Chapter 285. The Last Member (2)
I noticed everyone’s gazes on me. They were all relying on me to act. It was a bit troubling that they couldn’t come to their own conclusions, but… I still voiced my thoughts.
“We can trust Ciara’s ability. The two kings must be in these two dungeons. You all know what kings are, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Though she missed her chance to spar with me, Sumire’s eyes were burning with eagerness. Last time, even though she clearly voiced her desire to fight, she couldn’t do so because of her lack of ability. As she was chosen this time as one of the approved members, her eagerness was understandable.
“Don’t push yourself too much, Sumire. Got it?”
“Yes, Shin-nim!”
That wasn’t the most trustworthy answer, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I continued with a slight sense of unease.
“When we take care of these two kings, only one king will remain from the original five. It looks like there’s an even stronger one above them, but we’ll still be able to greatly undercut the monsters’ forces. Once we kill the five kings, monsters of the attribute they control will grow weaker, so we have to make sure to hunt them down. We can’t neglect Event Dungeons either.”
“How are you going to decide on the members?”
Hwaya immediately asked the tough question. I looked around at Revival’s members. There were some that wanted to sit back. I couldn’t blame them. Those who were present when we fought the Lava King knew the monstrous power these kings possessed.
“Me, Hwaya, Daisy, Father, Ye-Eun, Sumire… and Ina. Is that okay?”
“Un! I’ll help Daddy! I don’t want Daddy to get hurt!”
Right, Ina was never hesitant to participate in fights. Perhaps, she didn’t understand what fear was. If possible, I wanted her to continue that way for all of her life.
I hugged Ina, who shot her hands up energetically. With an innocent laugh, she rubbed her face against mine. Someone looked at Ina enviously, but I ignored it. I felt like knowing who it was would give me more trouble than it was worth.
“The seven of us will go together. Against the kings, we can’t split our forces. We’ll attack the dungeons one by one.”
“Yes!”
“Mm, why is it so hard to get acknowledged by my son…”
“Corpses, corpses, uhuhu. Uhuhuhu.”
While everyone else seemed full of spirit to fight the kings, Daisy alone laughed somewhat perverted thinking about corpses. I smacked her forehead to snap her out of it, then looked back at everyone.
“There’s something I need to ask everyone else to do. To be honest, two kings appearing at once is too strange. I feel like there’s more to it than what’s on the surface.”
I looked back at Ciara just in case. She shook her head.
“Sorry, Hero-nim. My ability isn’t complete yet. I can’t read any further into the future.”
“No, it’s fine. The information you gave is already more than enough. Thanks, Ciara.”
“Ah, Hero-nim…!”
Ah shit, I shouldn’t have said that. Ciara’s face reddened and she stepped closer to me. I frowned, thinking I dug my own grave, and pushed Ciara away before continuing.
“Mobilize all of the succubi and let them focus their attention on any changes to Earth. This includes areas currently conquered by monsters. In fact, if it’s necessary, just wipe them out completely.”
“Really? I thought we were going to take our time reclaiming other regions. The Philippines is still under reconstruction, didn’t Guild Master say we had two years?”
Ilayda voiced her question. She wasn’t wrong, but things had changed. I told her exactly what Ciara told me.
“Sorry if it sounded too rushed, but the two years I talked about was the time we had until the Demon Lord invaded Earth. That’s how much time we thought we had, but it’s different now. There’s less than a year until the Demon Lord’s descent, and it might even be less than three months. We have to act fast.”
“Is the reason their ability to ignore the dungeon’s power?”
I nodded solemnly.
“It’s not just Earth. All worlds related to the dungeon might be facing similar situations. There’s a great change on the horizon, one that will make the simultaneous appearance of two kings pale in comparison. Ilayda, we have to do what we can before things go out of control. You’re with us, right?”
“O-Of course! If it’s for you, I’ll do anything!”
At my serious tone, Ilayda nodded vehemently with a flushed face. While I tilted my head, thinking something was strange, Licorice approached me and whispered in my ear.
“Dear Husband, you’re not controlling your power right now.”
“Ah.”
Shoot, because I was nervous, I was unknowingly releasing my charm and magic power. Damn, I still lacked training. I tried to fix the situation, but my body wouldn’t listen to me. Ciara’s words seemed to have shocked me more than I thought. Thinking I should quickly leave this place, I took a deep breath and made a final announcement.
“I said everything I needed to. The six members coming with me should follow me. Everyone else should also immediately set out! Make sure to report on your situation thoroughly, and do not get hurt! Understood?”
“Yes!”
“You’re sounding more like a leader now.”
“A truly fiery development!”
