Chapter 112: Episode 22 – Three Promises (4)
The God of Wine and Ecstasy. The only person who used such a modifier was Dionysus, one of the 12 gods of Olympus.
[The constellation ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ is humming.]
I couldn’t hear the song but I could see the drops of alcohol dancing to an unknown lody. The bubbles moved like they had life, forming nurous notes on the ground. The notes repeatedly moved between and Yoo Sangah.
Yoo Sangah looked at the notes carefully and opened her mouth. “It is the puppy waltz.”
“Can you read musical notes?”
“A little bit.”
Yoo Sangah cocked her head and continued speaking.
“Why did Chopin suddenly appear?”
I didn’t have a clue. It was strange that Dionysus knew about Chopin in the first place. No. According to the original story, he was soone with great interest in the musical culture of later generations. It wasn’t strange.
The notes ford a circle and then arrows that pointed towards the remaining soju bottles. Yoo Sangah wondered, “...Is he telling us to drink more?”
“Let’s drink.” There was no other way to interpret it. “Yoo Sangah-ssi, drink only a little bit. At least one person should be sane.”
I needed soone to protect my teammates if I beca drunk. I could wake up Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung, who only drank cider, but I wanted to let them sleep well.
“Dokja-ssi can’t drink well?”
“I’m not a strong drinker.”
I lightly tapped my glass against hers and drank the soju. The alcohol entered my body and made feel hot. However, the notes didn’t stop.
“...I think I should drink more.”
I drank a few glasses in succession. Heat rose from inside and I could feel the redness in my face. The movents of the musical notes beca more active. No, did it look more active because I was drunk? Yoo Sangah smiled. “It is nice to drink with you. I was a bit lonely.”
Thus, I drank a few more cups. I felt a bit better as a llow sll rose. I suddenly turned around and found that I was very close to Yoo Sangah. I had obviously been quite far away...
I was mistaken. The sound of breathing was harsh. I didn’t know if it was my breathing or the breathing of Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah’s shoulder lightly touched mine.
“Dokja-ssi.”
“Yes.”
It was clearly a face free of makeup but it was hard to find any blemishes. Yoo Sangah slowly leaned towards . Her face was getting closer and closer.
A pair of quarter notes and eighth notes danced intensely around us. My heart started to beat faster at the touch against my shoulders.
...Wait, sothing was strange.
[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ has offset so of the drunkenness.]
The ssage popped up and my mind cleared. Yes, this couldn’t happen in reality. Yoo Sangah wasn’t such a person. It was only possible because this was Ways of Survival. I firmly held Yoo Sangah’s shoulder and urged her, “Yoo Sangah-ssi, stay alert.”
“Huh? Ah... ah?” The startled Yoo Sangah blinked. Her face turned red for the first ti. “I-I, what did I...?”
As expected, it wasn’t Yoo Sangah’s will. I was in a slightly miserable mood as I opened my mouth and spoke towards the notes hovering on the ground. “Stop playing and get straight to the point.”
The notes all stopped at the sa ti. It was a serene silence, like the midnight festival had suddenly stopped. The alcohol bubbles fell to the ground and sparks flew. Then the bubbles ford one string of words.
-You broke the excitent.
I was a bit surprised by the letters written on the ground. A few words written in bubbles on the ground might not seem great, however it was extrely difficult for constellations to communicated with incarnations in Ways of Survival. It was why the constellations used the dokkaebi channels to convey ‘indirect ssages.’
In the first place, spreading ssages to Earth without the help of the dokkaebis was only possible among the highest-class constellations and the consumption of probability was huge. The probability of the world was sensitive to ‘language.’
I heard a faint cry from the Great Hall in the sky. The god of this world had noticed Dionysus’ existence. The fact that he delivered a ssage directly without going through an incarnation ant he had confidence in his backer... As expected, the 12 gods of Olympus were different.
I opened my mouth in a deliberate provocation. “If you are so confident then co and talk to in person.”
Then the string of words moved.
-I don’t like those with tentacles. It is annoying to fight. If I go down myself, everyone will die.
In fact, I hadn’t expected anything. Seoul would be turned into powder if the 12 gods of Olympus really descended.
-My mother died that way because of my father.
Yoo Sangah saw this sentence and whispered to . “...What does this an?”
“Maybe he is talking about the myth of his birth.”
As far as I knew, Dionysus’ parents were Zeus and Princess Sele of Thebes. Hera was jealous of Zeus and Sele and disguised herself as Sele’s nurse, encouraging Sele by saying the following. ‘Zeus might be a fake. Ask him to show you what he really looks like when he is in Olympus.’
Sele was fooled and demanded that Zeus do this. Then she died from Zeus’ brilliance.
Yoo Sangah listened to the story and cocked his head. “Uh... isn’t it a bit different from the story I know? As far as I know, his mother isn’t the princess of Thebes...”
I was a bit surprised by Yoo Sangah’s knowledge. I wondered if she had a level 1 degree in myths, not just Korean history. Of course, I didn’t have such a degree.
The string of words changed like it was amused.
-Hrmm. You humans know very well.
As Yoo Sangah said, Dionysus’ birth myth was twofold. One was the version where Princess Sele of Thebes was his mother. The other version had Hades’ wife, Persephone as his mother.
