Chapter 70

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons - Episode 70

Yoo Sungwoon made a request to Priest Kang Seodam, who was seated in the chair across from him.

“If possible, I’d like you to treat ‘the Black Cloak’ and ‘Seo Gio’ as separate individuals too.”

“Separate individuals?”

“We need to separate the ‘story’ like that for fewer problems to arise in coexistence.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Kang Seodam nodded.

“Then the hunter I saw in ‘the Temple of the Deep Sea’ would be that person called ‘Seo Gio,’ correct?”

“That’s right, and as for the man in the pitch-black cloak the Association hunters witnessed this time, let’s say he’s an existence we don’t know at all.

You, of all people, probably know they’re the same person, but...”

“If that is the will of the god, I will accept it.

Since the Goddess also expressed her intent of fellowship toward that person, keeping my mouth shut is not something difficult.”

He readily accepted Yoo Sungwoon’s request.

It wasn’t simply because it was the will of the goddess he served.

“I also had no intention of claiming that I saw a god in ‘the Temple of the Deep Sea.’

It didn’t seem as though that person wanted to reveal their identity, and if I said a god appeared at an initiation ceremony I hosted, I’d be harassed for quite some time.

For my sake as well, I will refrain from speaking of it.”

Even though quite a bit of time had passed since they clumsily escaped ‘the Temple of the Deep Sea,’ Kang Seodam had not made a proper report to the order about ‘Seo Gio.’

As a priest of the order, it was a solo action he would not have taken without the goddess’s will, but it was also a decision that would have been impossible if the priest himself lacked flexibility.

Yoo Sungwoon had grasped that point, and that was why he attempted this contact.

Yoo Sungwoon let out a deliberate sigh of relief.

“Hearing you say that really helps.

Within the same guild, the guildmaster can rein people in, but Priest Kang Seodam is a member of the order, so I was worried about how to keep your mouth shut.”

“Keeping my mouth shut is a rather violent way to put it.

However, I also acknowledge that we must be that cautious regarding ‘the Black Cloak.’

The person I met then did not feel like an ordinary god, after all.”

Not every god could imitate humans and enjoy amusement.

“Could that person have been a kind of evil god?

Among those existences who can adjust themselves to human specifications enough to enjoy amusement, there are quite a few evil gods, from what I understand.

If so, then this separation measure is also a tremendous gamble.”

“We’re still figuring it out.”

“So this is the collector guild once again handling it half-heartedly with some talk of a ‘beloved work.’

I still can’t accept the collectors’ guild members’ attitude of relaxing and reassuring themselves simply because the guildmaster finds it lovely and safe.”

“But we can’t send Gio to the lab, can we?”

“It is true that unethical acts occur in the Association’s laboratory as naturally as breathing, but if you consider humanity’s safety, that is the correct choice.

Of course, this is only if it is an evil god.

Since the probability is low that the person who seemed to value peace and mercy would be such, I once again swear to the sun that I will keep silent about this matter.”

However, the fact that the existence called ‘Seo Gio’ was never safe for humans did not change.

Mysteries of such vast rank have, without malice, wiped out an entire dimension’s humanity, and have also created countless living hells.

“And to think he can go in and out of a dungeon owned by a humanoid monster as if it were his own home, and even rescue people...”

At that level, it went far beyond the authority of an ordinary god.

A god cannot be omnipotent in every respect.

Fundamentally, a god is closer to an intangible fate or nature with will, and not only is it incapable of enjoying amusement in human form, it also cannot casually enter a dungeon.

That is something that requires strong will, deep seasonedness, and tremendous ability.

“Though it is exceedingly ungrateful to say this after receiving so much mercy, the fact that ‘Mr. Seo Gio’ is a dangerous existence does not change.”

Kang Seodam looked at Yoo Sungwoon.

“Isn’t he an existence that even the collector, who possesses the best eyes in the world, could not grasp?”

