Chapter 378

However, except for the two of us, I couldn't feel anyone else's presence in this large location. This place was rather spacious, and it contained another obstacle...

[......]

The middle of the room contained peculiar stone statues that went back and forth like wandering ghosts between the display cabinets that held the Moon Issak copies.

They had the name [Sleeping Face, Holy Mother Statues] above their heads, like the monsters in a dungeon; the redness denoted the stark difference betweenour levels.

As always, my foreboding intuition was validated.

Hugging me, Dawon-ie said, "It's not too difficult to clear those away, but they can withstand a beating."

"......"

"I'm going to avoid them, so don't make any noise and hold on tight. Alright?"

Seo Dawon's remaining summoning time-which wasn't very much-was our biggest problem.

Pressing my face against his chest, I nodded. Soon, Dawon-ie slowly rose into the air. When I looked down from this height, the situation seemed even more grave than at first glance.

'They're everywhere...'

Moon Issak's body wasn't the only thing that was nearly too plentiful to count-dozens and dozens of [Sleeping Face Statues] were patrolling at regular intervals. Their pattern would make it so that we encounter at least one or two of them.

Moreover, looking down from above, the pathway resembled a maze. Some paths seemed to continue straight and intersect, but then they were blocked at the end, making it impossible to easily escape. If we had continued walking straight from our initial position, we would have encountered a dead end.

"They're more than 90% done," Dawon muttered, looking down as well. Then, when I gave him an inquisitive gaze, he added, "They definitely tried to make a dungeon here."

I was a little shocked that Moon Issak was completing our plan first. However, Seo Dawon wasn't particularly shaken; he observed the bizarre events below. Then, as if talking to himself, he murmured, "All roads lead to one place... Then, I wonder if he prepared a separate 'boss room.'"

".....?"

As he muttered, the Mage began to slowly fly towards one side.

Thanks to a skill which hid our presence, the statues did not notice us. Thankfully, we were able to reach our destination without fighting.

The dim light intensified as we traveled and, finally, we reached the center of this gargantuan room. However, when we arrived, an even more absurd construction awaited us.

"......" At first, I thought we had arrived at a small, modestly adorned garden. This peaceful area, fitted with colorful, flowering trees and white gravel, was too peaceful to be a 'boss room.'

But, when we went further inside, past a few large trees, a huge bird-cage like structure appeared.

Furniture such as beds and tables were placed inside. And in the center, behind the firm iron bars, was unmistakably Moon Issak's 'heart' placed atop a transparent table.

Ba-thump, Ba-thump-!

I don't know what sort of spells or effects were casted on it, but the heart was pulsating on its own-with no body supporting it. The beating sound echoed strongly throughout the space. It was as if the heart itself was alive.

Beyond the unsettling structure, what struck me as odd was the lack of anything in the surroundings except for the cage and the heart.

At that time, Dawon expressionlessly, but gently, lowered me to the ground. "I think we can talk here, Lee-kyung-ah."

"...Yeah," I clambered down from Dawon's arms and looked around again, but, as expected, there really was nothing else aside from this suspicious heart.

Dawon-ie walked along the iron bars, reading the strange characters written on the floor, "[Worshippers of the fake god will create an altar]... Did Lee Seol-hwa write this?"

I pulled lightly on Dawon's arm, bringing the Mage away from his deep analysis of the text. I was curious-"You know, that Lee Seolhwa person... Is she really here?"

"Yeah. She'll be nearby."

When I looked around, nervous, Dawon added reassuringly, "It's alright. Lee Seolhwa is only good at hiding-she doesn't have much of an offense."

With that said, Dawon stabbed his staff into the middle of the text on the floor. The staff began to resonate slowly, emitting a subtle light. Simultaneously, the plants and landscaping near the cage lost their light and withered before my eyes.

I watched the flowers and trees wither and the small spring near the cage gradually evaporated.

And then...

All of a sudden, the heart in the cage emitted a bright light-enough to hurt my eyes. When I closed and opened my eyes, the garden was restored...just as it had been when we first encountered it.

And, even more shockingly...

"...Dawon-ah?"

Before I knew it, Dawon was in the cage and not at my side. Even though he opened his mouth and was clearly speaking, I couldn't hear his voice.

"I-I can't hear you?" I shouted out.

Dawon shook his head when he saw my scared expression. It seems he was warning me to get away.

Rustle-!

At that moment, I quickly hid behind a tree because I heard a suspicious sound behind me. I narrowly avoided the statue by a hair's breadth. The statue slowly began to walk around with bizarre, jerky movements; when it spotted Dawon in the cage, it approached him.

'What is going on...'

However, the statue didn't harm Dawon. Instead, it stood with its back against the cage as if it were standing on sentry, blocking the Mage's way. Then, it began to look towards where I hid, observing the area carefully.

'Is it programmed to protect whatever is in the cage?'

Then, as long as I'm careful here, wouldn't Dawon-ie be able to grab that heart? Though I was a bit nervous and bewildered, if my hunch was correct then it wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Dawon to be sucked inside.

I nodded at Dawon, telling him that I'd be fine and not to worry. Dawon-ie's expression didn't look too great, but it seems that he quickly understood what I had in mind.

Eventually, Dawon turned his head towards the heart attached to the cage ceiling and reached out his hand. However, just before grabbing the heart, he withdrew his hand and lowered it again. Then, with a slightly furrowed brow, he muttered incomprehensible words. Not being able to discern his plan made me feel a bit anxious.

'Is he sending a message?'

I opened up my chat window, just in case, but all I could see was a new notice that read [the other party is not receiving any messages right now.]

Boom-!

I could hear a loud noise nearby. The Holy statue-the one blocking the front of the cage-frowned and quickly moved in the direction of the sound.

I was also concerned about the noise, but my priority was Dawon's safety. I ambled about, trying to catch the Mage's attention, but Dawon didn't look at me. His eyes were closed, and he was chanting as if he was busy using his skills.

Suddenly, Dawon looked down at his hands while in the middle of his recitation; following his gaze, I was also startled to find shackles around his wrists.

"What on earth...?" I whispered.

Unlike my frightened self, Dawon seemed more annoyed than anything. He shook his head and muttered something-a scathing curse probably; the handcuffs then disappeared.

'...No way, is he getting handcuffed whenever he uses a skill?'

As I pondered deeply, someone grabbed my shoulder roughly from behind. Yelping, I attacked the person behind me with some of the self-defense moves I learned recently.

"Oh~ Not bad?" The person whistled.

However, my fist was caught easily.

And the person who caught it was....

"Woo Ragi?!"

"Uhuh."

...It was Woo Ragi. However, unlike his usual confident demeanor, he seemed strangely tense. His body was stiff, and his clothes were ruffled.

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TL: Woo Ragi's warming up to Lee-kyung a lot, I swear. Or maybe I'm delusional.