Chapter 396

An otherworld transformed into the Fomorians’ garden.

The unexpected change in the structure of the space has lengthened my pursuit of the two.

Every time I encountered an enemy inside this otherworld, I check the map and see the structure of the space changing again.

I had to use Moon Saeron’s Focused Coverage skill several times.

‘Coverage is rarely carried out according to plan after all.’

Fueled by her passion for writing articles, Moon Saeron acquired this derived skill.

Moon Saeron directly covers environments with a lot of variables, so she developed the skill necessary to effectively report on those places.

This skill makes it possible to calculate new optimal tracking routes, flexibly responding to variables that suddenly appear in situations where information is limited.

Just like this situation.

‘It’s less effective than personally seeing with an eye like Cheon Dongha’s light skill, but this method is more efficient.’

Although there were several route changes while on the move, the Focused Coverage skill will lead me to one thing no matter how many times I reuse it.

‘I feel Phantom Thief Neon’s energy wave!’

I sensed the same feeling I had when the windows of the party hall were shattered and Neon appeared with his firework-like energy wave.

I focused on sensing the energy wave, feeling its thief-like intensity.

I followed the source of the energy wave, and alas, there stood my two playable characters.

“You can only be a true thief when both your inside and outside are beautiful.”

“I told you I’m not a thief!”

“You don’t need to deny it. You can be a great thief like me!”

As expected, Phantom Thief Neon had been talking his thief nonsense to Goo Seulbi all this time.

In PMH, Phantom Thief Neon was only active outside Eungwang High, so he never had an interaction with Goo Seulbi.

Still, it’s predictable that he would choose to push his thief agenda onto her.

Even if it wasn’t Goo Seulbi, he would’ve talked about the same thief nonsense all the same.

Preaching the philosophy of thieves with that exaggerated tone of his, my fingers curled and my head began to ache.

‘Phantom Thief Neon is my playable character so there’s no doubt that he’s amazing, but he really has no grasp of the fundamentals.’

Phantom Thief Neon’s general motif is similar to Arsene Lupin, the gentleman thief.

Arsene Lupin is a fiery thief gentleman with a thousand faces, appearing in the novels of French author Maurice Leblanc.

His overall motif is of a Frenchman.

However, the place where he was given his nickname, because of his Big Ben trick, was England.

Meanwhile, the traje de luces he’s wearing is a traditional Spanish costume.

‘But he’s Korean. Gosh… What a wild west.’

Despite his confusing setting, Phantom Thief Neon was confident, but his antics weren’t near enough to sway Goo Seulbi into believing his ‘thief philosophy’

“I’m not a thief! I’m a great and wonderful druidess!”

Goo Seulbi showcased the magic of a druidess.

The tree of light is embodied in the magic circle and built through the mana’s exquisite movement.

In that overwhelming power, the enemies collapsed on the spot upon contact.

It was a grand display of powerful force, yet Goo Seulbi looked relaxed.

On the other hand, Phantom Thief Neon didn’t look discouraged.

‘Both of them are strong. If this were a regular otherworld, they would’ve cleared it already.’

However, this is the territory of the Fomorian demons, and I’m sure they’re not ones to show mercy.

Through his grand announcement, Phantom Thief Neon revealed this secret auction of the Fomorians, while the two of them appeared right at the peak of the night, effectively splashing cold water to the burning excitement of the party.

The demon king himself will not spare the generosity of catching these intruders alive or even torturing them for information.

‘They’ve done an outstanding job of smearing the faces of the Fomorians. I’m sure those demons will try to exterminate these two quickly.’

As if to confirm my prediction, I suddenly felt a strong energy pressure and presence nearby.

The most powerful being in a garden is usually the owner itself, but I have a feeling that this was someone other than the owner.

The power that is weighing on this area was much larger and heavier than the size of the garden itself.

‘Just like how Hwang Jiho isn’t the owner of the Tiger Clan’s garden… Don’t tell me the Fomorians manage the garden of some other demon king…?!’

Screech!

The pulleys roared loudly.

At the same time, I saw the walls moving upward.

The source of the power was right behind that wall.

The Fomorians’ Demon King.

This space that suddenly turned into an otherworld.

A powerful force unfolding with the rising wall.

The hostility toward my playable characters.

I reached a conclusion.

‘…The one-eyed devil, Balor’s eyelids are opening!’

One-eyed giant Balor’s Eye of Death.

Balor’s eye was said to possess great power, causing death and destruction to anything that came into its view.

It is said that Balor always keeps his eye closed due to this excessive force, and his eyelids were famously described to need more than four people’s strength to open.

‘Once this wall comes up, his eye will open.’

On this brink of desperation, leaving my playable characters wasn’t an option.

I jumped in front of the wall and shouted.

“Close your eyes!”

