novelraw Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Ch.77 You Are Cruel, O God
The encounter with Nekhuf and Nephert.
Caught off guard by the sudden meeting, we headed to a nearby restaurant.
It was called Moon Shadow—a pretentious name—but the view of the night sea, with the moon and stars woven together against the open horizon, held a quiet charm.
Yet, despite the scenery, an odd silence settled among us.
Nekhuf and Nephert seemed puzzled by Leah’s absence, while Selena kept glancing at me with a strange, unreadable look.
What should I do? This is so awkward…
When it was just Selena and me, conversation never ran dry—but now, with these unexpected guests, the air between us felt cold.
And it wasn’t just me who felt it; the two Sand Elves across the table looked as if they’d committed some grave offense.
Then again, what fault is theirs? The real problem is that I’m Leah’s master.
As I mocked my own situation inwardly, Nekhuf moved his lips.
“Have you been well, Brother?”
“Me? Same as always.”
Ah… How did we end up running into them here?
It feels like we only parted recently—yet here we are.
After exchanging that one line, the silence returned, thick and uncomfortable, until I forced myself to speak.
“Anyway, have you already left the village?”
Nekhuf beamed brightly and answered in a cheerful voice,
“Yes! The moment I overcame my weakness—the one you told me about—I left the village right away.”
Couldn’t you have waited a month or two? Then we wouldn’t have met like this…
Wait a minute—Nekhuf was supposed to face a specific trial.
Does this mean he’s already completed it? No… hold on. Shouldn’t he be in the Eastern Region by now?
And besides—these ship tickets are extremely expensive.
How could Nekhuf, a poor Sand Elf, afford passage on this vessel?
Just as doubts began piling up one by one—
“Brother! Don’t be shocked. During my travels, I found a dungeon!”
Nekhuf suddenly burst out excitedly, launching into his tale.
After overcoming his weakness and gaining a new ability, he’d felt the time was right—and set off on an adventure with Nephert.
“Wait, hold on—what new ability?”
At my question, Nekhuf grinned.
“I gained eyes—eyes of wind and magic.”
“Eyes of wind and magic?”
I’d played this game for nearly ten years, yet I’d never heard of such a thing.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You… uh, Sand Elf.”
The unfamiliar term slipped out before I could stop myself, and I quickly corrected the old slang I’d almost used.
“So what exactly is it?”
Nekhuf smiled faintly at my curiosity.
“Remember how you once fooled my senses with Fog Magic?”
Back then, Nekhuf had stubbornly begged me to take him along.
When I refused, he challenged me to a duel—and I showed him his true weakness: the fog and silence magic the developers had deliberately placed so this overpowered character could lose to a third-rate villain.
“I thought—if I was deceived because I couldn’t see, maybe I could compensate by sensing things differently. So I researched.”
He casually picked up the water glass beside him—as if he could clearly see where it was.
—Gulp, gulp.
After taking a drink, Nekhuf sighed contentedly.
“Ahh, refreshing! Anyway, now I can fully perceive my surroundings using wind and magic—and thanks to that, I cleared Set’s Dungeon.”
“Set’s Dungeon?!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.
Set’s Dungeon lay deep in the desert.
If it were just any ordinary dungeon, I wouldn’t have batted an eye—but this was Nekhuf’s ultimate story goal.
Inside slumbered unimaginable riches, and conquering it would make his name echo across the New Continent—a legendary feat.
Moreover, in-game, its difficulty was absurdly high…
And the final boss, Set, had more HP than even a dragon, wielded devastating lightning magic, summoned sandstorms, and excelled in close combat.
In fact, according to game data, Set’s level surpassed even that of the strongest dragon.
And now… this monster had been slain?
How is that even possible?
More importantly—how can a blind man use wind and magic like eyes? Does that even make sense?
“This is all thanks to you, Hyung. I’m truly grateful.”
“Huh?”
Nekhuf lifted his blindfold slightly—revealing luminous eyes glowing with an eerie blue light.
What… is that?
“Heh heh, what do you think? These are my eyes of wind and magic.”
His irises shimmered like captured fragments of the sky itself—and I broke out in goosebumps.
What the hell is that? It’s terrifying!
I don’t remember teaching him any such bizarre method.
All I did was make him face the trial he was meant to encounter early.
Instead of suffering a crushing defeat in the human realm and falling into deep despair, he’d experienced it gently within his elven village.
But could that really have caused such a butterfly effect?
This was a massive shock to me—because in the game, Nekhuf had never regained his sight.
So what is this grotesque phenomenon before my eyes?
And if he can see now… why is he still wearing a blindfold?
He smiled brightly.
“Heh heh, surprised?”
“Yeah! Really surprised.”
Of course I am! I told him not to rely solely on sensing magic—and now he’s literally built eyes out of it!
Nephert, clearly charmed by her boyfriend’s brilliance, hugged Nekhuf tightly.
“My Nekhuf is a genius, just as I said!”
She stroked his hair gently, gazing at him with boundless affection.
Ugh, the sweetness is dripping everywhere.
Watching them act so lovey-dovey while completely ruining my rapport with Selena was infuriating.
Selena, seemingly sharing my sentiment, stared in astonishment and blurted out,
“Wait—did you literally make eyes out of magic? Is that even possible?”
Though her tone matched mine, it seemed she wasn’t thinking the same thing—she was just amazed by the concept itself.
“It’s not just magic alone. Magic alone isn’t precise enough—so sensing the wind is equally important.”
