The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 132

The horror stories about the Black Cloak were famous, but Juhyun wasn’t very interested.

‘There was no information I could access.’

The humanoid monster ‘Black Cloak’ that suddenly appeared recently had its information and traces managed by high-ranking researchers. Juhyun, who was still only a proxy, had no information he could access.

However, he knew very well that he was a kind of portrait.

“.......”

“Why, did you lose your voice because you saw something so beautiful?”

“...Ah.... You’re so confident?”

“If it were me, I would be overflowing with confidence.”

“That....”

The conversation was so natural that it was ridiculous.

“...Is that Black Cloak?”

It was so different from the image I had.

“I heard Black Cloak speaks more stiffly.”

“Then it wouldn’t be fun. I know how to change to suit the other person, that’s my talent.”

“I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Surprisingly, I’m not dreaming. Please don’t treat me like I’m dreaming.”

“...It doesn’t seem to be a dream.”

My mind is still a little dazed, but my heart is pounding with surprise.

“Why...why are you here?”

“I feel like someone is calling me.”

“At least I haven’t called...”

“I guess so.”

The portrait, whose hood was pulled down so deep that his face couldn’t be seen, pointed to the bottom of the frame.

“You seem to be better at drawing than this.”

“...Ah.”

Where he pointed, there was a picture of a black cloak drawn roughly with black crayon.

“.......”

For some reason, the picture wavered unsteadily.

“...Did it come from this picture?”

“If it did, it would have come from that piece of paper, you idiot gentleman.”

“But isn’t that picture calling you?”

“That’s why I was able to find this location, and thanks to that, I met you.”

“Your speech is really... erratic.”

“It’s hard for me to stay still for even a moment.”

“The image is so different from the black cloak I’ve heard of...”

“Hmm.”

His face was hidden by the shadow of the hood, but for some reason, he seemed dissatisfied.

“This kind of conversation isn’t fun.”

“.......”

Only then did Joo-hyun suddenly feel a sense of crisis.

“...I’m sorry.”

No matter who the other person was, there was no good in incurring his enmity.

He didn’t even remember debating whether or not to pray to the evil god Sankalut just a moment ago. It was because his head wasn’t working well because he was faced with such an absurd situation.

Joo-hyun apologized for now.

“If you were offended... uh...”

“Will you offer me a sacrifice?”

“I don’t even know who you are, so it’s a bit much to offer a sacrifice first...?”

“That’s great. Prudence is a good virtue for humans to live by.”

“But why are you here, really?”

“I think I said that before.”

“No one called you.”

“No one called you.”

A brief moment of silence passed, and the portrait waved its hand gently.

“You called me, didn’t you?”

“.......”

Unlike before, the voice was gentle and soft.

“That’s why I came.”

“.......”

“To summon the evil spirit.”

And once again, it became as ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) blunt as a corpse.

“I’m looking for a friend to help me adapt.”

“...friend....”

Was that ‘adaptation’ perhaps a word directed at human society?

Among the gods, the evil spirits were particularly interested in humans. It was really unexpected, but if the ‘Black Cloak’ was one of those evil spirits, it made sense that he would suddenly appear and speak to them like this.

‘No, I’m not going.’

Do evil spirits usually appear out of nowhere like this?

“...I, I... was trying to call another evil spirit... you?”

“No matter what you were trying to call, there would be no better option than me.”

“Uh....”

It was an extremely arrogant statement, but rather than feeling resentment, I felt fear and anxiety.

‘The presence is growing.’

I understood that the other person’s tone of voice was fluctuating. Most of those great mysteries did not fit human standards, so many parts seemed strange.

‘Maybe he’s adapting, as I said earlier.’

However, the pressure that I hadn’t felt at first was gradually increasing, which was a dangerous sign.

‘Does the blunt tone make the level more obvious?’

When the initial tone of voice had a sense of cruel interest, it was rather absurd, but when the voice had a pious weight, and even more so when the current mechanical tone of voice was used, the level felt even clearer.

“.......”

“You seem confused.”

“...A little bit.”

“How can I help you?”

“Could you...speak a little more, more lightly...?”

“Aha.”

The tone suddenly rose.

“You seem to prefer informality?”

“...Yes, this is more comfortable.”

At the same time, the pressure also eased.

‘...Is the personality changing?’

For a moment, the thought of having to report this new information about the ‘Black Cloak’ crossed my mind, but it soon subsided. It was funny that he couldn’t break away from his usual habits while holding the symbol of the evil spirit.

The portrait, watching Joo-hyun’s reaction, asked.

“Why did you call the evil spirit?”

“...That’s surprising, I thought a god would know without me having to say it....”

“That’s an invasion of privacy.”

“.......”

“And now I’m human.”

“...Ah, yes.”

The being that jumped out of the frame didn’t seem convincing, but anyway, I knew that he was doing his best to meet human standards. The fact that no witnesses who claimed to be an evil spirit had their brains explode and died upon seeing the black cloak was proof of this.

If he hadn’t been considerate, there would have been countless victims just by looking. A god could have caused disaster just by looking.

“Why did you call the evil spirit?”

Joo-hyun muttered and soon closed his mouth.

“.......”

Well.

“...I don’t know.”

“You have no talent for revenge.”

“Don’t you know my circumstances?”

“I just came here to smell anger.”

“Of course, you would....”

Since the author of Evil God could not possibly be unaware of the circumstances of a mere human, the fact that he acted coyly, saying something about invading privacy, seemed like a kind of disguise or consideration.

‘No, how could an evil god show consideration?’

Then, wouldn’t it be imitating a human to appear as friendly as possible? Most evil gods are skilled and clever at digging into the hearts of humans, so imitating to that extent wouldn’t have been an issue.

