Chapter 196

Darkness dissolves the heart.

Until the deepest wound is exposed.

“Denver… Mariet……”

Mulling over the two most painful names, Obro Denoebang walked through the darkness.

It was those two.

The two lives he had ruined by his mistake, yet they had been more precious than anything.

If only he hadn’t drunk that damn liquor and yet, why did he crave it so much?

Why couldn’t he quit? How powerless and how shameful.

Facing his own weakness was always excruciatingly painful.

Guilt rolled around in his heart, leaving scratches.

His heart was already as weak as it could be, and even the scratches made him groan.

Then he saw a small light.

“……?”

A clear sparkle.

Impossible to miss in this darkness, a flame flickered in the distance like a star.

He moved his steps toward the small point of light.

Trees and grass blocked his way, but it was no problem.

As long as he wasn’t afraid, he was still the White Lord.

“…A person!”

The closer he got, the clearer it became.

There was a person holding a fire.

Since it was the first person he had found after coming down to the Underworld, he had no choice but to run.

As he ran, the darkness flashed by.

He quickly got closer.

There was a person holding a fire, and there were monsters surrounding them.

A sloshing black mud was moving as if alive, threatening the person.

For a moment, he was afraid.

It was because he remembered his own powerlessness.

But Obro did not stop.

The one holding the fire looked to be about twenty.

Mariet would have been around that age if she were alive.

Thinking that, he couldn’t stop, fear or no fear.

He trembled his beard and shouted.

“Be gone-!!!”

A jade-colored flame flickered.

As if responding to his shout, the torch in his hand spread its light wide.

The black mud creatures were startled and scattered in all directions.

His heart may be broken, but he was the White Lord.

The demonic energy created by long-suffering pain was enough to drive away even the monsters of the Underworld.

“…Wow. I thought I was going to die.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. Thank you. I went too deep while looking for food.”

The person had short hair.

Though they looked to be around twenty, they appeared to be boys.

That meant it wasn’t Mariet.

Obro Denoebang’s face was colored with disappointment, but it wasn’t noticeable in the darkness.

“Where did you get that torch? Those nasty things just backed off……”

“You have something similar, don’t you.”

“This? It can barely light up what’s in front of me.”

The short-haired person shrugged.

It seemed they thought the monsters had fled because of the jade flame.

Obro didn’t bother to explain further.

“I haven’t seen you before, which village are you from?”

“A village? Is there a village?”

“Of course. Where people live.”

“…Is that so.”

“I’m Gongnyeo.”

Gongnyeo extended a hand.

Obro took that hand.

“Gongnyeo. An unusual name. I am……”

“Shh!”

Gongnyeo placed an index finger to her lips.

“You were about to say your real name, weren’t you?”

“…Is that not allowed?”

“Of course not! You can’t say your real name here. Gongnyeo is a fake name, of course.”

“Why is that?”

“There are snakes that eat names. They hide everywhere and rush over at high speed if you say your real name. They’re very terrifying things.”

“…Really?”

“You probably got them too, mister.”

“…Me?”

Obro felt it was ridiculous that he kept asking stupid questions.

But Gongnyeo nodded as if it were nothing strange.

“Yes. If they find out your name, they start sucking out your memories. Seeing as you don’t know anything about this place, you must have been gotten by them for sure.”

“…I see.”

He didn’t know anything about the Underworld because he had just burst through the gate, but he didn’t bother to say so.

They wouldn’t have believed him anyway.

“Let’s go to my village for now. If someone there recognizes you, we’ll be able to find out which village you came from.”

“Thank you.”

“For now, I’ll give you a name to call you until then. I’m pretty good at naming things.”

Gongnyeo was a cheerful child.

On the outside, she looked to be around twenty, but the way she spoke felt like she was about fifteen.

It was just amazing how she could be so untainted in such a dark place.

“Hmm, what should it be……”

Gongnyeo carefully looked Obro Denoebang over.

His shaggy hair and beard were a single mass that reached his shoulders.

The corners of his eyes, peeking through the dirty hair, were drooping with fatigue and sorrow.

Gongnyeo soon shouted.

“…Bearded Mister! From now on, you’re Bearded Mister!”

