Chapter 280
Chapter 280
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: 89. Partner (8)
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Winter tossed and turned, unable to sleep due to her unsettled feelings.
It was because Summer's thrashing about on the ground had looked so agonizing.
There wasn't a sound from outside the tent. Yoo Ji-tae must have isolated the space. Even with her eyes closed, sleep wouldn't come. With them open, it was even worse.... So Winter was left helpless on her own.
Then someone opened the tent flap and entered.
It was Yoo Ji-tae.
"……!"
Winter sat up to greet him. When she spread her arms wide, he naturally scooped her up in an embrace.
"Why aren't you asleep?"
"…Just... What about Unni?"
"She went home. Let's sleep now. That way we can have fun tomorrow too."
"……."
Yoo Ji-tae lay down in the tent. Winter lay facing him.
She hadn't been able to do this with Summer there, but now it was just the two of them. Winter tugged at Yoo Ji-tae's arm. As she struggled, he naturally lifted it to pillow her head.
Only now did her mind finally start to ease a little.
Then...
Suddenly.
A strange thought crossed her mind.
"……?"
She didn't know why it occurred to her.
Winter wondered if this man might not be Yoo Ji-tae after all.
It wasn't anxiety, exactly.
When she was little, Winter had seen 'two Yoo Ji-taes' once. There was the one she saw every day, and a rarer one. The rare one was just as handsome as the real one and treated her the same. Back then, she'd wondered if they were twins, or maybe the other was a younger brother.
Summer wasn't outside the tent. He'd probably sent her home or put her in the water. Either way, Yoo Ji-tae would have to accompany her.
So... had the 'brother' come instead?
Winter asked.
"…Who are you?"
He looked down at her. Then he answered.
"Who? What are you talking about?"
"…You're not our Ajusshi."
"I am."
"…You don't feel like it."
"Why? All of a sudden."
"…Just a feeling."
"It's me, Yoo Ji-tae."
The Sovereign's order had been 'Play with Winter as Yoo Ji-tae,' so the clone lied.
Meanwhile, the clone made from the 6th iteration's Yoo Ji-tae felt uneasy every time he saw this child.
Because it reminded him of the blue-haired girl who'd died in the underground labyrinth back in the 6th iteration.
"…Liar."
"……."
"…But we've met before, right?"
"We see each other every day."
Winter furrowed her brow.
Everything was the same. Just like Yoo Ji-tae.
But his sentences were oddly curt. To Winter, Yoo Ji-tae had become a bit more talkative lately.
How could she confirm it...?
Dragons had a way to directly check someone's memories and emotions.
After some hesitation, Winter said to him.
"…Hand."
"What?"
"…Lemme hold it."
As she spoke, Winter reached out to grasp his hand.
But he subtly pulled away.
"…Why'd you dodge?"
"Why do you wanna hold it?"
"…Gimme. Please. Just."
Winter glared at him with wide eyes. But he didn't offer his hand. Instead, Winter's suspicions deepened.
Conveniently, his arm was fixed under her head as a pillow, along with his hand.
Winter twisted her body. She pressed down on his arm with her head and reached for his other hand.
Their hands clasped together.
Yoo Ji-tae's will transmitted into Summer's mind.
'We'll communicate like this from now on. Respond with your body.'
Summer nodded. She could receive his will but not send her own, so she had no choice.
Yoo Ji-tae checked Summer's artifact.
A bit deeper than the 200m mark where the first flag had been.
From here on, they needed to focus even more.
Because things that actively interfered with the dive itself would start appearing.
And about 10m further down.
The water began to swirl.
Kurrr...! Kwarrurk...!
The vortex gained a center and formed a current. Then it began to converge in one spot.
The thing that had crushed Summer's legs on the way up.
Yoo Ji-tae called it a 「Trap」.
The gathered water sharpened into long, spear-like shapes.
There were six in total.
Three aimed at Yoo Ji-tae. The other three at Summer.
Yoo Ji-tae took note of them.
He'd come here to help Summer train, but now it had become training for him too.
