Chapter 91
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Four Guardian Deities (1)
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The Four Guardian Deities.
In the original world, they were widely known as East Asian deities who governed the cardinal directions and seasons.
But in this world, the perception was quite different.
Four disaster-grade monsters.
They were widely known as the worst monsters to have ever semi-devastated China.
The prefix Four Guardian came from the fact that one appeared from each of the four cardinal directions: east, west, south, and north.
The suffix Deities was added because their strength was said to be god-grade, surpassing even disaster-grade.
The proper noun born from this, the Four Guardian Deities, is still recorded as such in the history books.
"......Anyone can see that's Baekho."
I tilted my head, watching the white tiger, Baekho, who was still trying to woo Geumho.
That appearance, the overwhelming presence I felt earlier.
And that speed, which was close to the speed of light. Anyone could see it was Baekho herself.
"But Baekho was subjugated. A hundred years ago."
"......That's true, but."
The Four Guardian Deities reappear in the Great Monster Outbreak that will occur in about a year.
The reason is unknown.
Perhaps the Four Guardian Deities didn't actually die 100 years ago.
Or maybe they had offspring.
The detailed circumstances were never described.
And I hadn't found that strange. I just accepted it as it was.
Incidents, by nature, happen suddenly.
Just as no one sees a typhoon coming and thinks, 'What's the reason for this typhoon?', when a disaster-grade monster suddenly appears, the reader's psychology is to just think, 'Oh, I see.'
In any case, that very Baekho was now fawning right before my eyes.
It was an incredible sense of dissonance.
"But isn't she a bit too small for Baekho?"
"Now that you mention it."
Come to think of it, this Baekho was dozens, even hundreds of times smaller than the one described in the original story.
"Is she still a cub?"
Does that mean she'll grow steadily from here and, in a year, become a tremendous monster that destroys the world?
Doesn't this imply a high probability that the other three are also inside the Monster Park?
"This is driving me crazy."
I scratched the back of my head.
I didn't know what to do.
Considering what Baekho would do in a year, it would be best to deal with her right here and now.
The problem was, I had no way to do that. There was no way I could beat Baekho, no matter what I did. Look at that speed from before. I couldn't even see an afterimage.
If Baekho decided to go for my neck, my head and torso would be bidding each other farewell.
"But she seems very different from the Baekho I know."
Ha Siyeon stared blankly at Baekho.
She was engaged in all sorts of courtship rituals, showing just how much she liked Geumho.
The scene was so sweet that one could almost see a pinkish aura as a hallucination.
"For a vicious monster that killed tens of thousands of people......"
"......I know, right?"
The Baekho I knew was just a merciless slaughterer. A heartless monster with no blood or tears, destroying everything in sight and butchering any living creature on sight.
"Nyaaaang~"
"Grrr."
Paying no mind to Geumho's cold reaction, she continued her advances. How could that possibly be the worst killer monster?
As I continued to watch the two tigers bicker, a thought unknowingly crossed my mind.
"......Is she not Baekho?"
I don't know.
My head was too jumbled.
"But what do we do?"
"About what?"
Siyeon pointed at the time.
"We have five minutes left."
"......Ah."
That's a problem too.
We had about five minutes until closing time.
Since we couldn't take the monsters here out with us, we'd inevitably have to leave them behind.
But looking at her, there was no way she'd leave Geumho's side.
"......What now?"
What if she gets angry if we try to separate them? If she swipes at us with her front paw, thinking, 'Don't you dare touch my man!', Siyeon and I would have to take a trip to the afterlife together.
......Should I just wait for the staff to come and handle this?
No, even if the staff came, could they do anything about Baekho?
"Grrr."
Geumho looked at us and tilted his head slightly.
Then, with a determined expression, he nodded.
"Grrrr."
He turned to Baekho and muttered something.
Baekho's expression turned serious as she replied, then gave a small nod.
She glanced over at Ha Siyeon and me, then padded over to me.
I flinched for a moment, but she didn't seem to have any intention of attacking.
Soon, Baekho was right in front of me, offering her neck.
To be precise, she was offering the mechanical device on her neck.
What am I supposed to do with this?
While I was tilting my head in confusion, Geumho approached me.
"You want me to destroy this?"
Geumho nodded.
"......I don't know if I can, but let me see."
