Chapter 204
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204
One day, a portrait appeared in Yoo Seong-un’s life.
“…”
It possessed immense artistic value.
A body so perfectly proportioned it seemed sculpted to represent the ideal human; a preserved form that would never change; and above all, eyes that could bewitch anyone, plunging them into a vast abyss with their mere existence.
Could anyone resist being captivated by it?
No, it was impossible.
“…”
Yoo Seong-un was a Gardener. He was a Curator. Ever since he began serving the Garden, he had lived his entire life that way, and that would never change. He revered, respected, and loved “Gio’s Portrait.”
But could that portrait actually be a person? Was such a thing even possible?
“…”
What did it mean to be a “person,” anyway?
“Mr. Yoo Seong-un…!!”
“…”
“Hey, fuck, Yoo Seong-un, what are you doing?!”
“…”
“You crazy bastard!!”
Yoo Seong-un blinked slowly, his eyes taking on the color of a glacier.
“…It’s certainly a topic worth pondering.”
For his superior, Bisabeol, everything in life was divided into what was a work of art and what was not. Recently, Seong-un had noticed a new category called “Hero” had been added, but that wasn’t his concern right now.
However, Bisabeol had always treated his guild members—his collection—as human beings, even while treasuring them as works of art. Yoo Seong-un had been operating within that very framework. If so, did that mean viewing a person as a work of art, or as a human?
Or can both coexist?
Or can they not?
“How troublesome.”
Yoo Seong-un did not welcome his own changes. A change in him was synonymous with a change in the Garden, a deterioration of the artwork. Whenever he changed, it always demanded sacrifices, both big and small.
He wondered how many sacrifices would be required this time.
“This is rather unpleasant.”
Amidst the deafening noise, Yoo Seong-un gripped his spear once more.
…The sea cannot be frozen.
This was especially true for Earth’s sea, which was salty.
It was difficult to freeze, but once it did, it solidified in an instant. And then, it would melt just as quickly. Yoo Seong-un decided to think of another way.
Fire.
What if he evaporated it entirely?
No, that’s too difficult.
This ill-tempered sea had already demonstrated its dominance over the sky by using hail. No matter how much seawater he evaporated, it would only fall back down as rain.
If it’s a monster that is the sea itself…
If freezing and burning didn’t work, and it ultimately remained in the form of moisture anyway…
We have to seize control.
Just as those mermaids had done, someone else had to consume it.
“…”
It wasn’t that he didn’t know how, but Yoo Seong-un felt a bit sorry for Jeong Young-won.
“Ah, what to do…”
“Mr. Yoo Seong-un, are you back with us?!”
“You’re bursting my eardrums. Step back a bit before you speak.”
“If we don’t freeze this, it’s going to penetrate all the way inside! Snap out of it and throw your spear!!”
“Doing that now isn’t going to solve anything.”
“Then what, you want us to die together?! Are you out of your mind?!”
“I’m saying we need to think.”
“Let the others do the thinking! You just move!”
“Ugh, how unrefined.”
Rubbing his ringing ears, Yoo Seong-un looked at the hunter he was acquainted with.
“Go call Hunter Jeong Young-won.”
“What? Why the healer?”
“Bring all the wood-type hunters too, and…”
“Wait, this is seawater. You know that, right?”
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t thought of having plants absorb the overflowing seawater. If they could successfully seize control that way, they could eliminate the danger of whatever water was absorbed. How they would handle the plants afterward was a problem for later, but for now, that was the theory.
However, the liquid they were dealing with was seawater, not fresh water.
“How are plants supposed to drink this?!”
Unless it was some kind of monstrous plant, it would wither and die. And there weren’t many hunters capable of growing plants that bizarre. After all, plants were still plants.
“I mean, sure, if we just sprout them blindly, we might win by sheer volume, but even then…!”
“It’s frozen.”
“What?”
“It’s ice. The ice we all froze together.”
Perhaps thanks to the ice-type hunters spamming their skills, the sea was gradually turning into solid ice. Yoo Seong-un couldn’t create such solid ice in an instant; freezing took time.
And I almost died trying to do that.
