The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 82



082 – To Catch a Big Fish, You Need Big Bait #1

082 – To Catch a Big Fish, You Need Big Bait #1

Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Ga-eul held onto the hope that they might be rescued.

Because Nam Woo-joo, the number one ranked awakener in South Korea, had somehow appeared beyond the door.

But Nam Woo-joo had hidden his presence with a sudden explosion.

All he did was create a small crack in the door.

The problem was that through that crack, the thick darkness had flowed in like a tide and engulfed the floor.

Creeping-

“Ah! My exercise equipment! Seo Ga-eul, bring that over here!”

“Hey! Is this the time to worry about exercise equipment!”

Anything engulfed by the darkness lost its form and crumbled away like ashes.

The ‘doll’ and the ‘walkie-talkie’ had long been engulfed by the darkness and disappeared.

The only fortunate thing was the presence of Yoo Yeoreum.

The concept Yoo Yeoreum possessed was “light.”

No darkness could retain its power in the face of the light that Yoo Yeoreum emitted.

“Hey! Yoo Yeoreum! Put more strength into it!”

Seo Gaeul pressed Yoo Yeoreum.

Because the brightness of the light emanating from Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes was insufficient.

“Seo Gaeul! Shut up! You’re distracting me!”

“Huh? Did you just curse at me? You b*tch! If you have that much energy, try chasing away those black things! We’re all going to die like this!”

Yoo Yeoreum, in her own way, had a lot of complaints about Seo Gaeul.

Because Seo Gaeul was only stomping her feet on the bed, her voice the only thing loud.

It had been a long time since she felt this much anger.

Having grown up experiencing hardship at the orphanage, Yoo Yeoreum was clumsy at expressing her feelings honestly.

It was because she was awkward and had been trained to feel emotions other than anger, the source of the 「Light」 she possessed.

However, recently, while spending time with Seo Gaeul, Yoo Yeoreum was surprised at how vividly she felt emotions she had forgotten.

There was a sense of overwhelming excess, especially when it came to negative emotions like annoyance, depression, and anger.

‘Seo Gaeul, this b*tch! If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be stuck here suffering!’

The anger that welled up like that.

It increased Yoo Yeoreum’s output.

“Beam from the eyes!”

Hwaaak-!

Finally, Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes emitted a dazzling light.

“Puaaak!!! My eyeeeees!!!”

It was a bright light enough to make Seo Gaeul, who had been off guard, scream like a pterodactyl.

The darkness that had engulfed the floor faltered and retreated as if fleeing, giving rise to hope for a moment─.

“Losing power….”

─As expected, the lack of stored light was the problem.

As much as the brightness was at its maximum, its duration was pathetically short, and in the end, Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum were placed in the middle of the darkness.

Smeer….

“Hey! Yoo Yeoreum! Move a little more that way!”

“I don’t have any space either!”

Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum hugged each other.

As if they were one body.

It was something they would never normally do.

“Hey, Yoo Yeoreum, you smell nice.”

“Get your hands off my chest!”

Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul, who were stuck together, now thought of one man’s face.

Han Namjin.

They believed that if it were him, he could somehow handle the current situation.

From noble mtl dot com

“Han Namjin, you b*stard! We’re all going to die!”

It was at that moment when Seo Gaeul screamed.

The window on the ceiling creaked open, and something bright and warm descended like a rope.

From that point, the darkness that had been engulfing Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum’s feet quickly retreated, as if fleeing outside the room.

“This Inonoi is not late…! I wonder if you are safe…! If you have not been engulfed by the darkness of the Red King, answer me…!”

Inonoi poked his head out from the window on the ceiling.

The lamp-like thing in Inonoi’s hand blinked on and off, but whatever it was, the light emanating from that lamp saved Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul’s lives.

“Inonoi! Thanks to you, we’re saved!”

“I told you to get your hands off my chest!”

With a sigh of relief, Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum distanced themselves.

But the problem wasn’t completely gone.

They didn’t know when that strange darkness would come after them again.

