Chapter 141
Chapter Title: The Sleeping Evil
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141.
“Lady Sergia. Straighten your back.”
“Yes.”
“Your smile should be a touch more benevolent.”
“...Yes.”
“Your voice is trembling. Is something the matter?”
‘Something the matter? There’s plenty the matter.’
Sergia calmed the trembling corner of her lips.
‘Because you’re here, drilling this damn etiquette into me!’
Entering the dressing room, Sergia screamed inwardly.
For Sergia—no, for Luna—this moment was utterly dreadful.
Dozens of maids were moving about for her sake alone.
They continuously brought out magnificent dresses and put them on Luna.
Each one was an expensive-looking garment that drew gasps of admiration.
Though Luna had a bold personality, she was still a young girl who enjoyed dressing up.
It was impossible for her to have no interest in pretty clothes and beautiful accessories.
‘But there has to be a limit!’
Several hours had already passed since she entered the Hero Dungeon.
When she first became aware of her situation, she had been tense and had gone along with everything to gather information.
She was careful not to do anything that could be held against her.
Though Luna found elven etiquette stuffy, she had lived as the heir to a renowned heroic family since she was young.
More recently, as Seirun’s class representative, she had played the part of a model student wherever she went.
Finding something stuffy and being bad at it were two different things.
Thus, Luna was quite confident in her knowledge of elven etiquette.
But this was far beyond excessive.
‘If I take one deep breath, they make a fuss! If I blink, they point it out! If I don’t smile, they bitch about it! Seriously! You have to give a girl a moment to breathe! And we’re just getting ready!’
With the man’s relentless etiquette lessons, Luna was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Worse, she was enduring it all under the guise of preparing for a party, so her frustration was boiling over.
Just how much more careful would she have to be at the party itself?
‘I might just lose my mind.’
Compared to this man, even the notoriously strict etiquette teachers at Seirun were child’s play.
‘Calm down, calm down. First, I need to figure out what’s going on.’
Luna looked at the face of the woman she had possessed, Sergia, reflected in the mirror.
She had blue hair reminiscent of water and large, lake-colored eyes.
She was a girl about Luna’s age.
Staring at her reflection, Luna smirked.
‘It’s not like I have a princess complex… but I can say this with certainty. I’m prettier.’
Luna thought she was prettier than this girl.
‘Plus, I’m kind-hearted, too.’
If Leo had heard that, he would have asked if she meant her heart had been ground into a fine powder, but unfortunately, Leo wasn't here.
‘Anyway, what era is this, and what’s this girl’s status?’
Within the limited space, Luna did her best to gather information.
But among the dozens of maids, not a single one spoke to her in a friendly manner.
Far from striking up a conversation, they would startle and quickly turn away if their eyes met Luna’s.
It was as if they were terrified of Sergia.
Luna found this fact deeply unpleasant.
‘No matter how old this era is, the maids’ reactions are just not normal.’
Even in her time, there were plenty of authoritarian families, and she had seen more than her share of idiots at Seirun who thought they were the chosen ones.
But none of them terrified their own kind to this extent.
In elven society, excessive authority was a flaw.
Erecting walls of status was considered something only the vulgar did.
Luna was no different.
But right now, the division of status felt absolute.
With every little gesture she made, the maids would flinch and squeeze their eyes shut.
They looked as if they feared being struck.
It was easy to guess what kind of hysterical tantrums the girl she had possessed usually threw.
‘She must be a woman with a rotten personality. Just how ancient is this era?’
She didn't know for sure, but she could tell it was a past she couldn't even imagine.
‘But it's not like I can just ask what era this is.’
If she said something strange and aroused suspicion, it could complicate the dungeon conquest.
For now, she had to be careful with every single action.
*Shwaaak-*
Luna stepped out from behind the dressing room curtain and stood before the only man she could currently converse with.
The man stared at Luna, his brow furrowing.
“I suppose this one is the best.”
