< Episode 22. Three Promises (5) >
Only after carefully surveying the surroundings for a while did I come to a conclusion about where we were.
And then I despaired.
Damn it—no matter how I looked at it, there was no mistake. This place was…
"You don't need to be that tense. If you just don't get too close to it, it won't bite."
Listening to Kim Namwoon snicker, I let out a small sigh.
There was no doubt.
This place was the prison of Tartarus, the hell within the Underworld.
I looked toward the monster guarding the prison entrance—a three-headed beast straight out of mythology. Cerberus, the monstrous hound. It looked bored; two of its heads were asleep, and only one kept its eyes wide open, watching the surroundings.
"That's just a pup. At best, it's a Grade-4 monster species. There are way crazier ones down below."
Kim Namwoon rambled on as if he were some kind of tour guide for hell.
He wasn't wrong about it being a pup.
That was written in Ways of Survival as well.
Since Tartarus imprisoned stronger criminals the deeper you went, the Cerberus guarding each level grew larger the lower you descended.
Kim Namwoon chuckled and asked,
"So? How does it feel, visiting hell?"
I spoke while keeping an eye on his flippant attitude.
This psychopath could flip at any moment—it paid to stay alert.
"I've got something to ask."
"What is it?"
"Is there anyone else here besides you?"
"There's you, old man."
"Not me."
I carefully examined the faces of the passing wraiths.
But I didn't see anyone I recognized.
No Disaster of Questions, Myung Ilsang.No non-human Song Minwoo.
"As far as I know, no. Out of everyone on that subway, I'm the only one who ended up here."
Hades' Underworld was just one of countless afterlives across the world.
The incarnations who died likely departed to different underworlds depending on their beliefs—or perhaps randomly assigned.
Myung Ilsang and Song Minwoo were probably the same.
Watching Kim Namwoon's reaction, I continued,
"Have you seen a young woman come here recently?"
"A young woman?"
"White hair, uh… ponytail. Pretty cute."
Kim Namwoon frowned briefly—then suddenly started giggling.
"Ahh, now I get it."
For a moment, I wondered if he'd seen Shin Yoosung.
"So you died trying to save a woman, huh?"
"..."
"Man, that's always the problem with you old guys. Living and dying for love… what century are you from?"
"Did you see her or not? Just answer that."
"Of course I didn't. Too bad—you won't be meeting your beloved girlfriend."
It seemed Shin Yoosung's soul hadn't come here either.
There was a chance she hadn't crossed the River Acheron yet, but…
Either way, she was a soul from another worldline. After lingering here briefly, she would be expelled beyond the worldline.
What I needed to do was secure her soul before that happened.
"What were you doing here anyway?"
"What else? Making that. You'll be making it too now."
Kim Namwoon brushed ash from his hands and pointed behind him.
"That thing. See it? Looks like a Gundam."
I had already noticed it.
A massive humanoid silhouette.A colossal weapon finished in glossy black metal, breathing slowly as if it were alive. A weapon meant to prepare for the most horrific war of myth.
A Gigant Soldier.
So Hades was already preparing for the Gigantomachy.
As expected—very different from the Twelve Olympians, who partied, slept around, and used preparing for the Gigantomachy as an excuse for everything.
Come to think of it, even though Hades was a constellation from Greek mythology, he didn't belong to the Olympus Nebula.
Just then, a commotion erupted near the entrance.
Kim Namwoon's expression hardened as he grabbed my shoulder.
"Come on. Stick with me."
"Why?"
"Can't you see the overseers coming? I've got a workstation set up over there. Go pretend you're hammering something. New guys have to move fast. Got it?"
I already knew that much.
If this really was Tartarus's slave forge, I had a rough idea of how things worked.
So the reason I was surprised wasn't Tartarus itself.
Kim Namwoon pouted.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
I hadn't planned to say anything—but I couldn't help it.
"You see me, and nothing comes to mind?"
"What do you mean?"
Kim Namwoon seemed to think for a moment. Then a chilling smile crept across his face.
"Ahh. You're scared of me, aren't you?"
"..."
"You think I might want revenge. Right?"
If I weren't scared, that would be abnormal.
I had killed him—the psychopath who, in the original story, rivaled even Yoo Joonghyuk in madness.
And now that same guy was acting friendly toward me.
If that wasn't terrifying, that would be strange.
"Haha, don't be so scared. We're both already dead—no need to be so cold, right? And I've changed a lot since coming here. I've done plenty of reflecting."
What utter nonsense.
That "Delusional Demon" Kim Namwoon, talking about reflection?That was about as believable as Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly turning into a cute girl one day.
Of course it was a lie—but out of the last shred of courtesy I could extend to another person, I decided to activate [Lie Detection].
After all, that was exactly what I'd gotten the skill for.
But then—
[You have confirmed that the statement is true.]
...What?
Stunned, I stared at him. Kim Namwoon shouted indignantly,
"I'm serious! Why can't you trust people? I'm living a life of atonement here! I'm even grateful that you killed me!"
"...No. Why?"
"I get meals on time. I get to sleep when it's time to sleep. No school. No nagging parents... Sure, it's hot, but this place is paradise."
Someone describing the hell of Tartarus like that—
"And when I'm bored, I can even build Gunpla. How great is that?"
Calling a Gigant Soldier "Gunpla"…
"It's all thanks to you. I mean it. Seriously—thanks."
This bastard really was insane.
[Character 'Kim Namwoon' has developed goodwill toward you.]
Damn it—even the system message said so. Hard not to believe at this point.
"Anyway, hurry up and come this way. We don't have time!"
Dragged along by Kim Namwoon, I headed toward his workstation.
Neatly arranged tools lay on the workbench, along with a 'Gunpla' made from leftover metal.
