Chapter 184: The Valkyrie's Ruins 3
After messing with Helena to his heart's content, Woohyuk and the others headed to the center of the forest.
They saw a pure white temple with columns at their destination.
[Hall of the Valkyries].
It was the location where the three Valkyries who supported the God of Light used to live.
“Eir died during the War of Gods and Demons. And since I ended up getting exiled, Alruna must be living alone in heaven.”
“Why did Alruna leave this place?”
"I do not know. Probably in order not to violate the system created by the Creator. I am not sure about the details though.”
Brynhild's resurrection was one of the events that had already been planned by the system.
Woohyuk nodded and explored the temple with the others.
“I heard that there is one abandoned homunculus here.”
“Oh, where did you learn that? The existence of Homunculi shouldn’t be released to the world, otherwise chaos will befall...”
“I discovered that fact while secretly studying the Nag Hammadi Chronicles. So other humans probably don't know about it. Except for certain people like Aleister.”
Currently, it was clear that Aleister knew about Homunculi.
Brynhild frowned at Woohyuk’s words.
“So that evil alchemist discovered our secret. We must never let him obtain Homunculi.”
“Are there Homunculi hidden in other places?”
“Yes, but I don't know where the Creator placed the ruins, so it will take some time to find them.”
The system decided where ruins were created and destroyed.
It is difficult for non-divine beings to grasp the system’s mechanisms.
So, in order to find out where the other Homunculi were hidden, they could only try their best to search and gather information.
As worries and panic took over her thoughts, Brynhild’s steps accelerated.
Eventually, they reached the depths of the temple.
A circular space decorated with stained glass welcomed them.
It was most likely a hall to hold religious ceremonies.
Woohyuk approached the altar inside the hall and opened the gold box on top of it.
[Top-grade Erdium]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: Crafting and alchemy material. With the perfect combination with other materials, it can create the ultimate item.
[Damaged Edda Chronicles]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: Can be restored by figuring out the contents of the damaged part.
[Gold Dragon's Token]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: One of the nine tokens required to become a Dragon Lord. You can increase your intimacy with gold dragons and make contracts with them just by holding onto it.
[Red Dragon's Token]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: One of the nine tokens required to become a Dragon Lord. You can increase your intimacy with red dragons and make contracts with them just by holding onto it.
'There are two dragon tokens.'
Woohyuk now had a total of four tokens.
If he collected five more, he could become a Dragon Lord.
It was only a matter of time before he could conquer the Holy Aperian Empire.
However, it would be better if he managed to craft the Seven Color Rainbow Ring, the Godslayer, and restore the Three Ancient Chronicles.
Helena spoke up after looking around the area a bit.
“Did you hide the Homunculus elsewhere? I can’t see it here.”
"It is here. Its appearance was just slightly modified.”
Brynhild pointed to the golden device in the corner.
It resembled a phonograph.
In the heavenly world, it was called an accordium, but it would only play music if magic crystals were inserted in it.
Woohyuk approached it and placed his hand on it,
Swooooosh.
The surrounding space shook like a mirage, and a boy with silver hair emerged.
Its appearance was too similar to an actual human to be called an ancient weapon.
Helena poked him with her finger in curiosity.
“This is surprising. I knew it was in the shape of a human, but I didn't know it would be as good as this.”
“Homunculi know how to learn and study like us. That is why they are considered such dangerous beings.”
Intellectually, they were no different from other races.
However, they were not perfect beings, so they lacked certain emotions.
If people took advantage of a homunculus, it would become a weapon of mass destruction.
Helena removed her hand from the boy with a terrified expression.
“It must’ve caused trouble in the past if you decided to abandon it like this. I’m not sure what exactly happened since it was not recorded in the prophetic book.”
“These homunculi caused an uproar in the heavenly world. In the end, the gods gathered together for a meeting and decided not to use Homunculi again in the future.”
It was the gods who had made the Homunculi.
They were also competing to increase in rank like the Demon Kings, so they needed weapons to show their influence and power.
However, the Homunculi were so dangerous that they were eventually discarded and hidden away in secret locations.
“What is this Homunculus’ name? He looks just like a demon.”
“It's Roan. He was created by the Wind God.”
"I see. So what do I need to do to reactivate Roan?”
“… Huh? Are you planning to wake up this troublemaker?”
Brynhild frowned and was slightly anxious.
To reassure her, Woohyuk temporarily removed his hand from Roan.
“We have to keep in mind that Aleister could obtain another Homunculus. We can’t sacrifice ordinary human soldiers to stop that madman’s toy.”
“How are you going to control it? You need to make the correct decision. There was a time when the entirety of Valhalla was almost blown up by Roan.”
Valhalla was a huge golden temple inhabited by the God of Light.
Woohyuk spoke up with a casual attitude.
“I have an excellent researcher as my vassal. She managed to create a chimera that can wield divine power with the body of a dead saintess. She also invented a flying fortress that can lay waste to the land, as well as magic engineered weapons.”
