The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 125



125 – Prince of Ashes #2

125 – Prince of Ashes #2

“Ugh, the Great Labyrinth! The Red King! No, no, it can’t be!”

Zzzt, zzzt-.

Nam Woo-joo regained his senses with a tingling sensation on his skin.

Next to him was Lieutenant Jang Boram, who was dozing off on the hospital bed.

“Lieutenant Jang Boram.”

“Br…Brigadier General, are you awake…!?”

Lieutenant Jang Boram felt a surge of joy as Nam Woo-joo called his name. It meant his sanity had returned.

‘How long have I been asleep?’

‘What’s the current situation?’

‘Was the removal of the Concept Stone successful? What about my physical condition…’

Various thoughts swirled in his mind, but Nam Woo-joo brushed them all away.

“Kore.”

Devotion to the nation in crisis was the duty of a soldier.

“Where is it?”

His voice cracked as he spoke for the first time in a long while, but his intent was clear.

To find Kore and prevent the crisis.

That was the important mission given to Brigadier General Nam Woo-joo.

Duty and Obligation.

Even Kore, a member of the fairy royal family, had a ‘royal duty.’

According to the inscriptions and ancient documents of the Great Labyrinth revealed so far, the fairy royal family had strict rules, and everyone lived by them.

“Kore must have done the same. To fulfill that duty, he might have left the Great Labyrinth and settled somewhere in the 21st century to start a family. Lieutenant Jang Boreum, can you drive? I’m going to find Kore─.”

“Excuse me, Brigadier General. The thing is, you have been discharged. It means there’s no need to find Kore anymore.”

“Discharged? Me?”

Nam Woo-joo, who had been a soldier since before he became an adult.

He, who had dedicated his life to the country, was discharged.

It must have been the work of his sworn brother, Nam Bada.

Duty and obligation.

Nam Woo-joo was a man built on two pillars.

The words that he was no longer a soldier were no different from those two pillars collapsing.

Of course, mere discharge couldn’t stop Nam Woo-joo.

To him, being a soldier didn’t end with discharge; it ended only with death.

So, just as he was about to rise.

“Brigadier General, can’t you stay? For me and the child in my womb!”

“…What? A child?”

Nam Woo-joo’s pupils shook greatly.

A child.

It wasn’t something he hadn’t considered.

“Could it be from that time….”

“You know well, Brigadier General. A child needs a father!”

Father.

Brigadier General Nam Woo-joo repeated that heavy, longing word like a rock in his mouth.

At that very moment.

Clap, clap, clap-.

Someone entered Brigadier General Nam Woo-joo’s special ward, clapping.

A red-haired foreigner with neatly slicked-back hair.

“Becoming a father is a blessing not everyone can enjoy. At the same time, it’s a duty that all living beings must bear. Because the first principle of the Bible is to be fruitful and multiply.”

His Korean was quite fluent.

When the man took off his sunglasses, his mechanical pupils glinted.

“Brigadier Nam Woo-joo, you look pathetic. You should have accepted our offer. If you had partnered with us, you wouldn’t be lying here so miserably.”

“What is the CIA trying to do here? Wasn’t the agreement that we would handle Korean affairs ourselves, the condition when we struck North Korea’s nuclear facilities alone?”

“That’s right.”

Adam, a senior CIA agent, shrugged exaggeratedly at Nam Woo-joo’s warning.

Then he produced a document bearing the seal of the President of South Korea and the signature of Nam Bada.

Flap-.

“We’re just cooperating. Your government called us. The collapse of the ‘Great Labyrinth’ is imminent, isn’t it? If we stay like this, a global catastrophe will occur.”

From noble mtl dot com

Nam Woo-joo couldn’t deny the words “global catastrophe.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve already dispatched our top agents to the ‘Great Labyrinth.’ Nam Bada’s army was controlling the labyrinth for that purpose. If many people get caught up in the agents’ operations, won’t they get hurt?”

“Top agents” referred to the Awakened.

Awakened who were as powerful as Nam Woo-joo.

To think they were in the Great Labyrinth.

# # #

Flutter flutter-.

Following the “Guide Butterfly,” it was easy to find the way to the surface.

Without this guy, I would have wandered for days in the countless forks of the underground lair.

