[You want to contact the God of Underworld? That’s absolutely unacceptable······!]
“I don’t care about that. Just tell me if it’s possible or not.”
[I’ve never heard of such a curse······. It might be possible······ maybe. It’s still uncertain.]
“Then I’ll execute it immediately.”
[Wait a minute······!]
Gui Ho tightly grabs my arm with both hands.
I can see fear in his eyes.
His face is not one I usually see, except when he was captured last time.
After all, he used to be a Taesu in the Northern Continent.
[Do you even understand what you’re trying to do? The God of Underworld! You’re trying to bring the God of Underworld into our world!]
“I understand.”
[Then do you not know what kind of being the God of Underworld is?]
“I know. He’s a deity that punishes those who commit evil deeds, a paragon of justice, right?”
[Exactly! Like you said, he’s a god! Whether the God of Underworld is righteous or not, there’s no way the world will be fine if you pull a being like that into it!]
“I’m not pulling him in. Just contacting him.”
[That alone will be a huge issue······. Just the transmission of the God of Underworld’s ‘will’ will cause a major ripple effect. How will you handle that?]
“I will fully take responsibility for it.”
[······.]
Since it’s my doing, I should bear the consequences.
If you think about it, Draken is also a being close to a god.
I was fine even after accepting Draken’s will, so there’s no way I’d go crazy just by talking to the God of Underworld.
I should have confidence.
I have the trait of Mental Strength Enhancement, after all.
If I fail, well······.
Isn’t it better to go insane and become a wreck than that?
[Is there truly no other way? Is there no option to physically destroy that dungeon?]
“There is. I will try that too. However, that wouldn’t eliminate the enemy. The enemy exists in the form of a Spiritual Body, and unless we fundamentally handle that soul, it will resurrect forever.”
[That’s really······ ridiculous······.]
Hearing my explanation, Gui Ho calms his agitation.
He stops getting heated up and goes silent for a moment, contemplating.
Then, he pats Seo Gong’s head and lifts his lips.
[I’ve heard rumors about the Necromancer.]
“Isn’t that something you learned through wall-facing training?”
[You little rascal. Seo Gong did the wall-facing, not me. Anyway, from what I’ve heard, your words aren’t wrong. That Necromancer apparently possesses corpses to possess here and there, and it seems killing the flesh is never-ending, so exterminating him without bringing in the God of Underworld is impossible. If you’re as overly meddlesome as I expect, I would assume you’ll definitely go all out to attempt to eradicate him.]
“For someone who expected that, you seem quite surprised.”
[I didn’t think you would burn down an entire village, not just a shack······. However, I don’t think your meddlesomeness is misplaced. I too have received your grace, and as long as you don’t head in the wrong direction, I intend to support you with all my might······. But promise me one thing: tell me Seo Gong won’t get hurt.]
“······.”
I can see Gui Ho’s hand tightening as he speaks.
When we first met, it seemed like we were butting heads quite a bit, but it looks like a bond between master and disciple has formed.
Gui Ho’s words sound strong, but his expression looks like he could drop to his knees and beg at any moment.
That expression.
He’s wishing for Seo Gong’s safety, but deep down knows he might end up in danger.
There’s no way I can guarantee 100% safety.
Gui Ho knows that too.
But he wants to hear it from my lips.
So he can feel at ease.
So he can approach this mission with confidence.
“I promise. Seo Gong will never get hurt. I’ll make sure of it.”
[Thank you······.]
“Um, excuse me? Master? Yoo Jin? Why aren’t you asking for my opinion····…?”
[Shut it. Quickly gather some Demonic Energy. We need to establish contact between the Underworld and this world immediately.]
“Why do I have to do it?”
[You, you little rascal. What did I tell you?]
“That once I start thinking, things start to get complicated······.”
[Exactly. Just do what you’re told.]
“Yes····….”
Training the disciple is going splendidly.
It’s true that when Seo Gong starts thinking, everything usually gets tangled up.
That kid performs best when he’s just a tool.
I grabbed Gui Ho’s shoulder, who handles Seo Gong more adeptly than I do.
“What about what we need?”
[A power to pierce the dimensional wall. And a tremendous attraction strong enough to summon the God of Underworld. Really, the dimensional wall can be torn apart by any powerful mage or final battle-level curse caster, so that’s not a problem, but the issue is the attraction needed to summon the God of Underworld. Originally, the Underworld is an entirely separate realm from the current world. Normally, it shouldn’t be possible to go back and forth, and even if it’s the God of Underworld, it’s impossible to descend into this world without surpassing that wall. Just making contact requires enormous attraction.]
“I’ll cover that attraction. I have a clockwork machine that can directly pave the way and convey our intentions. If I send a message to the God of Underworld that there are two souls descended here, it will generate sufficient attraction.”
