A short distance from the coast.

“D-do bosses normally come outside, too...? This seems different from an ordinary dungeon break...”

Kang Seodam, who was leading the team, answered the young priest’s question.

“It happens on rare occasions, mostly with humanoid monsters. Monsters more intelligent than humans have a broader range of activity. Their powers are so vast that they can accomplish all manner of things even outside their own dungeons.”

“Then what if the submarine we’ll be taking gets attacked on the way down...? I just heard that mermaids are swarming up from the deep sea.”

“The cold-type Hunters pooled their strength to freeze the sea, so that shouldn’t happen. Besides, we have telekinetic Hunters coming with us for precisely that contingency. We children of the Sun can attack at range as well, so all we can do is keep a close eye on our surroundings as we go.”

They were heading to the mermaids’ dungeon, seizing the narrow opening created when its boss left its lair. One group would take on the boss outside, while the other struck at the heart of the dungeon.

But they couldn’t travel through these conditions unprotected; they needed a submersible. They followed an Association employee’s directions. Kang Seodam sighed softly.

“I hope Sister Iru-da stays in the rear...”

“We’ve talked that through with her, so she’ll stay put.”

“She’ll have to. It isn’t particularly safe back there, either.”

“She’s a child who keeps her promises.”

“I believe so, too, but...”

Cha Yi-sol was thought to be in the mermaids’ dungeon, the ‘country of the deep sea.’ Iru-da had doggedly insisted on joining this war to find her partner, but they couldn’t take a prospective priest like her all the way into the dungeon. It was an S-class dungeon that had claimed countless lives.

“... Well, worrying like this won’t accomplish anything.”

For now, he could only hope that Iru-da would keep herself in check.

“How much farther is it to the submersible?”

“I’m sorry. The transport-type Hunters can’t work in such a hectic area...”

“No, I was simply asking how much farther we have to go. I’m well aware of how much effort it takes for transport-type Hunters to concentrate.”

“Thank you for understanding. We’re almost there.”

Just then, the Association employee received a call.

“... What?! N-no, what do you mean...?”

“What is it? Has something gone wrong?”

“They say the transport-type Hunters and the submersibles are under attack.”

“What? If we head over right now...”

“Well, in a situation like this, transport-type Hunters prioritize retreat above all else.”

“... Of course.”

Simply put, teleporters were squishy. They had no offensive or defensive capabilities, but when it came to evasion, they surpassed every other type.

Most worked in safe locations, and even when mobilized for emergencies, they were legally permitted to flee if their personal safety was threatened. That rule had been established after countless Hunters died from being exploited as a means of transport.

“What happened to the submersibles?”

“They said mermaids were crawling out of the sea to attack them, so I don’t think we can count on those.”

“But shouldn’t there be some left? Normally, you’d prepare more than one for something like this...”

“Given the sheer number of mermaids, the situation doesn’t look very hopeful.”

One of the Hunters frowned at that.

“So what are you saying? We’ve come all this way, and now we’re not going into the dungeon?”

“No, we still have to go. Unless we clear it, who knows when this goddamn battle will end? The dungeon could keep sending out endless waves...”

“That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? But if we have no submersibles, and the teleporting Hunters can’t send us straight into the dungeon, what the hell are we supposed to do?”

Despite looking troubled, the Association employee offered an alternative.

“We have submersibles stationed elsewhere in reserve. But it’ll take quite a while to bring them here. The transport-type Hunters we’ve already deployed must be exhausted from moving those large submersibles, so we’ll have to assign new personnel...”

“Sounds like that’ll take a while.”

Sa Narae, a Hunter from Haeryeong, asked, “Should we head back?”

“Well...”

“Hmm? We can head back, right?”

It was a rather insolent, uncooperative question, but not an unreasonable one. These Hunters had been handpicked to clear the dungeon, yet now they had nothing to do. Meanwhile, who knew how many more of the Hunters sent to fight the boss would die on the coast while new submersibles were being prepared?

“We can’t just stand around killing time here.”

“Hunter Sa Narae is right.”