“It might look quite frustrating to the order or the Association, but we’re doing our best in our own way to grasp it.”

“Is there any chance that person could become hostile to humanity?

I remember the aura I felt was extremely close to death.”

“Well, if he gets angry, he’d become a calamity.

He might harm humanity unconsciously, too.

Maybe the Earth could be destroyed.”

“That would be troublesome.”

The Earth was already barely maintaining its thread of life by the mercy of a small number of the strong, after all.

“...I’ll say it again, but I have no intention of interfering with Mr. Seo Gio’s amusement.

You understand that is why I also did not report it to the order, yes?”

“I understand well. That’s why I came like this.

I know Priest Kang Seodam has no intention of revealing that guy’s identity, but... given the situation, I wanted to hear a proper assurance.”

In order to create a world that could coexist with this terrifying portrait, and hoping the day would come when he could appreciate more of it, Bisabeol wanted ‘Seo Gio’ and ‘the Black Cloak’ to be successfully separated.

Yoo Sungwoon felt the same.

“The blond-haired, blue-eyed Gio has already been revealed in ‘the Temple of the Deep Sea,’ so we can’t deny that existence, but this time the Association officially confirmed only ‘the Black Cloak,’ after all.”

“I understand well what kind of thinking led you to that decision.

A mere human cannot stop the amusement of a god that powerful.

It is plain to see a future where only innocent victims emerge.”

“We reached a similar conclusion.

I do think it’s a rather irresponsible laissez-faire approach, but the collector wants coexistence rather than control.

It’s our guild’s long-standing motto.”

In any case, humans cannot stop the incidents and accidents caused by ‘Gio’s Portrait.’

So, the idea is to officially manage only the already-revealed ‘Giovanni’ on the collector side, while quietly persuading Gio behind the scenes and reducing conflict between humans and him.

“I’m not saying the collector is going to just let go.

I think if we pay attention in our own way, we can at least reduce people’s agitation.”

“How will you reduce agitation?”

“By turning ‘the Black Cloak’ into an urban legend.

We’ll make it into an ordinary story people can enjoy in petty ways.”

“...”

Kang Seodam’s expression twisted subtly.

It looked closer to an expression where he had forcibly crushed annoyance, discomfort, and absurdity into politeness.

“...I don’t think that will work.

If things go wrong, the name ‘the Black Cloak’ may instead become an object of fear, and that person may become an even greater calamity.”

“For the collector’s side, it worked, at least.

Our employees now treat ‘the Black Cloak’ like an urban legend and have found a balance in their own way by matching the rules on that side.”

“I think that is because of the collector guild’s nature.

If you count everyone in the city, in Korea, and broadly the whole world, I am certain it will not be easy.”

“Still, isn’t it better than doing nothing?”

“...Hoo...”

Whether he thought it wasn’t something he should argue about, or whether it was simply hard to keep talking on the same topic any longer.

Kang Seodam, pressing his brow with a tired face, soon threw out another question.

“...But, is it acceptable to address a god so familiarly?

Calling him that brat, or Gio...”

Kang Seodam reacted as if he were somewhat sick of it.

“You treat that tremendous existence, imitating a human skin, with that kind of ease.”

“Because Gio wants it.”

“...”

“I guess from a priest’s standpoint it feels uncomfortable.”

“...It can’t not.”

Regardless of religion, there were three rules demanded of priests who served gods.

“First, do not look into the god’s eyes.

Second, do not call the god’s name.

Third, do not test the god...

I believe Hunter Yoo Sungwoon knows them well.”

“They’re famous rules.”

“It means you must not try to know a god’s essence.

Priests, fundamentally, strive to maintain a certain distance when facing a god.

Treating a god too familiarly can also intrude upon that essence, so they try to prevent it beforehand.”

“...”

“Faith in this era is certainly being used as a means.