As we were embarking on such a smooth journey, Bbangdaengi asked.

“Did you fight with Seo Ga-eul?”

“Why?”

“When she’s sulking, her lips stick out like that and wrinkles form on her forehead. She used to do that often when she was young. If she’s like that, it’ll last for days. Of all times, she had to sulk in such an important situation.”

“Seo Ga-eul, useless nothing!”

At the double attack from Bbangdaengi and Mi-bbang, Seo Ga-eul glared at them.

Normally, she would have retorted with “What are you talking about?” but Seo Ga-eul remained silent.

Instead, Yoo Yeoreum spoke up.

“One of my parents was a member of the ‘Black Fairy.’ That’s why my skin tans so easily in the sun, because of the Black Fairy’s blood.”

Chattering Yoo Yeoreum.

“I thought my ability to see well in the dark was due to my training. I spent a lot of time in dark rooms to train my ‘light’ ability. But it was an inherited trait from my parents.”

For Yoo Yeoreum, who longed for the existence of blood relatives, the connection to her parents seemed very novel and satisfying.

“My low academic performance must also be because of the fairy blood, right?”

I don’t think that’s the case.

As we chatted, the beautifully glowing “Guide Butterfly” arrived at the passage leading to the surface.

We had calculated the probability of encountering monsters on the way, but contrary to the name “Demon’s Den,” we surprisingly didn’t encounter any monsters.

“It’s going so smoothly that it’s almost boring.”

━Gyuiing.

Yingying, sitting on my head, wriggled its body.

Is it hungry?

As I took out a fairy biscuit from my pocket to give to Yingying, Yoo Yeoreum spoke.

“They say that if you’re here, there’s no chance of being attacked by monsters in this den.”

“What? Are you pretending to be Moro too? Can you actually hear Yingying?”

“Actually, I’ve been able to understand what monsters are saying to some extent since a long time ago. I thought I was just crazy, but maybe it’s because of the blood of the ‘Black Fairy.’”

Yoo Yeoreum can understand Yingying’s words.

Bbangdaengi seemed interested too.

“Then can you understand what our Keongkeongi is saying too?”

━Keongkeong…!

“It doesn’t mean much, it’s just crying ‘keongkeong.’”

“Something seems off!”

Except for Seo Gaeul, who was sulking for some reason, we maintained a cheerful atmosphere as we arrived at the surface, the Great Labyrinth.

I sensed something suspicious.

“The ‘Great Labyrinth’ is currently controlled by Nambada, right? Then what are these traces?”

There were traces of someone cooking.

It felt like someone had lit a fire and grilled something.

It was from not long ago.

There were also monster corpses and what seemed to be traces of battles here and there.

‘Is there someone else in this controlled Great Labyrinth besides us?’

Fortunately or unfortunately, thanks to that ‘someone,’ the number of monsters inside the Great Labyrinth was significantly reduced, making the path to the Red King’s throne quite smooth.

But?

Things don’t always go smoothly.

━Chirp chirp-!

━Chirp chirp chirp-!

There are so many damn rats in the shadows at every corner!

I said to Mibbang.

“Mibbang, you ate the tea leaves of ‘Noise’, right?”

“I did!”

“Then whistle!”

Among us, only Bangdaengi, Mibbang, and I could whistle.

Since Bangdaengi was the owner of ‘Misfortune’, we didn’t know how the tea leaves with the power of ‘Noise’ would work, so we had Mibbang take them.

“Whi, whiwhiwhi-. Whiwhiwhi-whiwhiwhi-.”

Mibbang made a whistling sound that seemed like it would tear our ears apart.

It felt like my brain was spinning!

“Argh! It’s louder than I thought!”

So, what about the effect of that noise?

Is it working?

━Screeeeech!

━Screeech!

The rats in the shadows heard the loud whistling and retreated like a swarm of mice in front of a cat!

It really worked perfectly!

Meeting the ‘Black Fairy’ tribe turned out to be a great help.

“Did I miss the chance to test my new blade?”

I swallowed my disappointment as I looked at my new dagger, shining like a tyrannosaurus’s fang.

However, the world has a way of being more unpredictable than you think.

Screech-.

Squeak-.

A man wearing a feathered hat appeared from beyond the corner where the rats had fled.

