Golden Warrior Menelapie.
With Shia, she saved the world from the Demon King and rose to become the highest authority of humanity.
Of course, on Earth, she holds no official title and is merely a bum Returnee who gazes longingly at Shia, but her abilities and mental strength as a warrior are far from lost.
Menelapie’s mind is like an impregnable fortress, completely free from brainwashing, curses, or erosion.
But Menelapie wasn’t always endowed with such a steely demeanor.
Even without her powers as a warrior, she had accumulated the virtues of humanity. Being both a warrior and an emperor, she had ample opportunities and experiences to refine her mind more than others.
Thanks to that, the curse imposed by the thirteen Eldritch who sacrificed a dragon couldn’t erode her mind even a bit, and the colossal curse that the Demon King placed on young Menelapie, aiming to sever her potential, she ultimately overcame.
Even aside from that, various curses and soul-corrupting magic encroached upon Menelapie’s spirit and mind, yet she was able to endure because she had companions for her soul, the Seongnyeo and the Black Witch.
However, at this very moment, Menelapie’s mind was suffering a significant blow.
At the current juncture, the Golden Warrior could resist any curse or erosion, so it wasn’t that she was afflicted with a colossal curse. She also wasn’t pinned down by the dungeon’s mechanisms, either.
All it took was a single phrase.
Upon hearing Shia’s “I’m so disappointed!!”, Menelapie found herself in a groggy state, teetering on the edge of consciousness.
Originally, it shouldn’t have been such a serious issue.
Even if Menelapie was out of sorts, she wasn’t completely lost, and if Shia ignored her for about an hour, Menelapie would recover her wits and return to her usual self.
But luck was not on her side.
As if fate took a cruel twist, Baekchakchi found Menelapie at this moment of her deepest mental vulnerability.
For the first time, the warrior’s mental gap—normally impenetrable—was found by Baekchakchi.
Of course, Baekchakchi’s magic wouldn’t typically be able to penetrate an existence with the strength of an S-grade Hunter.
Thus, Baekchakchi steeled himself and decided to gamble.
If this failed, the high probability was that death awaited Baekchakchi.
“Ugh…! This is the only option!”
Kneeling, Baekchakchi half-buried himself in the Underground Meridian.
“Grrr!”
Mana flow linked to the dungeon’s core began coursing through Baekchakchi’s body. The excessive mana caused some sensations in his body to disappear, wasting muscles that were as precious to a Minotaur as life itself, gradually making his muscular frame become leaner.
He felt the real-time agony of his muscles burning away, yet Baekchakchi couldn’t pull himself free.
He thought the chances of successfully eroding even the smallest cracks in Menelapie’s mind were exceedingly low.
But he had no choice.
Otherwise, he would die.
His kin, including himself, would be slaughtered by Hunters.
Humans and monsters kill each other for no reason, but naturally, Baekchakchi wanted to thrive and preferred to be on the killing side rather than the victim, gritting his teeth and focusing his spirit.
Thud-thud
The bone wand that Baekchakchi was holding tapped against the Meridian.
Thud-thud-thud
Instead of offering a sacrifice, he pulled out and burned the bones of his kin from his pouch.
“Oh, bones of the beast.”
He bit down on a massive insect leg, chowing it down.
“Oh, leg of the insect.”
He crushed a flower that oozed sticky liquid and smeared it on his chest.
“Oh, flower of the gnawing parasite.”
Finally, after steeling himself, he opened the door to his soul.
“Movement is the wind, stillness is the sky. I shall defile you, my rooted entity.”
“Erosion Curse – Dark Wheel”
The massive curse of erosion, spreading from the Mana Meridian, aimed at a single warrior.
With the ability to control hundreds of Minotaurs at once, Baekchakchi precisely targeted and recognized Menelapie.
Baekchakchi’s mental magic’s power was determined by one’s mindset and resolution.
Naturally, for Baekchakchi, who had only performed simple acts of bewitching his kin’s minds, he had never had to muster a proper resolve.
“Please, just this once…!”
But Baekchakchi sensed that if he couldn’t invade Menelapie’s mind now, the Minotaurs of Hwangwoo Valley would be annihilated by Hunters.
