125 – Prince of Ashes #2
“Ah, the Great Labyrinth! Red King! No, no, no!”
Zzzt, zzzt.
The sensation of stinging skin jolted Woo-joo Nam back to consciousness.
Lying beside him was Lieutenant Bo-reum Jang, dozing off face-down on the hospital bed.
“Lieutenant Jang.”
“Co… Colonel Nam, are you awake…!?”
Lieutenant Jang felt a sense of relief hearing her name; it meant his consciousness had returned.
‘How long was I out?’
‘What’s the current situation?’
‘Did the concept stone removal go well? What about my condition…?’
Many thoughts swirled in his mind, but Woo-joo Nam pushed them all aside.
“Where is Kore?”
For a soldier, dedication in times of national crisis was his duty.
“Where could it be?”
The voice cracked after a long silence, but the resolve was clear. Finding and halting Kore’s crisis was Colonel Nam Woo-joo’s important mission.
Mission and duty.
Even the fairy royal family, including Kore, had their royal obligations.
To date, the inscribed stones and ancient manuscripts within the Great Labyrinth revealed strict regulations binding everyone within the fairy royal family.
“Kore would have adhered to these as well. Perhaps after escaping the Great Labyrinth, she settled in the 21st century and started a family.” Jang Bo-reum, can you drive? I’m going to look for Kore—.”
“Colonel Nam, you see, you’ve been discharged. That means there’s no need to look for Kore anymore.”
“Me, discharged?”
Since before he became an adult, Nam Woo-joo had lived and served as a soldier. The idea that he was discharged from service was unthinkable, no doubt the doing of his adoptive brother, Nam Bada.
Duty and mission.
Nam Woo-joo was a man built on these two pillars. The news that he was no longer a soldier equated to the collapse of those pillars.
Of course, discharge meant little to Nam Woo-joo. For him, being a soldier didn’t end with discharge but only with d*ath. As he was about to rise,
“Colonel Nam, won’t you stay? For me and the baby in my belly!”
“Baby? What baby?”
Nam Woo-joo’s pupils widened significantly.
A baby.
It wasn’t entirely surprising when it came to that.
“Could it be from that time…?”
“Colonel Nam surely knows that every child needs a father!”
Father.
Colonel Nam Woo-joo repeated the weighty word silently.
And just at that moment,
Clap clap clap.
Someone clapped their hands and entered his private room.
A man with neatly combed, oily hair and a distinctly foreign appearance.
“Fatherhood—a blessing not everyone gets to enjoy, and indeed a duty all creatures must bear. This stems from the Bible’s first principle: Be fruitful and multiply.”
He spoke Korean fluently.
Removing his sunglasses revealed mechanical pupils that flashed.
“Colonel Nam, you’re looking great. But you should have accepted the offer we made. If you had partnered with us, you wouldn’t have ended up here in such a sorry state.”
“What’s the CIA doing here? Weren’t you guys bound by the agreement that Korea handles its own affairs independently, like when we struck North Korea’s nuclear facilities alone?”
“Correct.”
The CIA’s high-level agent, Adam, shrugged exuberantly at Nam’s warning.
He then showed him documents bearing the presidential seal of Korea and signed by Nam Bada.
“Flap—.”
“We’re simply cooperating. Your government invited us. The Great Labyrinth’s collapse is imminent, you know? If we do nothing, a global catastrophe is inevitable.”
Nam Woo-joo couldn’t deny the possibility of a global calamity.
“Don’t worry. We’ve already sent our top agents to the Great Labyrinth. Nam Bada was the one who allowed us control of it to protect against collateral damage during our team’s operations.”
“Top agents” referred to the Awakened Ones—ones powerful enough to rival Nam Woo-joo.
And they were inside the Great Labyrinth.
# # #
Flap-flap.
Following the “guide butterfly,” we easily found the path leading to the surface.
Without this little creature, we would have surely been lost for days among the maze-like passages in the underground caves.
As we continued our smooth journey, Bangdaengi asked,
“Did you fight with Seugal?”
“Why?”
