But she didn’t wake up even after the sun rose.
“…”
Opening the pocket watch, he checked the time. It was 8:30 am, which was past the time for the morning training session.
Why isn’t she waking up.
He looked into Yeorum’s body. She had been groaning throughout the night in an attempt to keep her breath steady, which seemed to have paid off. Now, she was breathing fairly stably in her sleep.
But her dragon heart which had been exhausted from that process automatically entered a forced rest period.
“Oh, really? Then she probably wouldn’t wake up for the next three days,” Bom said.
Indeed, he could still remember how Bom had been sleeping like a log for three days after transferring magic to Gyeoul.
“Must have been tough for her.”
Bom caressed her head in her sleep.
During breakfast, Gyeoul focused on her chopsticks. She was trying to eat some jello and got upset after it repeatedly escaped from her grip.
Slip–
The jello slid through the chopsticks. After failing multiple times, she became upset and stabbed the jello deep.
Now, she just had to lift it up.
She carefully raised the pair of chopsticks with her hand but the jello broke into two pieces and fell off.
“…”
Gyeoul turned rigid. She seemed to gotten a brain freeze – her face was blank and the chopsticks stopped in mid-air after losing its purpose.
That was when Yu Jitae carefully called her.
“Do you have time today.”
Her dull eyes were refilled with liveliness with his voice.
“…Nn?”
“Do you want to go to the amusement park?”
She gave a wide smile.
Episode 33: Lair Amusement Park (1)
Go and bring that guy.
That was the command it received from its lord.
‘I shall listen to your command, my lord.’
[Shadow of an Archduke (SS)], wearing the mask of ‘Hashimoto’, a female Japanese.
She was living a busy life recently with not a single room for rest. After the Melissia Masquerade came to an end, the sense of caution of the demons reached its max level with the deaths of Noah and Wei Yan.
The society of demons was divided into several smaller portions and the undetectables split into multiple organisations. There was an increasing number of those questioning the strategy of swallowing Lair itself, and once the opposing group increased in size, Ma Namjoon the deputy principal, killed a few of those demons and displayed their heads for all to see.
However, his threat wasn’t very effective because fear had already laid a deep root into the entire organisation.
Not a single demon survived the Melissia Masquerade, so they knew close to nothing about what happened inside. From the fear of being targeted by the unknown, the demons scattered like cockroaches.
The clone infiltrated the undetectables within that reorganising period, and endlessly watched the situation unfold under the deputy principal, Ma Namjoon.
In summary, it was like the following:
1. An extreme number of demons were leaving Lair.
2. Demons will disperse and lay low in order to build their power and wouldn’t act or dream big any time soon.
3. Nothing related to the dragons would probably happen for the next 20 years
Just like that, the world was flowing as Yu Jitae had planned.
If there was one last thing that interrupted the ‘Perfect 7th Iteration’, it would be the Hostility being sent by the existence on the other side of the Horizon of Providence. Even the Regressor was powerless before this but fortunately, it was pretty quiet recently.
That day, the clone travelled to the [Underground Labyrinth] through the [Shallows of the Abyss (S)]. She had come here twice already instead of Yu Jitae. There were still large containers, mental soldiers, a small rabbit-like woman and an insincere metal armour.
“Ohh! The pharmacist is here!”
“Pharmacist! Welcome, uhahaha!”
The agents called Yu Jitae a doctor and BM a nurse. For some reason, the clone was being called a pharmacist.
“Where is BM?”
“Do you think I’ll tell you easily? Kuhaha!”
Bell Baryon, drunk with the Light of Paradise, said that and the agents laughed, ‘“Wahahahat!” in response.
“…”
The clone didn’t.
“Let’s do an arm wrestle. I’ll tell you if you beat me.”
“An arm wrestle?”
The soldiers refuted.
“Hahat! Boss! Aren’t you being too shameless?!”
“Look at the difference in arm size. The pharmacist lady has an arm like my little son, while boss’s arm is like an elephant’s leg! And yet you’re asking for an arm wrestle? Uhaha!”
Bell screamed.
“Shut up you idiots! Miss Pharmacist. How is it. Do you want to or not.”
The clone indifferently looked at them before shaking her head. She decided to play along for just once.
On top of the table, a thin and slender arm and an arm bigger than a person’s waist confronted one another. Straight after an agent signalled the start of the fight,
Kwaaang!
Bell’s hand was flipped outward as it crushed the table in an instant. She screamed from the sudden pain. One round was enough to see the winner – it was the clone’s victory. At once, a thunderous applause left the crowd.
