Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 241

Dungeon Journal- Episode 242

# 242

Dungeon Journal

86. The Master of the Watcher

White skin bloomed with crimson spots, which quickly festered and turned black.

The sight alone was enough to make one’s shoulders hunch in horror; it was easy to imagine the immense pain she was experiencing.

Yet, even as her body was being consumed by the terrible curse, Ariane stubbornly remained silent.

Though her teeth shattered from clenching and her lips were bitten bloody, she showed no sign of opening her mouth.

Could this really be the same Ariane who had begged for her life at the first sign of violence? Having shed her false mask as the Queen of Delusions, she was proving incredibly resilient.

“Hee, cough, even if you put me in a boiling pot… and close the lid, I, I will never open my mouth.”

She spoke with a distorted face. Her pronunciation was mangled and broken due to her shattered teeth, making it difficult to understand, but the hint of defiance in her words was unmistakable.

“If you have the strength to talk nonsense, you should answer my questions.”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head at her stubborn endurance.

“Tell me, are there any other Watchers left here besides you?”

But instead of answering, Ariane said something unexpected.

“How about this? We… we take turns asking questions, one at a time…”

At this point, it was almost absurd.

“You don’t seem to understand the situation at all. You know who holds the knife right now.”

If he wanted to, he could turn her into a puddle of blood right now. Yet, the only reason she was still clinging to life was that he didn’t want her to die.

Of course, after being betrayed by her so many times, he wanted to end it immediately. But more important than venting his anger was the information he could get from her.

“But wasting time like this is also foolish.”

So, instead of rejecting her proposal, he slowed down the curse’s progress.

“Fine, I will accept your offer.”

Even just avoiding the pain of new flesh rotting away seemed to give Ariane a sense of relief. Despite desperately holding on, it seemed that enduring the pain was not easy for her either.

If it had been, she wouldn’t have bothered proposing such a lopsided deal.

“I warn you, don’t even think about lying or trying to evade the question.”

Ariane’s face, which had finally relaxed after being freed from the pain, suddenly contorted.

“The curse hasn’t disappeared; it’s just been paused for a moment.”

“Ah!”

Perhaps she had let her guard down, relieved that he had accepted her offer. She screamed for the first time at the sudden pain.

“Then I’ll ask the first question.”

Ariane, her face pale, looked at him and swallowed hard, as if the pain had stopped again.

***

Walls rising out of nowhere and ceilings collapsing were no longer unusual occurrences in the Great Labyrinth.

So, the summoned creatures were not at all disturbed when the suddenly appearing wall swallowed their master and the traitor. They were merely curious about what kind of conversation would take place beyond it, and what would happen.

“What are they talking about that’s taking so long?”

Angela yawned, bored, but Rishausha didn’t answer. She waited for her master’s return, guarding the surroundings with her usual expressionless face.

“So prickly…”

Angela pouted a few times, displeased with Rishausha’s dismissive attitude, but knowing the nature of the Under Elves, who rarely opened their mouths unless it was to their master, she didn’t bother to say more.

“I have one question.”

But for some reason, Rishausha spoke first.

“Oh, ask away. What could our taciturn [reserved and uncommunicative] Under Elf lady be so curious about?”

Angela’s expression hardened as she lightly responded to her words.

“Can I truly trust your loyalty?”

“If anyone other than you had asked that question, I would have torn them limb from limb.”

The content was excessively brutal compared to her gentle tone, but Rishausha didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. She simply urged her to answer with the same expression.

“But isn’t it meaningless? Well, I understand since the situation is chaotic, but does such a question really have any meaning?”

In a situation where even the masters of the deep layers were holed up, unable to trust their own confidants, trying to filter out the Watchers with just a few words was ridiculous. But this taciturn Under Elf didn’t seem to think so.

“It has meaning.”

Angela asked again with a surprised look.

“Does that mean you believe my words?”

Rishausha didn’t answer.

“Okay, since you’ve said something nice for once, I’ll answer your question.”

Angela explained what the blood contract she had never abandoned meant. And after hearing that brief explanation, Rishausha looked completely convinced.

“But why are you suddenly asking that? Weren’t things other than the master’s words meaningless to you…”

Angela stopped speaking and narrowed her eyes. The cheerfulness from just a moment ago was gone, and her eyes, gleaming sharply as if she had prey in front of her, scanned Rishausha’s entire body.

“You… you know something, don’t you?”

“It’s not related to the Watchers, but there’s something strange.”

Seeing Rishausha’s subtly lowered voice, Angela looked at her with a serious face and asked.

“Does Master know?”

Rishausha shook her head.

“You seem to have something in mind. It doesn’t sound like you’re just saying things… Okay, tell me if there’s anything you want from me.”

“When I ask for help, lend me your strength just once.”

It was a nonsensical request, but Angela readily nodded.

