Chapter 288

Chapter 288. Palao’s Will (3)

Rashar had instinctively lowered her head.

Then she saw the dried and shriveled bloodstains on the floor.

‘I feel like I want to crawl into a hole and hide.’

The bloodstains left here were testament to the Order’s ugliness.

Was it because she was standing in a place where that evidence remained vivid?

She couldn’t bring herself to look K directly in the eye.

‘Still, if there’s any small consolation……’

It had been quite some time since their relationship had cooled.

They were no longer in a position to exchange personal greetings.

Once she sent him off in silence like now, it would all finally end.

She resolved herself to this and waited for K to leave.

“I’ll go first, so don’t be late.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

For some reason, K sent Yang Taeho off first and stepped aside by the gate.

Afterward, he watched as the outsiders who had arrived later than him passed through the gate.

After sunset, the number of outsiders hurriedly running toward the gate significantly decreased.

At some point, no one was seen.

“One minute……”

Only then did K, who had been mumbling softly, move toward the gate.

Rashar, who had been nervously glancing at his feet, closed her eyes and recited inwardly.

‘May you succeed.’

News had spread that their world had also become dangerous.

However, she did not have the courage to speak, so she wished him good luck from afar as she saw her friend off.

After sending K off, she finally found the words to counter Haley’s criticism.

‘What remains is entirely our responsibility.’

Even if hope seemed elusive, it was something that the lives of this land had to bear.

What the outsiders should protect was undoubtedly in the land where they were born and raised.

‘We can’t force them to abandon their world to protect ours.’

Some might criticize her as foolish and naive for her decision.

‘But I do not regret it.’

Just as Haley believed in her choice, so did Rashar.

While Rashar was steadfastly reassuring herself.

“In case you’re wondering.”

A familiar voice was heard.

Startled, Rashar quickly lifted her head, making a noise.

K was looking at her from in front of the bloodstained World Tree statue.

He left her with words she could not comprehend.

“Don’t remain in Gemal.”

Before Rashar could digest the meaning of those words, K’s figure disappeared, and the white sphere floating in mid-air began to crumble.

It was, at last, a farewell.

* * *

Instead of returning to Earth as usual, I fell into a white space.

It was the space where I occasionally conversed with the Damned System.

Although I hadn’t been notified beforehand, I wasn’t terribly surprised.

I had expected this to some extent.

‘Before closing the gate, I need to bring the ones we agreed to extract in advance.’

The timer of the fourth chapter had ended, but the gate itself was probably not closed.

It was more accurate to see it as only the entrance being shut.

‘I had also sent a message to Horfe to gather the clan and return home.’

Although I hadn’t been able to check personally, the message probably appeared for the Dwarf tribe as well.

Therefore, I had assumed that when Main Act 2, Scenario 4 ended, the migration of the Beastfolk and Dwarves would begin.

‘Why is this taking so long?’

It seemed like I had been in this white space for over an hour, and the Damned System had given no sign of life.

There was the issue of breaking free from the shackles and creating an entrance behind the 7 Great Gods’ backs, all of which were no easy tasks.

‘If it’s going to be like this, they should have postponed the end of Scenario 4.’

Scowling, I crossed my arms and tapped my foot.

The way they were distributing time seemed ridiculous.

As a result, I was left wasting time and becoming more frustrated.

I couldn’t feel the presence of the system, but just in case, I voiced my irritation in a grumpy tone.

“Hey System, hurry up. What are you dawdling around for?”

However, the system seemed oblivious to my voice and continued to leave me in limbo.

‘This is driving me crazy; there’s a mountain of things to do once I return to Earth……’

Amidst these thoughts and a sudden unsettling feeling, a realization hit me.

‘Could it be that they are trying to keep me locked here?’

If they intended to bind my hands and feet to prevent me from meddling.

‘No.’

The carefully laid out plans would crumble in an instant.

As long-lost anxiety crept in, I took a deep breath.

HIDDEN MISSION

「Migration of Demi-humans」

The migration of two previously agreed upon races is about to begin.

(Time Limit: 01:00:00)

「REWARD」

• Enhanced Earth’s Military Power

The Hidden Mission window appeared, and suddenly, the border of the white space split open.

“Phew……”

An involuntary sigh of relief escaped me.

Thankfully, it seemed to be needless worry.

I shook off my anxiety and turned around.

A dozen spaces had suddenly opened where the division occurred.

Soon after, familiar faces appeared through them.

“K?”

It was the association personnel, including Lily and Yang Hyewon.

‘A total of ten people.’

They were heads of branches from countries that agreed to take in the Beastfolk.

Six from each continent, with an additional country added if the continent was vast.

In total, ten countries were responsible for the migration of the two races.

Assistance from neighboring countries within the same continent had been agreed upon if support was needed.

Looking at the situation of the mercenary-like Beastfolk, I felt a pang of heartache.

Of course, I didn’t plan to let them be used like this indefinitely.

While pondering secretly, Lily approached and spoke.

“The Hidden Mission window appeared, so we came in, but what is this place……”

“Think of it as a space created by the System.”

I responded to her words as I glanced into the void.

I wondered if the System would appear, but it continued to remain absent after I crossed the gate.

Judging by the appearance of the hidden mission, it seemed to be preparing an entrance.

Sure enough, moments later, in the direction opposite from where the heads of branches entered, another space was torn apart.

That must be connected to the dwelling of either the Beastfolk or the Dwarves.

Since they probably had never used a gate before, I would have to go over and bring them here.

I thought as much and took a step toward the new entrance.

“Huh?”

A familiar face suddenly popped out from beyond the entrance.

“K?”

