Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: The Serpent's Head (3)
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“Ugh…”
His head throbbed as if it would shatter.
Oh-jin clutched his throbbing head and slowly opened his eyes.
‘Where am I?’
A sky blanketed in black storm clouds.
Sharp rocks soared high like giant swords plunged upside down into the ground, and between them grew bizarre plants he had never seen before.
Through the storm clouds covering the sky, seven black stars glittered with an ominous light.
Normally, black stars in a sky covered by black clouds should be indistinguishable, like black ink dropped on black paper.
But for some reason, the seven black stars, shimmering with a sinister light, were clearly visible even against the storm-cloud-covered sky.
A bizarre landscape unseen on Earth.
It didn't take long for Oh-jin to realize where he had woken up.
“…Magyeong.”
The super-massive gate, fifty kilometers in diameter, that had opened at the North Pole.
The world of monsters, said to be accessible only through the ‘First Fissure’.
He had been sucked into that unknown world.
And in such a ridiculously simple way.
“Ha.”
Oh-jin let out a dry laugh and touched his forehead.
‘Was I too careless?’
Actually, it was hard to say he had been careless.
After all, he had summoned Vega herself to check if the fissure was safe before touching it.
And though he had entered gates hundreds of times, this was the first time he’d seen one that expanded to tens of meters in size and swallowed its surroundings the moment a single finger touched it.
[My… child?]
Vega, who had collapsed near Oh-jin, pushed herself up.
Clutching her forehead with a small hand as if dizzy, she looked around before leaping into the air.
[Th-This is inside the Magyeong, is it not?!]
“Looks like it.”
[Wh-What in the world….]
Vega recalled the recent events with a look of utter confusion.
The memory of being swallowed by the black fissure the moment Oh-jin's hand touched it, like a snake devouring its prey.
Vega's face turned pale.
[It is my fault.]
She was the one who had said the fissure was safe.
“No. You can't say this is anyone's fault.”
Who could have predicted something like that would happen just because a fingertip touched it?
[The state of the fissure was certainly extremely stable… I cannot comprehend why this happened.]
Vega frowned, unable to understand.
She might not know, but Oh-jin had a hunch.
‘It reacted to the Heukcheon.’
The moment his hand touched the black fissure.
The Heukcheon had shown a subtle reaction.
The black fissure, as if resonating with it, began to expand rapidly.
In other words.
The fissure was a trap, created from the start to suck him into the Magyeong.
There was no need to wonder who was behind it.
They had left a clear trace of themselves in front of the fissure.
The important thing wasn't who, but…
‘How… did she know I have the Heukcheon?’
How could the Serpent Queen know something that not even Polaris had noticed?
Oh-jin bit his lip and clenched his fist.
‘Later.’
For now, he had to find a way to escape this place as quickly as possible.
“Ugh… my head. What the hell happened?”
“Are you hurt anywhere, Mr. Oh-jin?”
Was it because they had tied themselves together with wire before being sucked into the fissure?
Fortunately, Ha-eun and Isabella, who had collapsed nearby, walked over to Oh-jin.
“I'm fine. What about you, Nunna, and Isabella?”
“Nothing much, other than my head feeling like it's about to split open.”
“I'm fine too.”
A sigh of relief escaped Oh-jin's lips at the sight of the two seemingly unharmed women.
‘That aside.’
Oh-jin's eyes narrowed.
“By any chance… did you hear a voice when we were sucked in here?”
“Huh? What voice?”
“No. I didn't hear anything.”
The two women shook their heads.
“You know, the one whispering, ‘I've been waiting.’ Did really no one else hear it?”
“Maybe you were hearing things?”
Ha-eun tilted her head.
It seemed neither of the women had heard the voice.
He turned his head towards Vega, but her answer was the same.
[I did not hear it either.]
“…Really?”
If so.
Who did that voice belong to?
“Wasn't it the voice of the Serpent Queen? It seems likely she was the one who created this fissure.”
“…No.”
Oh-jin quietly shook his head.
He too had initially thought it might be the Serpent Queen's voice, but…
“It was a man's voice.”
He couldn't remember exactly what it sounded like.
But he was certain it was a man's voice, not a woman's.
“Maybe the Serpent Queen has something… extra?”
What is this nunna talking about.
“No, you know. That thing. What do you call it… Ah, right! Futa…”
“Shut it.”
He pressed a finger to the chattering Ha-eun's lips.
“Mmmph!”
Frowning as if to ask what he was doing, Ha-eun stuck out her tongue and licked his finger.
He felt the soft, pliant texture.
Oh-jin frowned and pulled his hand away.
“What the hell was that for, you creep.”
“Well, who told you to just go and touch someone's lips?”
Ha-eun snorted and looked up at the sky.
“Damn, why's the sky so gloomy?”
Tsk. Clicking her tongue, she pulled a cigarette from her pocket.
*Fssshhhk.*
The tip of the cigarette flared brightly, and sparks floated around it like fireflies.
The dark surroundings brightened as if it were daytime.
“Thanks, Nunna.”
“But where did Gramps and the Cheonhye Guild members go?”
“Not sure. Let's look around this area first.”
Oh-jin took the lead, walking between the towering rocks.
“Whoa, Oh-jin. Look at that.”
