Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 188

Dungeon Journal-Episode 189

# 189

Dungeon Journal

Episode 189

Its skin was charred as if burned, its limbs incomplete. The stalker was a Moai [a type of monster in this world, often depicted as stone statues or bird-like creatures].

“Oh ho.”

He felt a deep curiosity about the stalker’s identity, as the Moai had always screamed and fled in terror whenever they encountered him.

Its appearance was bizarre, as all Moai were. Its hideous skin made it impossible to recognize any distinct features, and only its twisted beak and few remaining feathers suggested that the Moai might once have resembled a bird.

“You’re not afraid of me.”

As he spoke, the Moai didn’t run away. Instead, it revealed itself and approached him.

-Longing. Joy.

Because the Moai’s thoughts were so twisted and chaotic, all he could discern through the Eye of Truth were mere fragments of emotion. Kim Jin-woo tilted his head at the incomprehensible vortex of feelings.

The Moai’s unique, sticky malice was undeniable, but within it lay a deeper, unknowable emotion.

“Kkuuooo.”

The Moai cried out in a strange voice.

It was an incomprehensible action. He was naturally curious as to why it was weeping so sorrowfully, but he didn’t have much time.

Whether it was because the Black Merchant had moved first, or because the corrupt nobles had failed to withstand the year-long war and perished, the nobles on the 10th floor were all but extinct.

As a result, the collection of seals was much slower than initially expected.

He couldn’t waste time on a Moai that had little to offer.

“You’re lucky. I’ll spare you.”

He looked at the Moai, which had lowered its body as if prostrating in worship, and suppressed his fleeting curiosity, hurrying on his way.

The Moai remained crouched in that position for a moment, then staggered to its feet and began to follow him.

***

After collecting two more seals, he could find no more labyrinths remaining on the 10th floor.

He couldn’t tell whether the inhabitants had already migrated or had already perished, but he couldn’t expect any further gains.

Kim Jin-woo turned back, suppressing his disappointment.

“Hmm?”

He hadn’t noticed it before, focused as he was on moving forward, but a multitude of presences surrounded him.

“Kkeueueueu.”

The blatant and sinister malice was undoubtedly that of the Moai.

He frowned and drew his sword. He wondered why the specters of the underground, who had treated him as if he were invisible, had suddenly changed their attitude, but he didn’t dwell on it for long.

He would simply crush those Moai.

Blue light streamed out, and his aura shifted dramatically.

“Kkieeeeek!”

As his aura turned fierce, one of the Moai approached and prostrated itself.

“You?”

He narrowed his eyes at the familiar twisted beak and few remaining feathers, belatedly realizing that it was the specter that had been following him earlier.

As he recognized the Moai and softened his aura, the Moai hidden in the darkness revealed themselves one by one. And each of the Moai that appeared prostrated themselves, showing extreme reverence.

“What is this……”

-Joy, joy, joy.

The wave of joy filled the entire passage. Never before had the Eye of Truth shaken him so much. He felt suffocated by the blind joy and longing pouring in from all directions.

But it was only for a moment. He roused his entire aura and shook off the encroaching thoughts at once.

The fully awakened aura of the High Lord engulfed the Moai’s madness.

“Kkieeeek!”

“Keuieeeek!”

But instead of fleeing in terror, the Moai became even more frenzied.

“Could it be……”

At this point, Kim Jin-woo couldn’t help but sense something was wrong. At that moment, the words Morrighan had spoken when he ascended to High Lord and was recognized as her true master echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

“Someday, those like me will follow the scent of the old master and come to you, Master.”

Kim Jin-woo trembled as if struck by lightning, staring at the Moai who were running wild like fanatics.

“Could it be that all of you are descendants of the old monarch?”

The Moai, who had been running wild, stopped dead at that one sentence. They stared at him with expectant eyes, their hands still raised as if in worship.

“I see.”

At that confident word, tears like pus flowed from the Moai’s cloudy eyes, unbelievably.

-Regret, pain, joy.

Still inconsistent and chaotic thoughts, but Kim Jin-woo no longer hesitated, having already realized what they were thinking.

With even the master of the labyrinth corrupted and wandering the underground, there was no way the ancient heroes could be free from the disaster.

And after waiting for so long, they had finally found the shadow of their old master, but they had been swallowed by the malice of the underground and become specters wandering the tombs.

Only now did he realize that simple fact, and he sighed deeply in pity.

“Pitiful, so pitiful.”

It was truly miserable to see the heroes who once rampaged through the underground under a great monarch now reduced to hideous specters weeping sorrowfully.

Perhaps most of them had even lost their minds and were simply reacting to the scent of their master imprinted on their bodies. Indeed, there was no trace of reason in their turbid eyes.

But even so, they suppressed their malice and instincts, and were meekly worshiping him.

