The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 325
The disappearance of the system.
That was undoubtedly a horrific thing.
How had they protected themselves from the countless calamities flooding into Earth?
It was all thanks to that system.
Without it, a hunter wasn’t even a hunter.
“......”
But Cha Eun-Hye’s fear wasn’t about that.
‘...He was right.’
He—Zeorge’s words.
To Cha Eun-Hye, her teacher was more important than the fate of Earth.
The “Promise of Eternity” had definitely included Earth, but in the end, even that had been a decision made to preserve her teacher.
Of course, it wasn’t that she had no sense of duty in protecting the planet.
Cha Eun-Hye herself might have felt a trace of pride.
Her desire to protect this country, and the world—it wasn’t a lie.
But...
‘Was that really the case?’
Sitting alone in a bedroom filled with mirrors, Cha Eun-Hye thought.
‘Do I really deserve to feel that kind of pride? Did I ever truly have it in the first place?’
Greed.
Greed.
Everything was greed.
“This is driving me crazy...”
Her teacher had truly been special.
So special that if he were to die like that, it would affect the future of Earth.
That was why, no matter what, the “Promise of Eternity” had to be carried out.
But the most fundamental reason was the students’ obstinacy.
The stubbornness that they couldn’t possibly let their teacher go this way.
Obsession.
Forcefulness.
And in that decision, her teacher’s opinion had not been included.
‘He wasn’t even in a state to say anything to begin with.’
The very last words they heard from their teacher had been that.
“I will always be here.”
That tender promise—no matter what happened, he wouldn’t abandon them and would stay by their side.
But to someone like that, what had they done...
“...Haa...”
They were disgraceful students.
‘If he regains his memories, he won’t see us in a good light.’
They could come up with excuses all they wanted.
But it didn’t matter.
They had done worse than earn his resentment.
They had used him as material to create the system.
They had taxidermized a person.
‘Has there ever been anyone who fits the word “ungrateful” more perfectly than us?’
And then, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) they went and forgot even that day’s memory.
They said it was the price they had to pay, but it was really just running away.
At least Cha Eun-Hye, who remembered everything alone, saw it that way.
They must have all been afraid.
That’s why—tragically—Cha Eun-Hye couldn’t refute Zeorge’s words.
They had done something so foolish and cruel.
They erased their teacher from the world and pretended to be heroes, as if they were righteous.
‘If only he hadn’t ended up like that on that day, then he’d be in this position instead of us... Why me? Why are we the ones here? What exactly are we so proud of? What did we even do right?’
Once again, she blamed herself.
For the past few years, her dulled mind had been filled with guilt.
It was different from when she used to smile out of obligation, responsibility, or a slight sense of satisfaction.
It felt like she’d gone back to the time before she became president.
“......”
Should she just go along with what he said?
‘According to Zeorge, the system might disappear from this world.’
Maybe that would be the right thing.
To release their teacher, who had been preserved in the most glorious yet most wretched form.
What if they just let him go without further disgrace?
But no matter how many times she thought about it, the answer remained the same.
“...No.”
The system was still necessary.
***
“I think so too.”
Dan Haera nodded.
“I thought the system might disappear someday, but it’s still too early.”
“...So you think so too?”
After pulling her thoughts together and visiting the Association, Cha Eun-Hye gave an awkward smile.
‘It’s the obvious answer, really.’
It’s not like they didn’t know the system wasn’t eternal.
Even their seemingly perfect teacher had broken down like that.
There was nothing eternal in this world.
Especially if it was something they had created with their own hands.
That’s why they dreamed of a future centuries ahead.
They lived each day for that distant time when the system might no longer be needed.
So distant that they could barely feel like humans anymore.
Maybe Dan Haera had sensed that thought.
“Of course, as you know, we’ve been preparing for a future without the system.”
“...Yeah, that’s true.”
“But now isn’t the time.”
It had only been 32 years since the Great Catastrophe.
