Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 279

Dungeon Journal – Episode 280

# 280

Dungeon Journal

Episode 280

When Kim Jin-woo returned, a guest was waiting for him.

“Congratulations on fully inheriting all the legacies.”

It had been a while since he last saw Catherine, the Lord of Lament, and she looked visibly anxious. Her lips, clinging to a forced smile that betrayed her unease, quickly hardened as she brought up the reason for her visit. [余裕 (yoyuu) in this context means composure or余裕.]

“My prediction was correct. The other High Lords also knew about her.”

To him, who already knew that Sohee was the Lord of Depravity behind all of this, it was not surprising news.

“You don’t seem surprised. Were you expecting this?”

The Lord of Lament frowned, unable to understand how he could remain so unshaken despite the information she had struggled to obtain.

Looking at her, he hesitated for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he could trust her.

“How much do you know about the ancient Underworld? No, let me rephrase that. How far back does the ancient memory you inherited go?”

But the hesitation was short-lived. If Catherine had been involved in all of this, she wouldn’t have been so frantically searching the Underworld to uncover Sohee’s identity.

Although there was a possibility that it was all an act, he chose to make her an ally rather than suspect her.

Kim Jin-woo revealed everything he knew.

“That doesn’t make any sense…”

The High Lord’s memory inherited by the Lord of Lament seemed to be limited to the authority and legacies before the Twilight. She looked dumbfounded upon hearing the ambitions of the old lords, which she had never even imagined.

“Are you saying that all our desperate struggles to survive were just for those ghostly bastards’ Halloween party?”

She was dismayed by the fact that everything she had achieved was merely the result of someone’s arrangement, and she was genuinely furious that she was just a puppet of the old lords.

“I’m not exactly in a good mood either.”

In fact, when it came to anger and hatred, he was even more so. Unlike her, who was merely manipulated by someone, his very existence had been denied.

However, he kept all that anger inside and didn’t show it outwardly. He merely subtly fueled Catherine’s anger.

“Soon, the Underworld will regain its past form. And when that happens, the ghost who manipulated us will rise from the grave and shamelessly steal everything we have achieved.”

He skillfully mixed lament and anger to show her.

“We can’t stop it.”

A fragment is absorbed by a larger fragment. Perhaps the Lord of Depravity had taken that into account when planting the seeds.

“This is driving me crazy. Are you saying that all we can do is wait for the fragments to come?”

Catherine, who had also experienced absorbing fragments, quickly recognized the seriousness of the situation and groaned.

“No, even so, it’s not like there’s no way at all.”

“What? There’s a way?”

A complete reversal of positions. He, who had been forced to yield in the previous meeting due to his limited knowledge and her momentum, now had complete control.

She seemed to sense that fact as well and showed an uncomfortable expression, but she quietly listened to him because she had no other choice.

“First, we must delay the restoration as much as possible.”

“The time of restoration will come sooner or later. We can’t stop it with our power.”

“We don’t need to stop it completely, just buy some time.”

Catherine asked what it meant, setting aside the question of whether there was a way to delay the restoration.

“I plan to find and eliminate the fragments that threaten our existence in the meantime.”

It was uncertain whether they could be found easily, and even if they were found, it would not be easy to eliminate them. There was even a possibility that they would be consumed instead.

But despite all that, he was full of confidence.

No matter how great the power of the old lords was, they were not omniscient, and there were bound to be things they didn’t know.

While the old lords were splitting their bodies into small pieces and waiting for the time to come, a new name of High Lord was born. The number that used to be only ten is now eleven.

A greedy predator who knows no satisfaction, that was the name of the newly born High Lord.

“Bring me the fragments.”

Fragments tend to attract other fragments, so it won’t be difficult for the High Lords to find fragments related to themselves.

The only problem is whether they can overcome the temptation of the fragments they find. But he soon dismissed his worries.

The time for the ghosts to revive has not yet come.

If it had, he wouldn’t have been able to resist the temptation of the mask that might contain the wandering thoughts so easily.

And just as he had overcome the temptation of other fragments, the other High Lords would be able to overcome it now.

“And if possible, I would like to meet the other High Lords. If things go wrong, we may have to join forces to fight, so it would be good to see their faces beforehand.”

“I don’t know how much they will believe me, but I will try.”

With those words, the Lord of Lament left.

“Master!”

Dominique and the summons, who had been waiting for him, approached him only after Catherine had left.

“First, there is something you must know.”

Kim Jin-woo explained everything to the summons who were waiting for him.

