Chapter 5

Spirit King Elquines [Revised Edition] - Chapter 5 (5/608)

Chapter 5

"Alright, let's go inside now... Oh, wait, I almost forgot."

"…?"

At Arehis' words, I looked at him with a puzzled expression. At that moment, one of his subordinates, Freunis, stepped forward and suddenly handed me a mug from which steam was rising. I wondered when he had prepared it, as he hadn't been holding anything a moment ago.

In any case, I couldn't understand the meaning of his action, so I looked at Arehis with a questioning gaze, thinking, 'What's going on here?' He then explained as if he had been waiting for my reaction.

"This is a solution that helps to alleviate the dimensional pressure you'll experience when passing through the door. It's best to drink it. It also prevents various side effects after reincarnation."

"…You want me to drink this?"

The cup contained a thick, crimson liquid that looked like lava. Seeing the occasional bubbles burst as it boiled, I felt my appetite, which had been dormant for a thousand years, completely disappear.

Is it really okay to drink this? Although I couldn't refuse his suggestion, I accepted it reluctantly, and my face naturally frowned. Sensing my unease, Arehis quickly added,

"It might be a bit bitter, but it's not too bad. It's harmless to your spirit, so don't worry. I wouldn't give you something that would harm you, would I?"

"Ahaha… Y-yeah?"

But, Mr. Arehis, you seem like the type who would do something like this and still be fine.

I couldn't bring myself to say 'yes' to his face, so I just gave a forced laugh, but the more I did, the more my aversion to the mysterious liquid grew. Seeing this, Arehis approached with a smile and forced the cup to my lips.

"Come on, why are you hesitating? You know, the best medicine often tastes the worst. Drink up, quickly!"

"Eh? Wait a moment! What are you... Gulp!"

Before I could protest, he had poured the liquid into my mouth. The sticky, slimy sensation quickly filled my mouth. In my panic, I swallowed it without even thinking of spitting it out.

And the result was terrifying.

"Cough! Ugh! What is this!"

"Oh, are you alright?"

"You call this 'medicine'...! Ugh! Ugh!"

What? A little bitter, but not too bad?

I swear, no bitter taste in the world could be worse than this.

The unpleasant feeling in my stomach made me gag repeatedly. It was so bad that tears welled up in my eyes. No matter how hard I tried to vomit, the liquid refused to come back up.

'How could you make me drink this!'

I glared at Arehis, who had orchestrated this entire situation. He must have known the taste of this drink; forcing me to drink it was proof enough.

However, no matter how much I glared at him with murderous intent, he just observed me calmly. His gaze was clearly one of 'observation,' as if he were a researcher waiting for the results of a drug experiment.

'What a nightmare... Am I just a guinea pig now?'

Could it be that he was using some strange drug to experiment on me, pretending to be a Spirit King to take away my sanity? All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind given the situation.

But such thoughts didn't last long. Sensing that I had calmed down, Arehis suddenly leaned in and said,

"Alright, Mr. Elquines! I have a question for you."

"Q-Question?"

"What is 1+1?"

"…."

At that moment, I vividly felt what it was like to be filled with murderous intent.

After making me drink such a bitter medicine and provoking my anger... What? Now what?

"Mr. Elquines?"

Perhaps startled by my grim expression, Arehis and his subordinates flinched. I clenched my teeth and asked,

"What did you say? 1+1...?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Wow, I'm really going to lose it. Does this guy think I'm a fool? Asking me 1+1? Ha! I went to high school in Korea, you know? Asking me something a five-year-old knows? Do I look that easy to fool? Or do I look like I have a simple mind?"

"Um, I'm sorry, Mr. Elquines. Neither you nor I are human..."

"Yikes! That's not the point right now! Not being human doesn't mean you can ask me 1+1! What is 1+1? It's 2, 2! Isn't it 2? Here, 1+1 isn't 2? Ah— Really? I didn't know that. Here, the concept of numbers is different from Korea?"

"Hmm, I see. I understand. Please calm down. Hmm, this isn't working. What should I do...?"

Arehis wiped his forehead, clearly flustered. He seemed more troubled by something else than by my rudeness. After calming me down, he and his subordinates huddled in a corner and began to whisper seriously.

"It's as we expected."

"Then what do we do now?"

"We can't just let him go in like this..."

'What are they talking about?'

A sudden, ominous feeling made me inch closer to where they were discussing.

Mostly, they were whispering, but I could catch a few words here and there.

"…We'll have to make him drink more, I guess."

"Seems we need to make him drink more…"

"…Until it works, I guess?"

'Oh no!'

At that moment, I instinctively backed away from them.

I couldn't hear the rest of their conversation, but those few words were enough to reveal their intention. They were going to make me drink that liquid again!

'No way!'