Ha-eun tugged on the collar of Oh-jin, who was walking ahead, and pointed to one side.
A single tree could be seen growing in a narrow crevice between the rocks.
At the end of its branches hung a light-green fruit that held a dreamlike glow.
The fruit, so translucent you could almost see through it, was as beautiful as a gemstone.
“That fruit… it's so pretty. Isn't it?”
Gazing at the fruit, Ha-eun's eyes glazed over.
As if possessed, Ha-eun took a step toward the light-green fruit.
Isabella quickly grabbed Ha-eun's shoulder.
“Snap out of it, Unni.”
“Huh…? Why?”
“That… fruit smells of blood.”
Narrowing her eyes, she threw a piece of rock at the tree with the fruit.
The moment the fruit, struck by the rock, swayed lightly.
CRUUUNCH!!
Instantly, tree roots shot up from the ground, opened wide like the maw of a beast, and swallowed the piece of rock whole.
“Wh-What the hell is that?!”
The dazed look in Ha-eun's eyes returned to normal.
She looked at the roots crushing the rock with a crunching sound, her face twisting in disgust, then threw the cigarette she was holding at the tree.
*FWOOOOSH!*
A ferocious flame erupted, incinerating the tree.
“Wow, shit… If I were alone, I would've been done for without even a fight.”
Recalling how she had unconsciously walked toward the fruit, Ha-eun shivered as if creeped out.
Thanks to the superhuman durability of a high-ranked Awakened's body, she wouldn't have died, but she probably would have been seriously injured.
“…This place isn't called the Magyeong for nothing.”
Oh-jin activated the Stigma of Canes Venatici and scanned his surroundings.
As they were cautiously moving forward.
“Hoo! There you are, lad!”
Cheon Sang-gil appeared, breathing heavily.
His hanbok was covered in red bloodstains, as if he'd been through several fierce battles with monsters.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“We're fine. What about you, Gramps?”
“Haa. A pack of monsters attacked while I was looking for you all… but thankfully, I was able to deal with them without much trouble.”
Cheon Sang-gil let out a relieved sigh and spoke in a somber voice.
“My apologies. I never expected something like this to happen.”
“It's alright. No one here could have predicted this.”
Oh-jin took a canteen from his waist and offered it to Cheon Sang-gil.
“Thank you.”
“May I ask you a few things, Elder?”
“Of course.”
Cheon Sang-gil, after taking a refreshing gulp of water, nodded.
“How far from here was the place where you first woke up?”
“Let's see… It was quite a distance away.”
“Do you not know specifically how far?”
“Maybe five kilometers? No, it was about ten kilometers away.”
Indeed.
For people sucked into the fissure at the same time, that was quite a distance.
“Then did you start looking for us as soon as you woke up?”
“That's right.”
“Roughly how long did it take?”
“Hmm. About… an hour? I think I searched for about that long.”
“So you woke up around the same time as us.”
Oh-jin had also woken up about an hour ago.
“You said you encountered a pack of monsters on your way here.”
“I did.”
“What kind of beasts were they? Their appearance… their size?”
“Umm. Give me a moment. It was so dark and chaotic that I can't quite recall.”
Cheon Sang-gil took another sip of water and continued.
“They were leopards, about three meters tall. Though I say leopards, only their heads were that of a leopard; their bodies were human.”
“Like werewolves?”
“Indeed.”
“How many were there?”
“I think there were over a hundred. They were monsters that seemed to be at least 7-Star.”
So he took down a pack of a hundred 7-Star monsters in such a short time?
Oh-jin let out a sound of admiration and nodded.
“As expected of Tamrangseong.”
“Keke. That's about the only thing this old man can boast about.”
Cheon Sang-gil chuckled lightly and handed the canteen he was drinking from back to Oh-jin.
He seemed a bit tired from fighting the monster pack and had drunk quite a lot of water, but there was still plenty left in the canteen, whose internal space had been expanded with magic using a Holy Stone.
“Then, may I ask one last thing?”
“Ask away.”
“Everything so far… Ah.”
As he was asking the question and taking the canteen, Oh-jin fumbled and dropped it.
The water inside gushed out, soaking Cheon Sang-gil's hanbok.
“Oops.”
“S-Sorry, Elder.”
“Keke. It's fine. In fact, it's good that I can wash off the monster blood.”
Cheon Sang-gil gave a benevolent smile as if to say not to worry, picked up the fallen canteen, and handed it to Oh-jin.
“So, what was the last thing you wanted to ask?”
“Ah, it's nothing much.”
Oh-jin attached the canteen to his waist and asked.
“Everything I've asked you so far, can you answer it in reverse?”
Silence fell.
“…What do you mean by that?”
Cheon Sang-gil looked at Oh-jin with an expression that said, ‘What are you talking about?’
Oh-jin glared at Cheon Sang-gil with ice-cold eyes.
“Can you answer in reverse?”
“That is… umm.”
Cheon Sang-gil, breaking out in a cold sweat, darted his eyes around.
He avoided Oh-jin's gaze and nervously shook his leg.
“What's wrong?”
Oh-jin grabbed Cheon Sang-gil's shoulder.
The water-soaked hanbok dampened his palm.
“I said, answer me.”