He pointed to one of the dresses.
“That’s the one I wore earlier.”
It was the very first dress Luna had put on after entering the Hero Dungeon.
“Yes. After looking at them all, that one seems to suit you the most.”
A vein popped on Luna’s forehead.
‘Then why did you put me through all this hell until now!’
Forcefully suppressing the urge to charge at him, Luna went back into the dressing room and changed.
She was adjusting her accessories and makeup to match the dress when there was a knock.
*Knock, knock-*
“Enter.”
“Lord Eter.”
“What is it?”
“A small problem has arisen…”
“What sort of problem?”
The man who entered the room looked like a knight.
Luna perked up her ears at their conversation.
Eter glanced at Luna, then gestured with his chin for the knight to step outside.
‘Hmph. A secret conversation, I see.’
*Click-*
The door closed.
An opportunity to get information had arrived.
No matter how trivial, Luna didn't want to miss this chance.
*Twitch-*
She twitched her pointed ears, enhancing her hearing.
“An intruder has appeared in the underground prison.”
“An intruder?”
“Yes. The one who harmed Lady Sergia’s fiancé in today’s class has escaped.”
“What?”
‘Hehe! I can hear everything, you fools.’
Luna wore a knowing expression inwardly.
Even an elf with excellent hearing wouldn't have been able to hear that without training.
But Luna, a Hero Cadet, was different.
Although she couldn't wield Aura, she had diligently trained to sharpen her senses using mana.
‘If I don’t train like this, I’ll never be able to catch up to him.’
Thinking of Leo, Luna continued to focus on eavesdropping.
‘The way they’re talking so unguardedly must mean this girl’s mana abilities aren’t that great. I should refrain from using magic or spirits in front of others. And she has a fiancé…’
Gathering clues from even the smallest details, Luna’s mind raced.
“Hey, you there.”
“Y-Yes!”
The maid who was applying makeup to Luna’s cheek turned pale.
“I-I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
Seeing the maid kneel and beg for forgiveness, Luna looked up at the ceiling and sighed.
‘Just what kind of wretched life has this girl lived?’
To have a fit and apologize just from being called over.
“You did nothing wrong, so there’s nothing to apologize for. I just have something I’m curious about.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Is my fiancé alright? I heard he was injured.”
The maid, still unable to shake off her fear, answered.
“Yes… I heard Lord Hirkian suffered a major injury during an unfortunate accident in class today. However, they said he will be able to attend His Highness’s birthday party, so you need not worry.”
“His Highness?”
“Yes.”
An unfamiliar term made Luna’s expression turn peculiar.
*Thump-*
Just then, Eter re-entered the room.
His expression was as blank as before. Seeing the fully prepared Luna, he bowed his head.
“You are truly beautiful, Lady Sergia. A sight worthy of a princess.”
‘Princess? Did he say princess?’
Luna knew there was a time when elves had the status of princess.
The problem was that it was 5,000 years ago. Before the Age of Calamity.
‘Wait! A princess? Does that mean this is 5,000 years in the past?’
“Let us go see His Highness before we head to the party, Lady Sergia.”
Eter bowed his head and escorted Luna.
Even as she was being escorted, Luna’s mind was spinning furiously.
‘If this is the world before the Age of Calamity… then the world we’ve entered is one of three.’
Among the heroes recorded in the Hero Record, only three were officially known to have lived before the Age of Calamity.
Lisinas, the King of Wisdom.
Dweno, the Divine Blacksmith.
And Luna, the Founder of Nebula.
‘This world is clearly related to elves! Which means, if this is before the Age of Calamity, this is Lady Luna’s world!’
She recalled her brief meeting with Luna.
The Founder of Nebula, whom she met for a fleeting moment after defeating the Skeleton King.
She was different from the image Luna had imagined, but she was more beautiful than anyone and possessed a captivating charm—the image of a great founder.
She hadn't even managed a proper conversation back then.
