ALL NOVEL Chapter 237
Chapter 237 – Chaos (2)
The King of Kabuum grabbed the hair of Chaos and lifted it high, shouting, “I will make this thing the final offering!”
“Whoaahhh!!”
“It’s the final offering!”
Zing—
The arena trembled with the roar of the spectators watching the ritual.
It was as if the atmosphere reminded one of the World Cup.
“My ears hurt.”
“Chirp? Is it already over?”
—Seems so.
“It was nothing special! Chirp!”
Yoo Ji-han, who was picking his ears in the center of the arena, led his party back to the waiting room.
As they entered, Kabuum’s warriors approached him.
“You are truly remarkable warriors.”
“Thank you very much.”
“……?”
With tightly clenched fists and standing straight, the Kabuum warriors bowed their heads.
It was the utmost respect they could show as Kabuum warriors.
Yoo Ji-han looked at them with questioning eyes and realized why they were expressing gratitude.
‘So it was our turn next.’
They were the warriors who were supposed to enter the arena after Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Thanks to the king’s whim, the ritual ended early, allowing them to avoid a dangerous battle and express their thanks.
Participating in the ritual was known to be a great honor in Kabuum.
But for those doing the fighting, it seemed not necessarily so.
“You exceeded my expectations!”
Tuta applauded Yoo Ji-han.
He knew their party wouldn’t lose to something like Chaos.
In fact, the performance they showed in the ritual surpassed all expectations.
“Just don’t provoke our king too much. There is no one scarier than an angry king in Kallem.”
“He was smiling broadly.”
“Accepting your rudeness with laughter shows how magnanimous the king is! He’s different from those pretentious fools in Leron and Maz.”
Tuta praised the King of Kabuum to the point of exhaustion.
This talk reflected how deeply the Kabuum warriors held loyalty for their king.
*
The mad ritual wrapped up faster than expected.
The spectators that had gathered in the arena returned to their original spots.
On the night of the rising moon, in addition to the main event of the games, they had many traditions of Kabuum to attend to back home.
“I saw your abilities well.”
The King of Kabuum called Yoo Ji-han’s party back into his palace.
Unlike their first meeting, his voice and demeanor were now much softer.
He was showing good feelings towards those who had proven their power by his wishes.
“Didn’t people swarm around you after the ritual?”
“They flocked from everywhere.”
“I’m tired.”
“Heh heh! That’s understandable.”
At Lee Mi-a’s tired reply, the King of Kabuum laughed heartily.
Despite being an outsider, they had displayed a very impressive image in the ritual.
The citizens of Kabuum, whose inner and outer selves aligned nearly perfectly, showed great interest towards them.
The attention was rather unusual for outsiders in Kabuum.
“What happened to the people who were imprisoned?”
“They have already been freed from the prison. We are treating them exceptionally in the palace. If you wish, you can meet them.”
The three teams that had been imprisoned were released immediately after the king finished the ritual.
Upon receiving the news that everyone was safe, Yoo Ji-han nodded briefly.
“If all misunderstandings are cleared, then slowly…”
“Wait a moment.”
Just when they were about to tackle the Yogo Guild matters in Kabuum.
The King of Kabuum interrupted Yoo Ji-han.
“Lastly, I must confirm one more thing.”
“…Yes?”
“There’s a being named Chaos that has been attacking the citizens of Kabuum indiscriminately at night. You all must deal with it.”
Out of the blue, the king asked them to eliminate Chaos.
Recently, Chaos appeared in Kabuum, and due to its exceptional ability to flee and hide its appearance, it had been causing headaches as they found it hard to catch.
As Yoo Ji-han listened to his story, he furrowed his brows and asked, “Why don’t you handle it yourselves?”
“Their cunning nature and rapid movements do not match well with Kabuum warriors. However, with the skills you displayed during the ritual, you should be able to catch them.”
“How long must we continue to dance to your tune?”
No matter how much Chaos the opponent was a king of Kabuum.
They were not subordinates that would unconditionally obey the king’s command.
Even if a problem arose within Kabuum, it wasn’t necessary for them to intervene.
“This is the last time. As a king, I promise.”
“It’s hard to trust a promise that’s just words.”
“Hmm… was your purpose in being hired by the Yogo Guild to trade with Kabuum?”
“Yes.”
“If you handle this, I will actively push that trade along.”
“…!”
The King of Kabuum openly promised to support the trade with the Yogo Guild.
It was not something to be taken lightly for a ruler of a faction to show support for a single guild.
“I will also provide items that have been strictly prohibited from being exported until now to the Yogo Guild. Crops grown under the blessing of Kabuum, unique herbs produced solely in Kabuum. Outsiders can take what they’ve only seen before.”
“That’s quite generous.”
“For the sake of my face, I must offer at least this much.”
Yoo Ji-han glanced at Min Yu-ri.
In Kabuum, there were herbs strictly forbidden from export.
Originally, the Yogo Guild was not allowed to purchase those items either.
But with the king’s permission, any restrictions could be ignored.
“Moreover, I have released my subordinates all over Kabuum. If I discover any information regarding a man named Yoon Do-ha, I’ll let you know.”
While simultaneously empowering the Yogo Guild, the King of Kabuum promised to provide news about Yoon Do-ha.
Having offered just the assistance they needed,
Yoo Ji-han could not refuse his proposal.
*
The recent Chaos attacking the citizens of Kabuum was appearing alternately in the districts of Kabuum.
One day it showed up in District 1, and the next it moved to District 2, and so on.
