I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 453: Bom's Friend is

Dungeons could also be born from someone's desperate desire for help.

The despair of about three hundred shantytown residents was enough to create a dungeon.

'I wonder if the shantytown people prayed to their divine beasts for help.'

If so, the divine beasts would likely have emerged from the dungeon.

The problem was why Josephine was revealing this important fact.

'She didn't care what I did in the village...'

Didn't despair need to exist for dungeons to open and divine beasts to appear?

As that thought struck me, my ears perked straight up.

"No way..."

"...You've succeeded in summoning and controlling divine beasts, haven't you?"

"Yes. I finally did it."

So she didn't care what we did in the shantytown because she'd already succeeded in controlling the divine beasts?

We'd been dancing in Josephine's palm from the very beginning.

"What do you plan to do with these controlled divine beasts?"

I didn't know all divine beasts, but I was aware their powers were beyond imagination.

Even the Long-lived Horned Rabbit had the ability to block others' mana.

According to Bom and Levinas, the Imugi had abilities comparable to the Long-lived Horned Rabbit.

Was Josephine controlling all these divine beasts?

I swallowed nervously, but Josephine merely shrugged.

"Who knows? I haven't decided yet."

"What...?"

"This all started from a scholar's curiosity. Could we control the divine beasts we worship? That kind of curiosity."

"...That curiosity has caused many people to suffer."

"It's unfortunate. I had no real malice though?"

Josephine's smile sent chills down my spine.

I thought she was a villain drunk on power, but she was actually a scholar obsessed with research and devoid of ethics.

That seemed even more dangerous.

"Are all the nobles scholars too?"

"No, I just selected people who enjoy tormenting others. They became so engrossed in their noble positions that they taxed everyone mercilessly."

Hehe.

Josephine laughed as if genuinely amused.

Seeing that, I unconsciously clenched my fist.

"So it was you who tormented my family..."

"I'm sorry. But at least I released the horned rabbit friend quickly."

"Released?"

"Yes. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out how to control the Horned Rabbit tribe's divine beast. But the Imugi is different."

"What?"

Imugi?

Just as I was mentally repeating the word, I heard a scream from far away.

"Kyaah!"

My ears shot up at Bom's scream.

I ignored Josephine and ran toward Bom.

"...!"

Dozens of monsters surrounded Bom.

The wall of monsters was so thick I couldn't even see her properly.

What could I do without weapons?

As I desperately approached the monster barrier, I realized something.

The monsters weren't attacking Bom.

"Bom!"

"Gyeoul!"

As we meaninglessly called each other's names, I heard Josephine walking up behind me.

The fact that there was no mockery or malice in Josephine's smile made me even more tense.

"Would you like to make a deal with me, Gyeoul?"

"A-a deal...?"

"Yes. I'll give you the village, just give me the Imugi. That's all I need now."

"If you need the Imugi, why Bom..."

"Oh my, you didn't know?"

Josephine slipped through the gap between the massive monsters.

I couldn't help but shudder at her narrowed eyes and smiling lips.

"No way..."

Bom, who used strange magic I'd never seen before and loved rising high into the sky.

I realized how similar Bom was to the Imugi.

Of course, what Bom truly was didn't matter to me.

Bom was just Bom.

"I can't give you Bom."

"Is that so?"

Josephine gestured to a monster behind her.

Then a gigantic one-eyed monster grabbed Bom.

"Kyaah!"

I rushed forward at Bom's scream, but the dense wall of monsters made it impossible to get through.

"Then I'll just notify you unilaterally. Ah! You can have the village, I don't mind."

"You...!"

I desperately activated my ability.

The ability to see the world in slow motion.

Dozens of monsters and Josephine froze like a snapshot.

In that state, I ran toward a small gap between the monsters.

Pitter-patter-!

I dashed forward, pushing off the ground and leaping into the air.

My target was the small gap between a monster's massive arm and waist.

While in mid-air, I twisted my body and slipped past the monster's side.

What I saw then was yet another monster.

Fortunately, the second monster behind had many openings.

Perhaps they hadn't expected me to get this far?

I passed through the giant monster's wide-open legs with a sliding tackle.

That way, I was able to reach the monster holding Bom.

Without weapons, how could I deal with the monster that had captured Bom?

