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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Standing in the center of the chamber was a woman loosely draped in white cloth, a goddess with wolf ears twitching and a tail swaying gently.
The moment Sung Ha-rin saw Garia in human form, she had a thought.
‘Could there be a more beautiful being in this world?’
“[What are you waiting for? Come here.]”
“Ah… I’m sorry!!”
Sung Ha-rin, who had been staring blankly at Garia, captivated by her beauty, quickly walked towards the Queen of the Wolves.
“It’s… been a while!!”
She bowed deeply, greeting the queen.
Having lived with Garum and the other wolves, Ha-rin’s ingrained respect for superiors naturally manifested itself here.
Garia smiled faintly, seemingly pleased, and stroked Ha-rin’s head.
Her demeanor was much gentler and softer than when they first met.
“[Indeed, you’ve been well-disciplined, just like someone taught by Garum. He… is a particularly strict one.]”
“Yes!! It’s all thanks to my brothers!!”
“[Good. But you don’t have to be so tense in front of me.]”
Garia embraced Sung Ha-rin to ease her tension.
Held against Garia’s ample bosom, Sung Ha-rin felt her heart calm at the faint, sweet scent.
She felt an unprecedented sense of peace, as if she was being embraced by her real mother.
She didn’t realize that a similar scent was starting to emanate from her as well.
Sung Ha-rin was still unaware that not only her personality but also her appearance was gradually changing.
“By the way, you can transform into a human form too?”
“[It’s not difficult. It’s easier to communicate with you this way.]”
“Aha… Thank you…”
“[Don’t mention it. There’s no need to thank me for something like this.]”
Sung Ha-rin felt even happier at her warm words.
Garia handed Ha-rin a brass cup.
The cup was filled with a sparkling blue liquid.
“This is…”
“[This is Moonclear Water. Drink it all, and your second trial will begin.]”
“The second trial!”
Eager to complete the trials quickly, Sung Ha-rin drank the Moonclear Water in one gulp, not leaving a single drop behind.
She didn’t suspect that Garia would give her anything harmful.
“Wow, this is so refreshing… Hmm…”
Thud.
She collapsed the moment she drank the Moonclear Water, and Garia caught her.
Garia looked down at Sung Ha-rin, who had fallen unconscious in her arms.
A rare human. A wolf with a rare talent.
“[But you’re bound to a rare monster.]”
Garia rubbed the Slave Brand on Ha-rin’s forehead, erasing it.
For her, a higher deity, the Slave Brand, a mere restraint placed by a human, was nothing more than a trivial trick she could easily erase.
“[You are now free.]”
The Slave Brand has been removed!!
The last trace of foul odor clinging to Sung Ha-rin vanished.
Now, only the scent of a beast and the freedom of the plains emanated from her.
When Sung Ha-rin first arrived at the meadow and looked up at the moon, the stench of the evil gods and the pungent smell of decay clung to her.
The black beasts that had attacked her, startled by the stench, were scouts sent by Garia.
Garia initially assumed Sung Ha-rin was a minion of the evil gods. She intended to threaten her and send her back.
But the moment Sung Ha-rin’s fighting spirit ignited, her true nature, hidden beneath the strong residue of the evil gods, was revealed.
That was when Garia realized that this small human wasn’t a servant of the evil gods.
And upon closer inspection, Garia was surprised.
‘A human who still held onto freedom, even while bound by chains.’
Sung Ha-rin wasn’t a minion of the evil gods. Although the stench of the evil gods clung to her strongly, her identity as a human, as Sung Ha-rin, remained intact.
This was because the human who branded her hadn’t tried to forcefully change her, and the evil gods respected the choices of their servants. Above all, Sung Ha-rin possessed a strong will.
“[There was no need for such a thing. This child would never betray you. A suspicious child you are.]”
While Sung Ha-rin was playing in the meadow with the wolves, Garia had been observing Jang Jo-joon, the one who had branded Sung Ha-rin’s forehead, from her cave.
Jang Jo-joon was a human who had caught the attention of the gods, even Garia, who had been detached from worldly affairs.
A human who was deemed dangerous by even the arrogant, uncommunicative good gods. A human with an abnormally high pain tolerance and an unprecedented mental fortitude that didn’t crumble even after facing the evil gods directly.
And the one who had forcibly dragged out the Serpent of the Void, who was being punished with erasure for breaking the rules.
In this game, Jang Jo-joon, Sung Ha-rin’s master, was the most dangerous wildcard among all the Players.
“[No matter how impressive you are, this child is now mine. So it would be wise to leave a small warning.]”
The Wolf Queen kissed Sung Ha-rin’s forehead.
With this, the Slave Brand would no longer work on Sung Ha-rin.
And if Jo-joon tried to brand Ha-rin’s forehead again, he would see Garia’s warning.
“[When you run towards the end, my child will open your path. No matter what choice you make, I, as a mother, will trust my child’s decision.]”
The ancient gods were beings detached from the victory or defeat of the game.
