164. The Curse of Yeonjeong (4)

To resolve the curse of Florin, one had to first seek the Scarlet Moon of the Spring in the Twelve New Moons. Frankly, I'm not sure if this could be the fundamental solution. I've only encountered the Scarlet Moon of the Spring once, and I don't even remember it well since I was unconscious when I received the protection.

In essence, all I know is that the Scarlet Moon of the Spring is the core of my abilities, and my knowledge is not much different from that of Florin.

"It's been a while since I entered here."

The roots of the celestial tree, the space of the spirits.

The place that is created by the Scarlet Moon of the Spring, with the spirits being protected by the boundaries of the World Tree, and the door will not open without the permission of the High Elf Elder and the Elf King. Although it allowed the intrusion of the Dark Devil in the past due to a somewhat unique situation, it would be safe to say it is the most secure place in the world.

"Your Highness. is it really alright if we don't accompany you?"

"Yes. It's fine. Rest."

Only I and Florin are allowed in the space of the spirits. Once inside, she plans to remove the mask, as exposing her face to other mage could lead to a situation similar to Orenha's explosive rage.

"Phew... Shall we go in then?"

Seeing the visibly tense Florin, a pang of conscience pricked at me.

If I fail here, I might be in a dilemma... Still, after all these years, I believe I have no choice but to accept the protection bestowed upon me.

Hwak!

As the barrier opened, I stepped through, and the environment changed in an instant. The cradle of the Celestial Tree, protected by the blessing of the World Tree, it had a cool breeze even in the midst of summer, but inside, it was a bit humid and warm.

However, thanks to a body that quickly adapts to the environment, I didn't feel like it would find any difficulties.

"Let's go."

"...Yeah."

Despite Florin seeming tense, she followed quickly as I led the way. Initially, the common fantasy trope that elves has are the fact that they are skilled in traversing forests, so in this jungle-like terrain, her strides would be even swifter.

Of course, once I started using Blink, the story would change, but even then, calculating distance and angles precisely for every use was a headache, so I didn't want to resort to it unless it is necessary.

"You can take off your mask from here. There's no one around anyway."

"Is it really okay...?"

She hesitated for a moment, but then promptly removed her mask. Since there was no one around, the allure of charm didn't affect spirits at all.

"Sigh..."

Even as she quickly removed her mask, her gaze remained guarded. Although a face is a face, revealing the skin tone of her body seemed to be something she was extremely reluctant about.

Having concealed her body tightly for centuries due to accumulated trauma, it wouldn't be instantly resolved.

"Feeling refreshed?"

"Yes... Very much."

"That's good to hear."

We continued walking straight ahead.

Crossing beyond the first layer, we headed towards the 4th layer.

The true form of the Scarlet Moon of the Spring is located on the 5th layer. However, no one can enter that place, except for the Twelve New Moons of the same level.

Hence, we are scheduled to meet the avatar of the Scarlet Moon of the Spring on the 4th layer.

Due to a previous encounter where I met the Scarlet Moon too easily on the 4th layer, some may mistakenly think that they could bump into it anywhere... The 4th layer alone is at least four times the size of Seoul.

The reason I used the word 'at least' is because the area expands or contracts based on the mood of Scarlet Moon. Normally, it maintains an area about six to seven times the size of Seoul, but sometimes, when in a good mood, it can exceed ten times.

Even though the map of the 4th layer was recorded on the thick-lensed glasses of mine, and previously I asked for the help of the 'One Wind Flower' from Puleim, this was the reason.

Whether the area expands like a rubber band or contracts, as long as you know the direction accurately, you can find your way.

In any case, meeting the Scarlet Moon of the Spring in such a place by chance is practically impossible... Nonetheless, without hesitation, I strode confidently across the 4th layer.

Sometimes, high-ranking spirits would aggressively threaten us, but Florin handled them for the most part.

Rather than repelling them with magic, she would pet them on the head a few times as if playing with a neighborhood dog, and they would happily leave. Truly, the Elf King's charisma was exceptional.

Perhaps it was natural, considering she was the king of all fairies.

We walked in silence for a long time. Originally, we were supposed to spend several nights passing through, but perhaps due to our speed, we managed to reach the 4th layer in just two nights.

It was an entirely pink-hued space.

With light pouring from the sky and everything, from the plants on the ground to the dirt, rocks, cliffs, and rivers, saturated in pink, one might find this space quite romantic. However, upon closer inspection, one wouldn't feel that way at all.

Honestly, rather than being romantic, I felt a kind of madness seeping in.

Trapped in this pink-hued space, one could easily lose their mind...

That kind of feeling.

"It's beautiful."

Florin's already lovely expression brightened even more, as if the flowery compliment suited herself as well. It somehow managed to infuse a romantic atmosphere.

Before acquiring the protection of the Scarlet Moon of the Spring, I used to be quite indifferent towards women, but seeing her smile, I almost held my breath for a moment.

Looking at her, I wondered if even if the curse faded, many would still be plagued by unrequited love.

Amidst the radiant pink atmosphere from now on, we had to find the Scarlet Moon of the Spring. Since the randomly appearing locations were all recorded in the glasses, we should be able to find them within three days at most.

However, contrary to my thoughts,.

Suddenly, all the pink hues in front of us split apart to the sides... and another space came into view.

As if the space were folding and unfolding in a mystical phenomenon, I stood there momentarily dazed, only to soon witness something revealing itself within.

It was a fox.