“But why me of all people? Didn’t you hate me?”

“There’s nothing to like or dislike. It’s just that you’re the only one who can help me now that Dominic is gone.”

“Ugh, frustrating. You and Dominic are both too stingy with words except when it comes to Master. I feel like I’m going to suffocate talking to you.”

Angela snapped, frustrated by the terse answers. Rishausha glanced at her and said casually.

“You’re the only one besides Master who can freely go in and out of the surface.”

Angela, not knowing what she meant by the sudden remark, was about to press her again. But Rishausha was faster.

“Master has returned.”

There was a cracked wall where her gaze was directed, and beyond it was Kim Jin-woo, whom they had been waiting for so eagerly.

“You have to tell me later.”

She wanted to keep badgering her, but the master’s expression didn’t look good. Inevitably, she had to postpone it until next time.

***

When Kim Jin-woo reappeared, he was alone. Ariane, who had been rotting away with a foul stench just moments before, was no longer visible.

Angela and Rishausha, who were waiting for him, noticed this fact but didn’t bother to ask. They knew too well what had happened to her without having to ask.

After all, if it was the Queen of Delusions, who had the ability to contact others through dreams, even a prison without an exit was not a place to be at ease.

Knowing this, there was no way Kim Jin-woo would have left her alone.

Indeed, he who had reappeared did not say a word about Ariane.

“Master, have you found all the traitors?”

She seemed quite curious. After all, she was greatly restricted in her freedom of movement in a situation where she couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe, so it was only natural that she would be curious about the progress of the matter.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out about the existence of other Watchers.”

“Ah.”

Angela frowned, openly disappointed.

“But it’s not like there were no gains at all.”

Kim Jin-woo changed his expression belatedly. A cold aura swirled around his face, which had been as hard as stone until just now.

“The Usurper wasn’t not moving.”

“Yes? What does that mean…”

Angela inadvertently asked back, unable to understand the words.

“The Usurper couldn’t move.”

***

The information that could be obtained through Ariane was limited. She didn’t know about the existence of other Watchers, nor did she have the ability to distinguish them.

She said that they could only confirm each other when they moved for a single common mission.

“How did you receive the mission?”

“It’s my turn to ask a question.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had briefly forgotten about his deal with her, frowned belatedly. But since a deal was a deal, he waited for her question with a displeased look.

“What is your real name that you inherited?”

“Greed.”

Kim Jin-woo answered without hesitation. Since she would disappear after today anyway, there was no reason to hide it.

“Indeed… a fitting name.”

Perhaps because she had been watching the Great Labyrinth and its ruler’s atrocities, devouring countless beings, she quickly looked convinced.

“Now it’s my turn. What was the content of the mission you received?”

“My mission was to test your strength.”

This was another unexpected answer. Because he had dragged Ryuyang and the Satyrs into the Great Labyrinth, he thought her mission was to destroy the Great Labyrinth, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

She said that her purpose was simply to test the Great Labyrinth and his strength.

“I can’t understand the intention.”

“I’m just following the mission; I don’t know the inner meaning either.”

“Okay. Now it’s your turn.”

“What is your purpose?”

“Personal revenge. Was Dinariyon also a target of the Watchers?”

“Not at first, but it was as a result.”

Ariane had been strangely submissive since the curse’s progress had stopped.

He didn’t know if she had other intentions, or if she was afraid of the pain that would start again after the conversation was over, but he made the most of this opportunity.

Questions and answers continued after that. Kim Jin-woo asked Ariane questions related to the Watchers, and she asked and listened to answers about the power of greed he had obtained.

But the information that could be obtained in such back-and-forth questions and answers was extremely limited.

She was just like the most insignificant piece on a chessboard, moving according to instructions like revelations.

He felt like he was circling around the periphery without getting to the core. He frowned.

“I’m losing too much. I haven’t heard a single proper answer.”

“That’s because the questions themselves are not something I can answer. Then how about this? Aren’t you curious about who I work for?”

Kim Jin-woo, who had naturally thought that she would be working for the Usurper, widened his eyes without realizing it.

“Weren’t you working for the Usurper?”

“No.”

“Then…”

“It’s my turn this time.”

He scoffed at her words.

Her attitude was so different from before. She, who had desperately held on to avoid opening her mouth, now seemed anxious as if she couldn’t tell the secret.

It was certain that her attitude had changed, whether it was right after the curse’s progress had stopped, or after moving the place to the secret room created by the Great Labyrinth.

“Don’t play around too much. If you make it that obvious, it’s hard to pretend I don’t know. Unlike you, I’m not good at acting.”

Kim Jin-woo glared at Ariane with sharp eyes.

“Have new orders been issued?”

A pattern in the shape of an eye had appeared on her chest, where there had been nothing until just a moment ago.