Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Kang Seol, wrapped in chains, looked utterly pitiful.
His head bowed low, sunk in silence.
"Hey, woman! Is this okay?"
"Nothing's happened yet, so I don't know either."
"Your master's just sitting there like he's dead?"
"It's a coma-induction device. It's the same as being dead."
Karuna, eyes closed and leaning against the wall in deep thought, and Karen, growing anxious over Kang Seol and Jamad's unchanging states.
Kang Seol's summoned beasts waiting in the real world weren't at ease either. Not knowing the situation made it even more agonizing.
Sssrrrr...
"Huh? Look... look at this!"
Kang Seol's body began to turn black.
"Did it work?"
Mirei stared intently at Kang Seol.
But.
"Ah..."
Sssrrrr...
The black energy that had invaded even Kang Seol's golden eyes turned them pitch black.
Kang Seol's face looked grotesque and terrifying.
And then.
Thud!
Thud!
The chains rattled as his body twitched like a shrimp with each heartbeat.
"This is serious..."
"What? What's happening?"
"Looks like rejecting the memories is harder than expected. This isn't a normal reaction. He's... being consumed by the shadows."
"You call that an explanation! So what do we do?"
"What can we do? We wait and hope he fights it off."
"That's so irresponsible..."
"This is your master's choice. Don't you trust him?"
"......"
Swish.
Karuna pushed off the wall and approached Mirei.
"Mirei, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
He asked her.
"Didn't you say there's a way for us to intervene in Master's nightmare?"
"That's... well..."
-We could force other shadows to intervene, but since we don't know the side effects, we should treat it as impossible for now.
A snippet of the conversation she'd had with Kang Seol.
She rubbed her forehead.
"It's only theoretically possible."
"I'll go."
"Karuna!"
Karen shouted at him.
"No, you'll never find the way. The deep consciousness is like a maze—you'll get lost. It'd put you in danger, regardless of your master."
"I don't care."
"Karuna, take me with you!"
"Karen. This is dangerous."
"That's why you need to take me! You idiot! You planning to leave me behind again?"
"......"
Mirei listened quietly, then snapped her fingers as something occurred to her.
Snap!
"Right! That could work."
"What do you mean?"
"Alone, you'd definitely get lost. Finding your master could take a month or even a year in that place's time. But... together, it'll be different."
"Hear that?"
"What makes it different?"
"Nightmares basically treat intruders as foreign objects. You and that fairy won't be welcome. The ripples from that in the deep consciousness will resonate, letting you find each other—and your master's position too..."
"Stop! I don't understand a word of that! Just send us in! Master's gonna die!"
It wasn't fair to blame Karen for being hasty.
Mirei could tell they knew, even unspoken, that this was a race against time.
Besides, the explanation didn't matter whether they understood or not.
"Get in position. I'll send you to your master."
"Great! Come on, Karuna."
"What do we do?"
Zzzzzzt...
"It's gonna hurt like hell first. The painkillers are all gone."
"Doesn't matter."
"Me neither!"
"If you endure it, you'll end up in a pitch-black space. Find your master, then run for the exit."
"Understood."
"Hurry!"
They surrendered to the coma-induction device at once and screamed.
The machine activated.
"Gaaaaahhh!"
"Uwaaaaaahhh!"
Pop!
Beeeep...
Karen and Karuna's heads slumped forward in unison.
"...So it's just me left, huh?"
Mirei pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it.
"Hoo... Like master, like summons. Right, Sodin?"
Of course, no reply came.
"Yeah. Honestly, I'm jealous. It's the dream I wanted. So, you know..."
Suddenly, noise erupted from outside.
"...They're definitely here! I smell the witch!"
Mirei's eyes widened.
"I'll see that through to the end."
She stepped out of the hideout.
Karen, Karuna, and Mirei's worries proved spot on.
Kang Seol and Jamad's situation was far from easy.
Kang Seol faced Jamad, who had shattered the wall.
But the gods wouldn't just let that slide.
Crack...
They waved their hands from behind, and the cracked section sealed instantly.
Kang Seol stared blankly and asked them.
"Wasn't... wasn't there something here just now?"
The gods reacted like this.
"Dunno... I didn't see anything."
"Maybe you saw a ghost?"
"What, some mental shock from messing up? Heh heh..."
"Come on, sit back down. We've got more games to play with you, Snowman. You love playing with us, right?"
Kang Seol's eyes grew hazy again.
'Yeah, I want to play with them forever. That's what I want.'
The game board came back into view.
Among all desires, the urge to dominate reigned supreme. Controlling something other than oneself brought unparalleled pleasure.
Was Kang Seol moving the pieces for their sake, or just to satisfy his own domination?
Now, even he no longer knew.
He became a fool, a child, and gazed at the board.
But.
"...No, I didn't imagine it. I definitely... saw something."
"You don't trust us?"
"We're your friends, aren't we? You have to believe us."
"Friends..."
Are we friends?
The child that Kang Seol had become shook his head.
And said.
"I want to leave. From here."
"Haha! Choosing that path? Hey, Snowman's trying to leave!"
"Think he can?"
Swish.
A die appeared before Kang Seol's eyes.
It ticked impatiently, urging him to take it.
"Roll the die, Snowman."
"It'll decide based on the number."
"Whether you can leave this place, or stay forever."
Kang Seol silently stared at the die.
The six-sided companion of 17 years. Smooth on some sides, sharp on others.
Whenever his finger touched the pitted eyes, a tingle stirred in his heart.