Before the nameless evil gods revealed themselves and the good gods were born, the ancient gods had made their choice regarding the ending.
As a result, they no longer had a choice. They were simply a group that sided with either the evil gods or the good gods, supporting and cheering for their victory. That was the now-declining Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts.
“[That old tree is still obsessed with the ending… but well…]”
Garia no longer cared about what happened.
Her war had long since ended.
All that was left for her was to wait for the slowly approaching future.
Whether the evil gods or the good gods won wasn’t particularly important to Garia.
Because either way, she had no way to survive.
So she simply focused on the present.
Now was the time to pray that Sung Ha-rin, her new child, would overcome these trials.
“[May you find your answer.]”
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Dark and desolate.
A barren plain. Colorless, odorless, and devoid of any vegetation.
Sung Ha-rin awoke on the border between her unconsciousness and her surface consciousness.
“Where…?”
This wasn’t the kind of dream world Jang Jo-joon had experienced.
This was a place she could only access due to the effects of the Moonclear Water.
“What… am I supposed to do here…?”
Sung Ha-rin couldn’t find a direction to move.
Her intuition warned her that if she moved recklessly, she might never return.
Heeding the warning, Sung Ha-rin stopped.
“Wh-what should I do…?”
Up until now, she had always been given a goal.
A destination to reach.
The cave she had just passed through was the same.
A straight, horizontal tunnel, where all she had to do was move forward.
But this place was a near-empty space with no purpose or goal.
Ha-rin had no idea what to do or where to go.
As she stood there, lost, a black wolf emerged from the darkness.
At the same time, a white wolf approached her from the opposite direction.
The two wolves faced each other, with Sung Ha-rin in between them.
In this baffling situation, Garia’s voice echoed,
“[Two wolves.]”
“[The black wolf is the embodiment of your negative emotions: your inferiority complex, victim mentality, anger, hatred, and desires. If you choose it, you will gain great power. But your mind will gradually be consumed by madness.]”
“[The white wolf is the embodiment of your positive emotions: your will, your adventurous spirit, your courage, your fighting spirit, and your indomitable spirit. If you choose it, you will not gain much power. But you will be able to continue shining faintly, as you have before.]”
“[Choose. Your choice will change many things.]”
She had to choose one of the two.
Madness accompanied by great power, or sanity with weak power.
Garia’s voice faded, and the two wolves, facing each other, lunged to kill each other.
Sung Ha-rin, who was standing between them, was pushed back by the force of their impact.
The killing intent of the two beasts materialized, clawing at the surroundings. If she got too close, she would be severely injured.
The sharp aura made it difficult for Sung Ha-rin to approach the clashing wolves.
And she hesitated. She couldn’t decide which one to choose.
She had come here seeking power. Power strong enough to keep up with the others.
That hadn’t changed. But if she chose that path, she might be consumed by madness and hurt her comrades.
‘We, wolves, must protect our family. To do so, we must carefully consider where our fangs are pointed.’
Garum’s words echoed in her mind.
But if she chose the white wolf, she would return to reality empty-handed. She couldn’t do that.
As she agonized over her choice, the wolves’ injuries worsened.
The black wolf’s front leg was torn off, and the white wolf’s neck was deeply gouged.
Lost in thought, she looked up, drawn by the scent of blood.
She saw the two injured wolves.
Suddenly, she realized how foolish her dilemma was.
She started running.
Facing the sharp aura head-on, unafraid of being injured.
She ran towards the wolves.
“Haa… Haa…”
Ha-rin reached the two wolves.
Her arms, legs, and body were covered in wounds from the journey. But she felt no pain. The two wolves were already battered and bruised from their fight while she hesitated.
‘The laws of the blue moon.’
Sung Ha-rin embraced the wolves, who were still glaring and growling at each other even as they were dying from their wounds.
She embraced both wolves in her arms.
“Both of you are me.”
She realized it.
There was no need to choose between the two from the beginning.
Her inferiority complex, her victim mentality, her hatred, her anger…
Her adventurous spirit, her fighting spirit, her courage… All of it.
They were all part of her, her lifelong companions.
She couldn’t just discard them, no matter what they were.
Because a wolf never abandoned its comrades.
“Instead of agonizing like a coward, I should have run to you both. I’m sorry I was late.”
The two wolves in her arms vanished.
At the same time, Garia’s voice echoed.
“[Second trial passed.]”
“[Excellent.]”
Sung Ha-rin didn’t know if her choice was right or wrong.
She had simply passed the trial.
“[Then for the final trial.]”
“[Your body will be reborn.]”
“[Endure the pain.]”
The final trial began without giving her time to think.
The third trial was to endure the pain.
It was the last and most difficult trial.
Many lost their minds or died during the transformation process.
But Sung Ha-rin would endure.
She was already a true warrior, a blue moon beast who had achieved inner harmony.
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T/N – Well, the MC will definitely hate that he can’t mark Ha-rin anymore. That is unless she gets an independent mark like with Ha-young.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
