?Chapter 193   – Demons’ Forest (8)

“Ugh, the air here is so heavy. Even the 12th floor wasn’t this bad.”

Phante complained as he walked through the Demons’ Forest.

It was fun beating up the occasional ghosts and Demonic species that appeared, but the air was so heavy that he wasn’t in a good mood.

However, Edora ignored Phante’s complaints and continued to look for the path.

The coordinates that Yeon-woo had taught them were definitely somewhere near here.

Phante was pouting.

“Sheesh. You can’t hear what your brother’s saying cause you’re thinking of finding your hubby, huh?”

Edora just coldly replied, “If you’re jealous, look for someone you like, too. Although you probably won’t ever be able to do that.”

“Hey! It’s just ‘cause I’m busy with this, but I’m actually pretty pop…..”

“I think it’s there.”

“Hey!”

Edora turned away from Phante and approached a certain point.

It looked no different from other parts of the forest, but with Edora’s Insight, it was clear for her.

There were pieces of the barrier that were formed like a honeycomb.

They made a large sphere and were covering a part of the forest.

Edora put her hand inside the barrier. Normally, she would’ve been flicked out, but it seemed like she found the right path. Her hand passed through the air.

She slowly moved inside the barrier. The moment Phante followed after he, his eyes widened.

A view that was too beautiful was in front of them.

It was the moment they entered an Illusionary World that they had only heard about.

***

“You’re here?”

Yeon-woo skillfully welcomed them. There was dirt on his clothes and his hands, like he had just been doing something.

“Is something the matter, Oraboni? You seem tired.”

“I was doing this and that. It’s not something to worry about, so don’t worry.”

Yeon-woo waved his hand to assure Edora, and he led the two around the Illusionary World.

Brahm looked displeased seeing the two.

“Bringing outsiders in like that……”

“What’s wrong? I think it’s nice. And Sesha seems to like it as well,” Galliard scolded Brahm with a grin.

Sesha was usually wary of strangers, but she seemed to like the siblings.

She was interested in them because Yeon-woo said they were his friends, and Phante and Edora got along well with children. Phante liked children, and Sesha had fun with Edora because they were both girls.

“If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve chased them out a long time ago.”

Brahm crossed his arms and grumbled.

But unlike his attitude, his two eyes were focused on the smiling Sesha.

Last night, Yeon-woo had said that his friends had entered the 23rd floor and asked if it was okay to bring them inside the barrier.

Brahm refused at first since he was being chased after the Elohim and Aether, but as Galliard agreed, saying they were from the One-horned tribe, he ended up allowing them in with several conditions.

They couldn’t be loud, and they were not even allowed to go near the farm. And if the Elohim found them, they had to help.

Most players would’ve ran away after hearing the name ‘Elohim,’ but the siblings quickly agreed to the conditions without any hesitation.

The One-horned tribe, who even fought against Red Dragon, had nothing to fear from the Elohim. The same went for the Phante siblings.

“You know. Sesha might’ve been lonely. Didn’t she spend too much time disconnected from the world?”

“…..”

“So keep that in mind.”

Brahm tightly closed his mouth. There was nothing he could say here.

Galliard might be right. It was true that Sesha was laughing a lot more than she usually did.

The first time she laughed like that was probably when Galliard came. It was a laugh that she didn’t show Brahm often.

Maybe.

It occurred to him that he made Sesha more lonely while thinking that he was doing it for her.

***

“Cain. I have something to say, so come here.”

Yeon-woo, who was watching Sesha, Edora, and Phante play together, turned his head towards Brahm.

A funny situation had just occurred because the three were playing hide and seek, and Phante had been caught by Sesha because he was so big.

Yeon-woo brushed his bottom off and stood up. He told Edora that he would leave for a moment, and headed behind the cottage following Brahm.

Edora wasn’t able to take her eyes off of Yeon-woo as he walked away.

She narrowed her eyes like she didn’t like something, and sighed.

It was a deep sigh. She felt this every time she looked at Yeon-woo, but he was always the same. It would’ve been nice if he said he was glad to see her, or say that he missed them. He was someone that you couldn’t expect such things from.

