The Artist Who Paints Dungeon
Chapter 188

“I shall show you a special skill.”

“...Out of nowhere?”

After finishing his meal, Gio dashed toward the shoreline.

“Tada.”

“......”

“The miracle of Moses.”

“Put it back.”

“If not now, when else would I do this?”

“Do it at home.”

As Joo-Hyun recoiled from the sight of the sea being split in two, Gio meekly obeyed. The beach near the pension was more rock and stone than sand, and the water was fairly deep. Gio flopped down on top of it.

“I don’t have any other tricks prepared.”

“What you’re doing right now is already quite the trick.”

“Can’t all hunters do this?”

“Of course not. Hunters aren’t water striders.”

“Am I a water strider?”

“Well, lying flat like that sure makes you look like one.”

“Then I shall lie here for a while. It’s comfortable.”

“Hm...”

Sitting on a nearby rock, Joo-Hyun looked around with a hint of worry.

“It’s getting dark. Will you be alright out here?”

“If it’s the darkness that concerns you, there’s a solution.”

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“What are you about to do?”

“I was going to summon the waterbirds.”

“Ah, the waterbirds.”

Recalling the small and harmless birds, Joo-Hyun visibly relaxed.

“Apologies. I do tend to worry a lot.”

“There is no need to apologize when it's out of consideration for one another.”

And then, Gio sat in the sea.

“......?”

“You’re sitting now?”

“Yes, I am sitting.”

“I know Gio is an unusual case in many ways, but this is just...”

“Is it surprising?”

“Yes.”

“I feel the same.”

“...I see!”

Though he seemed more adept these days, he was still a portrait clumsily imitating humanity. Just because he constantly forced himself into the human mold didn’t mean he was naturally empathetic.

“So, how are you going to summon the waterbirds now?”

“They’re already here.”

“......”

Something entered Joo-Hyun’s field of vision.

“Ah.”

Next to Gio’s now semi-translucent feet, tiny things—like flowers or fruit—floated gently. It was dark, and with the movement of water, it was hard to see clearly. But it was unmistakably a trace of the waterbirds.

“They’ve already arrived. Since when?”

“They’ve been here since I dipped my feet in.”

“Aha...”

“You should come up here too, Joo-Hyun.”

“I’ll probably fall.”

“I’ll help you.”

“...If you insist.”

Splash.

But Joo-Hyun didn’t sink.

“This feels weird.”

He was walking on the surface of the sea. Even though he wasn’t awakened.

“You can see them better up here.”

“You can see them moving together?”

“Yes, and more of them than I expected.”

“They are social creatures, after all.”

“Even so... it’s still dark out.”

“It will be bright soon.”

Sitting on the water’s surface, Gio swirled his legs in the sea.

“Once they make this place their nest, that is.”

And then, the waterbirds clustered and began to glow.

“......”

“There it is.”

It was like lights had turned on beneath the ocean.

“...It’s like there are fireflies underwater.”

“Have you ever seen fireflies?”

“They’re extinct, so I’ve never seen them in nature, but I did participate in restoration research... so I know what they look like.”

“There are more extinct species than I expected. It saddens me.”

“If you did see them for real... would it feel like this?”

“I thought they resembled bioluminescent jellyfish.”

“That too... makes sense.”

A calm smile spread across Joo-Hyun’s face.

“They’re golden.”

“I’ve never seen them shine in any other color.”

“They must really like it here.”

That golden glow—something only seen from Gio’s hut during spring nights on the terrace. When waterbirds clustered like this, it was a sign of their happiness.

“...It’s beautiful.”

The sea shimmered with gold.

Like a sun forged of gold had melted and soaked into the waves, it was a breathtaking brilliance, as if the cosmos had descended into the sea.

He splashed lightly, and the waterbirds responded with affectionate movements.

“They’re cute too.”

“That’s one of their most charming traits.”

“I can see that.”

