Chapter 79
The moment they felt Infernum’s gaze, the twins began to tremble.
Their pink eyes twitched convulsively, and their thin, vertical pupils dilated into wide circles.
Internum looked down at the twins and asked.
"Why are you here?"
It was a ridiculous question, as they must have come knowing exactly who he was.
Yet, those few words were hell to the twins.
The twins, who had been frozen stiff until then, recoiled in shock and fell to their knees.
Thump!
A sound like something breaking echoed.
Ella and Elun bowed their heads deeply, begging for forgiveness.
’We have dared to defy the orders given by our Lord and committed the sin of leaving our assigned posts."
"We will accept any punishment you deem fit."
The Fire Dragon race was built on a strict vertical hierarchy.
At the apex of the pyramid, there existed only one: the Monarch.
Obedience to the Monarch’s command was an irresistible instinct for the Fire Dragons.
The fact that Ella and Elun had come to find me could be considered an act of immense rebellion.
Despite incurring the Monarch’s wrath, they had not repented; instead, they had left the dungeon to find a way to be healed.
At this moment, it was only natural for the twins to seek forgiveness by mentioning their sin of abandoning their duties as the dungeons gatekeepers.
However...
It was not natural for Infernum, the Monarch, to have come looking for the twins.
From his perspective, the twins were mere gatekeepers.
For a Monarch to personally seek out underlings he had used as punching bags and then discarded was unheard of.
It was unthinkable for a Monarch to personally interrogate underlings who had fled in terror with broken wings.
’Besides, they’re still young.’
I looked at the twins.
Their bodies, prostrate with foreheads touching the ground, looked very small.
They felt much smaller than they had when I saw them as dot graphics in the game.
Elun’s broken wing caught my eye.
Just as I was about to step forward and say something-
"Trainee."
Mo Hae-in called me coldly.
It felt as if ice water had been poured over my heated head.
She stared at me, her eyes sharp. It was a warning not to do anything foolish.
Conversely, Dominic egged me on in my ear.
"Roasted Chestnut. Is now the time to fire the Blazing Ray? I am ready."
Hearing Dominic’s words brought back a bit of my reason.
I spoke, having regained my composure.
"Lord Infernum."
The start didn’t seem too bad.
At least the foul words boiling in my heart hadn’t slipped out.
’Captain Mo, I’m sorry.’
But I intended to resolve this as peacefully as possible.
Regardless, it was a situation where we couldn’t fight right now.
Je Hyeon-oh and Kwak Han-mook hadn’t returned from the dungeon yet, and since the twins could not defy the Monarchs orders, they couldn’t be counted as part of our combat strength.
Mo Hae-in and I alone were not enough to face the final boss of a five-star trial.
"Forgive my presumption, but I would like to make a small request."
I looked up at Infernum with a slight smile.
"The small successes of the restaurant were all thanks to the help of the Fire Dragon twins. Would you allow me to continue seeking their assistance? If you permit it..."
"Haha!"
Infernum burst into laughter before I could even finish.
Sharp dragon teeth were visible between his parted lips.
"Little one."
"Yes, Lord Infernum."
"I refuse."
"I would prefer it if you were the one served on my table."
Infernum waved his hand lightly.
Following the gesture, reminiscent of an ancient noble, flames erupted beneath the twins’ feet.
"These are my possessions, so I shall take them back now."
Ella and Elun’s faces turned pale with fear.
The Fire Dragon race, born from the lava of volcanoes, could not possibly fear fire.
What the twins feared was not the flames enveloping them, but...
[Red Horn of the Fire Dragon Small: A fresh horn of a Fire Dragon. When powdered and sprinkled on food, it adds a wonderful flavor. However, due to its small size, it is less valuable than a standard horn.]
"Little Lamb."
The twins called out to me.
Despite being positioned beyond the surging flames, their faces looked as if they were shivering in extreme cold.
Yet, they spoke to me with smiles.
"We had a wonderful time thanks to you. The dishes you made were delicious. You have talent, so please continue to cook in the future."
"The food was delicious. You’ll become the greatest chef, Little Lamb."
I hurriedly reached out toward the twins.
"Wait, Ella! Elun! Just a moment!"
My hand grasped nothing. The twins vanished into the flames.
I turned back to Infernum, but flames were also rising at his feet.
His red hair swayed along with the fire.
"Little one. Come to my domain."
Infernum whispered, his greedy eyes fully exposed.
"Grant me the ultimate gourmet experience."
You have received an invitation from the Fire Dragon, Infernum. Access to the 100th floor of the dungeon is now enabled.
After leaving those final words, he flared up and vanished.
