episode_0565

The place we chose was none other than a sloping coastal cliff.

The people of Inoemagyeong are afraid of the sea.

So this hiding place, which was not visible from the outside, was truly perfect.

and.

“The people of the human world do not welcome us.”

I looked at the ladies.

“He stabbed me with his spear without hesitation.”

That’s all I can say jokingly.

“···It could be really dangerous from now on.”

Isabelle, Lexi, and I, the shipyard manager, are fine.

But not the rest.

“It would be best if you stayed here while we finish our business.”

No one answers.

However, if this was a tacit affirmation, it was not.

Because the look in his eyes was that he would follow me even if I died.

But the shipyard director’s eyes were different.

“There is something I don’t understand.”

“What is it?”

He was questioning me.

“I thought I had come all this way to answer Negamaal’s call and to trade with the people of the Inner Demon Realm.”

“But what is a prophet?”

“You seem to be called the devil of the continent.”

“Why are they hostile to you? Didn’t Maal call you?”

It was definitely a question worth asking.

Since the power is sealed, the help of the Joseon Warden is essential in order to overcome the external demon world.

‘Should I explain?’

Or should I lie about it?

After much thought, I opened my mouth.

“Only one of the servants. Prometheus rejects me.”

“Did you commit an unholy act?”

“How can you commit it? There is no trace of him in Pangea.”

‘Let’s just tell the truth. ‘Only the parts that are advantageous to me.’

I shrugged and continued talking.

“A prophet is an agent of Prometheus.”

“Servants also have different personalities and different pursuits.”

“I wish he could at least explain why he did that, but he won’t even tell me.”

“···Maal also came to visit me.”

It’s as if I’m just doing what my superiors tell me to do.

At the same time, he secretly looked at the shipyard director.

The shipyard manager wasn’t even looking at me.

Just thinking deeply about something.

Just for a moment.

“Have you ever met Prometheus?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know he rejects you?”

“······.”

That’s what I heard.

Most of the servants appeared to me or were spoken to by agents.

But only Prometheus has never been involved.

‘I don’t even know what Prometheus’ powers are exactly.’

To begin with, most of the human agents were crazy.

I turned my gaze to the eldest, Edeline.

“Etheline, are there any conditions to the power of Prometheus?”

“What do you mean by condition?”

“I still don’t know why the Holy Laobian Empire collapsed.”

Humans build towers throughout their lives.

No one wants the tower they worked so hard to build to collapse.

“I thought James brought down the Laobian Empire.”

“But it wasn’t.”

“In other words, even though the emperor saw the future, he somehow ruined the country, right?”

James’ parents were murdered after a neighbor tipped them off.

That is why he did not save the failing country.

Without even trying to prevent disaster.

If the emperor had looked back into the future, he would have effectively destroyed the focal point of the angry people.

Of course, James’ actions may have caused a butterfly effect.

However.

‘How great is human greed?’

Trampling that butterfly effect is the minimum condition for a dictator.

“Is the Prophet a figure like the emperor of the Laobian Empire?”

It seems that the shipyard director also followed the context of the conversation to some extent.

“Yes. That’s the way it is.”

“When the Laobian Empire collapsed, Prometheus took all his power from Pangea.”

Edeline’s answer caught everyone’s attention.

“It’s not exact, but according to an old book written by a member of the Prometheus School──”

“Wait! Isn’t that a forbidden book?!”

Seth jumps up and steps out.

Still, in the end, he hesitated under the stares of people and kept his mouth shut.

“···It was a banned book back then. I shouldn’t have read it!”

“Yes. But not 350 years ago.”

“···Puhup!”

I wandered around and looked at people’s thoughts.

“That much is not enough to know. So?”

“The agent of Prometheus sees the future of Ajin.”

─The future of Ajin.

The chicken flesh stood out.

‘Aren’t you saying you’re being spoiled for life?’

Who will I marry, what children will I have, and when will I die?

It was a terrifying force to even imagine.

“Are you looking at your future?”

“No. I see the future of others.”

“······!”

Everyone widened their eyes in shock.

Because seeing a person’s future meant being able to steal that person’s future.

─Everything that person will have in the future.

“···I understand how the Laobian Empire became so huge.”

They have advanced information.

Just like the main character of a cartoon or novel.

‘I am the exception that brings tension to comics.’

Of course, it won’t be irregular now.

That’s why I couldn’t understand his actions.

‘Why did you deploy so few troops?’

“Anyway… his endless greed is the problem.”

I sighed and washed my hands.

But it has been decided how to act.

“It looks like the so-called prophet is playing the role of king here as well.”

“···So?”

“It’s awkward. Because I am an exception.”

Am I destroying the world?

No matter how much I think about it, it’s nothing more than propaganda meant to antagonize me.

“···I just came to see Maal.”

First, we needed information.

Topography of Inoemagyeong. Ethnic characteristics. Way of thinking. To the place where the primordial womb exists.

‘It feels like I’m playing Minesweeper.’

If we come into contact with the ‘will-be’, the prophet will become aware of our presence.

