might be danger at the bottom of the stairs. I thought about summoning Cthugha, but stopped myself.
It wasn’t that I cared what others thought, it was just that I didn’t know what I would say if I summoned him now.
Cthugha had been waiting and missing my grandmother for a long time. How would I tell him that she had given her life to save mine?
“…….”
My chest felt tight. I felt like I might cry.
I wanted to meet my grandmother and ask her why she went to such lengths to save me, who wasn’t even living a particularly wonderful life? But I couldn’t, so I just kept walking in silence.
“Hey! There are people over there.”
Someone in the group said loudly. I turned my head and looked under the railing.
Near the centre of the hall were people from the Ash’s Demon Cult, Twilight. Thank goodness. We’ve come to the right place.
However, in front of them was a grotesque figure wrapped in bandages and covered in a cloak. That was the boss monster of this dungeon, the Malicious King of Curses.
“Oh my! He’s fighting it!” HingHungHong shouted as he pointed to a certain spot in the hall.
Some distance away from them stood Ki Yoohyun, who was fighting the King of Curses by himself.
The battle was in full swing, but there was no sense of urgency. Even from a distance, Ki Yoohyun had an overwhelming advantage. A wide veil of light appeared in the air and enveloped the King of Curses. As his bandaged arm touched the light, it slowly disintegrated and disappeared. Only the dirty bandages remained in the air.
【Grrrrrrr … This man…..!】
With a large portion of his body turned to dust, the King of Curses screamed. It sounded like scratching an iron plate with a sharp nail.
It’s over now.
Just when it seemed like victory was in sight, something happened.
“Ugh….?”
Suddenly, Ki Yoohyun staggered, clutching his left chest.
“Yoohyun-ssi!”
“….Rieul-ssi?”
The black eyes looking up at me were distorted with pain. He looked tormented. He could barely contain himself. It was a strange situation. He was winning, so why was he in so much pain?
Pssst, the veil of light shattered.
【Grrrrrr … As expected, that power cannot be used for long. After all, there is no way a mere mortal could defeat me, who is comparable to a God.】
Whirligig– The bandages that had been fluttering around him snapped back into shape, forming limbs again. The King of Curses gripped his scythe. The scythe was as big as a normal person’s body, and it was mercilessly trying to cut down Ki Yoohyun.
“No…!”
I have to stop it. With that thought in mind, I ran, but the distance was far. I couldn’t reach it.
“……!”
Action came before thought. I quickly used my skill.
‘The Bond of a Cup of Coffee.’
[Target: ‘Jijon’ was selected.]
[Skill: You Did Well (B) is used.]
[Time stops for 5 seconds.]
Everything stops except me.
Five seconds. An absurdly short time.
But it’s enough time for me to attack the King of Curses with all the power I have. I reached out and used the Cthugha’s Ring.
Blast!Red flames scorched his bandaged body. Almost simultaneously, time began to flow again.
【Ahhhhhh! Who are you! Who unleashes an eternal flame on a mere mortal subject……!】
The King of Curses, who had been devoured by the flames, spotted me and tried to swing his scythe, but Ki Yoohyun was faster.
“I’m sad. Surely you haven’t forgotten about me.”
Ki Yoohyun, who overcame the pain in that short period of time, used his skill again. A translucent barrier seized the King of Curses, who squirmed and tried to escape, but to no avail.
There was a moment of eerie silence.
Thud, thud, thud. Ki Yoohyun moved closer to the King of Curses. Sensing his end, the King of Curses cried out in a hoarse voice.
【Grrrr……. How could we have come this far, only to be destroyed like this……!】
【Listen, humans! Our world was brought to an end by ██. Yours must be the same…….】
He did not finish his sentence.
Paaaash━ The barrier of light that tightly enveloped the enemy shattered into fragments.
The next moment, there was nothing left.
[Boss: You have defeated The King of Curses Stained in Malice.]
…….
…….
A system notification popped up a beat too late and the quest window updated. I carefully read the fine text, as I’ve been hit so many times before, but there’s nothing suspicious. It’s really over. Now all we have to do is escape from this Dungeon.
I quickly ran with my companions and joined the others. As soon as I saw him, I bowed to the leader of the Demon Cult Twilight.
“Thank you for taking care of our Ash.”
“I was the one who took care of these humans!”
“Ash, don’t speak like that to an elder.”
“I took care of this old man!”
Ash looked proud of himself as he quickly corrected himself. I’m glad he wasn’t hurt.
Next, I approached Ki Yoohyun. I was just about to speak to him when Jijon interrupted me with a shaky voice.
“Hey, that’s, it can’t be … eih, that doesn’t make sense …. but if it’s an ability that would surprise even this Jijon…..”
Ki Yoohyun frowned at Jijon’s gaping mouth as he blurted out the short words. He flicked his hand horizontally. Roughly speaking, I know what you’re trying to say is that you’re not going to be able to keep up with me, but be quiet ……. does that work on him?
“…,Yes, yes!” The pale and exhausted Jijon nodded his head.
……It works.
I called out to Ki Yoohyun in a small voice, “Yoohyun-ssi, are you okay? You were in pain earlier.”
“I’m fine, I just experienced a momentary overload.”
At that time, Ash looked up at him with a complicated expression.
“……Remember what I said.”
“Why? What did you say to Yoohyun-ssi?”
“Nothing.” Ash said nothing more and turned away.
However, no matter how much I looked at the people gathered in the hall, I couldn’t see Choi Yichan.
“Have you seen Yichan by any chance?”
Ki Yoohyun shook his head. Lee Yoomi used her detection magic, but traces of other people were no longer detected.
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