Retire 413

413 Butterflies of Memory (3)

The best-case scenario, of course, was for the gate to be clear.

That was why we’d chosen such an extreme measure as burning down the forest. If you can avoid a fight, isn’t that always best? If the butterflies retreated from the fire, nothing could be better.

It didn’t have to be completely clear. Just a small gap to slip through the gate—that was enough.

Of course, we’d considered the worst-case scenario as well.

Not that it was anything grandiose.

There were three possibilities we could imagine.

First: the butterflies retreated completely from the gate.

Second: some butterflies remained, but we could still get through the gate.

Third: the butterflies were, as Han Taekyung said, the work of a fairy—and that fairy had made a personal appearance.

<*%^!@!!!*&>

The exposed skin was light green. A shade not much different from the surrounding leaves. The joints were a slightly darker color. Where the skin was thin, like around the eyes or the backs of the hands, there were patterns like leaf veins or blood vessels.

But over the skin was another layer, a gelatinous, sticky-looking outer shell. It was translucent enough to see inside, but not so clear as to be invisible.

The vulnerable parts were covered in soft white down. The head. The neck. Around the collarbone. The feet. The limbs looked soft and pliant, but the torso was encased in a hard shell. From chest to knees, it was a deep brown, glossy and distinct from the transparent outer layer—more like the color of an insect.

When the fairy saw us, it bared its lips and snarled. Sharp teeth flashed. Its eyes, scrunched in a fierce glare, had no whites or pupils—just solid gold, like an insect’s. If it hadn’t shouted at us in some incomprehensible language, I wouldn’t have been sure it was even looking our way.

Behind it, the pink butterflies clustered on the ground. No, they were devouring the pterosaurs. The pink butterflies tore at the flesh with tiny teeth. The pterosaurs, not yet dead, squealed and thrashed, but couldn’t escape. Their wings had been completely eaten, leaving them helpless, being devoured alive.

All around were more pterosaur corpses, their flesh torn away. Han Taekyung and I had dealt with a lot of them, but we’d wondered if there weren’t enough. Now we knew where the rest had gone. The dead pterosaurs were being eaten, and the fire was painting another hellish scene.

<%(#~%@>

The fairy shrieked sharply.

Leaving their dying prey behind, the butterflies took flight. Pink wings fluttered. They looked like butterflies, but you couldn’t think of them as real butterflies. The ones that had attacked us were these butterflies.

They clung to the fairy’s back like a cape. The cape flared out, spreading menacingly.

……

The atmosphere was unmistakably hostile. The intent to attack us was clear.

Maybe I should have warned Robinson after all? At least so she could brace herself.

Still, Robinson didn’t scream in terror like she had with the pterosaurs or the eel. Whatever the threat level, at least the fairy looked vaguely human, so maybe she felt a little less afraid. Or maybe, as this dungeon kept getting more and more absurd, she’d just given up on everything.

Even so, Robinson hadn’t let down her guard. She still looked awkward, but she was checking the distance to the gate, ready to dash forward at any moment, just as I’d taught her.

Maybe she was more of a natural in real situations than I’d thought.

I found myself wondering if Han Taekyung understood Robinson better than I did. She didn’t seem like the type to worry unnecessarily, but she did seem to lack confidence. If I’d told her there might be a fairy, maybe she would have gotten too tense to move properly.

At least now she could see the gate. No matter how far above her grade this monster was, as long as she could get through the gate, there was hope.

A blazing fire, a fairy that looked like an insect, and three hunters.

The moment the butterfly cape flared out seemed to last an eternity. But in reality, it was only the blink of an eye.

……

Han Taekyung shifted forward, so slightly it was barely noticeable.

He was the one who’d first suggested there might be a fairy in this dungeon. So Han Taekyung had prepared, more thoroughly than ever, for the worst-case scenario.

He wasn’t the type of hunter to lose himself in thoughts of revenge when faced with a similar creature to one from his past. On the contrary, he analyzed the situation coolly.

‘Whether it’s the same ability or not, with this group, it’s impossible to take down a fairy.’

He was tactful enough not to mention Robinson. Maybe if she weren’t here, we’d have a chance.

But I didn’t mention her either. Even if it weren’t for Robinson, we hadn’t known about the fairy from the start, and there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

Still, I couldn’t give up hope entirely.

‘It might not be a fairy, right? Just a butterfly or something?’

‘I don’t think I’m that lucky.’

If it wasn’t a fairy, great. If it was, well.

Either way, we’d know soon enough.

<)**!$%%$)+@>

The fairy shouted something in an unintelligible language, its voice full of displeasure.

Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if it just stepped aside and let us through the gate, instead of getting so worked up?

We could go back to safety, and it could get rid of some annoying intruders.

Of course, we couldn’t leave a dungeon like this unchecked—we’d have to organize a proper raid and come back. Not that I’d be the one doing it. That was the Japanese government’s job. I’d just have to report it. And then track down whoever did the original survey and make them pay.

Han Taekyung signaled to me with his eyes. The gate.

