121 – Bear the Weight of the Crown #2

121 – Bear the Weight of the Crown #2

“Why did you bring him along?”

At the stroke of midnight, transitioning from Friday to Saturday.

I asked Bbangdaengi, who had brought along Mibbang.

It was a moment that reminded me of my elementary school days.

When friends would make plans to play at the playground, sometimes they would bring along their younger siblings.

Usually, they would say, “Mom told me to take my sibling along!”

Often, the younger siblings were much younger, and whether we played tag or hide-and-seek, they would play the role of the odd one out.

A culture where even kids who didn’t know the rules well or lacked physical ability could enjoy the game, the odd one out.

Back in the day, kids had such loyalty and romance, but I don’t know if kids these days are the same.

Anyway.

Mibbang, whom Baek Yeoul brought along, was our odd one out.

However, we weren’t planning to play hide-and-seek or tag.

Could we take care of Mibbang while entering the forbidden labyrinth to fight the “Red King”?

Seo Ga-eul, who arrived on time, also scolded Bbangdaengi when she saw Mibbang.

“Hey, how could you bring such a young kid along?”

“Baek Yeoul is not young! Baek Yeoul can be helpful too! Baek Yeoul will also enter the labyrinth! It feels like an adventure, so I’m excited!”

Mibbang confidently declared that he could be helpful.

Baek Yeoul chimed in from the side.

“Mibbang says he’s confident!”

What should we do?

Everyone seemed to be deep in thought, and it looked difficult to reach a conclusion.

At this point, it seemed best for me to take charge.

“We’re taking him along.”

“Hey! Han Nam-jin!”

Seo Ga-eul called my name loudly in protest.

Her expression, with one eyebrow raised and lips tightly pressed, seemed to ask, “Are you really going to take such a young kid to that dangerous place?”

“It might actually be more dangerous not to take Mibbang along.”

The explosion and complete destruction of the “Witch Cult” research lab had already reached the ears of Nam Bada and government officials.

Then it was likely that Mibbang’s disappearance had been reported, and people were probably moving to respond accordingly.

“Rather, the chances of not being discovered by them are higher if we stay together in the Great Labyrinth. I can’t say it’s safer, though.”

Above all, I had witnessed Mibbang regenerate perfectly even after being hit by the guards’ bullets at the research lab.

Although it couldn’t be called complete immortality, possessing the concept stone of “life” meant that he wouldn’t be fazed by most dangers.

In the Great Labyrinth, what we should worry about is ourselves.

Facing the “Red King” and the rat catcher knight “Hameln” would never be an easy task.

The key would be the condition of Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul.

Yoo Yeoreum blinked her eyes, adjusting the amount of light emitted from her pupils as if checking her physical condition.

“My condition is perfect.”

So she said.

What about Seo Gaeul?

“I am….”

Seo Gaeul, acting somewhat subtly.

Was it that she didn’t want to fight the “Red King”?

Originally, this fight was a plan and operation of Yoo Yeoreum and me.

Bbangdaengi, Seo Gaeul, and Mibbang had joined in the middle, and we hadn’t considered them as part of our main force.

It just happened that we ended up together.

“If there are any uneasy elements, you can step back. You should know from the Nam Wooju subjugation that an unreliable ally is more dangerous than an enemy.”

“I’m not particularly uneasy.”

Hmph-.

Seo Gaeul snorted.

Judging by her sharp fox-like attitude, her condition seemed good.

“Then let’s depart!”

Mibbang raised his clenched fist high.

Soon, Baek Yeoul also raised his fist high, responding with an “Oh!”

# # #

According to Mibbang, the abandoned entrance was connected to a dangerous cave.

“In Chinese characters, it’s called Magul (魔窟)…!”

The cave of demons.

What kind of terrifying creatures lived there for it to be called such a name?

It was a place so dangerous that even seasoned awakeners avoided it, leading to the decision to close the entrance to the Great Labyrinth. It was there that the so-called “Witch Cult” had settled.

