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＜ 18. Archbishop Gregory (4) ＞
The two followed a corridor roughly hewn out of rock. There were traces of efforts to trim and decorate it neatly in its own way, but it was inevitable that it looked like a large anthill because it was made by carving a cave .
I went down the stairs, turned to the left, and a complex passageway .
‘ The Temple of Shadows in the game wasn’t like this… Did Gregory come into the dungeon and create it? ‘
Gregory, meanwhile, continued to ask Andrea questions all the way. How have you been since leaving the hideout, how did you end up in the dungeon, what kind of people are your friends …
Andrea answered all those questions in detail. Thinking that if Gregory knew him, he would have done so .
Gregory had a very good attitude as a listener. It means that the reaction was good enough to overdo it every time I said it .
Although he didn’t show it, Andrea still couldn’t get rid of the awkward feeling. Aside from the fact that they had manipulated the past to become friends, it was because he felt that Gregory was projecting Ian’s image from him .
‘ I can’t help it because they say we look the same… but seeing me reminds me of someone else, and it makes me very uncomfortable to show a kind attitude as if I’m paying off my debt to that person …’
The path of the two led underground. Every time it passed, the shadows of the torches lined up evenly waved like black waves .
“ Watch your feet, Andrea. This place was left as it was, so the road to it is a little rough .”
As Gregory said, rather than a road, it was more like a cave where a torch was hung .
There were a lot of jagged piles of stones on the floor, so it was perfect to sprain an ankle while walking without thinking. Going in a little further, until the road was cut off by a small ditch. Andrea leaped low and diligently followed Gregory .
Upon entering the cave, not even a single point of light reached the inside of the cave. But it didn’t matter to either of them at all. The shadow god’s blessing makes it possible to pierce the darkness .
how long has it been After rounding a corner and passing through a small hole in the cave twice, they were able to reach their destination .
“ It’s all here. It is right here .”
“… is that?”
Andrea looked curiously at the box in the corner .
A variety of jewels that emit their own light. The rim of the box was covered with shiny purple metal. The cover was covered with magical runes, and the body was covered with strange patterns that were hard to recognize .
Andrea knew what this box was. It looked like it would contain rarer treasures than a platinum-rimmed treasure chest, but this wasn’t a treasure chest .
“… you sure don’t mean there’s something in there that you want to pass on to me, Archbishop ?”
“ Why do you think so? It’s right in there, Andrea .”
“ But isn’t that box… a monster ?”
Gregory’s eyebrows rose slightly. Admiring Andrea’s notice .
“ As expected, you didn’t come up here in vain. right. That’s a monster .”
“… Besides, they probably aren’t just monsters either .”
Ancient Mimic. The most powerful monster among Mimic-type monsters .
Since it has the appearance of an unprecedentedly gorgeous box, it was a man with magical powers that made players who saw it for the first time doubt that it was a mimic but had no choice but to open it. Its fighting power is unmatched by other mimics, so players usually have to pay for their curiosity with their lives .
‘··· Are you testing me to see if I’m qualified to take things. I wanted to give something without any special conditions, but there was such a difficulty .’
Andrea was worried about having to fight the Mimic. But that was a futile excuse .
Gregory hurriedly approached Mimic without a moment to stop. Without hesitation, he opened the cover and threw a gold coin into the mimic’s snout .
Ting –
flick! off !
The mimic bared its black bladed teeth and gulped down the gold coin. Then, like a child, he began to annoy Gregory .
“ Keah, delicious! give me more! Give me more !”
“ Stop talking and spit out stuff, you bastard. If you don’t want to starve next time you come .”
Gregory kicked the torso, ignoring Mimic’s words as if he was used to it. Mimic mumbles with a voice full of dissatisfaction. But in the end, as Gregory ordered, he spit out something .
Andrea was dumbfounded. I was thinking about how to confront the Mimic, but I immediately felt uneasy .
“… have you tamed the Mimic ?”
“ It’s perfect for storing valuables. Because it plays the role of a watchman and a warehouse at the same time .”
“ What did you do ?”
“ I haven’t done anything in particular… You just followed me right from the start. Maybe it’s because I like gold coins so much, but there’s no one to feed me money when I’m gone .”
A bizarre symbiotic relationship never seen before in a game. Since it was such an unusual case, a lot of thoughts went through my mind at the moment. One question that comes to mind .
“ But what would you do if the thief handed you a gold coin and asked Mimic to take it out? I don’t think Mimic will cover people as long as they give gold coins .”
“… Ah .”
Gregory stared at Mimic as if he hadn’t thought of that. Mimick licked his tongue as if asking what was going on. Andrea laughed at the archbishop’s laxity .
“… Anyway, that’s not the point. If I hand this over to you, Andrea, there will be nothing left to keep .”
Gregory handed the object he was holding to Andrea. It was a small black gem carved in the shape of a seven-pointed star .
“… is this ?”
“It’s called ‘ Breath of Shadows’. I’ve been keeping what Ian returned to me before he fell asleep.”
Andrea’s eyes flashed open. Andrea looked at the jewel in her hand, then looked back at Gregory .
“ Why are you giving this to me now ?”
“ Although it is still in a state where it has lost all its strength… it can play the role of a vessel. That’s why I put the blessings and magical powers I received there. I hope that power will be of some help to you on your journey .”
“ But… if I take this, the Archbishop …?”
Andrea blurted out her words. If even the blessing of immortality was contained within this, Gregory would not have been able to avoid death the moment he took it out of the temple .
Gregory, guessing what Andrea was thinking, smiled kindly and shook his head .