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

Bearded Mister, mulling over his new name, Obro Denoebang suddenly craved liquor like crazy.

Bearded Mister, he barely understood why she had given him such a name.

But because he understood, it made him even more displeased.

“You said you were Gongnyeo?”

“Yes. I’m a girl, my hair is just short. I’m fifteen this year.”

“You have a Schmeizen accent, are you from there?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Obro clicked his tongue softly.

Then she wasn’t Mariet. Mariet was nineteen years old, from central Maesh.

Well, with people from three cities having disappeared, how many girls of a similar age would there be?

“If it’s a village, does everyone… 11 years ago?”

“That’s right. Who wouldn’t be. Bearded Mister, you really have forgotten everything. You must have escaped right before being killed by the ‘Name-eaters’.”

“…‘Name-eaters’?”

“Those name-eating snakes! That’s what we call them.”

Gongnyeo said, grinding her teeth.

Saying that countless people had become victims of the ‘Name-eaters’ when they first fell and knew nothing.

“We’re here. This is our village.”

***

“Welcome to Sinae Village.”

An old man greeted him.

“I’m the Village Chief.”

“…A fake name, right?”

“Of course. So it’s true you were gotten by the ‘Name-eaters’.”

Obro bowed his head.

“I am Bearded Mister.”

“…Is that a name Gongnyeo gave you?”

“Yes.”

“…It does suit you.”

The Village Chief nodded, looking at the shaggy beard.

“I heard the story from Gongnyeo. Stay as long as you like. But our food supply isn’t exactly plentiful, so it would be good if you could remember your original village soon.”

“How many villages are there?”

“You’ve forgotten that too?”

You must have gotten good. The Village Chief muttered softly.

“There are four now. River, Stream, Pond, and Lake.”

“…Now?”

“In the beginning, there were over thirty villages.”

The Village Chief smiled bitterly.

It was 11 years ago.

People from three cities had fallen into the Underworld, but not many had survived.

Moreover, no new children were born here.

For 11 years, they had just survived.

They had just lived day by day.

It was a terribly difficult and exhausting task, but there was no reward.

There was only another tomorrow to live through.

“…….”

Obro felt a sense of devastation.

The period of 11 years is long.

He himself knew that better than anyone.

For it was a time spent deeply sunk in nightmares.

But it seemed these people had been living in an even deeper darkness.

Enough to make him feel ashamed.

“Village Chief.”

“What is it, Bearded Mister?”

“Could you perhaps gather the people?”

“They’re all already asleep.”

The Village Chief stroked his chin beard.

“Are you trying to see if anyone knows you? For today, just rest. I was planning to gather everyone tomorrow anyway.”

“Is that so.”

Obro nodded.

‘First…….’

He muttered to himself.

‘…Tomorrow, I’ll gather all the people of this village and take them to Shion. I guess I’ll have to reveal the name White Lord for the first time in a while. Though it’s embarrassing. And then I’ll have to leave for the other villages. Yes, that should work…….’

Having made a rough plan, Obro felt much more at ease.

As his mind eased, a thirst arose.

Come to think of it, he had been thirsty all along.

“Is there any water, by any chance……?”

“You can drink from that stream over there.”

The Village Chief pointed.

By now his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, and it was easy to distinguish things.

In a corner, there was a babbling stream.

Obro slowly approached the stream and cupped the water with his hands.

But a familiar scent wafted up strongly.

“Don’t drink too much.”

The Village Chief said.

“You’ll get drunk.”

“…I’ll get drunk?”

Obro flared his nostrils at the water cupped in his hands.

A strong fragrance that hit his nose as if picking it.

A very familiar smell.

The Village Chief clicked his tongue.

“That’s liquor. The only thing to drink here is liquor. The pond, the lake, they’re all liquor.”

“……Aha. So you’re saying I have no choice but to drink liquor.”

“That’s right. There is no choice.”

Obro Denoebang shook his head.

“Well, I’ll be……”

The bearded drunkard couldn’t help but smile.

“……There really is no choice, is there?”

***

“Beard! Wake up, Beard!”

His head hurt.

“Damn it, how much did you drink yesterday! I told you not to drink too much……!”

“…Village Chief?”

“Get a hold of yourself!”