Suddenly, as if curious, Seo Ga-eul asked.

“Mibbang, how do you know that place is connected to the Demon Cave?”

“That’s because this Baek Yeoul has inherited great and amazing knowledge! I have inherited some of the witch’s knowledge through the Concept Stone! Though I don’t know everything!”

The witch… could it be the witch from the fairy kingdom’s creation myth?

The story where the first fairy king wished for the kingdom’s prosperity from the witch and offered something in return.

If that story is true, then considering the witch is now seen as the decisive cause of the fairy kingdom’s downfall, Mibbang might provide us with advantageous information.

Just as the fairy kingdom was shattered into four final acts.

Our world was also ruined by three calamities.

Four final acts and three calamities.

It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to see a connection between the two.

We arrived at the abandoned entrance to the Great Labyrinth.

“To open the entrance to the Great Labyrinth, a special spell is needed! But this Baek Yeoul doesn’t know that much….”

“Seo Ga-eul, do you have the ring I gave you?”

I shifted my gaze to the ring on Seo Ga-eul’s hand.

It was the ring of the treasure “Seed” that I had given her during the subjugation of the demon Nam Woo-joo, and I hadn’t gotten it back yet.

By the way, that ring was like the seal or national seal of the fairy king, allowing one to exercise various authorities within the Great Labyrinth.

I guessed that with it, we might be able to open the entrance to the Great Labyrinth─.

“You gave Seo Ga-eul a ring?”

Yoo Yeoreum asked, as if fixated on a strange point.

Soon, Bbangdaengi and Mibbang were also greatly surprised.

“A ring!”

“A proposal!”

“Come on, it’s not like that! I was just holding onto it. Han Nam-jin, I’m giving it back. It was originally yours.”

Seo Ga-eul took off the ring from her left middle finger and handed it back to me. I was worried she might not return it, but fortunately, she wasn’t greedy about the treasure.

Come to think of it, Baonoi had been desperately searching for this ring.

Is this some kind of amazing item?

It might be a good idea to ask Baonoi about this ring once this is over.

“Would you like to open the entrance to the Great Labyrinth?”

「Yes」, 「No」.

As I touched the stone gate wrapped in thorny vines with my palm, letters appeared before my eyes.

I focused my thoughts on 「Yes」.

Then, gooo- the stone gate opened.

Strangely enough, beyond the opened stone gate, a cave appeared, looking eerie and spooky as if a gigantic snake was opening its throat wide.

It would be just right to call it the entrance to a dungeon leading to another world.

“Are you sure we should go in there?”

Bbangdaengi asked me in a slightly shrunken voice.

It seemed he was scared to actually enter the dark cave.

Bbangdaengi asked Mibbangi.

“Mibbangi, didn’t you say that there are terrifying monsters living in that cave?”

“That’s right! Monsters that devoured so many surrounding creatures that they destroyed the ecosystem! The only thing that all kinds of fairies could do was to seal them deep in the underground cave! But, it happened so long ago that they must have starved to death by now!”

“They must be alive.”

“They must be alive.”

Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum muttered almost simultaneously.

Their eyes turned to Bbangdaengi as a bonus.

“Why are you looking at me!”

Why are we looking at you, you ask.

Because Bbangdaengi, the icon of misfortune, is the goddess of death flags and foreshadowing.

Step- step-.

We slowly moved our steps into the stone cave.

Creak- boom-!

The door closed as soon as we all entered.

It was a cave with damp moss covering the floor.

Unknown mushrooms were growing here and there, and insects that looked like moths or butterflies were glowing and emitting light, making me feel like an adventurer exploring an uncharted area of humanity.

Since this cave is said to be connected to the labyrinth where the Red King resides, finding the right path is crucial.

“Look at this! It’s a huge bone!”

At that moment, Bbangdaengi pointed at something with his hand.

It was a bone graveyard filled with the fossilized bones of ancient beasts, discovered inside the cave.