Because of that, humans’ attitudes toward gods have become more intimate than before the Great Catastrophe, and their image has become far more secular, but... even so, the fact that those with divinity are intangible calamities does not change.”

They distinguish between traditional gods and evil gods, but in terms of an absolute standard, that boundary is quite vague.

They call a divinity that is, to anyone’s eyes, harmful to humanity an evil god.

But how could nature and fate be divided into good and evil?

No matter how such feeble existences as humans measure and classify them, only troublesome things would come of it.

“Whether they have the will to do so or not, a god is an existence that can always become a calamity to humanity.”

Priests must know that better than any human.

“If you forget that, it is the same as having no qualification as a priest.”

“It’s pretty profound.”

“It meant that I wanted Hunter Yoo Sungwoon to be careful as well.

I have seen countless people burst under the weight of fate after calling a god’s true name.

Receiving a god’s gaze upon oneself carries that meaning.”

“I know that well.”

Yoo Sungwoon might even know it better.

“I’m a kind of expert on this too.”

From Yoo Sungwoon’s gardener perspective, the gods of the current era are classified as a kind of ‘child of the Origin.’

Closely connected to the Origin, an intangible and soundless disaster that can exist in any dimension.

A destiny with will, and a living story.

All these conditions matched the ‘child of the Origin.’

‘But I can’t tell the priest that part.’

It would be fortunate if all he heard was that it was blasphemous.

To begin with, the existence of gardeners and the knowledge related to them is uncontrollable, dangerous information that only a handful can know and handle, so he couldn’t blab about Gio just to save face.

“Anyway, don’t be too surprised when you see Gio active in society soon.

The Gio you’ll see then will probably be quite flexible, with a good temperament, so he’s unlikely to cause trouble.

His identity will also be solid.”

“...”

“It’ll be an introduction of a tamer who is a devout believer, devout enough to handle holy power, so I meant for you to play along.

His essential aura may differ a bit, but in the first place Gio is close to the sun god line.”

“That is precisely what I told you not to say.

It is uncomfortable to hear.”

“This is my way—what can I do.”

“Haa...”

“Ah, come to think of it.”

Yoo Sungwoon blinked and asked,

“Did the Association officially codify information about ‘the Black Cloak’?”

One of the Association’s jobs is to compile and inform hunters of rules about existences they must be wary of.

In Yoo Sungwoon’s view, the ‘Black Cloak’ seen this time was enough to be codified like that.

“It’d be easier for us to dress it up like an urban legend if they open the way first.”

“The newly discovered entry dungeon has been named, so soon they will likely整理 ‘the Black Cloak’ as well.”

“As expected of a Sun Church priest, you’re quick with information.

What did they say the dungeon name is?”

“It is not very different from the place we visited.”

Kang Seodam continued.

“They are calling it ‘The Country of the Deep Sea.’”

“Mm...”

Yoo Sungwoon nodded.

“It’s intuitive and good.”

It was a fitting name.

* * *

“Hunter Jeong Daun.”

“...”

“Hunter Jeong Daun, are you ready?”

“...”

A woman with limp brown hair nodded.

“...Yes, I’m ready.”

“We will now have a Q&A session about what happened in ‘The Country of the Deep Sea.’”

“Yes.”

“Team Leader Hunter Jeong Daun will receive questions as the representative, but if information is lacking, we will also receive help from Hunter Jeong Daun’s teammates.”

“Yes.”

“First...”

The man seated across from the hunter, wearing a doctor’s coat, continued.

“Let’s start with something light.”

“...”

“You seem very tense. About three days have passed since you finished the exploration of ‘The Country of the Deep Sea’—have you not been able to get enough rest?”

“...”

“I’m not pressing you about why you haven’t recovered yet, so please speak comfortably.

Hunter Jeong Daun needs to regain stability of mind and body for us to do a Q&A as well.”

“...Yes.”

Hesitating, the hunter gave an awkward, hollow laugh and said, embarrassed.

Her voice was recorded by the recorder.

