Chapter 124: Chapter 124

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Monstrous One's Domain

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Barcabarang whistled as he looked at the three of them.

"[Impressive skills. You've charmed some peerless beauties. Share your tips.]"

""Look who's talking.""

That was hardly something for a man who was the very embodiment of lust to say.

"[So, it seems you're not dead. What business do you have here? I don't think any good comes from the living visiting this place.]"

It seemed Barcabarang had sensed the Thunder Caller and subtly come to investigate.

""Darling.""

Just then, Vinesha whispered to me.

""Not many spirits retain their sanity in the Otherworld. It would be good to ask him for directions while we're here.""

I see.

That, I hadn't thought of.

At that moment, I felt a pull from Sharin.

Sharin was tugging firmly on my arm.

""Too close.""

Honestly, I wondered if Sharin was just here to bother me.

""Barcabarang, do you know where the Monstrous One is?""

Barcabarang's eyebrows twitched.

"[You're saying something incredibly dangerous. You're not actually planning to go into the Monstrous One's domain, are you?]"

""Yes, there's an idiot who went looking for the Monstrous One. We need to find him before he reaches the Monstrous One.""

"[So that's why the Goddess of Thunder pushed you this way.]"

Barcabarang grumbled and sighed.

Only then did I realize that the Goddess of Thunder, who had been watching through the Thunder Caller, had sent Barcabarang.

'She was helping us.'

I'd have to thank her properly later.

"[I can't guarantee your safety.]"

""I came prepared.""

Barcabarang didn't reply further and turned his back.

He must have realized that something serious had happened the moment the Goddess of Thunder urged us forward.

""Vinesha, Sharin.""

I released the arms of the two, who were still bickering.

Then I looked at them with sharp eyes.

""The situation is urgent. We can't keep doing this.""

This wasn't the real world; it was the Otherworld.

We were strangers here.

No matter what, we couldn't continue like this without a sense of urgency.

""Vinesha, you know best how dangerous the Otherworld is. I trust you, but if you act like this, I can't.""

""D-darling, you're angry. I'm sorry. Please don't be angry. I-I was wrong!""

I wasn't particularly angry, as my anger was also diminishing due to the influence of the Veil Bandage.

But Vinesha flustered, repeatedly expressing her apologies to me.

Vinesha was the type to give her all for me, even her liver and gallbladder.

Even if I was just slightly displeased, she would become incredibly submissive, doing everything she could to please me.

It was just regrettable that it stemmed from her abandonment issues and desire not to be discarded.

""Sharin, you're aware that you're not acting like yourself, aren't you?""

All of Sharin's current actions were impulsive.

Actions that had impulsively burst out due to Vinesha's overt displays of affection.

Therefore, if she became aware of it herself, she would realize she was doing something embarrassing.

""Ah, hmm.""

Sure enough, Sharin also realized that her actions were somehow strange.

Then, with a reluctant expression, she slowly released her hand from my arm.

""You're right. Why did I do that?""

She herself wore a puzzled expression.

It was a reaction that showed she had no idea why she was acting this way.

In any case, that settled things for now.

""Finally, Eve.""

I barely managed to pull her off my back.

Then I firmly grasped her hand.

""If you're scared, keep your eyes closed. I'll call you when I need you.""

""...I'm sorry.""

Only then did Eve reply.

There was no need to be sorry.

I was the one who asked her to come.

I would take responsibility.

""Let's go, we'll lose him.""

I quickened my pace, following Barcabarang who was walking ahead.

Barcabarang glanced my way and chuckled.

"[It's not easy having so many women, is it?]"

""Don't talk nonsense.""

"[The time will come when you'll admit it too. More importantly, be careful. A woman's jealousy can sometimes be very frightening.]"

So that's why he died from a lightning strike.

It made sense, coming from a witness who died because of jealousy.

The surrounding scenery gradually began to change.

The gray world, which hadn't been much different from before, gradually began to grow more lush with trees.

"[But what we're heading into now is even more dangerous than that.]"

Barcabarang, who had fearlessly defiled even the statue of a goddess, wore a displeased expression.

An eerie wind blew through the black forest.

Amidst the eerie wind, cold enough to make one shiver, unpleasant laughter drifted into my ears.

Through the gaps in the forest, non-human-like beings flitted past.

However, they didn't approach us.

This was thanks to Vinesha and Sharin.

Before long, a demon with long, dangling arms appeared and quietly guarded Vinesha's side.

Every time the demon's eyes flashed through its long hair, the spirits would startle and flee.

Sharin's Mirinae glowed, imbued with the starlight of the Milky Way.

Not many spirits could face that intense starlight head-on.

This was why I had brought the two of them to the Otherworld.

With just the two of them, there was less chance of encountering danger in the Otherworld.

'The problem is how far Grantony has gone.'

The reason Grantony had always been obsessed with the Otherworld was because of Mushika.

