Chapter 206
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206
Everyone said Giovanni was special.
"..."
Perhaps that was an undeniable fact.
Even in a dark, windowless room, Giovanni was born bathed in sunlight. On cold winter days, he grew up warmed by sunshine, even in a bed positioned where the sun could never reach. As an infant, before his mind had even fully formed, he naturally performed miracles, both large and small.
The son sent by the sun. A healing power filled with sunlight. Words and gazes that breathed warmth into the dead of winter. Seeing these things, the people made Giovanni their god, their apostle, their hero.
"...G-Gio."
"Shouldn’t someone go talk to him?"
"If we just leave him like that..."
And so, Giovanni was always special.
"Gio."
"..."
"Hunter Seo Gio."
"..."
"...Do you need recovery?"
"No."
It was those children, and only them, who had made him human. Just as he cherished the life he had lived, he cherished that simple daily routine with the same weight of affection.
"I’m fine."
They might have seen him as a respected teacher and a beloved benefactor, but Giovanni had received just as much joy and peace from his students. He, too, had been graced by them.
"I know the way."
"Hunter Seo Gio...?"
"I can hear a heartbeat."
Giovanni’s love was vast, but he also knew how to resent. He hated the people who had hurt him. He hated the villagers who had separated him from his disciples. He hated the world that had allowed things to turn out this way.
The only thing keeping Giovanni standing was a love that overcame all of that. That was all.
"This way."
He headed down.
The temple was filled with seawater, but it wasn’t particularly cold. Barefoot, he descended the familiar stairs one by one, heading deeper inside.
Giovanni had never visited this place in life, but he had stayed here in death.
"I-Is it really okay to go in?"
"Hunter Seo doesn’t seem to be in his right mind right now..."
"But he might have really found a clue."
"That’s true, but his condition is a bit..."
Leading the others, he finally reached the lowest level of the basement.
"..."
"...What is that?"
"That’s..."
It was a large flowerpot.
"What is that?"
"It looks like it’s meant to hold something..."
"At that size, isn’t it more like a basin?"
"The decorations are pretty."
"No, look at what’s inside."
It was filled with molten gold.
"Doesn’t it feel similar to the Golden Tree we saw earlier?"
"I don’t think we should compare it to that. There’s a... pure energy swirling around it."
"At least it’s different from that tree that had the sun disgustingly crammed into it."
"...But it’s just as warm."
"It looks divine."
It was 'Giovanni' melted down.
"..."
"...Uh, wait a minute."
"Inside there, right now..."
He approached the flowerpot before the others could get any closer. But even from that distance, those with sharp eyes spotted something—a faint glimpse of a figure inside the basin carved from a giant crystal.
"Is there a person in there?"
A few of the quicker ones turned to look at Gio.
"...I can’t see it clearly, but..."
"...Doesn’t it look like Hunter Seo Gio?"
"What on earth is this...?"
It didn’t matter.
In the end, Giovanni had shaken off the small fragment that held him back, declaring his time was up. That act must have become a painful thorn to the mermaids of the Breathing Sea. Beneath the waves where the dark clouds had cleared, Giovanni felt flowers blooming.
He looked at the transparent figure of 'Giovanni', which was as formless as water, and muttered.
"...She did say she tried several times."
Aria had said she tried to revive 'Giovanni' multiple times, failing every time. Was this one of those remnants? Or was it the result of a new attempt after their reunion on Earth?
His sea mermaids certainly had a blindly devoted side to them.
"It’s heavy."
Plunge—
Giovanni plunged the Golden Branch into his own watery shell, a form that couldn’t even draw a breath.
"It’s heavy..."
The mermaids had fashioned their hearts into the shape of their teacher.
This would accompany him for the rest of his life, another of Giovanni’s shackles.
* * *
"..."
Upon the sea.
"..."
Flowers.
White flowers, soft yellow buds, shyly blushing pinks, and vibrant, fresh greens—their thin, transparent petals bloomed.
Countless, infinitely fragile lives blossomed.
"..."
Only now could she admit it: the mermaid born of the sea had wanted to see this sight so desperately.
"...It’s beautiful."
It was as if her sea had turned into land.
"When I knew nothing, I used to dream of a sea like this."
"With your power, couldn’t you have created this kind of phenomenon whenever you wanted?"
"It’s different. I..."
