BRDM 182

chapter 182

At the very moment when Heracles and Perseus were trapped inside the rabbit hole—

[Entering a new dungeon!]
[The magical current is too turbulent. Entry is being delayed slightly.]

Lee Hyun was being transported to another dungeon.

‘Since I sent Ramon and the raid team out safely, they should’ve reached the surface by now.’

What people called the “Deep Sea Dungeon,” or the Rift, wasn’t a single place.
It was a massive cluster of dozens of dungeons all connected together beneath the sea.

The Demon King’s seal lay in an overlapping zone that linked Jack and the Beanstalk to another dungeon.

Whoooosh—!

Riding on the back of a newly summoned thunder whale, Lee Hyun let the currents carry him.
It had taken Sun Wukong and his companions quite some time to reach this area, and Lee Hyun expected no less for himself.

Rumble—!

As the thunder whale groaned, he finally managed to remove the Golden Arhat Mask from his face.

“Phew!”

He let out a deep breath without realizing it.

‘Fighting back-to-back like this… it’s really wearing me down.’

The battle with Heracles and Perseus had been dangerously close.
A single mistake, and he could’ve lost Astraphe—and the mask itself might have been ripped off.

‘If I hadn’t awakened my second stage ahead of time, I’d probably be dead by now. No—captured, most likely.’

Especially since Heracles had been absurdly strong.
Just meeting his eyes had made Hyun’s skin prickle.

‘Even with my Jet form, I could barely keep up… If I’d fought him head-on as Thunderstrike, I’d have lost for sure.’

So Hyun had used the terrain of Nimbus Cloud to his advantage, focusing instead on taking down Perseus rather than Heracles.

The result?
A perfect success.

His inventory was overflowing with spoils.

‘I thought just getting the Aegis Shield would be a jackpot… but to get the Talaria, the Kibisis, and even the Harpe? Unreal.’

He suddenly thought of Nata—the “generous tree” who had given him so much before.
If he brought these to Elder Dochul, the old man would be thrilled… or maybe complain about having more work to do.

‘Still, the Kibisis alone will be incredibly useful. It’s sturdy, easy to store things in… and it has some unexpected effects too.’

[Kibisis (키비시스)]

The divine pouch used by the ancient hero Perseus to safely carry Medusa’s severed head.
Its interior is linked to a subspace dimension, allowing it to hold massive or countless objects regardless of its outer size.
However, Medusa’s petrifying curse still lingers within—look too long inside, and one risks hallucinations or turning to stone.

• Effects: Dimensional Storage, Power of Sealing, Aura of Death, Dimensional Leakage.

• Type: Sacred Relic – Storage/Sealing-type Inventory.

• Origin: Mythology – Theogony.

‘The Aura of Death and Dimensional Leakage—those two are really interesting.’

The Aura of Death caused traces of Medusa’s curse to seep into whatever was stored inside.
Meanwhile, Dimensional Leakage referred to Medusa’s whispers leaking out from the pouch at intervals.

Just keeping something inside the Kibisis would slowly imbue it with the legend of Medusa—granting it a permanent magical effect.

A divine treasure beyond compare.

Hyun transferred everything from his old inventory into the Kibisis.

‘I’ve gained so much since coming to Guam.’

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

‘Of course, I’ll have to keep the Chalice of Resurrection close too.’

There was something he wanted to test with it.

But among all the loot, one thing in particular drew his attention.

“This… this is what matters most.”

His eyes turned sharp and cold.

Perseus’s plaster mask.

Tap, tap.

Hyun examined it closely, his gaze narrowing.

“How the hell was this even made?”

[Perseus’s Mask]

A plaster mask imbued with the legend of the ancient hero Perseus.
Originating from the Greek prosopon used in Dionysian theatre, it grants the wearer not just the memories and skills, but the very ego, personality, and identity of Perseus himself.

• Type: Ritual Artifact.

• Origin: The Dionysian Mysteries.

For years, countless guilds and intelligence agencies had been obsessed with one question:

Why did all the sons of Zeus—especially those called “Heroes”—wear these masks?

‘Even when I pretended to be a “Disciple of Zeus,” I got the idea from them.’

The theories varied:

—“Do they wear masks just to hide their identities?”
—“If so, do they conceal their powers as hunters too?”
—“But that’s impossible—transcendents can’t hide their legends.”
—“Then how come none of Zeus’s sons have ever been unmasked in the real world?”

It was absurd.
Even secret societies leaked information eventually.
And yet, for all their influence, nothing concrete about Zeus’s offspring had ever surfaced.

Eventually, a rumor began to circulate among intelligence circles:

“What if the mask itself is the source of their power?”
“What if they only gain their abilities while wearing it?”

If true, that would change everything.
It would mean they could switch between different legends by simply changing masks.

But all such speculation had died down.

Why?

Because every intelligence agency that analyzed a recovered mask found nothing.
No trace of any mechanism that activated a legend.

Still—

‘What if that theory wasn’t wrong after all?’

Tapping the mask with his finger, Hyun activated the Eye of Revelation.

[Activating the Sacred Relic: Eye of Revelation — observing hidden secrets!]

Golden light flared in his pupils.

And then—he saw something.