“Uwaaaaah! Pharmacist!!”
“Damn it! She’s so cool! Kuhahahaha!!”
“Oh gosh! Our boss was crushed–! Along with her pride! We must give her IV therapy with vodka until tomorrow morning!”
Bell Baryon shouted, “Damn it! Who the fuck are you guys cheering for? Kyahahat!” but they ran up to the clone and tossed her into the air without caring about Bell. Some of them went up to Bell and tried to tie her hair into two braids saying it was the loss penalty but were bashed up.
While moving up and down in mid-air, the clone turned her head around.
Within the crowd, she could see Ha Saetbyul with widened shoulders.
‘…’
For some reason, that child seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as time went.
“Oh. We have a guest.”
After a few minutes, BM returned from outside the labyrinth. Pushing his sunglasses up, BM chugged some vodka and welcomed the clone.
“What brings you here today, I wonder.”
“I came here to bring the metal plate back.”
“Hmm, if you’re talking about ‘Armata’, please do whatever suits you the best. I was thinking that he was getting better. He’s gradually getting brighter these days and I think it’s a great time for him to leave.”
The protector becoming brighter meant that the mental contamination had been lifted, with the Light of Paradise having a greater effect on it.
“Ah, but by the way…”
BM carefully opened his mouth. He then talked about the thing that happened at the Grand Natural Society.
“You’re saying Simon Abkarian wishes to see my lord?”
“Hmm, well yeah. Well, that’s how things turned out.”
Simon Abkarian.
He was the Saviour of Gallia, the hero of France; representative of the organisation, ‘Superhuman Without Border’, ranked 29th officially worldwide.
It was a name which the clone also knew of, as a being that shared a portion of the Regressor’s memories. There were times when he had been a comrade in the past iterations as well as an enemy. Looking back at this point, the only characteristic that stood out was that he was quite an obstinate guy.
“Seems to be doubting my lord.”
“Unfortunately, my persuasion wasn’t enough. That guy – he really doesn’t listen. If you think it’ll be bothersome, you can refuse it. I don’t think he would worry about his image perceived by the Grand Natural Society.”
That was true. Yu Jitae wouldn’t really care how the Grand Natural Society thought about him.
Whatever they tried to do, Yu Jitae’s daily life wouldn’t be disturbed.
The Regressor had a firm grip on a few of the Association’s weak points. Although the Association was already aware of the existence of an ‘unofficial ranker transcending the normal standards’, they could never openly discuss the topic.
As the proof, even the Grand Natural Society seemed to be clueless about how the Association already knew about Yu Jitae.
“…”
But for some reason, Yu Jitae of the seventh iteration appeared to be trying to stay close to the Grand Natural Society.
Right in front of itself was the proof. Even the fact that BM still had his head attached was more than enough of an evidence.
After some thought, the clone gave a nod.
“Do you want me to leave the address?”
*
Three days later, at the officetel of the clone.
The clone was still wearing the mask of a young female Japanese. She was randomly putting makeup on her face in preparation for the afternoon schedule.
Knock knock.
Something knocked on the window of the officetel.
When the clone turned her head, she found a crow spirit beast.
– Kraa.
“…”
– Kraaa.
It seemed that it would continue screaming as long as the window was left closed.
The clone opened the window as the large crow turned small before entering the officetel. Seeing a letter tied onto its leg, the clone was curious about the person that would use such an outdated method but quietly opened it up.
When she looked inside, a scoff naturally left her mouth.
[Little Red Door, 60 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris, France]
She had left the address for him to visit if he wanted to meet, and yet the other side had sent another address.
“How rude…”
She was dumbfounded.
Was he trying to have a battle of ego? For some reason, some humans became more and more egoistic about worthless things the more they aged.
Using the lipstick which she was trying to put on her lips, the clone drew an X on the letter. Then, she tied it back onto the crow’s leg before sending it back out.
***
Lair Amusement Park.
It was at the northmost place of the entertainment district. For Yu Jitae, it was his first time visiting this fancy theme park which was connected to both Lair and Haytling,
Kaeul had left early in the morning to meet her friends.
Today, it was just Yu Jitae, Bom and Gyeoul who arrived at the amusement park.
“There’s quite a lot of people,” Bom murmured.
They thought it would be quiet considering that it was still the holidays, but the line waiting for their tickets was quite long. They were tourists from all around the globe.
Once they set foot onto the amusement park, they found a fancy floating castle decorating the background off in the distance. People wearing costumes of a reliable cat, the symbolic mascot of Lair, waved their hands to welcome the visitors.
