Chapter 244

"You've finally burst the balloon!"

Bi Sabeol smiled brightly.

"It was bound to happen someday."

"You expected this?"

"Of course. It would have been harder not to see it coming."

These people had spent almost their entire lives unable to do what they wanted. Chances were they did not even know what they wanted. Now they were being offered "happy dreams with no side effects whatsoever."

No wonder they were going wild, ignoring even the government.

"You're taking this far more positively than I imagined."

"Why, I'm always watching my son. So that whatever performance you put on, whenever and wherever it may be, I can see it with my own two eyes."

"So, how do you like this performance, Father?"

"I love it, of course!"

He seemed to be in quite a good mood.

Arjio sprawled on the long sofa in the Guild Master's office, looking up at him. Bi Sabeol stood leaning on his cane, looking down at Arjio. An obsessive gleam lit his vivid yellow eyes.

"Hmm."

Those were eyes he liked.

Seo Jio and Giovanni recoiled at that thought, but Arjio ignored them. He liked people with this kind of fanatical passion. They always managed to stir up trouble at least once.

"Good. You've put me in a better mood. I'll grant you a chance to converse with someone as precious as myself."

"Oh my, how very generous."

Bi Sabeol did not bother moving to the opposite sofa.

"I'm impressed."

Those were his first words.

"Yes, this world is so dull. Everyone is so desperate to stay alive that they don't even know what truly matters to them. They busy themselves gathering not happiness, but something vaguely like it. And make themselves miserable in the process."

"Because that's the only way they know how to live."

"Exactly. None of them knows how to do anything but endure. What an absurd world. They force themselves into a mold and spend their precious lives knowing nothing of what they like, what they dislike, what they want to do, or what they don't."

"Were you bored?"

"Oh, terribly bored. Had it turned into utter chaos, at least it would have been entertaining to watch. But it wasn't even that. Just soldiers swallowing their complaints and crawling feebly along..."

"People who've been tamed can hardly rebel."

"Indeed. There would be no reward for it."

Bi Sabeol's lips curved into a thin smile.

"But now you've rewarded them."

Black Cloak gave gifts to good people.

"Look at the world Black Cloak has created! Those obnoxious, empty-headed moneybags have started to think. The wanderers of the slums, who once trembled at the thought of being crushed, have begun showing courage."

"Because I'll give them gifts."

"That's where it began."

Citizens who had known only how to live under oppression learned to be brave. They began stepping forward instead of hiding. They were at least trying to get one foot in the door. The current situation was connected to that, too.

"Having learned good, they're now learning evil."

Arjio smiled at Bi Sabeol's words.

"Are you trying to say I've caused trouble?"

"Trouble? Didn't I just tell you? This is a performance."

It was nothing more than a play, planned in every detail.

"Those who came to embrace good through Black Cloak will find a better path even after learning evil. Those who had no interest in Black Cloak, or felt aversion toward him, will learn evil first this time."

That did not mean Jio would allow this performance to make people evil.

"In the end, Arjio, I know you too are a mystery who loves heroes and affirms goodness."

"You think so, even though I'm an evil god?"

"Of course! You simply love enjoyment a little too much, don't you? Arjio, the cruel beast, who loves righteous anger above all else in the world. You don't reject the weak."

"You know me rather well."

"I have good eyes."

They were eyes worth boasting of even to a Divinity.

"Everything will be better in the end. Yes, this is what makes the world interesting! Where's the joy in living like a machine, with good and evil alike suppressed? The sight of people being swept along without any sense of self, like rats in a filthy alley, truly disgusts me."

"So you, too, are ultimately pursuing your own enjoyment?"

"A mass of humans who never change can only be used and discarded, over and over. Where is the value in that process? Without good and evil, there is no change, no resistance, no conflict. If you teach them properly this time... Teacher Seo Jio."

Seeing Black Cloak's hair turn black again, Bi Sabeol curved his eyes into crescents.

"How much more interesting might the world become?"

"..."

Looking up at him, Jio gave a thoughtful hum and spoke.

"I'd been wondering where that expression came from."

"Expression?"

"The smile on your face right now."

"Ah, yes."

Bi Sabeol straightened, chuckling.

"My Curators probably smile like this."

That smile that sometimes gave outsiders the creeps. Bi Sabeol was its original owner. He hadn't intended it, but at some point his Curators had begun adopting it. He liked it quite a bit, so he simply let them and enjoyed the sight.

"Incidentally, you aren't denying that you're a teacher?"

"I am a teacher."

"Even now, with your school in ruins?"

"You seem to know about me."

"Did you really think I wouldn't investigate once I knew both your name and your face? Verifying an identity from before the Great Catastrophe was terribly difficult, but I did manage to hear a few little stories."

"From whom?"

"From people who used to be your students?"

After a moment, Jio spoke.

"So they survived."

"Of course. But it seems you haven't gone to see them yourself."

"I've been thinking it over."

"May I ask what you've been thinking about?"

"What I should do."

Whether I should count myself among the dead or the living. Whether they'd be frightened if I suddenly appeared. Whether showing myself would be right, or whether it would be better not to.