“I’m sorry. My body has fully recovered.”

“I will say again, there is nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“It’s just... it still won’t leave my head...”

“By ‘it,’ do you mean the ‘Black Cloak’ witnessed this time?”

“Yes, that’s right.

The Black Cloak.”

The woman lifted her head.

“Ah, has the name been decided as ‘the Black Cloak’?”

“It has been named that temporarily, but we do not know how the name may change going forward.

The Association has no information whatsoever about the Black Cloak.”

“Am I the first discoverer...?”

“We requested cooperation from the hunter associations of each country, but we did not receive any information about the existence you witnessed.

We need to confirm further, but there is a high probability that Hunter Jeong Daun’s sighting is the first.”

“...I see.”

In truth, the first discoverer had long been Bisabeol, and even if you count only the sightings of ordinary people outside the circle of insiders, there was Cha Ara, but since it proceeded so peacefully, information about that had not been conveyed to the Association.

“Then my answers become very important.”

“Yes.

We do not wish to burden you, but since it has been judged as an existence of quite high rank, the Association’s response methods will differ depending on how accurate the information you provide is.”

“...”

The hunter nodded.

“I’m ready.”

“Then we will begin the questions.”

The man, the Association researcher, began the full questioning.

“Where was the first place you witnessed ‘the Black Cloak’?”

“...In ‘The Country of the Deep Sea’—in the temple.”

“Let’s continue from there. We have heard that ‘The Country of the Deep Sea’ has a structure of Stage 1, above the sea. Stage 2, a submerged city under the surface. Stage 3, taking the structure of a giant temple.

Is that correct?”

“Yes, it’s correct.

When you first enter, hunters are standing above the sea.

If you don’t deliberately try to enter, you won’t fall in.

If you move a little too violently, you might fall in... but you can also come back up.”

“Then ‘The Country of the Deep Sea’ is structured so that the danger increases as you go down.”

“That’s right. Above the sea, there wasn’t really anything you could call a monster, either.

We also confirmed that you can breathe even after going down under the surface.

There is tension from the water, so there are limitations to activity, though.”

“We have reports that monsters were sighted from Stage 2.”

“Like zombies that live in the water...?

There was also a strange slime that looked like flesh lumps.

Besides that, various things... but I believe my teammates already reported this part.”

“Yes, we were confirming it once more.”

The researcher nodded.

“Then let’s move on to the temple. Is there a large difference between the monsters in Stage 2, ‘the submerged city,’ and the monsters in Stage 3, ‘the Temple of the Deep Sea’?”

“That they looked more vicious?

The types themselves looked similar.

But the monsters found on the temple side were much more disgusting and violent.

Naturally, the danger level was higher too.”

“Then here is the main point.”

The researcher took a single photo out from among the folders and slid it over to the hunter.

“This is a photo taken by one of your team members, Hunter Kim Iyeon.”

“...”

In the photo was a man wrapped entirely in a pitch-black cloak.

“You described this existence as a man, but in truth, it may have no gender at all.

Since it is wrapped in a cloak from head to toe, there is also no guarantee it has a human form.”

“...That’s true.”

“Even so, is there a reason you described it as a ‘man in a black cloak’?”

“Because... that’s how it felt.”

Even as a skilled hunter, she also knew well about monsters’ ambiguity.

Just because a voice is deep, just because someone is tall, does not make them male.

She had never seen what was inside the cloak, so she couldn’t know if it was even a human shape.

Even the ‘Black Cloak’ made no sound when he walked.

She could hear a very light sound of grass brushing, and in that case, it was strange to feel certain that inside was a heavy human body.

“...”

Yes, it’s strange.

“...Even so, it felt like a ‘human.’”

She knows it isn’t human, and yet she ends up saying ‘human.’

“As if it were the most natural fact...”

If Gio heard it, he would probably feel wronged and say, ‘But I am human.’

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons

Fantasy, modern,