Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Chapter 165: Iron Fate (4)
Translation: godtl
[Ugh......]
A groan reverberated softly through the dim dimension.
The entity entwined with masses of violet energy and tentacles lifted one tendril.
[You don't seem injured......]
Wiping what appeared to be its chin, it observed Si-mun, who was carrying an unconscious woman. Whether due to its inherently distrustful nature or because it was scrutinizing him down to the cellular level, the mass of violet tentacles spent a considerable amount of time circling Si-mun, inspecting him closely.
[......]
The enormous spider, waiting silently for the examination to conclude, kept its head bowed as if lifeless.
How much time had passed?
[Hmm. He's fine.]
The answer the giant spider had been longing for finally came.
Letting out a quiet sigh of relief internally, the spider calmly responded.
[As I mentioned, how could I dare lay a hand on the Great Mother's subordinate?]
[Indeed. Unless it were that bastard Chaos, such a thing would never happen on this side.]
[Of course!]
The spider quickly nodded in agreement.
[However...... Lazy Spider. You're mistaken about one thing.]
[Might I inquire as to what that is?]
[That child is not my subordinate.]
The Black Goat shook her head in denial.
At that,
[Then... is he a Player you've taken as a Backing Constellation? I've heard rumors that the Great Mother has recently stepped into the Galaxy Arena.]
The giant spider cautiously asked again.
[No. I am supporting him, but I am not his Backing Constellation.]
[......W-what?!]
Sixteen crimson asteroids—the spider's eyes—shook violently.
[Then... you mean this human has earned the Great Mother's attention and support, yet remains unaffiliated with you...?]
Even as the words left its mouth, the spider seemed unable to believe them. Its voice and gaze were filled with confusion as it stared at the Black Goat.
Yet, as if to further humiliate the spider's disbelief,
[Correct.]
The Black Goat nodded firmly.
[Hah......]
The giant spider exhaled sharply.
The shock must have been immense—its massive body trembled ever so slightly.
Unfortunately, however,
[He's not something to be bound by such trivial things.]
[Eh?]
Its astonishment didn't end there.
[To put it simply, he's too precious for that. Lazy Spider.]
Perhaps due to the galactic scale of the revelation,
Squelch.
The spider's mouth gaped open as if a black hole had formed in an instant.
And rightfully so.
'A mere human... is too precious for the Great Mother to take in?'
The Black Goat.
One of the mighty Outer Gods revered on the Other Side.
An existence that, no matter which dimension she graced, would be treated as a God King.
And yet, she considered this human too valuable to claim?
But the shock was fleeting.
[Then... may I regard him as the Great Mother's honored guest?]
[Not just mine. He is a distinguished guest of this entire side. Surely you can see it too—he bears traces of that one's touch.]
[Ah, yes.]
Quickly regaining its composure, the spider swiftly assessed the situation.
[It's an honor to meet you, distinguished guest of the Other Side. I am known as the Weaver of the Boundary.]
With utmost courtesy, it even lowered its massive legs in a respectful bow.
[If you wish, I would gladly share my True Name with you.]
'True Name? His real name?'
Si-mun tilted his head slightly at the words but said nothing more.
He had no particular questions—the reason was simple.
'Whatever it is, it must be important over there.'
The spider, who introduced itself as the Weaver of the Boundary, was clearly a Constellation from the Other Side. Given how such a being spoke of it with such reverence, a True Name couldn't be anything trivial.
'Well, Black Goat also feels like a title of sorts. Probably not her real name.'
Even the Black Goat, who had shown him such favor, had never mentioned her True Name.
Si-mun naturally grasped just how significant the Weaver's gesture was.
But was this courtesy extended only to him?
KWAHHHHHHHHH!!
[Guh-huhk!]
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted.
A sound so powerful it felt like a planet being shattered.
Si-mun's eyes widened as he turned toward the source of the blast.
[What? True Name? You dare offer your filthy tongue to lick my child's wounds?]
Though it was unclear exactly what had angered her.
[Great Mother! I never intended such a thing!]
[Silence!]
Whoosh.
Black Goat, who had just struck the Weaver of the Boundary's head, raised another massive tentacle.
