Chapter 181
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 181: How to Reveal the Truth (3)
“Welcome~”
“…Got caught by the Oracle.”
“…How did that happen?”
“It just happened.”
Park Yulhan, who welcomed us with a smiling face, clutched his head as soon as he heard my first words. I also looked at a distant mountain out of embarrassment.
“Anyway, since it turned out like this…. The Oracle will likely advertise extensively that Yggdrasil-teacher betrayed us and do groundwork on our friends too.”
“Hm? Is that a big problem?”
“Probably?”
I don't know if the group will believe those words or not. But the probability was high that they would be psychologically shaken by the fact that the backbone called Yggdrasil went a different way from them. And the possibility that the Oracle would use that anxious mind was also very high. …Na Yuhan is surprisingly soft-hearted, so I was more worried.
“That guy called Oracle, he was quite strong.”
“Yes, he's a transcendental existence who can freely seize and use the body of any human species. That's why he's even more dangerous.”
“Steals bodies?”
“Yes. Siwoo attacking us was actually a situation where the Oracle stole Siwoo's body. It seems a little resistance is possible before it's taken if there is the person's will… but it seems impossible after possession.”
“Hmm.”
At my words, Yggdrasil seemed to think of something, then asked me.
“If he only possesses humans, wouldn't it be better to tell this fact to other non-human friends too?”
At those words, I tried hard to avoid frowning and made an ambiguous expression.
“It's dangerous. We don't know when words might leak out.”
In Choi Sujeong's case, it couldn't be helped because she came to find me first, but I wanted to keep the others as safe as possible without knowing anything. However, Yggdrasil didn't seem quite satisfied with my decision.
“If it's that dangerous, why did you bother calling me through a human the Oracle can possess this time?”
She twitched her eyebrows as if revealing her discomfort. Avoiding her staring gaze, I muttered as if making an excuse.
“That was, because I had something to test….”
“Whatever it is, it would be better than taking the risk alone.”
“……”
“Trust your friends a bit more.”
“…Yes.”
I don't know if it's possible, though. I added words only inwardly and answered Yggdrasil. It was a short answer, but Yggdrasil seemed satisfied.
“Understood! More than that, don't we have work to do! Let's go to the Dungeon of Truth quickly and verify the truth!”
“Yeees….”
…Should I try, though? Anyway, contrary to her appearance, Yggdrasil is thorough. Even though there shouldn't be a loophole logically, seeing that she insists on definitely checking if my words are true. Yggdrasil walked ahead with a confident gait. But…
“Do you know the way?”
Yggdrasil shouldn't know the internal structure of the Wild Hunt, right? At my question, Yggdrasil, who was walking without hesitation, stopped abruptly and was silent for a moment.
“Um! I don't! Lead the way!”
“…Yes.”
Why were you walking blindly when you didn't know. I led Yggdrasil and called the Fox.
“…Yggdrasil?”
“Hm? This guy is… Tower God Cult Leader?”
Ah, I didn't explain this.
“He's our colleague. We are cooperating with the Wild Hunt and preparing for the Calamity.”
“It is good to choose colleagues well!”
“What does that mean?”
Although the Fox got a bit annoyed at those words, let's move on. Unable to win against Yggdrasil's urging, we quickly headed to the Dungeon of Truth. Since we practically hunted all the monsters last time, there was no need for separate combat preparations.
“Is this it?”
“Yes.”
I nodded at Yggdrasil looking at the Gate. Grinning, Yggdrasil soon headed inside with a confident gait. She was gripping her bow tightly in her hand, but perhaps sensing there were no monster signs nearby, her steps were relatively light. Walking for a while, the wreckage of the Mithril Turtle that hadn't been completely dismantled yet was visible. Seeing the wreckage, Yggdrasil tilted her head.
“How did you defeat this Mithril Turtle? The shell must have been hard.”
“…I'll tell you later.”
Come to think of it, I couldn't tell her about my Meta System in detail either. Once this matter is over, let's tell Yggdrasil everything too. Because she is my reliable Teacher. Making up my mind like that, I moved my steps with long strides. Not long after, the giant golden Scales revealed themselves. Looking up at the Scales, Yggdrasil burst into admiration.
“Nostalgic scenery…”
“It must have been a while since you came. Do you have any memories related to it?”
“Um. Memories of Aqua and Erentos grabbing each other by the hair after finding out each other's lies…”
“……”
“I watched while eating beef jerky with Mikel.”