I asked Dionysus, “I’m curious. Which of the two versions is real?”
-Is it important?
“It is important. There is a reason I need it to be the latter.”
In fact, Jung Heewon’s suggestion to drink was an attempt to lure Jung Heewon.
Dionysus was the son of Persephone. If this myth was correct, Dionysus could probably contact Persephone, Hades’ wife.
-Rude human.
The string trembled.
-Still, I like rude humans.
In fact, I already knew which myth it was. Dionysus’ story was ntioned in Ways of Survival.
-There used to be a human as foolishly brave as you. He was soone who played the lyre very well. He didn’t end up well.
“I’ll be different.”
-I can open up the entrance of the Underworld. The Father of the Rich Night doesn’t like but the goddess of the Underworld will listen to . However, it is very dangerous and there is no guarantee you will co back alive.
“It’s okay.”
-Good. I like eager people.
I beca nervous due to the excellent atmosphere. Dionysus was a constellation that I never knew what he was thinking.
-Keep this in mind. I can only give you 12 hours. If you don’t co back in that ti then you can never return to the scenarios.
I beca dizzy and then suddenly felt drowsy. I realized what was going to happen. Damn, this was why he made drink.
I hurriedly spoke. “Yoo Sangah-ssi, wake up the kids.”
Perhaps these were my last words.
[A new hidden scenario has arrived!]
The mont I closed my eyes, the drops of alcohol seed to be laughing.
-I hope the Father of the Rich Night will listen to you.
***
[The constellation ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ is guiding your soul.]
[You are free from the physical restraints of your body.]
Many colours passed through my mind and it was like I was on drugs. There was a sharp pain from my forehead and then a faint voice was heard.
[Who is this?]
[...Interesting.]
[The soul of an incarnation is walking in the world of the constellation?]
[You will regret it.]
The voice spoke negative words. Perhaps it was soone from Olympus.
[The exclusive skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ is activated.]
The noisy voices disappeared like they had been muted.
[The soul of a living person has entered the Underworld.]
[The judges of the Underworld have noticed your presence.]
Once I heard the last ssage, countless traces disappeared from my surroundings. The world turned around quickly and my body sank heavily. After a while, it felt like I had reached sowhere. It was hard to move but I could guess what I would see when I opened my eyes.
The air of the Underworld was sticky. The sand at my fingertips were cold. Perhaps I was at the river of the Underworld that Hades ruled. There was Acheron River flowing towards Hades’ palace and the Underworld boatman Charon would be waiting for . And...
“Hey! Wake up! What are you doing here?”
Sothing dull hit my head and it felt like oil was being poured on . I took deep breaths as I sat up. Soone fumbled at my body, grabbing my neck and lifting up.
“A newbie? I’ve never seen this face before.”
I had also never seen this face before. It was a man with a rough face and big muscles. The people in the surroundings were gazing at us.
“He looks fine? Check his body. He might’ve brought sothing with him.”
“Hey, don’t touch. If he fell here then he must be a ss. Have you forgotten the crazy person who ca a while ago?”
“That crazy jerk was a bit special. Are people like him common?”
I let the people to talk among themselves and looked around. It was a spacious place where a hot heat could be felt. Judging by the infestation of ghosts, this seed to be the Underworld.
Fras made of the tal of the Underworld were all over the place and there were also furnaces for slting tals. It was a factory-like atmosphere. The dead spirits were enslaved in the Underworld and making sothing. At first glance, it seed like a giant robot...
What was this place?
“Hey, are you ignoring now?”
I ignored his words and slowly twisted his arm that was holding .
“W-What? This strength...!”
I couldn’t waste ti dealing with these small fries. I decided to check the hidden scenario that I had received.
[Hidden Scenario – Scenic Walk]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: Avoid the eyes of the judges and return safely to the ground.
Ti Limit: 12 hours.
Compensation: 10,000 coin
Failure: You will be forced to beco a resident of the Underworld.
The scenario ca out properly. The ti that Dionysus said was accurate. Then why was I here? I should’ve fallen at Acheron River.
“T-This bastard! Daring to look down on us...!”
The big man was just about to punch my head when I heard a voice from behind .
“Over there, what’s going on? Did sothing funny happen?”
“U-Uwaaah!”
“Haha, let in on it as well. Huh? I’m bored to death because I’ve been working on the Gundam every day.”
“Run away! Run away!”
The people surrounding started to shrink back. It was like herbivores eting a predator. I looked to the side where the voice ca from. It was a young man with a slim body and bangs covering his forehead. The young man discovered and moved towards .
He peered closely at and muttered with an aghast expression. “...Why are you here?”
I couldn’t understand his words for a mont. This person knew ?
“What? You can’t recognize ? Have you really forgotten?”
The young man lifted his bangs and I recognized him.
...Dammit. Co to think of it, the Underworld was a place where the dead ca. I hadn’t even thought about it. Of course the person I killed here would co after dying.
“Ah, don’t be so vigilant. Aren’t we both dead?”
The curious young man’s eyes ca closer. There was a an and cruel look in them. I only saw him for a short ti but it was an unforgettable impression. The man smiled. “Yes, who the hell killed you? Please open your mouth. Huh?”
The person who died in the first scenario, Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon was in Hades’ domain.
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