After a brief chat with Yena, she logged out, exhausted from attempting a few challenges based on my advice.
Although Yena has been trapped in the Hidden Quest for a month, it’s not impossible for her to leave.
Yena is a user and can always log out to return to reality whenever she feels overwhelmed.
Once again, the Myeosin, left alone, sits at the base of a tree, staring blankly at the sky as if it’s a familiar sight.
“Myeosin.”
‘…You’ve come?’
“Come? I’ve been here since a while ago.”
They just hadn’t acknowledged each other to focus on the situation, which was merely a duel.
‘Haha. Is that so?’
……
‘Phew. It feels awkward. I wonder if Lasty and Pharaoh Uncle felt this way too?’
“They’re pretty much the same as Yena now and then.”
‘Still the same.’
Swoosh.
Myeosin lifts the robe covering her face.
A cat-like face and long, flowing pink hair.
The pink ears atop her head perk up and sway in the breeze, while her pink eyes, filled with mystical power, gaze at me.
Lastly, she wears a delicate, light pink silk outfit, neatly arranged.
The last survivor of the cat beastmen and the goddess of the once-extinct beastmen smiles brightly.
“It’s been a while, sister.”
■
The moment I was sure the Agent was Myeosin was a month ago when Yena received her first Hidden Quest.
I’d felt that the Agent was somehow familiar for a long time, but I didn’t have a 100% certainty about their identity.
Saying 100% seemed off since they could just be someone with similar powers, considering there were still beastmen left in this land.
However, Yena had revealed part of the Agent’s identity, so I could be confident.
‘The Agent in front of me is the Myeosin I knew.’
“Realizing after a month that you should call me… isn’t that a bit much?”
“We shouldn’t mix things up.”
A touching reunion is a touching reunion, after all.
Myeosin needs to train Yena, and if I butt in unnecessarily, it might change the mood.
If that happens, Yena won’t grow fully in time.
Now that she’s somewhat adapted, having some degree of conversation should be alright.
Myeosin made a face as if she was fed up after hearing my explanation.
“Phew… sister, you’re still the same.”
“What about you? How have you been?”
Unlike Lasty and Pharaoh, who are sealed within the soul, Myeosin is an Ancient Beast sealed within a ‘weapon,’ like the other monsters.
All the countless weapons I had were lost when I returned, and naturally, Myeosin had disappeared too.
She was nowhere in the Space of Despair, not even leaving a trace behind.
Now, out of nowhere, she sits in the position of the Representative of Kiki Island.
And not to mention, she’s stuck here, unable to escape.
The Myeosin sat quietly, reminiscing about the past, and then burst into a fit of giggles.
She laughed for quite a while.
“?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just… just.”
Hmm…
“It feels like a dream. I never imagined this day would come.”
“It is quite a dreamlike occurrence.”
I also never imagined I’d be doing something like this after my return.
“Everything is coming back together, I guess. It’s nice. So nice… it’s just too wonderful, hehehe…”
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course! Absolutely fine!”
Hmm! Myeosin suddenly sprang to her feet.
Ears perked up! Her tail lightly fluttered behind her.
“I received a proposal. It was from a Golden Raccoon… who said that if I became the Agent, I would eventually achieve what I desired.”
“Was it perhaps a raccoon with a blue ring on its head?”
“That’s right! Did you see her too?”
“……”
From the Huangcheng clan.
They seem to be managing part of the System, and judging by their increased appearances lately, they likely serve as intermediaries managing Deoen.
A race with powers comparable to the Celestial and Demon Races.
‘Maybe one of the two.’
“When did you receive this proposal?”
“About… five hundred years ago, I think? I had fallen asleep after parting ways with you, and when I awoke, there was a raccoon in front of me. Back then, I wondered if it was some Celestial that had transformed.”
“Hmmm.”
Five hundred years, huh…
It’s oddly long yet not too long of a time.
You might argue that five hundred years isn’t a short period, but before me stands Myeosin, an ancient beast that could live indefinitely if she wished.
In that sense, five hundred years isn’t all that long.
Besides, it’s been thousands of years since the war between the Celestials and Demons ended.
“What about Clo?”
“The weapon I was sealed with… has disappeared. For some reason, when I woke up, the connection with the weapon was severed.”
Instead, now I am connected to this place.
Until I gain a power that surpasses this place, I likely won’t be able to escape.
Rustle.
Myeosin pulled her robe back on.
The beastman power that had been radiating from her faded, and once again, a mysterious array of vibrant energies emanated from her.
‘I’ve heard that the world will be thrown into chaos once again.’
The Kraken, the disaster of the seas, along with demons. And then there’s the Scorpion Monster, Scorpio.
‘I can’t step in, but I will definitely teach that child, Yena, before that day comes.’
And… hmm…
Myeosin scratched her face.
