NOVGO.NET Book 2 Chapter 639
Book 2 Chapter 639
As they followed Michael, Yang In-hyun, who had been deep in thought, stopped thinking and joined them.
The three individuals moved together for a moment, roaming through the Underground City.
Clank- clank-
“The sound is irritating.”
Yang In-hyun said bluntly while looking at Residue’s iron ball.
“I one hundred percent agree. If it bothers you that much, why don’t you just cut it off?”
“Can’t you just cut it off yourself?”
Residue didn’t respond and instead showed the wound on his chest, hidden under his robe.
Yang In-hyun let out a sigh.
Shing-
Then he drew his sword.
A line of light flashed briefly, and the shackle was cleanly split in two. Residue’s body felt lighter and noticeably more refreshed, but it seemed it would still take a fair amount of time for the wound left by the Red Knight to fully heal.
“Well done.”
“……”
Even though he had just helped, Yang In-hyun looked dumbfounded at Residue’s attitude, acting as if he were the superior. But he wasn’t the type to fuss over such matters, so he remained silent.
Then Residue, looking at Yang In-hyun, approached him and spoke.
“And now, a brief inspection.”
“What?”
“……”
At least three of the Twelve Void Lords are Hide.
Recalling those words, Residue took out the necklace he had received from Beniang.
“……”
There was no reaction.
In other words, Yang In-hyun was not a Hide.
“That’s a relief.”
Residue clapped his hands alone and followed after Michael. Yang In-hyun also threw him a glance as if looking at a crazy bastard and resumed walking.
***
What kind of state is the Seven Fanged Dragon God in right now?
Residue looked down at the cumbersome necklace and imagined.
To be honest, he couldn’t expect her to be fine. The Seven Fanged Dragon God, Beniang, was the one who had saved Residue when he was imprisoned. At that time, there were two women there desperate to devour him, and their level wasn’t below that of the weakened dragon. One of them could even fight on par with the dragon in full condition. 𝐫âꞐÔΒË𝐬
He didn’t think she had died, but to think she would be thrown into a place like this.
[Since you're familiar with the dragon, I’ll warn you in advance. You might be shocked by how she has changed.]
“What happened to the dragon?”
[I don’t know either. By the time I got here, it had already happened.]
Residue turned his gaze to Yang In-hyun.
“Have you seen the dragon too?”
“I have. I don’t have a good impression of Rulers, but I didn’t feel like fighting a being who had become like that.”
“……”
Residue clicked his tongue.
So he didn’t feel like asking what state the dragon was in now. No matter how she looked, it was largely his fault. If he hadn’t forced her to help him escape, she could have maintained a decent relationship with the Blue Knight and Sedi Trowman.
He didn’t know exactly what had happened after that for her to end up in the Underground City beneath the Top Universe, but he figured he’d find out once they met. Of course, that’s assuming she was at least capable of holding a basic conversation.
In any case, Residue didn’t want to hear about Beniang’s condition from someone else. He felt like he had to see it with his own eyes. It was probably a matter of responsibility.
…For now, let’s assume the worst-case scenario.
“By the way, where are we going?”
[The altar.]
What a sinister name.
Not long after, they arrived at the altar.
It definitely looked like an altar. Even more so if you ignored the unrealistic size and the unnecessarily excessive height.
It was large enough to be called a building rather than an installation.
The altar had a somewhat bizarre shape, with a board placed on top of a long, thin support structure. The support was so slim compared to the board-like top that it gave off an unstable impression. It looked like the top could topple over at any moment.
Of course, the altar appeared to be very old, and it was quickly apparent that it hadn’t been poorly built. If the design had been off even slightly, it couldn’t have stood for this long.
[From here on, you must climb alone. She is at the top. I will stay and wait here.]
Yang In-hyun also leaned his back against a nearby wall. If that’s all you were going to do, then why the hell did you follow us? Residue was about to ask that but held back, and climbed the altar.
Inside the thin support pillar was a spiral staircase. It seemed to be the only entrance leading to the top. Residue considered flying up but figured there must be a reason Michael told him to climb, so he ascended the stairs one step at a time.
There were windows at regular intervals along the right wall, offering a view of the Underground City. The city, with barely any signs of life, looked like an ancient ruin.
As he absentmindedly took in the sight, there were only a few steps left to the top.
At that point, Residue stopped walking and looked up.
A woman was standing at the end of the staircase. She was a familiar face, but it wasn’t Beniang.
