Chapter 201
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 201
A short distance from the coast.
“D-do bosses usually come outside…?” a young priest asked nervously. “This seems different from a normal Dungeon Break…”
Kang Seo-dam, who was leading the team, answered him.
“It happens on rare occasions, primarily with humanoid monsters. Those with intelligence rivaling humans have a much wider range of activity. Since their authority is so vast, they can exert their influence far beyond their own dungeons.”
“Then, as we head down, what if the submersible we’re supposed to board gets attacked? I just heard that mermaids are surging up from the deep sea.”
“Thanks to the ice-type Hunters working together to freeze the water, that shouldn’t be an issue. Besides, that’s why the telekinesis-type Hunters are accompanying us. We of the Sun Cult can also perform long-range attacks, so our only option is to remain vigilant as we proceed.”
They were currently heading toward the mermaid dungeon, taking advantage of the small window created when the dungeon boss left its lair. One team would deal with the boss that had come ashore, while this team would strike at the dungeon’s heart.
However, they couldn’t travel unprotected in this environment, so they had to use a submersible. As they moved under the guidance of an Association employee, Kang Seo-dam let out a low sigh.
“I wish Sister Iruda had stayed in the rear…”
“We discussed it thoroughly. She will stay put.”
“She must. It’s not as if that side is completely safe, either.”
“She’s a girl who keeps her promises.”
“I think so too, but…”
It was presumed that Cha Yi-sol was trapped inside the mermaid dungeon, the ‘Deep Sea Kingdom’.
Iruda had stubbornly joined this war to find her partner, but they couldn’t bring a novice priest like her into the dungeon. It was an S-Rank Dungeon where countless people had already died.
“…Well, worrying about it now won’t solve anything.”
For now, all he could do was hope that Iruda would keep herself in check.
“How much further to the submersible?”
“I’m sorry. The teleportation-type Hunters can’t work in crowded areas, so…”
“No, I was simply asking how much further we have to walk. I am well aware of the immense focus required for teleportation-type Hunters to do their work.”
“Thank you for your understanding. We’re almost there.”
Just then, the Association employee received a call.
“…What?! No, what do you mean…”
“What’s wrong?” Kang Seo-dam asked. “Did something go awry?”
“They say the teleportation-type Hunters and the submersible are under attack.”
“What? If we head over right now…”
“In situations like this, the top priority for teleportation-type Hunters is to retreat.”
“…Right.”
Simply put, teleporters were squishy. They had zero attack power and defense, but their evasion was higher than any other class. They mostly worked from safe locations, and even when mobilized in an emergency, they were legally permitted to flee if their lives were threatened. It was a rule established after countless teleporters had been exploited as mere transportation and killed.
“What happened to the submersible?”
“They said mermaids are crawling out of the sea to attack it. I don’t think we can rely on that option anymore.”
“But aren’t there other submersibles? You wouldn’t prepare just one in a situation like this…”
“Considering the sheer number of mermaids, the situation doesn’t look promising.”
At that, one of the Hunters frowned.
“So what are we supposed to do? Are you telling us we can’t go to the dungeon after coming all this way?”
“No, we have to go. If we don’t clear it, there’s no telling when this damn battle will end. The dungeon could keep pouring out an infinite number of monsters…”
“That’s exactly why we’re here! But now there’s no submersible, and the teleportation Hunters can’t send us straight into the dungeon. So what the hell are we supposed to do?”
The Association employee looked troubled but offered an alternative.
“We do have a backup submersible. However, it will take quite some time to bring it here. The teleporters we had are likely exhausted from moving the large submersible earlier, so we’ll have to deploy a different team…”
“That sounds like it’ll take forever,” a Hunter from Haeryeong, Sa Na-rae, remarked. He then asked, “Can we just go back?”
“Well…”
“Hmm? We can just go back, right?”
It was a delinquent, uncooperative question, but he wasn’t wrong. The elite Hunters gathered here to clear the dungeon now had nothing to do, and there was no telling how many more Hunters fighting the boss on the coast would die while they waited for a new submersible.