“Inonoi! What is that lamp? And what are those strange shadows?”

Seo Gaeul asked.

Then Inonoi answered proudly.

“This is the ‘Miracle Light’ created by the princess…! The princess was able to drive away the darkness of the Red King with the ‘Miracle Light’…!”

Miracle Light.

That story seemed to stimulate a part of Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum’s brains.

When broken down, the words were not unfamiliar.

“The ‘Miracle Light’ is a very nymph-friendly warm light…! The problem is that there is not much light left in this ‘storage’ lamp….”

Inonoi was very sad that the amount of light the princess had stored in the lamp was almost gone.

Since the princess was missing, they couldn’t refill the lamp with the Miracle Light.

“Now this Inonoi might have to starve for life because I can’t approach the food storage engulfed in darkness…. It’s very sad….”

Inonoi started to sob.

Watching him, Seo Gaeul asked Yoo Yeoreum.

“Inonoi said we resemble ‘Kore’, right? Do you think it was just a casual remark, or could it be that we really do resemble it? The concepts that dwell within you and me.”

Seo Ga-eul speculated that their concepts might actually belong to the fairy princess.

If that speculation were accurate, it would be a sad thing for Inonoi.

Because a concept can only exist once in the world.

‘Perhaps Kore is now…’

To know the details, they would have to ask ‘Kore’, but due to the recent incident, the ‘walkie-talkie’ had been completely obliterated, leaving no trace.

While Seo Ga-eul hesitated to draw a conclusion, Yoo Yeoreum fiddled with the lantern hanging in the air and asked Seo Ga-eul.

“Seo Ga-eul, I think the ‘Miracle Light’ might be a technique that combines two concepts. If we combine our powers, we might be able to charge this lantern and drive away that shadow-like thing.”

Yoo Yeoreum recalled stories of active awakeners combining their strengths with compatible partners to implement ‘fusion techniques’.

‘The fusion of concepts is only possible if the compatibility of the concepts and the awakeners is good.’

In Yoo Yeoreum’s opinion, her compatibility with Seo Ga-eul was the worst.

However, when she hugged Seo Ga-eul earlier, she was surprised by the pleasant scent and the warm, soft feeling.

The body of a high school girl is so soft and warm─she couldn’t help but be amazed.

Although they were the same age and both female, they were different in many ways from her trained self.

She didn’t show it, but she felt it.

So Yoo Yeoreum hugged Seo Ga-eul tightly, just in case.

“Come… here!”

“Ah! What the heck!”

Seo Ga-eul screamed like a pterosaur suddenly attacked by a water dragon while sitting by the water.

It was then.

Sssssss-

The bodies of Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Ga-eul glowed with a warm light.

It was similar to the light emitted by the lantern earlier.

“Ah-! This is the ‘Miracle Light’…! If we store the light in this lantern, Inonoi will be able to access the food storage shrouded in darkness again…!”

“Let go! You crazy girl! I’m not into that kind of thing!”

Pop-!

Seo Ga-eul broke away from Yoo Yeoreum.

In the meantime, Inonoi, who had fully charged the lantern’s light, was genuinely delighted.

“It’s fully charged…! It’s the warm miracle light, friendly to nymphs…!”

If you fill the lantern with light, you might be able to go beyond the food storage and approach the fairies’ “Treasure Hall.”

Yu Yeoreum asked Inonoi, who was so delighted.

“While you’re at it, can you also find a man named Nam Wooju in this labyrinth? He disappeared while fighting the darkness in this labyrinth.”

“I will try…! But if he disappeared while fighting the darkness… it’s better not to have high hopes…. Because that’s the nature of the Red King’s darkness….”

Rustle, rustle-.

Inonoi crawled backward into the ventilation duct and disappeared.

And just in time, the door creaked open, and Han Namjin appeared.

“Seo Gaeul, it’s time to go out. Come out.”

# # #

It was good that I got Zombie Mine’s contact information from Seo Docheol, but the next problem was what kind of trap to set that he would like.