‘Ahh! I might be able to talk with the Founder here!’
Luna’s eyes sparkled.
To converse with the Founder!
What a dreamlike phrase that was.
‘I can talk about magic with Lady Luna! I can get her advice on magic! I can be praised by her! That could happen! Please let this be Lady Luna’s world!’
Luna felt her heart pounding.
Yet, on the outside, she maintained perfect etiquette.
Walking down the corridor, Luna arrived before a massive door carved with the image of a tree.
Knights who, at a glance, possessed incredible skill stood guard there.
The knights paid their respects to Luna, then opened the massive door.
*Creeeak-!*
For a moment, she saw an abyss-like darkness beyond the door.
A pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.
Seeing it, Luna felt her face stiffen.
‘What… is this?’
She quickly regained her composure.
In that time, the darkness vanished, and the scenery of an audience chamber unfolded before her.
‘Did I see it wrong?’
She wondered if she had seen a hallucination.
But Luna swallowed hard.
Her instincts were screaming.
Telling her to brace herself.
Luna took a deep breath.
“Lady Sergia.”
Eter shot her a reproachful look.
A moment ago, Luna would have been annoyed, but now she had no time for that.
Ignoring Eter, Luna carefully stepped into the audience chamber.
In that instant…
She felt goosebumps rise all over her body.
She quickly calmed her trembling body.
And she feigned composure.
But her mind was screaming.
‘What… What is this place!’
She wanted to run away from here, right now.
Her breath caught in her throat, and a cold sweat broke out.
But Luna was the only one feeling the pressure.
“Welcome, my daughter, my princess.”
A benevolent voice sounded from the high throne.
“Happy birthday, Your Majesty.”
Lifting her head to look at the Elf King, Ergen, Luna held her tongue and played the part of a high-ranking princess.
*Smile-* She put on a lovely smile.
And as she did, Luna finally saw it.
She understood why she felt such a primal fear in this space.
The wide audience chamber was inside a giant, ancient tree.
Though Luna didn't know it, this was the very center of the High Elf city, Barharun.
Inside the World Tree in Barharun.
A sacred place that was opened only when the Elf King visited Barharun.
The interior of the World Tree, called the treasure of the elves, was literally vast.
It was used as the Elf King’s audience chamber.
Behind the Elf King’s throne was a huge, empty space.
At least, everyone present perceived it as empty space.
Luna, seeing what lay behind Ergen, clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms.
If she didn’t, her hands would surely tremble like leaves in the wind.
‘…What… in the world… is that…’
In the empty space, a grotesque monster, the likes of which Luna had never seen, was sleeping.
A monster that would never be visible to the eyes of the inhabitants of this false world.
A monster visible only to the eyes of the real Luna.
She didn't worry about screaming.
She could barely even breathe, let alone scream.
She managed to hide her ragged breaths.
And she was thankful that the monster before her was in a deep sleep.
‘A monster from Tartaros?’
The monster’s very existence inspired terror.
A beast wreathed in black flames that seemed ready to incinerate everything in an instant.
As she thought that far, something flashed through Luna’s mind.
She suddenly remembered the contents of a fairytale book she had loved since she was a child.
The book that had made Luna admire heroes… admire the great Founder.
In that book, there was a wicked villain.
‘The evil primordial villain shouted at the Great Heroes. ‘Roaaar-! I’ll devour every last one of you!’’
‘So cliché! So cliché!’
Why? Why did she suddenly recall the story her mother used to read to her so dramatically?
Why did she remember her younger self, jeering at that incarnation of evil?
‘The Great Heroes will defeat him anyway!’
Was this, perhaps, her life flashing before her eyes?
Or was it because she knew that there was no Great Hero to defeat that primordial evil anymore?
The reason didn't matter.
In any case, Luna had realized what this monster before her was.
‘It’s… just… like the storybook.’
Luna squeezed her eyes shut.
‘Erebos.’