Dark blonde hair, a deep brown robe, and firmly closed lips that suggested stubbornness.
‘Lesha Trowman’ was standing right before the space leading to the top.
“You are…”
A startled expression turned toward him.
Come to think of it, Lukas had once saved Lesha before meeting Michael.
“…We meet again like this.”
“So it seems.”
“……”
Residue sensed that Lesha was a bit flustered. She looked unsure, repeatedly opening and closing her mouth as she watched him.
A different attitude than before. Her face showed both wariness and curiosity. It looked like she had caught on to who Lukas really was.
Did she hear from Michael? Or did she realize it on her own?
“Are you the one guarding this place?”
It wasn’t particularly important at the moment, so he asked casually.
Lesha flinched and nodded.
“I wouldn’t say guarding… I’m just providing the ‘dragon’ with assistance. By the Lord’s order.”
Providing assistance.
So she’s in a state where even moving is difficult? Residue’s brow furrowed slightly more.
“I see. I came here with that Lord’s permission. May I meet the dragon?”
“Of course. Um, and also…”
Lesha hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Thank you for saving me that time.”
It felt like that wasn’t what she originally intended to say. But the words she voiced now, and the ones she held back, weren’t something Residue needed to hear, so he simply nodded.
And thus, Residue reached the top of the altar, the rooftop.
It was an open space. No walls, no ceiling. Just as it looked from below, it was a broad flat platform. It didn’t seem to be damaged with time, but rather intentionally designed in this way from the beginning.
“……”
Because of the word altar, Residue had been imagining a rather cliched scene.
Like someone bound hand and foot to a cross, dangling lifelessly, or lying like a corpse on a sacrificial platform, and so on.
However, the sight that unfolded at the top was far outside of Residue’s expectations. And not just a little.
Beniang was there. Surprisingly, she looked no different from when they had last parted. There were no visible wounds or traces of them.
She was lying down.
But as mentioned earlier, she wasn’t bound to something like a sacrificial platform, nor was she in the posture of a maiden offered to a monster.
One hand propped up her chin, and the other turned pages. Her stomach, even her thighs, pressed against the floor in what could only be called a prone position.
She looked just like a lazy loafer sprawled out on a porch yawning away. In other words, it was a completely unfitting image for the memory of “Beniang Argento” or the “Seven Fanged Dragon God”.
She was even munching on something, which upon closer inspection was a rather hard-looking cookie. Beniang… dragon… whoever she was, she had cookie crumbs falling as she read her book, when suddenly she noticed a presence and turned her gaze this way.
“……”
“……”
They briefly exchanged glances.
Plop.
The cookie at the corner of Beniang’s mouth dropped.
“Why are you here?”
“What kind of state are you in?”
“……”
Beniang was no longer surprised.
“Reading a book.”
She picked up the fallen cookie and popped it back into her mouth, chewing it slowly.
"Eating snacks."
There was no longer any sign of embarrassment.
No, perhaps that embarrassment had only been Residue’s misconception in the first place. It seemed Beniang had only been slightly surprised.
'I'm not sure what to say.'
Residue accepted that he was the one who had been flustered. He then walked over boldly and first snatched away the book Beniang had been reading.
Let’s see what she’s reading.
[How the Max-Level Half-Dragon Saint Tames the Villainous Duke.]
“Hey, what are you doing? You’ll crease the book.”
“…Why are you reading this kind of thing?”
“Are you insulting the ‘Half-Saint’ right now? Give it back.”
Residue was half-forced to return the book.
Beniang began flipping through the pages again, and as he looked down at her green crown, a sound like a sighing laugh leaked from his chest.
“…Truly, ever since I got this body, things beyond my imagination have continued to happen. Everyone used to ask me what I’d been through. But now, it seems I should be the one asking.”
“……”
“What the hell happened to you?”
Beniang spoke with an expression of utmost annoyance, still with her eyes glued to the book.
“Today is the weekend.”
“What?”
“Don’t bother me and go away. Let’s talk again on a weekday.”
And she completely shut off her attention to him. Now and then letting out weird chuckles like “ehehe” as a bonus.
“……”
Residue briefly focused his senses to analyze whether the woman in front of him was perhaps just an impostor wearing her skin.
‘…Doesn’t seem like it.’
There did seem to be a slight change in her soul, but he couldn’t pinpoint the cause.
Perhaps because the other party was also a former Ruler, there wasn’t much that even Residue’s current insight could discern.
She showed absolutely no intention of engaging, so he had no choice but to go back down to the first floor.