I feel like I heard something I shouldn't have. Trying to erase something I just heard from my head, I turned my gaze to the Scales. We headed to the center of the Scales. I took out the Gold Coin of Truth and held it in my hand.
“Truth is right, lie is left. Correct?”
“Um. That is so. Seeing this pattern, this side is heads.”
“Then I will start.”
I held out the Gold Coin in front of the Scales and repeated the story I told Yggdrasil earlier. The explanation was simple. Though it was a summary with some personal feelings mixed in. The Oracle is a bastard trying to kill other races to save humans, and we are trying to stop that. And the Oracle interfered with that using the ability to possess humans, so I inevitably betrayed the group.
“All these words are objective facts.”
As soon as I said that and put mana into the Gold Coin, the Gold Coin shone and began to turn into dust and disappear. Before I could even stare blankly at the Gold Coin oxidized into golden dust, the sound of something huge moving was heard from above.
Whiiirr—
The arm of that thing, making a sound like a machine sucking something in, slowly began to tilt to the right. Tilting very slowly to the right, only when the thing hanging on the right arm touched the floor did its tilting stop. Seeing that, Yggdrasil hardened her expression.
“…I have no choice but to acknowledge this.”
Groaning while looking up at the Scales for a long time, she muttered slowly.
“Right. I acknowledge it. Your words are correct.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled brightly. Yggdrasil, who acknowledged it coolly, soon asked something important.
“So, how much time is left?”
“Half a year.”
I answered.
“Half a year left.”
This year, September. In one way or another, the Calamity will reveal itself to the world.
“Yggdrasil-nim betrayed us.”
Na Yuhan declared. It was a strange tone with no intonation or pitch, as a result of trying too hard to control his emotions. Park Siwoo's face hardened for a moment, but he soon returned to his expressionless face as if nothing happened. But to others, it seemed like news they couldn't respond to so calmly, showing various reactions.
“…Why on earth leave me behind…!”
Na Yuri was practically wailing now. …Of course, whether that was because Kang Nahyun left her behind and took Yggdrasil instead, or because the current situation is despairing, there is some disagreement… or maybe not, but it was so. Watching Lee Hana hand an ice pack to Na Yuri, who had swollen up in an instant, Na Yuhan shook his head side to side. The situation is a mess. I didn't expect the Wild Hunt side to move this fast.
“Yggdrasil-nim? What is she thinking?”
“Y-Yggdrasil-nim too? Why…?”
Putting aside Na Yuri's reaction, Shin Baran and Min Jaeyun also expressed great confusion. It seemed they couldn't believe that their trusted mentor Yggdrasil stood on the opposite side of them.
“Isn't there some misunderstanding~?”
“Yeah. Probably.”
On the other hand, Lee Hana and Choi Sujeong were relatively calm, but they still looked surprised. It was fortunate that those two were reassuring the juniors. If even they had been shaken, the group's situation would have turned into a catastrophe, but thanks to those two, everyone was regaining composure little by little.
“……”
Even so, the atmosphere was a mess. Na Yuhan seemed to be thinking about something regardless of such an atmosphere. Na Yuhan, who had his eyes closed gently, soon opened his eyes again and spoke calmly with a voice cold like ice.
“Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Whoever disappears, we just do what we have to do.”
As if that appearance was somewhat displeasing, Park Siwoo spoke with a slightly subdued voice.
“That's heartless.”
But Na Yuhan didn't seem to care at all.
“Because the Overflow of Calamity is bound to happen right in half a year. We have to prepare for that.”
He recalled what the Oracle said.
'Yggdrasil crossed over to the Wild Hunt side.With this, all Keys have gathered over there.''…What?''The Overflow of Calamity will happen.It can't be helped but… let's prepare in the direction of preparing for the Overflow of Calamity as much as possible.''…Right. Understood.'
Na Yuhan cut off the recollection that surfaced for a moment.
“Don't mistake the priority.”
He spoke as if admonishing himself.
“…Must not mistake it. Absolutely.”
Unlike usual, a voice sunken low and cold enough to freeze. At the cold atmosphere they had never seen before, even the people around were silent and couldn't easily speak.
“……”
As if realizing his mistake, he covered his forehead slightly with his hand, then cleared his voice again and spoke seriously to the group.
“Let's prepare for the Calamity. Then we will know everything.”
He erased his emotions completely, as if trying to become a machine to achieve the goal. However, inside his eyes, an unknown heart that he couldn't erase was rippling.