143 – The Sweetness of the Tang Sect # 3
“Everyone should dance the Joyful Nymph Dance…!”
“Of course…! What a good idea…! Let’s do it…!”
“The dance of joy…!”
━Hioong…! Hioong…!
Dum-chit, dum-chit-.
The nymphs danced to the song and instrument played by the ghost spider Kkungkkungi.
Defeating the powerful monster “Hydra” seemed to be a great source of pride for the nymphs.
Tang So-hae looked surprised at this sight.
“What’s going on all of a sudden? The nymphs are dancing?”
The nymphs loved to perform the “Joyful Nymph Dance” when something joyful happened.
While this was a familiar sight to me and Seo Ye-rim, who had spent quite some time with the nymphs, it seemed new and fascinating to the unfamiliar Tang So-hae.
“Even that mean Grand Priest is dancing!”
Startled, pop-!
Then a surprised purple nymph.
“Why am I dancing…? This is absurd…!”
The purple nymph stopped dancing and frowned.
Then she spoke to Inoi and Illinois.
“This is not the time to be dancing…! There was a rivalry that couldn’t be achieved with you carefree nymphs… Let’s fight…!”
“Muhuh, that is indeed true…! The sister of Illinois, Tairrenol, has become nameless and forgotten her name… We must hurry and help her find it…!”
“That’s a very good idea…!”
Inoi and Illinois embraced the purple nymph.
They brought their foreheads together, and the purple nymph struggled, saying, “Hieek…! Let go of me…!” but eventually their foreheads touched.
Pishuuuuuuuuuuing-.
The bodies of the nymphs began to shine with a dazzling light.
Watching this, Seo Ye-rim said.
“It’s amazing to think there are still surprises left after seeing them.”
I felt the same way.
Nymphs were such mysterious beings that I could never fully understand them.
Susususu-.
The dazzling light vanished-.
Finally, Illinois asked.
“Tairrenol…! Has your memory returned…? We were sisters who grew up in the same ditch…! Please remember the name of Illinois…!”
Then, the purple nymph called Tairrenol spoke as if she had gained a significant realization.
“I remember…! The Grand Priest’s name was the poison nymph Tairrenol…! However, I had forgotten my name due to being chased by humans for a long time…!”
Tairrenol was said to be a nymph who had lived in China since ancient times.
Because Tairrenol had knowledge of poison and drugs, she was able to live in relative harmony with humans.
“There were many nymph-friendly sparrows living in this nymph forest, and it was a perfect place for me, Tairrenol, to stay…!”
Hearing this story, Tang So-hae was greatly surprised.
“So, the Tairrenol who lived in the ancient Limboo forest of Sichuan taught our Sichuan Tang Sect about martial arts and the use of poison. So that was true. They were on good terms back then.”
Nymph Tairrenol was said to have originally lived in harmony with the people of Sichuan.
But why did Tairrenol end up exploiting the people of Sichuan?
“Muhuh, this Tairrenol is an ancient traditional Dinghao nymph…! But one day, evil people drove away all the sparrows in the Limboo forest and even imprisoned Tairrenol in an old shrine, where she was locked up for a long time…”
One day, evil people came to the Limboo forest, burned down the shrine and home made for Tairrenol, and treated her badly.
They locked Nymph Tairrenol in the shrine for a long time, and she was forgotten.
Upon hearing this news, Illinois clenched her fists in anger as if she had experienced it herself.
“There are many types of sugar in the world, such as glucose, oligosaccharides, and the sugar of Sichuan, but nothing is as bad as the Communist Party…! I want to beat up the Communist Party…!”
Having been tormented by people, Tairrenol was so angry that she forgot her name, eventually becoming a nymph who had lost her name.
“Sosohee saved this Tairrenol who had been trapped…! So this Tairrenol also taught Sosohee the ways to handle poison and about powerful nymphs…!”
I learned about how Sosohee and Tairrenol came to hold hands.
I also understood how Tairrenol had come to consume the Dang Clan.
However, Tang So-hae frowned.
“Because Sosohee brought her, our family has been forced to lose a lot of money to the Limboo every year. This villa was built from the money embezzled from our family!”
I see.
Of course, Illinois casually asked Tairrenol.
“Sister Tairrenol, why didn’t you come straight to America…? Didn’t you hear about this Illinois in America…?”
“I, Tairrenol, heard stories about a woman who turned from a bear into a human after eating garlic and mugwort…! I thought for sure that the nymph Callisto who had become a bear was nearby…!”
I see.
Tairrenol, having heard about the Bear Woman, thought of the nymph Callisto and wandered around looking for her, but it seemed she ended up just settling in China.
Upon hearing this story, Inoi cheerfully shouted.
“I also think that the Bear Woman is definitely Callisto…! There’s a chance she might still be alive…! Nymphs are said to live longer than palm trees…!”
There was a legend that Koreans were descendants of the Bear Woman and her son, Dangun Wanggeom.
But if the Bear Woman was the ‘Animal Nymph Callisto’ who was cursed and turned into a bear, does that mean we Koreans have become the descendants of nymphs?
It was quite a mysterious story.
If she were indeed a nymph, she might still be alive.
Nymphs seemed to live an incredibly long time!
━Hoo, hoo…!
Bonbon Kalilnoi, perhaps thinking it was fascinating to talk about her sister Callisto, spread her wings and bounced around.
Watching Kalilnoi, Seo Ye-rim said.
“By the way, I got curious all of a sudden. —The Nois are nymphs born in summer or autumn, right? —The Ross are nymphs born in winter, and Tairrenol must be a winter-born nymph too.”