[······I won’t ask about the principle. It’s probably some bizarre contraption again.]
Upon showing Longinus’ Spear, Gui Ho gives up on understanding and immediately comprehends instead.
It seems that Gui Ho is slowly coming to understand me well.
If I start explaining, it’ll become a bottomless pit.
Currently, Longinus’ Spear is incomplete.
The essential part, the navigator, is missing.
But that’s unnecessary at the moment.
The Magic Sword will take on the role of the navigator.
The Magic Sword is a weapon born from the magic that was part of Belphegor.
And the Great Demon Belphegor is from the Demon World, situated in the Underworld.
I don’t know how he escaped the Underworld and came to the current world (to be honest, I’m not interested).
But the deep energy he possesses will automatically guide Longinus’ Spear toward the Underworld.
For now, the basic outline is all set.
The general plan is to report to the God of Underworld that there are two murderers and one escapee in the prison and make him take them away······.
The issue lies in the execution method.
While summoning the God of Underworld theoretically is possible, it’s likely not an easy task.
Since there hasn’t been a single attempt until now, we need to create a new ritual.
“Gui Ho. For now—”
[Shut up! I’m calculating right now! When assuming the size of the hole in the dimensional wall is minimized to one radius, the required magical power and curse formation are······.]
Gui Ho snaps and starts mumbling again.
It seems he’s already delving into the specifics of the plan.
If it’s about the structure of the ritual, I’ll leave it to Gui Ho.
Seo Gong will carry it out.
“Um, should I fetch some water····…?”
[Go ahead.]
“Yes, right away, Taesu-nim.”
Mia’s running errands······.
The roles are roughly pieced together.
Yet there’s still a role group left.
‘Someone to hold the dungeon····….’
We desperately need someone to tackle the dungeon.
Currently, the mercenaries have completely lost their motivation and are practically giving up on tackling it.
Now they’re just watching each other, engaged in a pride battle.
But I can’t kick them out, or it would expose that Elvenguard had given up tackling the dungeon.
If I send the mercenaries away, Belphegor and Luna, who were preparing a defensive stance inside that dungeon, will start sneaking out.
I need to keep those guys locked in, creating so much pressure outside that they have no room to think about crawling out.
Right now, I can’t enter the dungeon myself.
And the mercenaries are almost useless.
We need people to tackle the dungeon.
While it would be enough to engage both Heavenly Kings, it doesn’t hurt to outright push the dungeon away, thwarting their plans.
If that happens, Luna will escape again.
But we can conduct the ritual to summon the God of Underworld next time.
We have no way to know what schemes they’ve hidden in that dungeon or how dangerous they are, so it might even be more comforting to simply collapse the dungeon as quickly as possible.
And the one who can make that happen is······
“AAAH?!”
KABOOM!
In that moment, a scream rang out, followed by an explosion from outside.
.
.
.
|This is so boring, I might as well stick my face outside····…|
“Grrrk!”
From the opened stone door, ominous black energy continues to pour out.
The Great Demon revealed a shadowy figure from the gap.
In an instant explosion, all the forces occupying the dungeon were injured and sprawled on the ground.
|Suspicious. What kind of scheme are they plotting that it’s this quiet····…|
It’s silent.
Too quiet.
With a dungeon appearing right next to Elvenguard, there shouldn’t just be a few hundred mercenaries tiring themselves after a few days.
That’s impossible.
If it’s something the Heavenly Kings are doing, that annoying-looking man who meddles in everything should have shown up by now.
He still hasn’t entered the dungeon.
It’s clear he’s plotting something outside.
The Great Demon made that judgment and advanced outside.
He had to check if that guy had joined Elvenguard, and if so, what he was doing now.
It was a sort of power reconnaissance.
Boldly stepping out, he planned to break everything in his path and assess the enemy’s cards before retreating.
|Is there anyone here!?|
Right in front of Elvenguard, the Great Demon shouted loudly.
As if questioning whether that man would still hide his appearance.
Before he realized it, crimson hellfire was igniting at the fingertips of the Great Demon.
If the guy doesn’t show himself, then he’ll have to be forced out.
He thought of burning down Elvenguard and the World Tree with this unquenchable fire to lure him out.
|······?!|
But at that moment.
The tip of a sword flew in at supersonic speed, startling the Great Demon into retreat.
The sword barely grazed his cheek, burying itself into a nearby tree.
“There are no dogs, but there’s a wolf here?”
“Uh····… long time no see. It just turned out this way, Belphegor.”
“······?!”
Where the Great Demon turned his gaze, stood the azure-haired Frost Duchess, looking very tense alongside a Murderer.