A creature that appeared on creepy nights attacking children.
Having moved to District 5 to capture it, Yoo Ji-han’s party waited for three moons to rise in the night sky.
“Oh? The moons are just sitting there.”
Kim Si-hu pointed to the red moon hanging in the night sky.
Even though the ritual in Kabuum had occurred exactly on the night of the full moon.
The red moon was still maintaining its perfect full-moon shape.
“They say the real full moon rises the next night.”
“But that moon hasn’t changed at all compared to yesterday’s.”
Min Yu-ri looked up at the sky, following Kim Si-hu.
Unlike Earth, there were three moons in the sky.
Among them, only the red moon was at a perfect full moon while the blue and yellow moons were both more than halfway full.
—It’s true. That moon hasn’t changed at all.
Sylph also noticed that the red moon hadn’t changed from yesterday.
Even with the passing of time, the shape of the full moon continued to hold.
‘They said there are occasions when all three moons are full.’
Fran of the Sky Shelter said that when all three moons are full, a festival is held throughout all of Kallem.
Yoo Ji-han realized that day was not far off.
“But by the way, will that really work?”
“Let’s wait and see.”
While hiding on top of a building in District 5, Yoo Ji-han’s party was watching a little girl wandering alone in the night streets.
She was the bait they had prepared to hunt the Chaos.
“It should start appearing soon….”
Yoo Ji-han muttered as he looked around.
Because of the Chaos they were targeting, children were prohibited from going outside in Kabuum’s nighttime streets.
The Chaos, only targeting the weak, would surely not miss a little girl who was alone without an adult.
Just as he thought that,
Rustle!
A large, black silhouette swiftly crossed the narrow path left and right.
Min Yu-ri, quietly observing the road, said, “I think it’s here.”
“Chirp! It has shown up.”
Yoo Ji-han recognized that the foe they were waiting for had taken the bait.
Rustle! Rustle!
Leaving only faint sounds, the creature closed in on the bait girl.
Even at the moment when the girl faced a great threat, Yoo Ji-han’s party simply watched Chaos’s movements.
Then, at last, when Chaos reached the girl,
Swoosh!
The girl transformed into a mirage with Kim Si-hu’s illusion magic.
Lee Mi-a spun around and snagged Chaos with her grasp.
“Gotcha.”
“Chirp…?!”
What she caught was a giant cockroach.
But attached to its face was the head of a rat, and it had a long tail at what would be its rear.
It clearly held the form of Chaos.
“Chilla, it’s your friends.”
“Chirp!! Compare them properly!”
Whoosh!
In an instant, the light of magic brightened the dark streets, revealing Yoo Ji-han’s party in full view.
They were aiming for the Chaos that was moving along with the one captured by Lee Mi-a.
“Chirp!”
“Chirp, chirp!”
“Chirp! Their cries are very unpleasant!”
Boom!
For some reason, Chilla, filled with rage, threw his shield forward.
[Shield Boomerang]
The circular shield spun quickly and flew towards Chaos.
Thud!
The shield struck the head of the Chaos that made the loudest noise.
As the creature staggered from the direct hit to its head,
“The noisy ones die first! Chirp!”
Chilla lightly retrieved the shield that returned to him.
A skill to attack the opponent by infusing his magic into the shield.
This was Chinchilla’s ability awakened through magic.
The flustered Chaos hurriedly moved its spiny legs covered in grotesque spikes, trying to flee the area.
[Sand Wall]
Sssss!
A wall of sand rose from the hard earth of Kabuum.
Kim Si-hu magically sealed off all escape routes for the Chaos.
“One of them got away!”
“I’m watching it.”
Thump!
As Min Yu-ri released the string of her bow, her magic arrow flew toward the fleeing Chaos.
The creature was quite fast, but compared to the arrow, it was nothing.
Whoosh!
The arrow suddenly gained powerful thrust as it flew.
It streaked through the air as if it had a booster attached.
This was a skill called [Acceleration] bestowed upon the artifact Min Yu-ri possessed.
[Shape Change – Fork]
Whoosh!
The magic that transformed into a fork upon reaching Chaos pierced through its body and embedded deep into the ground.
The creature bled and thrashed, but the firmly stuck fork wouldn’t budge.
“Lee Mi-a!”
Crack!
Tearing apart the body of Chaos with her hands, Lee Mi-a ran alongside Yoo Ji-han.
What followed was nothing short of a massacre.
Compared to their agile movements, the creature’s body was unexpectedly squishy, unable to withstand even a light attack before collapsing.
‘I see why they said the compatibility is poor.’
The Chaos that primarily attacked and fled in the dark of night.
It would be challenging for the warriors of Kabuum, who charged forward with sheer strength, to deal with them.
—Ji-han!
“Huh?”
At that moment, Sylph flew toward the nearly dying Chaos.
—The tail!
“……!”
As soon as he heard Sylph’s shout, Yoo Ji-han focused on the tail of the Chaos.
Soon, he spotted a bright, thread-like object at the end of the Chaos’s tail and raised one corner of his mouth.
It was the object that appeared on Kim Hyun-tae’s head every time he fell into an illusion back in Haenam.
‘Thread of Truth!’
This was the name that Nirochi had given the thread.
As a passive skill with sampling, it had pointed Yoo Ji-han in the right direction.
‘There’s definitely something there.’
Whether it be an escape route from the strong hypnosis and illusion or a wizard using a special magic, whatever it was, there had to be something at the end of that mysterious thread.