“Only now are people barely starting to adapt to the terrible mysteries that have blanketed the world.
In the provinces, there are even more people who haven’t.
And now, if the system disappears... wouldn’t that be just too cruel?”
Dan Haera blinked twice.
“And now one of the personalities of the Black Cloak—Zeorge—is planning that cruel act?”
“As far as I can tell, yes.
His motive seems to be personal amusement.
He keeps going on about love and romance, but I don’t really get it.”
“That’s kind of a problem.
If he’s like the Collector in temperament, he might be pretty harmful.
Especially since Mr. Zeorge doesn’t seem like the type to respect boundaries like the Collector does.”
“On a fundamental level, he seems a bit different...
But I guess to outsiders, they’d look the same.”
Cha Eun-Hye thought of the pink-haired man she’d seen.
Despite his overall pale coloring, he was a flamboyant human being.
His soft, slow voice felt like a devil wearing the mask of an angel.
“...Honestly, it seems fair to say he’s doing it for amusement.”
“And this Mr. Zeorge is practically a separate entity from the Black Cloak?”
“That part is certain.
He’s not our teacher.”
A pure malice cloaked in a veil of seemingly gentle speech.
“How should I put it...”
Cha Eun-Hye hesitated before finding the words.
“...Possessed by a malicious spirit?”
“There have been plenty of cases where an evil spirit possessed someone and caused all sorts of awful trouble.
Can I assume this Mr. Zeorge is one of those?”
“For now, yes.”
“For now?”
“I don’t know what’ll happen in the future.”
You couldn’t make hasty judgments.
“You remember the case of Argio, don’t you?
Back then, he seemed like he was trying to colonize Earth under the name of an evil god.
But in the end, he taught the world about ‘rage’ and then quieted down.”
“I suppose it could be similar.
He might be deliberately provoking us to guide something through himself.
But you don’t look convinced even as you say that.”
“No matter what good intentions he might have, Zeorge is just... so irritating.”
Cha Eun-Hye hadn’t done anything right either, but Zeorge was infuriating in a hundred different ways.
He whispered about love without hesitation, bewitched people, played with them, and then vanished like it was nothing.
“...Feels like a playboy.”
“How cute.”
“In what way...?”
“Just thought it was adorable how you said that with such a serious face.”
“No, it’s just... I couldn’t find a better word for it...”
“Haewoon said his core essence is probably ‘love.’”
“I know how foolish it is to try to judge the personality of a mystical being.”
Still.
“Still, really, he’s just... ugh, he’s trash.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Feels like the type who’d smile sweetly while gaslighting you...”
Of course, Zeorge hadn’t gaslighted her.
What he’d whispered to Cha Eun-Hye the night before had been factual.
He just came off like a jerk because he was so irritating.
Cha Eun-Hye tried hard to erase her personal grudge.
Getting petty just because someone told the truth was indeed a lowly thing.
“I’m certain—Zeorge and the Black Cloak are separate beings.
To be sure, we’d need to bring in Curator Yoo Seong-Woon, the one in charge of ‘Portrait of Gio.’
Even the Black Cloak himself didn’t seem able to fully control Zeorge.”
“I’ll contact the Collector.”
“Just contact them.
I want to speak to Curator Yoo Seong-Woon separately.”
“Mm. Got it.”
Dan Haera, telepathically noting it down, looked at Cha Eun-Hye.
“Is Zeorge trying to remove the system as a prank, then?”
“Maybe that prank is part of his love, too.”
“Love, huh...
Quite the romantic we’ve got here.
Things are getting interesting.”
“You won’t think it’s fun once you meet him.”
He was like honey clinging uncomfortably to your fingers.
Cha Eun-Hye grimaced as she recalled his flamboyant presence, then folded her arms and continued.
“He’s trying to remove the system from Earth.
He doesn’t sound too serious about it, but with someone like him, who knows—he’s impossible to read.”
