Chapter 64

“Sister.”

“Yes, my foolish little brother.”

“Yes, your foolish little brother has come. Is your research going well?”

“Not bad.”

After gracefully writing something with a quill pen carved from emerald, the sister finally put it down and raised her head.

Her hair, dark and coldly shimmering like the deep sea, scattered like a wave. She smiled a smile like that of the savage deep sea.

“As expected, of all the dimensions I know, the species called human is the most diverse. The skill of utilizing the brain also varies greatly from individual to individual, and the range is wide, from their appearance to their emotions.”

“You truly do like humans, Sister.”

“What are the limits of humanity? Just when I think this is the end, a crazy individual who surpasses those limits pops up in another dimension… so I cannot stop my research.”

“If that's the case, then doesn't it mean that the species called human has no limits?”

“There are humans who have become gods in some dimensions. But one cannot affirm that a god is the final point for a human, so wouldn't it be important to collect various specimens?”

“That is certainly true.”

Iseur's sister wanted to find out everything about humans.

She even personally crafted a creation of the sun with her cold mermaid hands.

Of course, it more often than not deviated from the human form.

It was because she, too, hated humans, making it difficult to craft a complete form.

“But it is truly strange.”

“…….”

“That one person, and only one, I cannot recreate….”

Iseur knew.

His sister was a genius who made the impossible possible, but there was only one person.

She could neither revive Giovanni nor create a replica of him.

In Iseur's opinion, it seemed she herself was rejecting it.

“…….”

A created Giovanni could no longer be called their teacher.

“…The name of this dimension seems to be called Earth. To be precise, it seems to be the name of a planet.”

Iseur smiled his usual calm smile.

It was a benevolent smile that was very similar to the human named Giovanni, who occasionally brought both longing and displeasure to the two siblings.

“Will there be a role for me to play this time?”

“If things go well, probably not. I will create a separate vassal from Earth for the role of opening the gate, so you do not need to worry too much.”

“I was not worried.”

He smiled faintly.

“If I had been, I would have been worried about you, Sister.”

“The same goes for me.”

Over her dark blue dress, the sister, wearing an incongruous doctor's gown, narrowed her eyes deeply.

“What do you think is the end of humanity?”

“How would I know what even you do not, Sister.”

“Sometimes I feel out of breath. It is because I have run too much.”

“Even if you say so, you will never rest.”

“I can't help what I'm curious about, but still….”

Her red lips parted.

“One day, I will be able to stop.”

From a very young age, she had wanted to see the limits of humanity.

Now, it seemed a purpose had been added to that.

“…….”

“Isn't that right?”

If she knew the limits of humanity.

Within it, Giovanni, who was a more noble human than anyone else, would surely exist….

“…Yes.”

We were missing him in silence.

“I, too, think so.”

We ask the world to see our dead teacher, but if we were to see him again, he could not be called Giovanni in the end.

That was why the siblings never brought up his name.

It was because they knew that making him their purpose was a terrible contradiction.

“…….”

“…….”

And yet, they grew greedy.

“…….”

“Good morning.”

Just like when they had trapped the sun in the deep sea.

***

“…….”

“Hey, wait….”

“Do not come any closer.”

“Sorry, but Jio is with me.”

“I said, do not come closer.”

“We’re getting nowhere.”

Yu Seong-un forced an awkward smile.

He didn't know how to react to this difficult situation.

‘It's not like he's a mother bird trying to protect her chick.’

In terms of size, it would be the complete opposite, but Eun-ha, who had the body of an elementary school student, was for some reason tightly hugging the fallen Jio.

‘No matter how hard he tries with that small body, there's no way he can cover everything.’

He looked truly desperate.

“…….”

Yu Seong-un soon finished assessing the situation.

‘…Judging by that kid’s hypersensitive reaction, this is probably a situation related to one of Jio's personalities.’

He had already expected that there would be numerous personalities of his in many dimensions as offshoots of the center that was ‘Jio's Portrait’.

Considering that, this kid baring his teeth while absurdly shielding Jio also seemed to be a humanoid monster from another dimension.

‘Seeing how his teeth are transforming, he is definitely not human. If so, that means some personality of Jio and this monster before me know each other….’

He didn't know whether to call this fortune or misfortune.

‘Is it fortunate in the sense that he’s not attacking at all, even though he seems to be the master of this dungeon?’

Yu Seong-un looked at Eun-ha, who was hugging the fallen Jio with a reluctant gaze.

“You don't seem to have any intention of explaining this situation. You, what's your name?”

“I am sorry, but you are unpleasant. Do not talk to me, you insignificant human.”

“Right, this is the correct reaction for a monster. Thanks to you, I feel like my sense of reality is returning.”

