Chapter 140

Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 140

#140. A Foolish Man

2022.12.18.

'No one's here.'

Yijun stopped his steps abruptly.

Before him, a large boulder lay fallen.
It was the head of the goddess statue, cracked and half-buried in the ground.

As if Eunha's black flame hadn't been enough, the field, already damaged, had collapsed from the dozens of tree branches that had shot out from around the goddess statue.
As a result, it had become a tangled maze like this.

And in the aftermath, that giant goddess statue also seemed to have been broken.

'Tree stems.'

The thick tree stems that had pierced the goddess's cheek like an awl.
Yijun's eyes narrowed as he stared blankly at them.

Yijun recalled the events of just a few tens of minutes ago.

Immediately after completing the sudden quest in the 'Scales of Choice', Yijun, like the other hunters including Siwoo, had been teleported to the 'outside'.

The first thing the teleported Yijun discovered was that giant goddess statue.
And—.

'Oh my.'

Doctor Plant Keum Roje, who shouldn't have been here.
She had chosen not to enter the 'Scales of Choice' and to remain near the root.
It was to support the hundreds of unit members remaining at the root.

But for her to be standing alone in front of the goddess statue without having passed through the 'Scales of Choice' was nothing short of strange.

'What are you doing here alone, leaving the unit members behind?'

Yijun, who had approached Roje, had asked her bluntly.
@'I don't know the details either. When I came to my senses, I was here.'
Roje had said lowly, stroking her forehead as if she had a headache.

'You mean you don't remember how you got here?'
'That's right. This has been happening often lately. When I come to my senses, I'm in a completely different space...'

Judging by her expression, she didn't seem to be lying.
As if her head was still throbbing, she suppressed a pained groan and pressed on her brow.

Yijun, who had been staring intently at her profile, asked in a monotonous tone.

'Then what was the state of the main force you last saw? The number of casualties?'
'...'

It was then.

The moment Yijun asked the question, Roje's irises seemed to turn red for a moment.
But it was only for a split second.

'They are safe.'

Roje's eyes, as she answered with a smile, had returned to their usual purple, as if nothing had happened.

'...Is that so?'

But Yijun had clearly captured that momentary change.
And the inexplicable, alien aura that had enveloped Roje at that moment.

Yijun thought he had a vague idea of what that aura was.
Because it was similar to the 'pheromones' he controlled.

It was suspicious.
Yijun slowly stroked his chin.

[Authority of the 12th Divine Beast 'Snake Hidden in a Poison Swamp' ▶ 'Snake's Eye' Activated. The secret beings who have pledged their loyalty will willingly become your eyes.]

A certain scene began to play directly in Yijun's mind.
It was what the snake he had hidden near the root earlier was showing him through telepathy.

Using the authority of the divine beast snake, he could check the scenery there even from a distance like this.
Though there were conditions such as a distance limit and having to go to the place beforehand to release the snake.

But it was strange.
The scene of the root area, confirmed using the authority, was quite different from what Roje had said.

If there was nothing wrong, hundreds of unit members should have been fighting the Sucker Parasites, but for some reason, the number of unit members remaining there seemed to be no more than 100.

Even then, most of the hunters were lying on the ground, motionless.
Meaning, the main force was almost annihilated.

Did Doctor Plant lie?
If, by any chance, that was the case, for what reason did she lie?

He couldn't tell.
...If he couldn't tell, he had to make her talk.

Sssrk.

Yijun, who had taken off the black gloves he was wearing, feigned a mistake and dropped them on the floor with a thud.

Roje reflexively picked up the gloves and offered them to Yijun, and Yijun took them with a smile.

'Thank you.'

The moment he took the gloves, their hands faintly brushed.
That was the 'opening' Yijun had been aiming for.

The status effect that could be inflicted on an opponent with just the scent of pheromones was only the 'charm' effect, which lasted for about 5 minutes.
To activate the more powerful 'domination' effect, direct physical contact like this was necessary.

With this, she should have been 'dominated'.
It should have been so...

'Don't mention it.'

Roje before him smiled brightly, as if nothing was wrong at all.

That was the decisive reason Yijun had attacked Roje.

He didn't intend to kill her.
However, Yijun had judged her as a risk factor, and thus intended to make her reveal her true nature, even if it meant using rough methods.
Or to bind her by force.

However, Yijun's plan was thwarted by Siwoo, Ayeon, and Yoo Hwan, who had arrived one after another in front of the goddess statue.

