Episode 532. Fake Dungeon (4)

Beoltteok-

Lucy opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut, and sat up.

Clearly, while she was talking with Alice, Nam Daeun had entered, and right after that, something struck Lucy’s body.

“What is this? Ugh.”

An unpleasant magical energy enveloped her entire body.

As soon as Lucy regained her senses, she endured the discomfort and immediately looked for Lumi.

“Lu, Lumi. Where’s Lumi?! Are you okay?”

“I’m here. Lucy….”

“Lumi! Thank goodness. Heueut….”

“Ughhh. Eueup.”

Lucy frantically patted Lumi’s cheeks, letting out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t injured anywhere.

“W-where is this?! Kyaak!”

“What the hell…! I couldn’t even save my assignment, what is this!”

Once Lucy confirmed Lumi was okay, the surrounding situation also came into her view.

People she didn’t recognize were standing around, caught in a panic.

“…What?”

A chilling coldness wrapped around her body.

Inside this space, which looked like a dark cave, unpleasant magical energy was overflowing.

“Ugh, eueut….”

“Ouch….”

“Alice? Daeun?”

“…What is this situation? The magical energy suddenly overwhelmed me.”

“I was subdued in an instant, too.”

Alice and Nam Daeun also soon regained their senses.

Just as they were still trying to figure out the situation.

People began appearing around them.

Lucy and Lumi had opened their eyes in a place where there was no one, but it turned out they were appearing with a ppong sound out of thin air.

And soon, a familiar person appeared.

“A-Alice?! Why are you here….”

“Unnie? I’m the one who should be asking. Do you know what this situation is?”

Irene’s eyes widened the moment she saw Alice, and she approached her.

While she was flustered by the sudden magical energy that swept her up, meeting Alice within it was even more surprising.

Irene clenched her fist, thinking of Lee Hoyeon.

“I don’t know the specifics either… but to get Alice caught up in this. I’ll deal with that Lee Hoyeon bastard somehow….”

“…Lee Hoyeon?”

Alice felt a throbbing headache and placed a hand on her forehead.

It made sense why he’d been quiet lately; he’d gone and caused trouble again.

“Scarlet. What do you think this situation is?”

“…I’m not sure either. However, at the last moment, Hoyeon-nim was not controlling the magic circle. I confirmed that for sure.”

“Mhm. I saw that too. Is it a magic circle malfunction? But I don’t think the baby’s dad would make such a mistake.”

Scarlet spoke quietly, observing the chaotic atmosphere, while Rebecca began to quickly assess the situation.

Liliana, unfortunately, hit her head on a rock the moment she entered the dungeon.

“Ow, ouch… my head. Why is there a rock here. Heuk.”

As Liliana was making a tearful face.

Rebecca watched Irene, who had rushed towards Alice, and sensed the surrounding magical energy.

Having consistently trained in the magical energy of the Underworld since meeting Lucifer, she was able to grasp the surrounding situation even within the rampaging dungeon.

“It’s similar to a dungeon rampage… it’s certain it’s the magic circle created with the baby’s dad. Though the final moments are a bit questionable.”

“What purpose did Hoyeon-nim have in creating this? Surely he wasn’t planning terrorism…”

Scarlet frowned as she looked around.

The fake dungeon contained students and professors from the Academy, but also people without combat abilities, like staff or the elderly.

There was no reason for that, and no matter how strange Lee Hoyeon was, she didn’t think he was that kind of bad guy.

– Keureu, keureureuk…!

– Kkuueuk. Gyaaaak.

“W-waaaah!”

“Monsters… they’re monsters! Run!”

Just then, grotesque beasts of strange forms revealed themselves from a corner of the dungeon.

An aura of killing intent and hideous appearances that even the Academy students hadn’t experienced.

The people instantly fell into chaos.

“Alice. Let’s overcome this crisis together, Unnie.”

“…Unnie. Stop talking nonsense and calm down the civilians first. You and I can calm people down quickly.”

“Ah, should we?”