“You had a ridiculous idea. To unite the Underworld and the Overworld, is that even possible?”

“It failed because it was impossible.”

“Just because it failed once doesn’t mean it will fail a second time.”

Even the taciturn Heimdall expressed his bewilderment, and Morrigan openly ridiculed the lords’ absurd ambitions.

“I see. So, Master, you are not entirely unrelated to the ancient Underworld.”

Most of the summons were surprised by the ancient secrets, but they were not very surprised by the fact that their master’s identity was merely a fragment.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“We didn’t care even when we found out that Master had the blood of an Overworlder. What does it matter now?”

“To be honest, we would rather serve a descendant of the old lords than serve an Overworlder as our master.”

The naga, who were born loyal and steadfast, didn’t care about their master’s origins, and Morrigan and the other ancient summons had already submitted to their new master’s charisma and insatiable desire for conquest, so they didn’t care about such things.

“I think you will use even that hatred and despair for good in the future, Master, but please don’t harbor too much darkness and bring disaster upon yourself.”

Only Dominique sympathized with his deeply buried anger and expressed concern.

“I will keep that in mind.”

With that, his past was settled. But the most important problem remained.

“Angela.”

At his words, Angela, who had been silent until now, looked gloomy.

“I seem to have burdened you with an unnecessary burden.”

It was he himself who had forcibly pushed Angela, who had stubbornly refused to take the source of blood, to awaken as a High Lord. If he had known things would turn out this way, it would have been better to give up the Red Castle and absorb the power of True Blood himself.

“Don’t say that. Although I may have disappointed you, Master, I won’t do it a second time.”

She still seemed unable to shake off the self-reproach for not saving her master in time because she was frightened.

“I will never be consumed by the ghosts of the past and forget you, Master.”

At her words, Kim Jin-woo looked a little relieved. If it was her, who had yielded even the source of blood, which was a great temptation for vampires, to her master, she would not be easily swallowed up by the fragments of the past.

“If I have the chance, I will prove my heart for you, Master, even if it costs me my life.”

He stroked Angela’s head, who was burning with more enthusiasm than necessary.

“Survive. Surviving and staying by my side is the only way to prove your heart. So, save that life.”

Looking at the lovely vampire, he ended up smiling, forgetting the situation.

***

After consulting with the summons, they decided on several priorities.

They decided to retrieve the labyrinths that had been planted on the Overworld to clarify the boundary between the Overworld and the Underworld and decided to move the Eternal Warehouse to the Great Labyrinth as soon as possible.

“Let’s retrieve the labyrinths on the Overworld first. I also have something to ask the mistletoe trees, so I’ll go right away.”

The unremarkable spear that he had obtained from the Eternal Warehouse, among the many treasures, was made of a branch of the mistletoe tree.

Perhaps the mistletoe trees would know about this spear.

“Then I’ll be off.”

He ordered Daedalus to prepare a place to move the Eternal Warehouse and immediately opened a portal to the Overworld.

“Master!”

Lee Jun-young, whom he met again, was saying the word “Master” well, as if she had practiced it alone.

Kim Jin-woo, who would have been awkward with her title before, now had the appearance of a complete lord, so he shamelessly accepted the embarrassing greeting.

“It’s been a while.”

He himself couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had come to the Overworld. It was only after coming to the Overworld like this that he could feel that quite a bit of time had passed.

“Why did you come so late?”

“I was too careless.”

Lee Jun-young’s eyes widened as she saw him answering so casually to her somewhat resentful nagging.

The friendly attitude, as if she was about to run up and hug him, quickly became awkward.

It seemed that she was completely overwhelmed by the fact that his presence, whom she had met after a long time, had become incomparably greater than before.

“Um, Master. The atmosphere is…”

Her attitude became more polite, and she gathered her hands neatly and straightened her posture without even realizing it.

“I’ve been busy.”

It was like an excuse, but it was also true. The stronger his true self became, the more he was bound to the Underworld, and the more comfortable he felt in the Underworld than in the Overworld.

Naturally, he had no choice but to spend more time there.

“Did something happen? Something feels strange.”

The air of the Overworld had changed strangely, which he attributed to the fact that he had visited the Overworld after a long time, but he frowned without realizing it.

“That’s right, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”

Her subdued attitude was only temporary, and she rarely made a fuss.

“They say another war might break out again now!”

“What?”

At her unexpected answer, he asked back with a face as if he had been hit in the back of the head.

“They say the Overworld is now preparing for war against the Underworld again!”