C314
The corrupted ex-hero Gisk stepped aside after handing the sword to Choi Han. The cookie door that had been blocking the way became visible.
“Are you here to destroy what’s inside?” he asked Cale.
“Is what’s inside dangerous?” Cale replied with a question.
“Yes, it’s dangerous.”
“How dangerous?”
“Enough to destroy a world.”
The fearsome Dark Bear had already mentioned it.
“There’s also a device that can destroy 80% of Apitoyu!”
Something extremely dangerous, capable of wiping out the world of Apitoyu, was already functioning inside. But it wasn’t just that world at risk.
“And Neo is also in danger.”
The connection point inside. If the seal binding Apitoyu could be broken, the world would reach a new critical point. Gisk nodded after hearing Cale’s response.
“I see. So, Neo is in danger too.”
A smile appeared on his face at that moment.
Boom!
The cookie door split in two.
Creaaaak—thud.
The upper part of the door, directly struck by Gisk, fell to the ground, revealing the view inside. The lower part of the door hung loosely.
“Just as expected from a hero!” Dark Bear exclaimed with enthusiasm, then quickly covered his mouth in surprise. The ex-hero Gisk shook the cookie crumbs off his leg and foot. The cookie door, reinforced with multiple magic circles, had been destroyed with a single strike.
“Go ahead, enter.”
Gisk smiled with satisfaction.
“I am the gatekeeper, so opening and closing the door is up to me.”
Cale remained silent, his face tense.
“Human!” Raon exclaimed nervously.
“What’s inside?”
“What?”
Gisk looked puzzled.
“What’s going on?”
He turned his head towards the door he had smashed. Inside, it looked like a normal house.
“Huh?”
He saw Cale Henituse quickly moving forward.
“Huh?”
Choi Han also moved quickly, faster than Cale, despite reacting later.
“Huh?”
Gisk’s eyes widened.
Cale saw Choi Han move ahead and…
Thud!
He kicked the lower half of the hanging door, slamming it shut. He then lifted his head.
“…Choi Han.”
“Cale-nim.”
Choi Han picked up the upper half of the door that Gisk had broken and reattached it. Cale nodded at him.
“Well done.”
“It was nothing.”
Gisk spoke, bewildered.
“What’s going on?”
Along with his confused remark, Raon finally spoke up.
“I saw Neo inside!”
“What?”
Gisk was shocked, but Raon was even more so.
“I saw purple eyes. It was Neo! I don’t know what his face looks like, but those eyes were definitely purple.”
“I saw the purple eyes too!”
“It looked like a hall! Like a castle!”
Hong and On exclaimed excitedly.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Gisk and Dark Bear looked confused. Cale asked them.
“Didn’t you see anything inside?”
“No.”
Gisk replied immediately, and Cale sighed in relief.
“…I saw a portal inside the door.”
Yes, it was a portal. A temporary portal connecting the Central Plains and Apitoyu, similar to the temporary portal in the black castle.
“Did you see it too?” Cale asked, and Choi Han and the others nodded.
“So, a portal. This game and Neo’s world are connected?”
“It seems so.”
Cale responded to Gisk while organizing his thoughts.
‘I thought Neo’s lair and its basement were connected by a portal.’
As soon as they entered through the basement door, they entered the game. It was so well connected that it didn’t seem like a portal.
But is there another portal here?
‘But it’s different.’
The portal had a different setup than the one in the black castle and the basement of the Dragon’s lair.
“Human, but that portal looked unstable.”
Yes.
The temporary portal formed a long oval shape in the air. Through that shape, Cale saw Neo.
‘But the image wasn’t clear.’
Like waves on a lake, the image beyond the portal was blurry and unstable.
‘This portal is different from the one in the black castle and the basement of the Dragon’s lair.’
But the instability was evident. It seemed weaker than the temporary portal.
“Did he see us?”
Cale nodded in response to Choi Han’s question.
“No. He didn’t see us.”
A man with purple hair. At first, he was looking away. As soon as Cale and Choi Han saw the back of his head, they closed the door, and just before it closed, they saw the purple eyes.
Neo.
It was definitely him.
“Wait.”
Cale signaled for everyone to be quiet and asked Choi Han.
“Lift the door a little.”
“Do you want to look inside?”
“Yes.”
Choi Han lifted the upper half of the door slightly, just enough for Cale to peek inside.
“Huh!”
His eyes met the Dragon’s.
‘No.’
Yes, no. The Dragon was looking inside the portal. Cale only saw his eyes.
The Dragon was still focused on something inside the portal.
Huu.
Cale exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
‘What is he doing?’