Building toys out of Underworld metal…
His chuuni tendencies were painfully obvious now.
"They're coming. Grab a hammer."
Almost on cue, Cerberus at the gates of hell began to bark.
Grrr…!
The sound sent a chill through my bones. Past the gate guarded by Cerberus, overseers entered Tartarus, each holding a club or a whip. They were Hades' retainers, draped in jet-black cloaks. They didn't seem as strong as the Judges, but getting noticed by them would still be bad.
I stood awkwardly and pretended to hammer a few times.
Kim Namwoon snickered beside me.
An overseer climbed onto a platform near the entrance and spoke in a voice like metal scraping against metal.
—Attention, slaves of the first level. There will be a surprise inspection starting now.
Kim Namwoon scowled and muttered,
"Those bastards pull this crap all the time. If they've got nothing better to do, it's always inspections…"
But at the overseer's next words, Kim Namwoon shut up instantly.
—An illegal intruder has appeared in the Underworld. It is said that someone crossed the River Acheron as the soul of a living being.
The wraiths holding hammers and saws murmured in confusion.
The overseer continued.
—If the Great Death becomes aware of this, something terrible will happen to all of you. Therefore, this inspection is to root out that impure intruder. For now, this is only a formality, so do not panic. Remain at your stations.
Damn it—things were moving faster than I'd expected.
Of all times…
I heard Kim Namwoon mutter under his breath.
"Seriously, what idiots. Even if a living person did come here, why would they hide in Tartarus? Once you come in, you can never get out. Right?"
"..."
"Hey. Mister?"
"Y-yeah."
Lost in thought, my reply came a beat too late.
Kim Namwoon stared at me, then spoke in a hollow voice.
"I'm just asking, just in case… but that intruder isn't you, is it…?"
"It is."
"Holy shit."
Throwing down his hammer, Kim Namwoon laughed in disbelief.
"Wow, that's one hell of a backstab. So I've been venting my life story to a living person this whole time?"
I couldn't tell whether he was angry or amused.
Sighing, I asked,
"...Is there anywhere to hide?"
"Are you kidding? This is a prison—where the hell would you hide? If you're desperate, crawl inside that Gunpla or something!"
I looked at the Gigant Soldier.
Hiding inside it really was an option.
The problem was that the thing was already closer to a living organism than a machine—if I went in there, there was a good chance I'd get digested on the spot.
"Is it finished?"
"Not yet. Something's wrong with the core, or whatever. ...You're really thinking of hiding in there?"
"No."
"Good call. If you go in there, you'll die for real."
"...Didn't you say you were living kindly now?"
"I'm only kind to dead people. Shame—we just met again. But you'll be dead soon too, so I'll be nice to you then."
Kim Namwoon drew his hand across his neck, clearly enjoying my predicament.
While we traded nonsense, the overseer had already drawn close.
If the Gigant Soldier had been completed, one option would've been to ride it, beat Cerberus into submission, and march straight to Hades' palace—but even that was impossible right now.
[Your trait effect increases your memory of previously read pages!]
Desperately, I dredged up the contents of Ways of Survival.
Come to think of it, Yoo Joonghyuk had visited the Underworld in the mid-to-late regressions.
What did he do back then?
"Tell the Lord of the Underworld this: I'm taking the Gigant Soldier, Pluto."
"And tell them to get the hell out of my way if they don't want to die."
…Damn it. That crazy bastard.
It sounded great when I was just reading it, but now that I was in the situation myself, it wasn't helping at all.
Standing up to one of Hades' Judges head-on?
That was something only a regressor like Yoo Joonghyuk could pull off. He had the strength for it. He had the timing.But me…?
…No. Wait a second.
Why couldn't I do what he did?
The moment I changed my perspective, the direction of my thoughts shifted as well.
Of course, I couldn't act exactly like him.
But there were plenty of ways for me to bluff with sheer nerve.
Why was it that I couldn't get caught by a Judge?
Because I'd fail the hidden scenario and become a "resident of the Underworld"?Or because the Judges, wary of Hades' reaction, would try to annihilate me completely?
I'd been an idiot.
Those problems only existed if I failed to solve one thing.
By then, the overseer had reached our workstation.
Instead of retreating, I stepped forward.
The overseer asked,
"What are you?"
"The one you're looking for."
In that instant, light flared in the overseer's eyes.
From somewhere, a sharp metallic scraping rang out. My body slowly began to freeze, as though the cold were seeping into my bones, and soon my nape turned ice-cold.
If I turned around now, a Judge of Hades would probably have my neck in his grip.
Resisting the bone-freezing chill, I forced my mouth open.
"You might want to think carefully before annihilating me."
I didn't have Yoo Joonghyuk's combat power.
But I had something he didn't.
"If you kill me now, you will certainly lose the
The overseer's pupils wavered for a split second, and the cold loosened just slightly. I didn't miss the opening and looked toward the Gigant Soldier as I spoke.
"Tell the 'Father of the Rich Night.' I know how to complete that Gigant Soldier."
Then, a dreadful silence fell.
My body continued to freeze, starting from the back of my neck, but I deliberately didn't resist.
This was a test.
Before I realized it, the ice had passed my neck and shoulders, creeping down toward my chest.
I didn't panic.
A little more.Just a little more.
And finally, just as the cold was about to pierce my heart—
It stopped.As if by magic.
Then, a message appeared.
[The hidden scenario has been updated.]
.
.
Not long after, guided by a Judge, I began ascending toward Hades' palace.
Beyond the snarling Cerberus, I caught sight of Kim Namwoon growing smaller in the distance.
Toward Kim Namwoon, who was staring at me blankly, I quietly raised my hand and gave a small wave.
Take care in hell, Namwoon.
< Episode 22. Three Promises (5) > End