He wasn't hiding his power. Right now, he truly had none and was weak.
If he didn't concentrate, he'd get hurt too.
Swaeeeeek―
The moment they flew in, Yoo Ji-tae precisely twisted his body to dodge the water spear.
One aimed at his head followed. He ducked.
It grazed his nape. A chilling sound.
Using the momentum from ducking, he spun his body once. He dodged the third spear targeting his lower body.
The spears that grazed him shot far away in an instant, losing their power and vanishing.
Afterward, he turned to check on Summer.
Fortunately, she'd dodged too.
But unlike before the spears came, she was now far off. She'd dodged too enthusiastically.
He approached Summer, grabbed her arm, and transmitted his will.
'Good job. But not smart.'
Tilt?
'With our current mana, we could perfectly dodge everything to 500m, right? The more we move, the easier it is.'
Nod.
'But then we'd run out of mana by 700m, 1000m, 1500m.'
...Nod.
'Dodge with minimal movement. And block what you can't dodge.'
Summer nodded solemnly.
She'd thought the same way before, but...
She hadn't been able to put it into practice.
Yoo Ji-tae did.
In the 250m section, when four water spears flew at him, he didn't fully evade one that came cleverly close. He offered up part of his forearm. His arm tore open. Blood burst out, pooling in the water.
At 300m depth, six spears targeted his head. Summer dodged far away, deeming it too dangerous. But he weighed his body and mana. Then he let one graze him.
His ear tore. Like it'd been shredded by a dozen blades.
As blood dripped from his ear, startled Summer approached.
He waved her off. As if it were nothing.
Among the Red clan's mana, there was one that staunched wounds. Using it was more efficient than the mana lost while evading.
Summer stared at him intently.
That's how far he had to go, huh.
He's really hardcore....
But she could do it too.
In the 400m section, out of eight incoming blades, Summer took two unavoidable ones with her body.
One hit her finger. The other her abdomen, guarded by her hardened body. The impact and pain exploded like being hit by a car. Her finger broke. The skin on her lower belly scraped away, blood bursting forth.
Ugh, fuck....
Bubbles formed as her breathing faltered from the pain. But she'd saved mana because of it.
Yoo Ji-tae placed his hand on Summer's arm.
The water was cold.
So when his hand touched her.
She realized anew how warm body heat was.
'You okay?'
Nod.
'Okay. Let's keep going.'
But as Yoo Ji-tae pulled away, Summer frowned at the trail of blood slicing through the water. The warmth had been from the blood pouring from his torn palm.
Surprisingly, the transmitted emotions revealed he was in great pain.
This human feels that much pain?
Doesn't show at all?
Acting tough....
They weren't even halfway yet.
Thinking of what lay below brought fresh fear surging in her chest.
Still, Summer followed him.
The scenery changed.
Darkness gradually closed in.
The 'walls' along the limit of her vision, which had been rounding in, now approached to within 5m.
Yoo Ji-tae and Summer felt psychological pressure.
Like being trapped in a narrow room.
Her hearing was affected too.
The faint worldly noises gradually faded.
As if someone had deliberately turned down the volume.
The surroundings grew silent.
Summer snapped her fingers.
... ... Snap ... ....
It sounded like it'd been snapped from incredibly far away.
A creepy sensation.
Like they'd entered a bizarre space.
Even though this was her third time, Summer felt fear.
A few fortunate points: following Yoo Ji-tae's method had saved a lot of mana.
Secondly, Summer felt suffocatingly oppressed, like her head might burst, but Yoo Ji-tae endured it nonchalantly. Watching him made Summer feel she could endure too.
Finally, she didn't feel abandoned yet. He was right beside her.
Soon, their feet touched 500m.
A massive landmass stood improbably in the water.
Jagged and filthy. Immensely vast, yet strangely lens-shaped and convex.
Last time they'd come, a second 'transparent flag' had been planted here.
The first time she'd seen it.
Summer had nearly fainted.
What looked like land was a gigantic 'turtle shell'.
Whoa.
Still absurd....