“I trust your judgment.
If that’s how you see it, then that’s probably how it is.”
“Zeorge used a metaphor about training wheels.
He said it’s pathetic for adults to still be riding with them.
So maybe he wants people to learn to live without the system.”
“From just that, it actually sounds like a decent goal.”
“But in the process, he’s messing with our promise.
To remove the system, he has to nullify the ‘Promise of Eternity.’
I think even the whole thing with living with Haewoon was part of that.”
“If what you say is true, then he’s proceeding with this far more meticulously than we thought...
It’s not like we didn’t anticipate it, but the scale is surprising.”
Dan Haera smiled.
“But the system is still necessary in this world.
If possible, I’d like it to last a very long time.
I don’t want to return to those pitiful, miserable times when we didn’t have it.”
“......”
“You remember, right?”
“...I remember.”
“Back then, when the weight of the sudden mysteries crashed down, people drowned in it...
I never want to see that again.
In that sense, the system was a really good teacher.”
Having no system didn’t turn a superhuman back into a civilian.
But it did make their powers so unrefined they could hardly be called abilities.
Dan Haera rolled her eyes as if recalling the past.
“Back then, those powers were... what should I say... more like a curse?”
A curse, or divine punishment.
“Either way, it was awful, right?”
“I also don’t want that day to return.”
“I’m really glad we’re on the same page.”
Dan Haera smiled like a doll.
“Haewoon and Seo-Hee seem to think a bit differently, though.”
“...Feels like things are out of sync lately.”
“We were never going to agree forever.”
“Well, we fought all the time before.
It’s just been quiet recently.”
“True, we’re all pretty strong-willed...”
“Friends fight.
I get it all.”
Cha Eun-Hye leaned back into the sofa.
“But I hope no one gets sacrificed in the process.”
Like... our teacher, for example.
‘Once is enough for that.’
Cha Eun-Hye hoped they wouldn’t become something truly monstrous.
***
“...So, you’re asking what I think?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you think that’s a really sudden question?”
“Nope.”
“You’re seriously unbelievable.”
At Jeong Hae-Woon’s sudden question, Seo Seo-Hee’s expression stiffened slightly.
He rolled his eyes a bit, then let out a small sigh and sent the vice-guildmaster away with a reluctant look.
It seemed like this was a conversation for just the two of them.
Left alone in the reception room, Seo Seo-Hee stroked his chin.
“Want me to be totally honest?”
“Yeah.”
“Fifty-fifty. That’s how it is for me.”
“You sly bastard.”
“But I can’t help it.”
Seo Seo-Hee gave a troubled expression.
“I definitely want to remember.
To remember what I did wrong, and what kind of person that man was.
Because staying like this—it’s just so disgustingly uncomfortable.”
“And?”
“But that’s not enough.
I get hundreds, thousands of reports every day.
The world’s still chaotic.
For people who have barely adapted to dungeons and monsters, the absence of the system would be... too cruel.”
“Let me ask you something.”
Jeong Hae-Woon frowned as he spoke.
He had gone back to the abandoned school after the portrait calmed down, and there he realized something incredibly important.
Thanks to having lived alongside the portrait for a while, he’d managed to keep his cool.
Jeong Hae-Woon, now regaining his composure, told Seo Seo-Hee what he had realized.
“If the system was created from ‘Teacher Sergio’... what then?”
“...Fuck.”
“Wow, haven’t heard you curse in ages.”
“...Fuck. So...”
“I can say it clearly.
The system is the sacrifice of the few for the many.”
“......”
“I’m asking again.”
Jeong Hae-Woon asked in a flat, emotionless tone.
“What do you think?”
“...A world without the system?”
“No.
The teacher.”
“...I don’t know.”
“Same here.”
With a sigh, Jeong Hae-Woon rubbed his face.
“This was all screwed up from the start.”
It was the kind of situation that made you want to scream and tear your hair out.