[G-Great Mother!]
Befitting a being of galactic scale,
the Weaver of the Boundary pitifully covered his head with his two enormous legs.
At this.
"Black Goat-nim. Please calm down."
Si-mun quickly extended a helping hand.
"Don't be so angry. I may not fully understand, but it seemed like he was trying to show me respect. If you keep this up, I'll start feeling guilty."
[Hmm......]
Fortunately, his words seemed to have an effect.
[Very well.]
Black Goat reluctantly lowered the raised tentacle with a displeased tone.
[W-what in the world......]
The Weaver of the Boundary, who had expected merciless violence, blinked all sixteen eyes in utter bewilderment.
Then.
[I-I am truly grateful for calming the Great Mother's wrath, honored guest!]
He looked at Si-mun with admiration in his eyes.
But it wasn't just admiration.
[You are a being beyond even my comprehension.]
A kind of reverence.
He openly displayed awe toward someone who had restrained Black Goat's actions.
Of course, Si-mun couldn't perceive such emotions.
"It's nothing, really."
He waved his hands sincerely.
[N-nothing, you say......]
At this response, the Weaver of the Boundary's pupils trembled even more violently.
"But."
Si-mun scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile and turned to Black Goat.
"Black Goat-nim. I can return to where I originally was, right?"
[Of course.]
As if it were no issue at all,
Black Goat nodded firmly.
At this.
[Honored guest. Please wait a moment.]
The Weaver of the Boundary, still trembling from shock, urgently grabbed Si-mun.
"What's the matter?"
[It seems the honored guest did not visit my domain of your own volition...... Is that correct?]
"That's right."
When Si-mun nodded, the Weaver of the Boundary gave him a questioning look.
[Then how did you enter my domain? This is not a place one can enter without my permission.]
"Well......"
Si-mun's words trailed off abruptly.
The reason was simple.
'Wait a second. What if I...?'
In that brief moment, a series of scenarios rapidly unfolded in his mind.
As he finished his thoughts, Si-mun's eyes curved gently.
"As you suspected. It wasn't my will—I was brought here against it."
[Against your will? Someone sent you here?]
"Yes. What was it again... Ah, right. They said they were disposing of me."
[Disposing?]
All sixteen enormous crimson eyes tilted in unison.
Si-mun struggled to suppress the corners of his lips from rising as he answered.
"Y-yes. They said they were disposing of me and forcibly transported me. When I opened my eyes, I was here."
[......]
A brief silence followed.
But this was entirely different from the silence caused by Black Goat's appearance.
Then.
[How DARE they!!!]
Kugugugugugug.
A furious roar shook the vast dimension violently,
and—
Crack.
Dragon Power surged uncontrollably, twisting Si-mun's body.
'Damn it!'
Si-mun hurriedly suppressed the boiling Dragon Power.
'My body's activating Dragon Body Transformation on its own......'
The Weaver of the Boundary's rage was beyond imagination—so much so that his earlier struggle with Black Goat seemed trivial.
'So this is a Constellation.'
Constellation.
A being often described as transcendent—or divine.
The Weaver of the Boundary, merely by expressing his emotions, made that title utterly convincing.
Then.
[Tell me, honored guest. Who dares treat my domain as a trash bin?!]
A voice thick with fury rang in Si-mun's ears.
Si-mun delivered the answer he had prepared.
"A nobody named Choi Woo-seok."
[Choi Woo-seok? Choi Woo-seok. Choi Woo-seok......]
As Si-mun spoke the name, the Weaver of the Boundary gnawed on it with an intensity bordering on madness.
Watching him, Si-mun suddenly sensed a peculiar gaze.
Turning his head—
Creak.
Among Black Goat's mass of dark violet tentacles,
what appeared to be a mouth stretched upward.
Si-mun instinctively sensed that the Black Goat was smiling in satisfaction.
At that.
Did I do well?
He returned the smile with a look that seemed to ask just that.
The mass of the Black Goat's violet-black tentacles gave a slight nod.
Soon after.
[Honored Guest.]
The Weaver of the Boundary, who had been mulling over the name, called out to Si-mun.
