I looked around and discovered what this place was. Then I felt despair.
Damn, there was no doubt. This place was...
“You don’t have to be so nervous. I won’t bite if you get closer.” Kim Namwoon told me and I sighed.
I was certain. It was Tartarus, the famous prison of the Underworld. I glanced at the three-headed monster guarding the entrance of the prison. It was a cerberus, a mythical monster dog. Two of its heads were dozing off while one head was acting as lookout.
“That son of a bitch. It should be a 4th grade monster. There are even stronger ones downstairs.” Kim Namwoon spoke like he was a guide to hell.
He was right. This was how it was described in Ways of Survival. The strongest prisoners were trapped in the lower floors of Tartarus, meaning the size of the cerberus became bigger with each floor you descended.
Kim Namwoon chuckled and asked, “What do you think of hell?”
I watched his attitude and opened my mouth. It was natural to be nervous when this psychopath had changed. “I have something to ask.”
“Is there anyone else beside you?”
“I’m not talking about me.”
I closely watched the faces of the ghosts passing by. There were no faces that I recognized. For example, the Disaster of Questions or people like Song Minwoo.
Kim Namwoon told me, “I don’t know. I was the only one from the subway who came here.”
Hades’ Underworld was just one of the myriad worlds. The dead incarnations probably went to different Underworlds according to their beliefs or random characteristics. It was the same for Myung Ilsang and Song Minwoo.
I kept an eye on Kim Namwoon’s expression as I asked, “Has a young woman come here recently?”
“She has white hair in an um... ponytail. She is really pretty.”
Kim Namwoon frowned for a moment before suddenly giggling. “Aha, now I understand.”
I listened in case he had seen Shin Yoosung.
“Ahjussi, you died trying to save a woman?”
“This is the problem with people like you. Dying because of love... when did you write this story?”
“Did you see her? Just answer that.”
“Of course I haven’t see her. How can I see your dear girlfriend?”
As expected, Shin Yoosung’s soul hadn’t come here. Perhaps she still hasn’t crossed the Acheron River. She was a soul that came from another world. She would stay here for a while before being deported out of the world. All I had to do was get to her soul before then.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I was making something. Now Ahjussi is going to make it with me.” Kim Namwoon shook the ashes off his hand and pointed to something. “It is that thing. Doesn’t it look like a Gundam?”
I stared at it. The appearance resembled the figure of a giant. The huge weapon was finished off with a black, glossy metal and it breathed slowly like a living creature. It was a weapon prepared for the most terrible war in the myths.
The Giant Soldier. Hades was already preparing for Gigantomachia. It was different from the 12 gods of Olympus who played around, ate and fought using the excuse of preparing for Gigantomachia. Come to think of it, Hades was a constellation of the Greek myths but he wasn’t part of the Olympus nebula.
Then a loud noise was heard from outside the entrance. Kim Namwoon grabbed my shoulder. “Come on. Come with me.”
“Can’t you see the manager coming? There is a place where I am working. Go there and pretend to hammer. You have to move quickly if you are a newcomer. Understood?”
I knew this much. If this place where really Tartarus’s slave smithy then I knew something about it. That’s why I wasn’t surprised by Tartarus.
Kim Namwoon bit his lips. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I tried not to say it but I couldn’t help myself. “Don’t you have any thoughts about me?”
“What thoughts?” Kim Namwoon thought about it for a moment before an eerie smile appeared on his face. “Aha, are you afraid of me?”
“You think I will get revenge. Right?”
It would be abnormal if I wasn’t scared. I killed the person who was a psychopath in the original novel, even more than Yoo Jonghyuk. Now he suddenly acted friendly with me. I was strange if I wasn’t scared.
“Haha, don’t be afraid. Is it necessary to be wary when we have both already died? I also changed a lot after coming here. I had a lot of time to reflect.”
I was speechless. The Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon reflecting was as impossible as Yoo Jonghyuk becoming a girl. I knew it was a lie but I still activated Lie Detection as a last courtesy for him. In any case, it was a skill that I acquired to use.
[You have confirmed that the statement is true.]
...What? I was taken aback and stared at him. Kim Namwoon cried out, “I’m telling the truth Why don’t you trust what I am saying? Aren’t I living in atonement? I am even thankful that you killed me.”
“A meal is served when it is time to eat. I can sleep when it is time to sleep. I don’t have to go to school and won’t be nagged at by my parents... It is a bit hot but this place is the best.”
He was talking about Tartarus in hell. “Besides, I can assemble the Gundam if I get bored. Isn’t this good?” He saw the Giant Soldier as a gundam. “It is thanks to you. I’m serious. Really thank you.”
This guy was really crazy.
[The character ‘Kim Namwoon’ has a favourable impression of you.]
Damn, I couldn’t not believe it when these system messages came up.
“Then come this way quickly. There is no time.”
