chapter_0555

555 – The Heroic Horned Rabbit!

555 – The Heroic Horned Rabbit!

The dungeon was the interior of a dark building.

Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and debris from the collapsed structure littered the floor.

In the suddenly ominous atmosphere of the dungeon, Levinas clung tightly to my side.

“Wang! Levinas knows!”

“Huh? Knows what?”

“This is a place where ghosts appear!”

At Levinas’s shout, his long rabbit ears began to droop slowly.

Confirming that he had covered his face, I looked for Saebyeok.

“Saebyeok, do you know where this is?”

“Yeah. This is a laboratory.”

“A laboratory…?”

After hearing Saebyeok’s explanation, I noticed that there were indeed items that seemed to belong in a research facility.

Fortunately, Saebyeok didn’t seem to be struggling at all.

“Saebyeok, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

Having adapted to the abandoned research facility, we slowly wandered around the building.

Thanks to the presence of Hanyeoreum, a high-level adventurer, we weren’t too scared.

“Wooah!”

Gaeul ran around the building as if she were at a playground.

After wandering the dungeon for a long time without encountering anything, it seemed she decided to play out of boredom.

“Haneul, let’s play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser has to break a window.”

“Isn’t that dangerous…?”

“Dangerous? Haneul, you’re going to demolish a building later anyway! Just think of it as practice for breaking a window!”

“Uh…? Is that so…?”

In a situation where nothing was happening, even Haneul and Bomi relaxed their tension.

Just when I thought it was really boring, a scream echoed from deep within the laboratory.

– Aaaah!

Startled by the sound of agony, I perked up my ears.

It seemed my family, except for me, couldn’t hear the sound.

“There’s a voice coming from over there?”

“Voice?”

“Yeah. Someone screamed ‘Aaaah!'”

When I pointed to where the sound came from, the kids stopped playing.

Bomi and Haneul also put down the stones they had picked up to break the window.

“Gyeoul, did someone scream from over there?”

“Yeah. They went ‘Aaaah.'”

“Wow, I didn’t hear anything at all. I always feel this way, but Gyeoul’s ears are really amazing.”

“Hehe.”

Feeling a bit proud from Hanyeoreum’s compliment, I cleared my throat and guided my family toward where the scream had come from.

“It’s a wall…?”

“Yeah. It definitely came from here…”

To be precise, the sound was coming from behind the wall.

Just to be sure, I tapped the wall lightly, and it sounded hollow inside.

“Master…! I know this…! This is a hidden secret room…!”

“Secret room?”

“Yeah…! There must be a mechanism that leads to the secret room…!”

Haneul began to search the wall for the mechanism.

However, there was no sign of any mechanism anywhere.

“I don’t see any mechanism. Has anyone found one?”

“I found it.”

“You found it?”

“Yeah.”

Nodding, Saebyeok raised her fist.

Without hesitation, she punched the wall.

Boom—!

With a sound like fireworks, the wall shattered.

Saebyeok’s fist was the universal key that opened everything.

“Wow…”

Haneul’s eyes sparkled as she examined the broken wall.

Even though it didn’t seem like it, Haneul really liked things like this.

Glancing at Haneul, I slowly stepped inside through the wall.

In the thick darkness behind the wall were exhausted people and a vague black shape.

It was an Evil Spirit that anyone could recognize.

“Uh…”

Among the fallen people was Im Sehee, whom we had been searching for.

As I hurried toward Im Sehee, the black shape blocked my way.

From the swirling black energy, I felt an endless malice.

I instinctively aimed my bow at the spirit.

But for some reason, Saebyeok stepped in front of me.

“Saebyeok?”

“Wait a moment, I think I know that person.”

“Know someone?”

Could it be someone Saebyeok knows?

I slowly lowered my bow.

“Uncle, what are you doing here?”

-······.

At Saebyeok’s question, the black shape turned to look back.

Toward the people sitting on the floor.

Then Saebyeok nodded as if she understood.

“They’re the ones who tormented us.”

Saebyeok looked around at the fallen people.

They seemed to be researchers from Lotus, but there was no sign of anger or fear in Saebyeok’s eyes as she looked at them.

“Saebyeok, are all the people here from Lotus?”

“Yeah. It seems the uncle was keeping the remaining remnants captive.”

“I see…”

Was the desire for revenge against Lotus what created this cursed dungeon?

I took a step back and waited for Saebyeok’s actions.

Everyone instinctively felt that this was something Saebyeok had to resolve.

“Uncle, are you really angry?”