It was when I reached for the mechanical device on Baekho's neck.
*Clank-*
The sound of a lock opening echoed, and the device began to disengage.
It then clattered to the ground.
......What?
Why did it come off?
I tore my eyes away from the device on the floor and looked up.
"Anyway, now that this is off......"
The Baekho that had been in front of me was gone without a trace.
"......She disappeared?"
* * *
"Have a good day."
We left the Monster Park behind us and started walking.
I didn't report anything about Baekho. Nothing was certain, and I felt I needed to investigate a bit on my own before reporting it.
"......I'm exhausted."
In any case, I must have been on edge at the end, because I felt mentally drained.
"Me too."
Ha Siyeon was also trudging along beside me, looking sapped of energy.
In her arms, she held 'Baekcheong', the prize she had won.
Thanks to it, her face was a strange mix of fifty percent fatigue and fifty percent joy.
"Meeow~"
Geumho seemed to be fine.
Come to think of it, I don't think he even perceived Baekho as a threat.
"Geumho, did you know from the start? That Baekho had no intention of fighting."
"Nyan."
Geumho gave a small nod.
As expected, he must have known her aggressive display was a form of courtship. Is that something only tigers know?
"But you didn't seem to like her earlier, Geumho?"
Geumho pressed his lips together with a peculiar expression. It was a look that said, 'not my type.'
"What's Geumho saying?"
"He says she's not his type."
"Whhyy? She was really pretty."
As Ha Siyeon said, based on looks alone, Baekho was beautiful.
Of course, she couldn't compare to our Geumho. Absolutely not.
"Nyaang."
It was then that I heard a cat's meow at my feet.
We slowly lowered our gazes.
"Oh! Who's this? So cute. Did you fall for Geumho too?"
A white cat was wagging its tail at my feet.
The black stripes interspersed here and there were charming. There was a certain air of elegance about it, so it didn't seem like a stray......
"......White fur with black stripes?"
The appearance felt familiar.
No, it can't be.
Just as I was gently shaking my head, it happened.
*Thump-*
Geumho leaped from my arms to the ground, then meowed softly, as if sighing.
"Nyaang."
He then stood coolly in front of the white cat.
"Nyaaaang~"
The white cat let out a cry of pure joy and clung to Geumho.
A very familiar sight.
The scene I had witnessed just 20 minutes ago was now unfolding in a smaller size.
"......Don't tell me you're Baekho?"
At my words, the pure white cat rubbing its face against Geumho's, Baekho, glanced up at me.
"Nyan!"
She then let out a firm cry, as if telling me not to interfere.
I suddenly remembered the scene from before Baekho disappeared, when Geumho had conveyed some message to her.
Don't tell me he told her to come find him later?
Does that mean the device I broke was something that kept her trapped inside the Monster Park?
......Don't tell me I just did the insane thing of unleashing Baekho upon the world, did I?
* * *
That night.
Upon returning to my dorm, I was bombarded with a barrage of questions from my roommates.
Things like how far I went with Ha Siyeon, and if we kissed.
I was completely drained from denying it all.
Siyeon was probably facing the same interrogation in her room.
It was likely worse for her, not better.
There's just something about Siyeon that makes people want to tease her. She'll probably be teased all night.
I offer my condolences.
Right now, I'm out of my room, sitting on a quiet nearby bench.
"Nyaang."
"Nyan."
With two cats, no, with the Small-Sized Tigers.
So you're saying you're with a monster that looks like Baekho right now?
"Yes."
I could hear Meiden's flustered voice over the receiver.
And that Baekho has transformed into a small cat, just like Geumho?
"Yes."
Meiden clicked her tongue, "Hmph. Unbelievable."
"Meiden. What should I do?"
What do you mean, what should you do? If that's the real Baekho, you have to subjugate it.
"Right?"
I looked down at Geumho and Baekho. The two were playing together quite well. Baekho seemed completely smitten with Geumho.
Geumho seemed to be pretending to be a little annoyed, but it didn't look like he completely disliked it.
"But I don't even know if she's the real Baekho."
Hmm. If the pressure you felt was real, there's a high chance she is. And the ability to freely shrink and expand her body like Geumho isn't something a monster of a lesser caliber than Baekho could do.
Meiden paused for a moment.