There were many skulls of beasts with horns like dinosaurs, and many bones of creatures with forms I had never seen before.

I hadn’t matched the bones, but their sizes seemed enormous enough to put most passenger cars to shame.

“Looks like bones someone ate and discarded.”

The way the bones were gathered reminded me of Yingying, who would order chicken delivery with my phone, eat it, and neatly pile the bones on one side.

Monsters like to gather bones in their territory.

“Hanamjin, are you saying someone ate these huge monsters…!?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s not something we can rule out.”

If there is a being that preys on top-tier monsters, it would be the apex predator ruling this ecosystem.

The king of monsters.

That would be a fitting description.

What kind of creature could it be?

Even though I knew I shouldn’t meet it, I couldn’t help but feel a bit curious.

Every man wants to see the king of monsters at least once.

It was while we were walking deep inside the cave.

【A trap for repelling monsters and intruders is set 50 steps ahead.】

Rumble-.

“Ah! Hanamjin, watch out! A boulder is rolling down!”

【The right path leads to an underground wasp nest, please use the left path.】

“It’s a forked path. Which way should we go?”

At Seogaul’s question, I listened to the right path.

Buzz-.

It sounded like the wings of giant wasps.

“Left.”

【500 steps to the village】

This cave was like a complex maze and dungeon, but occasionally, fairy letters that I could read were written on the walls like signposts.

So we were able to reach an amazing place without any trouble from monsters or traps.

We discovered houses built inside towering mushrooms, as if they had dug into them.

Mushroom houses.

I thought it looked like a place where fairies from stories would live, and it was actually similar.

Because the ones living inside were none other than fairies.

“Outsiders?”

“An outsider has come to this cave?”

However, it was a different kind of fairy compared to nymphs like Baonoi or Inonoi.

Its ears were longer, and its skin was so pale it appeared blue.

Its long hair was thin and shiny like spider silk, a silver color. If there were such a thing as a dark elf in a game, wouldn’t it look like this?

“The Village of the Black Fairies”

Letters appeared before my eyes.

It seemed that the black fairies had settled in this underground place. Just as we were wary of them, they were also wary of us, the outsiders.

“What is your purpose here?”

“These guys, they seem to be ‘Awakened’ ones!”

Srrng-! Srrng-!

The native fairies pointed their bone armor, bone spears, and bone swords at us. They were fearsome weapons that looked like they could cause tetanus or similar diseases if we were stabbed by them.

“We are.”

From my assessment, the fairies seemed to be as strong as second or third-grade Awakened ones. To be living in this strange ecosystem’s cave, they must all be out of their minds.

“We didn’t come to fight.”

I spoke with the hope that we could communicate.

The fairy man with the particularly ornate horned helmet was surprised.

“To think there would be an outsider we could communicate with. But it’s not up to you to decide whether to fight or not. Your lives and deaths depend on His will. According to the rules, we will lead you to the King.”

“Hanamjin! What are these primitive guys saying?”

Seo Ga-eul, who was visibly tense, asked again as if urging me to interpret the fairy language.

The King─.

“Are you talking about the ‘Red King’ whom you serve? We also have business with him.”

I thought that perhaps these black fairies could guide us to the Red King.

Fortune in misfortune, a blessing in disguise, that’s what this situation seemed to be.

It seemed that luck had a bit more strength in the battle between misfortune and fortune!

Of course, whether arriving at this village was ‘luck’ or not, we would have to wait and see.

“The ‘Red King’? I see. You are outsiders who came to meet the ‘Red King’.”

But the fairy with the ornate bone helmet laughed like a deflating balloon.

“The ‘Red King’ is only the king above ground. In the world below ground, his power is useless. We serve the King of this cave, none other than ‘Pain’ and ‘Hunger’ itself.”

The black fairies who worship strange things.

They led us.

“Let us go to our king. If you can get permission from him to stay, this great warrior Moro might personally guide you to the ‘Red King’.”