The conversation after that proceeded while we avoided the perverted onlookers. With Yeon-Hee, we had protection more secure than any battlefield. The mental world, and the place full of memories for us.
[You have entered Woo Yeon-Hee’s mental world.]
[Stage: A middle school classroom in 1997]
I wanted to get the scars on Yeon-Hee out of my sight, if only for a moment. She appeared standing at the lectern, then sat down next to me.
“I wanted to go find your equipment too. But Doom Kaos did not allow it.”
She began to tell the story from the point when I was trapped in the Life Vessel.
“He said blocking the gate to the spirit world would be beneficial to you. It made sense no matter how much I pondered because if the Spirit Kings were released into the battlefield at that time, the citizens of the Savior’s City would not have been able to move like that. Then, for some reason, an order came down to leave the Spirit Kings alone. An order was issued to leave the Spirit Kings alone after he had insisted that blocking them would be good for you.”
She gulped.
“Of course, I could not comply with him. That was the ‘sin of intentionally failing to execute orders.’”
Yeon-Hee bit her lip hard.
“But then, the movements of the spirits became aggressive, and one slipped out regardless of my intention.”
However, many parts were being omitted. The battles she had fought alone in the spirit world would have constantly weighed on her life. Her significantly strengthened state proved the circumstances of that time. She had overcome the innate limits of the Awakened.
[* System]
[Name: Woo Yeon-Hee
Level: 580 (Ender)]
“You are on Level 580. Ender.”
“That is just the minimum. Barely enough to block the entrance to the spirit world.”
She spoke as if it was insignificant, but it was not a light matter. The spirit world was a place unaffected by the server, just like the mainland. However, she had grown that far. Regardless of where Yeon-Hee gained her XP, breaking the limit was my exclusive authority.
She talked about Joshua’s betrayal, then stopped.
“The Lusea clan conducted the ceremony staking their fate. Without it, they would have all died. The situation was already like that before I came. When Doom Dejire was in the lead, the situation might not have been so bad. But things got worse with Doom Lunea, and it did not improve in my time.”
I could feel sadness in her eyes.
“But thanks to the kids’ sacrifice, I am what I am now. It is something I am grateful for, and I cannot deny that… Was my explanation enough?”
Yeon-Hee referred to Lusea, that bastard’s group as ‘kids,’ and seemed relieved. It probably happened while I was sealed in the Life Vessel. In other words, it happened before I took control of the System, and that was the only way it did not become a headache.
I asked again to confirm.
Yeon-Hee answered, “Yes, the ritual took place while you were waiting to be resurrected.”
She prioritized Joshua’s betrayal over the fact that I was governing the realm of the sacred, or even matters about herself.
“Did I stop talking about how one Spirit King was released?”
“The Fire Spirit King, Seleon.”
“I still do not exactly know why Doom Kaos told me to leave the Spirit Kings alone, but I can guess from what happened so far. Doom Kaos probably wanted to reaffirm the power of the old Undead Emperor.”
Yeon-Hee was able to read the subject’s emotions without using psychic abilities, and she was using it on me now.
She spoke first before I could refute, “I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure that Osiris had betrayed us. Even if I was about to, I would have told you in a different way. I would have given you just the facts and let you make your own decision. He is your man, not my subordinate.”
She continued, “Listen to me more. Seleon was no match for him. He then went to the northern front and encountered the Great Blue there. Doom Kaos must have known that Blue was hiding there.”
“Do you realize you are just guessing?” I asked.
“Back then, Doom Kaos gave one more command. It was to find the whereabouts of Silver and Black, excluding Blue. At that time, I was in a situation where I could not leave the spirit world. If I left, then the rest of the spirit kings would surely be released.”
She added, “I thought about where Silver and Black could have gone if they had disappeared. In the end, I came to the conclusion that they would have planned to kill you. So I made one of my priests to spy Kim Ji-Hoon close by him. You have met him, so you would know.”
“So?”
“Osiris and Blue had a battle afterward. Doom Kaos probably confirmed the power of the old Undead Emperor from Osiris at that time. That was why he told Arukuda to stop and hand over Blue’s soul to him.”
“Did you hear Doom Kaos’s voice yourself, Yeon-Hee? Directly?”
“Arukuda is a greedy creature. His greed is famous in the spirit world. He wouldn’t have hesitated to get the Blue’s soul. He was so greedy as he was not satisfied even with the soul of the Great Gold. At that time, Osiris was not even under Doom Kaos. Despite this, Arukuda gave up on Blue’s soul, so there must be only one reason. Why would he give up on Blue’s soul without Doom Kaos’s command?”
