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Chapter 281

It was an inexplicable situation.

Both the Underworld and the surface knew neither party would gain a clear upper hand and dominate the other if yet another war were to occur. The Great War from the past was full of lessons that both sides had learned.

It was only after the surface had sacrificed countless lives through the war that they finally understood the Underworld was a realm that humans couldn’t conquer. Likewise, the Underworld understood that if all the Lesser and Middle Floors were to be destroyed, it would only be the Deep Floor Nobles who could fully preserve their powers.

With such a war having taken a heavy toll on both sides in the past, there was absolutely no reason for either side to wage a senseless war once again.

“No, what can they even gain out of this now?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

It had been a war with no winners or losers, but if a victor had to be decided, it could be said that the surface that had stolen the treasure of the Underworld—the Wish Stone—was the ultimate winner.

However, even that trivial victory was nothing more than a conspiracy devised by the mad Ancient Lords, so in a sense, Kim Jin-Woo found the whole situation to be rather funny.

“It’s not a war waged for some kind of gain. Information came in that the Underworld is preparing for war with the surface. It’s because of that information that I heard the surface has decided to go to war in order not to suffer the same catastrophic fate as last time,” Lee Jun-Young replied.

It seemed almost as if Lee Jun-Young were the one asking Kim Jin-Woo the questions. She seemed to be noticeably anxious, waiting for confirmation on whether it was true that the Underworld was preparing to wage war against the surface.

“How could that be? I’ve already got my hands full taking care of my personal matters in the Underworld,” Kim Jin-Woo grumbled.

The Underworld, which had been completely transformed by the first two Restorations, wasn’t in any position to wage war against the surface. The Highlords had only just realized the plots of the Ancient Lords and were making the necessary preparations, and the Nobles were all cowering in fear due to the changed situation of the Underworld and the call of the Highlords. The situation in the Underworld was already too complicated for anyone to even think about the surface.

“That’s reassuring,” Lee Jun-Young said. She looked rather relieved by the fact that she wouldn’t have to face other humans as her enemies.

“But where did you hear that information from?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

***

“It seems there’s someone who has been exiled from the Underworld. Through that person, I found out that the Underworld was preparing for war against the surface, and that it was imminent,” Mr. Baek explained.

“Are you hearing yourself speak right now?” Kim Jin-Woo replied. The story flowing out of Mr. Baek’s mouth was truly absurd.

“It’s not improbable. You may be aware of this too, but recently, there have been way too many incidents, hasn’t there? Creatures of the Underworld we’ve never seen before have crawled up to the surface several times, and not too long ago, there was even an unusual tremor. It seems pretty credible that all of these happenings were due to the Underworld’s preparation for war,” Mr. Baek replied.

“No. That’s not possible. It’ll never happen,” Kim Jin-Woo said firmly.

The reason why those creatures had appeared on the surface was because the Moai, tainted by the malice of the Underworld, had lost their way and ended up on the surface, while the ‘unusual tremor’ was simply a minor change that had occurred during the Underworld’s return to its past state through the Restoration.

“And how do you know that?” Mr. Baek asked.

Kim Jin-Woo was in a peculiar position to be fully explaining the details to Mr. Baek. He was a Terran, but at the same time, he was a significant ruler of the Underworld and a Highlord. No ordinary human would ever be able to understand him from his point of view.

“Hmm.” Mr. Baek continued his story as he looked at Kim Jin-Woo suspiciously. “The government intends to dispatch explorers and dungeon babies. We can’t know for certain if they can move about freely in the Underworld as the government hopes, but if they’re able to, they won’t be as easily chased out of the Underworld as before. The explorers are one thing, but the dungeon babies should be able to feel right at home in the Underworld.”

Mr. Baek continued to explain that the government would prefer to bring weapons of mass destruction into the Underworld to wipe out their enemies, but because they were being watched by the rest of the population and the world, they had no choice but to choose the next best alternative.

Having listened to Mr. Baek’s story, Kim Jin-Woo could no longer hide his curiosity and asked, “Who’s the one who was exiled?”

“It wasn’t just one or two of them. I heard that among those who came into contact with our government, some were Nobles.” Mr. Baek lowered his voice as if he were about to spill some massive secret. He continued, “Don’t be surprised, but it was an 11th Floor Count who informed us of the Underworld’s conspiracy.”

On the subject of the 11th Floor Counts, Kim Jin-Woo had wiped out most of them while dealing with the fake Grand Labyrinths. However, there was one he hadn’t dealt with, and that was Count Bryntess, also known as the Queen of Corruption. Remembering the crafty woman, Kim Jin-Woo ground his teeth.

“He was called ‘Denarion of Nightmares’, and he seemed like quite the famous guy on the Deep Floors.”

However, the name that came out of Mr. Baek’s mouth was one Kim Jin-Woo hadn’t expected at all.

“You seem quite surprised as well. I couldn’t believe it either when I first heard it. What kind of regrets would someone who was a Deep Floor Count like him have for him to turn against the Underworld and come to side with the surface? But it seems like he did have a strong reason after all.” Mr. Baek looked rather satisfied when he saw Kim Jin-Woo’s surprised expression. He continued with his story. “Surprisingly, he was exiled together with his daughter, and it was said that his daughter was a half-human, half-magical being, born from his relationship with a human lover.

As soon as he heard those words, Kim Jin-Woo found himself unable to stay any longer.