Dragon Neo. As he memorized his face, Cale silently observed.
‘Hmm.’
Then, he saw the Dragon shift his gaze away from the portal.
‘Is that the Dragon’s room?’
The Dragon’s lair. Neo wasn’t there. This meant the room he was in was Neo’s room in the enemy castle currently in conflict with the black castle.
‘Desolate.’
The only piece of furniture in the room was a chair. And it was just an ordinary wooden chair. But the space was vast, like a throne room. Neo was alone there.
‘Yes. There’s no one there.’
There were no signs of life beyond the portal. Although the view was blurry, it was largely identifiable.
‘He’s not interested in this side.’
Neo completely turned away from the portal.
Whisk, whisk.
Cale gestured to Raon.
“Me too?”
Raon whispered, and Cale gestured faster. Raon quickly approached Cale, climbed onto his back, and looked through the small opening.
“It’s a portal, right?”
“Yes.”
Raon and Cale whispered.
Then, On approached and spoke.
“I don’t think we need to lower our voices.”
Cale paused. On continued speaking calmly.
“Gisk made a lot of noise breaking the door, but the Dragon inside didn’t notice. It seems like sound doesn’t travel through the portal.”
“You’re so smart, sister!”
“That’s right.”
Raon exclaimed in admiration, and Cale spoke.
“True. You’re right.”
He then looked back inside.
“…”
His eyes darkened. On and Hong also leaned in to look along with Raon.
The inside of the cookie house wasn’t dark.
“Human, it’s full of mana inside.”
The interior of the cookie house was filled with a purple glow.
“And isn’t that the Source of the World?”
Additionally, there was a multicolored glow. Inside the cookie house, the Dragon’s mana and the Source of the World were mixed together.
“…Human.”
Raon’s voice became more serious.
“This doesn’t look normal.”
Yes.
Cale felt it too. It wasn’t just the portal.
The portal in the center of the house, surrounded by many flashes of light. Those flashes intertwined and collided, creating friction and tension.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s always been this way.”
Raon tried to speak calmly, but his voice trembled.
“Human, did the Dragon consume the Source of the World?”
“…I don’t know.”
“The Dragon probably stole as much of the Source of the World as possible. Where did he use it?”
“…”
“I think he used it here.”
But the problem wasn’t just those two energies.
“Human, that magic circle is also a problem.”
“…What is that machine?”
A magic circle and a machine. Beneath the portal and the clusters of light, there was a large magic circle drawn. The design was peculiar.
“I don’t know. That magic circle doesn’t activate mana.”
Raon, staring at the machine, asked.
“It looks like a cannon.”
As On mentioned, the machine resembled a cannon, but instead of gunpowder…
‘It looks like a device that would fire a laser.’
Cale shifted his gaze to the top of the machine.
Whirr—
The sound of the machine operating echoed. It was unclear who drew the magic circle or who created the machine.
“Human, do you see that glass bottle on top?”
“Yes.”
The glass bottle connected to the part that seemed to shoot a laser. Inside, there was a floating gem.
‘It looks like…’
Without needing words, it became clear.
‘It’s a reference point.’
A sealing device. And it also seemed to be the detonator.
Slosh, slosh.
As the machine operated, the liquid inside the glass bottle increased.
“Human, it’s gray.”
Gray.
A liquid reminiscent of the god of chaos.
‘So that’s what he was looking at.’
Cale realized that Neo was checking the level of that liquid.
“…It’s almost full.”
The liquid was nearly full.
About 85% full.
“Human, when that machine fires, the mana and the Source of the World will explode. The power will overflow into Apitoyu through the portal!”
Raon exclaimed.
“So we have to destroy it!”
Raon shouted, then shook his head.
“No, no. It’s dangerous!”
The mana and the Source of the World. Assuming Raon and Cale could handle each energy, they couldn’t simply touch the machine. If they did, it seemed like Neo had prepared a device that would detonate the machine.
‘What do we do?’
Raon’s eyes were filled with concern.
“!”
Raon’s eyes widened.
Neo.
He saw him again.
“Magic!”
Neo was using magic. And the purple mana stirred around him. Although it wasn’t clear what he was doing, the intention was evident.
“Ah.”
Raon soon understood what the magic was for.
Whoosh—
The previously silent purple mana violently swirled. And it headed towards the portal. The Source of the World followed, colliding and moving along with it.
“Human, the Dragon is using magic again. And the more he uses magic, the more mana moves towards the portal!”
Raon concluded.
“That machine is a bomb, and the purple mana is the trigger. And the Source of the World is the second bomb that will explode afterward!”
Raon explained decisively.
