#103. The Promised Land

While spying on the Reapers and avoiding the various envoys traveling to and fro, the Under-Elf Rangers discovered Bryntess, the Queen of Corruption, by complete coincidence while out on their expedition.

“I wasn’t given any specific commands, so I’ve simply placed someone to watch over her. If you give me your command, I’ll drag that sly profiteer before my King,” Rikshasha said.

Bryntess had lost most of her foothold, but she was still a Count. Nevertheless, seeing Rikshasha talk about the Count as if she were some new recruit was truly a spectacle to behold.

“Won’t there be losses on our end?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“Even though we’re a lowly and worthless clan, we’ll do our part with the grace of the King. At the moment, we’re confident that we can deal with a Count,” Rikshasha replied.

As it happened, Rikshasha’s presence felt different from before. Seeing as the other summons had experienced strong growth, there was no way the Under-Elves would have stagnated and remained the same.

“Then I’ll entrust you with this matter,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

“A lowly servant like myself will never fully understand my King’s intentions. I hope my King will tell me how far you would like us to go with Bryntess,” Rikshasha added.

“Just don’t kill her,” Kim Jin-Woo replied. As soon as he finished speaking, Rikshasha led her Under-Elves and hurriedly left the Grand Labyrinth. He instructed Morrigan, “Morrigan, lead Heimdall and the others to secretly tail Rikshasha, just in case anything happens.”

But for some reason, Morrigan didn’t want to leave despite his explicit orders. She said, “Master still has yet to recognize her true worth.”

It was an unexpected statement from Morrigan, who usually never acknowledged others. She continued, “With the way she is now, she’ll be able to deal with the Count all by herself. Her psychic powers and her knowledge of the Underworld will be extremely useful.”

Kim Jin-Woo must have been too harsh on Rikshasha in the past. How sad it must have been for the honest subordinate Rikshasha, who, despite her best efforts and growth, hadn’t been recognized by her own master under the pretext of his being busy with other matters.

Realizing that fact, Kim Jin-Woo smiled bitterly and remarked, “She put in that much effort, huh?”

“Effort is one thing, but the potential of the Under-Elf clan was much greater than what Master and I expected. If Master didn’t want Bryntess to be captured alive, she probably wouldn’t need the help of the other Under-Elves,” Morrigan replied.

Morrigan repeatedly emphasized the growth of Rikshasha and the Under-Elves, adding that even the Nagas who had evolved into True Nagas wouldn’t be able to easily overcome the current Under-Elves.

“But it’s understandable that Master wasn’t able to notice her growth. After all, Master has gotten incredibly powerful in such a short period of time. Even if she had the power of a Duke in her hands, you probably wouldn’t have realized it,” Morrigan added.

It made sense. Compared to the growth Kim Jin-Woo had experienced, Rikshasha’s growth was relatively stagnant. Nevertheless, he felt a strange sense of contentment and happiness in his heart, because Rikshasha, who had once served as a slave, had now gained the strength to be independent.

“I see. I learned something great today, thanks to you,” he said.

Thanks to the unexpected advice, Kim Jin-Woo had gained even greater confidence that he wouldn’t have to worry about the Grand Labyrinth while heading to the Deep Floors.

Naturally, all the attention that had been focused on the perimeters of the Grand Labyrinth ended up being evenly redistributed across the labyrinth, and Kim Jin-Woo felt his nervousness subside.

What Morrigan had said turned out to be true, as Rikshasha soon returned with Bryntess alive. Although there were signs that she was a little fatigued, the Under-Elf appeared to be in good health without any major injuries.

Rikshasha explained, “Her resistance was so severe that I had no choice but to cut off both her hands.”

However, the same couldn’t be said for Bryntess. She was crawling on the floor with both hands cut off, and it was hard to believe that she was a Count who had once been an imposing ruler of the Deep Floors.

“How unfortunate. Bryntess was a rather famous sorceress in the Underworld. Now that she’s lost both her hands, she won’t be able to cast her magic ever again,” someone remarked. Despite those words, however, the Grand Labyrinth’s summons showed no sign of compassion at all.

Kim Jin-Woo had the same look on his face as well. Without the slightest hint of sympathy, he looked down at Bryntess coldly.

“I already expressed my intention to surrender! How could you be this cruel!?” Bryntess protested, her voice carrying a mix of pain and loss

Kim Jin-Woo casually replied, “What you offered was a deal, not a declaration of surrender. And you have no right to do business with me.”

A transaction was only worthy if it was a reasonable trade. To Kim Jin-Woo, Bryntess should have offered up the Wish Stone and requested a favor rather than offering a deal if she truly wanted to live.

However, Bryntess hadn’t given up her greed until the very end, and in the end, she had made a preposterous suggestion, resulting in her current miserable state.

“If you could be satisfied with just surviving, you would have hidden somewhere on the Deep Floors and lived out the rest of your days. Since you were the one who acted as the bridge to the surface, you could have even sought refuge on the surface. But the reason you offered me such an unreasonable deal was likely because you desired something else,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. He guessed that what Bryntess had wanted was actually a Highlord’s power.

After interrogating her, he found out his guess was correct. Excessive greed would always lead to anger, and Bryntess was the perfect case study.

“Foolish. That power could never be yours in the first place,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

Except in special cases like that of the True Blood Lord, no being could rise to the title of Highlord on their own. After all, the Immoral Lord had planted the Highlords’ seeds only in dungeon babies who were born and raised in the Underworld.

“I’ll get you the Wish Stone, so please give me a chance!” Bryntess screamed her lungs out, not giving up until the very end.

