Chapter 288: The Last Member (5)

"Hwaya? What do you mean!?"

"Dear Husband was the only one that went in, and Hwaya followed in right after. After that, the gate closed and no one could enter... Eh? D-Dear Husband!"

Licorice who was recounting what happened after I entered the dungeon suddenly pointed behind me with a shocked expression. When I turned around, a grey shadowy circle made its appearance.

It was a gate.

"What's happening now?"

I murmured astonished. Next to me, Licorice asked carefully.

"Dear Husband, did you really clear the dungeon?"

"I didn't just clear the dungeon. For a moment, I even had the right over it! I killed one of the kings and..."

Suddenly, I felt thunderstruck. I recalled what the Beast King said, that all kings had come out this time. In that case, there could only be one answer.

"This is a different dungeon."

With that, I quickly reached out to the gate. However, an unbelievable power flung my hand back. Daisy approached me silently.

"No use. Not even a god's power, could break it."

"You used yours?"

"Just one. To fight the King of the Dead, I saved the others."

Daisy's had an unusual worried tone. She touched my arms and face, then spoke with a relieved face.

"I thought you and Hwaya were both trapped... I was worried."

It felt like this was the first time Daisy ever said something like this. If she used a god's power to try to break in, I could understand how worried she was. When I thought about how Daisy might be more concerned about us than I previously thought, I suddenly felt touched.

"Thanks, Daisy. I'm safe and I even killed a king. Though... There weren't any survivors."

"What about, Hwaya?"

"It looks like she's in another dungeon. There were two gates in the same location."

Once I entered the Beast King's gate, it shut itself off to prevent anyone else from entering. Hwaya quickly jumped into the gate in front of her, but that gate had been a different gate all along.

Did they plan on separating me and Hwaya from the very beginning? When the thought crossed my mind, a chill went down my back. The Beast King underestimated me and was taken out, but there was no guarantee that the other kings would do the same. More importantly, I could see the prudence of the existence controlling the kings. He was undoubtedly the one who came up with this plan to separate our forces.

When the day I had to face him came, I... No, now wasn't the time to be thinking about this.

"Kang Shin, are you okay?"

"... No, sorry."

Was Hwaya safe? How much time passed since she entered the dungeon? How strong was the other king? I just had too many questions.

"Worried about Hwaya?"

"Obviously! ... Sorry for shouting. I'm just thinking about something."

"Un, it's okay."

Daisy was staring at me calmly and that helped me calm down. Meanwhile, the plane carrying other Revival members came down above the gate. Ina who was waiting inside jumped into my arms with a teary face.

"Daddy!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Mommy went—"

"I know, Mommy's in the dungeon, right?"

"Un! But I can't go in. I tried to use Skadi's power, but Daisy said not to."

Daisy knew it would be of no use. I consoled Ina who was tearing up.

"When did Hwaya go in exactly?"

"13 minutes 27 seconds."

"If it's Hwaya, she should be holding on... Damn it, we don't even know who's inside!"

I examined the gate again and saw several traces of Daisy's power. Did she use a decomposing ability? A part of the gate was dug in. If a god's power could only do this much, how were we supposed to force this gate open? How?

"Maybe with Shiva's Eye..."

"Let's find another method. If Kang Shin uses that, we'll save Hwaya, but we'll all die to the Demon Lord."

"..."

Ciara's prophecy wasn't absolute. Still, with her eyes open, Ciara's ability was incomparable to before. Although she didn't know all kings had come out, she still saw the existence of two kings and their identities. It was likely that I really needed Shiva's Eye to fight the Demon Lord.

Damn it! What use was there to obtaining the power of the Destruction God Shiva!? Once per year? How was I supposed to use something like that!?

... Wait.

"I need to go to the dungeon."

I suddenly thought of something. Without a moment of hesitation, I opened the gate to the First Dungeon. Before I entered, however, Daisy shook her head.

"I already went. Right now, can't contact other administrative guilds. Dungeon is very busy."

"Have you gone to Fairy Garden?"

"Fairy Garden? I don't know, how to get to that place."

"Alright, that's fine. I'll tell you later."

I left Ina to Licorice and jumped into the dungeon. Then, I rushed to Fairy Garden.

[Prince-nim!]

[He's gotten even stronger!]

[That day must be coming closer!]

[Ah, he's coming here!]

"Guys, where's Loretta?"

[Pavilion!]

[She's at the Pavilion!]

The elements seemed to have noticed that I was in a hurry, as they answered quickly without joking around. I pictured Fairy Garden's pavilion in my head and walked forward. Soon, Loretta and over ten other Fairy Garden members appeared in front of me. Loretta's ear perked up, somehow realizing I had arrived.

"Shin-nim!"

"Loretta, do you know what's happening on Earth right now?"

"Ah, r-right now, a world is on the brink of ruin, so we're pressed for time... Did something happen on Earth?"

I held myself back from letting out a deep sigh. This wasn't Loretta's fault. We were just unlucky! Meanwhile, Loretta stealthily passed the document in front of her to the man sitting next to her.

"Noonim! I already have my hands full!"

It was Lin.

"Take care of it, Guild Master. Noona's got a business to take care of."