As he spoke, Nekhuf used tongs to carefully place a piece of bread onto Nephert’s plate.
How disgustingly sweet. Should I try that too?
Selena, having apparently forgotten I existed, now watched Nekhuf with wide, fascinated eyes.
“Then why do you still wear the blindfold?”
I mimicked him, using tongs to place bread onto Selena’s side plate—but she shot me a sharp glare that clearly said, “Don’t even think about competing.”
I gave her an awkward smile in return.
Why do they get to have such a perfect mood, while we’re stuck like this?
I sighed deeply inwardly.
“It’s hard to maintain this state constantly. Also… the world seen through mana is entirely blue—everything appears in shades of blue.”
So it’s like color blindness, then?
Even if he can’t distinguish colors, just being able to perceive shapes makes Nekhuf nearly broken—after all, he’s a character with three unique traits.
“Incredible… I never imagined something like this was possible.”
Selena frowned thoughtfully, chewing over his words.
“Anyway, after clearing Set’s Dungeon, we came here to head back to the Old Continent—and ran into you, Brother.”
Looking at Nekhuf, who now carried himself with newfound confidence, I reflected inwardly.
He used to seem a bit downcast… but he’s clearly changed.
The timid boy who once shyly begged me to take him along had grown immensely in just a few months.
No—this was more than growth. In the game, overcoming blindness as a blind character was meant to be impossible.
Meanwhile, beneath the table, Nekhuf and Nephert were probably holding hands—their eyes locked in a gaze dripping with honey.
“How have you been, Brother? I’ve been so curious!”
Before answering Nekhuf, I briefly considered what I’d done since we last met.
I’d returned the runaway Hatchling to her mother, uncovered the world’s secrets, conquered the Arctic, and obtained the Trident of the Sea God.
Each feat was legendary enough to dwarf Nekhuf’s conquest of Set’s Dungeon…
Yet… why did I feel like I was losing?
Was it because mentioning Leah had upset Selena, and now I feared the backlash?
I should probably do a little self-promotion too.
“Well… I rescued Hatchling after she wandered into the human world and returned her to her dragon mother…”
As I spoke casually, a strange sound came from beside me.
—Pfft! Cough, cough!
I turned to see Selena spitting out the water she’d just drunk.
“Oh! Are you okay, Selena?”
I reached for the silk handkerchief I’d bought back in the village, ready to wipe her mouth—but Selena gently pushed my hand away and managed to speak through her coughing.
“Cough… wait—Hatchling exists?”
“That’s impossible! I heard dragons went extinct long ago!”
“Humans really are full of hot air. Nekhuf, clearly your great achievement makes his story sound pathetic, so he’s exaggerating.”
Their disbelief hit me with a wave of deep disappointment.
Selena… at least you should believe me…
“Brother, is it really true? Dragons still exist?”
“That can’t be. You’re joking, right, Hans?”
Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek lightly.
Given the mood, no matter how much I explained, they probably wouldn’t believe me.
“Dragons aren’t extinct. They just avoid humans…”
—Boom!
—Kaboom! Whoosh!
Mid-sentence, explosions suddenly ripped through the air.
We all turned toward the sound—and saw fireworks blooming high in the night sky.
“Wow… so pretty.”
“Yeah. But you’re prettier.”
Ugh, give me a break.
Watching their childish, saccharine flirting made my blood boil.
***
After dinner and idle chatter, it grew late—and Selena returned to her room.
Without even changing clothes, she collapsed onto the bed.
Her mind was tangled in turmoil.
‘Sigh… what should I do?’
Nekhuf, the blind Sand Elf.
She’d sensed from the start he wasn’t ordinary—but now, learning he’d forged eyes from wind and magic, and that he was close to Hans… it was unsettling.
From what she’d heard, Hans had given this extraordinary being profound guidance.
If that were all, her thoughts might not be so complicated…
But the fact that Hans was the master of Leah—the very Leah of the Hero Party—made everything unbearably tangled.
How could Selena, born in the Old Continent, not know the central figure who felled the Demon King?
To her organization, he was a formidable adversary—a mage they’d have to confront when awakening ‘Him’ and spreading divine gospel to the world.
‘But Hans… being Leah’s master?’
The revelation struck her like lightning, nearly shattering her usual composure.
It felt as if he’d been preparing for years—perhaps decades—specifically to dismantle her organization and the Church.
And then there was his mention of Hatchling.
She knew Hans wasn’t the type to boast about things that weren’t true.
Given everything he’d done—accomplishing the impossible as casually as eating breakfast—it was almost certain dragons hadn’t gone extinct.
‘Just who… what is he, really?’
His uncanny knowledge of divine power, his mysterious connections, his ties to enemies—he defied understanding.
‘Is his destiny truly… to lead us to ruin?’
If that were true…
Selena would be forced to choose between the man she loved and everything she stood for.
Because she couldn’t bear to watch Hans destroy her God and her Church.
Before he could act further—before fate fully claimed him—she had to eliminate him. Quickly.
Frustrated and heavy-hearted, Selena turned in bed—and saw the small window.
Beyond it stretched the night sea, beneath a blue moon.
‘That night… the moon was just as beautifully blue.’
Her hollow red eyes fixed on the dark ocean reflecting the moonlight.
And then…
—Drip… drip…
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Huh… You are cruel, O God.”
Thinking of Hans made her heart ache.
Because, over their time together, her affection for him had deepened.
No matter how cold-hearted she might seem, she couldn’t possibly cut such a bond without pain.
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