#112. Sphinx’s Riddle (3)
There was a cold silence.
Soon after,
[Such cockiness… ! Don’t you clean this up?!]
The third big bared his teeth and cracked the iron sword pointed at him! I bit it.
The iron sword immediately shattered into pieces like millet cracks and scattered on the floor.
It was so fast that it was difficult to react.
‘this.’
Damdeok took a couple of steps back.
The third child was very excited.
[dare… How dare you… aim a sword at my neck?!]
The guy puffed out his fur and took on a threatening stance.
It looked like a runaway locomotive, as if it would jump out at any moment.
Although it was an imminent situation, Damdeok responded calmly.
“… Hey, I just gave the correct answer, why are you doing this? Surely the Sphinx of the world wouldn’t get angry because I pointed a sword at him while answering a question? “So shamefully.”
[what… ? Fatal… ?]
The third king was huffing and glaring at Damdeok as if he were going to kill him, but he couldn’t help but kick the ground as he was told it was cruel.
Damdeok knew well the reason.
‘Because what I said was correct.’
What kind of being is the Sphinx?
Isn’t he truly a mythical being who lives in mystery and dies in mystery?
No matter how much Damdeok pointed his sword at himself, if it was part of the process of answering the question correctly, he probably couldn’t be held more accountable.
“Why are you doing that? “Are you saying what I said wasn’t correct?”
At those words, the faces of First Su and Second Ping darkened gloomily.
It was said to be the correct answer.
[profit… !]
The third big growled, unable to contain his anger, and suddenly swung! She turned around and started hitting the wall.
Quang!
Passsss!
Quang!
Passsss!
Seeing the thick wall turning to powder in an instant, Damdeok secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Honestly, I was a little scared… .’
Isn’t this a sphinx with divine power comparable to that of the highest god?
Pointing a sword at a guy like that and radiating serious intent to kill him was an act that could not have been done with ordinary courage.
‘Still, I’m glad I vented my anger on the wall like that.’
The small space of the stone chamber was gradually expanding due to the merciless attack of the third large.
If it had hit him with that level of destructive force and speed, Hercules’ armor might have been shattered.
[Stop being the youngest.]
The first self quietly stopped the third.
[I told you to stop!]
When the second ping stepped forward and blocked the third, it was only then that he stopped huffing and slamming into the wall.
Calmness returned.
The sphinxes were not saying anything, but Damdeok knew.
‘You even got the second question right… .’
There is only one problem left.
The last question will probably be the most difficult one they think.
[The youngest. The last one will be
As soon as the first one opened his mouth, the second one, Ping, also chimed in.
[okay. That’s the lowest correct answer rate ever, so it’s better to stick with it.]
At those words, the corner of the Third Big’s mouth went up crookedly.
Damdeok felt his heartbeat getting stronger again.
‘What kind of shitty problem can I ask again…’ ?’
Angels and devils.
Just hearing the title is not unusual.
Baekgureum next to me continued to apply saliva to his dry lips.
‘They’re like cats fascinated by mysteries!’
No matter what happens, you have to get it right.
No matter how difficult the problem is, it must be… !
A strong will was planted in Damdeok’s eyes.
The third one giggled and opened his mouth.
[Last question.]
At the same time, the first Su and the second Ping walked forward and stood.
‘what… ?’
Damdeok quietly looked at the guys.
[Now, here is an angel and a devil.]
First of all, you are an angel.
Second, Ping is the devil.
Damdeok and Baekgureum looked puzzled at the sudden role play.
The third child continued talking as if he was dying of fun.
[Listen carefully, angels will unconditionally listen to what you say, and devils will unconditionally listen to the opposite of what you say.]
[What should I say if you want to go to heaven? There is only one chance to speak.]
[Kick. Think carefully~]
The guys started giggling as if they were dying because role-playing
[ah! Of course, if you satisfy both people at the same time with a single word and go to heaven, you will survive, but if you go to hell, you will end up being eaten, right? You will have to think carefully before speaking. With just one word, your future fate will be decided~?]
As soon as the third king finished speaking, Susu, who played the role of an angel, and Ping, who played the role of a devil, approached Damdeok and Baekgureum with a smile.
[Now, where do you want to go, heaven or hell?]
It’s a disaster.
A tremendous amount of murderous energy emanated from them as they laughed and twirled.
It was so deadly that even Damdeok, who had fear resistance, flinched.
‘Ugh…!’
Baekgureum held on to his trembling right arm and tried not to let go of the sword.
‘Dangerous… !’
Living at this level was a risk that crossed the line.
Moreover, the intent of the problem is not understood at all.
‘If you ask to be taken to heaven, the devil will take you to the opposite, hell.’
‘If you ask to be taken to hell, the angel will listen to you and take you to hell… .’
I had no idea what the answer would be to satisfy both at the same time.
Glancing.
Baekgureum, who was trembling and worried, looked at Damdeok standing next to him.
A man who always overcomes any crisis without giving up, he was silently lowering his head.
‘what. This time, I don’t think he really knows the answer either… .’
An ominous feeling crept in.
That means… .
Baekgureum gritted his teeth.
Die.
Death.
As soon as such a thought comes to mind, the life I have lived so far passes before my eyes like a black and white film.
… … .
I regretted everything.
As soon as he became famous as a swordsman genius, he boasted about it.
He punished opponents who were weaker than him more than necessary.
He was proud and thought that only swordsmanship was the best.
