Chapter 295
Chapter: 295
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 295
>Chapter Title: Justitia (7)
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[From the very start, you were never meant to enter this place. Have you ever given serious thought to why there's a limit on the number of people who can enter a theme dungeon, or why the number of guest ID users has never exceeded three?]
Sungjin stared at the woman before him, who seemed to be lamenting as if scolding him.
She wore elegant attire straight out of an ancient myth, with long hair cascading in golden waves. Aside from the eerie eyepatch soaked in blood tears, she was unmistakably the Justitia from the Pangea Chronicle main screen.
The noble hero said to have gouged out her own eyes to safeguard the world's laws.
The goddess at the very center of the Pangea Chronicle worldview, who had ultimately ascended to divinity to manage the world.
'But...'
The bizarre woman clinging to Sungjin's back like a leech had also called herself Justitia.
With black hair tangled like deep-sea kelp and skin that felt unpleasantly waxy.
This wasn't a goddess—she looked more like a drowned corpse left abandoned in cold storage for ages.
'Which one is the real Justitia?'
Maybe both.
That premonition suddenly struck him.
[So, what's the reason for suddenly showing up like this?]
Sungjin asked as he pried off the damp hands clinging to him with the ferocity of someone about to gouge out eyes.
Whichever was real didn't matter right now. One side seemed utterly incapable of conversation anyway, so he'd have to communicate with the one who looked more intact.
[I just told you. Stop inviting more chaos and provoking Justitia any further.]
[Don't talk like you're calling someone else's name. You're Justitia too, aren't you? Neither of you has eyes, after all.]
[...]
The goddess clamped her mouth shut at Sungjin's sharp retort. But Sungjin, already offended, held nothing back, goddess or leech.
[If the lore on the site is accurate, you're the one managing this world, aren't you? So why screw everything up and now blame others?]
[I'm holding you accountable because you're the one who brought in the chaos.]
[Don't repeat yourself. If you were so desperate to block guest ID users from theme dungeons, why not set proper conditions from the start? Instead of some half-baked headcount limit.]
[The higher conditions are already restricted, so adding lower ones would be pointless. All this chaos stems purely from your existence—you're the only one who can quell it.]
[Then try asking politely. And if you wanted to convince me, couldn't you have picked a more suitable spot for a talk?]
At least not somewhere with a bloodsucking leech.
Sungjin irritably yanked off a handful of seaweed-like hair, and once more, he heard something gnawing at his ear.
Crunch crunch.
Ah, don't just bite whatever without permission, you pest!
[I'm deeply sorry about this situation. But under normal circumstances, you as a guest ID user and I would never meet unless certain restrictive conditions were met. Even I, the world's administrator, can't circumvent the established rules.]
Splash, splash.
The goddess spoke as she took a few steps forward.
[Thus, I had no choice but to exploit that fleeting distortion when the illusion cloaked and uncloaked you—using the very chaos you've nurtured as a medium to evade the rules imposed on me. The cost wasn't insignificant, of course.]
At the same time, blood streamed from the goddess's eye, splattering onto her white dress and forming an eerie pattern.
Great. A bloody spectacle in front and a drowned leech hanging off behind!
'This is the worst!'
Sungjin, who usually couldn't stand horror movies, shuddered violently.
At least these things could be touched by hand, so punches might work—that was small comfort.
[If this situation truly displeases you, there's only one way left. Leave this world right now.]
The goddess replied coldly, thrusting her face right up to Sungjin's nose.
Then, from her red lips came a whisper as soft as temptation itself.
[Or will you finally invoke your unique ID? □□□ □□. Erase everything that bothers you, just like before.]
[...!]
Now it was Sungjin's turn to fall silent. The moment he heard her words, a sharp pang stabbed at his chest, followed by a fierce churning deep inside.
Thump.
It was undoubtedly the agitation he'd felt once before.
But.
'...No, not yet.'
An inexplicable, powerful premonition surged through him. Sungjin took a deep breath, forcing down the wave of unknown emotion.
[Cut the tricks. So this was your best effort at conversation?]
As if deflated, the goddess slowly drew back and replied.
[I won't deny it. So, what will you do? Will you leave this place now? This world is far too imperfect and unstable to bear your presence.]
Unstable? Pangea Chronicle was a standard regulated world, wasn't it?
Sensing his doubt, the goddess added a curt explanation.
[This world was forced to hatch from its egg before it was ready. To compensate for its absurdly weakened foundation, countless rules were haphazardly patched on. In that vast chaos, distortions inevitably warped the world.]
Drip, drop.
Even as she retreated and spoke, blood tears flowed ceaselessly from the goddess's eye. At this rate, her dress would soon be drenched in crimson.
[And □□□ □□, you will accelerate this flood of chaos, ultimately leading to the world's collapse.]
[...]
[So please, for the sake of this world, leave now.]
Right. He didn't know the details, but it sounded like the world's survival was at stake.
'Leave this annoyingly troublesome world? That's exactly what I want!'
But first, there was something to settle. Sungjin shoved back the leech gnawing his neck like dog chews and said,
[I have a condition. Promise me you'll meet one guest ID user first, Justitia.]
[A guest ID user?]
