Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Strong Against the Weak, Weak Against the Strong
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Do you know the saying "strong against the weak, weak against the strong"?
That's right. It's talking about me.
"That was dangerous."
"Dangerous? You mean after you kicked up all that fuss? My guts and brains are spilling out! Do you even know the dictionary definition of dan─mmph!! Mmph!!"
This girl keeps trying to talk even with her mouth covered. Give it up already. Raphael's spit was splattering all over my hand. Gross.
I grimaced and sucked up all the steel beams around us into my Inventory.
My Inventory + steel beam combo is a powerful technique, but only against weak monsters. That drake just now was my cutoff line─anything even a little stronger than it wouldn't just get skewered; it'd swat the beams away and put me in danger. It was sheer luck there was only one. If there'd been two, it would've attacked me while I was killing the first.
That's what I'd like to say, but two wouldn't be a problem either. If they were "these" drakes, that is.
"Wha... what did you just do?!"
Yang Min-ji, whom I'd just saved, came running up in a fluster. Her eyes were sparkling with intense interest. Kinda overwhelming.
"What else? Killed it."
I hadn't planned on saving her, but there was no choice. Originally, Kim Tae-hyun was supposed to rescue her. But...
Boom─Thud─
Explosions and the sounds of battle echoed from afar. The intense noise, clear even without seeing it, was Isia's dark magic. They must still be getting the hang of working together since it was taking a while to take down the monster, so I stepped in to save her instead.
Can't have this girl dying, after all. She's at the center of the incident, right? And the key player in future events, so I'd like her to stay alive.
No one would want the heroine they created to die, I figure. It's the Pygmalion effect.
Anyway, that's why I saved her. Period.
"Whoaaa! Where'd all the steel beams go? Are you a spatial magic user? From what I know, there aren't even a thousand spatial mages in the world─"
I couldn't help but frown as Yang Min-ji started chattering away. I meant it as a "read the room" signal, but she didn't shut up. Up close, she's just like Raphael. Zero tact.
"Doesn't she have any tact?"
Pot, meet kettle.
Yeah. Exactly what I was thinking.
"Huh? Not like that. I have some tact─hey? What's with that look? Look me straight in the eye. Don't avert your gaze. Hey? Hey?"
"..."
[....]
I never responded.
"So, do you have some skill that lets you hide information or something? What skill is it? If you tell me, our guild could─"
Her words wouldn't end either.
"Wow. I never thought you'd say something so cool, Seong-hoon. 'I'll handle things elsewhere, so go help Kim Tae-hyun.' What is that? Feeling like the protagonist now? Did your chuunibyou hit at 25 or something???"
"Shut up."
I ignored Raphael, who was scraping at my nerves as usual, and kept walking silently. Most people had already headed to the shelters, so the area was deserted as I trudged along.
As Raphael said, I'd barely calmed Yang Min-ji's yapping mouth and told her to join up with Kim Tae-hyun. Something like, "I'll take care of the drake elsewhere." Of course, I wasn't actually going there. It was just to shake her off.
There were still plenty of people who hadn't evacuated, but given time, they'd make it out fine. No casualties anyway.
The reason was simple. Those drakes only threatened people; they didn't kill them. They'd attack and bulldoze, but not bite to death or trample fatally.
Their goal was to drive people out of the department store, not slaughter them.
That's why I walked into this chaotic battlefield myself─my life was guaranteed. No way I'd jump into a deadly warzone on my own otherwise. I'm not an idiot.
Yang Min-ji's a different story. The one who sent the drake might actually kill her because of her special ability, so I watched out for her.
Anyway, back to the point. Right now, I'm heading underground to settle things with the culprit behind this mess.
"Seong-hoon. Don't you know you're supposed to use the stairs, not the elevator, in emergencies? You must've had safety training."
"You know what really bugs me every day? How do you know so much about the mortal world?"
"You could say it's thanks to God."
Ah. Got it in one. Thanks. God must've held a knife to her throat and made her surf the net.