“Well, her lips puff out, and her forehead gets all wrinkly when she’s upset. She used to do that often even as a kid. Whenever this happens, it takes days for her mood to improve. Right now, in these crucial times, it’s not the best.”
“Seugal, utterly useless!”
Bangdaengi and Mibang’s double criticism made Seugal glare harshly at them.
Ordinarily, she might have retorted, “What did you say?!” But Seugal remained silent.
Instead, Yeo-reum Yu started speaking.
“One of my parents was part of the ‘Black Fairies,’ which explains why my skin burns so easily in the sun.”
Yeo-reum Yu’s chatter continued.
“I always thought I could see well in the dark because of all my training. I’ve spent a lot of time practicing in dark rooms to refine my vision. But it was a trait I inherited.”
For Yeo-reum Yu, who longed for the sense of bl**d ties, the connection to her parents felt both fascinating and deeply satisfying.
“My unusually low academic scores must also be due to the fairy lineage, surely?”
It might not be entirely true, but amidst such chatter, we reached the tunnel that led to the surface, where the “guide butterfly” shone beautifully.
Along the way, we calculated the probability of encountering demon beasts, but surprisingly, we never came across any, contrary to what the “Demon Caves” moniker suggested.
“This is getting way too easy; it’s almost boring.”
—Gwee-ying!
My “ying-ying” perched on my head, wiggling around, indicating hunger maybe.
As I reached for a fairy biscuit from my pocket to offer it to Yi-ning, Yeo-reum Yu said,
“With someone like you around, we won’t face any sudden attacks from demon beasts in these caves.”
“What? Are you pretending to be Moro? Can you hear what Yi-ning says?”
“Actually, I’ve been able to understand parts of what the demon beasts say for quite some time. I always thought I was just imagining things, but maybe it’s because of the ‘Black Fairy’ lineage.”
If Yeo-reum Yu could understand Yi-ning’s words, this captured Kangkang’s interest.
“So can you understand what our Kangkang says?”
—Kangkang…!
“It doesn’t mean anything; he’s just barking.”
“That sounds like a load of nonsense!”
Excluding Seugal, who was clearly sulking for some reason, the atmosphere remained warm as we arrived at the Great Labyrinth.
I detected something odd.
“Isn’t the Great Labyrinth under Nam Bada’s control? But what are these signs?”
Evidence of recent cooking was present. It seemed someone had lit a fire and cooked here.
It hadn’t been long since.
There were also traces of fighting, possibly demon beast corpses scattered about.
‘Could someone else besides us be in this controlled Great Labyrinth?’
Whether a stroke of bad or good luck, due to these ‘someones,’ the demon beasts within the Great Labyrinth had significantly diminished, making the journey towards the throne of the Red King rather tranquil.
However,
—Zikzik!
—Zikzikzik!
Every bend in the path was swarming with dark rats!
I spoke to Mibang.
“Did you eat the leaves of ‘Noise’?”
“Yeah, I did!”
“Then, blow a whistle!”
Among our group, only Bangdaengi, Mibang, and I could blow a whistle. Because Bangdaengi possessed the attribute of ‘Bad Luck,’ we decided to have Mibang consume the leaf of ‘Noise’.
“Whii, whiiiiiii—whiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—.”
Mibang’s ear-piercing whistle echoed.
The sensation was dizzying, ringing through my brain!
“AAAAAAAGH! It’s louder than expected!”
And so, did the noise work effectively?
Yes, indeed!
—Ziiiiik!
—Ziiiiiik!
The dark rats, hearing this terrifying whistle, scattered like mice before a cat!
It worked wonders!
Thanks to the meeting with the “Black Fairy” clan, their knowledge proved incredibly beneficial.
“Guess my trial for the new weapon will have to wait until next time.”
I sighed, staring at my shiny new dagger resembling a Tyrannosaurus’ fang.
Still, life is full of unpredictable events.
Zizik—
Zikzizik—
Someone with a feathered hat appeared beyond the dark rats who had fled. It was Knight Hameln.
[Let me commend your courage for returning to such a perilous place.]