Monsters were fundamentally creatures that hated humans, so Jio, who had always shown a gentlemanly response to humans, was the strange one.

‘Even Eun-ha’s current state of responding to my words is on the very moderate side.’

For a bewildering situation where he was suddenly captured in a virtual dungeon, there seemed to be a way out.

Yu Seong-un had hope.

“Anyway, the name Eun-ha must be a pseudonym. What should I call you?”

“It is not a pseudonym.”

“Then it's your real name?”

“I borrowed Earth's format and made it based on the meaning of my name, so….”

“That's what a pseudonym is.”

The contradictory reaction of diligently answering every question while baring his teeth was extremely interesting.

‘It doesn't seem to be because his hatred for humans is low. If so, is he answering because of Jio?’

Yu Seong-un, who was once the research team leader of the Association, scanned his opponent just enough not to be unpleasant.

Feeling such interest in a situation where his own life and the lives of others were at risk was a chronic habit of Yu Seong-un the Gardener.

‘I don't know what kind of relationship Jio and this monster had, but….’

This kid had eyes too, so he would know that Yu Seong-un and Jio had been acting together on Earth.

‘We showed a level of closeness that wouldn't seem strange even to an unknowing passerby.’

It seems he is enduring with that in mind.

‘In that case, it means this monster is trying to read Jio's mood.’

In a word, it meant that Jio was higher in rank in their relationship than this monster.

“…Ah, I’m tired.”

He desperately wanted to go home.

‘Some time has passed and people are gradually calming down, but the anxious atmosphere remains as they know they've been dragged into a dungeon. A considerable number of people I saw at the event are missing too….’

Yu Seong-un, who had surveyed his surroundings, asked.

“Did you bring everyone who was at the event?”

He wouldn't pretend not to know at this point.

‘He did say some pretty monster-like things for a human.’

As if he intended to reveal his identity right after causing the incident, Eun-ha was blatantly giving off the vibe that he was the master of this place.

‘The other people seem to be too confused about being suddenly dragged here to even think of checking this way.’

But at the very least, he could not deceive the eyes of an A-class Hunter, Yu Seong-un.

The master of this virtual dungeon and the main culprit who had suddenly dragged the people from the event hall here, was the blue-haired kid in front of him.

“The condition was everyone who was inside the Temple of the Sun?”

“…….”

“…Oof….”

Is a monster a monster after all.

‘The killing intent is enormous.’

It was a killing intent so strong that it made him wonder how he had acted like such a gentle child on Earth.

His pearl-white eyes were so bloodshot that they looked red, and just making eye contact was enough to tire out Yu Seong-un's mind.

He felt at a loss.

‘I don't want to provoke the temper of the master of such a terrifying dungeon….’

Unfortunately, the hunters in this cavern were only Yu Seong-un, an A-class, one C-class man, and one woman who was slightly below C-class.

It wasn't that Yu Seong-un, an all-rounder, couldn't cover for them if he tried, but….

‘No, I can't.’

They're all going to die.

‘I could probably escape alone, but I can't leave Jio behind.’

Of course, he wasn't worried about Jio's well-being. Yu Seong-un was in no position to worry about the well-being of this unconscious portrait.

He just didn't want to see Bisabeol's cry of despair over losing a piece of his collection, didn't want to lose Jio, a special piece of data related to the Source, and finally, he was worried about what kind of absurd disaster ‘Jio's Portrait’ might cause while he had left it unattended.

‘I can't just run away and ignore the existence of an immeasurable, extraordinary Source being in this crazy dungeon. It's like planting a bomb.’

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that the killing intent of this monster had clearly subsided after confirming face of Jio.

‘The unique pressure of the dungeon seems to have lessened a bit too….’

He had to find a way out of this dungeon, but he couldn't disturb the master who had just found some stability.

“…….”

Since it was difficult to expect cooperation from the monster, Yu Seong-un used Jio as a weapon and spoke a little more indirectly.

“…You seem to know Jio, did you know? Jio despises evil and rude beings.”

“…….”

“I don't know how you and Jio know each other, but that's how the current Jio is. If Jio had that kind of nature in the past as well, then it probably means that back then, you… were not so evil or rude.”

“But now I am evil and rude.”

The monster continued with a deadpan face that was chilling to look at.

“I do not think that this person will affirm the current me. I am not as arrogant as you are.”

“Uh, right. It seems Jio was like that back then too, but since things have turned out this way, do you have any thoughts of being a little kinder to humans?”

“…….”

The monster, who had answered with silence, raised his head to face Yu Seong-un.

He saw the monster’s eyes, which resembled a pearl in some way.

Those eyes, telling of a predator, had pupils that were slit vertically, and were also distorted like a diamond hit by sunlight.