In fact, I felt relieved.

“I trusted people.”

“Someone.”

“I trusted everyone.”

Joohyun had tried to summon Sankalut without any wish anyway. He wanted to relieve his inexplicable impulses, even if it was in such a stupid way.

So now, it wouldn’t be a big problem if he were to follow the rhythm of another evil spirit. Rather, the black cloak that his family talked about felt more familiar, so Joo-hyun continued talking.

“I trusted my family, I trusted my friends, I trusted my colleagues.”

“Are you overflowing with trust?”

“I thought I was suspicious... It’s embarrassing, it ended up like this.”

“What happened?”

“Some of my people died because of my stupidity, some betrayed me, and the rest abandoned me.”

“It’s so sad.”

“I was so angry. I wanted to ruin everything because I was so angry, but I didn’t know how to ruin it.”

“So you called the evil spirit?”

“I thought if I just called it, something would get better. I thought I could ruin something, so I tried my hand at it. I made it pretty well.”

Even though the evil spirits are easy to summon, considering that they are authors, it was clear that they were talented since they were able to create something so quickly. Joo-hyun laughed at my situation and talent, and also admired me.

“I wanted to do good things.”

I didn’t need honor.

“Just... anything...”

“Yeah.”

“I wanted to make a better world.”

“You have a kind heart.”

“...That would have been enough...”

I knew it would be hard, but it was harder than I imagined.

“Isn’t this too much?”

It was a complaint that could be made when dealing with an evil spirit.

“I know that having good intentions doesn’t mean that I will only receive good results. I knew that I shouldn’t be the only one struggling, so I made a lot of family, friends, and colleagues... but they all died, betrayed me, and left me.”

“.......”

“Look at this. It’s a symbol that can summon Sankalut. If you hold it, the evil spirit can gaze at me more easily. You’re using the knowledge you learned at the Association’s research institute like this. You even made it so well. And then you tried to summon the evil spirit without a wish.”

Really.

“This is the worst.”

The situation surrounding me, and himself.

“It couldn’t be worse....”

“Does that make you feel better now that you’ve said it?”

“...Black Cloak, are you an evil spirit?”

“There used to be quite a few people calling me that. Not anymore.”

“I think you were last seen in Korea.”

“Before you were here.”

“I see, that could be true.”

“Your work too.”

“.......”

“What do you want?”

It was like the devil’s whisper demanding an evil price.

Whether the black cloak was really an evil spirit, or something similar. In the first place, whether it was a god or a monster. It was a situation where nothing could be known... .

There was no reason not to answer.

“...A village where people die without value, lose precious people for no reason, and helplessly fall to continuous disasters... In hell, where we have to live in fear...”

The terrible karma created by humans, monsters, and nature, indiscriminately destroys everyone without distinguishing between good and evil. No one can be happy or at peace.

“I hope such a tragedy never repeats itself.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have the confidence to see that anymore.”

“Hmm.”

“I don’t want to see it.”

I tried really hard.

The cruelty of humans and monsters mixes together, and the world continues to create unbearable tragedies.

“Can you grant my wish?”

The silver cloak answered.

“? No?”

“.......”

Juhyun silently raised his head and looked at the black cloak.

“...Wasn’t it time to offer a deal and grant a wish?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t interact with people who are weak in mind and body. Dealing with them is a big deal.”

“Usually, it’s better to deal with people who are weak in mind and body? Can an evil spirit say something like that in the first place?”

“More than anything, gods are more insignificant and incompetent than you think.”

The black cloak asked in a pitiful tone.

“You weren’t thinking of wishing for something like world peace, were you?”

“...I thought it wouldn’t work out, but no matter what, isn’t that too honest?”

“Look, gentleman. I just came here to find a friend to exchange letters with. I’m sorry, but I think it would be better to give up on the dream of world peace.”

“So I don’t want world peace, I just want to contribute something....”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“...I can’t say no.”

Wait a minute.

“...A friend to exchange letters with? So, you mean a pen pal?”

“Will you do it? I can send it to you in the prettiest handwriting possible.”

“I don’t even know why that’s necessary... but what’s good and bad for me if you do it?”

“The fact that I won’t have to go hungry in the future and that I might end up a pig?”

“It’s hard to tell which is better and which is worse because they sound so similar.”

“You’re being harsh. Why, you’re the type of person who has a lot of friends, so why don’t you include me?”

“There’s something else to include....”

More than that.

“...Did you really ask me earlier if I was hungry?”

“I said that because you look like you could explode a nuclear bomb in a small country like Korea.”

“Do you know about nuclear bombs? No, but why did you ask if I was hungry? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Usually, people who try to cause trouble without reason are hungry.”

“But it doesn’t seem normal.”

“You could say it’s a human malfunction caused by a weak stomach.”

“I think you’ve been taught humans wrong. What does causing trouble have to do with a strong stomach?...”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

The portrait seemed to be smiling in the shadow of the cloak.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“.......”

He kept asking if I was hungry, so he was a very persistent evil spirit in a strange way.

‘... What is his intention? Since he’s an evil spirit, I don’t think it can be seen as the traditional mercy of a god. He definitely wants... .’

Joohyun tried to think calmly.

“.......”

He tried to do that, but it was hard to expect his usual rationality from him, who hadn’t eaten or slept for a while.

Half swept away, half bewitched by the sweet voice. Joo-hyun didn’t rebel but agreed.

“...I guess I’m hungry too.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. ‘What would happen if I prayed to the evil spirit for world peace?’

In a dream-indistinguishable unreality, Joo-hyun briefly had such a meaningless and worthless fantasy.

The black cloak reached out.

Joo-hyun was invited to the cabin.