How is it this huge...?
Body length around 150m.
About 30 times larger than an adult dragon 50m tall....
Size and power don't always correlate, but this thing was probably stronger than most adult dragons.
Then Yoo Ji-tae grabbed Summer's forearm.
'This guy's the lord of this sea. About 8,000 years old. Sleeping now. The 'playground' you described is where it rests when it wakes.'
Summer nodded. She couldn't describe how chilling that knowledge had been.
The playground's bumps had been formed by this turtle's plastron pressing down.
'And it's this dimension's Ruler. Registered under the epithet 「Master of the Quiet House」. No proper name.'
Summer nodded.
Ruler.... Meaning a dimension's dominator.
Like a 「Dragon Lord」.
'Not dangerous now, but if you dispell polymorph here, it'd be like setting off fireworks next to its face. Imagine Winter doing that in front of yours. It'd wake up. Would you like that?'
Shake shake.
'So let's pass quietly. Got it?'
Nod.
They dove alongside the shell.
He spoke a bit more cautiously, a bit more sternly than usual.
'Now, about what's below.'
Nod.
'The turtle produces 「neural accelerator substances」 inside its body to move this huge frame in real time.'
Nod.
'With all its wounds, some leaks out constantly. Flows into the water below and spreads.'
Nod.
'You've probably felt time slow down when you went deeper. Right?'
...Nod.
Summer's mouth opened briefly here, then closed upon realizing she couldn't speak.
Up to here, she'd managed alone somehow.
But below this, hell began to unfold. She hadn't gone far before fleeing in the past.
'Brace yourself from here.'
Nod.
'Water from 200m to 500m attacks lifeforms and keeps them from escaping. Why? It guides them downward.'
Nod.
'Deeper, you inevitably reach here. Then it keeps pushing down. Normal creatures lose many senses below. Neural acceleration. They forget time flow. Minds shatter.'
Nod nod.
'Currents flow down continuously. Fish go down. What waits at the end? All deep-sea monsters that gathered, minds lost, huddled together. Still alive. Summer. Know what that's called?'
...Shake.
'A fish trap.'
Summer swallowed dryly and nodded.
Fish trap....
Summer knew that hell briefly from experience. And what a 'fish trap' meant.
Fear welled up from her chest.
Summer felt the urge to flee again.
Up to here, it was still manageable.
Tough, but bearable.
Bleeding from injuries was familiar.
Blindness or choking sensations too.
But below was different.
Yoo Ji-tae's will came.
'Just once.'
'It'll suck, but just once. Come down with me...'
That was when sudden terror hit, and Summer let go of his hand.
Separate from her agony, Yoo Ji-tae felt no fear.
That was the difference.
Summer was afraid.
Deep-seated terror in her heart.
And her perfect memory vividly replaying it all. Now it made her body shrink.
But Yoo Ji-tae grabbed her wrist again.
His severed will resumed.
'There's definitely a flag below.'
'Not black this time. Not transparent.'
Even now, Summer looked up at him questioningly with her eyes. What color?
'Red. And big. A normal flag.'
'Don't be scared.'
'We can do this.'
....... Nod.
As Yoo Ji-tae released Summer's hand.
Summer urgently grabbed his.
Summer looked at him with anxious eyes.
Her clasped hand squeezed tight.
Don't let go....
Her uneasy gaze seemed to plead.
He nodded.
Only then could Summer muster the courage to dive.
The two delved deeper into the darkening water.
Somewhere in the deep sea.
Something massive began to part. A rock-like boulder split open top and bottom by about 1.2m. Something inside stirred faintly. Then again.
The giant turtle was peering around with its eyes.
The Ruler, 「Master of the Quiet House」, thought.
Felt something briefly. Or not?
One presence was whatever, but two identical ones annoyed it. Like flies to a human.
But even with eyes open, nothing visible. So the turtle decided to sleep again.
In doing so, it demanded cleaning of the water. The giant turtle's will rode the currents down to the abyss.
Snap....
At the edge of some seafloor.
The 'cleaners' lifted their heads.