I was led by Kim Namwoon towards his workshop. His tools were placed along the workbench and I could see the metal that the gundam was made out of. It was a metal of the Underworld. I felt that this was a setting for this person’s chuuni disease.
Kim Namwoon said, “They’re coming. Listen.”
The cerberus started barking.
My bones seemed frozen when I heard the sound. The administrator holding a whip and bat passed by the cerberus and entered Tartarus. It was a subordinate of Hades wearing a black cloak. He didn’t look as strong as the judges but it wouldn’t be good if I was caught.
I stood and pretended to be hammering. Kim Namwoon was giggling next to me. The administrator went to a platform at the entrance and cried out in a scratchy voice.
-Tell all the slaves on the 1st floor. There will be an unannounced inspection.
Kim Namwoon frowned and grumbled, “These jerks are always the same. If they have nothing to do then an inspection...”
However, the administrator’s next words shut Kim Namwoon up.
-There is an illegal intruder in the Underworld. It is said that the soul of a living person crossed Acheron River.
The ghosts had confused expressions. The administrator’s words continued.
-If the Great Death finds out about this, terrible things will happen to you as well. This inspection is to find the impure intruder. It isn’t a formal one so don’t be nervous. Everyone stand in place.
Dammit, the progress was faster than I expected. In this case...
Kim Namwoon’s complaints could be heard. “This is really stupid. Even if a living person came here, why would they hide in Tartarus? When someone comes in, they can’t go out. Right?”
“Uh, yes.” I replied one beat late.
Kim Namwoon watched me and muttered in a dumbfounded voice. “I just want to ask you. Perhaps they are talking about Ahjussi...”
“Shit.” Kim Namwoon threw the hammer and laughed. “Wow, it is amazing that you are a living person. I have been talking to someone alive?”
It was an expression where he didn’t know to be angry or amused. I sighed and asked, “Is there anywhere to hide here?”
“Shit, you want to hide in a prison? If you can’t find anywhere then hide in the gundam over there!”
I looked at the Giant Soldier. I really could hide in there. The problem was that it was already close to a ‘living creature’. I was likely to be digested if I went inside.
“Has that been completed?”
“Not yet. There is something wrong with the core. Are you really going to hide in there?”
“Good thinking. Ahjussi will disappear if you go inside there.”
“...I thought you wanted to live comfortably?”
“I’m only good to people who are also dead. I’m sorry that we met when you are a living person. Ahjussi, you should die soon and come back again.”
Kim Namwoon spoke like I was in a terrible position. As we were talking, the administrator had neared this area. If the Giant Soldier had been completed then I could’ve beaten the cerberus and going straight to Hades’ palace. Now that was impossible.
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memories from the books you have read will increase.]
I desperately searched through the contents of Ways of Survival. Yoo Jonghyuk had visited the Underworld in the mid to late regressions. What had he done at the time?
「 “Tell this to the king. I will take the Great Soldier.” 」
「 “If you don’t want to die then tell everyone to get lost.” 」
...Dammit. He was a crazy bastard. I liked it when I read it but it didn’t help my situation at all.
Facing Hades’ judges head on. This thing was possible for the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk. He had that type of power and opportunity. Yet I...
No, wait a minute. Why couldn’t I do it like him? The direction of my thoughts suddenly changed. Of course, I couldn’t really act like Yoo Jonghyuk.
However, there were many courageous ways that I could use. Why couldn’t I be caught by the judges? Would I fail the hidden scenario and become a resident of the Underworld? No, perhaps the judges would see Hades’ behaviour and try to destroy me?
I was a fool. There was no need to worry if I solved one issue. The administrator finally came to our workshop. I faced him.
Then the administrator asked, “Who are you?”
“The one you are looking for.”
At this moment, a light shone in the administrator’s eyes. The sharp sound of metal was heard from somewhere. I felt my body gradually freeze and my back was cold. If I looked back now then Hades’ judges would grab me by the neck.
I resisted the freezing cold and opened my mouth. “You should think carefully before killing me.” I didn’t have Yoo Jonghyuk’s strength but I had something he didn’t. “If you kill me now, you will surely be defeated during Gigantomachia.”
The administrator’s eyes shook and the chill subsided for a moment. I didn’t miss this moment and looked up at the Giant Soldier.
“Tell the Father of the Rich Night. I know how to finish the Giant Soldier.”
A fearsome silence descended. The area around my neck was slowly freezing but I didn’t resist.
This was a test. The ice came down from my neck to my shoulders and chest. I didn’t panic. A little bit more. Just a bit more. Finally, the cold reached the edges of my heart. Suddenly, it stopped like magic.
Then a message appeared in my head.
[The hidden scenario has been updated.]
After a while, I was guided by the judge towards Hades’ palace. I looked back as I moved away and saw Kim Namwoon behind the cerberus. I waved my hand towards Kim Namwoon, who stared blankly at me.
Stay well in hell, Namwoon.