Into the Gate
Into the Gate
Vwooom-
The crystal containing the memories of Koschei, which Freyja had been manipulating, lost its light and finished playing.
The memories spanning several months were vast.
After Koschei and Baba Yaga's cooperation was decided, I skipped through most of the memories except for the scenes where the two were talking, but even then, quite a bit of time had passed.
By the time I had finished reviewing all the memories, a day had already gone by.
"Ugh..."
"What is it. Why are you like that?"
"It's just because I've had little sleep recently, so you don't need to worry about it."
Freyja, who was clutching her forehead as if dizzy, waved her hand dismissively and took out some medicine from her bosom to consume.
She had been looking exhausted ever since she first arrived here, so it seemed she was reaching her limit.
In any case, I had reviewed all of Koschei's memories, and there was nothing left for her to do, so I told her to go inside and rest.
"Are you really sure that's okay?"
"Yeah. The remaining work is something that needs to be done by that girl, not you."
Twitch!
Odin, who had been resting soundly for a day after fainting like that yesterday.
As I pointed at her, her body, which had been pretending to be asleep despite having woken up, twitched.
In truth, I had noticed she was awake the moment she woke up because her breathing pattern changed, but I had let her be out of pity for her beastly appearance yesterday.
But there's a limit to that, too.
Since she didn't seem to have any intention of getting up until I left, I created a water orb and dropped it on her to signal that she should stop pretending and wake up.
Splash!!
The water orb, aimed precisely at Odin, hit its mark, but it didn't touch her body because a barrier instantly unfolded over her.
Odin, who had sat up with a surprised look as if she had reflexively deployed defensive magic, opened her mouth awkwardly.
"W-what are you doing?"
"What do you mean what am I doing. I'm telling you to get up."
"Y-you could've just woken me up."
"Even though you had no intention of getting up?"
Perhaps struck right in the bullseye, Odin's body flinched, and she eyed me cautiously.
"Ugh... S-so. Why did you wake me up."
"You were listening at the end too, so you know. Baba Yaga. You can find her, right?"
"W-wouldn't that be hard?"
"Hard? Nonsense. You can just find her with that throne, what-was-it-called thing."
"My throne isn't a tool to find people whenever you want!"
"Huh, it wasn't?"
Odin is still my slave, and a slave's possessions are the master's possessions.
So I should be able to use it whenever I want.
"Why are you saying that like it's obvious!"
"A slave talking back again?"
Odin, who hadn't been up for long, grabbed the back of her neck again.
She probably wants to tear me to shreds right now, but in the end, her status is that of a slave.
It means she has no choice but to accept the search for Baba Yaga as I desire.
Odin, who had weakly nodded her head at the work poured onto her the moment she woke up, left for the throne to find Baba Yaga.
'There's no denying that the clues are a bit lacking, but since it's Odin, she'll figure it out.'
Since the rest was just waiting until Odin found Baba Yaga, I prepared to return home.
I left the laboratory and tracked Ryeong's magic power.
I sensed Ryeong's magic power along with Linnea's magic power in a place not far away.
When I went to that location, I was able to find the two of them by a lakeside in a dense forest.
At first, I thought they were playing by the water.
Ryeong liked water, and when I saw them last time, it didn't seem like Linnea disliked it either.
However, as I approached, an unexpected scene unfolded, mocking my thoughts.
"You can't tell anyone about this. Got it?"
"Yeah!"
Linnea, who had broken off tree branches—presumably found in the forest—and was grilling plump fish over a fire, and Ryeong, who was taking a big bite of a well-cooked fish she had received from her.
I was dumbfounded by their thoroughness, as they had even used magic to prevent the smoke and smell from escaping, fearing someone might catch them.
"What are you doing there?"
"Ni, ni, ni, Nidhogg-nim?!"
"Hek?!"
The two were startled by my sudden appearance.
I lightly dispelled the magic, walked inside, and caught the well-cooked fish Ryeong had dropped before it touched the ground.
"H-have you finished your work?"
"Yeah. It finished earlier than I thought. What were you two doing with Ryeong all this time?"
"Well... we were playing in the water, caught some fish, and are eating."
"Is that so? As long as you were having fun, that's fine."
At first, I was a bit flustered that they were grilling fish, but it wasn't strange to cook something up after playing in the lake.
Since Ryeong also seemed to be having fun, I decided to just let it slide.
"Oh, right. I'm thinking of heading back soon. Let's finish eating that and go."
"Already?"
"Already? What do you mean already. A whole day has passed. It's time to head back."