As Edora shook her head to look where Phante and Sesha was, she was surprised because Sesha suddenly jumped out.

She folded her thoughts and smiled again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Edora, do you like Cain?”

It was a sudden question. Edora’s eyes widened, and she faintly smiled.

“Why do you think that?”

“Your eyes never left Cain.”

Edora unintentionally coughed. It seemed that her emotions were so plain that even a young child like this could see them.

But she still had her pride as a woman. Just when she was thinking that she shouldn’t make it obvious, her expression turned strange at what Sesha said.

“Heehee. Should I help you?”

***

While Sesha and Edora were talking about this and that, Yeon-woo was speaking with Brahm and Galliard.

They seemed quite serious when they called Yeon-woo over, so he thought it was something important. He was right.

“You know that the transmutation circle and the barrier are almost finished, right?”

“Yes.”

Yeon-woo nodded his head. Of course he knew, since he was Brahm’s only assistant for the last month.

Galliard didn’t know any magic other than spirit magic, and Sesha said that things like this were boring.

Only Yeon-woo had taken interest.

After he found the way to complete the Philosopher’s Stone, Yeon-woo spent his nights trying to understand the Emerald Tablet, and used those results to set up a transmutation circle.

Although it had only been a month, Yeon-woo’s knowledge about magic had become a lot deeper.

‘The biggest trait of alchemy is how it is made. Since runes can be created with this, too.’

With Boo and Rebecca’s help, he had engraved more runes on his bones. The proficiency of his Magic Equip had also increased quite a bit.

But his biggest achievement was that he found a way to finish the Philosopher’s Stone.

Since the materials he needed were inside Intrenian, he was trying things one by one. Of course, the most important material was the source of magic power.

“Thankfully, there’s no news that Aether or the Elohim have appeared nearby. They’re probably still looking for us, but when the barrier’s finished, they won’t be able to get to us easily.”

If the Illusionary World was finished, this location would completely become Brahm’s territory.

That meant that he could set up his holy territory. Although it was limited, the god Brahma would be able to use his godly powers.

If that happened, even the Elohim wouldn’t be able to beat him, unless their leader, one of the Nine Kings, worked with them.

“So leave this place to us, and come back after you organize what you need to. When the transmutation circle is finished, we’ll be ridiculously busy again.”

Yeon-woo’s eyes slightly became bigger. Brahm hadn’t said it directly, but he meant that Yeon-woo should take a break.

Galliard smirked and told Brahm off.

“You can just simply say you’re giving him a vacation. Why are you building it up so much?”

Brahm crossed his arms and didn’t say anything.

“Aw, you’re embarrassed.”

“….Shut up.”

Yeon-woo lightly laughed, seeing the two argue unlike their ages.

Brahm stood up like he no longer wanted to be a part of this conversation.

Galliard shook his head at his untruthful friend and spoke to Yeon-woo.

“He’s someone who can’t be genuine, so be understanding. Like he said, we’ll focus on summoning demons when the transmutation circle is ready. Go take care of whatever you’re been pushing back. And rest with your friends.”

Yeon-woo nodded his head. He had been wondering when he should go to De Roy Lake. It worked out well.

But he also thought that it would be dangerous if the Elohim suddenly showed up while he wasn’t around and the barrier was unfinished.

‘What should I do?’

He contemplated for a moment, and something came to him.

“Brahm, Galliard.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you have more to say?”

Seeing the two tilt their head, Yeon-woo lightly grinned under his mask.

“Since we’re summoning a demon, why don’t we take care of the Elohim while we’re at it? I have a good idea.”

***

“Hm? So are you saying you want to run a raid together?”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to.”

“Heehee! No way! I was starting to get bored here now, so it worked out!”

Phante responded excitedly at what Yeon-woo said and stood up.

It was fun playing with Sesha, but jumping into a bloody battle was more his style.

And because he didn’t have a need to fight when he was with Yeon-woo, because Yeon-woo took care of everything, he was even more excited.

