The Goddess of Darkness had given them her first request.
“Give me some rice.”
Now that she had become a human, she had to nourish herself properly.
“I starved the whole time I’m in this form. I’m famished.”
Although feeling uncomfortable by her ungodly manner, Effir ran to bring a lunch box.
It contained rye bread and grilled lambs that she was planning to eat upon getting hungry during training.
“E-eat, please.”
“Thank you, Effir… Did you say your name was Effir? Did I get it right? It is hard for me to memorize.”
“Yes.”
Kybriel chewed and swallowed bread and meat.
The group of Han-bin watched her silently.
‘She’s eating well.’
‘She acts more like a beggar than a Goddess.’
‘Isn’t that blasphemy?’
They understood the situation due to her explanation.
But it was still hard to make peace with it.
Was the humanly beautiful woman in front of them really the Goddess who had created all the Dragon race in Latna?
Artis spoke, reading the others’ faces.
“Dear Kybriel, may I ask you a question?”
She said something out of the blue.
“Talk to me without honorifics.”
“What?”
“Speak without formalities. I’m not a royal or aristocrat of any kind, and wouldn’t it look strange if young men of similar age were treated with respect?”
She was right.
But Artis didn’t dare change his way of speaking.
“How could dare I to be so arrogant to the great Goddess…”
“I’m no longer a Goddess. I’m a human. I’m neither great nor holy.”
The incarnation was not the same as the Goddess.
Most of the knowledge and wisdom, as well as the power of the Goddess, were sealed.
“A kind of personality terminal? Well, something like that. Treating me as the Goddess of Darkness is, in a sense, an insult to Kybriel.”
Also, Ryu Han-bin would have serious problems if he treated Kybriel with respect.
“Do Valtara warriors use honorifics to others? They ignore the royal families of the country. It’s going to raise suspicions.”
Kybriel said that they needed to decide on an appellation to avoid overly respecting her.
“You can just call me Kibie.”
“Kibie?”
Han-bin tilted his head.
She shrugged.
“It’s my alias. I can’t use my real name.”
They concluded that Ryu Han-bin and Artis should call her Kibie. Effir, in her little girl form, called her elder sister.
The beauty chewed on and swallowed the food.
She seemed extremely hungry, considering half of the food in the lunch box had already disappeared.
It was amazing how so much food could fit into her small stomach.
“Oh, I’m full. I can live now.”
She looked back at Artis, sucking on the grease on her fingers.
“Oh, you said you had something to ask me earlier.”
Artis answered informally.
“Yes, Kibie.”
As expected, the title was important.
Not Kybriel, the Goddess of Darkness, but the incarnation Kibie was easily called.
“Why did three of the strongest people in the whole world conspired against you?”
* * *
“Why did the three strongest beings go after my divinity?”
Kibie had an incomprehensible look on her face.
“People’s greed is endless. Is it so strange that rulers, who have nothing more to achieve in the world, are greedy for higher places?”
Artis shook his head.
“I didn’t ask that question in that sense.”
If they were just ordinary aging beings with powerful power, it was understandable that they wanted to be immortal.
Eternal life was everyone’s wish.
“But they’ve already been blessed with eternal youth.”
No matter how invincible they were, there was virtually no way to kill them if the top 3 powers were immortal.
“They’ve already become immortal.”
And robbing the divinity of Goddess must have been very risky.
If they had failed, they would’ve paid a huge price.
Why did they, already being so powerful and immortal, still needed to rob the Goddess’s divinity?
“Of course, as you said, human greed is endless.”
At least one could be greedy.
“But all three of them had the same greed?”
It was not understandable.
“If I were you, I would want to live in the world with such a huge power for about 1,000 years. No, is this too petty a way of thinking?”
Then Kibie shook her head.
“Oh, I see your misunderstanding.”
Kibie talked calmly.
“We didn’t bless them with complete immortality.”
Living in a young body did not break the balance of the world.
However, it became a problem if mortals continued to exist in the world beyond their life span.
“Especially those who are influential like them.”
So the six Goddesses blessed the four strongest men to live youthfully until the end of their life.
Effir, who was listening, tilted her head.
“Wait, what does that mean? So, they will die in time?”
“Yes.”
After a short stutter of memory, Kibie continued.
“Baotolt is 99 years old, Garhan is 97 years old, Genovia is 98 years old… Maybe. Hollien was 315 years old because of his relatively long life span.”
Kibie smiled, saying, “The moment they reach the limit of their life span, they will die.”
“We allowed them to live with a young, healthy body until the end of their lives. It was the best blessing we could give. They were very moved, too.”
At that moment, Han-bin and his party were speechless.