The butterflies that had blocked the gate were now the fairy’s cape. Ridiculous as it was, that meant the gate was now half open. All we had to do was distract the fairy and slip through.

At this point, I almost hoped everything Han Taekyung said was true.

At least its appearance matched the fairy from Han Taekyung’s memories, so I could assume its abilities would be the same and act accordingly.

Han Taekyung dashed forward first.

Charruk!

The chain moved. Chain or sword, a weapon is a weapon. There might be a more suitable one for any given situation, but even the best weapon is useless in the hands of someone who can’t wield it.

Han Taekyung made even an ordinary weapon extraordinary. I didn’t know where he’d gotten that sickle. When he first started using it in dungeons, it looked crude, but it had gradually evolved.

When he’d been fighting pterosaurs, it was still the rough-looking sickle I remembered. But just before we entered the forest, the new sickle he’d drawn was more a work of art than a weapon.

The blade was etched with delicate, wave-like patterns. Near the handle, it was adorned with metals that looked like gold and silver. The way mana shimmered along the wavy blade suggested it was an item, or something forged by a renowned craftsman for use in dungeons.

To make such an insane weapon… Well, if it’s that well made, you can’t dismiss it. And the person wielding it was making full use of it.

Han Taekyung twenty years from now had never used such a weapon, but people change.

<#()!_=@$@!>

……

Han Taekyung swung the chain with blinding speed. The fairy, its butterfly cape flaring, took to the air.

Even if I didn’t know about the sickle, the chain was definitely an item. A chain that could change length at will had to be. Where had he been hiding something like that?

Of course, I wasn’t just standing by watching Han Taekyung draw the fairy’s attention.

“……!”

I grabbed Robinson and pulled her along.

The edge of the fairy’s cape unraveled. Like a thread coming undone, the butterflies split into several streams.

The butterflies’ bodies split open, revealing sharp teeth. As if mocking us for thinking it was their mouths that had eaten the pterosaurs earlier.

This, too, was just as Han Taekyung had described. Damn it, why was a fairy like the one from Turkey here? If this were Turkey, maybe, but here?

‘Don’t worry about me.’

‘It’s always the people doing dangerous things who say that.’

‘I won’t die in a dungeon.’

Before we set out, Han Taekyung had said something even more unsettling.

‘Especially not to a fairy.’

‘……’

‘You said you’ve never fought a fairy before, sunbae? That worries me more.’

‘All right, all right.’

Why do my colleagues never know how to back down?

Han Taekyung’s movements were almost an art form. It was amazing how much he’d improved. And strangely familiar…

Ah. That bastard.

He was mimicking my and my father’s movements.

Right. I’d gone into dungeons with Han Taekyung often enough. I just hadn’t recognized it because he was using a sickle or chain instead of a sword or spear.

I snorted and swung my sword.

Blue flames moved, as if they would swallow the gate whole.

Tati had been a good reference. Who would have thought to submerge a gate in mud? Who could have imagined it?

It had been absurd from the victim’s perspective, but at least I’d learned that even such a crazy move wouldn’t break a gate.

Even though Han Taekyung was out front fighting the fairy, the fairy still blocked the gate, still kept an eye on us. The butterflies crept toward Robinson and me.

That’s why fire. That’s why we’d prepared the runes.

‘Burn it all without mercy, sunbae.’

I let go of all control over the fire burning the forest, focusing its power on the gate. I couldn’t do that from the forest’s edge because of the distance.

The fairy realized what I was about to do and moved, but Han Taekyung blocked it again.

‘Anything to watch out for?’

‘Just don’t get bitten. As long as you’re not bitten, you’ll be fine.’

‘Bitten?’

‘They’ve got teeth. They’re poisonous, too. There’s powder on their wings, but that’s not a big deal… Just don’t get bitten.’

Knowing what had happened to Han Taekyung in the past, those words carried extra weight.

‘If you burn the gate, they’ll have no choice but to retreat. Ignore the fairy. I’ll hold it off. As long as you can force them back…’

<&*^%%%^@>

The fairy shrieked and lunged at me, but Han Taekyung kept his promise.

Clang!

I couldn’t even tell what had collided to make that sound. Without looking back, I kept swinging my sword. Flames. Flames. Flames.

Then, cutting off the flow of mana, I put all my strength into the blade. With a threatening hiss, a small gap opened in the flames around the gate.

Through that gap, I threw Robinson.

Her head was protected, so that was fine. She might get burns on her arms or legs, but half a bottle of potion would take care of that.

Robinson didn’t scream as she entrusted herself to me. She curled her body to minimize injury…

And even managed to kill a butterfly on the way through.

“Han-saem!”

Once I saw Robinson make it through the gate, I shouted to let Han Taekyung know it was time to pull back.

Han Taekyung bent backward to dodge the fairy’s attack. I yanked on the chain, and Han Taekyung followed my movement with practiced ease.

I hurled Han Taekyung toward the gate, then dove for it myself.

<)*&)*&****@#>

The butterflies chased us, leaping into the flames.

In midair, Han Taekyung twisted his body to face the fairy. Just before he crossed the gate, I caught a glimpse of his cold eyes fixed on the fairy.