[Though it pains me to say, I cannot punish that detestable human you spoke of.]
"Huh?"
Si-mun expressed his confusion at the unexpected answer.
But that confusion was quickly resolved.
[Hmph! Of course not. How could a mere non-Outer God exert influence across dimensions without going through the Galaxy Arena?]
It was the Black Goat, who had been exchanging secret smiles with Si-mun, who spoke up.
[Lazy Spider. Surely you don't intend to set foot in the Galaxy Arena just for one human, do you?]
[Well... no, of course not.]
[But. This way, your prestige and pride won't be restored.]
[Certainly not. More than anything, if we don't catch that bastard, these incidents will keep happening.]
[Indeed. For someone like you, who loathes troublesome things above all else, this must be utterly infuriating.]
The Black Goat tapped the Weaver of the Boundary's chin with one tentacle.
[So why not entrust this matter... to our little one here?]
[As expected of the Great Matriarch! Truly brilliant foresight!]
[Hehe. I've always been brilliant.]
She gently stroked the spider, who was fervently flattering her proposal.
Watching this, Si-mun's expression turned peculiar.
Was that how she stroked me last time too?
The sensation had been so soft and velvety it nearly lulled him to sleep.
Now that he thought about it, even if it had been tentacles, it wouldn't have been strange.
Come to think of it, when I was forging the Obsidian Tablet too...
The Obsidian Tablet, a creation of the Black Goat.
Hadn't he been subjected to those violet-black tentacles every time he forged it?
Though it had been an unimaginable pleasure, this was still a bit...
Just as Si-mun's expression grew serious—
[What say you, Honored Guest?]
The Weaver of the Boundary snapped him out of his thoughts.
[As the Great Matriarch said. If we were to ask you to track down that vile wretch, would you accept?]
"Of course."
Si-mun accepted the proposal without a moment's hesitation.
I was aiming for this from the start.
A Constellation from the other side.
Having such a powerful being as an enemy of Dr. Choi Woo-seok was nothing but advantageous for Si-mun.
Moreover—
If I catch Choi Woo-seok, I'll naturally learn about the Dragonkin who taught him Void Magic.
The Void Magic that had exiled him here.
He would uncover the identity of the Dragonkin behind it too.
Judging by the Weaver of the Boundary's reaction, he seems to despise troublesome things above all else...
Then once Choi Woo-seok was dealt with, he'd realize these incidents would keep happening.
And he'd go after that Dragonkin too.
It was obvious he'd try to uproot the cause at its source.
All because someone tried to conveniently eliminate one person.
Now they'd unwittingly made an enemy of a powerful Constellation.
See. Shouldn't have played with such wicked schemes like killing with borrowed hands.
The corner of Si-mun's mouth curled up.
Perhaps misinterpreting his expression—
[Kha-ha! Honored Guest. What a vicious smile. Most reassuring!]
The Weaver of the Boundary let out a satisfied laugh and sent something toward Si-mun.
[Take it.]
A cocoon woven from violet-black spider silk.
Shaped almost like a bead, it floated gently toward Si-mun.
As he reached out to take it—
Srrrk.
In an instant, the cocoon unraveled, wrapping around Si-mun's outstretched right arm.
Transforming into a plain violet-black bracelet devoid of any patterns or decorations, it fastened itself around his wrist.
Though the bracelet was exceedingly simple—
This is incredible. It feels like an entire vast space made of Void has been compressed into this bracelet.
Familiar with the Void, Si-mun instantly grasped the power imbued within the bracelet.
The Weaver of the Boundary wore a knowing smile.
[That bracelet is directly connected to my domain.]
"To this place?"
[Indeed. Should you encounter that vile human Choi Woo-seok, channel your power into the bracelet. Then...]
His smile deepened.
Within it—
["They shall pay the price for daring to use my domain as a trash bin. Of course, I shall show our esteemed guest no less generous hospitality."]
An unimaginable cruelty swarmed within those words.
Cheorwon, Gangwon Province.
Deep in the mountains, so remote it was hard to even name the location—
Rumble.
A faint tremor shook the earth.
"That way! Everyone, move!"
A burly man standing over two meters tall shouted as he sprinted toward the source of the tremor.