But if we spend our whole lives in contact with ‘no-goods’, the Prophet will not notice us.

‘James wrote a book and suffered misfortune.’

We must not neglect something that will disrupt the social system of the human world and cause a butterfly effect.

I had to avoid helping or getting involved with anyone.

“A dictator grows a country. Because you have to create a country worthy of your dictatorship.”

What do such dictators do first?

That is developing resources.

“In other words, the influence of the prophet is weak in areas where development value is low.”

I shifted my gaze to Seth.

She said that it was a failure created by all the demi-humans of the Inner Demon World.

“In the Demon World, who is the demi-human that everyone hates and has the least potential for development?”

Seth answered.

“Cambion.”

* * * * * *

Cambion.

They are demons who artificially gain the love of others.

Once they decide on someone to be a parasite, they make him their prisoner.

The host becomes his slave for life.

After completing the necessary explanations to the wives and the shipyard manager.

“Why are there all these Ajins?”

“···I don’t even want to meet you?!”

Sur and Anne were disgusted and trembled.

Everyone else did the same without saying anything.

“It is said that the principle of attraction is to emit pheromones…”

Humans also receive pheromones.

Human nose organs have degenerated, but olfactory cells produce pheromones instead.

“Is it exactly a pheromone? It’s not air, right?”

“You said it was a smell.”

Then the answer is simple.

“Then you can just cover your nose and walk around, right?”

“What?”

“It is possible if the medium is a smell.”

Everyone was speechless at Edeline’s affirmation.

If the poison enters the lungs, seeps into the blood, and passes through the blood-brain barrier, there is no way.

However, pheromones are a type of smell, and pheromones connect from the olfactory epithelium to the cranial nerves.

‘In other words, just block your nose and that’s it.’

If your nostrils are blocked, air cannot flow through them.

“Is there anyone with a hole in the roof of the mouth or a cleft lip?”

The women shake their heads.

The same was true for the shipyard director.

“Just plug your nose.”

Everyone smiled brightly and walked away at the very simple answer.

How far did it go that way?

Lexi flaps her wings and makes a sound like flapping.

It was an auditory signal.

When I went forward, there was a hoof stamped there.

‘footprint. person. no.’

‘size. equivalence. trace. interval. keep an eye on. ‘Bipedalism.’

“What are you doing?”

I asked the shipyard director to be quiet.

Boom!

When I heard the footsteps, I thought it was wrong.

It was so tall to begin with that all the trees were falling down.

“···Let’s just go confidently.”

“This is a trace of bipedal walking. Look.”

Lexi seems convinced that these hoof prints are human footprints.

“···Shii, I also understand what you are saying.”

but.

‘They walked on two legs and had pig feet?’

If that were the case, I would be walking tiptoe.

No matter how deep the footprints are or the shape of the footprints, it doesn’t make sense.

“Ain needs to stand on tiptoe to do that.”

“In other words, you can’t stop suddenly while running and you end up falling out.”

“Can those guys really survive in nature?”

“And what about the load on the human body that will be concentrated on the ankles?”

“The cartilage in the ankle is crushed.”

While explaining, I looked at the wives.

No one was looking at me, but everyone was looking at one place.

I also followed their gaze as if fascinated.

“Use even your hands when running───”

At the end of the line of sight, there was a demi-human with horns growing out of it.

The legs are like goats, and the hands—even the fingers have hooves.

The eyes are horizontal pupils.

The teeth are broad and the beard is as rich as a mane.

“···What show?”

“We are scholars who investigate the subhumans of the Inner Demon Sutra.”

“Why are you investigating that?”

“Because it’s ordered from above.”

I snorted and avoided eye contact, pretending not to be interested.

“Do you know that?”

“There are parts of Ain’s body that are particularly underdeveloped.”

“It’s a bridge. Ankle, to be exact?”

“There are probably a lot of people living at home with sore ankles.”

He’s still observing me.

Although he speaks human language, for some reason he feels familiar.

“We research Ajin and produce assistive devices that fit each Ajin’s body.”

“Why?”

“Why? I want to sell it and make money.”

The guy was clearly scared.

And they were doubting us.

‘I don’t understand.’

It’s not that I don’t know this type of person.

“What if there were shoes that would ease your sore ankles?”

“I’m going to throw it away.”

“Why?”

“Someone will kill me and steal my shoes.”

That was an interesting answer.

I gave him a quick glance.

“What would you do if someone was wearing those shoes?”

“I’m going to steal it.”

You can’t even wear them?

“What if everyone but you is wearing those shoes?”

“I will take it away.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me where I got those shoes?”

“Why should I ask?”

In other words, they have no intention of forming a social group.

But there is language.

What it meant was to form a minimal group.

“But why are you talking to me?”

“How do you speak our language?”

“It is natural to learn what the other person says in order to sell something.”

“Who taught us our language?”

“Who is it?”

“Who taught us our language?”

“···Who taught you?”

“You’re asking who taught me───?!”

He seems very angry.

