122 – Bear the Weight of the Crown #3
Geum Tae-sung worked under Nam Bada for about two years.
Among the tasks, there were many that were hard to admit to others, things not done with pride.
No, in fact, most of the tasks were like that.
But now, his role as a courier was nearing its end.
‘Soon Kim Mori’s remedy will be complete.’
It was common for wounds to heal upon becoming an Awakened One. Geum Tae-sung planned to artificially awaken Kim Mori, a close acquaintance, to cure her illness.
To do so, he needed to find the “witch.”
Geum Tae-sung didn’t know who the “witch” was or what they looked like, but he had a pink strand of hair, given by Nam Bada, to guide him.
“Narrgal, can you track it?”
Narrgal was a fairy.
With skin so pale it appeared violet and long silver hair, he was referred to as a “Black Fairy” in the Great Labyrinth. He had been working as Nam Bada’s courier even before Geum Tae-sung came aboard, known as a ruthless and merciless tracker with exceptional skills.
“Our warriors of the Black Fairies never lose their prey. It is the grace of the gods of ‘Pain’ and ‘Hunger’ that makes it so.”
Narrgal was a ferocious hunter like a savage wolf.
However, living in the 21st century, Geum Tae-sung couldn’t comprehend the worship of ‘Pain’ and ‘Hunger.’ To him, religion or a leader was based on goodness and justice.
“Isn’t it scary to worship such terrifying things?”
“It is fearsome but not evil. ‘Pain’ and ‘Hunger’ are essential for survival. Lambs that do not feel fear or hunger will wither and d*e without progress.”
Predators without enemies grow lazy.
Beings that are always full inevitably stagnate and deteriorate.
Thus, pain and hunger were pragmatic symbols for the Black Fairies, everything depending on how they were utilized.
“There is no pure evil in this world.”
“That’s right. Boy, everything has two sides like a coin. Those who see only one side can never surpass those who see both.”
Narrgal spoke in abstract and challenging ways. Nevertheless, his tracking skills were exceptional—he could find someone in the city with just a strand of hair, thanks to his unique fae senses combined with the ‘wayfinding’ concept.
Of course, things didn’t always go smoothly.
When they reached a sparsely populated alley, someone blocked Geum Tae-sung and Narrgal’s path.
“Everyone, halt!”
There was a paper bag over the person’s head with a crudely drawn squirrel face, creating a cheap disguise.
Suspicious as the figure was, Geum Tae-sung asked,
“Who are you?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m a ‘decent girl.’ Geum Tae-sung, didn’t you used to cause a lot trouble back in middle school? Many ended up in the hospital because of you. Consider me a messenger of vengeance sent by one of them.”
This wasn’t the first time Geum Tae-sung’s past mistakes had caught up with him, and today wouldn’t be the last.
The self-proclaimed “decent girl” slammed a baseball bat against the ground.
“Don’t take it personally. You’re just getting what you deserve. And you, standing beside him, it’s not a good idea to interfere unnecessarily. This is between the two of us.”
“No need to worry. The Warrior of the Black Fairies doesn’t easily interfere in others’ battles. So let the duel between you two be acknowledged by this warrior Narrgal.”
# # #
“I am the Great Warrior Moro. I’ve taken over as acting leader of the Black Fairies in place of my father, who left home. It is my duty and responsibility to adhere to the rules.”
The acting leader Moro of the Black Fairies led us to a location.
As we passed structures made clumsily from stones and mushrooms, Moro warned us.
“This is where the King of Pain and Hunger resides. You may meet him here. If you survive before him, we will officially acknowledge you as our guests.”
The Black Fairies were a peculiar tribe, worshiping strange Demon Beasts.
Even Inonoi and Baonoi, the nymphs, seemed unusual compared to them.
Seugal sarcastically commented on this oddity,
“People have differing tastes and cultures, but what you worship is quite bizarre. Wouldn’t it be better to worship something like love or justice?”
A reasonable point.
When asked, Moro gave a profound response.
“Love dulls the edge of blades and arrows, and justice deafens the eyes and ears. But pain sharpens the will to survive, and hunger arms humans with spears.”
“Hamamjin, what does that fairy say?”
“You seem rather pretty.”
“Huh? Come on, pretty my foot. Huh!”
In any case, we arrived at the underground temple where the king lived.
The sight was more like the den of a beast than a palace, filled with piles of uneaten bones.
Sure enough, it was just that.
True to expectations, just as the sound of something terrifying, sus-sus-, was heard from behind the stone altar, a giant shadow appeared.
“A dragon!”
It truly looked like a dragon. Its scales were as solid and large as stone, its form rugged, and even the antlers atop its head resembled a crown.
“No, to me, that’s more like an imugi rather than a dragon.”
Bangdaengi corrected, insisting it was an imugi.
It was an accurate observation. It looked too cumbersome to be a dragon.
No legs. No pearl of wisdom.
A rock-scaled imugi. A monstrous serpent larger than a Titanoboa, appearing prepared to swallow a nearby demon whole in a single bite.
This was the creature ruling the temple.
–Shaak!
The colossal rock-scaled serpent roared loudly. Again, Seugal was given a simplified interpretation.
“Seugal, it cannot stand how pretty you are.”
“Shut up! Your previous translation was all wrong as well!”
This girl was growing sharper with insight.
Huuh-kwaaack!
Suddenly, the serpent raised its massive head high and lunged at us with great speed.
An old saying goes: You can’t counter a rushing dump truck.
This situation was exactly that.
