TL: SHW
Blue sky. A pure white, shining sun.
Noah Michel was always accompanied by such sunny weather. Even if it rained, even if a typhoon was raging, the place where Noah Michel was always had sunlight.
‘Is everyone okay?’
A soft voice that sang like a melody. A fluttering gesture like a spring day.
A familiar born from Noah Michel’s unique magic landed on her shoulder. The white dove with a blue ribbon tilted its head and chirped softly.
Noah Michel smiled faintly and raised her index finger to stroke the familiar's head. The dove rubbed its beak against the mage’s finger, expressing affection.
‘Now that I’m here.’
The Jewel of Nantes. The Great Genius of the Century. Rune Master.
There were many nicknames people called Noah Michel.
Her golden hair shone like a halo. Those who received her help often called her with reverence.
‘There’s nothing to worry about anymore.’
The Daughter of the Sun, they would say.
***
It was a bizarre sensation.
It felt like being sucked into a puddle down a sewer.
In other words, it was really unpleasant.
Alex Hope only said what he wanted. Honestly, the only things I could understand from what he said were Noah Michel’s name and the part about killing Sem Bloom.
But there was something else that caught my eye.
Runes.
Runes!
Even I don’t memorize every rune out there. Of course, I know the ones commonly used in dungeons, that’s basic knowledge for a Hunter. If you don’t even know those, you shouldn’t be a Hunter.
No, I’m not just saying that. I mean it.
Hunters ranked C or higher take a rune test every time they renew their license. This test is administered by the International Ability Association. If you don’t pass a certain score, it doesn’t prevent you from working domestically, but you won’t be issued an international Hunter license.
That’s how essential runes have become.
I had to become knowledgeable about runes too. Not just me. Anyone working at the Agency must also be familiar with not only the common runes but also the lesser-used ones.
Even so, the runes I don’t remember are all recorded in my mana watch.
But even without checking, I can say this for sure.
The rune that Alex Hope scrawled with his foot, I’ve never seen it before. A rune that swallows people? And one that spits them out into a completely different space? And it’s not even magic?
There are only a handful of mages in the world who can use teleportation magic.
If there were a rune that could replicate such complex magic, of course I would remember it!
Could that be one of Noah Michel’s works too? Or what? Ark did use some runes. Now that I think about it, were those also Noah Michel’s runes? Thinking about it, the proportion of Awakened members in Ark wasn’t that high. Unless they were Cleaners wearing masks like hyung?
But as far as I know, the runes used by Ark were limited, and there wasn’t any dedicated place for rune research.
Everything’s tangled up. All the information and knowledge I have is being thrown aside.
I see no answers. I don’t even know where to start unraveling this.
I tightly shut my eyes, then opened them.
Still, I have to do this.
The strange sensation disappeared as soon as my feet touched the ground. The last one to land was Alex Hope.
“Ugh….”
Hope groaned and covered his eyes. Ignoring him, I looked around.
The suffocating walls blocking my view were made of the same material as the maze I saw earlier. Judging by the distance between the walls and the fork in the path right in front of us, this place was also a maze. Is this the lower floor Hope was talking about?
“This is why I hate bringing people along. Ow, ow, it hurts.”
“What the hell are you trying to do?”
“I was telling you the whole time.”
Hope spoke as he pressed his eyes hard.
“I told you to kill Sem Bloom. How many times do I have to say it before you get it? Do you think I’m doing all this for fun?”
“So….”
Hope let out a deep sigh and cut me off. This son of a bitch.
“I can only take you this far. From here, uh… one floor? No, go down two more floors. This dungeon’s already on the brink of collapse, so it’s fine to just break through the floor and go down.”
Hope ignored what I said and rambled on as he pleased.
“If I stay here any longer, I’ll get caught, okay? I’m going. I’ll leave it to you?”
“Wait…!”
Before I could even grab him, Alex Hope rubbed the ground with his foot and disappeared just like that.
Damn it.
“…….”
I looked at Hong Seok-young, who also seemed to be in a foul mood. Though it was an underground maze, there were still torches on the walls.
So it's not the kind of dungeon that uses darkness to confuse. Though partially erased, there were faint cracks on the wall. Considering the size of the maze we saw on the upper floor, there could be traps here too.
“Ah, right.”
Alex Hope, who had disappeared, suddenly popped his face back in.
“I forgot to mention something.”
He was still pressing down hard on his eyes. The pupils glimpsed through his fingers had turned completely golden.
Groaning, Hope spoke slowly.
“There are no doors here. There’s no power left to sustain them. So don’t waste your time trying to find a gate.”
“…What?”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. The dungeon will collapse in about an hour at most, okay? Then everyone inside will be ejected straight outside. So forget everything else and just kill Sem Bloom. Got it?”
“…….”
“I’m really going now!”
“…….”
“…….”
Only after shouting Sem Bloom’s name over and over, like he was trying to brainwash us, did Alex Hope finally disappear for good.
I stared at the spot where Alex Hope had been standing last.
I hate being swayed by other people. Even if they have a decent reason, it’s rare for me to listen. But now, after only hearing some vague talk about avoiding trouble, what exactly is it he wants me to do?
Like hell I know what that bastard is up to.