[Yeah. And hand over whatever item he wants, no questions asked. Do that, and I won't have any reason to stick around.]
If he had to leave, he'd at least pull Owen out with him.
-The reason I'm still logging into this place is probably to meet the Justitia goddess and get the item she needs.
Of course, meeting Justitia didn't guarantee Owen's quest would resolve perfectly. But at least it would stop him from wasting effort chasing a meeting with her.
The goddess's response to Sungjin's words, however, was scornful.
[That's impossible. I told you already—the established rules bind even me. Guest ID users can't enter shrines, and meeting me requires fulfilling several stringent conditions.]
What the hell am I supposed to do then?
Sungjin's annoyance was turning to outright displeasure, heat rising to his head. If she wouldn't meet his condition, he had no reason to entertain her one-sided nonsense anymore.
[Then shut up with the bullshit! I'm not leaving until I achieve my goal!]
[Your presence will destroy this world!]
The goddess screamed like a banshee, but Sungjin didn't flinch.
[Why should I care? A world where some grotesque thing latches on—who knows what bigger problems that could cause if left alone?]
[Such self-centered...!]
[The self-centered accusation goes both ways. If you want a proper talk, deal with this thing eating my life force or whatever right now!]
Don't tire me out anymore! I won't skip my morning training tomorrow, no matter what!
Whoosh—
In that instant, as if reacting to Sungjin's mood, a fierce aura erupted from him, swirling outward in all directions.
[...!]
Zzzzt!
It was so powerful that noise crackled simultaneously from every direction.
The Justitia goddess staggered in surprise, gazing at Sungjin.
'...What did I just do?'
Even Sungjin, discovering he could do this for the first time, was momentarily flustered.
But what was more absurd was that, even in this situation, the leech hadn't budged from his back!
Crunch crunch.
'You creepy bastard!'
Noticing Sungjin's look of disgust, the goddess spoke with resignation.
[Didn't I say from the start you couldn't shake it off? Even I have no way to deal with it. It's another Justitia born from the vast chaos—embodied as this world's law itself.]
Chaos or law, who cares—get off me!
Sungjin swung his arm backward again—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The aura, now even sharper, struck the leech repeatedly.
Kyakyakya!
The leech narrowed its hollow eye sockets, mocking Sungjin as if to say his efforts were futile.
[Didn't you hear? I've become this world's law!]
Blood-smeared lips smacked, producing a grating voice like rusted metal grinding.
[No one can escape me! You already see, hear, and breathe through me! I'm another foundation upholding this world—like its very atmosphere!]
'...Atmosphere?'
That was the moment.
A vivid memory flashed in Sungjin's mind.
-Mores, what do you think you would have done if you were that bird?
A bird plunged into the sea.
A familiar voice explaining it gently.
-The bird could adapt its other organs as well. But to it, the seawater remained an external force to overcome—it couldn't perceive it as something to breathe naturally.
Father had said I was just like that bird in the water.
But did "other dimension's atmosphere" refer only to Delcross?
-It's not about moving like that, Mores.
Another memory surfaced.
A low vibration like a small laugh, amid music.
-Just generate strong intent based on memory to form a perfect afterimage. The aura carried within will naturally flow along it.
I know.
I've already learned how to generate intent and create afterimages.
Fwoosh!
Before Sungjin could even consciously register it, a small flame bloomed before his eyes, along with the naturally resurfacing memory.
Gehenna's infernal flames, utterly familiar to him, that burned all things.
'...Demon King No. 2!'
At a glance, it seemed insignificant, like the Demon King's main body. But its power matched exactly what he'd seen in the rift.
Flutter.
Like dust falling, Demon King No. 2 drifted onto the leech's hand—
Fwoooosh!
The flame seized its target, swelling instantly and rapidly spreading across Sungjin's back.
[What is this?! □□□ □□! What are you doing right now?!]
Along with the panicked cry from the Justitia goddess—
Kaaaaah!
A tearing shriek erupted from the leech. A reaction utterly unlike its earlier smug demeanor.
But before Sungjin could even check the result, his vision abruptly blurred and darkness rushed in.
"...bi!"
...Huh?
"Noob!"
Someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him violently. Sungjin blinked slowly, as if waking from sleep.
"What's wrong? Why'd you suddenly zone out like that?"
His blurry vision cleared, revealing tousled copper hair before his eyes.
"...Owen?"
"Thought you passed out standing up for a sec. You okay?"
"Owen?"
"What're you on about? You really feeling sick or something?"
Sungjin stared blankly at the person in front of him with a bewildered expression.
And rightly so—the guy who should have been a red fox had completely transformed into a stranger.
'What the? The voice is definitely Owen's...'
Standing before Sungjin now was a sturdy young man whose lively impression matched his voice.
His long copper hair draped like a lush fox tail, adorned here and there with brown feathers in a somewhat unfamiliar style.
Sungjin slowly raised a hand, rubbing his eyes with a small hoof.
What? My avatar's fine as ever...
"Owen, you..."
"Yeah? What's up?"
The young man asked worriedly.
Ah, that voice confirms it—the same dim-witted fox.
So why had his skin suddenly vanished, and his graphics returned to normal?