He looked down on all other martial arts.
Meeting Damdeok too late, etc… .
The sphinxes’ cackling voices sound vaguely like despair.
‘really… This is the end… ?’
This is ridiculous.
It was impossible.
‘How have I honed my swordsmanship and martial arts until now… !’
Even the heart of Bingryong was offended, and now he can barely handle circle 1 mana… !!
Baekgureum tightened his grip on the handle of the sword he was holding.
He will never sit down like this.
No matter how much the Sphinx is worthy of its name, it is said that they are the highest gods,
‘I’m not going to sit still and suffer.’
He wasn’t fighting alone, and right now he had the monster-like Damdeok next to him.
‘If God’s call calls for the third guardian, Etin, his tribesmen, and even the wolves that were subjugated by the opening decree… !’
The situation may be different.
‘No, with that much power, you’ll have enough time to escape!’
Baekgureum really thought so.
Moreover, if he knew Damdeok, he would not wait for death in vain like this.
Baekgureum believed so strongly and looked at Damdeok with eyes of trust.
The moment his attack began, he also planned to throw everything he had at those damn cats.
but,
“… … .”
No matter how long I waited, Damdeok did not move. I just keep my head down in silence.
‘why? why… ?’
Baekgureum’s eyes wavered.
Are we really going to let this happen quietly?
Because there was no hope in fighting in the first place?
What is it, that guy?
‘Why on earth are you staying still…? !!’
It was a time when a silent cry echoed deep in my heart.
[10!]
At that moment when the Sphinxes were excitedly shouting out numbers as if they were counting down to the New Year, the white clouds saw clearly.
The corners of Damdeok’s mouth, who had been quietly lowering his head, turned up with a grin.
‘I laughed… ?’
At the same time that Baekgureum’s pupils got bigger, Damdeok slowly raised his head.
“Whether it’s an angel or a devil… .”
He spoke so quietly that it was hard to hear.
The sphinxes deliberately put their hands and feet to their ears and spoke sarcastically.
[what?]
[Speak loudly! I can’t hear it at all!]
Damdeok spoke clearly and in a slightly louder voice.
This time, everyone was quiet, so Damdeok’s voice rang out clearly in the stone room.
“Either angel or devil. Take me to where you are. “That’s my answer.”
Seeing Damdeok grinning, the faces of the sphinxes began to rapidly freeze.
* * *
Damdeok, Baekgureum, and even the new member Poppy. They were silently climbing the spiral staircase.
“Hyung, how did you get the last question right?”
“just.”
“just? Nonsense.”
“Sometimes things that don’t make sense are more realistic.”
Damdeok smiled happily.
The stunned expressions on the Sphinxes’ faces when they answered the last question correctly!
It was truly a moment when pleasure enveloped my entire body.
Although they looked devastated, the Sphinxes were still a people who kept their promises.
They returned to their cute cheese cat appearances and told the truth about the information Damdeok wanted.
‘The fourth guardian is sleeping on the 444th floor.’
The numbers were ominous.
However, I was relieved to find out the exact destination.
“I just guessed it right… No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know. He’s a really strangely lucky guy. “How on earth did you solve such a problem?”
White clouds were constantly chattering next to me.
Damdeok smiled.
‘I was lucky with the last question.’
There is no way to express it other than that I was really lucky.
A riddle that my late father used to tell me while he was alive. He was a father who enjoyed quizzing his son while sitting at the end of the bus, smoking a cigarette.
“Damdeok, angels and devils appear before your eyes… (syncopation). “How would you feel if you raised a problem like this?”
One question that I couldn’t answer correctly every time,
‘That riddle gave me a headache because I didn’t know the answer even if I died.’
Moreover, the father may have found it cute to see his son asking riddles and groaning, but he often got on the bus without telling him the answer right away.
“I’m curious about the answer, Dad! Please let me know!”
“Haha, it doesn’t work like that~ Son, you always have to find the answer yourself.”
At the same time, my father was sitting in the driver’s seat of a large bus and waving his hand.
At the time, I was angry at my father for leaving so quickly, but as time passed, my thoughts changed.
The answer to a riddle I heard so long ago remains so clearly in my memory… .
“ha ha ha! Isn’t my son a genius? “A seven-year-old thought on his own and got this answer right?!”
After thinking for days on end, he finally got the answer right.
‘For other riddles, he always gave me the answers when I got home, but not for that one.’
A little while ago, as soon as I heard the problem posed by Sphinx,
I vaguely remembered my father laughing, saying that from now on, my son will be able to go to heaven under any circumstances.
Could it be that your father… .
Didn’t you know that this day would come someday?
Damdeok laughed bitterly.
‘That can’t be possible.’
Still, thanks to that problem, I was able to think deeply about my father for the first time in a long time.
That was the reason why he didn’t answer the question right away and kept his head down for a while.
‘Thank you, father. Thanks to this, he was able to get the answer right.’
And Damdeok made a promise in his heart.
Whether it’s the War of the Gods or something else, the Gate, the Demon World, Pandora, Tartarus, or whatever amazing thing is coming in the future!
This land where my mother breathes and my father sleeps… I will definitely protect it.
‘Now that I have awakened as a god, these are the things I must accomplish.’
As Damdeok’s eyes hardened, Poppy, who had already reached the end of the stairs, shouted with a bright face.
“older brother! We’re there! “It’s the 444th floor!”
fantasy,