Men in suits swiftly followed his lead.
As befitting Awakened, they tore through the forest faster than wild beasts, arriving at the epicenter in no time.
And there, they saw—
"Ah, Chief Secretary Choi. Perfect timing."
—a handsome man cradling a woman in his arms.
At the forefront of the suited men, the towering two-meter figure—
"Si-mun-nim. Are you alright?"
Choi Chang-wook hurriedly approached Si-mun.
"I'm fine. Check on her first."
"A woman? Wait— This woman is—!"
Si-mun held out the woman in his arms.
Though his usual composure was slightly ruffled,
Choi Chang-wook recognized her instantly.
"Kang Da-yeong?"
Lee Yu-jeong, the successor of the Seongsam Guild.
This was Kang Da-yeong, her personal secretary.
Naturally, questions followed.
"Why is she with you, Si-mun-nim?"
"We happened to meet while I was handling some business."
Si-mun spoke as casually as if they'd bumped into each other on a stroll. Given that they were deep in the mountains of Cheorwon, a place rarely visited by anyone, the answer was absurd—
"I see."
But Choi Chang-wook was well aware that anything involving Si-mun defied common sense.
He simply nodded without further comment.
"Chief Secretary Choi, do you have a healer?"
"Of course. Jung Yu-na!"
"Yes! Chief Secretary!"
Just as Choi Chang-wook called for Jung Yu-na—
"Ugh...!"
Kang Da-yeong stirred awake.
Dizzy, she—
"I don't need healing."
—refused treatment and pushed herself up.
"Where... is this...?"
"Cheorwon."
"Cheorwon?!"
Kang Da-yeong jolted in shock.
Her eyes widened as she scrambled to her feet, frantically scanning her surroundings.
Then—
"...I really came back."
Her voice trembled with disbelief.
Unable to hide her astonishment, her expression soon twisted with confusion.
"But how did we escape the Void?"
"The Void? You fell into the Void?!"
Choi Chang-wook stiffened at the word.
Kang Da-yeong nodded and began explaining—
"Yes. It was a trap. I thought I'd completely lost my mind— Wait, no way!"
She whipped her head around to stare at Si-mun.
"Did you— Did you pull me out of there, Si-mun-ssi?"
"Yes. Somehow, we managed to get out."
"No way!"
At Si-mun's confirmation, Kang Da-yeong's jaw dropped in shock.
"Si-mun-nim. Is that true? You escaped the Void on your own?"
Choi Chang-wook pressed the question again.
And rightfully so.
'Even most Diamonds are done for if they fall into the Void...'
The higher your rank, the more horrifyingly well you understood what the Void was.
Moreover—
'The Void in reality is even more dangerous.'
Outbreaks—those inexplicable events where monsters appeared—occurred sporadically.
Among them, disappearances in Void-related Outbreaks were alarmingly frequent.
'No player, regardless of rank, has ever returned from one.'
The Void used in Arena Contracts was no different.
It wasn't for nothing that players avoided anything related to the Void.
And yet, he escaped it on his own?
For once, Choi Chang-wook's stone-faced composure cracked.
Si-mun pulled out his usual cheat code.
"I have a related trait."
"...At this point, I'm genuinely curious about your Status Window."
"Same here."
Kang Da-yeong and Choi Chang-wook shook their heads in disbelief.
Then—
"Oh! Then—the evidence!"
Kang Da-yeong shook her head vigorously and asked,
"Si-mun-ssi! What about the evidence? That M249 or whatever test subject?!"
"Unfortunately, when we fell into the Void, it was just the two of us. As for M249..."
Si-mun trailed off.
But Kang Da-yeong and Choi Chang-wook both knew what he meant.
"Haah..."
Kang Da-yeong slumped back down weakly.
"Months of work... and not a single thing to show for it..."
Her voice was desolate as she tugged at her own hair.
Then—
"Who said that?"
Si-mun's voice reached her ears.
She lifted her head dazedly—
And saw.
"Not a single thing?"
Si-mun's bright expression, the complete opposite of hers.
To be precise—
Kiiing.
The elongated pupil splitting open at the center of a golden magic circle.