Something like this had no meaning unless it was shared with humans.
"...Ahaha."
How childish.
To think I still had such thoughts left in me.
She, too, had once dreamed of a world where the sea and the sky, the deep-sea mermaids and the land-dwelling humans, coexisted. Unlike her younger brother, she had no noble intentions; she just thought it seemed cooler and stronger.
My fragment has crumbled.
In the end, Giovanni had shaken off the dream fragment and returned to Earth. Aria, who had planted a part of herself in that dream, took a heavy blow. On top of that, her heart had been torn out. She no longer had any reason to draw breath.
Lacking any strength, she drifted limply on the surface of the water. She felt like a jellyfish she had once seen in Earth’s oceans.
"Hey, isn’t it pretty?"
Aria looked up at the sky.
The dark clouds were clearing.
"The hidden sun rises, the sea becomes a flower garden, and the sky is clear."
"Are you really dying right now?"
"Of course. The dungeon’s heart was taken from me, so what else can I do?"
"What do you gain from this?"
"Perhaps... hope?"
It was a far too generous reward for a sinful monster, but in the end, she had succeeded in snatching it.
It was the hope born from a tender belief: that for the long years the human she loved would live on, no longer human, he would never be able to forget them.
Having carved such a deep wound, how could he?
Furthermore, with this, the mermaids had brought their story to a close. They would reach the hell led by their teacher.
"..."
The cool dawn passed, and the sun cast its light across the clear sky.
"...It’s really the end now..."
It was too long.
It was far too long, Teacher.
* * *
"Cha Yi-soooool—!!!"
"Ludaaaa—!!!"
The adults watched with warm smiles as the children burst into tears and hugged each other tightly.
How cute.
I had times like that with my partner, too.
They really get along well.
Both had played their parts and acted maturely despite the situation, but no matter how proudly the Sun Cult boasted of them as talents, they were still young. It was a heartwarming sight.
Perhaps her sorrow had quickly turned to anger, because Luda, who had been shaking him by the collar, suddenly collapsed. Cha Yi-sol gasped in shock and scooped her up. It was a tragic scene straight out of a classic painting.
"What’s wrong? Did you not eat?! I told you never to skip breakfast...!!"
"You... you were kidnapped, how could I eat alone...?"
"Even if I die, the living have to live on!"
"Who’s... killing... you... Stop talking nonsense..."
A hunter from the Eunwol camp laughed awkwardly.
"Using the power of the sun like that... I guess it was too much for her."
"Well, they say the god Miss Luda contracted with isn’t from the Sun God lineage."
"Since it was a forced, borrowed power, she must be exhausted."
Creating a flower garden on the sea was easier said than done. It required not only wood-type hunters to sprout the plants, but also fire-attribute hunters to melt the frozen sea, water-attribute hunters to clear away the salty ice, and even a Priest of the Sun to help the plants bloom stably.
Since the mermaids had taken over the sky, Iruda, even as a novice priest, couldn’t just stand by. She must have exhausted herself trying to clumsily mimic the power of the sun among the Priests of the Sun remaining in the camp.
"Though even that was far beyond the level of a novice priest."
"I heard she’s preparing for early graduation. She really is a talent with an extraordinary future."
Until they formally contract with a divinity, novice priests belong to the sun and borrow its power. The initiation ceremony is the very event where they make that contract and beg for its grace, and they learn how to borrow that power while staying at the temple. Considering that a significant number of official priests who failed to contract with a divinity actually operate in that manner, one could see just how massive a role Iruda had played despite only being a novice.
"..."
"..."
"...Haha!"
"You can actually laugh right now?"
Cha Yi-sol and Iruda weren’t the only ones having a tearful reunion.
"...I, I... Gio, my heart literally stopped..."
"Why are you crying? Judging by your intensity, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started crying tears of blood."
"You’re the one making me cry right now. I’m not someone who cries easily, but you are truly something else."
"I’m quite proud to have given you such a novel experience, Mr. Yoo Seong-un. Where else in the world could you find such a good friend?"
"Of course you’re a good friend, but do you really think that’s something to say right now...?"
"Of course, I also feel sorry. I apologize."
"We’ll talk when we get home."
"Come to think of it, Mr. Ju-hyeon will have my hide, too..."