I shook my head and pulled my scythe out of my Inventory. Raphael glanced around as I did, muttering, "There's nothing here?" but I ignored her.
I wedged the scythe between the elevator doors, which weren't moving.
"What are you doing?! You're not some burglar prying doors!!"
"Not stealing. This time."
"You know normal people don't say 'this time' there, right?"
I know. But it's true, what can I do? Using the scythe handle like a lever, I pried the doors open with a satisfying clunk.
A cool breeze rushed in as the stalled elevator doors parted.
"But why is this a goddess thing? I just had a really bad premonition─it's not, right?"
Ever heard "even the most unlikely thing can bite you"? She probably has, but I didn't say it. Imagine your future well.
"Lachesis."
Lachesis, who was grooming herself on my shoulder, responded to my call. In her cat form, she was ridiculously cute.
"If you go human form, could you catch us?"
Before Lachesis could finish, before they could picture it, I grabbed Raphael's pale hand─before she could resist─and plunged vertically into the endless shaft.
"Heyyy?! Seong-hoooooniiiii?!!!!"
Don't worry. We won't die. There's a reason I'm jumping─
"Gyaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
No matter how sound the logic, scary is scary.
"Kyaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!" "Gyaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!"
Three voices─one human, one angel, one cat─echoed through the narrow shaft. The seemingly endless passage really went on forever. We'd jumped from the 50th floor clothing section, so it'd probably take minutes more, but would I go into shock before we hit bottom?!
"I won't let you get away with this, Lee Seong-hoon!!!! Are you trying to kill me like this??? I'll survive and get revenge!! I'll drag your soul straight to hell!! Make you shake hands with Asmodeus!!!"
Raphael screamed, clinging to me like a cicada. Kinda scary.
"Sorry!! Really sorry, so no more scary curses, please? It sounds like you'd actually do it!!"
And I said we won't die? If it meant death, would I jump?
She's in full panic too. Don't do this. Please don't. If─just if─things go wrong, you're our hope. Ah. I feel like I'm gonna die now too. Please let me see the bottom soon.
Did my prayer reach? A voice suddenly boomed from thin air.
A voice reverberated in my mind, so solemn that its sheer presence conveyed the vast gulf between us. Goosebumps prickled my skin, my instincts screaming in warning.
"Ack!! What was that?! Some weird voice in my head?!"
"You heard it too."
With those words, our speed slowed. The acceleration from our fall gradually eased until we floated like feathers drifting in the air.
"What the─?"
Raphael looked baffled. I said nothing, waiting to touch down.
"Why's your face like that, Seong-hoon? Like a rabbit staring down a tiger."
Exactly that. I'd come expecting to meet it, but now that the moment was here, tension gripped me. The terror of the fall had instantly morphed into dread just from hearing its voice.
More importantly, why are you so chill?
"You got spooked by that voice? It was kinda pretty, though. Not as pretty as mine~"
Maybe because it's a higher being? Seeing Raphael brazenly puff up her chest and say something like "Ahem!" irked me for some reason.
If even this idiot isn't scared, should I be? Definitely not.
I flashed the pattern on my arm at Lachesis's words, and she went quiet, giving up. I nodded and soon landed on solid ground.
Thud.
A light sound accompanied the landing. Raphael hopped off in a hurry and scanned around.
The underground parking lot was gone, replaced by a cave. Your typical dungeon, or more precisely, a [sub-space].
The latter exactly, but thinking of it as a dungeon works fine. It's a dungeon created in a sub-space, after all.
Thanks a bunch. Saved my skin. Anyway, I'm here on business.
I ignored the voice droning on about this place while picking my ear. I already knew it all; no point listening.
"Got it. Wash your feet and wait. I'll be right there. Let's talk when I arrive."
"Huh? What even is that? Why's it acting like it's here?"
It really is here. Ignoring Raphael's question, I started walking. A dungeon? That's my turf. At worst, traps and mazes.
Traps would be magic ones.
I've got eyes that dispel magic,
and a cat that sees fate.