Mushika, the reincarnation of Aquiline, whom the Monstrous One had devoured.

To retrieve her, Grantony had entered the Otherworld time and again.

For Grantony to have fully entered the Otherworld meant he had found Mushika.

'Even in the original scenario, Grantony gets captured by the Monstrous One once.'

Grantony, entranced by Mushika, entered the Otherworld.

Such a Grantony was toyed with by the Monstrous One and eventually captured by him.

Around that time, Lucas had subdued Vinesha, who had tried to steal Zerion's magic.

He then entered the Otherworld, seeking her cooperation to rescue Grantony.

'Here too, Lucas's Flame of Fighting Spirit proves useful.'

The Flame of Fighting Spirit is a key element that blinds the Monstrous One.

Furthermore, it also acts as a lighthouse.

However, we don't have Lucas now.

Because Lucas had met his demise.

My gaze fell upon the forest.

'Perhaps.'

Lucas might also be wandering the Otherworld.

'Who knows?'

Not everyone who dies wanders the Otherworld.

Knowing that, I decided not to dwell on it.

What was important now was finding Grantony.

Monstrous One or not, everything would be resolved once Grantony was found.

'I just hope it's not too late.'

Just then, Barcabarang's steps halted.

"[This is as far as I know. And this is as far as I can go.]"

Barcabarang had officially indicated that this was the Monstrous One's domain.

It was already a kindness that he had guided us this far.

I immediately turned around.

""Vinesha.""

At my call, Vinesha, who had been fretting, looked up sharply.

Then she scurried over to me.

""Yes, Darling!""

She looked at me, forcing a bright smile.

But she couldn't hide the unease that lay beneath that smile.

""Check the pendant.""

Hearing that, Vinesha took out the pendant I had given her from her clothes.

Soon, a ray of light leaked from the pendant and pointed somewhere.

Vinesha realized what this was and her eyes widened.

""Is this pendant connected to someone named Grantony?""

""Yes.""

Vinesha, who remembered nothing about Grantony, showed a reaction of wonder.

In the Otherworld, the more connections an object had in life, the stronger its ties remained.

That was why the pendant was connected to Grantony.

I gazed at Vinesha thoughtfully.

Vinesha didn't seem to wonder why I had given her such a pendant.

She simply clutched the pendant dearly.

""I wonder why. It's such a wonderfully warm light!""

Vinesha smiled brightly at me.

""It must be because Darling gave it to me!""

I unconsciously raised my hand and placed it over the pendant in Vinesha's grasp.

Unlike Vinesha's words, the light from the pendant wasn't particularly warm or anything.

That warmth was clearly something only Vinesha could feel.

""It must be a wish imbued by someone who wanted this warmth not to be forgotten.""

Although, that warmth had ultimately scattered without reaching its destination.

I hoped such warmth would come to Vinesha once more.

Because it would be heartbreaking for her, as a mid-boss, to simply exit the stage after meeting a tragic end.

""Vinesha, guide us by following the light. You'll be able to tell which way it's going.""

""Okay, I'll do that!""

Vinesha confidently strode forward.

Then, Vinesha's footsteps abruptly came to a halt.

""Oh, Darling.""

Vinesha had already lifted her head.

""The light is pointing upwards?""

Soon after, my gaze also began to slowly rise.

My eyes, and everyone else's, naturally fell upon the sky above.

What soon unfolded in the sky was a pitch-black abyss.

A massive hole, burrowing into the sky, became visible.

My eyes slowly widened.

Below the hole.

A man with a skeletal face was ascending into the sky, limp and sagging.

At the same time, the hole gaped open, and a colossal being slowly revealed itself.

That being was extending a black, bony hand through the opening to receive him.

""Damn it.""

Grantony was about to be abducted by the Monstrous One.

""Sharin!""

I cried out Sharin's name first.

At the same time, Sharin's body was already soaring towards the sky.

As one of the people I trusted most, Sharin's reaction was quicker than anyone else's.

I trusted her.

If it was Sharin, she would surely be able to snatch Grantony.

"[Uh, uh, honestly, I don't think going there is a good idea.]"

Barcabarang looked at Sharin, who was soaring into the sky, and was flustered.

The Monstrous One's hand was already more than halfway out of the hole in the sky.

Sharin might very well be caught and dragged away too.

However.

""If we don't go, things will get even worse!""

I raised my hand above my head.

Seeing that, Barcabarang blinked his eyes.

It was as if he couldn't understand why I was raising my hand at this moment.

I clenched my fist towards the sky.

""Since she appeared directly in the sky.""

I had to repay her first.

"[Oh, you crazy fool!]"

Barcabarang covered his head and flattened himself against the ground.

Then, an eerie movement appeared in the sky.

A streak of blue light shot through the clouds in the sky.

At the same time, Sharin snatched Grantony.

Come, Thunder Caller.

Piercing the sky, a single strike of blue lightning poured down.