It seemed that Prache had realized it too.
His face hardened, and like a rusty machine, he creaked as he slowly turned to look at Seo Dajong.
Seo Dajong was in pain, being choked by him.
As he gazed at her with a strange expression, Prache suddenly opened his mouth. His mouth stretched impossibly wide, far beyond what a human body should allow.
The horrifying sight made me freeze in place.
Sensing the danger instinctively, Brantley pulled me away from Prache. At the same time, my Dad swung his sword at Prache.
But Prache was faster.
Crunch!
Prache devoured Seo Dajong.
“Ahhh!”
Seo Dajong screamed in overwhelming agony. But Prache ignored her and sucked the last of her.
Dad’s sword came down too late, shattering into pieces as it struck Prache’s neck. Prache, with blood smeared around his mouth, laughed at him.
“Too bad. I’ve just consumed some fresh life force. For the next few minutes, it won’t matter how hard any of you try to kill me.”
Blue flames roared up around Prache. Over the flames, the divine language swirled like a chaotic magic formula.
‘He’s going to escape!’
I quickly summoned my divine power. Prache laughed mockingly as if to say it was futile and filled the room with blue flames.
People screamed and cowered.
Luckily, the flames subsided after a short while. No one seemed to be hurt. But Prache had vanished.
I stared blankly at the clothes Seo Dajong had left behind and the tattered book fluttering on the ground.
“Is everyone alright?”
Brantley helped me up and checked on the others.
I looked around too.
One person was missing.
“…He’s gone.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“My Dad’s gone. He’s disappeared!”
Prache had taken my Dad hostage.
***
Grandfather had mobilized the imperial guard to search for my Dad.
The three sealed gods, Brantley, and Prince Patrick, who had been freed from mind control, scoured the whole empire.
I also used the information guild and the foundation to trace my Dad’s whereabouts. And used my divine power to track Prache. But we couldn’t even find a trace of him.
As the days passed, my anxiety grew.
“What if something has happened to Dad?”
“Prache took His Highness the Prince because he has value as a hostage. He won’t harm him until he gets what he wants.”
Brantley tried to comfort me.
“So try to rest tonight. You’ve been up for days. You need to stay healthy to find His Highness.”
Since my Dad had disappeared, Brantley had been by my side constantly. He hadn’t even returned home.
‘If Brantley weren’t here, I would be alone in this huge mansion.’
Thanks to his presence, I was able to endure.
That’s why I couldn’t accept that Brantley might be Grauzer’s incarnation even more.
Perhaps it was because I had been thinking of Grouser. That night, I had a nightmare for the first time in a while.
In the nightmare, I went to Grouser’s temple. But the one who made this dream a nightmare was Prache.
My dad was suspended in midair, bound tightly by blue threads like a spider’s web. He looked like prey caught by a spider.
Prache, smiling at my horrified expression, spoke.
“You know where this is, don’t you? Come find me. Your Dad is here as well.”
I tried to ask him why he was there, but I immediately woke up.
The early morning air was still cold.
‘This wasn’t just a dream. Prache was reaching out to me.’
Prache was in Grauzer’s Temple.
As the one who had sealed Grouser, entering the sealed location likely wasn’t difficult for him. Which meant Prache was hiding just below our nose.
I took out the book, which was torn and scorched in places.
‘If I’m going to Grauzer’s sanctuary, I’ll need Brantley’s help.’
But Brantley would never allow me to go alone.
‘But I don’t want Brantley to meet Grauzer.’
I didn’t want to imagine the possibilities.
I tiptoed to the room Brantley was using. I could hear him steadily breathing. He was sound asleep under the moonlight. His sword was placed nearby, ready for him to arm himself at any moment.
He was prepared to protect me.
On any other day, he would have sensed my presence and woken immediately. If I hadn’t erased my presence using both magic and divine power, that is.
“I’m sorry, Brantley.”
I placed the book in his hand. Perhaps out of instinct, Brantley gripped the book tightly in his sleep.
Then, slowly, his eyes opened, “Hanelope…?”
His dazed, silver eyes met mine. I offered him a small smile and then touched the book in his hand.
Suddenly, a dizzying sensation swept through my mind, and my vision went dark.
