Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Two Wolves
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What stood at the center of the plain was a woman wrapped in white cloth, a goddess with wolf ears perked up and a tail wagging gently.
The moment Seong Ha-rin saw the gallia, she thought to herself, *Can such a beautiful exist in this world?*
"What are you doing? Come here at once."
"Ah... I apologize!!"
Ha-rin, who had been staring blankly at the gallia, captivated by a beauty that would make any woman fall in love, strode purposefully toward the Queen of Wolves.
"L-Lady!!"
She bowed her waist ninety degrees to greet the Queen.
Having lived with Garum and several other wolves, the etiquette ingrained in Ha-rin regarding high-ranking beings manifested naturally.
Seeing this, Gallia smiled slightly in satisfaction and stroked Ha-rin's head. Her attitude was much softer and gentler than when they first met.
"As expected of the child taught by Garum, you are disciplined. Garum... is a particularly sensitive one."
"Yes!! It's all thanks to my brothers!!"
"Good. But you don't need to be so tense in front of me."
To ease Ha-rin's tension, Gallia hugged her. Enveloped in Gallia's ample chest, Ha-rin felt her heart calm at the faint, sweet scent. It was a sense of stability she had never felt before, like being in a real mother's embrace. She didn't know that she herself was beginning to carry a similar scent.
Ha-rin hadn't yet realized that her appearance was gradually changing along with her personality.
"By the way, you can change into a human form too?"
"It's not difficult. More importantly, this form is more stable for talking with you."
"Aha... Thank you..."
"It's nothing. There's no need to thank me for something like this."
Ha-rin felt her mood lifting further at Gallia's warm words. Gallia handed a brass cup to Ha-rin, who was sniffing the air. Inside the cup was a liquid sparkling with a blue light.
"This is..."
"Moonlight Spring Water. Drink it all down. Then, your second trial will begin."
"The second trial!"
Wanting to solve the trial quickly, Ha-rin gulped down the undiluted Moonlight Spring Water Gallia handed her without leaving a single drop. She didn't suspect for a moment that Gallia would give her something strange.
"Wow, this is so refreshing... Ugh..."
*Thud.*
The moment she drank the Moonlight Spring Water, she collapsed. Gallia caught her. Gallia looked down at Ha-rin, who had fallen into a trance in her arms. She was a rare human. A wolf with rare talent.
"And yet, you are bound by an even rarer monster."
Gallia rubbed the Slave Mark carved on Ha-rin's forehead and erased it. To a high-ranking deity like her, the Slave Mark carved by a mere human was nothing more than a trivial skill she could erase easily.
"You are free now."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Slave Mark is released!!]
The last trace of foul smell remaining on Ha-rin's body disappeared. Now, only the scent of beasts and the freedom of the field would emanate from her.
When Ha-rin first arrived at the grassland and looked at the moon, her body was soaked in the thick stench of evil gods and the piercing rot. The black beasts that rushed in to attack Ha-rin, startled by that foul odor, were the vanguards Gallia had released.
Gallia had initially thought Ha-rin was a pawn of the evil gods. She intended to threaten her moderately and send her away. However, the moment Ha-rin's fighting spirit rose to fight the black beasts, her true essence, hidden beneath the thick lingering scent of the evil gods, was revealed. At that moment, Gallia realized that the small human was not a subordinate of the evil gods. And the result of facing her up close left Gallia astonished.
*'A human who, even when wrapped in iron chains, still held freedom within her.'*
Ha-rin was not a subordinate of the evil gods. Although the evil gods' stench clung to her strongly enough that she wouldn't fall apart, Ha-rin's identity as a human remained intact within it. This was because the human who had branded her did not try to change her forcibly, the evil gods respected the choice of their subordinate, and above all, Ha-rin was a human with a firm will.
"There was no need to carve such a thing. This child would not have betrayed you. You suspicious being."
While Ha-rin was running around the field with the wolves, Gallia was inside the cave looking into the human who had carved the Slave Mark on Ha-rin's forehead: Jang Jo-jun. Even Gallia, who had lived detached from the world, was surprised by the human named Jang Jo-jun. He was a human who had attracted the attention of the gods. A human so arrogant that even the gods who couldn't communicate with him said he was dangerous. A human with an unprecedented mental fortitude who had high pain tolerance and did not collapse mentally even when facing evil gods directly. Furthermore, he was the one who dragged out the Void Serpent, which was being punished with erasure for a foul. The variable more dangerous than any player in the game was Ha-rin's master.
"No matter how great you are, this child is now my offspring. So it's better to leave a small warning."
The Queen of Wolves pressed her lips to Ha-rin's forehead. With this, the Slave Mark would no longer work on Ha-rin. Furthermore, if Jo-jun tried to brand Ha-rin's forehead again, he would see the warning Gallia left.
"When the time comes to run toward the conclusion. My child will open the way for you. Whatever choice you make, I, as a mother, will trust my child's choice."