The eyes of each individual are what influence Balor’s Eye of Death the most.

His eye was powerful enough to destroy any body part that it sees, but making eye contact with Balor’s eye meant instant death.

‘I need to build a new wall…!’

I knew what light skill I needed to prevent this situation.

Among my playable characters, there is one who showed his true ability to save his long-time rival.

Though that ‘rivalry’ might have been one-sided.

The moment Yeom Junyeol’s life was in danger, Ma Jinseung’s full ability was first revealed.

On that day, the Black Screen made it rain to cut off Yeom Junyeol’s power.

With Hongryong practically disabled and his fire skills weakened, Yeom Junyeol’s life was on the line.

Cheon Dongha suggested something to Ma Jinseung, and the latter accepted it without hesitation.

‘It was nothing short of sacrificing his own life for Yeom Junyeol…’

When Cheon Dongha and Ma Jinseung reached their third year, they learned about the existence aiming for Eungwang High.

They knew they had to do something, and they knew that Yeom Junyeol was more capable than both of them.

The enemies knew this too, so they aimed for Yeom Junyeol.

Assassins aimed for Yeom Junyeol.

Cheon Dongha used his Eye Embracing Heaven and Earth skill, and Ma Jinseung created a maze wall of grass.

In the maze, Ma Jinseung himself became the bait.

The walls of the labyrinth he created blocked the assassins, and Yeom Junyeol successfully escaped.

Instead, it was Ma Jinseung who fell into the hands of the assassins, and he was posthumously proclaimed as the ‘Grassland Gentleman’

After his death, the grass walls of the labyrinth he built disappeared, but the meadow on the plain muddied by the heavy rain gave him such an alias.

Hwaaaa!

As I activated the light skill, a loud voice unique to Ma Jinseung came out of my throat.

Ma Jinseung’s light skill allows him to summon grasslands with a shout.

Ma Jinseung’s voice had always been loud, but he was rarely able to use his light skill properly.

But shortly after cementing his will to use his light skill for his rival, grasslands successfully appeared in response to Ma Jinseung’s voice, saving Yeom Junyeol’s life.

Just like how I’m using this skill to save my playable characters.

Fwaaaaa!

Vines and grasses stretched out from my feet at a terrifying speed, forming meadows and creating a wall of vines.

The pulleys were still raising the wall that would open the devil king’s eyelid, but I was able to create a new wall faster.

Just as I ordered, the two had their eyes closed.

As if feeling the formation of the meadows, Phantom Thief Neon opened his eyes.

“Amazing…! It’s like a scene change from a dream! Is it magic? No, something of this caliber should be a light skill!’

Goo Seulbi looked impressed by the seeming change in scenery too.

The grasses made of energy waves were solid enough to withstand shock, but it was weak against fire.

We can only use this to buy time to run away.

“Let’s go. The maze becomes more and more complicated, so the escape route would get longer. We need to move quickly so—”

“I knew he’d show up.”

Phantom Thief Neon spoke to no one in particular.

Being someone who’s used to monologues, he must’ve not noticed that he spoke out loud.

He immediately apologized.

“What’s up with you? Do you know this crow guy?”

“Of course. There’s no way we wouldn’t know each other.”

Uhm…

We don’t know each other.

Those words were at the tip of my tongue.

I knew him from PMH, and even though I heard of him in this world through the news, we technically don’t know each other.

And before I could say anything…

Phantom Thief Neon said that word!

“He got his thief nickname in Korea before I did. He’s my rival, the Red Wall Thief!”

I expected this, but hearing the words come right out of his mouth was more cheesy than I could ever imagine.

If the walls of grass are influenced by the status of my energy waves, I’m sure they would’ve all collapsed.

No, looking closely, it looked like some of the leaves were shriveled already.

While I was left speechless by the painful words, Goo Seulbi looked at me in admiration before speaking in a disappointed tone.

“What the… Another thief? Red Wall Thief? Oh right, I heard of that one. A red wall thief… what a unique name.”

“Compared to Phantom Thief Neon, the name Red Wall Thief is much less romantic.”

“You seem very insecure around this Red Wall Thief, huh? Well, it’s been a long time since Red Wall Thief made a name for himself, compared to you who haven’t accomplished anything yet.

Can’t these two have a conversation without saying That Word in every sentence?!

“We were in a big crisis just now. Thanks for saving us, Red Wall Thief. But I don’t intend to lose as a thief!”

I had no intention to win against him in the first place.

Can’t we just agree that Neon won already so we never have to mention That Word again?

“…Let’s focus on getting out of here first.”

I desperately proposed that we run to change the subject, but it was almost useless.

“Alright, let’s discuss our status as thieves while on the move. Let’s determine the superior according to the philosophy of thieves, Red Wall Thief!”

It seems like I have to suffer hearing That Word throughout this journey.