Without a moment to feel the grogginess from his hangover, the Village Chief pulled Obro to his feet.

Obro staggered up, and the Village Chief looked at him with a pathetic expression.

“Come out quickly! Gongnyeo has been captured by the shadows!”

“…Gongnyeo?”

Only then did Obro come to his senses.

The light returned to his hazy eyes.

He quickly got up and ran out.

The Village Chief was surprised at how fast he was.

“Gongnyeo! Where is Gongnyeo……?”

“Th-there……”

Faced with Obro’s demonic aura, the villagers just blankly raised their hands.

Outside the village, the shadows were writhing, and in their midst, the short-haired girl was being held captive.

“…How did she end up like that?”

“W-well, she said since she brought a new person, she’d go get more food, and then she went out……”

“…….”

Obro shut his mouth.

The new person was him.

That small girl had gone out to get his food and had ended up like that.

But Obro Denoebang had, again, again passed out drunk like an idiot. His face flushed bright red with utter shame.

“…I’ll go rescue Gongnyeo.”

“Don’t!”

The Village Chief, who had followed him, grabbed Obro.

“The ‘Name-eaters’ have already come… at least you have to live!”

“…‘Name-eaters’……?”

There was a hissing sound.

From among the shadows, several huge snakes shot out.

They disgustingly mimicked a human voice.

The voice of the ‘Name-eaters’ came riding on the shadows.

[…What is your name…?]

[…Little girl, tell me your name…….]

[…I won’t hurt you, so your name…….]

The black snakes whispered in a human voice.

Gongnyeo twisted her body, but she was powerless.

The black snake’s tongue slithered past her ear and rummaged through her mind.

[…Hmm. You fell here 11 years ago…….]

[…Hmm. You are from Maesh…….]

[…Hmm. You are nineteen years old…….]

What. Obro Denoebang’s eyes widened.

“…From Maesh? She clearly told me she was from Schmeizen……”

“No. She herself is mistaken.”

The Village Chief had a sad expression.

“That child also had her childhood memories stolen by the ‘Name-eaters’.”

Nineteen years old, from Maesh, then that means…….

Obro Denoebang’s face turned deathly pale.

Drunk, he had made the same mistake again.

After regretting it for 11 years, vowing never to do it again, he had acted like an idiot again.

His teeth chattered.

“Oh dear, our Gongnyeo, what to do about the poor thing……”

The Village Chief continued.

In front of the monsters of the Underworld, they were utterly powerless. Tears dripped from his old eyes.

“…I was the one who gave her the name Gongnyeo. Since she was the goddaughter of the great White Lord……”

“…Ah……”

Obro Denoebang felt like he wanted to vomit his heart out.

The whispers of the ‘Name-eaters’ could be heard.

[…I know your name, child…….]

[…You are Mariet, aren’t you……?]

[…Denver’s daughter, Mariet…….]

***

Obro Denoebang despaired.

He collapsed once again in the face of his mistake.

Gongnyeo had been captured while he was drunk, and the fact that the child was Mariet made him despair.

But it was a strange thing.

He had become so accustomed to despair over the past 11 years that, once he had despaired, his mind ironically became clear.

He could clearly see what he had to do.

Obro asked the Village Chief.

“Village Chief, you said those things react to real names.”

“…That’s right.”

“Then if I say my name, they’ll look this way.”

“…They would……? Hey……!”

He bit his lip. He took a bottle from his bosom.

It was something he had set aside in excitement after seeing the stream flowing with liquor.

After drinking his fill, he found courage.

He strode forward.

The past had been painful.

He had struggled for 3 years.

He had been broken for 8 years.

He had lived in despair for 11 years.

As a result, paradoxically, he had become accustomed to despair.

No despair could kill him anymore.

No mistake could stop him from shamelessly getting back up again.

He was even grateful for this shameless and wretched self of his.

That is why he.

He shouted the name he had hated more than anything at the top of his lungs.

“Obro-!”

The ‘Name-eaters’ all turned their heads at once.

It was because he had revealed his name.

The people did the same.

Because they knew the meaning the name Obro held.

“-Obro, Denoebang-!!!”

The drunkard roared his own name.

“You filthy snakes, Obro Denoebang is here—!!!”

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