Side Story 15
Set, who had experienced the sensation of the world turning upside down in the cave, soon opened his eyes and looked around. He realized that he had fallen into a cave that was similar but somehow different. Beside him were Isquis and Apophis, who had disappeared just moments ago.
“Your Excellency, are you alright?”
“Yes. Is everyone okay?”
Set knew that this place was different from before, even though it was clearly the same cave. Even the smell in his nostrils and the texture of the air were different. Apophis, who had been reading coordinates with his eyes closed, spoke softly.
“This is… Asterra, Your Excellency.”
“I thought as much.”
The air of Asterra, which he hadn’t breathed for a long time, was no different from before. Set slowly began to walk toward the entrance of the cave, which wasn’t far from where he stood.
Naturally, Apophis and Isquis followed behind Set.
“Why on earth was there a gate in that cave? No, more than that, Baal definitely said ‘door,’ so why a cave…”
“It seems Baal deceived us.”
“Pardon?”
Apophis asked again in disbelief. Baal, none other than Baal, had ‘deceived’ them?
Baal was certainly violent in nature and reckless to the point where no one could rein him in, but he wasn’t cunning enough to deceive others. From birth, he had been endowed with such strength that he never needed to deceive anyone.
“Why would Baal deceive us?”
“Who knows. Only Baal could tell you that.”
Set answered quietly as he organized his plans for what lay ahead. While he was worried about Seho, who had been left with Baal, the fact that Baal had deceived them to stay with Seho suggested he wouldn’t harm the child. So Set decided to focus on meeting Yeon Ji-ho for now.
After exiting the cave, Set asked Apophis, who had been reading the coordinates of this place earlier.
“Apophis, where is this?”
“The Grace Forest… a forest connected to Hwangseong. We should be careful. Although most have forgotten about the ‘Beasts of Gorgon’ as time has passed, there will still be those who remember.”
Unlike Set, who hadn’t returned to Asterra even briefly during the past three years, Apophis would occasionally visit Asterra when necessary. Even in a world with advanced science, there were times when magic was more convenient, requiring specific herbs or items from Asterra.
As Apophis, who had a general sense of the current atmosphere in Asterra, cautiously advised, Isquis, who had been listening nearby, scratched his head and said:
“I wish I could fly ahead and scout. Damn, I don’t have wings anymore.”
Isquis glanced at his back with a rather regretful look. Of course, he couldn’t have wings to live in the other world, but it was still regrettable.
Hearing Isquis’s complaint, Apophis smiled wryly for the first time in a while and said:
“Why, should I cut off a griffin’s wings and attach them to you?”
In the past, Apophis had experimentally attached wings to the young Isquis to help him survive on the battlefield. Of course, since he hadn’t conducted any human experiments afterward, Isquis became Apophis’s first and last test subject.
Noticing that Apophis intended to build his reputation as a magician after returning to Asterra after so long, Isquis clicked his tongue and said:
“Someone should cut off that snake’s tongue. Appo, if you just age without maturing, you become a ‘kkommer,’ you know?”
“What? Kkommer? What’s that?”
“Oh, it means an old fogy.”
Apophis, who didn’t know what “kkommer” meant but understood “old fogy,” closed his eyes to suppress his anger. Getting angry at this point would just prove Isquis right about him being an old fogy. To be played by that bird-brain…
“Apophis is already super triggered, right?”
“You bird-brained bastard!”
“Our old fogy Apophiss, who only knows ‘bird-brain’ and ‘bastard’ as insults… Ow!”
Finally, after being hit on the head by Apophis, Isquis closed his mouth.
While the two were making a ruckus, Set, who had already gone far ahead, was walking while sharply surveying the surroundings. The Grace Forest was private property of the royal family where no one entered, so there was no particular presence felt nearby.
They encountered people when they left the Grace Forest and reached the outskirts of Hwangseong.
“Hey, did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
They appeared to be workers from Hwangseong. Set quietly suppressed his presence and listened to their conversation.
“About those guys the Hwangseong Knights brought in this time.”
