Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 198

Dungeon Journal – Episode 199

The Spider Duke didn’t recognize him. That didn’t mean he was too dense to feel the hatred in his gaze.

But that was it.

The Spider Duke’s gaze held only curiosity about the recently famous Conqueror and Commander of the Inheritance. And even that quickly faded.

It was because the Lord of Grief was causing a ruckus again.

He still lacked power.

He had risen to High Lord and gained enough power to look down on even the Counts, but he still didn’t match the strength of the Underworld Dukes.

The moment he realized that fact, his heart turned surprisingly cold.

And at that moment, he didn’t show even a shred of emotion.

“Then, I hope you have a peaceful time.”

The imp girl, having finished her guidance, busily moved her short legs and quickly disappeared from sight.

Kim Jin-woo, who was staring at the place where she disappeared with a detached gaze, spoke without even turning his head.

“Come out.”

At his cold voice, the air rippled and spat out a black shadow.

“Forgive my rudeness.”

The deeply pulled-down hood was removed with that one word.

Pointed ears, pale skin, a similar appearance to the Under Elves commonly seen in the Underworld, but the red gem embedded between his eyebrows was alien.

“Did the Lord of Grief send you?”

He, who recognized the identity of the stranger at once, asked, his eyes gleaming.

“The Lord asked me to inquire about your intentions first, lest a sudden meeting be considered rude.”

“You know how to be polite, unlike what you look like.”

It wasn’t something the person who had turned the auction house upside down just because he didn’t like being looked down upon should say, but he didn’t care.

“Since all my schedules are canceled today anyway, there’s no reason not to.”

The Lord of Grief had already brought the Dukes of the deep layers under her feet, unlike him, who was only integrating the 9th floor and trying to win over the Counts of the 11th floor.

The man bowed his head in response to his readily given permission and melted back into the air. And soon after, the Lord of Grief arrived.

The Lord of Grief, whom he met again, was more delicate and frail than he had seen from afar, to the point of looking like a young girl.

But he wasn’t fooled by appearances. She was a true High Lord who had devastated the auction house with just a gesture, a formidable opponent for him, who hadn’t even unlocked any significant powers yet.

“Nice to mee……”

Whack.

He, who was carefully greeting her, was startled by her sudden embrace.

“I’ve been waiting for today.”

Unable to understand her words and actions, Kim Jin-woo hurriedly pushed her away.

“I missed you.”

Pushed away by his rough hand, she still spouted incomprehensible words.

“What are you doing!”

The Lord of Gluttony flared up at once, her unique fierce momentum pressuring her, but she didn’t care.

“You don’t know how much I missed you.”

“You need to speak understandably……”

“Nice to see you, Jin-woo.”

The moment the name he had never told anyone in the Underworld flowed from the Lord of Grief’s mouth, he unknowingly revealed his murderous intent.

“Who are you?”

His attitude was as if she would draw her sword at any moment, but the Lord of Grief smiled brightly instead.

A heavy silence fell between the two. The Lord of Grief’s inexplicably friendly attitude made his face show alternating wariness and confusion.

The sword he had drawn in confusion was emitting a blue aura, but she was still grinning.

“Tell me, how do you know my name?”

The familiarity was so natural that it was hard to believe it was forced, and he sharpened his senses against his dulling mind.

“Tell me everything, what is your identity?”

Perhaps realizing the hostility and wariness on his face, the Lord of Grief exclaimed, “Ah.”

“Sorry, I was too hasty, right? You wouldn’t know me yet.”

But she didn’t seem to be reflecting much.

“I’ll introduce myself formally again.”

With a still friendly smile, she introduced herself.

“I am the High Lord who inherited the name of Grief, the ruler of the 14th floor of the Underworld, and…”

A playful smile hung on her lips.

“Your friend, also the protector of So-hee.”

When he heard the name ‘So-hee,’ Kim Jin-woo trembled as if struck by lightning. He turned pale at the name of his beloved, whom he thought he would never hear again, at least not here in the Underworld.

“S-Sister is alive?”

“As expected, So-hee was right. She said you would be surprised.”

“Is my sister alive!”

Kim Jin-woo, who had lost his composure, shouted, and the Lord of Grief nodded with a face full of pity.

“Although she couldn’t come with me due to circumstances, she is healthy. And she misses you very much. Oh, and she had something to tell you.”

After taking a moment to catch her breath, she whispered softly.

“I don’t resent you. So, don’t feel sorry. My little Jin-woo.”

***

“You are free.”

Kim Jin-woo, whose entire world had been only a dark and narrow cave, was thrown out into the world with that short word.

He, who couldn’t even eat on his own unless someone told him to, lost his way at that moment.

If there hadn’t been warmth enveloping his hand by his side, he would have been driven out into the world without knowing anything and killed by a hungry creature somewhere in the Underworld.