Michael asked, as if waiting.
[What did she say?]
“She said it’s the weekend, so come back another time.”
[I see. So she responds the same even to you.]
From his knowing tone, it was clear that Beniang hadn’t just gone crazy recently.
“That state of the dragon you both mentioned, was it like that?”
Residue asked in a somewhat dumbfounded voice, and the two nodded.
Yang In-hyun spoke.
“I even tried to provoke her because I wanted to test her in a fight, but I didn’t feel even a hint of fighting spirit, let alone a will to live. Honestly, it felt wrong to even treat her as a Ruler, so I just left her alone like that.”
[I run a few errands for her. For some reason, her orders are hard to refuse.]
One ignored her, the other served her.
Residue let out a sigh at this ridiculous situation.
“Did the dragon perhaps also fight the Absolutes of the Top Universe?”
[As far as I know, no. Beniang had a brief conversation with the representatives of the Top Universe, then voluntarily descended into this Underground City. She wasn’t wounded like the other Absolutes, nor was she shackled or bound by iron balls.]
…So they negotiated?
Maybe she offered her life willingly in exchange for sparing unnecessary bloodshed.
Residue tapped his chin and said,
“…That woman said it’s the weekend, but that’s a concept that doesn’t exist in this world. She said to come back on a weekday, but I’ve no idea when that would be.”
[You’re talking about ‘Beniang Time’.]
What's that?
[It’s two days from now. To be exact, about 37 hours from this moment.]
37 hours.
If there had been nothing else to do, Residue might have forced his way back up to continue the conversation. But right now, he had a more pressing goal to prioritize.
“Fine. I’ll return to the dragon at that time, then. Michael. Have you given any thought to my proposal?”
[I don’t quite understand what you mean, but for now, I’ll go along with it. I owe you a debt, after all.]
“A debt? Ah.”
─It isn’t an immense proposal. I just need you to do me one favour, at some time.
─…that is a strange thing to say. So you’re not asking me to listen to you, and are just asking for a favour?
─Right. At that time, you can choose to decline. That freedom is yours.
He remembered a conversation Lukas and Michael once had.
So he’s agreeing to that. Residue nodded.
“Good. Then is there any place in this Underground City where it wouldn’t matter if it got smashed up? Ideally, somewhere we can make a mess without the ones above noticing.”
[There is, but it’s dangerous. It’s a place where an Absolute disposed of by the Top Universe resides, along with monsters that began appearing after the Great Fusion.]
“Doesn’t sound dangerous at all. Let’s go there.”
Residue looked at Yang In-hyun, who stood behind him, and asked,
“Are you coming too?”
“I suppose I will.”
“Good. Then I’ll give you a brief explanation of my plan on the way. We’re working with a time limit.”
Residue casually acted as if they were already on the same side.
Yang In-hyun was a valuable asset with many potential uses. His individual combat ability was a given, and so were the martial artists of Flower Mountain under his lead. Since he had already been confirmed not to be a Hide, there was no reason not to draw him in.
“Time limit?”
“Soon, the Blue Knight will arrive here.”
“The Blue Knight… why?”
“To kill me, of course.”
Residue spoke before Yang In-hyun could question further.
“Since she's an unpredictable existence, there’s a chance she might fight the Red Knight instead. But that’s just wishful thinking. In the worst-case scenario, I may have to face both Knights at the same time. If that happens, the chances of victory don’t just drop, they disappear entirely.”
Yang In-hyun crossed his arms and silently nodded.
Even for the proud head of Flower Mountain, speaking of victory against two of the Four Knights wasn’t something he could bring himself to say.
"So before that, you and I, we need to advance our level one more step."
“To what extent?”
“To the point where the two of us combined can defeat the Four Knights.”
“……”
Now that he thought about it, Lukas had borrowed Yang In-hyun’s strength when he fought the White Knight in the past.
'Good. From now on, I'll call this guy the 'final weapon against the Four Knights.''
Wiping the smile from his face, Residue said in a serious tone,
“Don’t you think it’s about time we had the strength to defeat the Four Knights?”
It wasn't just once or twice that plans were blocked because of the Four Knights.
It couldn’t go on like that. Especially not in situations like this. They were mountains that had to be overcome someday anyway.
“…It’s a difficult task.”
“That’s how the world works. So, will you not do it?”
“No, I’ll give it a try.”
Yang In-hyun gave a brief chuckle.
“I’ve been thinking it’s about time I beat them too.”
*****
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