The corners of his mouth rose up at that sight.

“Why should I tell you that?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Because you didn’t answer my question directly either.”

He was scared, but now it’s different.

The dilated pupils were wide open, glaring at me, burning with evil.

I took my gaze away from the guy.

He wasn’t interested in us from the beginning.

The purpose was to catch a spy from a tribe that was communicating with other demi-humans.

“···Isn’t it pitiful? That’s why I’m so scared.”

The women seemed to be fed up with him.

That’s a sociopath pretending to be a psychopath.

It may be difficult to blend into society, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t places where people like that can thrive.

Such people are highly efficient on the battlefield and in terms of group egoism.

The life of such people is usually a struggle.

To overcome the struggle, cool-headed judgment will be needed.

“We both want something, so why not make a deal?”

“With what?”

“Please answer my question first.”

I looked straight at him.

“What do you call them?”

“Satyrs.”

“Are you friendly with other subspecies?”

“No.”

“Which sub-human do you not like in the Human-Outer Demon Sutra?”

“Oak.”

“Who is your favorite Ain?”

“Cambion.”

It was a sad sound.

The ruler of the human world is clearly an orc.

The reason I like Cambions is probably because I can only love them.

‘They say there is no evolution.’

There is only change.

It seems like that isn’t wrong.

Evolution is ultimately biased toward survivors, and the truth is that they will die and disappear.

“Please hand me a Cambion.”

Of course, that love can’t be real.

It would be closer to the concept of simply loving things.

“Then I will tell you who the traitor is.”

“Wait here.”

“How long?”

“Until I return.”

The satyr disappears into the forest.

I sat down leisurely with my butt down.

There are so many parts I don’t understand.

“···Something is strange.”

“Have you finally realized something strange?”

“Lu’s representative said that the demihumans of this land eat their dead family members.”

“······.”

“But Seth said that’s not the case.”

Lu’s agent was a middle-aged elf.

Considering that elves age drastically before they die, they must be close to old age.

He must be approximately 170 years old or older.

On the other hand, Seth said that the demi-humans of the Inner Demon World can become self-reliant.

‘What if there was no lie in the first place?’

It seems that there has been some change in the meantime.

‘You are a prophet.’

The Orcs deserve to be respected.

Seth looked at the satyr’s footsteps.

“···Satyrs only know themselves.”

“No. This is what happens if an accident or abuse occurs before Ain’s ego is established.”

“···Abuse?”

Or the growing environment was not good.

Isabel also agreed with my opinion.

“Yes. The bandits were especially like that.”

Jules and I would explore remote parts of the world and encounter many incidents and uncomfortable truths.

One of them was a very obvious truth.

─Good guys die, bad guys survive.

The demi-human called Satyr is not a sociopath.

It was an environment in which only sociopaths could survive.

Generally, people with dirty personalities have dark pasts.

In other words, they are similar to primitive humans with less domestication.

“If Inoemagyeong had been a land larger than the southernmost part, it could have been like that.”

Ajin’s adaptability is superior to that of any other animal.

What if the demi-humans live in a primitive era but have a modern mentality?

‘They’re all dead.’

In other words, Inoemagyeong was a place where civilized people could not survive.

I couldn’t follow the conversation and approached Shir, who was in a daze.

“Shir, check to see if you smell a carnivore around you.”

“Carnivore?”

Shir sniffs and looks at me.

“···Doesn’t this place smell like carnivores?”

“Okay. As Sir said, there is no smell.”

Shir, who was looking at me, continued speaking as if he was adding something.

“Instead, there are a lot of herbivores.”

“How much?”

“Well,…more than the south?”

Shir, who was speaking, also had a puzzled expression on his face.

Shir and Lexi’s words made my head spin.

That seems to be the same for Juul.

“What do you think, sister?”

“···It’s impossible.”

“I think so too.”

If carnivores do not exist, the ecosystem cannot be maintained.

This is because plants become extinct first.

Carnivores, regardless of species, drive other predators out of their territory and mark their territory in all directions, so there is no way they can’t smell it.

The overall balance of the ecosystem is broken.

This was a very unnatural and artificial situation.

‘How is this possible?’

It’s as if he could be Diana’s agent───

“···Callisto?”

“······?!”

All of this can be explained by substituting her existence.

‘That means Fera Cu is also here.’

Shir and Lexi reacted very sensitively.

It was the same with Jules.

“Callisto? Is she here?”

“Yes. This is impossible without Callisto.”

Diana is the servant of the moon and the beast.

It was none other than Diana’s power that protected the Yunaira Alliance from the Drekkar Alliance.

‘Shir and Rexigo were the ones who executed all of Callisto’s relatives.’

I also don’t get along well with the two.

My head started pounding.

I wondered how on earth they arrived at Inoemagyeong.

‘If you handle animals, there’s nothing you can’t do.’

But why did they leave their powers intact and only take ours?

I rested my hand on my temple and glanced beyond the bushes.

The satyr that had been hiding and watching to see if we were chasing him had already disappeared.

“···Where should we follow first?”