“From today, this area belongs to us. Clear out!”
It’s either you back off or us dying in this battle!
A man’s declaration!
This is it—a clash to the d*ath!
But then, Seugal, who had been silent and trailing behind us up until that moment, stepped forward and shouted.
“Lyria en’aro Korëanaras!”
What does that mean?
An unfamiliar language.
Even Knight Hameln seemed baffled.
[That boy is actually Kore’s daughter? He doesn’t appear very feminine.]
“Augh, that’s not right. Kore… boy….”
Did he get something wrong?
Seugal suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” as if having an epiphany under the Bodhi tree and confidently shouted again.
“Lyriaeth en’aro Korëanaras!”
I recalled hearing Seugal mumble something similar in the old witch’s tent yesterday. This was it.
Seugal’s amateurish fairy language roughly translated thus:
[This boy is the son of Kore—was that what you were trying to say?]
“You need not fight! Aren’t you the knight guarding the royal family? Isn’t it your duty to protect Kore’s son? Nam Han-jin is that son!”
[It sounds odd. He doesn’t resemble a fairy at all. Rather, that glowing girl seems more fairy-like. On the dark side.]
Certainly true.
Is our mother a fairy?
Seugal, calling me a hybrid!
“Nam Han-jin, your mother was a fairy! Kore! Why doesn’t everyone believe me? Your dad must have… kidnapped her… Yes! Exactly like that!”
Her childish tantrum-like attitude conveyed a strong sense of sincerity. So this is what Seugal had wanted to say the entire day, sulking quietly.
“That I’m a hybrid…!?”
The sudden revelation of a shocking birth secret.
Does it mean that unusual fairy bl**d, like that of Inonoi and Baonoi, flows within me?
Our mother adding ketchup to kimchi!
Always giving me crayons and sketchbooks instead of the robots I wanted for Christmas!
Failing to buy me the nymph-intendo console after promising to do so when I scored 100 on a test!
It all made sense now—our mother was entirely a fairy!
“Guooooaaahhh!”
My soul was struck!
Dreaming of becoming the epitome of masculinity, but discovering I was actually the son of a fairy?
Such a fairytale setup isn’t suitable for a man!
[And if the brat truly is the offspring of a fairy princess, then I most certainly cannot send him beyond. Not without fulfilling certain duties. Apparently, the boy hasn’t fulfilled the ‘Duties of the Fairy Royal Family’ yet.]
What precisely are the duties of the fairy royal family?
This intriguing mystery made my focus sharpen.
[Return and fulfill your obligations. As your mother Kore did, as your kings and ancestors have done. I am the knight guarding the royal family; I cannot send an unprepared individual to the king.]
The knight unsheathed a blade that seemed to cut through the shadows from his back.
The aura of his combat readiness sent shivers down my skin.
A fight was inevitable.
At that moment, something unusual happened.
BOOOOM!
A massive explosion engulfed the knight.
And then, from the dark alley, women dressed in tight-fitting suits that showed their every curve appeared.
“Yaaaayyy, target hit! Perfect timing, right? Hey, how was my attack?”
“Sà bǐ.”
Who are these?
New enemies?
They seem foreign.
As far as I know, the “Great Labyrinth” was off-limits to foreigners.
So, who are these people?
As we all warily observed the strangers, a woman blew out the smoke from her fingertips and said,
“I am Minerva of ‘Explosives’! We’re all top-tier Level 4 awakened ones. We’ve come at the request of the South Korean government to assist you. You’re the ‘Prince of Ashes,’ correct? Cuter than I expected!”
With one swift motion, she embraced me.
Despite her skin-tight suit, her soft touch couldn’t be hidden as it pressed against my body.
Lucky break!
If Level 4 Awakened Ones are here to help us, defeating the Red King will certainly become easier. Providence works in mysterious ways.
However, if they’re government-related, there’s a high probability they’re after Mibang.
A double-edged sword, indeed.
At that moment, Bangdaengi burst out,
“What! Why is the foreigner suddenly hugging Nam Han-jin!”