He called Sem Bloom a psychopath and all that, but from my perspective, I haven’t even exchanged words with that blue-haired mage. I trust Alex Hope even less.
However.
“Then shall we go?”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t the one in charge in this situation.
“Huh?”
“Why are you just standing there?”
Hong Seok-young gripped his spear tightly again and swept it over the ground.
I could clearly read Hong Seok-young’s movements. He was gauging where to break through.
I frowned.
“You’re really going to do what he says?”
“There’s nothing else we can do right now.”
“And that means you’ll just do what that bastard tells you?!”
“You make it sound like he’s my boss or something.”
Hong Seok-young spoke in a disgruntled voice.
“No one’s above me.”
“Well, of course that’s true…. But Alex Hope could be lying to us.”
“Then we won’t verify it?”
“…….”
Verify….
Yeah. We should.
Still unhappy with the situation, I nodded.
But I did say one last thing.
“I really hate being dragged around without knowing what’s going on.”
“Yeah, you look like you do.”
Hong Seok-young let out a short laugh.
It made me feel like I was just a stubborn kid making a fuss for no reason, so I avoided his gaze.
No, I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just making a reasonable judgment.
“…What about Sem Bloom?”
“Hm?”
“You said you’d do what Alex Hope said. Are you really planning to kill him?”
“Don’t say it like that….”
Hong Seok-young scratched his head roughly.
“Hope said we’d understand if we went down. We’ll confirm things, if he’s dangerous, we kill him. If not, we don’t. Either way, there’s no proof that Sem Bloom created the dungeon, but there is circumstantial evidence that he set off the explosion, right?”
“…The car Sem Bloom was riding in did explode. But wouldn’t that make it more likely that it was a terrorist attack targeting Sem Bloom?”
Hong Seok-young widened his eyes.
“You really are my student. Smart.”
“…Aren’t you just not thinking at all, Teacher?”
“What are you talking about!”
Hong Seok-young’s lips twitched.
“There’s no way an innocent victim would be wearing a robe layered with runes. Alright, my student. Here’s your first lesson.”
“…….”
Here we go again with the nonsense.
“To talk to a mage-”
Ah. This.
I let out a sigh. I already knew what he was going to say.
“It’s best to hit them once first and then start talking. Got it?”
“…….”
Still, before Hong Seok-young shattered the floor, I gave one last warning, as a son should.
“What if it’s a trap?”
“Like I said before.”
Mana gathered at the tip of Hong Seok-young’s spear.
“That’d be even better.”
He slowly pushed the spear into the ground. It sank in without any resistance, as if slicing tofu.
Right before he detonated the gathered mana, Hong Seok-young said,
“Then we just smash everything without thinking.”
Boom!!!
With a heavy rumble, the floor cracked and collapsed.
***
It was a massive cavern.
Like a broken light, a flickering glow illuminated the interior. But there was no visible source of light. No torches like those that lit the corridor, nothing at all.
And yet the space was filled with light and shadow.
At the center, a cluster of pure white feathers was curled up.
Slowly, the feathers rose and fell. That faint movement was the only sign it was a living being.
It was impossible to tell where the head was, or the torso.
No way to know whether it had arms, or if it even had legs.
Between the feathers, a pair of half-lidded golden eyes appeared, as if drowsy. Lifeless eyes, like those of a dead fish. But like the gently rising and falling body, those eyes would blink from time to time. Each time the eyes closed, the light in the cavern disappeared. When they opened again, the light returned.
Boom!
A weak tremor brought crumbling bits of stone down from the ceiling.
The young mage facing the white feathers glanced upward.
“So soon….”
At the voice muttered in displeasure, the feathers trembled slightly.
The mage lowered their gaze from the ceiling.
“My resolve hasn’t changed.”
<Is that so>
That voice was strange.
A deep resonance, like singing. Yet it could not be heard through the ears. Nor was it echoing inside the head.
It was simply felt throughout the entire body.
“Ah. Still, if possible, I’d like to keep the hands. Is there no way to spare the legs instead?”
<Not possible>
“…Then it can’t be helped. It’s fine. I never intended to live on in this form anyway. Rather, if I could receive …, it would be an honor.”
<Is that so>
“Yes. Absolutely. My faith is unwavering. Glory is eternal. Life continues, and death is conquered.”
<In that case>
“The will endures, and the purpose is passed on. Holy sacrifice shall be remembered, the stars protected, and the heavens opened.”
<In that case>
“Yes.”
<Your hands>
The mage slowly knelt. He clasped his hands together, fingers interlocked. Pressing his lips to his fingers and lowering his head, the posture resembled that of a praying believer.
When the brief prayer ended, the mage spread both hands and held them out to the bundle of feathers.
The mage beamed like a child.
“Please.”
Boom!!!
Once again, the ceiling shook.
The feathered mass slowly blinked.
<In that case>
The pure white feathers swayed. From within them, a hand reached out. The mage recognized the hand extending toward them.
It looked exactly like their own.
Boom!!!
The sound was getting closer.
The feathered hand moved ever nearer.
Crash!!!!
The ceiling collapsed, and two men fell through. One held a spear, and the other held a sword.
At the same time, the feathered hand grasped both of the mage’s hands.
***
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