After some thought, I picked up a sharp stone from the ground.

My target was the one-eyed monster's eye.

I jumped up and struck the monster's eye with the edge of the stone.

No matter how strong a creature is, the eye is always a weakness.

With that thought, I struck down with all my might, but...

Woong-!

A blue curtain appeared in front of the one-eyed monster's eye.

The curtain blocked my attack and pushed me back like a slingshot.

Bang!

"...!"

My body was flung backward, tracing a parabolic arc.

As I was pushed back, I could see it.

A small turtle sitting on Josephine's shoulder.

'A divine beast...!'

I instinctively knew that the small turtle was a divine beast.

As proof that she'd succeeded in controlling divine beasts, the turtle's eyes were unfocused.

Thud-!

After spotting the turtle, I landed gracefully.

It was thanks to not being thrown too hard.

"Gyeoul, I truly have no malice. So please just sleep for a while. When you wake up, everything will be over."

"I won't—"

Just as I was about to shout that I wouldn't allow it, something fell from the sky.

It was a large amount of sparkling powder reflecting the sunlight.

'What is this?'

Whoosh-

The soft sound of wings flapping.

Looking up, I saw a giant butterfly flying in the sky.

Its gentle wingbeats were dreamlike.

As I stared blankly at the butterfly—

**

"Gyeoul! Gyeoul!"

Someone was shaking my body.

When I carefully opened my eyes, I met Han Yeoreum's worried expression.

"Gyeoul, are you okay?!"

"Yes, yes..."

When did I fall asleep?

I rubbed my eyes and sat leaning against a tree.

As my blurry vision cleared, I could see Han Yeoreum covered in dirt.

"Monsters attacked the village, so I was shocked."

"Ah..."

At the word "monsters," all the memories from before I fell asleep came rushing back.

I'd lost Bom, blocked by monsters and divine beasts.

I lowered my head in despair, then slapped my own cheeks and stood up.

Having witnessed several miraculous events, this wasn't even enough to make me despair.

"Josephine! Josephine kidnapped Bom!"

"B-Bom?"

"Yes!"

I explained everything that had happened to Yeoreum.

Josephine's true purpose, and the fact that Bom might not be an ordinary beast-kin.

After hearing the whole story, Yeoreum let out a sigh of relief.

"So killing isn't her objective?"

"Right. She didn't kill me either."

"...That's somewhat fortunate, I guess."

Yeoreum looked down at her waist.

She seemed to feel empty without her usual sword.

"We need to go rescue Bom quickly."

"Yeah. But I think we need to recover our weapons first. Even as your big sister, I'd struggle without a weapon."

"Yes..."

We definitely needed our weapons.

Though time was of the essence, Josephine's goal wasn't to kill Bom.

Bom must be scared, but please wait just a little longer.

I clenched my fist tightly and ran to find Nora.

We had to retrieve the weapons she had taken.

**

Thump! Thump!

Bom woke up to the sound of the ground trembling.

She tried to rub her eyes, but for some reason her hands wouldn't move.

"Huh?"

Looking around, Bom realized she was being held by some monster.

Startled, she called out the names of those who might help her.

"Gyeoul! Saebyeok! Levinas! Gaeul!"

Those four were all the people Bom trusted.

When she couldn't think of anyone else to call, Bom closed her mouth.

With so few friends, there weren't many people to ask for help.

Bom felt dejected.

Of course, Bom also had Marin, but Marin couldn't leave the lake.

Actually, having just thrown a tantrum at Marin, Bom felt too embarrassed to call her name and ask for help.

Only calling Marin when needed.

That was worse than playing naughty tricks.

"..."

Bom, caught in the one-eyed monster's hand, relaxed her body.

She couldn't escape on her own, and there weren't many people who would come to save her.

Four precious friends.

They were all Bom had, but she found herself hoping they wouldn't come.

After all, she'd seen how helpless Gyeoul was against these special monsters.

Bom didn't want to see her friends in danger.

Though her friends were strong, just four people couldn't defeat all these monsters.

So Bom kept quiet.

"..."

If only she had dozens of friends, she would have called them all wildly.

Would that have scared Josephine away?

Bom felt pathetic for not having many friends.

The price for playing naughty tricks was steep.