"Anyone normal would drop dead the moment they stepped in there."
Everyone nodded at Jin Ye-seul's muttered words as she stared down into the deep, dark pit.
Han Su-yeong pulled out a strange-looking rod and started waving it around as if checking what was wafting out from inside.
"For starters, I can put a detox spell on us, and if Lee Ye-eun layers a blessing on top of that to boost our resistance, all of us should be able to hold out to some degree. And if Yu-na weaves a mana barrier on top of that, we'll last even longer. …But that's just holding out — nothing more. The longer we're in there, the more the poison will eat at us. Means we won't be able to fight properly."
"The biggest question is what's waiting at the end of it. Worst case, there's nothing in there at all and it's just a trap. Then we'd be sealed in to dry out and die."
"Can't just go casting magic in there blindly, either…"
She was right.
If 'Han Su-yeong's mana' — what we'd come here for — really was inside that pit, there was no telling what might happen if our spells resonated with it.
In the middle of that, Jin Ye-seul casually raised a hand.
"What?"
Jin Ye-seul glanced at a startled Lee Yu-na and spoke in a calm voice.
"For one, I'm resistant to poison. I'll be blunt — I could chew a live blowfish whole and walk away fine. On top of that, I can travel through the shadows, so I don't have to worry about getting poisoned in the first place. I'd have to poke my head out to actually see anything, but… I can handle that much, no problem."
"It's too dangerous. There's no guarantee it's just poison down there. If a fight breaks out inside…"
"Then we all go in together. There's no other way."
She moved to set off right then, and I grabbed her arm.
"I'll go."
"What? Oh…"
Jin Ye-seul's expression shifted as it clicked.
She mouthed her lips a little, as if she found it frustrating.
"Right. If you make a shadow clone, this is easy…"
When she muttered something about not being there yet, I flinched.
After what had happened earlier, it was clear that Henir's Shadow had been pretty heavily encroached on by Minerva.
So if I tried making a shadow clone, would it come out looking like me — or would it come out looking like Minerva?
"…"
I thought it over for a second, then sank half my body into the shadow.
Jin Ye-seul's eyes went round in surprise — clearly not what she'd expected — and I made up an excuse on the spot.
"I don't know what's down there, so it's probably better not to provoke anything. And I can see outside from inside the shadow, so you don't have to worry."
It wasn't a lie.
Jin Ye-seul looked conflicted for a moment, then quietly began slipping into the shadow too.
"Then I'll come along… at least let me share some mana with you."
"No. Ye-seul, you stay here."
I deliberately leveled a hard look at her as I said it.
"We're already short on people for close combat. If you come along too, things could get really dangerous the second something goes wrong. You know what I mean, right?"
"Y, yeah… o, okay."
For some reason, Jin Ye-seul's face had gone red.
She nodded and stepped back, and the way she looked sent a small chill through me. I dove into the shadow as if to escape.
And there, right in front of me, was a sight I never could've expected.
"…What are you doing?"
"Hm? Ah, my dear."
Minerva was moving about the shadow without pause, her hands full of swords, spears, bows, and arrows — the ones I'd bulk-bought for my own use.
"I knew not when thou wouldst be reaching for these, so I was setting them in order. They were all tangled together — 'twas hard to find or draw out a single one."
She gestured proudly at one side.
What she pointed at was a neat, orderly arrangement of weapons sorted out by type.
"Uh… thanks."
"Hm. As it happens, I was bored myself, so there is no need to be overly grateful, my dear."
As she spoke, something swayed behind her.
I looked closer — her tail was swishing gently from side to side.
"Speaking of which, I had a look through thy weapons and they were sorely lacking. If thou dost wish it, I could craft a weapon for thee myself."
"That's kind of you, but something urgent's come up. You heard, didn't you?"
"Ah, right…"
In an instant, the tip of her tail drooped where I couldn't see it.
I quietly scanned the area with Insight while continuing to keep the shadow moving.
"First of all, 'twas wise of thee not to reveal me to the others, my dear."
Minerva turned her body slightly.
She was wearing a dress similar to the one I'd given her before, and her tail poked out from beneath the skirt.