Kim Jin-woo was speechless at the tragic and magnificent sight.

After a long time, as the Moai began to suffer from the malice that was slowly raising their heads again, he turned around.

And hundreds of Moai followed him, staggering.

Without exchanging a single word, they didn’t even turn their heads, like the people of God chasing after the promised land.

***

The master of the Great Labyrinth finally returned after nearly two months.

Numerous summons, who had been waiting for their master’s return, sensed his arrival and stood at the border of the Great Labyrinth, waiting for him.

“Oh! The master has returned!”

Their master, who appeared through the crowd of Moai, was even more majestic than before.

The high-ranking presence made it impossible not to not bow one’s head, and the aura of an absolute being flowing from his entire body naturally aroused a desire for devotion.

But in the face of such majesty, the first action the summons took was not reverence and praise.

“What is this……”

“Th, th, th!”

They gasped in astonishment at the sight of hundreds of Moai quietly following their master as if they were following a king.

“Master……”

Even the always calm Dominique blinked her eyes at the incomprehensible situation, waiting for her master’s explanation.

“I picked them up on the way.”

And her monarch, as always, replaced his explanation with a short, uninformative remark.

***

Kim Jin-woo returned to the Great Labyrinth and went straight to Valishus.

“My king.”

Valishus, who had been engrossed in something with the Moai’s corpse, immediately prostrated himself upon discovering his master.

“Ah, don’t mind me and continue what you were doing.”

At those words, Valishus jumped up and resumed his work.

“Heung.”

Having entered the body of a Naga magician, he was acting exactly the same. Kim Jin-woo cleared his throat and spoke to Valishus, who was treating him as if he were not there, telling him not to mind him.

“How is the work of restoring the Moai’s original form going?”

Valishus began to chatter as if he had been waiting for the question. Of course, his hands, which were rummaging through the Moai’s corpse, did not stop.

“It seems that the Moai’s bodies are like cracked vessels, so we won’t be able to finish the restoration with these corpses. No matter what we do, the flesh collapses at the last stage and returns to its original state, so we’re making little progress. Would you like to take a look here?”

The corpse that Valishus raised, guided by his hand, was one of the more intact ones among the corpses scattered around the workshop.

“This one is almost at the completion stage of restoration, but as you can see, it’s not perfect yet. To completely restore this one, we need to implant a Down Gem in place of its heart, and activate it……”

Before he could finish speaking, the corpse, which was nearing the end of its restoration, collapsed in an instant and became a hideous Moai.

“It becomes like this.”

Kim Jin-woo asked, looking at him, who was boasting as if it were something to be proud of.

“Can you find a way?”

“I can find it, but it’s difficult right now. We don’t have enough samples, and most importantly, we need to experiment with a living one, not just these corpses.”

“If you need a living Moai, I’ll take care of it.”

“There are living Moai everywhere outside the labyrinth. The problem is how to bring a living one into this place.”

What was he talking about?

As he urged him to explain with a gesture, Valishus complained.

“Somehow, even living Moai die when they’re brought into the labyrinth, so I can’t do any experiments at all. But I can’t go outside the labyrinth to experiment either. Thanks to that, I’m trying to find another way, but I’m not getting any results, so I’m dying [frustrated].”

It seemed that the Great Labyrinth had completely recognized the Moai as food. Valishus said that he had tried all sorts of methods, but it was impossible to bring in a test subject alive.

“Hmm.”

Indeed, Kim Jin-woo himself had been worried about that fact, so he had not brought the Moai group he had collected from the 10th floor into the Great Labyrinth.

Even if others didn’t feel it, he knew very well that the Great Labyrinth was drooling and targeting the Moai group.

“I’ll have to find a way.”

“But why are you suddenly interested in my research?”

It seemed strange to Valishus that his master, who hated the Naga magicians’ research, was showing interest. Kim Jin-woo asked sternly at Valishus’s question.

“But do you consume Down Gems like this every time you experiment?”

“I don’t think there’s any other way until the experiment is successfully completed.”

He smiled bitterly at the sight of Valishus shamelessly spouting nonsense.

The image of the Naga magician frantically synthesizing the core flashed behind Valishus.

Even if the contents had changed, the actions were the same in the end, so he didn’t know whether it was because Valishus was dominated by the Naga magician’s body, or whether Valishus himself was the same kind as the magicians from the beginning.

But this time, he needed this madman’s research.

There were hundreds of Moai collected from the 10th floor. Although they were broken and contaminated now, they were once ancient heroes who roamed the underground.

If he could restore them to their original form, he wouldn’t miss the lost Nagas anymore.

“I’ll attach Dominique to you, so discuss it with her. She will surely find a way.”

Kim Jin-woo left those words to Valishus and went to the owner’s room. In his hand were eight seals that he had not yet absorbed because he was in a hurry to finish his schedule.

“Shall we eat them?”