Kim Jin-Woo clicked his tongue and remarked, “You call yourself the Sage of the Underworld, and yet you’re the biggest fool of them all.” He glared coldly at the Queen of Corruption and continued, “Of course you should give the Wish Stone to me. And you shouldn’t be putting your trust in that precious stone; rather, you should be begging and praying earnestly for my mercy.”

Since things had turned out this way anyway, Kim Jin-Woo was eventually going to get the Wish Stone somehow. Since he was already determined to get the Wish Stone, Bryntess should have taken up the condition that was initially offered to her. It wasn’t a situation in which she should have been negotiating in the first place.

Besides, if things had been the way they were in the past, the situation might have been different. But after so long, everything had changed. It was hard for Kim Jin-Woo to imagine that this Count, who had lost most of her assets and foothold thanks to the Reapers, would have the ability to properly retrieve the Wish Stone, given the current situation of the Underworld. Naturally, all her suggestions held no weight.

“Beg. Beg and beg again.”

Mimir had belatedly realized the extent of his ruthlessness and knew what he had to do only after losing most of what he had, but for Bryntess, she still had a chance. For now, Kim Jin-Woo was willing to take her in.

“Only then will your little whims save you and the miracle of having your hands reattached occur.”

Rikshasha offered up Bryntess’ severed hands, as if she had been thinking of the current situation from the beginning. Kim Jin-Woo held out the appendages that were dripping with blood, forcing Bryntess to submit to him.

“I’ll do as you say! I’ll do whatever you tell me to!” Brynress cried. As long as she had her hands, she could form powerful spells that could rival the Beastfolk’s strength. She desperately clung onto him with rejuvenated hope.

Although her plight was tragic, Bryntess was able to eventually recover her severed hands. As a result of the Naga Priests working on them the whole day, her hands were reattached, although they remained a bit stiff.

But just because she had regained her hands didn’t mean Bryntess could dream of betraying Kim Jin-Woo. The Under-Elf who had defeated her easily aside, the Grand Labyrinth was simply teeming with far too many formidable beings: Vampires under the power of their Highlord, Ancient Hero-grade summons who could easily look down on Counts, and even Nagas with powerful auras that Bryntess had never seen before. None of them looked like easy opponents.

As cunning as she was, Bryntess was equally weak-willed, and quickly gave up. In the end, she chose to live by sticking with Kim Jin-Woo.

“Great. Angela, help Bryntess to retrieve the Wish Stone. If it’s you, no matter what kind of trick she may try to pull, I’ll feel at ease,” Kim Jin-Woo instructed.

It was a harsh choice of words to speak in front of the subject herself, but none of the beings gathered around Bryntess cared about her pride. Even Bryntess herself pretended not to hear it, as she kept her head down and stayed silent.

“If she tries anything funny, I’ll show her what true pain is. I’ve learned a lot from you, Master,” Angela replied.

Seeing how Angela was smiling happily while outright revealing that she was hoping for an act of betrayal, Bryntess’ face turned pale. Slowly, she was coming to an understanding of what kinds of beings she was dealing with.

“And one more thing,” Kim Jin-Woo added.

“I know. Yoon-Hee. What Master wants is Yoon-Hee, right?” Angela asked.

“I have a lot of things I want to hear from her,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

“If it were up to me, I would have thrown her into the deepest depths of the Back Floor, but well, since Master wants her…” Angela trailed off.

Thinking Yoon-Hee might have known a lot more than he had expected, Kim Jin-Woo ordered for her capture.

Angela left with Bryntess, adding that if Yoon-Hee was truly in possession of the Wish Stone, she would definitely bring her back alive.

“Still, if only Angela were accompanying you instead, she would be of great help,” Dominique replied anxiously because she was unable to be of use to her master in his journey to the Deep Floors.

However, Kim Jin-Woo refuted her, saying, “I don’t know what may be in the Deep Floors, but for some reason, I feel as if there’s something there prepared just for me. I feel as if others might simply get in the way.”

Was the time ripe? He had felt his sixth sense become even more sensitive than ever before, telling him he should head into the Deep Floors by himself.

He said, “I’ll be off.”

“I’ll be waiting for you so I can respond to Master’s summons at any time,” Dominique replied.

Kim Jin-Woo smiled as he witnessed Dominique praying for her master’s safe return over and over again. He repeated, “Then, I’m heading off.”

With that said, he left the labyrinth without looking back. The only thing he held in his hand was the Spear of Mortality, the branch of a Frost Treant.

The path to the deepest depths of the Underworld wasn’t easy. Thanks to the Under-Elf Rangers’s presence everywhere, he was able to traverse through the changed Underworld terrain, but his descent was heavily slowed down by the Reapers.

“It seems there’s more than just the power the Ancient Lord left behind,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. The unsettling resentment and hatred around him continued to slow his steps.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help,” Rikshasha said, adding that she could go no further and announcing her departure.

“Thanks to you, I didn’t get lost. Well done, Rikshasha,” Kim Jin-Woo told her. Despite replying that she was unworthy of his praise, Rikshasha couldn’t hide her happiness before leaving.

For a long time, Kim Jin-Woo walked through the dark passageway of the Underworld by himself. Numerous Reapers attacked him due to their grudge against the One-Eyed Lord, but they were all annihilated by the power of Greed.

“Mm,” he muttered. When he finally reached another passageway, he paused for a moment. The darkness before him was darker than anything he had seen before. He wasn’t even certain it was the right path to the Deep Floors.

However, thanks to the diligent efforts of the Under-Elves, aside from the passageway that headed back up, it was the only passageway that seemingly led nowhere. The fact that Rikshasha had lost contact with countless Under-Elves who had crossed into the ominous darkness, only to never return, was uncomfortable to even think about, but it was now too late for him to turn back.

Eventually, Kim Jin-Woo took one heavy step forward, and the pitch-black darkness swallowed him up without a trace.