A sacred yet hollow space. I had arrived at a lonely sanctuary, where only the altar— deserted by its deity— glowed faintly.
A blue cloth was draped over the altar.
Just as in my dream, someone was suspended in midair. In the dream, I thought it was my dad, but now, seeing the figures build, I realized it wasn’t.
‘Could it be… Grauzer?’
As I had always done upon coming here, I approached the empty altar. Hoping desperately that Grauzer would appear from the darkness. Praying that the figure suspended in the air was not him.
But instead, Prache appeared in front of me.
“I’ve been waiting, though it took you quite a while to find me. I got bored, so I had to show you the way.”
“Where is my Dad?”
I had no desire to engage in a lengthy conversation.
Sensing my firm resolve, Prache frowned.
He snapped his fingers, and with a sharp crack, the blue cloth on the altar ignited and disappeared, revealing my dad lying unconscious.
“Dad!”
I reached out in a panic. But I hit an invisible barrier, preventing me from touching him. He could not hear my voice.
“Make a contract to hand over your body to me, and I’ll release your father.”
I glared at Prache, “How can I trust you? What if you just take my body and harm my dad?”
“We’ll write our demands in the contract. If either of us breaks the promise—”
“I won’t take verbal promises. Show me your utmost sincerity.”
“The utmost sincerity of a god?”
“Make it so that if you break the oath, even you’ll face consequences.”
“Me? Facing consequences?” Prache scoffed.
“Do you know the Primordial God? Although he’s dead now, he did leave behind a few prohibitions for gods.”
He mocked me as he conjured a blue magic circle in the air. On it, the terms of the contract were inscribed in the divine language. Prache placed his hand on the magic circle and agreed to the contract.
“This is an oath contract in the name of the Primordial God. Breaking this contract is forbidden. So, I have no choice but to keep my promise to you.”
“If you break this contract, will you face restrictions?”
“Of course. The Primordial God who created me decreed it so,” Prache’s face radiated confidence.
As I watched his twisted smile, I felt certain.
‘Prache doesn’t know.’
He doesn’t realize that using forbidden power damages divinity.
‘That’s why he is confidently lying.’
Breaking this contract would have the same effect as using forbidden powers. Even though Prache had broken prohibitions before, he likely thought he could recover from it.
‘Prache will definitely try to break this contract. And with each breach of taboo, he’ll degrade even further.’
Eventually, with the help of the Sealed Gods, we may be able to defeat him.
‘I have to sacrifice myself.’
I clenched my jaw and placed my hand on the magic circle, agreeing to the contract.
Prache’s eyes gleamed with cruelty, “Now, you belong to me.”
In the next moment, a piercing blue light shot from Prache’s mouth, stabbing into my chest.
***
“Hanelope…!” Brantley got up from his bed.
‘Was it a dream?’
The moment he blinked, Hanelope, who had appeared beyond his hazy vision, vanished. The sweet smile she had given him felt like a distant memory, lingering in his mind.
For a brief moment, his heart swelled with happiness. But just like a mirage, it faded away.
Brantley, still sitting in a daze, suddenly realized he was clutching something in his hand.
‘Why is this book…!’
Could Hanelope have gone to Grauzer’s sanctuary while I was asleep?
‘But why would she do that?’
Hanelope was focused on finding Hart. There was no time to waste on other matters.
‘Does she think there’s a clue to His Highness at Grauzer’s sanctuary? Or worse, does she believe Prache is there?’
Nonetheless, he couldn’t let Hanelope go alone.
“I have to go to the gods and ask for help…!”
Just as Brantley was about to shout urgently, golden vines slithered out from a decorative vase, taking the form of Aite, and blocked his path.
“Were you calling for me?”
“W- When did you get here?” Brantley asked.
Aite smiled, “You live in the same house. Of course, I had to keep things in check.”
“You could’ve just told us honestly.”
“You wouldn’t have allowed it,” Aite pouted playfully, “So, why are you seeking me now?”
“Hanelope seems to have gone to Grauzer’s temple.”
Brantley held up the book.
“This book is Grauzer’s temple? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Why didn’t you tell us?” Aite eyed Brantley with suspicion. “When did you find this out?”