“…!”
After entering the amusement park, Gyeoul flashed her eyes and wriggled around inside Yu Jitae’s arms.
“You want to go down?”
Nod.
It was rare for her to request him to put her down. When he put her down, she began throwing cautious glances towards him.
“Why.”
“…”
A small hand slowly sneaked towards his. She carefully held onto Yu Jitae’s fingers and held Bom’s hand with her other hand. Then, she walked forward as if saying that she would be the one in the lead today.
“I got it, Gyeoul. Let’s go slowly.”
Gyeoul, who was always laid back, was unusually excited and thus Bom had to calm her down.
The first ride they got on was a pirate ship. A large ship floated up with magic and began moving left and right. The Regressor sat down without thinking much but Bom and Gyeoul screamed, “Kyahaa–!” and enjoyed themselves. Their refreshing laughter reached his ears.
Gyeoul, who took the human form straight after her birth, especially enjoyed things like this that were fast.
“Wahh that was fun. Was it fun for you as well, Gyeoul?”
Nod nod.
The next ride was called ‘Urobos Coaster’. At the gates, one of the staff members asked Gyeoul.
“Little lady. Can I check your height?”
Since she had already gotten on it a few times, Gyeoul gave a big, confident nod. Her height was 110cm. She barely made it in.
Soon, Yu Jitae and the kids rode on the back of a large spirit beast snake, ‘Jormungandr’. This spirit beast loved flying around. The animal keeper tapped the snake a few times with a whip which made it begin flying up. It felt like they were riding on a dragon’s head.
The snake flew inside the amusement park for a while and sneaked past to Haytling, before flying off the floating island itself.
Seeing the unfathomable height they were in, others let out screams of joy while Gyeoul followed suit without knowing why.
The snake suddenly dropped down as the spirit beast keeper took a picture of the tourists.
Once they got out of the ride, a picture of Yu Jitae, Bom and Gyeoul appeared on the hologram display. Bom was smiling brightly while Gyeoul had a slight frown.
Yu Jitae, who didn’t bother hiding his presence, was also seen in the corner with a depressed expression.
“What is this. This is too funny.”
“…!”
His expression which remained extremely serious despite the hair fluttering in the wind appeared like a strange painting. After having the picture sent to their own devices, Bom and Gyeoul chuckled.
After taking a few other rides, it was time for lunch.
At the corner of the amusement park, there was a cafeteria displaying the scenery of the ground beneath. Yu Jitae and the kids decided to have lunch there.
They ordered some food at a rip-off price 20 times more expensive than their actual worth, and were blankly sitting there.
“Unn? Aren’t you Bom?”
That was when someone greeted Bom from behind.
“Huh? Professor. Hello.”
She gently smiled with a nod.
It was a middle-aged man with a blank forehead, Professor Myung Jong.
He was one of the renowned professors of Lair, the leader of White Horse study group and a local ranker of Korea. He was also one of the magic studies professors that were infatuated with Bom during her admission.
There were many offers from Myung Jong and other professors even after that but Bom politely turned them down every single time. Now, the two of them appeared to have a good relationship as a professor and a cadet.
“Aigo, who knew I’d find you here? Ahh, hello. I’m Myung Jong.”
“Hello. I’m the guardian, Yu Jitae.”
“What brings you here, professor?”
“Un? I came to play with my family, of course. How about we have a meal together if you’re okay with that sir?”
There was no reason to reject his offer.
When he agreed, Myung Jong called his family over with a bright expression. Yu Jitae had seen Professor Myung Jong several times while accompanying Bom with her studies, but he hadn’t been interested in this timid professor so up until now, he didn’t know.
He didn’t know the fact that Professor Myung Jong was from Korea’s renowned magic household, the ‘Myung Household’. He also didn’t know that his son was the Druid of Regeneration, Myung Yongha.
“Father. They’re saying we can’t take the spiciness out from the curry.”
A large voice of a big male was heard from a distance. It was Myung Yongha.
He was Korea’s strategic weapon and because he was a world famous celebrity, he had changed his appearance with a fake mask. However, the aura he gave off and his sheer size gave it away.
Myung Yongha was pushing a pram, from which a small baby was peeking its head out.
“They can’t take it out? But whyy? I hate spicy food.”
“Uhahat! Then why don’t you have something else? But why are you telling us to come here when we finally got ourselves a seat… nn?”
After finding Yu Jitae, Myung Yongha’s eyes widened.
“Huuh? You…”