The flames disappeared. Only sparks remained, scattering through the restaurant.
Ping. A system window popped up.
[Oh my goodness! The Fire Dragon twins have returned to the dungeon. Will they be able to survive the wrath of the terrifying Monarch? Go to the dungeon and find out!]
***
"Wow, Sweet Chestnut, man, our Sweet Chestnut, whoa, Brother Chestnut!"
Kwak Han-mook couldn’t hide his admiration as he looked at the current funds.
Since the funds were shared among all party members, he could see the amount.
It was marvelous to see the balance holding steady even after spending insane amounts on quotas.
He wondered just how much the man had squeezed out of the alien guests; no matter how much he spent over several days, it never seemed to end.
If there were to be any anomalies, he wished they were only anomalies like this.
He had entered S2P several times with Mo Hae-in, but now it felt like he had entered an entirely new trial.
True to its five-star notoriety, S2P was by no means an easy place.
Originally, they had focused their strategy around the dungeon.
Since a single death in the dungeon meant permanent death, they had proceeded with safety as their top priority.
But this time, with Han Goyo and Je Hyeon-oh, it was simply comfortable.
Han Goyo planned the fastest and most efficient routes, dismantling all the tricky gimmicks, and Je Hyeon-oh pushed through with overwhelming force. It couldn’t be more convenient.
The restaurant was the same.
When Mo Hae-in and Kwak Han-mook ran the restaurant, they were lucky if ten customers showed up a day.
Yet, if they slacked off, they would die immediately due to the quotas.
They had barely managed to operate while meeting the steadily rising quotas, and there were more than a few times they almost bit the dust because of the restaurant.
It felt like business only picked up toward the end; there was never a time when people were crowding in like this.
He knew from experience that Han Goyo’s strategies were insane.
Still, he couldn’t help but be amazed every time.
He thought the guy was crazy when he brought in Fire Dragon NPCs to grill 500 skewers, but he didn’t expect him to create a fine dining establishment.
Whatever he was doing, the restaurant’s reputation score just kept skyrocketing.
He planned to ask Mo Hae-in for the full details of what kind of lunatic things Sweet Chestnut had done once they returned.
Closing the funds window, Kwak Han-mook swept the ingredient items scattered on the ground into his inventory.
After filling his inventory, he checked the time.
3:00 PM.
After transitioning to fine dining, ingredient farming had become much more relaxed.
Since they only needed to collect a reasonable amount of high-grade ingredients, he felt it was sufficient to return now.
"Lieutenant Colonel Je, let’s withdraw."
The desperate scream of a monster echoed.
A metallic hand, stained dark red, flashed repeatedly as it slaughtered things that didn’t even need to be killed.
Clang, six metallic wings moved independently, slicing through flesh.
Watching the giant hidden boss be wounded bit by bit, as if being played with as a toy rather than being killed instantly, Kwak Han-mook called out again.
"Lieutenant Colonel Jeeeee?"
Only after he called him about three times did Je Hyeon-oh finally take the monster’s life.
"Kieeeek!"
The flame giant, covered in cuts all over its body, let out a horrific scream.
Je Hyeon-oh, who had pierced the giant’s eye and sliced through to its neck in one motion, shook his hand.
Sprinkling blood on the ground, he walked silently toward the teleportation circle.
After exiting the dungeon, Kwak Han-mook spread out a large cloth and swept the piled items into it.
Having completed a bundle that was significantly smaller than during the skewer days, Kwak Han-mook called Je Hyeon-oh before hoisting it onto his shoulder.
"Lieutenant Colonel Je."
The black goggles turned toward Kwak Han-mook.
"Are you in a bad mood? Your goggles have been looking particularly dark for a few days now."
Je Hyeon-oh was moving as if there were no problem, but Kwak Han-mook knew from years of experience.
This was when he was most dangerous.
The strange thing was that he had been quite mild until they entered S2P.
After entering <Zero> and becoming an infected, Je Hyeon-oh had voluntarily subordinated himself to the TRA Management Bureau to find something.
Only Director Jang Seok-yoon and Samra-Mansang knew what he was looking for.
Even Kwak Han-mook, who had known Je Hyeon-oh for a long time, knew nothing about it.
He only knew that it, along with ‹Zero›, was Je Hyeon-oh’s reverse scale, his ultimate trigger.
That was why, when he heard those words..
"The thing I’m looking for. Han Goyo is the clue."
He had come to understand a bit why Je Hyeon-oh had tormented Han Goyo so much.
His madness had flared up.
However, once he recognized him as a teammate, he had been relatively okay.
In fact, when Han Goyo disappeared and returned, he acted quite normal, as if he had been cured.