“Wait.”
I interrupted her because there was an important point among the casual remarks Yeon-Hee made, “Did you just say the Great Gold?”
***
Yeon-Hee rubbed her forehead with her palm as if she had a headache. It was because the conversation kept deviating from the main topic she wanted to talk about. Until then, I thought she was just annoyed.
However, her eyes started having more sadness, eventually getting filled with tears. I was taken aback. The tears in her eyes were real.
“You don’t doubt him at all…” She continued in a trembling voice, “No one knows better than I do how much you will get hurt… I really don’t want to do this either.”
“...”
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“But do you remember? Your first teaching was not to trust anyone and to remove them immediately at the sight of suspicious signs. I couldn’t do that well when I just entered the Stage of Advent. But not anymore.”
“Yeon-Hee…”
“I also hope that Osiris did not betray us. I hope what I saw and heard was wrong. But the clear thing now is that he can’t get out of such suspicion. Even if you don’t remove him, you should be on guard. Doom Kaos is making Osiris your enemy, and Osiris accepted it.”
A stream of tears flowed down from her eye.
“That is what I have to do. I know you will get hurt, but I cannot stop here as I know your belief in him is so strong. So please don’t get distracted and listen to my story until the end.”
Yeon-Hee’s pleading did not affect me much. Rather, I was relieved to see her like that. I tricked her, so I was confident I could do the same to Doom Kaos. Joshua was deceiving everyone for the last moment, not betraying me. Before embracing the citizens of the Savior’s City into me, I recognized his loyalty much earlier. I did not even consider surrendering to a greater power as Yeon-Hee mentioned.
If Joshua was actually someone who was loyal to the greatest power, then there had been multiple chances to betray me earlier. There was no need to rummage through old memories as it was proven just by looking at recent events.
The bone ring was definitely a great item. However, before that, something incomparable to the bone ring was placed in front of us. If Joshua was a guy who only chased greater power, then he could have reached that thing before me.
Yeon-Hee ended up crying. I said as I hugged her shoulder, “I appreciate your concern, but this is exactly what Doom Kaos would want. He wants us to suspect and be on guard against each other.”
This was the world inside Yeon-Hee’s mentality. I was really fine, but her mental state, which only considered the harm I might receive, was clearly reflected in her inner world. It was accurate to describe it as an earthquake.
Dududu.
As the entire stage shook, a framed picture containing the Taegukgi[1] fell. The glass fragments shattered and scattered all the way to the podium.
The vibrations became more intense. The desks, chairs, and even the podium in front of the lectern fell. The windows on the side of the hallway were also broken. Nothing was set on the side of the hallway, so all that could be seen through the broken glass was pitch-black darkness.
Yeon-Hee looked at the hallway blankly for a moment, then started to nod.
“Then how are you going to explain this?”
The classroom door opened. There was nothing but pitch-black darkness outside, just like the inside.
It was Joshua. Of course, it was not the real Joshua, but a character created for this stage. The illusion resembling Joshua slowly walked toward the center of the podium. As it moved, the stage background also began to change.
The stage changed the moment Joshua’s illusion stopped. The wooden boards that made up the classroom floor turned into filthy and sticky substances. It was like the soil used by the Maruka clan to build their territory.
The desks and chairs that had fallen due to the earthquake-like vibrations had transformed into corpses of the Maruka tribe. When Joshua’s illusion stepped on the lectern, it turned into the original species of Maruka clan, leading the stage transition.
[Woo Yeon-Hee has changed the stage setting.]
[Stage: One region of the Land of the Dead in Star Dragorin (Maruka Clan)]
“This is a scene witnessed by one of my priests.”
***
“I found it, Master.”
Joshua spoke while stepping on the Maruka species. Although his gaze was fixed on the Maruka, he was definitely talking to Doom Kaos.
“There is a Maruka species called Orca in Doom Man’s homeland. The Life Vessel is hidden in it.”
Then, Yeon-Hee held my hand. Her gaze towards me and her hand were both trembling. Her wish for me not to get hurt was conveyed to me once again.
I focused my gaze on what was under Joshua’s feet. That Maruka species must have been one of the things that Orca had communicated with. That was why I kept claiming that Joshua was not the one betraying me. Instead, it was Orca because it was the one that submitted to me just by seeing my power.
I raised you well, though…
“Should I stop?” Yeon-Hee asked.
She was deeply mistaken.
“Keep going.”
Then, time began to flow again on the stage which had been momentarily stopped.
1. Korean national flag. ☜