“Ah, that fox? I heard he wasn’t caught alone.”
“Yeah, yeah. It seems they also caught a bear-like built man and some slender guy together.”
Set instinctively knew they were talking about Shango and Yeon Ji-ho. Upon hearing that they had been captured by the Hwangseong Knights, he unknowingly clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm.
“But I heard they escaped while one of the knights was untying the rope.”
“What? Is that true?”
Set’s eyebrows twitched. It was fortunate if they hadn’t been taken to the underground prison. The underground prison was far too dirty and filthy a place for Yeon Ji-ho.
“Yeah, anyway, it seems the knight wounded that man’s ankle. They’re arresting anyone with an ankle wound.”
“Ankle wound? Well, I’ve seen several just passing by today… Argh!”
It was then that Set, who had been hiding his presence until now, revealed himself. It happened so quickly that Apophis and Isquis couldn’t stop him in time.
As soon as Set heard that Yeon Ji-ho was injured, he moved without realizing it, as if a switch had been flipped. It happened before his rational judgment that he should hide his body because it was dangerous and could properly register.
“Where is that place?”
After wrapping around the man’s ankle and lifting him up without warning, that was the only question he asked. Apophis, watching from behind, kept rubbing his face as he saw Set starting to go on a rampage. He could only desperately hope that Yeon Ji-ho would return safely soon.
***
“…Ji-ho?”
Hadad, standing opposite Yeon Ji-ho, still looked at him with an expression of disbelief. He even raised his hand to rub his eyes, as if checking whether he was hallucinating.
In contrast, Yeon Ji-ho’s complexion remained unchanged even as he faced Hadad, who had once enveloped him in pain. That was because he now knew that Hadad could no longer inflict any pain on him.
Having become a parent after giving birth to Seho through a difficult process, Yeon Ji-ho was somehow different from before. If previously he had been in an unstable period without family to lean on or anything to protect, now Yeon Ji-ho had a home to protect and a place to return to. So Hadad, whom he faced again, could have no influence on Yeon Ji-ho.
“It’s been a while, Hadad.”
Hadad, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, was much more withered than before. Fitting the description “haggard,” he began to stagger and approach this way bit by bit after looking at Yeon Ji-ho.
Shango naturally stepped in front of Yeon Ji-ho. Though he knew his own strength was significantly inferior compared to Hadad’s, it was a natural protective gesture.
“Have you reflected at all during this time?”
“…Reflection? Haha…”
At the word “reflection” from Yeon Ji-ho’s mouth, Hadad chewed on that word several times. That appearance was unbecoming of the wise ruler who was said to be leading the greatest golden age in the history of Asterra.
“Reflection, yes.”
“Then could you please not come any closer?”
Yeon Ji-ho spoke firmly to Hadad, who was staggering but still slowly walking toward them. Immediately, Hadad’s steps came to a halt.
“…Yes.”
“Good, we’ll talk from here in this state.”
“I… will.”
Hadad seemed anxious, as if Yeon Ji-ho might turn around and leave at any moment. His appearance seemed more fitting for someone gripped by fear rather than merely anxious.
“What brings you here? I thought… I would never see you again.”
“I have something to ask you.”
“Something to ask? Anything, anything is fine. If it’s something I know, I’ll tell you…”
It was Yeon Ji-ho who cut off Hadad’s continuing words.
“Have you met the god since then?”
“…God?”
Hadad’s pupils contracted. He closed his mouth and fell into thought, as if recalling a very old memory. After contemplating, he finally slowly shook his head.
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Then, do you know where to go to meet the god?”
Hadad had already met the god before. Yeon Ji-ho had also read about it in the novel “The Star of Hadad,” but the exact method was a part that wasn’t clearly expressed.
In response to Yeon Ji-ho’s question, Hadad remained silent for a moment, then barely uttered:
“My… star.”
“Star?”
Hadad’s star. Following his own star, which he had barely found at the end of the story, he could meet the god. Hadad smiled faintly and said:
“Go meet Gliese, Ji-ho.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