The serpent, like a speeding train, came at us with overwhelming mass, its massive mouth gaping widely. All we could do was dodge.
Was surviving this beast the Black Fairies’ test?
Simple and good.
Hunting and the balance of eating or being eaten. These were universal languages needing no translation.
Kuooong! Kuooong!
Huge muscles clashed, making the ground shake as if an earthquake struck.
We were even concerned about the cave ceiling collapsing.
–Shaak!
“Seugal, it says it wants to bite you because you’re so pretty!”
“What!”
I tried to lighten the mood with a bit of a joke while drawing a dagger from my waist.
“Let’s go, SsingSsing.”
Today, I’d bought this special item, and I’d even named it.
My brand-new kn*fe SsingSsing.
I swung it with all my might at the huge body, but with a clang, the blade shattered.
“Kuuuuuaaaaahh!!!! My kitchen kn*fe from Temu!!!!”
It felt like my world flipped. I’d thought it could last another ten years at least!
“The nemesis of my kn*fe SsingSsing! You little b*stard! I’ll fix you! I’ll avenge it! We cannot coexist under the same sky!”
Tears streamed down my face. An unstoppable fury made my fingertips tremble, turning my vision red. Even Yu Yeo-reum looked taken aback.
“Hey, the kn*fe wasn’t broken by that guy, but by your misuse…”
My furious rage was reciprocated by Bangdaengi.
“Hamamjjin. I’ll help you with my revenge! Today’s the day I’ve practiced and trained for the secret skills of the Paktang style—Mancheon…”
Thud. He tripped over his own feet and fell.
As always, his clumsiness.
Seeing this, Moro, the Black Fairy watching from afar, chuckled.
“You guys planned to confront the ‘Red King’ with this level of skill? You’re just heading for d*ath, becoming his puppets—created from shadows.”
Do we look so incompetent?
It was clear that these ancient fairies who lived underground didn’t understand our modern strategies and tactics.
I pointed upwards with my hand.
“Look.”
“What in the world…?”
Of course Moro was startled.
With a loud rumbling, the cave ceiling, shaken by the great serpent’s thrashing, began to crumble due to the slight vibrations caused by Bangdaengi’s fall.
Dudududud, Kwagwagwagwak!
–Shaak!
The snake, despite having scales as hard as rock, cried out in agony under the bombardment of heavy stalactites. The hard rock-like scales cracked and broke, revealing a rather fleshy interior.
“Good…good! It worked! Secret skill of the Paktang school, ‘Mancheon Hau!’ Actually, this was what I was aiming for!”
In any case, the strange attack by Bangdaengi had critically injured the snake.
Seizing the moment, Seugal drew her sword “Maple” and attacked.
“That sword—”
Even Moro, who had been watching us half-believing, half-doubting, was captivated by Seugal’s “Maple,” and gave it his full attention.
Shaawk!
Seugal’s X-shaped slash landed accurately on the snake’s bald forehead.
Kwaaaak!
A broken X-shaped wound appeared amidst the shattered rock-like scales.
–Ssyaak!
The snake writhed in pain, creating quite a scene, resembling a worm sprinkled with salt.
“Yeo-reum! Now!”
Seugal shouted, shaking off the bl**d and oil from her blade.
Yu Yeo-reum, who had her eyes closed until just then, suddenly opened them wide. From her eyes, searing beams of light erupted, erasing and burning everything they touched.
Zzzzzing!
Shwush!
The beams pierced through the snake’s brain like a futuristic ray g*n from close range, instantly calming its thrashing.
Upon seeing this, the fairy Moro openly gasped in admiration.
“You defeated the earth dragon with the ability of a Grade 4 ‘snake’ in such a short period.”
The creature we just fought was a worm-demon with the essence of the Grade 4 ‘Snake.’ Does that mean this snake wasn’t the King of Pain and Hunger?
“I thought we defeated your king.”
“How do you view us? We’ve lived in this underground domain since making deals with the Fairy King and the witch, but we haven’t fallen to the point of letting giant worms dominate us. That worm was our food.”
“Food?”
“Food for our King. This is the King’s dining table. When we offer food, the King catches and eats it. But while the King was absent, that worm took over the table.”
So, the King of Hunger isn’t here then.
Could Mi-bang’s joke about starving to d*ath in ancient times have been true?
“It didn’t matter if you defeated the earth dragon or was defeated by it; ultimately, it added to the King’s meal. But it seems the King isn’t coming back, huh…”
Moro sighed with apparent disappointment.
“But since you’ve defeated the earth dragon, you’ve passed our test. We welcome you as guests. By the way, the underground earth dragon’s meat is very delicious. A delicacy like no other, look forward to it.”
You’re really going to eat that giant worm?
Not appealing to me at all.
Thinking this, something in my lower body inflated.
To the extent that it couldn’t be hidden by adjusting my pants.
“Hey, you crazy pervert! What’s that?”
Seugal’s face turned red with anger.
You’re asking a very reasonable question.
“As a matter of fact—”
Suddenly, a cloud emerged from my lower half.
–YaYaing.
Predictably, it was Yining.
Yining began munching on the colossal earth dragon as if waiting for this moment, using its mouthless body. It was certainly a bizarre and peculiar sight.
The strangeness continued.
“Is this strange cry…? Oh, the King! The King has returned!”
Is this Yining the King of the Black Fairies?
What a ridiculous joke.
“This is my friend and emergency ration.”
“You fool! How dare you! There is but one being in this world that cries out with such a strange call! This is the embodiment of pain and hunger! The King of the Underground and Monstrosities!”