Just as the Association employees’ faces were darkening...

“...”

“... Wait, that...”

“A picture frame?”

The Hunters sensed something amiss.

“Since when was that frame there?”

A concrete wall by the coast still bore traces of the days before the Great Catastrophe. Sensing something from the frame hanging on that old, crumbling wall, the Hunters approached it.

Sa Narae looked sickened.

“The smell of the sea.”

“What?”

“...”

“... Oh, you’re right.”

The painting depicted a somewhat familiar temple.

“Black Cloak...?”

At someone’s murmur, the painting inside the frame rippled.

“What the fuck?”

“W-what’s going on now?”

“I think that painting shows the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’...”

“So what are we supposed to do? What does this mean?”

“Doesn’t it mean we should go in?”

“Wait, what... It’s helping us?”

The Hunters were incredulous.

“Why would a monster help humans?”

“But they say Black Cloak likes giving gifts to good people...”

“Are we good people? No. And it’s not like we’ve done a good deed.”

“Does raiding a dungeon count as a good deed?”

Their reactions, treating Black Cloak as a monster, left Kang Seodam with mixed feelings. Still, he glanced at the Association employee.

“...”

“... Hm? W-what is it?”

“Nothing.”

It seemed this employee didn’t know the truth. Kang Seodam understood.

‘Of course. They wouldn’t share every piece of information with even their lowest-ranking employees.’

It wasn’t fair to dismiss an employee who had come all the way to the front lines as a mere underling, but this particular ‘information’ was too dangerous to spread indiscriminately.

Hundreds of concerns flashed through Kang Seodam’s mind, but in the end, he decided to follow the Divinity’s will. A priest who would not follow the will of the Divinities was unworthy of the calling.

“... This is a very difficult matter to bring up under these circumstances, but these circumstances are precisely why I must. We in the Sun Cult have determined that Black Cloak is a kind of Divinity with a very small number of apostles.”

“... Wh-what?!”

“Wait, what do you mean...?!”

Not only the Hunters but the Association employees looked aghast. Kang Seodam cursed the world, unable to understand how he had ended up having to say all this. Still, he had to do his duty as a human being.

“And we have identified two of those apostles as Hunter Seo Jio of Collector and the Sun Cult’s prospective priest Cha Yi-sol.”

“I-if that’s really true...”

“We don’t have absolute confirmation, but within the Sun Cult, it is coming to be accepted as an established fact. I myself have sensed the Sun’s energy from Hunter Seo Jio since our first meeting, and prospective priest Cha Yi-sol has given relevant testimony on several occasions.”

“... Oh, so that’s why...”

They thought they understood why ‘Black Cloak’ had opened a ‘door’ at this particular moment.

“It wants us to save its children.”

There had indeed been numerous cases of Divinities seeking help from humans because interference from the dimensional System prevented them from exercising their powers directly on Earth. Black Cloak, in particular, was already established in Korea. Opening a door like this could hardly have been difficult.

“I’d like to delve a little deeper into this, but...”

“We don’t have time. We can think more about Black Cloak later. Anyway, if a monster didn’t open this door, there’s no problem using it, right?”

“Black Cloak could be an evil god. We don’t even know whether this door is actually safe.”

“But we have to get inside quickly while the Hunters on the coast are keeping the boss distracted. We can’t just stand here.”

“And I’m telling you, if we act rashly, every last one of us could get slaughtered!”

“There are hostages trapped inside the dungeon right now! Are we just going to stand here dithering?!”

“If Hunter Seo Jio and that prospective priest, Cha Yi-sol, really are Black Cloak’s apostles, then this makes sense. But that doesn’t guarantee our safety!”

“Come on, even so, considering the situation...!”

Around then, something abruptly popped out of the frame.

“Coo.”

“... Wh-what?”

“Cooo?”

“...”

One Hunter doubted their own eyes at the sight of something soft draped over the frame like laundry on a drying rack.

“... A teddy bear?”