“Please, let it work! I’ll stake my life on this…!”
Baekchakchi was ready to gamble his life with this spell, expending more mental energy than he ever had in his life to try and erode Menelapie’s mind.
With both his life and that of his kin at stake, it would have been odd not to be resolute.
If the spell succeeded in eroding the mind of the immensely powerful Menelapie, it could cause internal divisions among the Hunters or buy time before humans launched a full-scale assault on the Minotaurs.
And…
[…Shia…]
‘It worked…!’
Opening his eyes, Baekchakchi rejoiced inwardly.
His vision was now of the forest where Menelapie stood, not the blue Mana Meridian.
Baekchakchi had successfully merged with and began to erode Menelapie’s mind.
Of course, it wasn’t complete success.
The mental dominance still lay with Menelapie, and Baekchakchi merely clung to a corner of her consciousness like a parasite.
“Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia…”
‘What is with this mental state? Are humans normally like this?’
What on earth is Shia?
Her subconsciousness seemed to be endlessly repeating something about “Shia”.
Baekchakchi tried to examine Menelapie’s memories and mind but found it impossible.
“Shia…”
‘Shia? What on earth is that? Seeing her repeat it so affectionately, is it like a protein cacao? Hmm, if she couldn’t have her protein cacao, I can definitely see why this female might react this way…’
Normally, upon eroding a target’s mind, one would turn them into a puppet that only obeys their commands, access all their memories and knowledge, but breaking through her fortress-like psyche seemed daunting.
But already, this was half a success.
Now all Baekchakchi had to do was continuously spread his erosion and spells within Menelapie’s mind, chewing away at it and inducing actions, catalyzing dissent among her companions.
‘It’s okay! Starting is half the battle! Now I just need to provoke this human female somehow to instigate internal conflict…!’
“Menelapie!!”
And just as those words left his mouth, a being that seemed to be one of this human female’s companions appeared.
A white-haired female.
Baekchakchi found her very presence irritating, a female with a magnificently developed chest.
If she appeared right in the middle of the Hwangwoo Valley dungeon, she must be strong, so pitting them against each other seemed like a fine idea.
‘Alright, let’s start with that female…!’
○○○○
Having her mind eroded by Baekchakchi, Menelapie stood there blankly for a time.
In truth, the impact of Shia saying, “I’m so disappointed!!!” was far more colossal and severe than having her mind invaded by someone.
Menelapie’s world was composed of Shia.
No matter how great a being she was, whether a warrior capable of defeating the Demon King or an emperor ruling the empire, it didn’t matter how extraordinary Menelapie considered herself.
Her only weakness might be Shia, and in a way, each word Shia uttered could sometimes be the reason for Menelapie’s existence and, conversely, a source of lethal pain.
‘Can you not endure it?’
‘Shut up.’
‘You’re angry, aren’t you? Right?’
Something kept whispering, bothering Menelapie.
Unable to calm her mind was confusing enough, but something kept whispering in her ear.
Provoking emotions like anger that didn’t even exist.
A primal urge to kill or destroy seeped from Menelapie’s heart.
With each taunt, Menelapie’s gray aura deepened and darkened.
As the gray aura, which had once subtly permeated the air, now took a concrete form and began to ooze from her eyes, from that point on, Menelapie felt all her senses dull.
The sounds of insects.
The sensation of wind.
Even the cool air.
Nothing could be felt.
Am I even standing here?
Am I alive?
And at that moment, an urge to destroy stirred, little by little.
What should I destroy?
What should I attack?
Though she couldn’t even grasp what angered her, this unidentifiable whisper was provoking her negative feelings, luring her into some mischief.
‘I can shake this off.’
Menelapie was ready to cast off whatever dared encroach upon her soul.
But she didn’t want to.
She felt so resentful and pathetic for allowing herself to hear Shia’s “I’m so disappointed!!”.
Hence, Menelapie lingered in that state of despair and sorrow, even though she could have freed herself from the erosion at any moment.
“…La…pi…!”
Even that sense was barely established when something intruded upon Menelapie’s world.
“Menelapie!!”
It was Shia.
As the only being who bore color within the gray prison surrounding Menelapie, she lifted her head.
