Side Story Chapter 172 - Paradise (2)

Crackle! Crackle!

White sparks flew from a cracked space resembling broken glass. Oh Kang-Woo whistled as he stood before the white Rift.

“Looks like we’re at the right place.”

A Rift to Luceo Pure, the paradise world created by Akart where souls of the people of Earth he had saved resided, was right before them.

“Are we heading there right now Kang-Woo?” Echidna asked.

“Of course. It’s not like we have anything more to do here.”

“Hm... I wanted to play the card game too.”

Echidna drooped her shoulders in disappointment. Kang-Woo smiled and patted her head.

“We’ll come back later and play.”

“Hm! I wanna play against you too, Kang-Woo!”

“Hehehe. You think you’re a match for me?”

“I’ll bite you if you cheat!! Rawr!”

Echidna clenched her fists and fiercely bared her teeth. Kang-Woo couldn’t help but laugh at how cute she was despite trying to look threatening.

“Where are you gonna bite?”

“Your balls!”

“No.”

‘Anywhere but there.’

“Grrrrr! You’d better watch out, Kang-Woo!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Kang-Woo lowered his hand patting Echidna and pinched her cheek. “Right, then.”

He approached the Rift spewing white sparks.

Han Seol-Ah stood beside him and asked, “I wonder what kind of place it is?”

“Who knows? I can’t think of anything concrete.”

Kang-Woo had no idea what kind of world Akart would have created.

“Perhaps it’s like a world you would see in children’s books?” Seol-Ah wondered as she smiled faintly.

She seemed to be having fantasies about the world since it was called a

paradise

.

“I mean, I’d guess it’s more normal than you’d think. You said Akart is more normal than you thought he’d be, right?” said Cha Yeon-Joo as she interlocked her fingers behind her head.

She had never seen the Titan but he was nothing like what she had imagined based on what Kang-Woo had told her.

Yeon-Joo continued, “Honestly, I thought he’d be some psycho rampaging with no objective.”

“Oh, me too.”

“Considering his retainers... I think it’s natural for anyone to think that way.”

Layla and Kim Si-Hun nodded in agreement.

“He

is

crazy,” replied Kang-Woo firmly.

“I mean, he is, but I’m saying he’s not as crazy as I—”

“No, he’s crazier than my expectations.”

“Really...?” Yeon-Joo tilted her head in confusion.

Kang-Woo walked past Yeon-Joo staring at him questionably and stood before the white Rift.

“Those absorbed by righteousness...” He stared at the white Rift with narrow eyes. “Are usually crazier than those absorbed by malice.”

He was reminded of the overly pure, noble, and righteous Titan.

“Let’s... go,” Kang-Woo said bitterly as he stepped into the white Rift.

***

They were met with a white world beyond the Rift. The ground and walls were made of white marble. The rocks along the riverside were also white.

“This place... kind of reminds me of the Hall of Protection,” remarked Seol-Ah as she looked around.

“Does it? I think they’re different.” Layla, who lived in the Hall of Protection, shook her head.

“They are?”

“Yes. The Hall of Protection is simply built with white materials, but this place...” Layla narrowed her eyes as she touched the white wall. “It’s like the space itself is white.”

The world was so deathly white that it was somehow chilling.

“...”

“...”

Silence fell as the party members were overwhelmed by the odd atmosphere of

Paradise

.

“Hyung-nim... Will you strike Akart right away?” asked Si-Hun as he placed his hand over the hilt of his sword.

“No, we have to do something before that.”

Lilith narrowed her eyes and asked, “Are you going to fulfill Midir’s awakening condition?”

“Yeah.”

Midir’s final awakening condition had to be fulfilled before the final battle against Akart.

Kang-Woo remarked, “We’re going to disguise ourselves from here on out.”

Lilith nodded. “Hmm. I agree. We will need a disguise if we don’t want Akart to discover us.”

“But what as?” Yeon-Joo asked.

“Entrion.”

“Oh. Right, I guess there’s no other option.”

According to the Duel King, missionaries from Akart’s world crossed into Zexal from time to time. In other words, Akart knew his world was connected to Zexal. Disguising themselves as Entrion was the most efficient in avoiding the retainers’ suspicions.

“Urgh... Kang-Woo, do we have to disguise ourselves as those ugly monsters?” Echidna asked as she frowned in disgust.

“Just bear with it. We can lose the disguise once we’ve gathered enough from our investigation.”

“But is there a way for us to disguise ourselves as Entrion?” Layla asked.

“But of course.”

Kang-Woo was confident that his skills of deception could fool even the Titans. He activated the Authority of Blades and cut open his palm.

Wriggle.

Black mucus flowed from his palm. It gathered on the ground and turned into a three-meter extraterrestrial creature.

“Hmm.”