It was a soft, warm-colored teddy bear, small enough to nestle snugly in someone’s arms, with short arms and legs. Its fur was somewhat faded, but it was plump with fluffy stuffing, as though it had been lovingly maintained.

“What’s this now?”

“No, wait. That...”

“... I can feel the S-Sun’s power.”

The other priests of the Sun began murmuring alongside Kang Seodam.

“Yes, that’s definitely the Sun’s power! I can’t sense d-divinity itself, but its traces are unmistakable...!”

“Could it be one of Black Cloak’s apostles? I mean, it may look like that, but I really can feel the Sun!”

Then Kang Seodam realized.

‘I was wondering who had opened the frame when Mr. Seo Jio was trapped in the dungeon.’

Unlike Yu Seongun and Ju-hyeon, Kang Seodam had never been invited to the cabin and knew nothing about this teddy bear. But the traces of divinity and the Sun’s energy he sensed were enough to tell him it was closely connected to Black Cloak.

‘No, actually, this is...’

It was also similar to the energy he had felt during his earlier visit to the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea.’

“...”

Having reached a conclusion, Kang Seodam looked around.

“I will vouch for it. I can unmistakably sense the Sun’s energy from this teddy bear, and in no dimension has the Sun ever stood against providence. In other words, it is not an evil god’s apostle.”

“B-but...”

“If you truly cannot be certain, we of the Sun Cult will enter first.”

The Sun Cult priests, if anything, looked flushed with excitement, perhaps at the thought of yet another Sun helping them. Fellowship over purity. Having long shared the goal of union with many Suns, these priests were also exceedingly friendly toward the Suns of other dimensions.

“I never imagined Black Cloak truly was a Divinity of the Sun...!”

“I’ve heard all the stories, but to think there was even an apostle with such an adorable physical manifestation.”

“It has the same sort of feel as the gifts. Does Black Cloak like cute little things?”

“Black Cloak included, aren’t they such courteous, kindly mysteries toward humans?”

“How grateful we should be that they show humans such consideration.”

As the priests murmured among themselves, the other Hunters’ expressions gradually softened.

“... Well, Black Cloak has always been kind...”

“... Anyone here ever ditch their teammates and run?”

“They said Black Cloak won’t attack you unless you’re a truly awful person.”

“Honestly, isn’t chickening out here basically admitting you’re trash?”

“Yeah, fuck it. I’m not getting certified as trash by myself and everyone else.”

Though still uneasy, they seemed reassured by the Sun Cult priests’ nonchalance.

“I still can’t quite wrap my head around it, but...”

“Let’s go in.”

And so, with Black Cloak’s power, the Hunters were painted into the frame, one by one.

“...”

“... Um, Team Leader.”

“I’m just as confused as you are. Don’t talk to me.”

The Association employees stared in bewilderment at the living, moving ‘paintings’ of the Hunters inside the frame.

“We can’t stand around like this. Hurry... Hurry and bring me a communication orb for headquarters. I need to ask the higher-ups what’s going on.”

“Oh, um, I’ll call the transport-type Hunters right away. This is still more or less a safe zone, so they should be here soon.”

“This is driving me nuts. I have no idea what’s going on.”

There was far too much to report.

* * *

“...”

“... This place...”

SPLASH...

A marble floor covered in shallow water.

“... We’re definitely inside the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea.’”

“But doesn’t the atmosphere feel a little different?”

Anxious and wary, the Hunters surveyed their surroundings.

“I’ve been here once before, but it didn’t feel like this.”

Dark.

Radiant.

Dreamlike.

“There’s something... ominous about it.”

“It feels like we’ve fallen into an evil god’s game.”

“I felt that, too...”

One of the Hunters asked Kang Seodam, the team’s leader, “Were the mermaids in this dungeon evil gods?”

“No.”

Only...

“They have merely amassed deeds on that scale.”

Kang Seodam gazed at the mermaids’ world, feeling sickened.

“...”

The temple he had returned to was chillingly peaceful, and beautiful.

‘... I can see whose influence this is.’

It resembled a funeral.

(To be continued)