The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 214
“I think it’s the most beautiful form of death.”
“......”
Joo-Hyun, who had been listening the whole time, took a sip of her coffee and nodded.
“Yoo Seong-Woon, you’re honestly kind of unsettling sometimes.”
“If we’re being blunt, yeah, I’m aware of that.”
“It’s like... you look at something grotesque and incomprehensible and your eyes just sparkle... that kind of discomfort.”
“You’re oddly specific about how much you hate it.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d heard this sort of thing, so Yoo Seong-Woon just let it slide.
“Don’t you have any sense of romance, Joo-Hyun?”
“Is there anything about this conversation that warrants the word ‘romance’?”
“Like, if you could choose an afterlife, which one would you pick? That kind of vibe...”
“No matter how you spin it, that’s not really a ‘romantic’ topic.”
Despite her groan, Joo-Hyun answered sincerely.
“Well, I’m not strong or blessed with some grand power like you people. I’m too busy just thinking about tomorrow to spend time wondering about what happens after I die.”
“But you’re by Gio’s side.”
“That’s something to worry about when the time comes. It’d be a waste to spend the life I was given just waiting for death. There’s so much more I can do while I’m alive.”
“Should I call you serious or just heavy?”
“I’d say I’m pretty average, actually.”
It was only natural—only the living could dream of the future.
“Though I suppose Mister Gio is... a different case.”
That truly was an exception. Most ordinary people like Joo-Hyun had little choice but to live as she did.
“If someone had absolutely no will, maybe it’d be different. But I have too many things I want to do. I can’t afford to hand them over to someone who’ll live longer than me. I have no choice but to keep moving forward.”
“It was just a hypothetical.”
Yoo Seong-Woon smiled wryly. Maybe it was because he’d just seen the Black Cloak’s masterpiece, but he seemed in good spirits.
“It’s just idle chatter, nothing more, right?”
“Well, that’s fair enough.”
If it was just passing banter.
“...Hmm...”
Still, she wasn’t so sure.
“...Nothing comes to mind right away. But I guess things will go the way Gio wants. Since I was given a gift, I might end up in the ‘white frame’ if I’m lucky.”
“So that’s your guess too.”
“Don’t think too hard about it. No one knows what the future holds. So what ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) about you, Yoo Seong-Woon? Which afterlife do you think you’ll end up in?”
“Most likely? Falling asleep in my own snowy garden.”
“Snowy garden...?”
“The garden I tend.”
If Gio helped, he might end up somewhere warmer. But if you weighed the realistic odds and his personal preference, this made the most sense.
“Gardeners usually end their lives in their own garden.”
“And then go on to live another life, or so I’ve heard?”
“Not quite. They become one of the elements that make up the garden—like a statue, or a tree, or a flower. I wouldn’t call that a ‘life,’ exactly.”
“I heard somewhere that for gardeners, to die as a human is considered the greatest luxury. Is that true?”
“You remember well.”
There were exceptions like Healer Jeong Yeong-Won, who wished to become part of the garden she served. But Yoo Seong-Woon wasn’t like that. Having been born human, he wanted to die human too.
“In this world, even death can’t follow the natural order...”
“A world where evil gods run rampant, after all.”
Joo-Hyun gave an awkward smile.
“Even I nearly made a mess of things not long ago.”
“Ah, right. So we’re talking about Sankallut now like it’s no big deal?”
“It wasn’t that uncomfortable before either.”
When the divine brought down calamities, it felt more like a disaster than an incident. They could mimic humanity, but never truly be human. So there was something silly about resenting them when all Joo-Hyun had ever done was endure.
“Put simply, I was just unlucky.”
“Most people wouldn’t be able to think like that.”
Yoo Seong-Woon cleared his throat.
This one’s not exactly normal either.
Being indifferent to life and death was a trait of priests—and also one of the signs of sainthood.
If worshiping a god made everyone detached from life, religion wouldn’t be this complicated. In the end, humans are human. There are limits to the vessel.
Strangely, it felt like Joo-Hyun was becoming one of Gio’s closest companions.
More precisely, a disciple under the title of “closest companion.”
“......”
Yoo Seong-Woon gave a patient smile.
“...Come to think of it, I wonder how that guy Sankallut is doing these days. He didn’t get completely obliterated by Gio’s exorcism or whatever, did he?”
“I haven’t heard anything...”
“Me neither.”
The evil god Sankallut was stored as a key specimen at the Association’s research lab. If he had really been destroyed, the lab wouldn’t be this quiet. Not even Yoo Seong-Woon, who kept his ears open, had heard anything.
Besides, divinity doesn’t die that easily.
Even among divine beings, killing one another wasn’t simple. That’s why they often coexisted, forced to stay in balance. Just look at Earth now—so many conflicting principles and imbalances packed into one small dimension.
“Well, I guess if it’s Gio, maybe it really was possible...”
“Might be faster to ask Gio directly about that.”
“What if Sankallut is still around? Would you stay back again, not asking Gio for help?”
“No.”
“...Huh?”
Joo-Hyun smiled in response to his surprise.
“I’ve already received Gio’s help in that regard. From the very beginning—when he first comforted me, when he made that warm porridge at the hut... and even the pure white gravestone he prepared recently. All of it was the same.”
He had rejected that immense kindness, refused it, pretended not to see it—but in the end, he had accepted it anyway.
That’s why he wasn’t surprised.
