Etranger

“Let’s finish this off now… What else do veteran players in this game need to say?” San firmly said.

“Wait! Let’s stop. We are the Creator’s messengers, and we do not want to perish here,” Gapael shouted out, raising his hands as if he had suddenly woken up. His hands were completely empty-handed. It was the universal open-hand sign indicating that one was not hostile.

San stopped moving and stared at Gapael. The corners of San’s mouth slightly rose upward.

“Conceited angel… do you still think you have a choice?”

“There was a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? If you kill someone and tell them later that it was a misunderstanding, I’m pretty sure the dead will feel really good, right?”

Gapael looked at San bitterly. While making eye contact with the two, he awkwardly brushed the dust off his clothes and wings.

“We are Golden Avians, also called angels. My name is Gapael, and that is Linuel.”

“So? Did we ever say we were curious about your names? I don’t have much time. Just tell me why I shouldn’t kill you and what you’re offering! Briefly!” San responded coldly. 

Gapael started breathing shallowly.

“We deal with the heretics, unknown variations, and genetically modified beings that enter this world. The two of us have been patrolling Zone 24 for 476 years, and we have suppressed the rapidly growing mutant population.”

“The variants?” asked Biyeon.

“They are beings commonly known as blood demons. They live off the blood of their own people.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Since hundreds of years ago, they have hunted and killed many Avian species native to this region. Also, the captured Avians turned into blood demons themselves and began hunting their own people. Humans were also hunted by these blood demons. They are incredibly strong. And… they smell like you.”

“Smell?”

“It’s the smell of a drug called nectar. Nectar is known as living water, but it’s a drug that ultimately turns the user into a blood demon. It’s a very dangerous epidemic,” Linuel replied.

“Nectar?” Biyeon asked. Her expression hardened.

“So… you know? We smell that nectar from you both. Do you have any nectar on you?”

“If it’s the nectar that we know of, then we’ve drunk and used it countless times. So, the main issue is resolved, right? Are you satisfied?” San asked. He still had a sore expression on his face.

“Then… how are you both okay?” Linuel asked before letting out an exasperated moan.

“Then are you both… possibly evolved variants?” asked Gapael with a hardened face.

“Don’t worry. We’re not weak enough to succumb to nectar,” replied San with a smile.

Gapael stared at San’s smiling face. As he was about to speak, he turned to Linuel instead.

It seemed like he wanted to check something before saying it. Linuel was covering her mouth with her hand and was checking Biyeon’s expression. She looked at Biyeon with disbelief and a tinge of curiosity…

“Then… are you saying you’ve overcome the negative effects of nectar?” Linuel managed to ask.

“Let’s say yes. At least, we haven’t become addicted.”

“How…?”

“Why do I need to report these things to you? Why do I need to answer your questions?”

San put away his sword. He turned to look toward Biyeon. She had also turned her head to look at him. She shook her head. There was a clear misunderstanding between them and the Golden Avian people. Although they aimed for their lives, they didn’t want to press the issue and kill.

They were reasonable modern people. They weren’t psychopaths who enjoyed murder. 

Biyeon stated her conclusion, “That’s it then. We’re only interested in one thing. If you’re not willing to continue your attacks, then open a path for our convoy. Also, make a pledge that you won’t backstab us later on. We promise to pass your zone peacefully if you do us no harm. Let’s keep this simple. Does this work for you both?”

“We were already defeated by you both. I swear on the ‘Original Human’ and promise to fulfill this agreement. I will also tell the Avian People and Akum. But… I would like to make two requests.”

Gapael wiped his mouth while talking. Blood was still seeping out. However, he had a relaxed expression.

“Let’s be precise with our words. Are you requesting or asking?”

San’s expression grew cool once more. Gapael flinched his shoulders.

“Please, we are asking.” 

“Speak.”

“We’d like to first ask if you could spare some time to speak with us in detail…”

“That’s not difficult. We also want to talk with you both. And?”

“Could you promise us one thing?”

“Is it something large?”

“I don’t think so.”

San looked at Biyeon. She nodded her head.

“Let’s hear it first before we decide. Shall we start discussing in earnest now?”

***

“Where did you two come from?” 

“It’s a place called Earth. Have you heard of it?”

“Well… there are so many places. Linuel, have you ever heard of it?”

“I think I’ve heard of it before,” Linuel replied, thinking deeply. 

San and Biyeon’s eyes began to come alive. The two were listening and waiting intently while holding their breath.

“I recall the name being mentioned once in a conversation amongst the Great Angels 574 years ago.”

“What was the conversation about?”

“I remember that it was related to the collapse of the dimension, but I haven’t heard the name come up again since then. At that time, I did a brief investigation, but unlike other districts and dimensions, it was completely shrouded in secrecy.”