“Everyone, please don’t panic and stay calm! This is Student Council President Moon Surin. Move calmly.”

Irene, who had been trying to take charge of the atmosphere after hearing Alice’s words, turned her head at the voice filling the dungeon.

There was someone here who could reassure people better than she could.

“Everyone, please gather around this area. Combat-capable individuals will be classified separately.”

“Sola, you don’t know what’s going on either?”

“It’s a bit awkward… but it seems like a dungeon. Since the rampage phenomenon occurred, the dungeon has become irregular. Did we get caught up in a massive dungeon rampage?”

Im Sol, who got caught in the dungeon along with Moon Surin, answered Baek Ahyoung’s words, then tilted her head and surveyed the surroundings.

An ominous wave of magical energy that even she couldn’t stop.

That ominous magical energy filled the inside of the dungeon as well.

Moon Surin reassured the people while separating the combatants and non-combatants.

After ensuring the safety of the people, Moon Surin asked Im Sol for her opinion.

“It seems to be a dungeon rampage phenomenon. It looks like living beings nearby were forcibly pulled into the dungeon. It seems like a new rampage phenomenon that hasn’t been discovered before, what do you think, Professor Im Sol?”

“I think so too. Phenomena similar to a dungeon rampage are being observed.”

Assessing the situation was quickly concluded.

True to their status as the Academy’s aces, they quickly discerned it was a dungeon rampage phenomenon just by observing a few phenomena.

It was an action that perfectly matched Lee Hoyeon’s intentions.

“Still, it’s fortunate we have many combat personnel. It seems people from inside the Academy were scattered into several groups… I hope there aren’t any places with significant casualties.”

The dungeon was expected to have engulfed the entire Academy, and people who were far apart were gathered randomly.

It was likely that people from the Academy had been dropped in various locations within the dungeon.

Fortunately, Moon Surin’s location was fine, but what terrible things might have happened if only non-combatants had gathered there.

The beasts that appeared in one part of the dungeon bared their fangs, looking at the humans.

The saliva dripping onto the floor was very menacing, but they didn’t attack this side.

It was because Lee Hoyeon had paid attention to security, as it was an important space.

“Coincidentally… familiar faces, hmm?”

Under Moon Surin’s leadership, combatants and non-combatants were separated.

However, among the combatants, there was someone she hadn’t seen at the Academy before.

“So, these people here…? They don’t seem related to the Academy, do you know them, Irene-ssi? You were with them until just now, right?”

“Yeah. They’re acquaintances. Don’t worry.”

“I definitely have a memory of seeing them somewhere… Ah.”

Scarlet and Liliana avoided her gaze.

Seeing Nam Daeun and Rebecca smile awkwardly, she remembered.

The restaurant where they captured Moon Sungmin.

Those were the women dating Lee Hoyeon there.

Only then did Moon Surin bow her head and offer a greeting.

“It’s nice to meet you. We didn’t properly greet each other back then, did we? You were the ones dining with Hoyeon.”

“…It’s nice to meet you too. Student Council President-nim.”

“I’d like to chat a bit longer if I could… but we don’t have time right now.”

Nam Daeun, who knew Moon Surin at least, acknowledged the greeting with a nod.

Moon Surin scanned the faces of the other combatants.

The promising first-year twins Lucy and Lumi, and Nam Daeun.

The Iris Guild sisters Alice and Irene.

Professor Im Sol and the Saint-nim.

And three women whose strength was unknown, plus the Student Council President herself.

“Strangely, they’re all women. I’ll go check on the non-combatants for a moment. You all chat amongst yourselves.”

“”….””

As soon as the Student Council President left, an awkward atmosphere flowed between them.

The women didn’t really know each other yet.

Alice whispered, looking at Irene beside her.

“Unnie. What do we do now?”

“I don’t know. Contacting the outside is impossible, of course… and it seems communication within the dungeon isn’t working either.”

“You said it was because of Lee Hoyeon. Do you know the details, Unnie?”

“I saw his final moments… but there are many questions.”

“What was it like? Tell me in detail.”