But looking at the video you sent, she doesn't look like the ferocious Baekho from the history books at all......
"......That's what I'm saying."
That's why my head hurts.
It's a problem even if she is the real Baekho. How am I supposed to kill a creature that's following Geumho around like a lost puppy?
Wait a minute. You said you found that white tiger at the Monster Park, right?
"Huh? Yes."
......Hmm. The Monster Park. The Beast Master......
Meiden seemed lost in thought.
I didn't rush her and waited.
About a minute passed.
Kid. This is purely my hypothesis.
Meiden seemed to have organized her thoughts.
The Beast Master. I think that damn old man is the source of all this.
"......What?"
So suddenly?
Let me explain from the beginning. The Beast Master, Edit Reston, is more of a researcher than a superhuman.
"......A researcher?"
Yeah. He genetically manipulates and improves monsters.
That's the kind of improvement it was?
It's not publicly known. Only someone like me would know. Most people think the Beast Master's trait is just related to monsters.
That's what I had thought too.
Anyway, that monster-research-obsessed old man asked me for a favor about five years ago.
"What kind of favor?"
He said one of the monsters he was researching escaped, and it was an important one that he absolutely had to catch. He asked if I could help him capture it.
"......One of the monsters he was researching?"
Something smells fishy.
Yeah. At the time, I just thought he was worried about a safety breach within the Monster Park. But thinking about it now, something seems off.
Meiden began to explain the strange things from back then in a logical manner.
She said there were many inconsistencies in his story, and he even suddenly changed his tune at the end.
Ultimately, he declared the case closed, saying it was probably dead anyway.
It was certainly suspicious.
And the most suspicious thing is that there's a record of that old man buying equipment made from the byproducts of the Four Guardian Deities in China ten years ago.
"If it's equipment made from the byproducts of the Four Guardian Deities...... it would have their DNA, right?"
Exactly. Doesn't it all just click into place? The equipment of the Four Guardian Deities bought ten years ago. The one monster that escaped five years ago. And the Baekho-like monster you met today.
My eyes slowly widened.
That old man. Isn't he creating the Four Guardian Deities in his lab right now?
In that moment, everything clicked into place in my mind.
The Great Monster Outbreak that would happen in a year starts in Australia.
There was also a description that their appearance was slightly different from the Four Guardian Deities recorded in history.
If the Beast Master created new Four Guardian Deities, it would make sense for their appearances to be different.
And most importantly, there was a description that the Beast Master died after that incident.
"I think your hypothesis is probably right, Meiden."
Right?
I'm sure of it.
I never thought I'd find the source of it all here.
"Thinking about it that way, meeting Baekho was a stroke of luck."
This was all thanks to Geumho.
If this charming tiger hadn't drawn Baekho out, I would have never known this information.
I gently stroked Geumho's head. Geumho purred contentedly.
"Nyaa!"
Baekho smacked my hand away. Her expression was firm, as if to say, 'How dare you touch my husband?'
*Crack.*
My wrist made a dangerous sound as it twisted.
Fortunately, there was no injury, but I couldn't help but grimace as I clutched my wrist.
"Agh! You little white cat...!"
It seems she hasn't been able to completely shrink her strength like Geumho.
Geumho saw my wrist and immediately confronted Baekho, as if to scold her.
His expression clearly said, 'How dare you lay a hand on my Hyeong.'
Baekho looked dejected.
"Pfft."
The sight was so cute that I couldn't help but laugh.
What is it?
"It's nothing. They're just playing around cutely."
What? How boring.
Meiden chuckled.
So, what are you going to do?
"About what?"
You're not the type to just let a morally bankrupt research facility be, are you?
"Hmm. That's true, but."
The unethical research is a problem, but the bigger problem is that the result of that research is the Great Monster Outbreak.
If I can stop it, I absolutely have to.
"I'll investigate a bit first before doing anything."
I have to investigate, just in case I'm wrong.
That should definitely be the priority. In that case, I'll do some digging on my own too.
"Yes. Please do."
I was about to hang up.
"Talk to you later."
Ah. Right. I almost forgot.
At Meiden's exclamation, I brought the phone back to my ear.
The old man wanted me to tell you something.
The old man.
That's what Meiden calls Elder Jeong Ilyong.
He said Cheonbyeon is complete.