Afterward, the situation had become even more chaotic as Eunha, who had disappeared through the 'Altar of Eternal Rest', returned as if nothing had happened.
In the end, it had reached a point where the inner wall of the gate collapsed like this.

"..."

Yijun slowly scanned his surroundings.

The only fortunate thing was that the place Yijun was currently standing was close to the passage.
The very same passage that Eunha had broken through and appeared from.

'What is your real name? Why didn't the Guardians of the Altar attack only you?'
'...'

Eunha, who had been branded as a monster in the 'Scales of Choice', had not given any answer to Yijun's questions.
From that, Yijun was convinced.
That there was no way that person was the 'real' Eunha.

But an unexpected reaction had returned.
The fake in Eunha's form, the Princess of Dark Flare, had walked to the 'Altar of Eternal Rest' on her own two feet.

That was an unexpected development.
Moreover, she, who had disappeared with the white flames in the 'Scales of Choice', had reappeared before Yijun as if to show off.

Was she not a monster?

—Could it be, that she really was Eunha?

"..."

Yijun, who had suddenly lifted his head, rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

No, that's impossible.
There's no way that person is the 'real' Eunha.

He believed so.
He had to.

Because if he started to question that judgment now, he would be the only one to suffer.

Let's just think about what needs to be done now.
As I always have.

Yijun, with his suit fluttering, began to walk towards the passage.

He too had predicted that this gate would soon collapse completely.

The situation in which the gate entrance is activated is largely divided into three.
First, when the boss is defeated.
Second, when the 'condition' required by the gate, such as through a quest, is met.
And third, when the gate enters a forced reset due to some reason such as system damage, virus, or error.

He guessed that the current situation probably corresponded to the third case.
The gate had already suffered great damage, including the ceiling and the inner walls, so it was highly likely that it would attempt to regenerate.

'That's the chance to escape.'

The priority is to move to the vicinity of the root and then escape with the unit members the moment the gate entrance opens.
Investigating and interrogating Doctor Plant can be done after that.

As he was thinking that and about to enter the passage.

Rumble—

The large boulder behind him was lifted up.
As the fragmented stone powder fell to the floor, Yijun slowly turned his head.

"..."

"..."

His gaze clashed head-on with a pair of fiery red eyes.

The one who had lifted the boulder was none other than the Monkey King Yoo Hwan.

"You..."

Yoo Hwan, who had spotted Yijun, scowled.
It was impossible for him to look favorably on Maestro, who had not only branded Eunha as a monster but had also attacked Roje.

"What are you doing here alone?"

Yoo Hwan asked, looking at Yijun as if searching him, and Yijun shrugged lightly.

"Nothing. I too am just wandering through this suddenly fragmented gate."

"What about Roje, Doctor Plant?"

"I wouldn't know."

Yijun, who had answered curtly, stared at him with a blank expression.

Although he had a hostile look in his eyes, Yoo Hwan didn't seem to be trying to attack Yijun like before.
Yijun, judging that a conversation might be possible now, said to him.

"Monkey King, I know you have a close relationship with Doctor Plant. Have you not noticed anything about her all this time?"

"..."

Yoo Hwan did not avoid Yijun's gaze, but he did not give a particular answer.
Yijun spoke again.

"Subjects of powerful mental manipulation skills like 'domination' usually show a common pattern. For example, short-term memory loss as if cut with scissors."

"..."

"Depending on what command the caster has inputted, they may also show abnormal obsession or attachment."

To take the white snakes that Yijun usually 'dominated' as an example, it was like this.
The commands he gave them varied slightly depending on the situation, but the main content was usually to watch a single entity.

If a situation arose where they could not follow that command, the white snakes would commit suicide or self-destruct.

It was partly due to the judgment that they could not continue to carry out the command, but it was also to not leave any information about the caster, that is, the snake's master.

The fact that those under a mental manipulation skill would bite their tongues or cut their own throats when tortured was also of that kind.
An obsession with the command, or a shackle.

'Of course, this is only in extreme cases.'

If, as Yijun suspected, Roje was tainted by a mental manipulation skill like 'domination', she would surely have shown self-harm or similar abnormal behavior, even if not self-destruction.

It is easier for those who are close to notice such behavior.
That's why Yijun had thought.
That there was no way the Monkey King would not have noticed Doctor Plant's change.

"Answer me, Monkey King. Do you have no idea about that at all?"

Come to think of it, there would be no one easier to control this tree-made gate than her, who controlled plants.
Looking back, that wasn't the only point that made sense.