When I sent a text to his contact using Seo Gaeul’s account, a reply came in less than a minute.

“Bring Seo Gaeul to the following location tonight.”

“D City Memorial Park.”

D City Memorial Park?

Why is he calling Seo Gaeul and me there?

It doesn’t seem like it’s for an untimely memorial visit.

“Is the entrance to the ‘Great Labyrinth’ where he’s hiding near there?”

It made sense.

He must be trying to lure me into his trap.

I would have done the same if I were him.

“It seems he won’t meet unless I bring Seo Gaeul.”

To catch a big fish, you need to use big bait.

There’s no other way.

I have to bring Seo Gaeul out.

So I headed to the Great Labyrinth.

But unlike usual, it was bustling from the entrance today.

“Sir, what’s going on?”

“That man went in there and hasn’t come out!”

The man the security guard was talking about was Nam Wooju.

Nam Woo-joo entered the Great Labyrinth beneath the Yeongsa High School yesterday and hasn’t been in contact since.

Amidst the crowd that had gathered, I saw a familiar face.

“Was it Kim Bo-reum?”

“I am Lieutenant Jang Bo-reum, the adjutant to Brigadier General. Han Nam-jin, if you plan to enter the Great Labyrinth, please cooperate in the search for the Brigadier General.”

Her eyes were swollen, indicating she had been crying a lot.

It seems the disappearance is real.

“Why did that man enter the Great Labyrinth?”

“I can’t say.”

Can’t say, huh.

Judging by Jang Bo-reum’s attitude, it didn’t seem like Nam Woo-joo entered the Great Labyrinth because of the kidnapping of Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum.

I can’t be certain about anything, though.

“I’ll do my best to search inside as well.”

I nodded and entered the Great Labyrinth.

Nam Woo-joo’s disappearance was a headache for me too.

If a man of his caliber went missing in the Great Labyrinth, it means there’s something in there that threatens safety.

Could it be the mysterious ‘demon’ that Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum claimed to have seen?

It seems this “Great Labyrinth” is no longer a safe place for confinement.

I was planning to change the confinement location today anyway, so it’s not a problem, right?

With that thought, I arrived at the Flower Room and called out to Seo Ga-eul.

“Seo Ga-eul, it’s time to go out. Come out.”

“What? Going out again?”

Seo Ga-eul showed a subtle reaction, seeming both happy and uneasy.

She and Yoo Yeoreum started exchanging glances, apparently feeling uneasy about leaving Yoo Yeoreum behind.

I knew this would happen.

“Yoo Yeoreum, you come out too. I might need your strength.”

“What? Me too? Is that okay? What’s your plan?”

Instead of explaining in detail, I carefully placed Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Ga-eul into the “Cage of Reduction.”

“Come here…!”

But today, Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Ga-eul resisted unusually fiercely.

They screamed and acted like madwomen, refusing to enter the cage.

“I’m not going out!”

“…Me neither. Explain what’s going on first.”

What is this?

If you’ve been locked up and then allowed to go out, you should be happy.

Suspicious.

‘The relationship between Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum seems strangely good. Like comrades who have crossed the line of death together and shared secrets. What on earth is this?’

I began to suspect that there might be something in this room.

The sudden appearance of the ‘doll’ as well.

I need to investigate this room thoroughly later.

But for now, I didn’t have the time, so I decided to play my trump card.

“Don’t you guys want to go home soon?”

A shocking proposal to send them home!

Of course, the word ‘limited’ should be attached to the back of it!

So, how about it, my bait?

Irresistible, right?

Soon, Seo Ga-eul shivered like a winter yellowtail interested in the fishing hook.

“What are you plotting again? There’s no way you’d send us home so easily.”

“Exactly! That’s it!”

“You b*stard!”

“But, if you cooperate with me, it’s a different story. By the way, I can only send one person home, so you guys should discuss it well.”

One of the two.

One stays, one goes home-.

At that, Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum looked at each other’s faces.