Wouldn't it be a pain dragging that thing on the ground like that?
Just as that pointless thought drifted through my mind—
"Thou likely knowest this without my saying it, but for some time it would be best to keep my existence concealed. If any were to learn thou hast taken me in, the losses shall far outweigh the gains."
She'd been fiddling with her horn, but she nodded and turned back to look at me.
"To begin with, the lich and the energy thou seekest are not within this pit. The way is sealed below, with naught but rows of corpses laced with deadly poison. Simple and unoriginal, but in such a situation an effective trap."
She leaned back lightly against her own tail as though it were a chair, and gave me a small smile.
"Bid that red-haired girl send a few fireballs down and seal off the entrance. That shall settle the matter swiftly."
"So where is he?"
"Hm?"
She looked momentarily startled at my question, then broke into a sly little smile.
"Thou hast grown quite cunning, my dear. Thou didst ask so naturally that I nearly answered without thinking."
"…"
For some reason, that left me embarrassed enough to shut my mouth.
She tapped her own tail lightly with her foot and said—
"If thou continue in the direction thou wert going, thou shalt likely find him. Even I cannot sense everything perfectly from within here… When thou drawest near enough, I shall nudge thee to let thee know."
"Thanks for the help."
"Think nothing of it. I am permitted to dwell within thee, so this much is but fair payment."
After saying that, Minerva hesitated and looked at me.
"…Now then. If thou wouldst not mind, wilt thou hear me out a little longer?"
"You want to talk? Why all of a sudden?"
"There are a few things I would have thee know."
I nodded that I understood, and her face lit up in a bright smile for a split second.
She quickly moved her hand to cover her mouth and went back to a composed expression — it happened so fast that I would've missed it if I hadn't been using Insight.
"Thy legs must be tiring. Why dost thou not sit, my dear?"
I started to plop down on the floor at her suggestion, when—
"Then our eyes shall not be at the same level, shall they? Silly boy."
She muttered it like a complaint, then came closer and lowered herself again, sitting back as before.
Her tail was tucked solidly beneath her like before, with a portion of it stretched out toward me, as if telling me to sit there.
"…Pardon me."
"Mm, thou mayst pardon thyself as much as thou wishest, my dear."
[Heh, unbelievable.]
When I sat on her tail, Sbeungali let out a sigh like he couldn't take it.
He really couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Very well. Time is of the essence, so I shall speak only to the main points. Open thine ears, then, and listen carefully — miss not a single word."
"Got it."
"To start with, I too have fought necromancers a fair few times — not many, but enough. There were a great many more of them in days past, but even centuries before this age they were systematically purged on a grand scale, and by then they were but barely keeping their lineage alive."
She tapped her chin lightly with her finger as she spoke.
"That lich thou shalt face was likely a survivor of that age, or one who carried on the lost arts. I do remember a necromancer who fashioned undead that hid the aura of the dead… I recall it as a rather amusing diversion."
"You fought necromancers?"
"Aye. They declared they would slay me, command my corpse, enslave my soul, and use it to revive their order."
Minerva gave me a faint smile.
"And what dost thou suppose became of them?"
I looked at her like that didn't really need an answer, and she cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders.
Then she blinked a few times and let out a languid sigh.
"In any case, the necromancers of old were divided into different schools, each boasting their own peculiar techniques. As I have just said — hiding their aura, or having the undead wield the skills they bore in life… Some fashioned undead with wills of their own, and some took it further still and crafted undead that burned with vengeance, hurling themselves at their killers like crazed beasts."
"So we're talking more than just simple puppets."
"Just so. Being ensnared by simple thinking could cost thee dearly, so I would have thee be on thy guard."
"Yeah… Thanks for looking out for me. I'll be careful."
She nodded with satisfaction at my reply.
"And those eyes of thine. They are Insight, are they not?"
"Yeah, that's right. So you knew about that too, huh?"
Minerva stared into my eyes for a moment, then closed her own and nodded.
"Thou shalt not remember this, but I shall say it once more — do not use those eyes too often. They show thee what was never meant to be seen, and every soul who has set foot in that domain has either taken his own life or torn out his own eyes. I do not believe thee so fragile as that, but there is no need to court needless peril, is there?"
