The Genius Blacksmith's Game
Ancient Dragon. (4)
“……I earnestly hope you do your best. I know it is impossible, but I hope you understand the foolish heart of this old man grasping at straws.”
Gronit stroked the book in his hand as if it were precious.
Even after saying it myself, I know how far-fetched that was.
No matter how valuable the thing in the rare is, even if I give it up…
There are things that cannot be done even if you are given everything in the world.
That is precisely the meeting with the one who has left.
“That is not a foolish heart. It is an earnest wish and desire that every human being harbors. So, without fail.”
A strong poisonous aura takes hold in Bahala.
Sophia is someone I cannot meet again because I am living in reality.
Ares is ultimately a fantasy worldview.
There is no such thing as 'impossible'.
We will make sure you and Margaret can meet again. We will make sure to do so.
Goryong recognized it from that expression and gaze.
That he, too, has let go of someone he loved, and that is why he will do his best even more…
Even though I was asked to do the impossible, I had huge expectations.
How on earth are you going to make us meet?
Bahala looked back at Hyunsu, who was standing next to him.
“Don’t worry, this fellow is close with the God of Death.”
“……?”
Hyun-su was also taken aback after firmly resolving to reunite Margaret and Gronit at all costs.
Sell me… …?
Gronit wore a look of great surprise.
Even Gronit, who was the Dragon Elder, was not able to meet the gods.
“Right, I’m pretty close(?) with the God of Death, I’ll give him a favor.”
“I heard that the God of Death is a cruel god without a heart or a tear. How could you be friends with such a God of Death?”
Believe it or not, this fellow is a descendant of the Blacksmith God.
“……A descendant of the Blacksmith God. I look forward to it.”
Bahala is being particularly over-the-top today.
This is a side of Hyunsu that we haven't seen before.
Perhaps Bahala is acting differently than usual because she empathized with Gronit's words more than anyone else.
He's kind to me. Haha.
Hyun-su smiled awkwardly, and Gronit set off, saying he would look around Hyun's country.
Hyunsu sighed as he looked at Bahala.
“I’ll go meet the God of Death first.”
Flower and bird.
As Bahala watched Hyunsu disappear into fire, he thought that, just as Hyunsu had said, the God of Death was kind only to him.
***
Unfortunately, the God of Death did not show kindness to Hyun-su.
Humans can only enter hell when they are dead. However, you are not dead. It wouldn't be a bad idea to kill you right here.
Thousands of evil spirits had attached themselves to Hyunsu's entire body in hell, gnawing away at his life force.
Although his HP was dropping, Hyunsu was holding on.
Furthermore, one of the powers of the God of Death is 'instant judgment'.
[You have been placed on the list for immediate judgment.]
[It is a power capable of instantly judging those who set foot in hell and reducing them to a soul state.]
[The Grim Reaper's scythe is aimed at your neck.]
A man resembling a grim reaper was standing next to Hyunsu.
He was wearing a robe and a hood pulled down, and a sickle was attached to the tip of his spear.
The sickle was aimed at Hyunsu's neck.
Weren't we pretty close?
Do you think we are close just because we exchanged a few words? I helped you when you fought the giant Viscount Andar because it was necessary for me as well. I hate the thought of you setting foot in hell. I also hate the way you pretend to be close to me. I truly despise you.
Hyunsu knew the truth about part of it.
There was no contempt, hatred, or anger toward Hyunsu on the face of the God of Death.
But why are they so picky?
Hyunsu, who had been thinking, recalled several people.
Phoenix, who lived alone in the Phoenix's Nest while maintaining his dignity, knowing that he was a disaster.
It was clearly lonely and difficult, and I wanted to end my own life, but I steadfastly endured.
This was because it was what had to be done as the Divine Beast Phoenix.
In that way, the god of death had to fulfill his own role.
Are the evil spirits currently possessing Hyun-su's body really the God of Death's full force?
Why isn't immediate judgment carried out right away?
Perhaps the God of Death is keeping his distance from Hyun-su because of the work he has to do.
Because that is what the god of death must do.
“Still, I like you. I’ll come again. Kill me or don’t, do as you please.”
-… … .
At first glance, is it just my imagination that he seemed to smile faintly?
[When the God of Death comes again, he will torment you with even more evil spirits.]
[The God of Death will double the forced logout penalty when you return.]
No, it is not a delusion. The God of Death was simply doing what he had to do.
Hyunsu's prediction was correct.
The god of death is the one who spends every day alone in this filthy, stinking place filled with the screams of evil spirits.
Hundreds of millions of the dead live in hell.
But there is just one person.
Only the god of death was a living being.
To him, this place was like hell, just as its name suggested.
But today, another living person came.
A living person who asks if they aren't close to him.
-Contemptible, utterly shameless. You really are hopeless.
Because he did not know friendship and love, affection and love-hate, the god of death spoke in his own way.
I smiled inwardly as I watched a streak of light rising from the thick darkness.
The god of death, feigning indifference with a sigh, swept away the evil spirits.
As if giving up.
Why did you come here?
There is someone I am looking for.
-… … Shameless bastard. Who is that?
Calling him shameless, he asks who he is.
At that, Hyunsu chuckled to himself.
“Died about 2,000 years ago…….”
-… … ?
At the mention of 2,000 years, the god of death wore a bewildered expression.
The God of Death who heard Hyunsu's story.
Again.
He wants to be a ray of light in someone's despair.
Do you know the information?
Even if I knew, I could not tell you. There are rules in this world. Those rules cannot be broken, and if you try to break them, you will be stopped by Ares.