It had a glossy exoskeleton, six eyes, arms so long that it could brush the ground, and spikes protruding from the forearms.

“It’s perfect.”

Even Kang-Woo was impressed by the quality despite making it himself.

“Urgh... do we have to control this thing from inside it?” Yeon-Joo asked.

“Yup.”

“It kind of looks like an alien suit.”

“Don’t say that... it makes me even more reluctant to get into this thing.”

Kang-Woo’s party members cringed at how lifelike the suit was.

“Alright, each of you, get into one,” Kang-Woo remarked.

“Okay, Kang-Woo.”

“Ngh... I guess we have no choice.”

They each got into an Entrion suit and walked along a street made of white marble.

“Hehehehe!”

“Hey, wait up!”

“Hehe! This way, hurry!”

Giggles could be heard from afar after about an hour of walking. The high-pitched voices seemed to belong to children. Kang-Woo and the others headed toward the source of the sounds.

“Huh...?”

Three children playing in a small garden filled with flowers stared at Kang-Woo and the others wide-eyed. They seemed no older than six or seven.

“Hey, Oh Kang-Woo. What if they faint at the sight of us?” asked Yeon-Joo worryingly in her Entrion suit.

The children running around in Paradise looked similar to humans on Earth based on appearance.

‘No.’

They weren’t just similar— they were humans.

“Hmm...” Kang-Woo groaned.

If those children were humans, it was obvious how they would react from seeing a three-meter-tall grotesque alien. They would scream right about n—

“WOW!!!”

“Where did you guys come from?”

“IT’S SO NICE TO MEET YOOOOOUUUU!!!”

The children cheered with bright smiles. A brown-haired boy among the three children raised his hand.

“I’m Dale!! That’s my name!!” the boy shouted as he waved with a smile. He seemed like a troublemaker since he was missing a front tooth.

“Hehe... My name is John!!” A dazed blond boy bowed as he scratched his head.

“I-I’m... Emily...” A red-haired girl smiled shyly as she hid behind Dale and pulled on his clothes.

“Uhh, yeah. Nice to meet you guys too.”

Yeon-Joo smiled awkwardly and raised his hand. The dangerous spike on the suit was swung menacingly.

“Oh, this is—”

“WOOOOOW!!”

“That spike is so cool!!”

“Could we see it up close?”

The three children ran up to Yeon-Joo with sparkling eyes as Yeon-Joo was about to pull back her arm in panic. Their eyes reflected no fear for the alien.

“E-Eh? G-Guys, wait!!!”

The children surrounded Yeon-Joo. She shouted flusteredly but the children touched various parts of her suit with innocent smiles.

“Wh-Who are these children?” Seol-Ah wondered.

“Ngh.” Kang-Woo clicked his tongue, never having expected such an out-of-the-blue development. “They seem to be this world’s residents...”

“Could they be the souls of Earth whom Akart claimed to have saved?”

“It’s possible.”

Of course, nothing could be said for certain.

‘They could be children brought from another world.’

They could also have been residents of this

Paradise

since they were born.

“Hmm. It looks like a thorough investigation is in order,” Lilith remarked.

“Yeah, we can take our time figuring things out.”

They had only just reached this world; they naturally wouldn’t know everything from the start.

“Wow! This armor is awesome!”

“It looks so sturdy!”

“K-Kids, why don’t you calm down a little...?” Yeon-Joo slurred awkwardly as she dealt with the kids surrounding her.

“Hehe! Can you show us that spike again?”

“Unnie— umm, you’re a girl, right? Where did you come from, unnie?”

“Ngh.” Yeon-Joo stepped backward. “I-I’m not good with kids...”

She seemed to be having trouble dealing with the bombardment of questions from the innocent children. She softly waved her arm to get the children off her but had forgotten something due to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Ah—”

Slash!!

The arm Yeon-Joo had waved grazed Emily’s chest. Normally, it would have been no problem but she was wearing the sharp exoskeleton of an alien.

Spurt—!!!

Emily’s chest was slashed open by the sharp armor, dark red blood spewing like a fountain.

“I-I’m sorry!!! I’m so sorry!!! N-No, this isn’t the time for apologies!! W-We have to stop the bleeding!!! U-U-Unnie will treat you right away!!!”

Yeon-Joo put pressure on Emily’s chest in shock and quickly turned to Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo nodded and approached Emily to use the Authority of Regeneration.

“H-Hehe.” Just then, the little girl with a massive wound on her chest smiled brightly. “Is this your first time here?”

“Huh...?”

“It’s so nice to meet you, unnie!!”

The girl spread out her blood-soaked arms as she danced, her red twin braids fluttering in the air.

“Welcome!!!” The little girl shouted energetically. “To Luceo Pure!”

The smile of the little girl was radiant beyond belief.