Chapter 265

Chapter 265

The evil god gathered actors for a gigantic play.

‘Then we just have to respond the same way on our side.’

Argio, whose heart had been sealed, had caused as little damage as possible, but he was not a complete evil god. Now, having become full divinity, he was exposing his rage as it was, producing countless victims.

In a situation like this, with even the tattered state of the kidnapped girl laid bare, there was no one who could calm things down. Even so, it could not be called right for the Demon King subjugation operation to proceed like this.

‘The sacrifices will become too great.’

Sacrifices.

‘...That can’t happen.’

She had to judge calmly. A path that would minimize the damage to come, lighten both sides’ burdens as much as possible, and end in a way both sides could accept. The saintess found that path.

‘If we’re careless, it could come back as even greater damage, but...’

Aram wanted to turn crisis into opportunity.

‘My teacher is with the evil god as well. The countless mercies and whims the evil god has shown until now must have had my teacher’s help behind them. As much as the help he has given, shouldn’t I show sincerity as well?’

Yes, Aram’s plan held that meaning too.

“...”

The evil god wanted an end.

‘That might truly mean death.’

He had had to endure far too long within eternal rage. That was a level of pain that could not be resolved by sealing. Argio might ultimately want to end everything and die.

The death of divinity was close to impossible, but it was possible. And if the divinity itself desired it, all the more so. But if that happened, there was no telling what would become of Aram’s teacher, who was sharing that body with him.

‘And that is also, by no means... something that can be called a good thing for Argio himself.’

That was why she planned. Perhaps Aram’s choice here might not be very different from the evil god’s. Just as he had not granted Ather the mercy of death and instead revived him, this too might be something unbearably cruel to him.

‘But this is my best.’

In a situation where she could not even know whether the plan would work or not, she had no room to look after the other party’s pain as well. Hardening her heart, Aram looked at the crow that flew to her side and asked.

“...How are people reacting?”

“More favorably than you’d imagine.”

“Well, Koreans do like that sort of thing...”

“What do they like?”

“Something different from me being favorable to them.”

Wasn’t this a world overflowing with the romance of wanting to be friends with monsters? Hunters knew how absurd that was. But precisely because of that, they also knew more about it.

And just knowing was enough to influence people.

“Win their favor.”

So that they could hesitate.

“So that they won’t rush ahead—be their wall and their shield.”

“Understood.”

The crow that had once been Aram’s guide blinked as if smiling with its eyes, then flew away again. The wise crows placed the humans who visited the ‘Amusement Park of Dreams’ in the right places. Their sharp eyes were trustworthy.

“...”

Aram clenched both hands tightly.

‘...Even just to save Mr. Ather, I have to make the minimum plan succeed.’

Even if it was close to hatred, what Ather held toward Argio was affection and faith. Argio, who was a god yet human, would not end Ather’s life easily.

And Ather, too, was not someone who would die easily.

‘For me, I have my own role.’

Aram pushed herself up from the stump.

“...Haaah...”

She wiped her face.

“Please let this go well.”

Even if she looked like this, she had lived as a saintess for quite a long time.

In other words, she knew how to use her position fairly well.

* * *

When the hunters who had entered the dungeon were growing weary from fatigue and pain, animals appeared.

“...Foxes?”

“They’re not here to eat our corpses, are they?”

“Fuck, don’t say ominous shit.”

Foxes that gently swayed their tails and revealed themselves little by little. Crows that quietly flew between structures, tilting their heads. And wolves that moved their enormous bodies quietly as they observed the humans.

“Aren’t those guys that?”

“What?”

“Ah, ah. Th-that...”

“They said there were guides in this amusement park.”

“I heard they were human-shaped then, though?”

“No way they’re going to attack us too, on top of the evil god, right?”

“I don’t know. Everyone, put your gear back on. Stay alert.”

But unlike those ominous expectations, the animals were gentle.

“...? What is this?”

“...They’re cute.”

In particular, the impact of the foxes that skillfully wormed their way into people’s arms was enormous. They swayed their thick tails and, with amiable smiles, approached people.

Naturally, everyone was wary of them, and some even attacked. But the foxes only yelped and teared up and ran away under such poor treatment—they did not counterattack.

In the end, some hunters began picking up the coquettish foxes in their arms.

“You crazy bastard, hugging a monster in a dungeon?”

“No, it’s just an animal... it doesn’t seem like a monster...”

“They said they were the ones who were guides in this amusement park, even if they look like animals.”

“But they’re cute.”

“...”

A hunter who had been utterly exhausted nodded.

“...That’s true.”

Maybe because it was a dream, there was no need to eat, and no need to sleep. But that very fact only made people more drained. In a situation like this, a cuddly bundle of fur acting cute became a pretty big comfort.

“Maybe they’re like that too? They were dominated by the Demon King and forced to work, or something... it could be that.”

“No, even so, I’m not sure it’s right to drop our guard like this, but... fuck, I don’t know. At this rate, I don’t even know when we can go home.”

“When the fuck does this dogshit dream end? The people who wake up wake up fine on their own, so why only us... why can’t we go back to reality and regroup too?”