The Ancient Gods are beings who have stepped back from the win or loss of the game. Before the evil gods with no names revealed themselves and before the gods were born, the Ancient Gods had already chosen the conclusion once. As a result, they no longer have a choice. They are a group that clings to either the evil gods or the gods and cheers for and supports one side to win. That was the declining Pantheon.
"That old tree is still obsessed with the conclusion... but well."
Gallia didn't care much about what happened now. Her war had ended long ago. All that remained was to wait for the future that was slowly approaching. It didn't matter much to Gallia whether the evil gods won or the gods won. Either way, she had no way to survive. So she focused only on the present right in front of her. Now, she could only pray that the new child who had come into her arms, Seong Ha-rin, would overcome this trial well.
"Please, find your answer."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Dark and desolate. A dry plain. A place with no color or scent, where not a single blade of grass grew. Ha-rin woke up at the boundary between her subconscious and conscious mind.
"Where is..."
This was not the kind of dream world Jang Jo-jun had dreamed of. This was a place she could come to thanks to the effect of the Moonlight Spring Water.
"What should I do here...?"
Ha-rin couldn't find a direction to go. Her intuition told her that if she moved recklessly, she would never be able to return. At that warning, Ha-rin stopped moving.
"Uh, what should I do...?"
Until now, there had always been a goal. The destination was set. Just like the cave she had passed through earlier. The horizontal tunnel that was pierced straight through just required her to move forward. However, this place was a space closer to nothingness, with no goal or purpose. Here, Ha-rin couldn't grasp what she had to do or where she had to move.
As she stood there hesitating for a long time. A black wolf walked out from the darkness. At the same time, a wolf with white fur approached from the opposite side. The two wolves immediately rushed at each other to cut each other's throats, positioning Ha-rin in the center.
In the incomprehensible situation, Gallia's voice was heard.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Two Wolves.] [The black wolf is the aggregate of your inferiority complex, victim mentality, anger, hatred, and desires. If you choose this one, you will gain immense power. But your mind will gradually be tainted by madness.] [The white wolf is the aggregate of your will, fighting spirit, courage, and indomitable spirit. If you choose this one, you will not gain much power. But you will be able to continue shining faintly like before.] [Choose. Many things will change depending on your choice.]
She had to choose one of the two. Madness accompanied by strong power, or rational but weak power. Gallia's voice slowly faded, and the wolves facing each other instantly rushed to cut each other's throats. Ha-rin, standing in the middle, was pushed back significantly by the impact that created a gust of wind. The killing intent emitted by the two beasts tore through the surroundings. If she got close, she would definitely suffer a major injury. Due to the sharp killing intent, it was even more difficult for Ha-rin to approach the clashing wolves. Furthermore, she hesitated. She couldn't decide which side to choose. She had come here in the first place because she wanted power. Power strong enough not to fall behind others. That was still the case. But she knew that if she chose that path, she might be swept away by madness and hurt her comrades.
*'We, the wolves, must protect our family. To do that, we must know how to carefully watch the direction our fangs point.'*
That was what Garum had told her. On the other hand, if she chose the white wolf, it seemed she would return to reality without gaining anything. She couldn't do that. As she fell into thought, the wolves' wounds increased. The black wolf's front leg was torn off, and the white wolf's neck was gouged. As she was lost in thought, she raised her head at the smell of blood. She saw the two wounded wolves. At that moment, she realized she was having a stupid dilemma. She started to run. Even while taking the sharp killing intent head-on, she didn't fear getting hurt. She just ran toward the wolves.
"Haa... Haa..."
Soon, Ha-rin arrived in front of the two wolves. On the way there, her arms, legs, and body were covered in wounds. But there was no pain. The two wolves were already covered in wounds while she was hesitating and faltering about getting close.
*'Law of the Blue Moon.'*
Seong Ha-rin hugged the wolves, who were dying from their wounds but still growling at each other. She embraced both wolves in her arms.
"You two are both me."
She realized. There was no need to choose one of the two in the first place. Inferiority complex, victim mentality, hatred, anger. Fighting spirit, courage. All of it was hers, no different from comrades who had been with her her whole life. No matter what they become, she cannot just discard them if she wants to. Because wolves do not abandon their comrades.
"Instead of hesitating like a coward, I should have run to you. I'm sorry I'm late."
The two wolves in her arms vanished. At the same time, Gallia's voice was heard.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Second trial passed.] [Excellent.] [Then, the final trial.] [Your physical body will now be reborn.] [Endure the pain.]
Seong Ha-rin didn't know if her choice was the right answer or not. She had simply passed the trial. There was no time to continue her thoughts. The final trial began. The third trial was to endure pain. That was the final trial and the most difficult one. Because many people lose their minds or die suddenly during the process of change. Of course, Ha-rin could not fail to endure. She was already a full-fledged warrior and the Blue Moon Beast who had achieved inner integration.