The Fortune Teller, who was also a member of GIA, could open her inner eye and see the future, but Doctor Plant was merely a researcher of Unknown Gates.
How could she have predicted the appearance of the Unknown Gate as accurately as the Fortune Teller who saw the future?

The fact that she had such information and yet did not report it to the government or the Association was also suspicious.
Though she said it was because of her history of repeatedly conveying wrong information in the past, it was still not easy to understand why she had remained silent about such important information.
Especially if she was truly someone who cherished people's lives as was known.

Moreover, she was not satisfied with the four units gathered by the Association and had even recruited additional applicants by holding a qualification test at the Colony of the Dead in Bokgye Mountain.

'And that Colony of the Dead had coincidentally undergone dungeonization.'

Whether she was subjected to a mental manipulation skill or not, if Doctor Plant was really related to the inside story of this South Coast Gate incident, all of this fit together perfectly.

They, standing opposite each other, stared at each other for a long time at a distance that was neither far nor near.

"...She."

It was the moment Yoo Hwan, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened his mouth.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...!

Yijun lifted his ash-gray gaze and checked the ceiling.
The ceiling, which was cracking, looked as if it could collapse at any moment.

"As you've noticed, this is a gate reset phenomenon. This place will soon collapse."

There is no time to delay.
Yijun turned his back.

"The situation of the unit members near the root is not good. We have to join them before the entrance opens."

Yijun, who had been walking ahead as if telling him to follow, stopped after a few steps and looked back again.
Yoo Hwan had turned his back in the exact opposite direction of Yijun.

Rolling up his sleeves, he lifted the large boulder blocking his path in one breath, and then,

Thwack—!

He threw it far away like a pebble.
He thought he knew why Yoo Hwan was doing such a thing.

"Are you going to save Doctor Plant even after hearing my words?"

Yijun asked, looking at his back.

Yoo Hwan did not answer.
He just silently extended his arms towards the next boulder.

"She is not the S-Class hunter who represents the Republic of Korea. She may have been before, but she can't be anymore. Even if people safely escape this gate, I plan to report her identity to the Association, and to the government."

Rumble, thwack!

Yoo Hwan, who had thrown the second boulder, once again extended his arms towards another boulder.
Still no answer.

"The world will know what kind of person she is."

Thwack!

The third boulder.

"And yet, you will save her."

Thwack!

The fourth boulder was shattered.

Due to the continuous destruction of such massive boulders, a thick cloud of dust rose around them.

"—It doesn't matter."

Only after all the boulders blocking his path were gone did Yoo Hwan turn back and look at Yijun.

"It doesn't matter what kind of person Roje is. What's important is not what kind of person she is. What kind of person she is to me, that's more important."

Yoo Hwan strode into the dust.

It didn't matter if that was sophistry to others.
He was just thinking about what he would truly regret and acting on it.

An S-Class hunter who protects the world?
A guild master revered by all?
Those were just positions she had created for him, not the dream or future Yoo Hwan had wanted.

What he truly wanted was...

'Yoo Hwan.'

...only one thing.

"Do you even realize what you've just said?"

Yijun, who had been staring at him with his arms crossed, said.

"You're no different from defending a criminal right now. What are you going to do after you save Doctor Plant and return? I have clearly said. I will reveal everything about her to the public. Will you still defend her then?"

"Yes."

Yoo Hwan, giving a short and concise answer that was almost deflating, glanced back.

"Will you stop me?"

A monotonous tone.
However, Yijun felt it.
The sharply changed air around him.

If you stop me, I'll attack.
As if the air contained such a threat.

Yijun twisted his lips into a smile without a sound.

"...Hardly."

Judging by the speed at which the gate was collapsing, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to break through the path, find Doctor Plant, and then return to the root area with her.

What if, against all odds, he brought Doctor Plant back, and they even escaped safely?

It still doesn't matter.
When everything is revealed, no matter how much the Monkey King defends her, Doctor Plant will not be able to avoid punishment.

So Yijun did not stop him.
He just stared at Yoo Hwan's retreating back from a distance and muttered.

"How foolish, Monkey King."

Did Yijun's voice reach him?
Yoo Hwan, who had been moving forward, stopped his steps abruptly and turned his head one last time.

The two gazes met in mid-air.

"..."

At that moment, Yijun's mouth hardened.

The red eyes staring at him seemed to be saying this.

"You wouldn't understand anyway."

—The one who is truly foolish, is you.