“When Gio said he painted that grand piece just for me, I could only be thankful. I’d already received so many miracles before.”
“Miracles, huh.”
“Of course they’re miracles. Who would willingly reach out to someone like me—a failure—without greed or envy, simply wanting to be my friend?”
“...That kind of chance won’t come again.”
“Gio is a kind person.”
Joo-Hyun didn’t like receiving help from others. He’d never had anyone to ask, and even when he did, he never got what he truly needed.
But the first being to ever help him was that so-called evil divine being—Argio.
And to this day, he was still helping Joo-Hyun. Even with Sankallut.
“If Gio gives me the opportunity, I want to talk with him.”
“Talk...? Is that safe? You’re not an Awakened, Joo-Hyun.”
“I do rely on the shield of being unawakened, but I don’t want to keep hiding behind that. I have responsibilities. Gio has helped me a great deal.”
“That’s a pretty bold response.”
“It’s okay.”
Joo-Hyun trusted the friend named Gio.
“Even if I can’t repay all I’ve received, I should at least show basic courtesy. That’s what relationships are.”
He probably wouldn’t be able to repay all the kindness Gio had shown—not in a lifetime.
But he had to acknowledge just how much he’d been given—and respond appropriately.
“I don’t want to be arrogant. But I also won’t be the kind of fool who looks away after receiving such grace. The reason I rejected Gio’s help so often was because I’m just an ordinary person who’d be changed by miracles if they came too easily.”
“Sorry, but you’re really not that ordinary.”
Yoo Seong-Woon’s comment was completely ignored.
“If I can speak with that evil god named Sankallut, then I will.”
“So what would you do?”
“End it.”
Like the mermaids—who embraced joy in a sweet reality yet still accepted responsibility in the end.
“My story’s been dragging on too long too. I keep saying it, but I’m just a regular person.”
“......”
“Do you have something you need to end too, Yoo Seong-Woon?”
“...A gardener wouldn’t have such a thing.”
He smiled awkwardly.
“I belong to the garden.”
If he had a story to finish, it belonged to the garden—not to him. He was a gardener before a human. A servant of the Origin.
“I guess I’ll live like this forever, buried in mystery...”
“Why’d you become a gardener?”
“To live.”
“I see.”
Joo-Hyun nodded.
“So did I.”
“Guess we’re alike.”
They were here because this was the only way they could survive.
***
“Sankallut?”
Gio tilted his head.
“You want to speak with him?”
“Yes. If it’s possible, of course...” ƒгeewёbnovel.com
“It is possible. I’ll simply summon him—if that’s enough, then it’s yours.”
“Of course that’s enough.”
Who just summoned divine beings? Even evil gods weren’t so easily accessed without a price. It was rare to meet one safely like this.
Gio rested his chin on his hand.
“Then let’s talk at my house.”
So Gio called both Joo-Hyun and Yoo Seong-Woon.
“Wait, why am I—”
“Since you’re here, have a meal before you go, Mister Seong-Woon.”
“You’re not trying to turn me into a pig, are you?”
“You seem to have lost weight from the strain of this recent dungeon...”
“Even with that sad look, it’s not convincing.”
He’d lost just 0.4kg.
“I’m a hunter who needs to stay fast. If you keep feeding me, even I’ll gain weight. That’ll ruin my stats—”
“Ah, so the solution is to not gain weight?”
“And this is why you can’t let your guard down around mystics. Bring the contract. We’ll sort out our terms A to Z.”
“Ah, the wisdom of a seasoned curator.”
“You’re getting more sinister by the day.”
Well, whatever.
“Just make sure it’s a normal meal.”
“I always serve ordinary meals.”
“If you’re going to lie, don’t lie so blatantly.”
“Cheh...”
“Oh, now you’re clicking your tongue?”
Then Gio brought out a blanket.
“A blanket?”
“Yes, it’s sudden, but...”
“Well, yes, that’s what startled me—”
“You looked cold.”
“Never mind how you knew—but this clearly isn’t a blanket. Whose fur is this? Why is it so soft and warm? Is it supposed to be this warm? Oh—it is...”
As Yoo Seong-Woon slowly melted into the plush golden fur, Joo-Hyun gave a dry chuckle.
“So this is how a human possessed by mystery ends up.”
“Who said this is the end?”
“You’re saying that while clinging to that fur—it’s not convincing.”
“You don’t know what it’s like in the snowfields!”
Gio nodded at the sight of Yoo Seong-Woon clutching the fur. His expression was blank as always, but the sentiment of “I knew you’d like it” came through loud and clear.
“I was worried. You looked cold.”
“I looked that cold...?”
Yoo Seong-Woon looked to Joo-Hyun, who shook his head.
“...No. Honestly, I didn’t notice at all until Gio mentioned it. You didn’t look any different from usual—but now that I see it, I guess you were cold...”
“It’s fine. Not knowing is normal.”
Suddenly, Gio looked confused and pointed to himself.
“Am I not normal?”
“By average human standards, no.”
“Well, I suppose a portrait can’t be considered normal. You may praise my uniqueness.”
Gio accepted it without resistance.
“Guests at my home must always feel at peace.”
“That’s kind of terrifying in its own way.”
“Tonight, that’ll be your blanket.”
“This house sure treats guests well.”
“Thank you.”
Gio looked deeply pleased.
“It’s been a while since friends came to visit.”
That’s why he’d prepared the gourmet route ahead of time.
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