Since he seemed to treat Han Go-yo reasonably well, Kwak Han-mook thought it was because it was related to what he was searching for.
But suddenly, something was bothering him again.
To be precise, it was after he returned from the dungeon with Han Goyo.
Since the two of them had come out covered in blood, Kwak Han-mook couldn’t help but think that Je Hyeon-oh’s madness had returned.
However, one puzzling point was that Je Hyeon-oh wasn’t the type to endure things.
If Han Goyo were annoying enough to make his goggles go dark, he would have done something already; the fact that he was quiet was strange.
"If there’s a problem with Sweet Chestnut, just tell me. I’ll discipline him."
Despite the playful tone, Je Hyeon-oh remained silent.
Not expecting an answer, Kwak Han-mook was just hoisting the bundle onto his shoulder when-
"Captain Kwak."
"Yes, sir."
Responding formally to the sudden call, he heard Je Hyeon-oh say something strange.
"The veil Goyo put on you. Have you touched it?"
"Huh? No, I haven’t."
He had only used the golden veil once in 3Clean, and at the time, he hadn’t even thought about touching it.
Since it was a veil made of light, he wasn’t even sure if it could be touched.
’It was peculiar, though!’
He recalled the moment he wore the veil. It was certainly a strange moment.
Bizarrely, he had felt as if he had been longing for this for a very long time...
Thinking of the veil for a moment, Kwak Han-mook narrowed his eyes and asked Je Hyeon-oh.
"Should I buy you a veil? A gold one?"
Of course, Je Hyeon-oh acted as if he hadn’t heard.
Having asked a question but showing not a shred of interest, Je Hyeon-oh muttered in a languid voice.
"What should I do..."
The words were ambiguous.
He didn’t know what it meant, but it seemed he wouldn’t kill him right now, so it was fine.
What he was actually worried about was the period after this S2P.
If Han Goyo refused to enlist in the TRA Management Bureau...
Deciding to think about it in the future, Kwak Han-mook headed to the restaurant with Je Hyeon-oh.
The sight of it looking like a jungle of overgrown weeds was gone.
Just as he was grinning at the sight of the resplendent fine dining restaurant-
Bang!
The restaurant door flew open as if it were breaking, and someone burst out from inside.
Flustered, Kwak Han-mook muttered the name of the person sprinting across the front yard.
"Goyo?"
Immediately after the bolt-like Han Goyo, Mo Hae-in came rushing out.
Sprinting at a terrifying speed, she tackled Han Goyo from behind.
The two of them tumbled across the front yard.
After a brief scuffle, Mo Hae-in, who had ended up on top of Han Goyo, grabbed him by the collar and screamed.
"Are you crazy? Get a grip!"
"Captain Mo, but, the True Ending..."
"Trainee!!"
Kwak Han-mook threw his luggage anywhere and ran over.
Meanwhile, Mo Hae-in yelled at Han Goyo.
"What are you going to do by just running off without a plan! I know the True Ending is important. I know it too, but that doesn’t make it more important than your life! Are you going to see the True Ending after you’re dead?!"
Mo Hae-in’s face was distorted.
"Those NPCs are just like programs, looping! Because of things like that, now...!"
Kwak Han-mook first pulled her away from Han Goyo.
He grabbed her heaving shoulders to calm her down.
"Hae-in."
"Fuck."
Mo Hae-in cursed and rubbed her face with her hand.
Han Go-yo, who had been sprawled on the dirt ground, slowly sat up.
"I’m sorry... Captain Mo...
Kwak Han-mook thought he had a rough idea of what happened.
It seemed the restaurant owner had taken the dungeon gatekeepers.
Since Han Go-yo was the type to act as if NPCs were real people, he had likely
bolted out to go to the Fire Dragon.
Sigh...
Kwak Han-mook let out a long sigh. This was the kind of situation Mo Hae-in found hardest to tolerate.
Still, it didn’t seem like she was on the verge of hyper-awakening.
After checking Mo Hae-in’s condition, Kwak Han-mook approached the head-bowed Han Goyo and crouched beside him.
"Goyo."
"Yes, Captain Kwak."
"Aren’t we a team?"
"Let’s move together. What’s the rush, huh?"
Han Goyo slowly lifted his face.
"The restaurant owner.. is going to kill the Fire Dragon twins."
"And?"
"The True Ending..."
Kwak Han-mook gave a short laugh at the cliché excuse.
Looking into Han Goyo’s eyes, he asked again.
"So, what is it that you want to do?"
The Special Task Force’s biggest troublemaker answered.
"Please... help me catch the Fire Dragon."