Gio, who had shamelessly hoped for a moment that they might let it slide since he had performed a praiseworthy deed, clicked his tongue inwardly. He was well aware that he could have escaped his confinement if he had really wanted to, but he chose not to run.
However, thanks to that, he had been able to say a proper farewell to his disciples, so he had no regrets.
That’s just how I am.
Regrettably, he was fundamentally not the type of person to regret the choices he made.
"Since I feel deeply apologetic, if you step up to handle the aftermath, Mr. Yoo Seong-un, I will join you."
"No. No need. Just go back to the Collector’s and rest. Please don’t come out, don’t go anywhere, don’t use your power, and don’t mingle with people..."
"What are you trying to turn me into? A social outcast?"
"I’m just asking out of curiosity, but do you have any intention of cutting yourself off from society again?"
"Are you really trying to keep me sealed away like a can of food?"
"You were always like that anyway. What difference does it make if you’re cooped up for a few more years? I really wish you would just stay safely and peacefully inside the Collector’s, without having to deal with people’s stares."
"People are looking at you weirdly, Mr. Yoo Seong-un, so you should stop. We still have our reputations to maintain."
With rumors already circulating that 'the Collector locked up and raised Hunter Seo Gio until he was 29,' what on earth was this man talking about? While Seong-un might be trying to solidify that cover story, it also seemed he was just so overwhelmed and exhausted that he was speaking without thinking, so Gio placated him.
"You must have been very worried about me. But I’m fine, didn’t I return safe and sound? I don’t have any major injuries like last time, so things are actually better. Thanks to siphoning the mermaid’s power dry, I feel like I’ve even gotten stronger than before."
"I figured as much, but your positive mindset is truly remarkable."
"Ah, of course."
Gio’s ultimate positive mindset wasn’t about to be dampened just because he had been kidnapped.
If I say it like that, he’ll be upset.
Gathering every ounce of social skill he possessed, Gio spoke again.
"I’m truly sorry for making you worry. I have no excuse."
"Then next time, even if people are held hostage, let’s just ignore them..."
"I never promised to go that far."
"How firm. Do you really want to see me cry tears of blood?"
"Still, shouldn’t we save people in danger?"
"I’m someone who really likes that kind of utopian, idealistic altruism, but you’re a bit too much."
Yoo Seong-un spoke with a voice full of greed.
"I wish you’d shave some of it off. Maybe about ninety-four percent..."
"You might as well just tell me to lock myself in the gallery again."
"It would be wonderful if you locked yourself in the gallery."
"No."
"Please."
"No."
Sa Na-rae watched the two of them with a resigned expression.
They must know how weird that sounds, right?
The longer that conversation went on, the more Collector Bisabeol and Yoo Seong-un would look like absolute trash, yet they babbled on without a care. Sa Na-rae turned his head away, pretending to have seen nothing, only to lock eyes with Priest Kang Seo-dam.
"..."
"...Haha, I’m glad it ended well. Right?"
"...Yes, I’m glad it ended well."
As Kang Seo-dam replied, a strange suspicion lingered in his eyes.
He was definitely awake.
When dealing with the mermaid Iser, Kang Seo-dam had thought he was the first to break free from the Golden Tree’s illusion. But he now recalled Hunter Sa Na-rae springing up silently the moment the loud noise echoed. His reaction had been far too sharp for someone who had just woken up.
It’s not like I can interrogate him, either.
Even if he did, Sa Na-rae wasn’t the type to answer honestly. He would just make some vague excuse and look for a way to slip away.
Kang Seo-dam humbly gave up and decided to bear this burden on his own. In the end, since the Goddess of the Sun had been with him, it wasn’t a burden only he knew of anyway.
"Gio, just one year, okay? Just one year...!"
"You’re being a nuisance, Mr. Yoo Seong-un."
"If you just stay quietly at the Collector’s for one year, I’ll treat you even better!"
"No."
"Just once!"
"No."
It was funny, but he found a sense of stability in that childish conversation.
"..."
Kang Seo-dam looked at the sea, which was cluttered with floating chunks of ice, and then looked up at the sun in the sky.
[The 'Sea of Hatred' vomits up the authority it swallowed.]
[You have completed the raid of the Dungeon: 'Deep Sea Kingdom'.]
[Please check your collection reward.]
"...Is it over?"
Now, it was time for everything to return to its proper place.