‘Ah, this is.’

Should I call it a hunter's intuition?

Yu Seong-un instinctively realized what it meant.

‘He's contemplating whether to kill.’

It was clear that he was thinking of killing everyone before Jio woke up, that is… causing trouble first and then worrying about cleaning it up later.

‘That’s peculiar.’

It was like that just a moment ago, but now those pearl-colored eyes were glistening even more vividly.

It was similar to the eyes of a beast glinting in the evening.

Perhaps the monster had a habit of its eyes shining like water scales when it got angry or harbored killing intent.

‘…If that's the case, this side too.’

Can't just sit here and die.

‘No matter how many die, all I need to do here is to secure Jio.’

As he foresaw how many people would die here from now on, it was when Yu Seong-un gathered cold energy in his hand.

“…Eugh….”

“! Jio.”

“! Teacher!”

Teacher?

“Ah, that….”

Eun-ha was stammering, as if flustered by his own words.

He had a look on his face that showed he had belatedly realized he was in no position to call Jio ‘Teacher’ in any sense.

‘What is this sloppiness?’

On a face that was so different from the venomous one just a moment ago, a face that looked clueless but sincere, Yu Seong-un felt what little trust he had hit rock bottom.

“J-Jio-ssi.”

“…….”

“Are you alright? You just lost consciousness….”

Is this monster feigning innocence?

‘…Humanoid monsters do have a basic tendency to feign innocence towards humans, but that's part of a scheme to catch and kill their prey by making them let their guard down….’

Looking at the child's face, as if he were a devout priest, Yu Seong-un felt his already low energy drain away.

The suddenly subsided killing intent completely deflated him.

Jio, who had sat up unsteadily as if his head was hurting, looked around.

“…….”

“…….”

“……?”

It wasn't clearly visible because of the hood, but seeing a glimpse of black hair, the current Jio was definitely ‘Seo Jio’. He seemed to be wondering where he was and why he had collapsed.

As if Eun-ha had noticed that as well, he asked Jio with a child's face.

“Jio-ssi, this is a dungeon. Do you happen to remember what happened before you collapsed?”

“…Before I collapsed….”

Surprisingly, Jio nodded his head.

“I was speaking to Student Eun-ha.”

“Ah….”

Eun-ha seemed a little disappointed, but also partly relieved.

Yu Seong-un also roughly grasped the situation.

‘…It seems there's confusion in his personality.’

Jio remembered the fact that he had spoken to Eun-ha, but he called Eun-ha ‘Student’.

This was Seo Jio's way, so it probably meant that while the memory was there, the personality was not the ‘Jio’ that Eun-ha knew.

“…….”

Jio sat for a long while with his head in his hands.

It was a highly exceptional situation for a being whose essence was a portrait to show, and Yu Seong-un asked with concern.

“…Does your head hurt?”

“…Yes.”

Jio answered in a rarely faint tone.

“My body and mind are both dizzy.”

In those words, Yu Seong-un recalled the situation from just before when they were being pulled into the dungeon.

‘…The Jio of that moment had the high status that was seen in the portrait.’

Had the status he had limited been released in the process of moving from one dimension to another?

‘And now it’s been limited again?’

Since he hadn't even figured out his true identity yet, it was of course difficult to accurately interpret Jio's state, but still, there was one clear fact for Yu Seong-un.

“…….”

“…….”

Yu Seong-un's and Eun-ha's gazes crossed.

‘…This little kid, or the dungeon environment, seems to be affecting Jio's personality….’

To be honest, it was not a welcome story for Yu Seong-un.

‘I don't know what kind of bond Jio and Eun-ha had in the past.’

How could he welcome the fact that Jio's personality, who was a disaster in himself, was changing due to a heinous dungeon where a humanoid monster was lurking.

‘At this rate, people might break Jio's rules because he's become sensitive and get attacked, or even if not, Jio, who favors an old acquaintance, might take the side of the monster Eun-ha. Either way, it will be a very disadvantageous situation for humans.’

It was clear that Eun-ha had a similar thought.

“…….”

“Well now?”

Eun-ha used his small body to burrow into Jio's arms.

It was clear that he knew Jio was particularly weak to small creatures and was trying to use that to his advantage.

“Eun-ha-gun, won't you get off? I thought you were a gentle friend, but your act is no joke.”

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

“I’ve never had the back of my neck pulled like this fighting guys like you.”

“That is very immature of you.”

“I’m going crazy.”

Anyway, this one thing was for sure.

‘The longer we stay here, the closer we keep this kid… Jio's personality will change.’

A goal was set.

He had to escape with the time bomb named Jio, as quickly as possible.

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