Chapter 93 - Rebellion – 2 (1/2)

Rebellion – 2

I had always wondered if the store, Jinma’s Tower, and the Garden of Nak technically belonged to our world. I had a vague idea up until now that those three spaces, including the castle I was going to now, once existed in Hater but had moved into our world. During the Great Fusion, everything in Hater was merged into Earth, but most of the monsters and dungeons – including some spaces and entities – were added to our world while maintaining their shape. The monsters and dungeons had invaded existing spaces, immediately becoming a threat to humanity, and drawing their ire in return.

But the space I was in now was a little different. It didn’t appear in the world but rather was hidden behind it. As such, it could only be reached with powerful magic. Truly, it was hidden very deep, although it still belonged to the world. In a sense, it was like the ultimate form of the inventory system that everyone had. Usually invisible, but still connected to us.

“It was an unstable fusion, as you might predict.” Rain looked up at the sky, which was covered in dark red clouds, constantly swirling and colliding as they spat forth black lightning.

“Is the underground battlefield that Lee Chan-yu went to, here in this world?”

“That’s probably the case, though I don’t know the details.” He gave me a bitter smile.

“The Great Fusion. I wonder if it must have been caused by you.”

“What a shocking declaration to make with such a straight face.”

“Who can say. We know nothing more than you, and we have nothing.” When he finished speaking, he looked up to the sky to leave me to mull over his words. I was expecting something like that, to some extent. Otherwise, so many things up until this point would have been too arbitrary, too coincidental. I became a goblin and was born in the Black Palace, not anywhere else. I had been connected to the shop, the tower, and the garden. These things were proof that I had been once in contact with the truth of the Great Fusion.

But now I was like this. Jinma’s power had been restored, at least slightly. My memories were sparse and filled with holes. ‘But what do these people think?’ I didn’t know why they were trapped here, but I could only guess at what Rain’s feelings might be, trapped in such a castle.

“Doesn’t it make you anxious?”

“No, I’m happy.” He took a cigarette out of his pocket and placed it in his mouth. I had never seen him smoke before, so it was an odd but refreshing sight. Maybe he had been refraining from doing so because the store was an enclosed space, or because he was working.

“I enjoy having conservations with you like this. I thought I had lost everything, but there is still so much here for me. I’ve been enjoying watching you grow on your journey.”

“Such kind words from you.”

“Haha, don’t let it go to your head.” It was an odd conversation, but it energized my heart.

“Then, on to the reason I’m here.”

“Tell me what you want to know. It’ll cost you, though.”

“What the hell do you use all that money for?”

“Gold is a valuable commodity for both elves and Jinma. It’s permanent. Don’t mistakenly think it’s only useful as a currency.”

“Permanent?”

“Do you get the gist of it?”

“Only about five percent.” I already knew that he wasn’t taking my money simply because he liked gold, but I still knew nothing. Well, that question was just a light jab. I removed the main dish from my inventory: the bodies of the Chaos Soul and that armored monster that I encountered on Earth. Rain’s expression immediately hardened as soon as he saw them.

“I see.”

“You know about it?”

“At least I know what the elves and those who lead them are aiming for. They want to erase everyone but elves from the world.”

“Please explain.” He pointed at the body of the Chaos Soul.

“This is an imitation of the soul monster you told me about. It’s not from the Rookie’s Battlefield, but they must’ve thought they could use it when they saw the process of a human soul transforming into a monster there.”

“How?”

“The hybrid… no, look at that human.”

“…Hm?” I complied and looked at the corpse of the armored monster born from light that he was pointing to. I noticed that what I thought was a monster now had the form of an elf. When I had killed her, she didn’t have any elven features. But now… no, the magic must’ve been dispelled by Rain. This was undeniably an elf. I felt like someone hit me on the head with a hammer.

“I had thought this light monster and the Elakatra were separate forces.”

“It was disguised by the magic of the one who leads the Elakatra. It’s no wonder you didn’t notice at first.”