Chapter 791
Episode 195: To the Old Oterium (Part 2)
“Wait, you’re saying you’re going to start digging the ground right now?”
“Yeah.”
Valeria found it strange that they’d just decide to dig without any preparation, but then she remembered—there were two superhumans here.
If anyone could carve out the deepest, most massive pit in the world, it was Jin and Hedo.
“Come to think of it, that’s how they did the foundation work for the underground dry dock at Geomhwangji.”
The old Oterium had been an unprotected, completely abandoned area even before the Geomhwang Fortress was built. It meant they could tear up this vast land without any concern.
Stretching, Jin and Hedo shrugged off their outerwear.
“Miss Valeria, you’d better step back. Hmm… over there should be fine. Just wait a moment.”
Suddenly, Hedo dashed off and settled about three ri away. There, he broke several boulders roughly the size of human torsos into flat slabs and sticks. With his monstrous strength, the rocks shattered like dry twigs.
What he fashioned was a makeshift table and canopy. Draping his coat and shirt over it, it looked surprisingly decent. On the table were some snacks wrapped by Latri and a teacup, though no one knew when it had been prepared.
“Relax and have some tea over there. If you enjoy the tea, the young lady will probably come by… I trust she won’t hit you, even if she’s a bit rude.”
Hedo’s words made Valeria blink, glancing back and forth between him and the table. It was astonishing—a butler who could suddenly create a decent resting spot in such a bleak, desolate land.
“You seem really used to this. Does this kind of thing happen often?”
“As you know, our young lady is quite demanding. But, honestly, I don’t think she hates you as much as she seems. If you could just understand her a little, I’d be very grateful.”
Watching this felt like witnessing a father’s heartfelt concern for his seriously troubled only daughter. Valeria grew solemn for a moment, and Jin felt a pang of sympathy as well.
“As long as Sandra doesn’t physically attack me first… I suppose having tea together isn’t out of the question.”
“Oh, if there’s an adult in this era, it’s definitely you, Miss Valeria.”
“Stop it, that’s a bit much.”
[Meow!]
Jin took Shuri out of the Red Jade Cat. While Valeria and Sandra waited, he wanted Shuri ready to intervene if things went south.
“Shuri, take Valeria over there and play with her. If the mood turns sour, step in and calm things down.”
[Meow meow.]
As Shuri and Valeria moved toward the table, Hedo pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
“I hope one day the young lady and Miss Valeria can become friends. Valeria’s changed a lot since returning from Honka Island. If only the young lady would change a bit, it wouldn’t be such a far-fetched hope.”
Sandra, wandering nearby, immediately narrowed her eyes when she saw Valeria sitting at the table. Hedo shook his head in dismay.
“Tough luck.”
“It’s a blessing too. Now, let’s get to digging.”
Sleek!
Hedo drew his new beloved sword, ‘Georyeok.’ It was a massive blade, very similar in form to the Shakan he’d used before handing it over to Veil—a masterpiece from Pikon. Naturally, Hedo was more than satisfied with Georyeok.
“I never thought the first thing I’d cut with this perfect, beautiful sword would be the earth itself.”
“Don’t be discouraged. Something amazing might come out of it—a portal to the demon realm, perhaps.”
“That would be a fitting debut for Georyeok.”
Hedo gathered his energy and took his stance. The ground trembled violently, rocks flying everywhere.
Kraang!
The sound wasn’t just a sword strike—it was like a giant hammer smashing down on a fortress pillar. Jin, leaping up and sending out a shockwave, saw the earth collapse in a brutal heap.
A semicircular pit at least fifty steps wide had been carved out, and it was far deeper than Hedo’s height.
‘If it weren’t for Sister Yona in the Sota Desert, we’d all be dead by now,’ Jin thought.
Before Jin even landed, Hedo slammed the sword down again with brutal force. Huge boulders flew into the air like popped corn.
After several thunderous strikes, Jin pushed Sidmund into the shattered earth. Each time the sword’s lightning exploded, the pit deepened by two steps. The ground grew denser the deeper they went, and debris occasionally cascaded like an avalanche.
Of course, neither of them was ever buried. The debris was instantly pulverized by the relentless sword energy and shockwaves spreading in all directions.
At some point, Jin and Hedo fell into a rhythm like skilled laborers, taking turns swinging their swords. The ruins of the Dark Magic Council’s fortress were swallowed beneath the pit without a trace, and the earth screamed on.
Slurp.
Valeria sipped the magically chilled tea, watching the bizarre scene of two men violently beating the earth.
She had nowhere else to look—and it was also to avoid the sharp, hostile gaze Sandra was giving her from across the table.