“Tha, that’s...”
“The first catastrophe is approaching. We need to find as many ways as possible to reduce the damage as much as we can.”
“… Alright. If you’re that sure of yourself, I’ll give in and help you out. However, I want you to swear that you will shut down Roan as soon as he goes out of control.”
"I understand. I swear.”
Woohyuk nodded happily.
Brynhild sighed and approached Roan's back.
She then activated her administrator rights and began to combine a series of runes on the back,
Whooosh!
A blue flame swirled around Roan, but soon extinguished itself.
Immediately, light returned in Roan’s dull eyes.
As soon as he woke up, he began to cause a ruckus and shout loudly.
"Alcohol! Bring me something to drink! I want to get drunk so bad!”
As Brynhild had mentioned, he was quite the troublemaker.
Woohyuk took out Akunaton's Golden Chalice and created the finest wine with it.
“Here, drink up.”
Gulp! Gulp!
Roan’s eyes flashed red and he emptied the golden cup in no time.
But even so, his voice didn't die down at all.
“Now, bring me meat and women! I want to have some fun!”
Thwack!
Woohyuk's fist flew into Roan's face.
The speed was so fast that Roan couldn't avoid it.
He rolled on the ground as the floor shook.
“… Ow! Why the hell did you punch me!”
“You talk too much for an artificial being.”
Woohyuk's chilling gaze fell upon Roan.
The Homunculus was frightened when he noticed it.
'He, he’s terrifying...!’
An unexplainable fear grew inside his fake heart.
As Roan quieted down, Helena spoke anxiously.
“But is it fine to hit him like that? If he self-destructs or something, then...”
"Don’t worry. The seal has not been completely removed yet. The Roan right now is no different from ordinary children.”
Roan was in a similar state as Agnes when Woohyuk had first met her.
He was in a state where he only had the minimal amount of freedom.
He could talk and move around, but attacks were unavailable.
So Roan couldn't fight back against Woohyuk carelessly, despite the fact that he was extremely upset right now.
“Why did you activate me again…? I don't want to live while being used like a tool...”
“Is that why you rebelled against the gods who created you?”
“All the gods can just die! The same goes for this world! Wherever I look, everything is absurd and full of contradictions! The entire world is hypocritical!”
Roan's words were quite rough, not matching his cute appearance.
Woohyuk sighed and picked up Akunaton's Golden Chalice from the floor.
“Just drink quietly instead of complaining like that.”
“...”
Roan silently accepted the refilled cup.
Not only did he want to drink the finest wine again, he also didn’t want to get punched by Woohyuk again.
Helena clicked her tongue as she watched Roan empty the chalice.
“What a twisted child. I’m not sure why, but I pity him a bit.”
“You’re not one to talk, Witch of Profanity.”
“… Do you have a grudge against me or something?”
"I won’t deny it."
“...”
Helena glared at Woohyuk silently.
She was thinking back to when Woohyuk was bullying her on Grane, the pegasus.
But Woohyuk turned away and acted ignorant.
Finally, Sieg spoke up after having stayed quiet all this time.
“My Lord, who will Roan's guardian be? In my opinion, Tinia will be able to educate this troublemaker properly.”
"I’m not sure. It's not a bad idea, but I think Aris is a better choice.”
Aris was well versed in magic engineering, so she could control Roan with more ease than others.
Sieg made a sad expression at Woohyuk’s explanation.
“A pity. It was a great opportunity for Tinia to obtain My Lord’s child.”
“… This kid is not my son.”
Unlike Lia and Carnelian, Roan would be a considerable headache.
As Woohyuk spoke firmly, Roan complained with a gloomy expression.
“Don't discriminate against me for being a Homunculus! I also want to grow older while receiving lots of love!”
“Then do something worthy of praise, you spoiled brat.”
Woohyuk swiftly took out a leather whip.
As soon as he saw it, Roan retreated backwards as cold sweat ran down his neck.
“What, what are you doing?! I’m not some sort of pet to tame!”
“No, I think you need to be trained a little bit.”
Woohyuk's deadly whipping could tame not only monsters like the Kraken but also Demon Kings with pride and power like Amii.
Brynhild whispered into Helena's ears as whip cracking sounds resounded in the hall along with some cries of pain.
“Is that a fetish of his? His whipping skills are extremely good...”
"I don’t know. We’ve never slept together before.”
But for some reason, she felt like Brynhild’s assumption wasn’t wrong.
Sieg coughed as the two women got enchanted by Woohyuk's whipping abilities.
“Hey, um… Brynhild. Do you want to… uh… try something similar tonight...?”
Thwack!
A fist filled with divine power came flying straight into his stomach instead of a reply.
Sieg coughed and laughed bitterly as he writhed on the ground with a pained expression.
It appeared that he had said something unnecessary...