“We can’t just kill time here.”
“Hunter Sa Na-rae is right.”
Just as the Association employees’ faces turned grim, someone spoke.
“…Wait, what is that?”
“A frame?”
The Hunters sensed something unusual.
“Since when was there a frame over there?”
On a concrete wall along the coast, still bearing the scars of the Great Catastrophe, hung a picture frame. Sensing an unnatural aura emanating from it, the Hunters cautiously approached the old, crumbling wall.
Sa Na-rae made a disgusted face. “It smells like the sea.”
“Pardon?”
“…Ah, it really does.”
It was a painting of a temple that looked vaguely familiar.
“Black Cloak…?” someone murmured.
At the mention of the name, the painting inside the frame rippled like water.
“What the hell?”
“W-what is going on?”
“The painting inside… I think it’s the ‘Deep Sea Temple’…”
“So what are we supposed to do? What does this mean?”
“Is it telling us to go in?”
“No, what… Is it trying to help us?”
The Hunters were dumbfounded.
“Why would a monster help humans?”
“But Black Cloak usually gives gifts to good people…”
“Are we good people? No, we’re not. And it’s not like we did anything good.”
“Does clearing a dungeon count as a good deed?”
A complicated expression crossed Kang Seo-dam’s face as he heard them call Black Cloak a monster. He glanced at the Association employees.
“…? Wh-why are you looking at us like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
It seemed they didn’t know the truth. Kang Seo-dam understood.
Well, it’s not like the Association shares every piece of information with its lower-ranking staff.
Although the staff sent to this front line couldn’t be dismissed as mere low-ranks, this particular information was too dangerous to spread carelessly.
A hundred thoughts raced through Kang Seo-dam’s mind in an instant, but in the end, he decided to follow the divine will. If he couldn’t do that, he had no right to call himself a priest.
“…This is a rather difficult matter to bring up in a situation like this, but that is precisely why I must speak. Our Sun Cult has identified Black Cloak as a divine being who has a very small number of Apostles.”
“…W-what?!”
“No, what on earth…?!”
Not only the Hunters but also the Association employees looked utterly shocked. Kang Seo-dam inwardly cursed the world for forcing him to be the one to say this, but as a man of faith, he had to do what was necessary.
“And those Apostles have been identified as Hunter Seo Gio of the Collector Guild and novice priest Cha Yi-sol of the Sun Cult.”
“I-if that’s really true…”
“While it is not officially confirmed, it is treated as an established fact within the Sun Cult. I personally felt the energy of the sun from Hunter Seo Gio when I first met him, and novice priest Cha Yi-sol has also testified to this on multiple occasions.”
“…Ah, so that’s why…”
They seemed to understand why ‘Black Cloak’ had opened a ‘door’ at this exact moment.
“Is it asking us to save its children?”
Indeed, there had been several instances where a divinity, unable to exert direct power on Earth due to the dimensional system’s interference, sought help from humans. For an entity like Black Cloak, already well-established in Korea, opening a portal of this scale wouldn’t have been difficult.
“I’d like to dig deeper into this topic, but…”
“We don’t have time for that,” a Hunter cut in. “We can think more about Black Cloak later. Anyway, if this isn’t a door opened by a monster, then there’s no problem using it, right?”
“But Black Cloak could be an Evil God. We don’t even know if this door is truly safe.”
“But we have to infiltrate quickly while the Hunters on the coast are drawing the boss’s attention. We can’t just stand here.”
“If we act rashly, we could all be wiped out!”
“There are hostages trapped inside the dungeon right now, and you want us to just stand here and dither?!”
“If Hunter Seo Gio and the novice priest Cha Yi-sol really are Black Cloak’s Apostles, then this situation makes sense. But that still doesn’t guarantee our safety!”
“No, but still, given the circumstances…!”
As they argued, something popped out of the frame.
“Kku.”
“Wh-what…”
“Kkuu?”
A Hunter stared, doubting his own eyes, at a fluffy object draped over the frame like a piece of laundry on a drying rack.
“…A teddy bear?”