“Jin-woo, let’s go.”

He turned his head to the soft touch that didn’t suit the Underworld, holding his hand full of calluses, and saw a pure white smile.

“Never let go of this hand.”

The feeling of being lost disappeared the moment he saw that innocent smile.

“Let’s go.”

The girl strode forward. He matched his steps with all his might to her steps, which showed no fear or hesitation, as if she had such courage from somewhere in her small frame.

He desperately followed her as if not letting go of her hand was his only mission.

But the world outside the labyrinth was too harsh for him and the girl; no place was safe, and no one could be trusted.

“From now on, don’t trust anyone. Don’t trust anyone but me. No, don’t even trust me. You only trust yourself. Got it?”

The girl’s eyes shone with an unknown sense of mission, but she was several times thinner and more tired than the day she first left the labyrinth.

He wanted to help her. So he stole the eggs of the Firebird, which was known to be ferocious even in the deep layers. But that was a mistake.

“Sister, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Kim Jin-woo realized his mistake as he watched the giant birds flapping their wings and screeching threateningly, surrounding them.

So-hee didn’t resent him for that. Rather, she protected him.

“It’s okay, we can still escape.”

Although he had made a mistake, he trusted her.

But when he realized that that was the first and last lie she had ever told, he had already been driven into a steep pit.

“Sister! Sister!”

“Jin-woo! You have to live!”

He saw the Firebirds rushing towards her in the darkness beyond the narrow hole. That was his last memory of his girl, So-hee.

***

“H-How!”

The coldness of the ruthless conqueror and the majesty of the great lord had already disappeared without a trace.

Kim Jin-woo was trembling as if he had returned to his days as a small and insignificant cave dweller.

“I’ll let you hear the details directly from her. She’ll be coming to see you soon.”

The Lord of Grief said, looking at him with a gaze full of pity.

“Ah……”

He let out an ambiguous sound that was neither an exclamation nor a groan and closed his eyes tightly.

He was happy that the girl who had once been his everything was alive, and he was also desperate that he was the one who had driven her into a corner.

But even so, he was relieved and relieved that the girl was alive.

“Do you want to hear more?”

The Lord of Grief whispered in a sweet voice, and he nodded without even thinking deeply.

“Then it’s a bit difficult here, isn’t it? Let’s go inside and talk. You seem to be hated by the nobles of this Underworld as much as I am.”

***

It was only after a long time had passed since entering the room that Kim Jin-woo was able to regain his senses. He shuddered at the disgrace he had shown, but it was already too late.

He tried to find his dignity now and made a cold face.

But when he saw the Lord of Grief grinning with a face that had already seen everything, the mask of the lord that he had worked so hard to create was shattered.

“Why couldn’t my sister come with you?”

“I want to tell you, but So-hee doesn’t want you to know the reason yet.”

“Why?”

“When the time comes, she will come to find you herself. And she will explain everything. Until then, you have no choice but to be patient and wait, even if you’re anxious. You know that So-hee never goes back on her word.”

She chattered about So-hee’s nature like that, telling stories that he hadn’t even asked about.

Who she learned Korean from, how much she suffered when learning it, and how lonely she was among the rigid and inflexible nobles of the Underworld.

How high-ranking she was when she exchanged thoughts and thoughts. But the Lord of Grief, chattering in front of him, was as innocent and talkative as a young girl.

“Actually, So-hee tried to stop me from meeting you, but she couldn’t break my stubbornness in the end.”

She lifted her chin and celebrated her small victory triumphantly.

“Why did my sister try to stop you and me from meeting?”

She, who had been holding her nose high, smiled again.

“Because if I meet you, it will attract the attention of other High Lords.”

But her smile was not the girlish one she had shown so far, but the smile of an absolute being, as if he had faced her for the first time.

“Other High Lords?”

“You really don’t know anything?”

Her smile, which was no longer friendly or innocent, had something that made people nervous.

“You are the fourth, and I am the third.”

She, who had raised four and three fingers respectively, this time raised two fingers.

“And the second and first are long before that.”

“What is that……”

He, who had opened his mouth carelessly at the incomprehensible number game, closed it again. The biggest commonality between her and him was the fact that they were High Lords.

“That’s right, I awakened before you, and there are those who awakened before me. And they will constantly try to test you, who met me.”

Behind a pair of eyes shining enchantingly, a terrible madness could be seen.

“Their tests will be too much for you yet. But you have to overcome them.”

The Lord of Grief, who had been so attentive as if she were taking care of her own younger brother, didn’t care at all that he was in danger because of her.

Rather, she looked at him with a face that said she was having so much fun and wagged her tongue.

“The moment you give them even a little bit of an opening.”

She licked her unusually red lips and smiled with her eyes.

“They will tear you to pieces and swallow you whole.”