Though Joo-Hyun was not awakened and couldn’t fully perceive the waterbirds beneath the surface, what he could see—flowers, fruits, and gems—was enough to feel their affection. They truly liked this sea.

“Technically speaking, they came on the trip with us, huh...”

Golden water scales danced across Joo-Hyun’s hand, his retinas, and the jagged rocks around them.

“They’re probably even happier being with their family.”

“I think so too.”

“It’s incredibly bright.”

Though they sat atop a chilly sea, his whole body felt as if basking in the warmth of spring sunlight.

“......”

“Joo-Hyun.”

Gio called out to his friend.

“You mustn’t go too far.”

“...Ah.”

“You can’t breathe underwater, after all.”

Only then did Joo-Hyun realize his arm had been reaching far too deep into the sea.

“......”

He turned to Gio.

“...This is kind of dangerous, isn’t it?”

“My children aren’t dangerous.”

“This is like... water ghosts.”

“Water ghosts drag people into the water, don’t they?”

“There are ones that lure you in too, from what I’ve heard.”

“Earth’s gotten pretty frightening.”

“...Even things this beautiful can be dangerous.”

Wearing a helpless smile, Joo-Hyun folded his legs and sat cross-legged on the surface. He let out a short sigh and pressed his fingers to his forehead.

He had been briefly entranced by the waterbirds’ wondrous light.

‘Probably because I’m not awakened.’

Yoo Seong-Woon wouldn’t have been mesmerized so easily.

“Please refrain from summoning these friends in crowded civilian areas.”

“Even if I don’t call them, waterbirds can find homes they desire.”

“...Wait—are you saying they’ve already scattered elsewhere? Is that right?”

“Being living water, I suppose you could say they have.”

“Where did they go?”

“Likely into one of my paintings.”

“Into your paintings...”

“There are only a few, so don’t worry.”

Gio reassured her.

“They wouldn’t cluster like this elsewhere.”

“...So that means they’re less likely to charm people?”

“If you call it being charmed just for enjoying something beautiful, that’s a little embarrassing—but yes, it should just appear pretty.”

“Well, that’s a relief...”

“They probably went to the City of Void or the Four-Legged Rainforest.”

“...Why would they go into already cleared dungeons—no, wait. Could you please mention things like that in advance?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Gio looked down at the water’s surface.

“You can see similar sights in the ‘Nation of the Deep Sea.’”

“Wasn’t that the place you called your homeland, Giovanni?”

“Yes. There, instead of below, you gaze upward to see the Milky Way.”

“The Milky Way, huh... I wonder what that feels like.”

“It’s a Milky Way born from the sea’s lifeforms.”

Giovanni stirred the golden sea and laughed.

“I’ll invite you there soon.”

“......”

The affection and pride in that voice made Joo-Hyun nod softly.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

What a poor, poor man.

***

“What was Giovanni’s world like?”

As he gazed out at the golden sea, Yoo Seong-Woon asked the question, and Aria turned to look at him.

“Why are you asking now?”

“There are questions you can only ask now.”

“Well, that’s a fair point.”

Aria nodded.

“It’s been a while since I’ve talked about that man...”

“I asked about his homeland, not him, though.”

“Shut it, structure manager. The only world I ever knew was Giovanni.”

“Well, then. That makes sense.”

These merfolk had a kind of blind faith to them.

“How much can you tell me?”

“As long as you’re under the teacher’s protection, I can tell you anything.”

“That’s... impressive loyalty.”

As he watched Gio and Joo-Hyun sitting by the sea cliff’s edge, Yoo Seong-Woon asked again.

“What kind of person was Giovanni in that world?”

“I thought you already had a rough idea.”

Yet Aria explained willingly.

“He was... truly a saint of the century. To the world, he was the son of a god manifest among filthy humans. To his neighbors, he was a noble friend and devoted adult. To the church, he was a precious genius who upheld their prestige.”

She continued, expression calm.

“Even so, he died far too easily.”

“That’s just how humans are. They’re not meant for eternity.”

“Which is why they’re so repulsive and detestable.”