“If it were something we could do at will, we wouldn’t be like this. Ah, but it’s really soft. It feels like I might fall asleep... it’s nice...”

This dungeon was truly horrible. Even if you lived here, it didn’t feel like living. Living corpses that couldn’t even feel the passage of time. Unless the ‘dream’ ended, they couldn’t return to reality.

“Should we just try dying once?”

“You crazy bastard, say something that makes sense.”

“No, it’s a dream, so we might just wake up...”

“No one who died here has returned to reality.”

“...Fuck, seriously...”

“If you don’t want to die without even leaving a corpse, shut up.”

“...Yeah, I should.”

At this point, even hunters were tired. If it wasn’t death, they could take anything in stride. And that wasn’t only the story of hunters trapped in the dream.

“If this war continues any longer, it will affect reality too.”

“Most of the participating hunters have already lost their will. If this continues...”

“I really don’t want to say this, but we’ll end up following the evil god’s intent exactly.”

“We have to bring it to some kind of conclusion.”

For some reason, even hunters who could wake from the ‘dream’ were just as tired.

What wormed its way between them were the three packs of animals. With the foxes that skillfully nestled into their arms and swayed their tails at the forefront, crows flew in and brought something like sweet fruit.

In particular, the wolves quietly offered their sides, and even swatted away the approaching evil god’s hands.

“See? I told you, these guys didn’t like being dominated by the evil god either.”

“Come to think of it, the animals haven’t actually harmed people.”

“If the animals help us too, doesn’t that mean the weight of victory is on our side?”

But there were also suspicious parts if you tried to see it only that way.

“Then why didn’t they help us from the beginning?”

“The wolves look huge and strong, but aside from swatting away the approaching evil god’s hands, they aren’t giving active help.”

“They clearly understand speech, but even if we ask about the evil god’s main body or heart, they won’t tell us.”

“Can we really say they’re completely on our side?”

In that situation, the animals suddenly began moving toward one place.

“...They’re telling us to follow, right?”

“Ah, probably...”

“But what if it’s a trap?”

Amid the hesitating people, Justitia’s guildmaster, Seo Seohui, appeared.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Uh, no, um...”

“Don’t worry. You’re not thinking I’d be in danger, are you?”

With his trademark trustworthy smile, he took the lead, and some of Justitia’s guild members followed behind him. Encouraged by the sight, other hunters also followed Seo Seohui and chased after the beasts.

And they were guided to the front of the Black Forest ruins.

“...Ah, my.”

At the small figure standing before them, Seo Seohui smiled.

“You’re the Moon Lady Religion’s saintess, aren’t you?”

“Yes, you recognized me well.”

Aram, surrounded as if protected by the beasts, greeted them.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her pure white hair resembled the Moon Lady’s, and even though it was reddened with countless wounds, her calm, intelligent gaze held an unknowable mystery. The moment Seo Seohui saw her, he grasped the saintess’s intent.

He decided to play along with her.

“Are all these animals following the saintess now?”

“...We share the same will.”

And Aram, too, keenly noticed Guildmaster Seo Seohui’s intent. If one of the Symbols of Eternity had decided to play along, there was nothing to fear anymore. With the support of a lofty senior, Aram opened her mouth.

“Are my family here now?”

“...S-saintess...”

“Come to me.”

“Saintess, we, we...”

A Moon Lady Religion priest who had been mixed among their group staggered forward.

Hunters, sensing something strange, kept in mind the possibility that the saintess had become the evil god’s accomplice, but since one of the Symbols of Eternity was holding firm, they did not step in.

Thanks to that, an elder—the highest-ranking among the Moon Lady Religion’s priests—safely reached the saintess.

“...W-we were afraid... you might have disappeared into the shadow...”

In the Moon Lady Religion, they expressed death as a shadow. It meant the Moon’s shadow. Even if they died, they could not enter the Moon Lady’s embrace. Only the saintess and saints could enter that embrace.

Their farewell was an eternal farewell. There would be no further memories, wisdom, or honor. How frightening had the days been, thinking the saintess they dearly loved and respected as family and comrade might have become that?

“Ah, thank you. Thank you, Saintess. Thank you so much for remaining strong and well.”

“Did you feel fear from my absence?”

“So many things are breaking. B-bishop... we can no longer contact her. No more people are coming from the Moon Lady Religion in reality, either, and we shuddered with ominous foreboding.”

“I know what happened to them.”

“...Saintess, w-we... perhaps...”

Swallowing his tears, the elder asked.

“...Were we abandoned?”

“...”

With a calm motion, the saintess embraced the elder, who was many times larger than her. The elder couldn’t even groan as he received the saintess’s embrace. He was clearly resigned.

And Aram had no intention of leaving it that way.

“...There is something I have wanted to show you all this whole time.”

“...Please tell us. What happened to us. Tell us what we must do. We will follow as you say.”

“Will you come inside with me?”

After releasing the embrace, the saintess stepped back and called to the hunters from within the ruins.

“Everyone must see it.”

She had successfully gathered their attention; now it was time to know the truth, and to tell it.

(Continued in the next part)