“…”
So, that meant…
“You’re saying they’ve come to know when they’re going to die.”
They immediately understood why they committed such a reckless crime.
Even though they were already prepared to die, they were made to live young and healthy for the rest of their lives until the fixed date of their deaths came.
Ryu Han-bin shouted.
“Hey, you’re crazy! It’s like a death sentence!”
Artis and Effir looked similar.
“How is that a blessing?”
“It’s like a complete curse, isn’t it?”
In response, Kibie’s calm expression changed.
“That’s true, come to think of it.”
She was no longer a Goddess but a human being.
After she became a mortal, she finally understood and sympathized with their worries.
Kibie muttered, biting her nails.
“We’ve made a mistake. Yes, now I understand their behavior.”
Han-bin looked at her with suspicious eyes.
“Isn’t that why the Sword King didn’t try to help you?”
Kibie didn’t answer.
After long consideration, she shook her head.
“… I don’t think that’s right.”
The Sword King Baotolt did not join the other three.
“If he were on the same page, they wouldn’t have left out Baotolt.”
It was not just a simple coup d’etat. They robbed the Goddess’s divinity. So it was natural to want to increase their odds of succeeding even a little.
Ryu Han-bin asked again.
“Isn’t the Sword King the only one who might have been neutral?”
That time, Kibie answered right away.
“Baotolt can never be neutral. He’s either an enemy or an ally.”
If the Sword King were truly against the Goddess, he would have taken the lead in asceticism.
He was a person who didn’t have the concept of saving his body.
“I’m sure Baotolt will help me.”
* * *
Han-bin’s group returned to Tyaron with Kibie.
And Kibie thought about the future.
Her goal was to go to Kaltan, the Great Maze, and find Baotolt, the Sword King.
The problem was that it was one of the Four Prohibited Areas.
It meant that it was forbidden for most people to enter.
Unlike the common Dungeon area, the Four Prohibited Areas were strictly ruled by the Continental Three Powers.
Artis thought about it hard.
“We can move to Serkaltan together.”
Serkaltan, a forbidden city.
It was a base for those who wanted to attack Kaltan, the Great Maze, and it was an area where merchants and ordinary citizens lived together, in addition to the top Hunters.
So far, there were no problems, except for their levels.
“But you need to be over level 70 to enter the Great Maze.”
Artis and Effir fell below that.
Kibie, who had become an ordinary human being, wouldn’t be allowed to enter.
Effir also reminded them of the fact.
“Wouldn’t it be a problem to cross the border? Kibie’s status isn’t clear.”
When Han-bin and his party entered Tyaron, the Fairy Kingdom’s gateway city, they went through quite a thorough and strict inspection.
“We had no problem with the Hunter ID.”
Ryu Han-bin, who had broken up with Buckman, intentionally renewed his Hunter ID card even though he knew he would be ignored.
If his identity weren’t clear, the situation would be troublesome in many ways.
Ryu Han-bin asked Artis.
“Then what are you going to do with her status?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but…”
Artis answered, glancing at Kibie.
“I think we can take her around in the form of a maid of honor. When we get to Serkaltan, we put her in a safe place. Then we find the Sword King by ourselves.”
After delivering the Goddess’s message to the Sword King Baotolt, they could return to Serkaltan with him and let them meet.
At that time, Kibie, who was listening silently, disagreed.
“No, I’m coming with you.”
It because she didn’t want to be treated like a maid.
“If I don’t face Baotolt, it won’t be easy to persuade him. Think about it. People who’ve never met before appear out of nowhere and say, ‘The Goddess of Darkness is looking for you. Come with us.’ Would you believe it if you were him?”
Looking back at her, Artis made a slight impression.
“I know that, but there’s no other way, right?”
She wasn’t allowed to enter the Great Maze without reaching a certain level.
She would be blocked at the entrance.
Kibie grinned.
“I think everyone’s confused…”
She raised her right hand.
“I became a human being, not an incompetent!”
Zoom!
A pitch-black light ran through her fingers.
Han-bin and his party opened their eyes wide in surprise.
“Aura?”
A light of destruction, as smooth as a gemstone, illuminated their surroundings.
“I put in as much energy as I could in making this incarnation. Now I am a warrior and an Aura user. I think I’m around the level of… about 80 or so.”
Ryu Han-bin nodded absentmindedly.
Now she was also an Aura user.
He could feel it.
Kibie’s Aura was not bad compared to the level 85 monster, the Blood Circer Queen, whom Han-bin had fought before.
With the light of destruction in her hands, the woman with black hair spoke proudly.
“All I want is your help, not one-sided protection.”
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