It was a fluffy teddy bear. Its fur was somewhat faded, but its stuffing was plump, a clear sign of meticulous care. It was small enough to fit snugly in one’s arms, with short limbs and a warm, comforting color.
“What is this now?”
“No, wait. That…”
“…I-I feel the power of the sun.”
The Priests of the Sun, including Kang Seo-dam, began to murmur amongst themselves.
“Yes, it’s definitely the power of the sun! I-I don’t feel divinity, but the trace of it is unmistakable…!”
“Could it be one of Black Cloak’s Apostles? I mean, despite its appearance, I can really feel the sun!”
And Kang Seo-dam realized.
I was wondering who could have opened the frame with Mr. Seo Gio trapped in the dungeon… so it was this teddy bear.
Unlike Yoo Seong-un or Ju-hyeon, Kang Seo-dam had never been invited to the cabin and knew nothing about this bear. However, from the traces of divinity and the solar energy radiating from it, he could tell that it was closely connected to Black Cloak.
No, this is more than that…
The energy was similar to what he had felt when he visited the ‘Deep Sea Temple’ in the past.
Having reached a conclusion, Kang Seo-dam looked at the tense crowd.
“I will guarantee it. I feel a clear solar energy from this teddy bear. Across all dimensions, the sun has never stood against providence. This means it cannot be an Apostle of an Evil God.”
“B-but…”
“If you are still unsure, we of the Sun Cult will enter first.”
The members of the Sun Cult actually looked flushed with excitement, thrilled by the idea that another sun was aiding them. Their faith wasn’t about purity, but communion. Having long sought to unite with various suns, the priests treated solar divinities from other dimensions with great reverence and friendliness.
“I had no idea Black Cloak was actually a solar divinity…!”
“I’ve heard the rumors, but to think there was an Apostle with such a cute manifestation.”
“It feels similar to the gifts he gives. Does he like cute things?”
“Between Black Cloak himself and this, aren’t these mysteries surprisingly benevolent and favorable toward humans?”
“We should be grateful they care for humans to this extent.”
Hearing the priests’ murmurs, the expressions of the other Hunters softened slightly.
“…Well, Black Cloak has always been kind…”
“…Is there anyone here who has abandoned their comrades and run?”
“They say Black Cloak doesn’t attack you unless you’re a total piece of trash.”
“Honestly, chickening out here is basically admitting you’re trash, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, fuck it. I’m not going to be a self-proclaimed piece of trash.”
Though they were still anxious, they seemed to find reassurance in the carefree attitude of the Sun Cult priests.
“I’m still a bit dazed, but…”
“Let’s go in.”
And so, borrowing Black Cloak’s power, the Hunters were drawn into the frame, one by one.
“…Um, Team Leader.”
“I’m confused too, so don’t talk to me.”
The Association employees watched in sheer bewilderment as the ‘paintings’ of the Hunters came to life inside the frame.
“This is no time to dally. Quick… bring me the headquarters communicator. I need to ask what the hell is going on.”
“Ah, r-right away! I’ll bring the teleportation-type Hunters. Since this place is relatively close to a safe zone, they should be here soon.”
“I’m going crazy. I have no idea what’s happening.”
There were simply too many things to report.
*
“…This place is…”
Splash…
A marble floor was covered in shallow water.
“…We are definitely inside the ‘Deep Sea Temple’.”
“But doesn’t the atmosphere feel a bit different?”
The Hunters scanned their surroundings with a mixture of anxiety and vigilance.
“I visited once before, but it didn’t feel like this.”
It was dark.
Brilliant.
And dreamlike.
“Something feels… ominous.”
“It feels like we’ve fallen into the trap of an Evil God.”
“I was thinking the same thing…”
One of the Hunters turned to Kang Seo-dam, their leader.
“Were the mermaids of this dungeon an Evil God?”
However, Kang Seo-dam looked upon the world of the mermaids with a sense of dread.
“No. Their deeds are merely equivalent to those of one.”
The temple, revisited, was chillingly peaceful and beautiful.
…I can tell whose influence they were under.
It resembled a funeral.