Freezing something too quickly didn’t make for solid ice. To create a sturdy glacier like this, time was required. His mind was a bit of a mess, but what Yoo Seong-un wanted to say was…
“The salt must have sunk to the bottom.”
It was basic scientific knowledge.
“That’s how seawater works.”
“What are you talking about—no, wait, ah… ah…? Ah!!”
“Exactly.”
Water and salt have different freezing points.
Water first, then salt.
So, if Yoo Seong-un’s theory was correct, while the surrounding sea froze solid like a vast snowfield, the salt would have migrated downward. At least, that was how Earth’s oceans behaved.
“I didn’t freeze it with this in mind, but…”
Crunch!
He pulled his spear out of the ice.
“If we just melt the top layer, we can feed it to the plants without any issues.”
“Fuck, you’re right.”
“Go on.”
“I’ll bring them right away.”
What they needed now were wood-type hunters who could grow flowers and trees in an instant, and fire-type hunters who could melt the upper layer of the ice. Fortunately, they had all the necessary personnel right here.
As he sent the messenger off, Yoo Seong-un thought:
There’s no way that mermaid didn’t know this.
A doctor and researcher who had achieved feats bordering on those of an Evil God, leaving behind countless research papers.
Yet, he didn’t lift a finger even while this crowd of humans froze the sea…
Yoo Seong-un clicked his tongue.
“Are we being looked down on?”
This was both mercy and a condition. If they were so foolish they couldn’t even figure this out, he was probably telling them to just die.
He did say Earth is too small to remain Gio’s flowerpot, so maybe he’s testing our worthiness before leaving forever…
In such a mind-bogglingly difficult and chaotic situation, who would easily recall such common scientific knowledge? But to the mermaids, even that hesitation would have seemed pathetic. Yoo Seong-un’s mood soured completely.
…A mere slaughterer who doesn’t even know the value of life, harboring such arrogant thoughts.
Yoo Seong-un, a rarity among hunters for not being a monster-hater, gritted his teeth.
“Exhausting, isn’t it?”
This flowerpot was a place Gio had personally chosen.
To dare question the choice of the Origin was highly blasphemous.
*
“W-What is the meaning of this…?!”
Like the other hunters, the Priests of the Sun were utterly appalled.
“Such a massive aura of the sun…!!”
“T-This is blasphemy! This should never have been allowed to happen!!”
“Just what has this crazy monster done…?!”
What they felt radiating from the massive Golden Tree wrapping around the grand temple was unmistakably the sun. The Priests of the Sun belonging to Earth could feel that countless “suns” had been gathered there.
That insane monster had been devouring suns.
“…”
“…Fuck…”
Some hunters stared with a strange, glittering light in their eyes.
To call this a sight created by a monster… it’s just too…
Isn’t it divine?
It was incredibly beautiful. Their eyes were helplessly glued to the mesmerizing sight.
Warm sunlight, like falling gold dust, illuminated every corner of the temple, making the various gold and silver treasures decorating the structure shine with a blinding brilliance. The hunters hesitated, dazzled by the multicolored light.
Is this truly the sun’s…
How can this not be divinity?
It was a beautiful sight, as if the most precious and pure light of the sun had been gathered in one place.
“…Sigh…”
Kang Seo-dam pulled Cha Yi-sol behind him.
“Stay in the middle of the hunters.”
“Am I useless here?!”
“You are very useful, but your position, Brother Yi-sol, is a healer.”
“B-But if Teacher gets hurt…!”
He has his favorites, even if he tries to hide it.
Cha Yi-sol seemed to want to protect Kang Seo-dam more than complete strangers or the other priests who had never properly cared for him. To be protected by this tiny child—there was no greater humiliation.
Kang Seo-dam hesitated for a moment, then spoke firmly once more.
“Cha Yi-sol.”
“! Y-Yes.”
“Get back.”
“Understood…!”
They say quality endures even in ruin, and Cha Yi-sol was a precious talent who had never even begun to spoil. Though still a young student, he immediately grasped the gravity of the situation and obeyed Kang Seo-dam’s command.