It was the kind of murderous urge one felt when finding an insect crawling onto your bed.

“Now then, want to hear how he was executed?”

“If you’ll tell me, I’d be grateful.”

“First, they tortured him on land. Just enough that his body barely held together...”

“And after that?”

“They threw him into a giant tank filled with seawater.”

Aria wasn’t looking at the golden sea anymore—she was staring at Yoo Seong-Woon.

“They bound him in chains and sealed the tank shut.”

“Why would they do that?”

“The priests of the Sun said that if he truly were the son of the sun, he’d survive even in freezing water.”

“And the result?”

“He survived.”

Giovanni didn’t die for over four months in that tank.

“Yet they never pulled him out.”

Some came to believe he was the son of the sun. Others insisted it was the sea’s divine power. Either way, they were all deeply terrified of him.

“If he was truly the sun’s child, they’d treated him too harshly to redeem. If he belonged to the sea instead, then he was a monster even worse than the merfolk. They said he had to die before he could take revenge.”

But it wasn’t just fear of revenge.

“Public opinion was a problem too.”

“They were a religious group. Why would they care about that?”

“They had more power than kings.”

Giovanni had once been the perfect child of the sun, beloved by all. If it were revealed he was actually divine by blood, not even the Church of the Sun could handle the fallout.

“There were factions within the church growing skeptical. It was already spiraling.”

“So how did the Church respond?”

“They used my disgraceful little brother, who’d been captured around then.”

They starved and tortured him too, and threw him into the tank with Giovanni.

“They wanted to stage a hideous spectacle to silence doubt.”

But Iser endured, and Giovanni did not die—divinely protected to the end. Unable to bear their own terror, the priests poisoned the tank.

“And so my brother, driven by hunger, devoured Giovanni.”

“Wouldn’t Giovanni have been poisoned too? If it was in the tank...”

“Even then, he barely reacted.”

Aria’s eyes finally turned to the surface of the sea, where Gio sat.

“And so he probably thought Giovanni was already dead when he ate him.”

Iser did.

He hadn’t leapt to feed himself. But maybe, seeing Giovanni slack and corpse-like, the final thread in his mind snapped. In the end, Iser ate Giovanni.

“...Does your brother know that? Did he really not know?”

“Who knows?”

Aria had never asked.

“After everything happened, perhaps they felt spared from divine punishment. The priests smuggled Giovanni’s remains and used them for church operations. Guess how?”

“...I heard something about the Basram Flower.”

“Right on.”

The legendary panacea that withers unless touched by the sun’s loving hand. Giovanni’s corpse, having received that love more than anyone, was used to cultivate it.

“Which is why it took so long to find him.”

“Where was he?”

“The Pope’s residence.”

“Wow. Impressive.”

“Even then, the sun didn’t punish them.”

Nor did the deep sea.

“So I decided to do it instead.”

Neither the deep that birthed her nor the sun her brother once served had punished the filthy faithful. In the end, Aria turned herself into the deep and drowned the world in sea.

“I know I committed a sin. I know it was petty revenge.”

“But you’re not a god of wrath. You’re just a monster.”

“Divinity isn’t something you gain just from throwing a few tantrums.”

“Gio got it pretty easily though...”

“Don’t compare me to him. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) It’s humiliating.”

“Doesn’t sound like you regret the tantrum.”

Yoo Seong-Woon asked,

“So why bring this up now?”

“At first... I didn’t think it was a sin.”

But after reuniting with her teacher, she realized it was.

“I lost.”

Even if she didn’t regret it, the merfolk had been swayed by Giovanni. Because their teacher had called it a sin, they had no choice but to see it that way too.

“The only time life felt like heaven was when I was a child, with my teacher.”

“So?”

“...Gio told me to take responsibility.”

“And he’ll forgive you?”

“Of course not.”

That wasn’t Giovanni’s role. He’d say so himself.

“It’s just...”

Aria smiled.

“It’s time I chose.”

Time to decide which hell she would walk.

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