He was sometimes jealous of Yeon-woo’s growth, but it was true that Yeon-woo motivated him to work harder, so he wanted to check how much stronger Yeon-woo was.

Also, with Yeon-woo being tied for 1st place on the 21st floor with Allforone left the One-horned tribe in an uproar.

It was because Yeon-woo had done something that the Martial King hadn’t been able to do in his younger days. He didn’t express much in front of Phante and Edora, but the Martial King had probably felt wronged at the time.

When Phante heard the news, he felt relieved, but he also felt the desire to fight.

The goal that he wanted to reach, the person he wanted to defeat one day was Yeon-woo. He needed to be continually stimulated, and train himself.

Yeon-woo lightly laughed seeing Phante being competitive, and asked Phante a question seeing Edora’s upset face.

“Why is Edora like that?”

Phante giggled like it was hilarious.

“It’s because she was hit from somewhere completely unexpected.”

“…..?”

“Things happened. Anyway, you must be happy you’re so popular! Heeheehee!”

Yeon-woo looked at Sesha sleeping on the bench, and sighed when he realized what might have happened. There were times when Sesha said things that were surprising for her age. Edora had probably heard something from Sesha.

At times like these, it was better for his mental health to pretend like he didn’t know anything.

He took Sesha to her room and told Edora that he was going to leave. Edora quickly brightened up again and said that she would follow Yeon-woo.

And so the party was decided. Yeon-woo let Brahm and Galliard know that he was going to leave and stepped out of the barrier.

He had been breathing in fresh air under a clear blue sky, so it felt awkward in the heavy atmosphere under the red sky.

Yeon-woo circulated his Magic Circuit to adjust his condition and made his Magic Armor into the form of a plated armor.

He moved Vigrid from his back to his belt and put a shield on his back instead.

As a piece of head armor was created, it wrapped around his entire face. His face was completely obsurece from vision now.

Because it was black, it fit the overall atmosphere of the 23rd floor.

“Huh? Why are you doing that?”

“I don’t want to be involved with annoying things.”

“Hm? Oh, it’s because you don’t want people attacking you. Hehe. Are you saying you’re famous now?”

Phante snickered.

Actually, what he said was half right and half wrong.

He could ignore his fame, and he could push others away with his strength.

But Yeon-woo was on his guard from the Elohim. He was planning on getting Aether before he left the 23rd floor, but it wasn’t time yet. Also, it was strange that there were no sightings of him.

So he was planning on hiding his identity as much as possible. The Ceratopsian Dinosaur didn’t even deserve to be called a hidden piece anymore, because it was so well-known. It was likely that there would be a lot of players there.

‘No. Since Aether was defeated, could there actually be less?’

As he organized his thoughts, the three headed towards the lake.

***

“Then let’s go to finish cleaning up.”

After they sent Yeon-woo off, Galliard lightly twisted his neck to stretch. As he did, he saw Brahm deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Nah. I just think that he’s more interesting the more you think about him.”

“I guess. That makes sense. Since when I first met that child, I was the same.”

Brahm was thinking of what Yeon-woo suggested before he left.

-Taking care of the Elohim? How?

At Brahm’s question, Yeon-woo had answered like this.

-They’re probably getting a ‘trap’ ready for us. Then we have to turn the tables. We can give them as food to the demons.

The strategy was simple and efficient. And he especially liked that the guys like Aether would be given as ‘dessert’ to the demons.

People in the Elohim were usually those with godly blood. Because of that, they had holy power, even though it was only a little bit.

Brahm had been wondering how to lure the demons in, and this was perfect.

Like this, there were times when Yeon-woo thought of things that he never imagined before. He had received quite a lot of help when he was making the transmutation circle as well.

And also, Yeon-woo became shy Sesha’s friend. On the outside, he seemed apathetic, but Brahm was grateful to him because he was actually warm-hearted.

Like someone from the past.

“Their personalities are completely different, but he reminds of someone else.”

Galliard’s eyes were filled with regret and bitterness.

Then he saw Sesha, who was looking at where Yeon-woo left.

“If he was still around, he would’ve been happy to see that child.”