Kang Seo-dam gripped his staff.
To think the staff he usually carried would grow into a tree like that…
Kang Seo-dam had seen the mermaid Iser’s staff before. A golden staff shaped with the texture of wood, possessing an elegant, antique charm. He also knew that it had once belonged to “Giovanni.”
Is that obsession?
The mermaids of this dungeon were far too sentimental.
“It seems you’ve finished your conversation.”
“How considerate of you to wait.”
“I didn’t want to make an unrefined scene here.”
Iser stood in front of Seo Gio, who was still bound to the Pope’s chair. The mermaid’s long, straight hair, dyed a golden hue, bore a resemblance to Seo Gio’s—to Giovanni’s.
However, the mermaid’s eyes were the color of terribly deep, blue pearls.
“Let me take this person.”
Veins popped on Kang Seo-dam’s face.
“You are demanding a sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice? No, it’s nothing like that. It’s a better evolution.”
“Did Hunter Seo Gio agree to this evolution?”
“He promised to stay behind in place of weak, incompetent humans.”
“That’s blackmail. Utterly barbaric.”
“I never expected to hear that from humans.”
Iser smiled as he descended the stairs step by step.
“I am quite honest. I don’t know how to do such barbaric things.”
“What a shocking revelation.”
“Instead, I shall propose a deal.”
“A deal? In this situation?”
“I have been very weak since I was a child.”
“…”
“And I’m still not particularly strong…”
Which was why Iser always resorted to other tricks.
“Let’s have a test.”
As Iser lightly spread his arms, the Golden Tree shed a bright, divine light like the sun.
“This tree will show them a dream.”
“A dream?”
“It could be a dream, a hallucination, or fragments of the future or past. It is something you and these countless suns will decide within Providence.”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“If you wake up unscathed, you may fight me.”
“And if we don’t wake up?”
“You will become fertilizer for the tree.”
“Can we refuse?”
“No.”
With a smirk, the mermaid put his hands behind his back and waved one hand.
“May the blessing of the sun be with you.”
And just like that, the humans lost consciousness.
“…”
“…”
Except for exactly one person.
A strange silence fell, like the backstage of a theater after the actors’ performance had ended. The gazes of the two beings met.
Cha Yi-sol’s pupils trembled.
“…U-Uh…”
“Cha Yi-sol.”
“Why am I not asleep…?”
“Because I know you’ll wake up anyway.”
“Oh!” Cha Yi-sol’s face instantly brightened. “You’re speaking casually to me!”
“…Yeah.”
“Are we friends now?”
“Even in this situation, you say things like that to me?”
“But Eun-ha, you didn’t knock me down either…”
“That’s…” Iser let out a sigh. “…How on earth did two humans like this end up in the same dimension?”
Both Seo Gio and Cha Yi-sol.
He slowly walked down the stairs. The priestly robes he wore trailed behind him step by step, catching the golden light. Soon, Iser carelessly kicked aside the humans collapsed in his path and stood before Cha Yi-sol.
He wore a stern expression, like an older brother scolding a younger sibling.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay in a safe place?”
“I didn’t want to be alone…!”
“I didn’t know you were the lonely type.”
“You’re the same way.”
“…”
The mermaid was momentarily lost for words.
“…Me?”
“Aren’t you?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“How can you not know?”
“It’s been too long since I’ve been with anyone.”
“Huh? Weren’t you with your brother?”
“Well, that’s true, but…” Eun-ha’s mouth parted slightly. “…”
He spoke.
“…You’re right. I was lonely.”
This cold dungeon was cozy, damp, and quiet.
“So, would you like to talk for a bit?”
“About what?”
“Just… this and that.” Anything. “Because I think this will be the last time.”
“…”
After a brief pause, Cha Yi-sol nodded.
“Okay.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t know the mermaids had committed a horrific massacre, or that they were still doing so. The mermaids were truly terrible creatures who had committed unforgivable sins.
But the one standing before him right now was Eun-ha, Cha Yi-sol’s friend. Even if everything had been a lie, they had once been partners…
I can at least listen to his final words.
Because it really was the end.