I've had enough of that terrible drink for a lifetime! No, more than enough! If I thought I would drink that again, they must be underestimating me! I wasn't going to let them get away with it.

As their conversation ended and six pairs of eyes focused on me, I desperately looked for a way to escape. My gaze naturally fell on the 'Gate of Life' in one corner.

I knew that the liquid was supposed to alleviate the dimensional pressure. Without drinking it properly, I had no idea what might happen. But...

"Hey, wait a moment, Mr. Elquines!"

"Damn it, I don't care! If it comes to this, I'll take my chances! I'd rather die than drink that stuff again, damn it!"

Looking back now, I realize I had a tendency to risk my life over trivial matters. Anyway, my mind was so numbed by the bitter medicine that I ignored Arehis' protests and boldly opened the Gate of Life.

"Ah!"

Caught in a powerful current that could knock someone unconscious, I was sucked into the gate. I faintly heard Arehis' shout from the other side, but I lost consciousness as soon as the current hit me.

That was my last memory as 'human Gang Jihun.'

* * *

Inside the Gate of Life, which had swallowed Jihun, a fierce whirlwind began. The usually calm air only became this violent when someone entered. The rough currents seemed ready to engulf everything, but as always, they caused no harm to Arehis, the figure of the Netherworld, or the two soul guides. The currents only affected the soul destined to be reborn in the human world.

"Hmm... So he hated the medicine that much. To leave without even saying goodbye..."

Despite Jihun's impulsive action, Arehis' expression remained calm. For him, solving one of the Netherworld's long-standing problems was a relief. However, the guides had different thoughts. They looked at Arehis with worried expressions.

"What will happen now, Mr. Arehis? Since the Water of Oblivion was ineffective, Mr. Elquines will be reborn with his human memories. Won't this cause chaos in the Spirit World?"

"That's right. If his memories from his past life interfere with his duties as the Spirit King..."

However, unlike the two men's concerns, Arehis smiled lightly.

"That won't happen. Even though he lived as a human, he is fundamentally a pure Spirit King. There might be some initial difficulties, but he will have to endure them. I'm actually looking forward to it."

The Water of Oblivion, which was supposed to erase all memories and reduce the drinker to a blank slate, had no effect on Jihun. This was partly because he was a Spirit King, a being close to a deity, and partly because he was Elquines, the ruler of water. Even with the increased potency of the Water of Oblivion, it had no effect, suggesting the latter reason was more accurate.

Arehis smiled as he watched the currents gradually subside.

"Having a Spirit King who understands humans... might not be so bad sometimes."

* * *

The fertile land, clear air, abundant springs, and burning flames of passion. The blessed land of Aquadon, filled with vibrant life.

But this place was no longer the prosperous world it once was.

The land had been barren for a long time, unable to bear fruit. The wind had turned into a storm that scattered dust, and the beloved flames had become a fierce force that consumed life daily due to the dry air.

The absence of water.

It all started with a severe drought that began ten years ago.

From the distant ancient times, Aquadon had never experienced a water shortage. Rain fell in appropriate amounts each year, and clear, clean rivers could be found easily anywhere on the continent.

But at some point, the rain stopped. At first, people didn't take it seriously, treating it as just another minor inconvenience in their daily lives. However, the drought continued for three years, then four, and by the time it reached ten years, people realized the world was on the brink of destruction.

Rivers had long since dried up, exposing their beds.

Desperate people tried everything to end the drought. They brought water from the distant sea, purified it, and sprinkled it, created artificial rain to soothe the dry land, blamed their king, and even sacrificed humans to the gods. But no one discovered the true reason why it hadn't rained.

The reason for the ten-year drought in Aquadon. It was because the Water Spirit King, who should have been reborn, had not been born.

This disaster was caused by that single absence.

* * *

"Minerva."

Hearing the voice from behind, the Wind Spirit King Minerva stopped and turned around. He was about to head to the Water Realm, where a strange sign had been detected a moment ago, after ten years of no change.

There, a dark-skinned boy and a rosy-skinned girl stood. They were the Earth Spirit King Trovel and the Fire Spirit King Ifrit.

"You two...?"

"Was that the Water Realm just now?"

"You felt it too?"

"You did?"

"Yeah."

After a brief exchange, they looked at each other with serious expressions.

The Water Spirit King Elquines. It had been over 25 years since the previous Water Spirit King had vanished and the new one had failed to be reborn. The divine realm had sent an investigation team recently, but no significant action had been taken. As a result, the spirit realm was in a state of emergency.

Aquadon was not the only one suffering from the lack of water. The spirit realm was also struggling to maintain balance due to the lost power.

The four great spirits are equal in strength, complementing each other perfectly. This system has a weakness, as it can easily collapse with the absence of just one. To maintain the unbalanced power, the spirit kings were exerting extreme control over their own powers. The strange sign in the Water Realm was not a good omen in this situation.