Then what should I do?
The god of death sighed.
“If you do something worthy of it, I may let you know, since there is a reward. Some time ago, many who had reached the level of legends on Earth began wreaking havoc. Composed of a total of six libertines, they are beings that even the Army of Hell struggles to handle. Go and annihilate these libertines.”
[Hidden Quest: The Rakes.]
Grade: S
Restriction: One who has received a commission from the God of Death.
Reward: Information about Margaret.
Penalty for failure: Cannot obtain information about Margaret forever.
Description: Legends who were famous during their lifetimes are nothing but mere sinners in Hell. Suffering in various Hells, they have risen up in rebellion and begun to wreak havoc. King Leonard the traitor, Seraphin the slaughterer disguised as a martyr, Morgause the screaming beast, and Markael the blood judge. If you eliminate them, you will learn information about Margaret.
“I don’t have much time. Would it be okay if I went with my friend?”
You really are asking for a lot… But philanderers are such a nuisance, so I will let it slide just this once.
I'll be right back.
Hyun-su took a step, and the god of death watched his retreating figure.
Hyunsu thought.
Still, it is fortunate that I can hear the information as long as I complete a certain task.
However, there was something Hyunsu didn't know.
[The god who contemplates the world warns the god of death.]
[Providing information about Margaret is a violation of the rules.]
The God of Death kept hearing these notifications.
The Special User Management Team is also included in viewing that notification.
[The god who contemplates the world will inflict a small punishment on the god of death.]
“Team Leader, the God of Death has disobeyed Ares’s command.”
“……Since information about someone who died 2,000 years ago cannot be obtained no matter what mission is undertaken, why on earth…….”
Yes, the God of Death guided Hyun-su down that path even at the cost of a small punishment.
After Hyun-su disappeared, the Special User Management Team saw the God of Death smiling faintly.
The two people were surprised.
It was a faint smile, but it was because it was the first time they, too, had seen him smile.
What is the nature of the God of Death?
[Cold-hearted, cruel, indifferent, heartless, nihilistic, stubborn, persistent, merciless, rule-obsessed, boredom, contemplative… … ]
The listed characteristics of the god of death.
That is why Ares chose it, and it suits hell.
However, a new keyword emerged at the very end.
[Human.]
It is a keyword I have never seen in him.
The two people look at the god of death on the monitor with surprised expressions.
God of Death
He looked up at the sky.
[Punishment falls upon the God of Death.]
[After Hyun-su returns, you will not be able to see, speak, or hear for a while.]
[A great darkness descends upon the God of Death.]
It is noisy. Hell doesn't necessarily have to be bleak all the time, does it? Even if you cover my mouth, my ears, and my voice, I will listen to their stories once in a while.
-Why do you weep so sorrowfully? Why do you not leave hell and embrace the peaceful path of reincarnation? Why do you keep looking back at the earth?
That will be my hell starting now.
Why is that?
Their story, which he had never been curious about his entire life, brought about a change in him that made him 'human'.
Now, even though it was a very small human emotion, a clear wind of change was blowing through hell.
“Cough cough…….”
“Ugh, oh my god, I’m dying.”
day.
This is the time it took Hyunsu and Bahala to hunt down the libertines.
They were ancient legends and ferocious creatures, so it was not easy to kill them.
If Bahala hadn't been there, it would have taken a very long time.
[Hidden Quest: The Rake's Complete.]
[You can hear Margaret's story from the God of Death.]
Whoaah-
Go listen to the story.
After Bahala warped, Hyunsu went straight to meet the God of Death.
In the hand of the God of Death was a record of a dead person named 'Margaret'.
The god of death, who had read everything, answered.
You can never meet Margaret. She has already crossed the river of reincarnation.
Hyun-su's face contorted. It was the first time he, too, had learned that one could not meet another once they crossed the River of Reincarnation.
Margaret waited for a dragon named Gronit at the entrance of Hell for 500 years. However, souls must naturally depart as time passes, even if they do not wish to.
Hyun-su instinctively sensed that the quest had failed.
However, according to what is written in this book, Margaret left another version of herself in the world.
"You said he left himself behind?"
Hyunsu listened attentively to the story of the God of Death.
“Gronit, I’m sorry, but you and Margaret cannot be reunited.”
This is a fact that Gronit had already acknowledged.
I knew that it was impossible.
A corner of my heart ached.
Since when haven't you gone back to the cabin where you used to live?
I lived alone for a year after she died, then I left that place. It was too painful to stay there.
Go back there. There is something she left behind there.
Gronit wore a puzzled expression.
I didn't understand what was being said.
However, if I cannot meet her… …and if I am going to die soon.
It wouldn't be bad to go back to where I used to live with her.
Gronit, in the form of an old man, warped.
After 2,000 years had passed, everything there had changed.
The old hut on the small hill had been replaced with a new one, and others were living there.
Gronit ended up discovering something surprising in front of him.
Two huge ancient trees, easily 2,000 years old, were looking down at the world from the hill.
It is the spot where Gronit and Margaret sat together, watching the world at sunset.
At that moment, a middle-aged man living in a cabin heard the sound and came out.
It looks like the old man has come to see this tree as well…….
Is it a famous tree?
“They are indeed famous trees. It is said that a dragon and an old woman once lived here together. The old woman planted these two trees knowing that the dragon would one day return. After planting them, she made a request to the villagers. She asked them to be sure to tell him the names she had given them once they grew.”
The man pointed to an old tree.
One is Gronit.
He pointed to the old tree standing right next to him.
Another one is Margaret.
Gronit ended up crying.