With its pointed ears tinged in red, its body stood out in white amidst the pink ambiance. Despite being an animal, it exuded a captivating charm that bewitched humans.

The fox facing us casually spoke.

"Why have you come, my children?"

I bowed my head in respect, but Florin couldn't bring herself to do the same.

"Ah..."

She gazed at the fox with a vacant expression. The Scarlet Moon of the Spring accepted that gaze and spoke with a bittersweet tone.

"I... I see you don't remember me."

As Florin nodded her head, a sense of guilt washed over the Scarlet Moon's face.

"I'm sorry. It's because of me. You had to bear so much burden. It's all because of my greed..."

With guilt in the Scarlet Moon's words, we couldn't utter a single word. As Florin shook her head in confusion, the Scarlet Moon cautiously continued.

"When I first saw you, you were just a small young child. That's right. It was like that then. To test if you had the qualities of a king... the Elven elders pushed you into this place... Don't you remember?"

Florin lowered her head, and the Scarlet Moon of the Spring spoke with a trace of sorrow.

"It must have been a shock. As you know, this place is not by any means easy for a young child to enter."

Divine beings are pure.

But is pure always good?

No, absolutely not.

Unless one has experienced 'pure malice,' they cannot understand it.

They can truly, purely torment and cause pain to others. Here in this place, there were divine beings of at least the 4th rank, and the despair and terror that the young Florin must've experienced... I could not even fathom.

"But I saw hope in you. Perhaps you could save the withering Celestial Tree and provide us with a perfect sanctuary... such hope."

And so, the Scarlet Moon of the Spring bestowed protection on the very young Florin.

However, having just created the space of the divine beings not long after, the exhausted Scarlet Moon failed to control her power properly, leading to granting Florin an excessively heavy protection.

Subsequently, the Scarlet Moon of the Spring fell into a long slumber, and Florin had to live a lifetime plagued by a curse.

Without any memory, without knowing the cause.

Simply overnight, she became unable to show her face in the world forever.

"The one who meets your eyes will all end up dead."

"Your face is cursed."

"Hide it."

"Stay hidden."

"Never come out into the world for the rest of your life."

The elves didn't need a king for political power to rule over them. They simply required a bridge to connect with the Celestial Tree and channel its power and energy to them.

Thus, Florin was pushed away by her people... and became the noblest and most magnificent being in residing within the Celestial Tree.

Even now, she continues to dedicate herself to all the fairies of the Celestial Tree without ever revealing her face to the world.

Despite receiving no recognition for her sacrifice, Florin endured and persevered.

Hoping that maybe one day she could be free.

"I... I made you live through hell."

In the end, all of this happened because of the greed of Scarlet Moon.

Because of that greed, one person's life had to be shattered to such an extent.

"You may despise and hate me. but I cannot dare to lessen the burden of that you have gone through."

Florin tightly pressed her lips together and bowed her head. Strangely, there was no anger on her face. Even though the very person who had made her life a nightmare was right in front of her.

However, having lived a life filled with self-loathing and possessing a fragile spirit, Florin no longer had any strength left to resent anyone.

She simply... smiled bitterly.

"I'm okay."

Seeing Florin in such a state truly pained the Scarlet Moon. Taking on a human form, she approached Florin barefoot and embraced her.

The sight of two beauties embracing could have been made into a magazine cover, but there were matters that needed to be resolved gradually.

Due to the leakage of mana, it was not beneficial for me to stay in a space filled with the aura of divine beings for too long.

"Um, so is there a solution?"

As I cautiously raised my hand to ask, the Scarlet Moon hesitated for a moment as she withdrew from Florin and nodded.

"It would be good if I could regain my strength, but it's impossible at the moment. My true form is asleep, and I no longer have the power to provide protection or retrieve it. My current form... is nothing more than a mere shell manifested in the physical realm."

Florin's expression dimmed slightly at those words, but Scarlet Moon's explanation was not over yet.

"There is a way. By transferring the power to another individual who has received my protection, it would be possible to lift the protection."

As she said this, Scarlet Moon looked at me. Initially, we had expected this part, but we had come here without knowing the solution.

However, there was a slight issue with that method.

"It's not that there is no way. By establishing a special 'Artifact' with each other, it is possible to transfer the protection to another. To do this, you need a certain object that was lost from the outside world and has yet to be found."

"An Artifact...?"

"Yes. Even if you received the same protection, it's impossible to transfer it without any consequence."

It was likened to creating a sort of pathway.

Although we both received the same protection, Florin possessed the power to attract people's hearts, while I had the ability to perceive the other person's mind, leading to different natures. To facilitate this exchange, a certain object that could help the process was currently missing.

I quickly searched with Bulbul glasses, trying to find any information related to the said object.

[Search: Florin object]

▼ Search History

O Florin's Essence

O Scarlet Moon Relic

O Scarlet $+&#- on

O Spring Scarlet Moon: Florin's Exchange Artifact.

O Florin's Bond

O Eflorin

However, no relevant results appeared, no matter what keywords I used. It seemed to be a mystical object that was not even recorded in the search history of my glasses.

"How did Flame solve curses in the game?"

Just as I was about to search for that separately, Scarlet Moon interrupted.

"Obtaining that item might be easy or extremely difficult. Would you be able to find it?"

What choice did I have? Whether it was in the records of my glasses or not, I had decided to help Florin and had already come this far, so I had to see it through to the end.

"Yes. I'll find it."

I nodded without any hesitation, and the Scarlet Moon finally smiled faintly.

I feel a bit uneasy... but it should be okay, right?