“What do you mean?” Biyeon asked carefully.

“It means information related to the district is sealed. It is the will of the ‘Creator’. We don't dare to guess.”

“Well, it means that someone at least went back and forth. That’s good news. Is there any chance we can go back?”

“Moving to other areas or districts is strictly prohibited. Only the Original Human, the ‘Creator’, can open a path to another area or district. It’s also possible for the Creator to have given authority to another.”

“Then, is it safe to say that the Creator brought us into this world? That the Master is the Creator?”

“That’s… I don’t know. However, we can assure you that the Creator has not descended into this world. The Master you are referring to is not the Creator.”

Gapael looked as if he was put into a corner. 

“Then who is the Master? Do you know?”

“We don’t know anything about him either. He is a completely hidden existence. He could be a god, a dragon, or something else.”

“Then who else is there? If not the Creator, who else could have brought us here? Has the system been hacked?” San grunted aloud.

Linuel’s expression suddenly changed. This could be a serious problem for them too.

“There are several possibilities. There’s another being that has the power also…”

“?”

“When the ‘Original Human’ first created this world, there was a vessel that fully contained his will.”

“A vessel?”

“The contents of the vessel were emptied a long time ago, but its design still describes the intent and way the ‘Creator’ created the universe. It is said that if it can be refilled, the vessel is likely to possess the same powers as the ‘Creator’. But… she’s probably in a ‘terminated’ state…” said Linuel. She groaned at the end. Unfortunately, her groan was not heard by San or Biyeon.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know for certain. This was the content recorded in the ‘Sage’s Book’, which is only allowed to be read by the dragon tribe, that is, Sages.”

“What is this vessel or being called?”

“I can’t say its name. We are not allowed to say that name.”

Gapael shook his head. Fear was clearly written all over his face.

“However, because 'vessel’ often refers to a woman’s womb, the being should be a woman, and from that vessel, one billion gods and one billion Awakeners acquired bodies. That’s why this being is also referred to as the mother of gods. That’s the extent to which I know.”

“The ‘Creator’, also known as the ‘Original Human’… and then there are the Sages who are the vessels for dragons… now there’s a Mother of Gods… Damn... it’s like a group of concubines,” San muttered. 

Biyeon fell deep into thought.

‘This is… in Buddhism, it’s very similar to the Bodhisattva, the mother of 700 million Buddhas, right? ‘Pian’ is also a Buddhist term… This is… What kind of neighborhood is this place? How come all the myths are mixed together like this?”

San and Biyeon’s faces were full of color. They heard very useful information from weird existences in an unexpected place. There were some statements that were different from the information they heard from the gods, but they were something to gradually double check later on.

“Well, it’s a neighborhood full of weird things, so there must be all kinds of beings. By the way, how can you tell who’s a variant? Are we the same as variants? If so, this means we’ll be attacked elsewhere as well…” said San as he clicked his tongue.

“They’re just like humans. Humans won’t be able to distinguish them. However, our senses can distinguish them from existing races. I still don’t know who you are. The scent is very weird, very different than normal variants. Your scent and aura are similar to nectar, but something is different…”

“Like a sweet feeling? A sense of something sweet?” Biyeon mentioned.

“Did you know?” Linuel asked in surprise. 

Biyeon nodded. It was the same smell she smelled every day in the Pian. Something terribly sweet, fatally enticing. It made her want to eat her own flesh…

“It’s the first time we were told we smelled like that. Are there other scents or auras from us?”

“Different scents are mixed. It’s very small but…”

“What?”

Linuel looked to Gapael instead of answering immediately. She was asking for his consent. Gapael thought for a while and then nodded. Their species would not make a mistake about that scent…

“The scent of our owner…” said Gapael, hesitant to continue. 

“Owner?” Biyeon asked again. 

Linuel bit her lips. She, too, hesitated for a while, then added on, “Our owner is the ‘Original Human’, the one and only.”

***

“Shall we hear that request now?” San said. 

Linuel and Gapael were looking deeply at the two’s faces. However, they didn’t see any noticeable change in their facial expressions. San and Biyeon didn’t seem to be taking this part of the discussion too seriously.

“Look for ‘A-Pian’,” Gapael requested.

“A-Pian?” San and Biyeon both blurted out.

“It will provide the answers to your questions,” Linuel explained.

“Where is that place?” San asked.

“It’s a place you two have to find on your own. We don’t know either.”

“Why? All of a sudden out of nowhere…” Biyeon muttered.

“You both have overcome nectar. You also carry the mark of the ‘Original One’. Those are reasonable enough reasons.”