“I searched for you for so long! Are you okay…? Oh, Menelapie?”
And there Menelapie stood, holding a sword enwrapped in gray aura.
Clearly aiming at Shia.
○○○○○
‘What on earth happened?’
Shia found Menelapie.
She had been worried, thinking Menelapie had vanished, but suddenly seeing the gray aura around her was much more violent than before.
Was it really Menelapie?
At first, she thought it was a doppelganger who had swallowed a fragment of the Demon King mimicking Menelapie.
But she was certain that she could never misidentify Menelapie.
Swish…
[Sh…ia…]
Ah, Menelapie must be devastated…
She even pulled out her sword upon seeing me?
Being a Seongnyeo, I thought I understood emotions and minds better than the average person.
Menelapie’s current state was anything but normal.
Though her appearance made it evident, it seemed like some corrupting force had infiltrated her mind.
Be it a curse, erosion, or brainwashing.
‘This is no joke; if it were anyone else who appeared instead of me, it would have been a calamity!’
If Lilybet had come to find Menelapie first, there could have been a bloodbath.
sigh The fall of the warrior due to brainwashing…
It didn’t seem like she had completely succumbed to it, but the situation at hand felt unjust and made my chest heavy and somber.
“Phew, alright…”
This needed some resolve on my part too.
For humans, the definition of resolve is subjective.
Some people like fathers go to work daily, mustering their resolve for their loving families, whereas others face immense challenges even just stepping out of their homes.
And for me, the Mangja Seongnyeo, this was hardly an easy endeavor.
Resolve implies the understanding that in gaining something, one might lose something else.
And I too had things to lose.
No, perhaps I had a lot to lose.
I had far too much that I cherished already.
Teresa, Menelapie, my mother, and Yeonhwa are all my people, and although I don’t show it, I truly care for and cherish all my companions, including Yane.
Though with Yane, I’m just as puzzled about her feelings as she might be.
The only relief is that… my precious ones and their loved ones need not bear the burden of losing anything.
Yeah, I’m quite used to losing something.
I can manage through it.
Just a moment, I just need to hang in there.
To reclaim Menelapie, I must provide this little push.
…Truthfully, I’m scared.
Even I, the Mangja Seongnyeo, though a formidable presence, still fear losing something.
That dread eats away at me from below as I stand here.
It’s not the possibility of loss, but the certainty that I will undoubtedly lose something…
I’ve lost much.
I’ve achieved a lot and regained many things.
Yet, what I can call the most precious to me is undoubtedly Menelapie.
Like Teresa, she’s one of my most beloved individuals.
She is my soul companion, and my warrior is suffering before my eyes. How could I turn a blind eye to that?
Of course, I could leave Menelapie be.
To be frank, I believed Menelapie would shake it off and return after about 30 minutes or so.
But how could I possibly ignore the Menelapie drenched in gray aura, endlessly calling for me?
I cannot.
As long as there’s an easy choice where I could stand my ground, I could never leave Menelapie to suffer in silence.
She is, after all, my warrior.
How others feel about me is beyond my control, yet I believe that my bond with Menelapie cannot be defined simply as mere companionship.
Even if it’s not the truth, that’s how I believe.
I want to be a better person.
My greatest joy is you, Menelapie.
In the past and even now.
Even the moments of playful teasing where you shone like a light haven’t faded away.
When you’re in pain, how could I act as if nothing is wrong?
So…
‘Alright, let’s resolve ourselves…’
Let’s lighten my heart.
Since I’ve resolved, all that’s left for me is action.
What I must do is endure.
All I must commit to is to remember everything, and that alone is the extent of my resolution.
“Menelapie….”
Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia… Shia…
Ah, that gray aura shimmers.
Even more terrifying than my golden aura.
It draws close, fixing its gaze upon me.
No longer the golden eyes I knew, but a glare that seems to devour me alive.
…Yes, Menelapie.
I’ve resolved myself.
As Menelapie approached me, sword in hand, enwrapped in the gray aura, I simply opened my arms to welcome her.
“Wanna touch my chest?”
“Sure!”
“……….”
Uh.
What’s with the sudden clarity?
And why has your speech become so short?
Where did that emperor’s poise go?