-······

“I see. You’re really angry.”

Saebyeok nodded casually.

Then, with a determined yet fierce expression, she continued speaking.

“But you can’t touch my friend.”

-······?

“Yeah. Im Sehee is my friend.”

-······!

As Saebyeok pointed to Im Sehee, the Evil Spirit, referred to as “uncle,” began to swell massively.

Despite the clear expression of anger, Saebyeok ignored it and approached Im Sehee.

“Here.”

Saebyeok reached out her hand toward Im Sehee.

Exhausted, Im Sehee grasped Saebyeok’s hand.

Trembling—

The massive shape shuddered.

Seeing the clear expression of anger, Hanyeoreum moved her Mana, but fortunately, she didn’t intervene.

“Uncle, do you see the doodles on her clothes?”

-······?

Saebyeok pointed to the doodles drawn on Im Sehee’s clothes.

The special clothes that the kids had drawn and preserved with preservation magic.

Saebyeok, pointing at the clothes, puffed out her chest.

“This is a doodle I did with my family. Im Sehee was punished to become a sketchbook.”

-······?

“Yeah. And everyone here will receive their just punishment too. A punishment scarier than becoming a sketchbook. Even though it may not seem like it, our Gyeoul is really scary.”

-······?

I could feel the black shape looking at me.

In the sudden situation, I rolled my eyes and extended my claws toward it.

“I-I am…! I’m really fierce…! Grrr…!”

“Ugh…!”

“Waaah!”

As I let out a wild growl, Haneul and Gaeul looked startled.

It was a genuine look of surprise, not just an act.

Thanks to the startled kids, the trembling black shape stood still.

It seemed to be contemplating what to do with the remnants of Lotus.

A long period of contemplation.

The exhausted remnants of Lotus also glanced at the “uncle” with dazed eyes.

What choice would he make?

I hoped he would trust Saebyeok.

In that moment of silence, Gaeul ran toward the black shape.

“You’re the best! You’re the best!”

Gaeul spun around the black shape.

She even gave him a thumbs-up.

“Pretty! Cool!”

Gaeul hugged the black shape tightly.

But unfortunately, Gaeul’s hands passed through the spirit’s body.

“Huh?”

I realized while watching Gaeul tilt her head.

Gaeul’s shower of compliments was an extension of the good words she had shared in the morning.

In a way, it was a light-hearted compliment.

Yet, sometimes, such words could move the hearts of those filled with anger.

-······.

The swollen spirit’s body began to settle.

Seeing this, Saebyeok spoke sincerely to him.

“I’m living happily with my family. It’s all thanks to you and the adults. Thank you.”

It was the first time I had heard Saebyeok speak formally.

Thanks to that, I could tell how sincere Saebyeok was.

-······.

Did he feel Saebyeok’s sincerity too?

The hazy spirit’s body began to grow even more indistinct.

It wasn’t revenge or heartfelt persuasion that erased the deep grudge of the Evil Spirit.

It was a simple phrase of gratitude for living well and being thankful.

A single word from a child had erased the Evil Spirit’s immense grudge.

**

We returned to the guild with all the remnants of Lotus.

Thanks to that, the Master, who was busy, came out to the park.

“Where did you catch all of these?”

“It’s a secret.”

Saebyeok answered the Master’s question.

As always, she had a blank expression.

“Hmm…”

The Master called people to take the remaining remnants of Lotus away.

They would face the law’s judgment for the crimes they had committed.

“You all are finished.”

…That was certainly the case.

“Um…”

We watched the remnants of Lotus being taken away and then returned home.

It felt like something big had happened, but the kids began to enjoy their ordinary lives again.

Haneul repaired her mechanical arm, and Bomi, who was watching, pulled Haneul’s arm off and ran away.

Gaeul played with an ant doll, while Levinas turned on the television to watch the Animal King animation.

“Saebyeok, was that person who helped you earlier?”

“Yeah. He protected me while I was in the laboratory.”

“I see. He seems like a really nice person.”

“Yeah. After he passed away, it seems he was capturing the remnants of Lotus to protect me.”

Though they had gone through tough times, Saebyeok was here because there was a good person by her side.

It was a moment when I silently expressed my gratitude to the uncle who had achieved Enlightenment.

“Whoa!”

Levinas screamed while watching television.

Startled, I turned to Levinas and witnessed a shocking scene.

The hero Horned Rabbit character that Levinas loved.

The hero Horned Rabbit had fought against an enemy officer and had fallen off a cliff, dying a glorious death.