It was an unexpectedly long-awaited sight of Berta.

“K!”

He grinned widely and leaped toward me.

As soon as I caught Berta, who traversed a distance over ten meters with a fantastic jump.

“Berta! How could you just jump through there…”

I was taken aback as I met Breche’s eyes, who followed Berta through the gate.

“Oh?”

“It’s been a while.”

Raising a hand in greeting, I found Berta climbing up my arm to rest into his usual spot on my shoulder.

With Berta perched on me, I approached the new entrance.

Meanwhile, brece, who had entered, raised his tail straight up and spoke.

“It’s really been a while.”

Though he seemed genuinely glad to see me, exchanging pleasantries would have to be postponed.

The time limit for the Hidden Mission was only an hour.

After finishing a brief exchange with Breche, I spoke to Lily.

“I’ll go get the Beastfolk.”

Following that, I leaned through the entrance where Berta and Breche came from.

There, I saw the gathered Beastfolk.

‘The entrance differs from the one we used.’

Perhaps due to the smaller number of users?

“Hey, it’s K.”

“K?”

“The human who spoke with the chief.”

“Oh, an outsider?”

Murmurs arose among those who recognized me as I wholly crossed over to their side.

A dense forest with homes of varying sizes and shapes scattered about.

It seemed to be the residence of the Beastfolk.

‘They said the scale was that of a small village, and they were right.’

With my entire self through, I pointed to the entrance and said.

“Enter through here. Time is short, so be quick.”

The Beastfolk exchanged looks briefly but crossed the entrance without objections.

“Hey, everyone! We have to go!”

Those at the back quickly began alerting the village to avoid leaving anyone behind.

‘They obediently follow.’

Thanks to Horfe likely relaying my instructions.

‘But where is Horfe?’

Although I intended to grab a nearby Beastfolk to ask about Horfe’s whereabouts, there was no need.

I noticed him exiting from a neighboring house.

Immediately, my eyes fell upon what he was holding.

The Beastfolk typically had minimal possessions.

Most of them just carried bags about the size of their heads or torsos, and some even came empty-handed.

Similarly, Horfe carried no significant possessions but held something peculiar.

It was about the same size as his hand, with fur and stripes, ears, and a tail — it wriggled.

“Hmm?”

Noticing my gaze, Horfe chuckled boldly and said.

“Oh, the effect of what you gave was quite good!”

…… It seems I’ve unwittingly contributed to the reproductive cycle of the tiger Beastfolk. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I kept quiet, while Horfe proudly presented his child to me.

“It was born two weeks ago. You want to hold it?”

He held the yawning baby tiger Beastfolk right up to my face.

“Oh, this one’s a son, by the way.”

“No, thank you.”

I was already carrying one on my head; I could do without babysitting another.

“First, let’s hurry; we don’t have much time.”

Horfe’s aides, who usually followed him, were outside the entrance keeping the Beastfolk in line.

With that sorted, I re-entered the white space, where there were noticeably more association personnel now.

Another gate entrance had also appeared, through which the Dwarves were coming.

However, like the Beastfolk, they did not all arrive in a rush.

Only three heavily armed Dwarves cautiously examined through the white space.

I cautiously observed them, being unfamiliar with their appearance.

‘They’re a bit different from what I imagined.’

I’d thought of the Dwarves from The Lord of the Rings movies, but they were much smaller.

About knee-high, with ears that took up a third of their faces and cheeks that seemed bursting.

If I had to describe them, they felt like a shrunken version of the dwarves from the Snow White animation.

My scrutiny was interrupted by Yang Hyewon’s approach.

“They’re quite wary due to the complete lack of contact.”

Yang Hyewon was the only one with a connection to the Dwarves.

So she had intended to cross and meet them first.

‘They reportedly panicked and pushed Yang Hyewon back when she tried to poke her head through?’

The situation was clear enough.

There was not enough time to convince each of them.

Considering the time it would take for their large numbers to move as well.

I approached them as I reached a decision.

“Excuse me.”

All at once, their attention turned to me.

“You must be K?”

The voice that recognized me focused on my armor.

Thanks to this, I could know the name of someone I had never seen.

“You must be Glem Tomar.”

“Yes, I am Glem, the leader of the Tomar tribe.”

I crouched to be at a comfortable speaking height.

“Are you no longer interested in migrating?”

Going straight to the point, glem furrowed his brows deeply.

“Not the words of someone who’s left us unattended for months.”

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible for us to ignore the Emperor’s watchful eye.”

I glanced at the entrance they had crossed and continued nonchalantly.

“You didn’t trust the secret pact with us, yet you chose to cross here for the same reason, didn’t you?”

They blocked Yang Hyewon from coming in and crossed into the space themselves.

‘In full battle gear, no less.’

They determined it was better to take risks themselves than have us appear where they were.

The reason was apparent.

The strict security Yang Hyewon encountered upon reaching the Dwarves’ village.

‘At that level, it’s imprisonment rather than protection.’

Their choice to migrate certainly factored in their utter lack of freedom.

I openly faced Glem as I spoke.

“I acknowledge the lack of smooth communication might have caused unease, but given your circumstances, I believe it’s understandable. In the end, we kept our promise and have come to escort you through this means.”

“……”

“Decide now since time is short. Will you come with us or stay behind?”

Once I finished speaking, glem’s gaze briefly rose upwards.

The symbol preserved even after passing through the gate.

There couldn’t be anything above me except for Berta.

I didn’t understand what significance that held for him, but.

“Damn, it seems I’ve run into someone who won’t listen to grievances.”

Glem, grumbling loud enough for me to hear, turned and spoke.

Damned System