“Hey, Shuri!”
[Meow?]
Before Sandra could unleash a string of curses at Valeria, she called Shuri first.
“Why are you wagging your tail at that redhead? Turn it toward me. I want to lean on it comfortably too.”
[Meow meow meow.]
Shuri, sensing the tension, slowly shifted its tail toward Sandra since Valeria didn’t react. Of course, Sandra’s tantrum didn’t end there.
“Redhead, stop staring at our Jin.”
“Jin disappeared under the pit a long time ago.”
“I meant look somewhere other than where Jin is.”
“Oh, I was just staring into the air beyond the pit.”
“Ugh. Grrrgh.”
Sandra was momentarily speechless. At that moment, surprisingly, Valeria felt Sandra was more like a child.
Not the Sandra ‘Ziphl,’ but a little kid twisted by unfortunate abuse. Yeah, what fault did the kid have? The monsters who made her like this were the real problem—that was how Valeria felt.
So she pointed at the cookies in front of her.
“I saved these for you. Stop glaring and just eat them.”
“Hah! My share? Hedo packed all of them for me from the start. You never had any cookies to begin with—you stole them without my permission. Got it?”
“How can all of these be yours? Latri packed them for everyone to share. Strictly speaking, since you and I are about to eat all of them without leaving any for Jin or Hedo, if this is stealing, then you’re an accomplice too.”
Sandra was left speechless again.
No amount of wild insults could faze that damn redhead.
“Who’s… eating them all? I’ll make sure to save Jin’s share.”
“Then I guess I’ll save Hedo’s share.”
“Who are you to look after Hedo?”
“Then you look after both of them.”
“Then I won’t have anything to eat!”
Valeria chuckled.
Sandra, unable to hold back, jumped up, ready to throw a punch—but Shuri caught her by the tail.
“You’re dead meat now, seriously!”
Thanks to that, Valeria had one more thing to focus on: the sight of Jin and Hedo furiously digging the pit, and Sandra thrashing around tied by her tail. Not exactly an everyday scene.
‘Thinking of her as a kid makes her less annoying,’ Valeria thought.
Creak, crack!
Just then, the ground near the table suddenly cracked open.
Even though the table was three ri away from the pit, the entire area’s foundation was starting to collapse from Jin and Hedo’s digging.
They needed to move even farther away.
[Meow meow!]
Shuri grabbed the canopy and table in its mouth. Valeria naturally climbed onto Shuri’s back, gathering the teacup. Sandra was still tied by her tail.
“You better know we have to move right now, redhead!”
“I already told you, just eat this.”
Valeria tossed a cookie into Sandra’s mouth. Feeling like she’d lost, Sandra swallowed it while grumbling curses. Shuri sped toward the edge of the digging’s impact zone.
“Just checked up there—the ground near the table is starting to give way too. Shuri’s moving the ladies. For some reason, the young lady was tied up like luggage.”
“Luckily, the mood over there wasn’t too bad.”
“I’m just grateful to Miss Valeria. Whew, I don’t know how much we’ve dug, but it feels like about five hundred steps.”
“I’d say about the same.”
“If we keep this up, you and I might end up digging the deepest pit in human history.”
“Shinu said the demon realm is on the same planet but unreachable by normal means, so we’ll have to go that far.”
Naturally, the depth they’d reached far surpassed the limits of modern technology. It was only possible because two exceptional superhumans were doing the excavation themselves.
“Still, I wonder why there are so many demonic creatures underground.”
Hundreds of monsters had already perished, crushed by this relentless excavation. Most of the creatures hiding underground hadn’t even managed a single scream before being wiped out along with the soil and rocks.
“Well, looks like the ones who would’ve come up to wreak havoc on the surface eventually got caught. Let’s keep digging. Somehow, I’m getting a good feeling about this.”
Jin and Hedo found a strange satisfaction in unleashing their full strength. Like workers caught up in the thrill of the task, they kept digging without pause. Half a day passed like that.
Covered head to toe in dirt and soot, the two only stopped swinging their swords two hours after that half-day mark.
Clang!
For the first time, their blades bounced off the ground instead of sinking in like soft tofu. Something solid enough to resist even their strongest strikes was pushing back.
“Oh!”
They both gasped and looked down. Brushing away the dirt and rocks obscuring the sword marks, they revealed a smooth, massive mineral-like object.
But to be precise, it wasn’t an object—it was a living creature.
“…Scales? Jin, this looks like dragon scales.”
“Yes, Lord Hedo. To me, it looks the same.”
Why on earth would there be dragon scales here?
The two barely had time to think before a dark, ominous voice echoed throughout the pit.
[Who dares… disturb my slumber?]