CH 269

The seemingly unending tremors across the Underworld finally stopped. Kim Jin-Woo could no longer feel them shaking the Grand Labyrinth, and the deafening roar was no more.

“Is it finally over?” he asked. The tremors had gone on for so long that even Kim Jin-Woo, who would normally be unfazed by such a thing, had grown weary. He said, “For now, let’s keep the ice walls up. Angela, I need you to check on the outside. Can you do that?”

“That’s not difficult at all,” Angela replied. She was the only being who could escape to the Red Castle located in the Back Floor whenever she wanted, and was thus overflowing with confidence.

“Still, be careful. The Underworld is a relentless bastard,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

No matter how great the power of a Highlord may be, it couldn’t be compared to the monster called the Underworld that had endured for an incalculable amount of time. He cautioned Angela several times.

“I understand. If anything happens, I’ll return here immediately.” Angela walked away smiling broadly, which seemed contrary to the concerns Kim Jin-Woo had just raised.

“Will she be okay?” Dominique’s face darkened as she looked at where Angela had disappeared. Apparently, the master’s concerns were contagious.

“Nothing should happen. After all, she’s the True Blood Lord that not even the Ancient Lords dared to do anything toward,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

But for some reason, that ominous feeling just didn’t go away. Kim Jin-Woo felt an unusually heavy sensation on his shoulders, although he tried to attribute it to staying in the shelter for too long.

“However, prepare the Nagas, just in case,” he ordered.

Was this really the end? Was the Second Restoration simply a longer version of the First Restoration? He couldn’t be sure, and he couldn’t act without any form of confirmation just yet.

Thus, he grabbed his spear tightly, preparing for whatever was to come next. He anxiously waited for what felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, Angela reappeared out of thin air and exclaimed, “Master!”

“How’s the situation on the outside?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

The expression on the pale Vampire’s face was highly unusual as she answered, “I think you should see it for yourself.” She seemed to have failed to find any immediate danger, as she suggested that the defensive posture of the Grand Labyrinth be lifted.

“Okay, Grand Labyrinth. You may lower the barriers now,” Kim Jin-Woo ordered.

The Grand Labyrinth twisted its body with a cry and a roar. But a problem arose.

[The ice walls of the Grand Labyrinth, which survived the terrible disaster, were truly a fortress in themselves. However, the frozen barriers will not melt easily.]

[It seems that the defrosting of the Grand Labyrinth will take a considerable amount of time.]

[It is estimated that it will take at least four days for the passages and entrances to completely melt.]

[If strong heat is applied, the time required for the defrosting can be reduced.]

Unfortunately, the ice walls that had granted the Grand Labyrinth great defense and durability had become the very shackles that were now holding Kim Jin-Woo and the Nagas back after the earthquake was over.

“This isn’t a problem for the Nagas, but the other races are going to suffer,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

Some defensive measures had been prepared just in case, but he could never have imagined that he would be trapped inside his frozen labyrinth. It was questionable how long the other races, who had already had to endure the cold for three days, would be able to hold out.

“For now, all I can do is to hope that they can hold out,” he concluded.

It wouldn’t be difficult for him to use Angela and the Red Castle to check in on the various shelters located across the Grand Labyrinth, but he decided to check the situation on the outside first.

“Dominique, I’ll entrust you to lead the Nagas while I’m away,” he said.

“Leave it to me, Master.” Dominique proudly pounded her chest.

“I’ll be back,” Kim Jin-Woo said. Just then, Angela grabbed his hand tightly and he asked, “What are you doing?”

“No one else can enter the Red Castle except for me. If you take it lightly this time, you could be in big trouble. If I let go of this hand, Master may become lost in its abyss.”

Kim Jin-Woo frowned at Angela’s behavior that was unbefitting of the situation, but it appeared there was a deeper meaning behind her action. He accepted her explanation and nodded.

However, Dominique had a look of worry on her face. She said, “Angela, if you ever let go of that hand, I won’t forgive you.” She looked directly toward Angela, who was a mighty Highlord.

“I’ll keep that in mind, so don’t worry so much, unnie,” Angela replied. As if rejoicing that her master’s fate was in her own hands, the Vampire teasingly waved her clasped hand in front of Dominique.

“Don’t worry. You can trust her.” Kim Jin-Woo looked at Angela, with whom he had built up trust like never before through all their past endeavors, without a single look of worry on his face.

Seeing that, Angela grunted with a slightly upset expression. “When you put it that way, you make it sound like I’ve been thinking about something I didn’t necessarily think about.”

Kim Jin-Woo simply smiled and began, “Then, I’ll be hea…”

Even before he could finish his sentence, he vanished.

“Ah…”

The only time the connection between Kim Jin-Woo and his summons broke was when he was in the Back Floor.

“I still can’t get used to this,” Morrigan complained, frowning heavily. “Phew, let’s just hope that naughty Vampire isn’t up to no good.”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Dominique, who had become more sensitive because she had lost contact with her master, snapped back.

Morrigan raised an eyebrow before returning to her position. She belatedly remembered the words of her master.