It was Grand Knight Hameln.

【I commend your courage for returning to the place of death.】

“This place is our territory from today, so clear out!”

Either he retreats, or we die, one of the two!

A man’s declaration!

The time for a life-or-death battle has come!!!

At that moment, Seo Ga-eul, who had been silently following us, stepped forward.

And then he shouted.

“Lyria en’aro Korëanaras!”

What is he saying?

It was a strange language.

Even Grand Knight Hamern showed a puzzled expression.

【Is that boy actually the daughter of Kore? He doesn’t look like a girl though.】

“Oh, damn, was that not it? Kore… boy…”

Something seemed to have gone wrong.

Soon, Seo Ga-eul let out a single exclamation, “Ah!” as if he had realized something under the linden tree.

And then he shouted confidently again.

“Lyriaeth en’aro Korëanaras!”

Somehow, it seemed like Seo Ga-eul had been learning some babble in the High Priestess’s tent yesterday, and this was it.

【This boy is the son of Kore─! Is that what you want to say?】

“No need to fight! You are the Grand Knight who protects the royal family! You have an obligation to protect Kore’s son! Han Nam-jin is that Kore’s son!”

【For someone like that, he doesn’t look like a fairy. He doesn’t show any fairy traits. Rather, the girl emitting light over there looks more like a fairy. The ones with the black ones.】

It was a valid point.

Why would my mom be a fairy?

Seo Ga-eul, you made me a half-breed.

“Han Nam-jin, your mom is a fairy! Kore! Why doesn’t anyone believe me! Your dad, huh? He kidnapped your mom! Like, really! He really did!”

From Seo Ga-eul’s attitude, which seemed like a child throwing a tantrum, I could feel his sincerity.

That guy, he had been sulking all day today, and this is what he wanted to say.

“I was actually a half-breed…!?”

The shocking secret of my birth that I suddenly came to know.

It means that strange fairy blood like Inonoi or Baonoi flows within me!

The reason my mom put ketchup in kimchi stew!

The reason she gave me crayons and a sketchbook every time I asked for a robot as a Christmas present!

The reason she didn’t buy me the Nymphtendo game console she promised even though I scored 100 on the test!

It was all because my mom was a fairy!

“Guuaaah!”

I felt a blow to my soul.

To think that I, who dreamed of being the manliest of men, was actually the son of a fairy.

Such a fairy tale-like setting is unnecessary for a man!

【And really, if that brat is indeed the descendant of the fairy princess, I cannot send him beyond this point. At least not yet. It seems the boy has not fulfilled the ‘duty of the fairy royal family.’】

What could the duty of the fairy royal family be?

The story, which made me think deeply in many ways, snapped me back to reality.

【Go back and fulfill the duty of the royal family. Just as your mother Kore did. Just as your kings and ancestors did. I am the grand knight who protects the royal family, and I cannot send someone unprepared to the king.】

The grand knight drew a great sword from his back, as if forged from darkness.

The intensity of the aura he began to emit made my skin tingle.

In the end, the fight was unavoidable.

At that moment, something strange happened.

Boom-!

A huge explosion engulfed the grand knight.

And then, women in suits so tight they revealed their figures appeared from that dark corner.

“Yay, direct hit-. Perfect timing, right? Hey, how was my attack just now?”

“Sà bǐ.”

Who are they?

New enemies?

They seem like foreigners.

As far as I know, foreigners are prohibited from entering this “Great Labyrinth.”

So what are they?

We were all on guard against the strangers.

A woman who blew out the smoke from her fingers spoke.

“I am Minerva of the ‘Bomb’! We are all 4th-grade special agents, and we came to help you at the request of the Korean government. You must be the ‘Prince of Ashes’? You’re cuter than I heard!”

Wham-.

The woman hugged me.

Something soft, which couldn’t be hidden even by the tight suit, touched my body.

Whatever it was, my luck was good!

If 4th-grade awakeners are helping us, it will be much easier to defeat the ‘Red King.’ This must be what it means to be helped by heaven.

However, if they are connected to the government, there’s a high chance these guys are targeting “Mi-bbang.”

A double-edged sword, perhaps.

At that moment, Bbangdaengi got angry.

“What the heck! Why is a foreigner showing up and hugging Hanamjin!”