“Since half the blood flowing through his daughter’s body was that of a human’s, he must have been unable to feign ignorance about the well-being of the surface when his lover was a human. It seems even a monster of the Underworld has paternal instincts. Well, there’s a saying that even the worst of bastards will think the world of their child… Hey, my man, you’ve yet to hear the complete story, where are you going!?” Mr. Baek exclaimed.

“I’ll come back to hear the rest of your story!” With those words, Kim Jin-Woo immediately left the appraisal office and looked for his house. He exclaimed, “Yoon-Hee! Where is Yoon-Hee!?”

Hearing his unusual tone, Lee Jun-Young, who had been waiting for his return, stuttered, “P… Probably at the Party Hall…”

Even before she could finish speaking, Kim Jin-Woo rushed straight to the Party Hall.

“Damn it…” he cursed.

The Party Hall that he hadn’t visited for a long time was nothing more than an empty shell. Only the illusions conjured by the Shadow Magicians remained, and the labyrinth and its Labyrinth Core were nowhere to be seen.

Kim Jin-Woo was clearly disappointed as he looked at the illusory Party Hall. At this point, he wasn’t even angry anymore. He muttered, “I’ve been had.”

It was Ariane who had annihilated Denarion of Nightmares and taken away his power. And before she was the Queen of Illusions, she had also been a Warden of the Underworld. And he had believed her testimony to be the end of the nightmares.

Kim Jin-Woo felt like a fool to have trusted the words of someone who told more lies than truths.

“But why Yoon-Hee…” he muttered.

Could it be that even the image of Yoon-Hee wanting to desperately escape from her father was a lie all along? Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t tell. Right now, everything felt ambiguous, and truths couldn’t be discerned from lies.

However, if there was one thing that was certain, it was that this move on the surface was also part of the delusion the past Highlords couldn’t achieve back then. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Nobles to flee to the surface and light the fuse of another war.

“Master…” Not knowing the details but sensing that something was wrong, Lee Jun-Young cautiously approached him.

“Looks like things are going to get messy. It seems war is unavoidable after all,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

With the wounds of the previous war yet to heal on the surface, it was unreasonable to think that they would make the right judgment call this time around with regard to the potential coming war. No, there was even a possibility that they themselves wanted the war to happen.

In the eyes of the surface, down gems were the only thing of value in the Underworld, and with down gems getting harder to obtain in recent years, the surface must have been tempted to split open the belly of the goose that had been laying the golden eggs.

“Then what should we do?” Lee Jun-Young’s thin voice trembled. It was to be expected, since, depending on his answer, she might have to stain her hands with the blood of her own people. Anyone could empathize with how she felt at the moment.

“Once I close the labyrinth on the surface, I’m planning on moving the Labyrinth Core to the Underworld,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

Although it wasn’t a clear answer to her question, his unwavering decision to ensure the safety of the labyrinth, even in this situation, made Lee Jun-Young all the more anxious. She opened and closed her mouth several times as she looked at him, but she found herself unable to muster up the courage to ask what he had meant. She lowered her head deeply and fell silent.

***

“Ohhh, that is…!” The Treants, who had found a new form as Frost Treants, exclaimed at the small branch Kim Jin-Woo brought out.

“It was an item I got by chance, but I really can’t tell what it’s used for. It’s said to be a spear, but what can I pierce with something like this?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

The branch was the unassuming spear Kim Jin-Woo had grabbed instinctively at the first sight of it, as if something had possessed him. He frowned when he noticed that the Frost Treants seemed to know what it was.

“Nothing in this world chooses its master by chance. Even more so for a spear made by the branches of the youngest Frost Treant,” one of the Frost Treants replied.

“What do you mean?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“This young branch is the only item the Mysteries of the Underworld failed to lay its hands on,” the Frost Treant replied.

“Explain to me so I can easily understand,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

The Frost Treants were wise, but never clear with their answers. Despite their knowledge, they enjoyed beating about the bush to a truly frustrating degree, and they preferred that others find and infer the answers by themselves from the conversation. However, Kim Jin-Woo had no intention of playing games with them.

“Mm.” One of the Frost Treants, who had been about to yap away excitedly, groaned painfully in response to Kim Jin-Woo’s terrifying rising presence. The Treant continued, “That spear is the only weapon free from the laws of the Underworld. That is why it is the only weapon those who harbor the Mysteries of the Underworld fear.”

“Your answer makes no sense. In that case, shouldn’t we be afraid of weapons made on the surface too?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“That is different. On the surface, there are laws that are unique to the surface. Weapons that would normally tear flesh and break bones on the surface would also prevail in the Underworld, which conversely means that as long as one has a body that is able to overcome those laws, they are not that scary. After all, it is only natural that a stronger force will overpower a weaker one.” The Frost Treant explained painfully slowly but in detail.

“But this spear is different. It was born in the Underworld but has never been affected by the Mysteries of the Underworld, and with the warm surface not even knowing the existence of this item in the first place, this item is something that technically does not belong anywhere,” the Frost Treant continued.

Kim Jin-Woo frowned at the Frost Treant’s ambiguous words. The Treant asked, “Was my explanation too difficult to understand? I remember you telling me to explain in simple detail how to use this spear.”

Due to the chain of incidents, Kim Jin-Woo was already in a bad mood. He started grabbing his neck, and his violent aura began to rise. The Frost Treants trembled in horror.

“The power of Mortality is what that young branch possesses,” the Frost Treant who had been explaining finally said.