She said it as if she were gently lecturing me.
"I shall be thine eyes whenever thou hast need of them, so refrain from using them where thou canst."
I looked at her quietly for a moment, then nodded.
She gave a small, relieved sigh at my promise to be careful, and I asked—
"Can I ask you something, by the way?"
"Whatsoever thou wouldst know."
She nodded and met my eyes.
The moment our gazes met, all I could manage was a useless breath.
"…"
I tucked the question I'd been about to ask back in my mouth and swallowed it down.
It struck me that asking her something like that would've been rude.
Minerva — who'd been staring straight at me — chuckled and said—
"Aye. To ask such a question, and to answer it, would be tasteless either way."
She gave me a complicated look and nodded.
"Thou shalt come to know soon enough, in any case. And besides… 'twas not my intention, but dwelling within thee, I have caught glimpses here and there of thy mindscape and memories. Whether that is because Sbeungali and I are both of the Seven Calamities and his memories have bled through, or simply because I cling parasitically to thee in order to survive — I cannot rightly say."
She said it casually, almost dryly.
"In any case, such is the matter. Which is not all bad, truly. The misunderstanding was not quite a misunderstanding after all, and what little resentment remained in some corner of my heart has scattered like dust on the wind. Only…"
She shook her head.
"Hm, never mind. That, too, would lack grace."
She clapped her hands together.
"I have kept thee here too long. 'Tis time thou wert off to do what thou camest to do. And the things that trouble thee — I shall see to them on my end, so do not fret."
She broke into low, amused laughter.
"I mean that I shall keep watch for that girl who likes to slip into others' shadows, as well. Honestly. When did I, Minerva, become the sort who hides herself in her own domain just to read another's mood…? Mm?"
As she spoke, her tail smoothly curled around my waist.
"…What are you doing?"
"Be still a moment."
A complicated look crossed her face, and she murmured in a serious tone.
"…Thy waist is awfully slender. Dost thou eat properly? Seeing this with mine own eyes, I cannot help but worry."
She slowly moved her tail and set me back down on the floor.
"This will not do. I had meant to let it pass… but how am I to look upon such a sight and simply stand by?"
"Wait, what on earth are you talking about?"
Her eyes hardened as she looked at me.
"I must lend thee aid, my dear."
"…What?"
The moment she finished, Minerva suddenly lunged at me.
In an instant, she had me locked tight in her arms, pulling me into her chest.
On top of that, as if she had no intention of letting me get away, she moved her tail and wrapped it around both of us at the same time.
[Oh.]
You enjoying this?
I was just about to snap at Sbeungali to shut up when—
"Hold that wretched tongue of thine if thou dost not wish to die, Sbeungali. A vulgar creature such as thee is surely mocking him, no?"
[…]
Sbeungali shut up immediately at the icy edge in Minerva's voice.
I'd been trying to wriggle out of her grip with both arms, but I changed my mind and tried to lean as far back as I could instead.
"H, hey. Wait. Minerva. Just calm down for a second…"
"I have no strange intentions, so do not fret, my dear."
Every word brought her warm breath against my neck, and I ended up squeezing my eyes shut.
A second later, she bit down on my neck with a soft sound.
I jolted, but before I could even get a word out—
"Ugh…!"
Her sharp fangs sank into my neck with a sickening crunch.
She was holding me so tightly there was no way for me to escape or fight back.
"Mmh…"
Then she licked at the wound with her tongue — and instead of feeling strange, the spot blazed with pain like a brand being pressed into my skin.
"Hh, ngh… you—!"
"Bear with it a little longer. Aye, just a little… such a good boy."
She stroked the back of my head as if to say it was fine, and right after that, I heard a clear chime ring in my ears.
[A potent energy is felt seeping into your body and taking root!]
[The energy slumbering deep within you resonates with it and awakens!]
"Huh…?"
[Your heart begins, at last, to pump dragon's blood.]
[Dragon's blood courses through your veins.]
[You have awakened the authority, Dragon Blood.]
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