Probably using her finger to gently scratch her cheek.
‘…Is there still a spot available?’
“Of course. When the time comes, I will definitely call upon you.”
The day I feel certain that I can sever the connection with Myeosin and this place.
Having lost her house once, she will return home again.
‘Hehe… I’ve been waiting for those words.’
Inside her robe, she smiled brightly.
He laughed.
Splash.
Splash.
Buuuuuung…
The horizon of the sea as the sun rises.
Beyond the pitch-black seawater, an ominous ship’s horn sounds, and a man with a sword at his waist stands on the reef, looking out at it.
You might think it’s just the sound of the ship, but it’s different.
Buuuuu… Euduuu… Wuuung…
The ship’s horn emits a distorted sound, as if it’s been crushed.
It’s a sound that seems to gnaw at you, as if the very existence is being pulverized.
Just hearing it makes it impossible for one’s body to move as they wish.
“…….”
However, the man standing silently on the reef did not stir, staring across the sea.
Bugu
That… that… that…
It’s bizarre. Very bizarre.
Despite having encountered countless strong foes and seen many monsters, there are no creatures as grotesque as the one beyond that sea.
Truly a ‘disaster.’
A creature so unreasonable that its very existence is incomprehensible.
A normal user wouldn’t last a moment facing that existence.
‘Especially the faintly visible purplish…’
Shudder.
“…I’ve been exposed for too long.”
It would be bad if it got too late…
Thud. Thud.
As he endlessly listened to the bizarre sounds, the man slowly turned his head as the rising sun plummeted downwards without hesitation.
“Is this place done for too?”
How many sea dungeons have we been to already?
Feeling weary, the man unfolded the ghost map he had personally procured and marked an ‘X’ on the spot where the dungeon was located.
There were already a dozen or so ‘X’s marked on the map he spread out.
As he sighed and was about to put the map back into the space, the dungeon opened, and a woman dressed in a black robe leapt out, as dark as this place.
Her black ponytail fluttered in the sea breeze.
“You are… the Heavenly Horse.”
“Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you? To think you’ve been holed up in such a strange dungeon without even logging in.”
Thanks to that, I couldn’t train for a month.
Thud.
The woman in the black robe, the Heavenly Horse, stood in front of the man, surveying the area.
The shattered port and the ominous presence beyond the sea. An eternal night.
“I was going to tell you the reason for my visit. It seems that’s no longer necessary.”
Looks like we have the same goal already.
Saying this, the Heavenly Horse showed a small bracelet worn on her hand.
The purplish bracelet chimes softly, blocking some of the ominous presence from beyond.
Blocks the aura to some extent.
“Were you looking for the lock of the ‘Eye of Disaster’?”
“That’s right. Were you the one to make the first move?”
“Yeah.”
The man also showed that he was wearing a bracelet as he passed by the Heavenly Horse.
As he reached out, the 16th Sea Dungeon was cleared, and a door leading outside opened.
“As you can see, this guy is an existence with mysterious strength. Such sea dungeons are being created all over the continent, no, the world.”
The Great Cataclysm’s monster has yet to show its form.
What would happen if that existence reveals itself?
“Well, wouldn’t everything go to hell?”
“The world will collapse. All continents will be submerged and fall prey to that sea monster.”
“So, that’s why The Ruler came to find you. What’s it going to be? Are you going to join me?”
Ahem! The Heavenly Horse flaunted its strength, fluttering its robe and extending its right hand.
The man frowned and turned his head.
“…Even if there were a thousand of you, I wouldn’t even get a scratch.”
“What?! What do you take me for?!”
“A slightly stronger creature.”
“You little…”
The enraged Heavenly Horse wielded its aura, but half of the man’s body was already outside the dungeon.
“But if we just seal it, it won’t be impossible to cut. You focus on the sealing.”
“You? You seem weaker than before.”
“I’ve got a new target. An incomprehensible enemy. I will cut that and reach a higher plane.”
“Hah! A higher plane, huh.”
The murderous aura faded.
Instead, another emotion was strongly felt from her.
‘Fun, or perhaps interest.’
“That’s something The Ruler loves!”
“…You. No.”
“What?”
“Forget it. Don’t mind me. I’ll take care of it.”
“…Something feels strange, but fine. You have fame, so I’ll trust you. The other lock owners said they would cooperate too.”
“……”
“Any last words?”
As the Heavenly Horse asked, the man, with only his head remaining, stared far into the distance.
That direction is…
“…It’s just a black sword. Weapons are not important to me.”
“?”
“You don’t need to know.”
The man completely vanished, leaving only the Heavenly Horse by the ominous seaside.
“Yena, even now, is quite the amusing character. Just babbling nonsense and disappearing.”
Buuuuuuuum…
“…I guess I should postpone my training.”
The prelude has begun.
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