Even Alice, who knew about the existence of the fake dungeon magic circle, couldn’t believe this was Lee Hoyeon’s magic circle.

The dungeon felt that realistic.

Just as Irene was explaining Lee Hoyeon’s final moments to Alice.

Liliana, who had been quiet until then, suddenly lifted her head.

“…I’ve figured out something incredible.”

“Yes? Liliana-ssi. Do you perhaps have any information about the dungeon?”

“The Iris Guild was named Iris Guild because of Irene and Alice? It made sense, I felt familiar with it. Yep, yep.”

“….”

Nam Daeun blinked, looking at Liliana spouting nonsense.

What was she suddenly talking about? What did being trapped in a dungeon have to do with the Iris Guild?

It was Scarlet who saved Nam Daeun from her confusion.

“Daeun-yang. Let’s not mind what Liliana-nim is saying.”

“Ah, yes. But why is everyone here?”

“…That’s what I’d like to ask too.”

“Who are these two here? People Daeun knows?”

Rebecca approached Lucy and Lumi, who were glancing nervously next to Nam Daeun.

Because Rebecca had matured from a young age, seeing children like them made her feel inexplicably warm inside.

“Hello. My name is Lucy.”

“H-hello. I’m Lumi.”

“Mhm. Such cute children. Are they Daeun’s juniors?”

“They’re my batchmates. The same age as Hoyeon too.”

“…Really?”

She remembered seeing these two before. They were the baby’s dad’s girlfriends.

Rebecca was briefly surprised that such small children were Hoyeon’s batchmates, but seeing the two large lumps hanging below their collarbones, she figured it was possible.

Let’s discard the bad habit of thinking someone is young just because they’re short.

“Rebecca-ssi. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Ah, Mage Im Sol!”

Rebecca’s eyes sparkled as she saw Im Sol approaching.

Thanks to Rebecca, who wasn’t shy, the atmosphere was easing up a little.

“Do you have any information about the current phenomenon? From what you were saying earlier, it sounded like you knew something.”

An ominous magical energy enveloped her body.

Im Sol flinched slightly and spoke to Rebecca.

The intricately crafted fake dungeon was convincing enough to fool even Im Sol.

It also helped that there was no reason to suspect it was fake in the first place.

“Hmm. Yes. I know to some extent.”

Rebecca looked at Im Sol and pondered for a moment.

Should she talk about Lee Hoyeon or not?

Which choice would be more helpful to Lee Hoyeon?

‘…The baby’s dad’s final moments were definitely strange.’

Whatever Lee Hoyeon’s intentions were, it was clear things had gone differently than he intended.

Whatever the cause, they needed to help him.

“Actually, before coming in here, I met Ba-, cough. I met Hoyeon.”

“R-really? What happened? Why?”

“Mhm. Ayoung-ssi. Just a moment. Let go of my shoulder.”

Rebecca pushed away Baek Ahyoung, who had rushed at her, and continued speaking.

Lucy and Lumi also looked this way with wide eyes, and Im Sol and Nam Daeun focused on Rebecca’s words.

“…So you’re saying the disciple set a trap for us?”

“No. It seems the incident occurred differently than Hoyeon intended.”

Nam Daeun, who had been listening quietly, looked at Rebecca.

If she saw Lee Hoyeon until the very end, shouldn’t she be with him right now?

“Then where could Hoyeon be? If he was with Rebecca-ssi, he would have been swept up too.”

“I don’t know. We need to find Hoyeon, even just to ask him about the exact situation. Hoyeon would probably know how to escape this place too.”

“Do you know where Hoyeon-nim is, Rebecca-ssi?”

“I don’t know. But I have a hunch about where.”

“I think I know where too.”

Im Sol, who had been listening quietly, responded to Rebecca’s words and drew up her magical energy.

– Kung. Kung.

Im Sol, sensitive to magical energy, had been feeling it for a while now.

No, any practitioner above a certain level would naturally be feeling it.

The dungeon was resonating at regular intervals.

As if an earthquake were occurring, the magical energy vibrated.

There was definitely something there.