“No idle talks.”
“Chet.”
We immediately set out. Our first destination was France’s Bordeaux, as there still may be survivors. The seven of us hopped on Hwaya’s private plane.
As for everyone else, besides Leon who was training with Lin, they were working together in a single group.
“First, Deific Manifestation. Can everyone use it?”
“I can.”
“Same. True name’s power is also ready.”
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“What about everyone else?”
Besides Daisy and me, only Hwaya, Ina, and Sumire possessed gods’ true names. Hwaya and Sumire nodded, while Ina tilted her head.
“I can use… one.”
“You mean your god’s true name has several abilities, and you can only use one?”
“Un!”
Ina seemed happy that I knew exactly what she meant, as she smiled brightly. What an angel.
How can she get prettier by the day? Even if I search all of the numerous worlds, will I be able to find a worthy boyfriend for her? No, there was no way someone like that existed. It seemed I had to hold onto her for the rest of my life. Huu…
“Save it until it’s absolutely necessary, okay?”
“Un!”
“Good.”
“We’re almost there.”
If we had time, I would have liked to taste Bordeaux’s famous wines. Unfortunately, the gate was in Bordeaux’s sky and we weren’t in any position to leisurely sip on wine.
“Everyone’s in the party?”
“Yes.”
“The dungeon’s power probably won’t work, so have your potions out. If you have Elixirs, make sure to have them ready.”
Hopefully, we wouldn’t be in a situation where we needed to use Elixirs, but we had to be prepared against the kings. Even the weakest Hermit King made me nervous, but now we were about to face kings of the same level or even higher level as the Lava King.
“Beast King’s corpse, give me, yes?”
“Yeah, you can take it.”
“Wedding gift? Kang Shin, I’m still too young.”
“I think your brain is too young.”
At that moment, the plane came to a stop. I didn’t know how it worked, but I could tell it had all the latest technology. The plane’s door opened, and even as I faced the violent wind, I was completely unfazed as I looked back at the party members.
“I’ll jump in. Since we’re in a party, everyone should be moved when I enter the dungeon.”
“I want to go with Daddy.”
Despite what I said, Ina didn’t want to let go of me. Thankful for how much she thought about me, I patted Ina gently.
“Sure, let’s go together.”
I pecked her cheek and jumped out of the plane with her. Sharana, who I already had summoned, guided us to fall on the gate. As I fell into the black gate letting out ominous energy, I shut my eyes and successfully entered the dungeon.
However, Ina who was in my arms a moment ago was no longer with me.
“… What?”
I looked around flustered. I was undoubtedly in the jungle I saw in the video. Although I didn’t get any messages about having entered an Event Dungeon, I was sure that I was in one.
But there was no one else here. It wasn’t just Ina. None of the other party members were here. Not even Licorice or Lotte.
“What happened…?”
I felt a chill go down my back. In the next moment, a thought flashed through my mind. I was in an area that the dungeon couldn’t designate as an Event Dungeon. It was stupid to think a party formed through the dungeon’s power would function the same way.
But what about those guys in the video? So many people entered the gate together just fine, but how come I was the only one who ended up this way?
I tried to open my friend list, but it was futile. That meant I couldn’t send any messages. Neither the guild communication channel or the explorer communication channel opened.
[You’re finally here?]
At that moment, a thunderous voice rang out. I turned around. A golden-maned lion, far bigger than the one I saw in the video, was looking down at me. He seemed to have been waiting for my arrival.
[I finally meet you, Savior Hero.]
“You…!?”
I broke out in a cold sweat. It was partly because I felt his heavy power, but it was mostly because of the sense of unease in this uncontrollable situation.
No, calm down. Even if I was alone, I should be able to beat him. I’ve overcome countless life-threatening situations. Even if I lost the dungeon’s power, I should still be fine!
[In conclusion, Hero-nim cannot use the eye’s power from now on. The Demon Lord will descend before a year passes.]
At that moment, Ciara’s words popped up in my head. Did she foresee this situation? No, that was impossible. There was no way she would have kept quiet if she saw me in danger. Still, she still should have felt something. No, could it be a different kind of danger than this…!?
[Are you worrying about them, Hero?]
The lion talked. Them? His words made me space out. I knew far too well who “them” referred to.
Right, why was I worried about myself? I was the strongest person on Earth. Even in this situation, I was confident in being able to defeat the Beast King. But I was thinking in the wrong direction.
[It’s too late, so don’t worry, Hero. This time, all kings have come out.]
All kings. In other words, the last king was also on Earth.
In that case, I wasn’t the one trapped here.
The one trapped was people of Earth, who lost me, their greatest strength.