Although I had contacted Shin Su-ah separately yesterday to tell her I would be spending the day away due to work, considering the various things that had erupted recently, I never knew when something else might happen while I was away.
I joined the two and ate the fish together.
Perhaps it was because they were fish species that lived in clean water, or maybe Linnea had picked out the tasty ones.
The grilled fish was very delicious.
After filling our stomachs with fish and wiping the grease off our hands in the lake.
We set off back home after a day.
We hadn't told Odin or Freyja that we were going home, but since the Valkyries saw us leaving, they would report it themselves.
We crossed the sky at high speed and arrived in front of the house in no time, then landed.
The people around us turned their gazes toward us for a moment, but perhaps they were used to it now, as they quickly averted their eyes and went back to their own business.
When we took the elevator up and entered the house, only a desolate silence greeted us.
Since it was around lunchtime, it was correct that both Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon were not at home.
Still, it was better to report that we had returned home, so I skillfully operated my smartphone and made a call.
Ring-ring-
The connection sound played several times, but Shin Su-ah did not answer the phone.
Did she enter a Gate?
This time, I called Baek Yeon.
Ring-ring-
The connection sound was heard several times again, but she was not answering the phone.
Are they both busy?
Well, it is a busy time, after all.
Just as I was about to hang up, thinking they would contact me later when they saw it.
Baek Yeon answered the phone.
[Nidhogg-nim?]
"Oh, yeah. I arrived home and tried to contact you. Are you busy?"
[I don't know how to tell you this...]
"Why. What is it this time. You're giving me a bad feeling."
A sense of foreboding washed over me at her attitude of trailing off, unlike her usual self.
This is 100% something else happening again.
And for some reason, ominous predictions never miss the mark.
[A Gate Break has occurred.]
"Gate Break? Where did it burst?"
[That is...]
"That is?"
[A Gate Break occurred right in front of the Dragon's Nest Gate...]
"What?"
As soon as I returned home, I had to leave the house again.
And that, not by my own will, but by the will of others.
I'm sorry, but a Gate Break was not a trivial matter, so I had Ryeong wait at home with Linnea.
No, if it had been a normal Gate, I might have taken her along, thinking it would be a good experience for Ryeong.
But the Gate that burst this time was not a normal Gate.
It was a Gate that suddenly appeared right in front of the Dragon's Nest Gate, where my main body is located.
They say the Gate appeared without any warning just as I was flying toward the house, and as soon as it appeared, it showed signs of a Gate Break.
So, without even having time for investigation or anything, they said they evacuated the people first.
The fortunate thing was that the area around the Dragon's Nest Gate had few people to begin with due to the appearance of an out-of-spec Gate.
Since I wasn't carrying anyone, I picked up speed in earnest and was able to arrive at the scene in an instant.
The scene was already being controlled with Baek Yeon at the center, and Shin Su-ah, who hadn't answered the phone, was also visible near Baek Yeon.
As I descended quickly and landed next to Baek Yeon, the surrounding gazes gathered.
"You've arrived."
"Yeah. The situation?"
"It is as I told you."
"Still the same?"
I turned my head toward the direction of the Gate I had spotted since I was descending.
There, I could see the Gate in a state of being open like a broken window.
And the black haze blooming above that Gate.
Unlike a normal Gate Break, where monsters inside the Gate are strengthened and poured out, nothing had come out yet.
However, it was certain that a Gate Break had occurred.
"Tsk. This is strange..."
When I first heard Baek Yeon's words, I suspected a Fiend.
They had spoken as if they wanted to meet again next time, and considering the guys who would have a lot of grudges against me, a Fiend was appropriate.
On top of that, a suddenly appearing Gate and black haze?
That's exactly the kind of thing a Fiend would do.
That's why I came thinking I would finish off the Fiends this time for sure, but...
"It doesn't seem like a Fiend, though?"
"I think similarly."
Baek Yeon, who is the most sensitive to magic power after me among our group.
Just as she agreed, the black haze flickering over there makes one think of a Fiend at first glance, but when you actually sense the energy, it was far from a Fiend.
If a Fiend's energy is like something slimy and dirty, that thing is a bit...
"Clean?"
"I'm not sure of the details, but it is definitely different from a Fiend."
"Yeah. As you said, I won't know until I check it myself..."
I don't know what kind of power it is, but detection isn't working well.
It's as if it's covered by some kind of veil, so I can't explore it in detail.
"What will you do?"
"That's right. Shall we go inside first?"
The best way in times like this is to bump into it with your own body.
I moved my steps toward the Gate.