"Uuuuuk, fine!"

"Shin-nim, tell me."

Loretta quickly pushed her work away and approached me. I felt like I should apologize for bothering her, but I was too much in a rush to waste time with small talk. I explained the current situation as quickly as possible. Event Dungeons that completely surpassed Sherafina's control, dungeons that trapped one person inside and how to break into them.

After hearing about the full story, Loretta's expression stiffened.

"Impossible, there's no way they can ignore the dungeon's power to that extent."

"It's the truth, Loretta."

"That isn't just ignoring the dungeon's power, that's using the dungeon's power for themselves! Whether it's demons or Five Kings or whoever, there's no way that's possible!"

"Loretta."

"S-Sorry."

When I called her voice solemnly, Loretta drooped her ears and head. But right now, I didn't even have time to accept her apology.

"What do we need to do to go in?"

"Go in? The dungeon's power doesn't work against them. Not even Lord can do anything about it."

"What if we're not using the dungeon's power? For example, will Shiva's Eye be able to open the gate?"

After thinking about it for a bit, Loretta placed her hand on my forehead. As I knew what she was trying to do, I recalled what I felt from touching the gate and transferred it to her. Loretta then nodded.

"Most likely yes, but if what Shin-nim says is true, that power is needed to fight the Demon Lord..."

"Then let me ask again. Is there an explorer in the dungeon with a power rivaling Shiva's Eye?"

When she heard this, Loretta seemed to freeze. Not even a second later, she glared at me sharply.

"... Shin-nim had this in mind before coming here, right?"

"Yes."

"I didn't want to see him again..."

"Then let me go alone. I just thought I should tell Loretta before going over."

I didn't have time. Since Loretta affirmed my plan, I just needed to act. When I turned around to head off, Loretta grabbed my shoulder.

"Let me go too. I can help convince him."

"But Loretta."

"I'm indifferent now. I just didn't want to see his face again. Or, do you doubt me, Shin-nim?"

"Of course not. I just didn't want to force Loretta to see someone Loretta didn't want..."

"Let me go. It'll be better that way."

Loretta spoke with a stiff expression. I looked into her eyes and lightly nodded.

"Master, are you leaving?"

Sikatra asked Loretta. Loretta held up her hand holding onto mine and retorted.

"I already passed my official authority to Lin. You'll be fine without me, right?"

"There won't be any problem to our work, but that still goes against Lord's rule. Master, are you prepared for her punishment?"

"Yeah, I am, so let me do what I want for now."

"Fine. Tell that person I said hi."

Perhaps Sikatra wanted to create this series of events. Somewhat understanding her intentions, I lightly bowed to Sikatra. She also smiled and nodded back. Immediately afterwards, Loretta and I left Fairy Garden and headed to Beyond's Residential Area.

Right, there was one candidate I had in mind as someone with equal power to Shiva.

Beyond's first explorer.

"As you might already know, he has Odin's power."

"Odin."

"Odin isn't just famous on Earth. He has great influence in other worlds, just like Greek gods do on Earth."

"I knew it."

"Gungnir should have enough power. If he sets his target to the king, it can probably deal critical damage to him even after breaking through the gate."

"That's nice to know."

With that, we both saved our breath. It was enough to know what power he had. Not long afterwards, we arrived in front of a giant castle. It was still the eerie place it was before, letting out fluffy ominous aura.

When we neared the castle's gate, a message rang out in my ear. He had detected our presence.

[You didn't bother me all this time. Why have you come again, Third Explorer?]

His voice was still dark, but it carried a calamitous charm. I could tell now that his charm was on a similar level as mine.

Wait, then did my voice also sound like this to others? I held back my uneasiness and spoke.

[I have a favor to ask of you.]

[The answer is no. Go back.]

He cut down my request instantly. This rude little bastard... I gritted my teeth and was about to ask again, when Loretta placed her hand on the metal gate and asked.

[I came to ask you for a favor, Kain Zerahard.]

Even though she wasn't a Beyond explorer, her voice was ringing out in Beyond's explorer communication channel. It was to be expected from Fairy Garden's guild master.

The moment the first explorer heard Loretta's voice, his voice trembled.

[You're... Loretta?]

[Yes, I'm Loretta... Shin-nim needs your help. Please listen to him.]

[No, I'm... Go back.]

[You must listen to him... I hope you remember, you are indebted to us, to me.]

I couldn't raise my head. I knew things were going to turn out this way, but I was too embarrassed to face Loretta. Uuu, to save Hwaya, I was forcing Loretta to threaten her first love. If I die, I was sure to go to hell...!

[... I see, he is your...]

[Yes. I have never resented the fact that I have to stay in the dungeon this much.]

[I see... In that case, there's no other choice.]

That was it. We didn't need to convince him anymore. He accepted my request just by Loretta asking for a favor. I was too afraid to think about what debt he owed to Loretta, or how much burden this put on Loretta.

The iron gate, which had stayed closed for hundreds of years, opened this easily. A wide garden appeared beyond it, and we could see the door to his castle.

[Come in. I'll at least hear you out.]

The dungeon's strongest explorer was welcoming me.