“That’s right…! Core Ye-rim…! You’re so knowledgeable about nymphs and wealthy, which makes you very nymph-friendly…!”
Nymphs had different naming conventions based on the seasons they were born.
Nymphs born in spring ended with -ris or -sru, while those born in summer and autumn ended with -noi, and winter nymphs ended with -ol.
“So what about Callisto?”
Seo Ye-rim’s question was fundamental and significant.
I was also curious, but it was a difficult question to ask.
In response, Inoi explained.
“It is said that nymphs that have grown into adults in a mysterious way can give themselves new names…! Callisto, Daphne, Echo, and the like…!”
Indeed, I understood why the names of the nymphs in myths differed a bit from those I knew.
It seems that when nymphs become adults, they give themselves different names.
How fascinating!
Pop-.
Just then, someone arrived at the villa.
It was Sosohee in a purple suit.
“I heard there was a problem. Seeing the poisonous gas rising around the villa and the Limboo forest, I didn’t think things were normal…”
Sosohee, who had been contacted by Tairrenol, returned to the villa.
She said she had come back immediately after completing the first exploration of the “Argonaut.”
# # #
“It seems the lab went out of control. This villa in Sichuan was not only the Grand Priest’s personal resting place but also a testing ground to control the rifts. The location was excellent.”
The Limboo forest, said to be where nymphs had lived for a long time.
Because it was such a place, the forest was filled with mana that made it easy for rifts to open, and it was suitable for experiments to open and close rifts.
It seemed that for some reason, that experimental site had gone haywire, causing a T-rank rift to open, and a hydra called the Poison Dragon had almost burst forth from it.
Yet, Sosohee seemed to have something she couldn’t accept.
“The experiments were perfectly controlled. For it to go out of control like that, and moreover, to open a T-rank rift here, it’s impossible. Someone must have artificially caused the problem.”
Sosohee, who was saying this, was gazing at the writhing head of the hydra lying on the floor.
Although it had been severed by the powerful slicing technique called “Zzi Zjarugi” from Ahn Ahn, it still moved as if it were alive.
Upon closer inspection, it looked as though the tissue was regenerating around the head. If we left it like this for a long time, a hydra might be born from that head.
The problem was that its poison was so potent that it couldn’t be touched easily.
“This powerful poison is something even the poison nymph Tairrenol cannot handle…! The poison dragon Hydra carries a toxin that can kill even gods…! If mishandled, it would be a disaster…!”
An extreme poison that even the poison nymph Tairrenol and the poison expert of the Sichuan Tang Clan couldn’t handle.
There was no way to leave such a head as it was.
“If we leave Hydra’s head here, this Limboo forest will be contaminated with poison…! And if Hydra is completely resurrected, then surely a horrible disaster will occur…!”
At Inoi’s warning, Seo Ye-rim crossed her arms.
“Should I burn it?”
Seo Ye-rim’s flames were so intense that they could incinerate magma giants. She could surely burn something like a hydra’s head without a trace.
But Sosohee shook her head.
“If possible, I want to capture it intact. Hydra’s poison can signify strong destruction, but it can also be the source of immortality and regeneration. If we can study it….”
I remembered that Sosohee’s mother was suffering from an unknown illness.
Sosohee must have been thinking about her mother too.
Poison could also be a medicine.
Just as the poison nymph and the medicine nymph are sisters, medicine and poison can change properties depending on how they are used.
If we could study Hydra, we could create a medicine to heal many diseases.
That would ultimately save many people.
“There is a specially made container in the laboratory inside the underground of this villa. If we can put this head in there, we can prevent the poison from spreading. The problem is….”
Sosohee trailed off.
Soon, Seo Ye-rim seamlessly continued Sosohee’s explanation.
“The underground state is more serious. The mana is horrifically twisted. All the poison flowing here has headed downwards. The underground must be in a worse state than the T-rank rift.”
Just as water flows to lower places, heavy poison would also flow downwards and eventually gathered in the basement of this villa.
“Seeing is believing. Let’s all follow me.”
We approached the entrance leading to the basement, following Sosohee.
There, purple poisonous gas was swirling like a river, and even Tang So-hae turned her head, saying, “It feels like my nose is going to get crooked…”
Seo Ye-rim asked Sosohee.
“Sosohee, can you go in? You’re the one among the S-rankers with the strongest resistance to poison. If we leave it like this, another rift might open. If Hydra pops out then it’s truly a disaster.”
“All this poison is Hydra’s. At this level, I can’t go in either. The reason why the rift went out of control and the cause is likely in this underground lab. Someone needs to go inside and activate the purification device.”
Many answers to the stories were leading to this underground lab.
However, entering a basement filled with such poisonous gas was akin to pouring oil and jumping into a forge; it was an act of suicide.
But-.
Someone had to do it.
“I’ll go.”
By the time I came to my senses, I had already spoken.
Hearing this, Seo Ye-rim was startled and jumped up.
“Haildo, are you crazy? The poison is flowing like a river! It’s at waist-deep levels! If you lose focus even a bit from here, you’ll lose consciousness…!”
“But someone has to do it. We cannot afford to delay any longer.”
The current situation was a life-or-death crisis where we couldn’t receive help from Squirrel Beast Kkungkkungi or ghost spider Kkungkkungi, and little Ahn Ahn or Kalilnoi.
That’s why Human Haildo had to step up.
Just then, Inoi spoke.
“This Inoi…! I know a way to prevent Hydra’s poison to some extent…! It would be difficult for me alone… but with the help of the nymph sisters and the cores, it might be possible…!”