"I haven't found an answer yet."

So he had set it aside for a while.

"Guild Master Bi Sabeol, you may not realize it, but I can be this pathetic sometimes."

"I'm in awe of your thoughtfulness."

"You do have a habit of saying and doing things that make me uncomfortable."

"And yet you're the one who came all the way to my office, aren't you? Isn't that right, son?"

"Fair enough."

Jio swept his hair back, and it turned red in an instant.

"I rather enjoy teaching people things, Father."

"So you're going to try educating all of South Korea? That sounds terribly entertaining. I like it."

"My recent experience with the Moon Cult made me realize something."

"Would you care to share it with me?"

"People in this age are no different from newborns."

He stroked his chin.

"They don't know even the most basic things. Not knowing what they want is commonplace. How to be angry, how to cry, how to laugh, how to sing, how to eat, how to fall asleep, how to walk, how to see, how to listen... So many have even forgotten how to breathe."

It hadn't been like that in his day.

"So I'm teaching them, step by step. You don't seem likely to worry, but you needn't. Those who learned the value of people and connecting with others from Black Cloak will stand firm even when the evil god Arjio appears."

"As you seem well aware, I haven't been the least bit worried."

"I meant you should at least pretend."

"What would be the point?"

At last, Bi Sabeol sat down on the opposite sofa.

"So why did you come to see me?"

"I wanted another look at those eyes."

"Aha, my eyes?"

"Yes."

Jio's golden eyes gazed into Bi Sabeol's.

"How did you come by them?"

"Oh dear. No comment."

"Are you getting along well with those eyes?"

"Of course! We've become dreadfully fond of one another."

"How do I look through them?"

"Hmm, I wonder. Let's see..."

After making a show of pondering, Bi Sabeol answered.

"Aha. Would you look at that."

"Well? What do you see?"

"You look like a winged beast."

"You see correctly."

Arjio smiled.

"I'm glad both your eyes are in good health."

He had intended to help if there was anything wrong, but it seemed Bi Sabeol was doing just fine on his own.

* * *

"The 'Amusement Park of Dreams' is indeed a dungeon," the Moon Cult's bishop explained.

"According to the information gathered so far, an enormous space in the form of an amusement park really does exist. Given the entry requirement—'After receiving a flyer, write down what you want, place it beneath your pillow, and fall asleep'—it has been classified as a Virtual Dungeon."

It was the kind that pulled participants inside once certain conditions were met.

"There is no coercion, since people must fulfill these conditions themselves. But considering how appealing the prospect of 'safely doing anything you want in a dream' would be to citizens exhausted by reality... this is hardly reassuring."

"Does it take them longer to wake up, by any chance?"

"We've received no particular reports of that."

The Moon Cult was an order with close ties to the Association. When situations like this arose, it often served as an ally with whom to share information and consider the problem. Having returned from a brief rundown at the Association, the bishop addressed her brothers in discipleship.

"The scale is too large for this to be an individual or a group's skill. It also has a defined space. Please consult the materials you've been given for further details. Our task is to determine the structure of this dungeon, the 'Amusement Park of Dreams.'"

In other words, they were to be lab rats.

"You may use any method you wish, so long as you are satisfied with it and it causes no major problems. As with the 'country of the deep sea,' I look forward to your active research and reports of your findings."

"Then may we try following the instructions on this flyer exactly? Experiencing it firsthand would surely be the quickest, easiest method. It also says no particular side effects have been found so far..."

"If an attempt would endanger your health or life, please report it beforehand. Otherwise, proceed as usual. Conduct your research discreetly so nothing becomes a public controversy."

"Understood."

The general mood in the Moon Cult was one of excitement. To them, dungeons and monsters were merely fascinating research subjects. And a Virtual Dungeon with such accommodating conditions, at that. It was well worth studying.

Hunter Seo Jio, the benefactor seated among them, smiled awkwardly.

"I hope none of you will do anything too dangerous."

"Please don't worry, saint. If I truly think I'm going to die, I'll pray to our teacher..."

"Will the Moon save you if you pray?"

"Our teacher will hear of my commendable achievements before I die."

"I really don't usually say this, but please exercise some restraint."

"It's all for humanity's future..."

"Please."

"Yes, sir."

The bishop cleared her throat and awkwardly interjected.

"I imagine you find this sort of situation rather difficult, Hunter Seo Jio."

"Collector has a similar disregard for personal safety, but perhaps out of consideration for the Guild Master, they don't take risks beyond a certain point. I'm still not used to this. You're all such intelligent people."

"Their brains work well, but this isn't an order of particularly sensible people. Still, they always obey any conditions we set, so you needn't be too concerned."

"You seem more concerned than I am, Bishop."

"..."

A beat late, she asked, "... Oh, I do?"

"You've looked troubled lately."

"It must be because I haven't been sleeping well."

"Are you having nightmares?"

"No, it's more..."

After hesitating, the bishop answered, "It feels as though I'm only half asleep."

Lately, she had been dreaming of the evil god.

(To be continued)