To him, the die was god, fate, life. He'd always lived by its roll. That was the rule.
Tap.
Rrrroll...
The die spun.
The die that would decide everything for him.
Plop...
Tap.
Finally, it stopped.
The die showed a 1.
The die had sentenced him to death.
"Puhahaha! It's a 1, Snowman."
"What a shame. Kang Seol can't escape now."
"With us... forever..."
Ah, I see. If the die says so, then that's it.
He hated the whole world.
The gods' mockery, the die's 1, this game board.
He hated it all.
He felt malice from everything.
Surely, he'd be devoured by the nightmare like this.
So he thought.
But then, the ground shook violently.
Boom!
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
"What're you doing, Snowman?"
Kang Seol checked the die that had landed on 1.
Due to the vibration, it had changed to 2.
The gods, unaware, seemed to misunderstand. Thinking he'd cheated.
"I didn't do it."
Boom!
Boom!
The vibrations intensified suddenly.
Rumble.
With each tremor, the die kept rolling.
It showed 4, then back to 1.
"Stop it, Snowman!"
"I didn't do it!"
"Hmph! No one else here! Why defy the die?!"
Rumble!
Rumble.
The die rolled weakly, revealing another face to them.
6.
6 appeared.
The highest number the die could show.
The gods fell silent at the situation.
Kang Seol glanced toward the source of the vibrations under their gazes. It was his shadow.
"Hey, Snowman. I'm simple, so this is all I can do. Just pounding like this."
Its protruding fangs evoked someone.
"Jamad? Is that Jamad?"
"You dare peek into my nightmare? You've got guts."
"...Go back. The die landed on 1."
"No. I never agreed to that."
Boom!
Rooom!
Jamad kept pounding the dark space.
"This stupid... this stupid die decides?!"
"But that's the rule."
"Rule? Where's rules in this world? You idiot?"
"What?"
"What are you?"
"Me? I'm..."
Kang Seol almost said Snowman on reflex. Why had this question only arisen now? Suddenly, the snowman mask pressing around his eyes felt suffocating.
'I'm...'
Kang Seol answered Jamad.
"Kang Seol. Kang Seol."
"I see. Kang Seol, what's real to you? Rolling dice with these abominations—that's reality?"
"No, no it's not."
"Then why hesitate? You overthink everything. Sometimes you gotta live simple, like this body."
The masked gods grabbed Kang Seol's arms.
"Hey, Snowman! Snap out of it! What're you doing?!"
"The die was 1! You'll follow the rules, right? You always have!"
In that moment, Kang Seol finally realized.
He should have said this long ago.
From the moment he'd become an adult forging his own fate.
Swish.
Riiip...
Kang Seol removed the snowman mask.
A whirlwind of relief and freedom—emotions from the edge of his mind—swept over him.
He carefully opened his mouth.
"This is boring."
"...What?"
"Uh, no? You'll stay with us, right?"
Kang Seol replied with a blank face.
"This stuff... it's not fun anymore."
Finally, he had become an adult.
An adult living in reality.
"Play this lame crap among yourselves."
Smack!
He tossed the die away.
Jamad's laughter echoed.
Ruuuumble.
The dark space began to crumble.
Kang Seol realized why he'd sensed malice from everything.
Because he hadn't faced it.
He'd worn the mask and rejected it himself.
Now, he turned back to his shadow. It showed only his back when he did, but when he faced it, the shadow faced him too.
There, Jamad was grinning.
Kang Seol said to him.
"Let's go."
The gods protested.
"Where?!"
"Break the rules, and bad kids get punished!"
Zzzzzzt!
"Gaaaaah!"
Kang Seol's neck burned black again.
A long-forgotten memory: before his exile by the gods, the lightning ring that had gripped his throat.
It reappeared, choking him.
"Guh... erk..."
"The world is complete because rules exist. Don't you know a world without rules is pure chaos?!"
Then, Kang Seol's shadow shattered.
Craaaack!
Jamad burst out, now standing squarely at Kang Seol's level.
"So that's it. Those black marks on your neck were from this. Now I know everything about you, Kang Seol."
"Haa... haa..."
"Impressive... Let me ask: what do you aim to achieve from here?"
"Kek... kek..."
"First, let's deal with this annoying ring."
The lightning god sneered.
"Haha! You can't break that with your power!"
"Is that a rule too?"
"Yes, a rule."
"Then I reject that rule."
"...What?"
Jamad grabbed the lightning ring choking Kang Seol's neck. Veins bulging, he tore it off.
Crackle...
Craaaackle!
"Impossible..."
"Rules are promises cowards make among themselves. I reject all of yours. Kang Seol! Speak! What is your desire?!"
Kang Seol gasped, steadied his breath, and stared straight at Jamad.
"Revenge. I want nothing but revenge."
"Kuhahaha! Too modest? An outcast from the gods with such a humble dream."
"For revenge, I'll become a god. I'll stand at their level and punish them."
The adult rose.
"I will become a god."
Jamad grinned and offered his fist.
"Then you're worthy. Worthy to join this body on its path to rule all. I'll take you on my glorious journey."
Kang Seol smiled too, pressing his small human fist against Jamad's massive one.
Thud.
"Funny. I'm just using you for my ascension."
"Hmph! Whatever—our goals align."
Jamad's eyes blazed red.
He glared at the gods behind it all.
"Then let's get out of here."
Now, they were rejectors of the gods' rules.
Jamad muttered softly.
"My chosen... true brother."