Floating just above the center of the mask’s forehead was a small white crystal, like a shard of gemstone.
It looked exactly like a fragment of the snow sapphire embedded in Astraphe’s staff.

[Astraphe reacts!]

The moment Hyun recognized it, his staff began to hum violently—almost joyfully, as though it had found its missing half.

[A fragment of Astraphe detected.]

“Just as I thought.”

Hyun’s eyes narrowed.

Even when he first fought Heracles and Perseus, he’d sensed something familiar about them.
A faint resonance with Astraphe’s energy.

At first, he’d dismissed it as coincidence—they were, after all, connected to Zeus.
But the longer they fought, the more certain he became.
Their power felt identical to his own Astraphe fragment.

The strange thing was—they clearly had no idea.

Now it was clear:

‘Even the mask’s original owners don’t know its true secret.’

The sons of Zeus could swap their “legends” freely because of the Astraphe fragments embedded in these masks.

‘Which means… someone is making these for them.’

Two names immediately came to mind.

Hephaestus—the divine craftsman who forged weapons for the gods.
And Dionysus—the god who presided over the theatre of masks.

Hyun stroked his chin.

‘If I can trace this back, I might uncover Astraphe’s origin… and maybe more about Zeus’s children too.’

“I’ll have to speak with Maxens.”

With that, Hyun poured his mana into the mask.

Crack—!

A small fissure appeared at the forehead, and the white shard popped free.

[Collected an Astraphe Fragment from Perseus’s Mask!]
[Astraphe’s staff has been enhanced.]
[All auxiliary abilities linked to Astraphe have increased slightly.]

The snow sapphire on his staff gleamed brighter, pulsing with pure white light.

Flash—! Crackle!

Thunder surged through Hyun’s veins.

‘Good thing I linked my second awakening to Astraphe.’

He smiled faintly.
Another step toward growth.

And then—

[Destination reached.]

The thunder whale descended deep into the ocean trench, stopping before a massive iron gate.

Deep Below

‘It’s huge.’

Hyun swallowed dryly.

The door loomed large enough to cover an entire mountain, and through the slight opening poured a violent torrent of “presence”—so dense it felt like it could crush him flat.

Before, he’d never have gotten this close—the spiritual currents alone would’ve swept him away.

But now…

“Nimbus Cloud.”

[Activating Nimbus Cloud to repel external pressure.]

Golden mist spiraled outward from him in concentric rings, pushing back against the raging currents.

Nimbus Cloud wasn’t just a vehicle—it could serve as a defensive barrier, and sometimes—

Crackle!

—a generator for lightning itself, a thundercloud.

[Nimbus Cloud generates thunder. Synergy with Thunder Fiend’s Roar (SSS) doubles the effect.]
[The Fiend’s Mantle is empowered.]

“Huuu…”

As Hyun exhaled, his breath merged with the cloud.
Electricity danced within the golden mist, followed by rolling thunder.

Rumble… Rumble…!

It sounded like a celestial demon growling from above.

Among all of Sun Wukong’s relics, Nimbus Cloud had the best affinity with him.
Thanks to it, the thunder whale carried him easily into the deepest depths.

He passed through a space of utter darkness—so deep it felt endless—until land appeared ahead.

With a burst of light, Hyun stepped off the Nimbus Cloud, hovering midair.
He drew the Infernal Blade of Flame, and reached for Yurigum, the glass sword sheathed beneath the Veil of Frost.

It was time to shed Thunderstrike and return to Jet.

[The saga of the Snow Queen warns of danger.]
[The saga of Sahun awakens briefly, sharpening its gaze.]

“….”

A chill ran through him.

He could feel it—the sting of battle still hanging in the air.
The atmosphere was completely different from when the Sea King had been possessed.

‘A fight happened here.’

The sealing chamber was in ruins.
Scorch marks, craters, and lingering explosions scarred the ground.

Rumble… crack!

An earthquake shook the cave, dust raining from the ceiling.

It was a miracle the place hadn’t collapsed.

‘The Great Sage is fighting the Demon King… Is it because his mind’s been corrupted?’

And then—

“Ojeong!?”

In the far corner, leaning against the wall and gasping heavily, was Sha Wujing—his body in tatters.

“Kehehe… To think I’d show you such a pitiful sight, my lord… Heh. I wanted to look cool in front of you, but alas.”

Even his trademark laugh sounded weak.
Blood covered him, and his aura wavered dangerously.

Hyun rushed to support him.

“What happened? What’s going on!?”

“Heh… As expected, the Seven Great Saints are monsters among monsters. I thought only my senior brother was a freak… but there’s another one.”

Hyun tore open a vial of high-grade potion and helped Wujing drink it.

His hands trembled.

The same Sha Wujing who’d once teased even Sun Wukong looked utterly broken.

“My brother… and sister-in-law… they’re in there right now, fighting the Demon King.”

He pointed weakly toward the dark depths ahead.

Hyun followed his gaze.

A heavy, suffocating tension filled the air.

Through the Eye of Revelation, he saw—

BOOM!

Chains and manacles whirled like weapons in the hands of the Demon King, his power bursting forth in a frenzy.

Facing him—smirking coldly, striking without hesitation—

was none other than Sun Wukong himself.

“…!?”

Wait—weren’t they supposed to be on the same side!?

For a moment, Hyun’s jaw dropped in disbelief.