“ It’s okay. Because the blessing of immortality was not contained in it. If it’s about magic, I’ll stay in this temple anyway, so even if I have magic, it’s useless .”
Andrea did not miss the slight shaking of her eyes and the trembling voice. It was a lie. It was clear that Gregory had even included the blessing of immortality in it .
Andrea falls into conflict. Gregory’s face showed deep fatigue and a longing for rest. 300 years would have been too long for the human spirit to endure .
But is that really enough to let Gregory die? Andrea didn’t know if this was a matter for her to judge .
In the end, Andrea decided to ask the being who bestowed the blessing of immortality directly .
‘… Callices, are you listening ?’
‘ I am listening, my apostle .’
‘ Is it right that Archbishop Gregory will die if I take this sacred object ?’
‘… that’s right .’
‘ Then shouldn’t I take this god ?’
Callisis was silent for a moment. It was a silence of anguish and compassion. The feelings of the goddess who felt sorry for her servants were transferred to Andrea .
After a long time, Callices barely conveys his meaning .
‘ After the divine object lost its power, there could be no new priests to serve it. Because of this, Jim… has left him with the mission of leading people for far too long. Now is the time for him to rest in the bosom of eternal rest .’
Andrea nodded with a heavy expression. If that was the will of God, then he had nothing more to say. Andrea put the shadow’s breath into the subspace pouch .
I finally accepted it, but I couldn’t help but feel a huge debt. Even if he wanted to die, it was a sacrifice to give up his only life anyway .
Andrea couldn’t have said that instead, but he decided to make a promise that the archbishop would have hoped for .
“… It’s already too late, but if we can, I’ll climb the dungeon and find a way to regain the power of the divine .”
Hearing that, the archbishop smiled faintly. It was a smile that only those who firmly believed that their actions were not wrong could smile .
On the way back, Andrea asked Khalisis another question. I had been wondering from the beginning, but the question that came up again because of the words I just brought out .
Why did the divine object lose its power, and how to get it back ?
‘··· It was the manager’s work. The manager’s power doesn’t only reach inside the dungeon. He would sometimes cause disasters or absurd incidents in the world, saying it was to add depth to the world view. So, there is only one way to regain the divine power… ‘
Andrea silently nodded. Many incidents and problems have been intertwined while going through various things, but in the end, a solution that boils down to one .
Whichever way it ended, Andrea had to meet with the manager and negotiate .
*
“ Whoa …”
After seeing off Andrea and the others on their way to the next floor, Gregory returned to the cave once again carrying a sack of gold coins. No matter how much it was a monster, it was bothering me to let it starve because I had been attached to it for a while. Now, when he leaves, there will be no one to take care of the gold coins for Mimic .
I lay down on a chair carved out of rock. Excruciating fatigue set in. I could feel my body slowly breaking down, but it seemed like I could afford it for a while .
Gregory rubs his eyes and is lost in thought. I was thinking about the person who just left .
‘ That person… is probably not the ‘Andrea’ I knew .’
At some point, Gregory intuitively noticed .
‘Andrea’ who remained in his memory was a weak and shy young man who couldn’t even look straight into people’s eyes. No matter how many people changed as they climbed the dungeon, it didn’t make sense that not even the slightest trace of that time remained .
Rather than Andrea, he was a young man who reminded me of Ian. A faithful and trustworthy figure who cares for his people and sincerely wants to repay the favor in any way. Gregory did not regret giving him the gift of all his powers .
But the ‘real Andrea’ was Gregory’s sore finger .
During their time together in the hideout, Gregory did a favor to Andrea as if to pay for his guilt towards Ian. However, as time passed, he came to see him as ‘Andrea’ rather than ‘Ian’ .
He was timid and reticent, but at times he was more meticulous than anyone else. I didn’t know how to say a word that I didn’t like even if I was unfair. When he finally started to open his heart, the young man who was captured and separated as a slave by Nelas-gun .
‘ Andrea… If you lost that body, where did you go ?’
It was then. There was the sound of something rattling and walking in the hallway. A footstep that is too loud to be a human gait .
My senses were already blurred and I couldn’t move my body easily. Gregory squeezed his strength and managed to turn his head slightly to the side .
There stood a Mimic carrying a sack of gold coins .
“ I don’t need this. I ‘ll give it back, don’t leave .”
While staring blankly at it, Gregory was struck with a lightning-like realization. He couldn’t help but laugh sadly at this strange twist of fate .
‘ Yes, it is… There’s no way a monster would follow a person for no reason …’
Gregory called Mimick and sat him in front of him. And he gave advice on how to live in the future .
“… If at all possible, don’t run into challengers. Hide underground, but if you feel a presence, go deeper. Save the gold coins I gave you …”
Mimick didn’t seem to fully understand what he was saying, but he intuited that this was Gregory’s last words and nodded his head .
After all the advice, Gregory laboriously raised the corners of his mouth .
“ I’m sorry I left first. I hope that the owner of eternal rest, Calisis, has prepared a better life for you in the next life …”
After saying that, Gregory closed his eyes .
Mimick flicked his tongue and then trembled. He even cried out briefly. An archbishop who doesn’t budge. He lifted his eyelids, grabbed his shoulder and shook it. But no matter what he did, Gregory showed no signs of waking up .
heavy static. Mimic paused for a moment. The light pouring from the purple sky came through the window and lengthened the shadows .
After thinking about it, Mimic picked up the gold coin and put it in Gregory’s mouth .
After that, I looked back at Gregory several times, then ran out of the drawing room and disappeared somewhere .
＜ 18. Archbishop Gregory (4) ＞ End
Author is getting good at this.
Damn… The ninjas are cutting onions again..