“When I’m not around, you have to think of Dominique as me. Obey whatever she says.”

Morrigan was convinced, but her feelings, now inflamed and sensitive, weren’t as easily relieved. When she found Anatolius surrounded by the Nagas, her eyes lit up slightly.

The Iron-Blooded Giant, who had already had his vitality extracted by the True Blood Vampire, trembled as hundreds of pairs of eyes gazed at him with inexplicable hostility.

***

Kim Jin-Woo took a deep breath without even realizing it as he entered the Back Floor. His vision had turned completely red, as if he were drenched in blood, and it was simply terrifying.

“No matter how powerful Master is, it’s of no use here. So you must never let go of my hand.” It seemed the Back Floor wasn't actually drenched in blood. Angela’s voice was clear and calm as she spoke.

However, the strange fleeting feeling didn’t go away, and Kim Jin-Woo felt as if he were swimming in a sea of blood. He bit down hard on his lips in response to the unrealistic sensation surrounding him.

“Mm, let’s see.” Moving away from him somewhat, Angela stood in front of a mirror located on one of the walls and said, “Looks like we can leave from here.”

To Kim Jin-Woo’s surprise, something flickered through the mirror she was looking into. It was so hazy that he couldn’t make out the shape of the objects beyond, but Angela seemed to have found something beyond it.

“Urgh,” Kim Jin-Woo groaned.

So this was why the Ancient Lords had been so reluctant to confront the True Blood Lord. The True Blood Lord, who could hide behind the Floors where no one else could touch him, could peek through from the shadows, and emerge from the darkness whenever he wanted. He had been an intruder no one could stop.

Perhaps noticing his reluctance, Angela shrugged and said, “Don’t worry. All of me exists only for you, Master.”

“No, it’s not that.” Kim Jin-Woo shook his head. He asked, “Have you been hiding and watching me like this?”

Angela bit her lips upon being asked the unexpected question. But seeing that she didn’t deny it, Kim Jin-Woo must have hit the nail on the head.

“Urgh,” Kim Jin-Woo groaned.

From the Naga Queen who was now connected to him and could feel his inner thoughts and emotions, to the True Blood Lord who hid and watched his every move from the shadows, it seemed his privacy was no longer guaranteed in the Underworld.

“Shall we move?” Angela hastily changed the subject.

With an uncomfortable feeling lingering over him, Kim Jin-Woo had to head to the Red Castle once more. A strange sensation ran through his body, as if passing through the surface of a body of war. He didn’t even have time to shake off the strange feeling.

When he saw the scene that greeted him, his eyes widened. He murmured, “What is this now…”

“Can you believe this?” Angela remarked.

No wonder Angela had requested that Kim Jin-Woo check it out with his own eyes. An unbelievable scene unfolded before him. The ceiling of the 9th Floor, from which stalactites had once hung, soared high enough that no matter how hard he jumped, he couldn’t reach it. The tangled passageways were now open on all sides, forming a vast empty square.

It looked as if he were watching the night sky on the surface, but what surprised him even more was the strange structure that had risen and even broken through the boundaries of the Grand Labyrinth. Was this how the gates of a huge castle would have looked? The daunting appearance was majestic rather than flashy.

“This is…” Kim Jin-Woo murmured. He approached the structure as if he were possessed and put his hand on the gate, and his whole body trembled as if he had been struck by lightning.

[You have discovered the entrance to Valhǫll, the castle of Wotan, the mighty One-Eyed Lord of the ancient times.]

[Valhǫll is also a fortress where the Einherjar, the Dead of the battlefield who could not achieve their purpose, lived. As a long time has passed since, although the souls of the Dead are scattered and no longer remain, if you are lucky, you may come across one of them.]

Before he could read the messages that had belatedly appeared, the Mystical Spear he was holding in his hand started to tremble violently.

[After a long time, this legendary fortress, which has finally reappeared in the Underworld, feels the energy of the One-Eyed Lord that has assimilated into your body.]

[Would you like to use Gungnir, the sole key that opens Valhǫll?]

Kim Jin-Woo sensed Gungnir starting to turn brittle, before it twisted and became a key. He looked alternately at the crude wooden key in his hand and the castle gate that stood before him. It appeared he had found the castle of the One-Eyed Lord, which Mimir had spoken about.

“Master seems to know what this is.” Angela looked puzzled, seeing how her master was more interested in the crude gate than the changed appearance of the Underworld.

“The door to Valhǫll.” Kim Jin-Woo finally answered Angela. However, she still seemed to have no clue what the gate was. He continued, “If the True Blood Lord had his Red Castle, then Wotan had this fortress.”

As soon as Kim Jin-Woo finished explaining, Angela asked with a startled look, “So this is the fortress of the One-Eyed Lord?”

“It used to be his,” Kim Jin-Woo said as he inserted Gungnir through the keyhole in the castle gate.

[Valhǫll—the Castle of the One-Eyed Lord and Fortress of the Einherjar—has finally been unlocked for the first time since ancient times.]

Before the message finished displaying, the Underworld began to shake once more.