An ancient castle left with little to no trace of the grass walls.
There was a case covered with a shabby bundle of cloth.
It was an item that was supposed to be auctioned, so the bare minimum treatment was given to it, at least preventing dust from landing on it.
Still, the hosts of this auction made it clear that they have no respect for this Tuatha Dé Danann treasure.
Nevertheless, the treasure stood tall.
Seeing that the Destiny skill was activated as soon as we faced the treasure, I knew something was going to happen.
‘If it’s not because of the treasure, then what?’
A response came from the side.
Shwoooo!
The trump cards held by Phantom Thief Neon flew in the air.
He quickly released energy waves so as to not the cards hit the ground, but they remained scattered in the air.
Seeing him scurry, Goo Seulbi looked like she pitied him
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“I didn’t do that by mistake. Thieves don’t make mistakes!”
That’s not true.
In PMH’s story mode, there’s a scene where Phantom Thief Neon makes a mistake and gets frustrated.
And though I don’t want to acknowledge myself as ‘that word’ I have made mistakes in the past that made my angel, Olmu, suffer in the past.
“This is… because of ‘him’!”
His regular cards had the patterns of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clovers, except…
The cards transformed, now decorated with swans, Fidchell, and chess pieces.
It could be for another reason, but the trump cards had a unique energy.
Fwaaa…!
Energy waves from the cards surrounded the area and our vision changed rapidly.
In a short blackout, the surroundings became quiet.
There was no sound of Neon and Goo Seulbi bickering, nor the remnants of the wall of grass and the cloth-covered treasure.
‘Why am I here again…’
The space slowly felt familiar.
I faced the Dragon King not too long ago in a space similar to this one.
‘This came after Neon’s cards were activated. So he’s connected to a superior being after all.’
The swan mask worn by Phantom Thief Neon and the swan pattern engraved on his cards.
The chess pieces and Fidchell pieces.
A similar situation to what happened in Celtic mythology.
There’s only one superior being that comes to mind.
‘Neon’s connected to Midhir, just as Heukma predicted.’
Hwiii…!
A light shimmered gently from above and gradually brightened.
A man wearing a blindfolded swan mask and white clothes appeared.
Midhir looked down at me.
“Hello.”
When I greeted him politely, a subtle light shone brightly as if it had found a lost vitality.
Midhir respond.
[Yes, hello. You really are a polite child.]
I think that’s what superior beings say every time I encounter them.
I think I said “hello” in a pretty much normal way, so I wonder why they keep saying that.
[It became hard for us to meet humans after the end of the age of myths. It’s been a while since I’ve been greeted by a human being, so I guess I just feel like you’re particularly polite.]
Midhir spoke with a smile, perhaps noticing that I questioned his statement.
Seeing his rather bright attitude, I thought of something.
‘He must’ve been reunited with Étaín.’
In the myths, the story of Midhir and Étaín ended quite bitterly.
One was wed to a different lover, and the other was left behind.
In this world, it seems like Midhir was safely reunited with his lover Étaín.
[Hehehe, I’m glad I lent my strength to that thief. It’s always a great feeling when you get something in return for what you lost. I got the chance for this nice encounter.]
It sounds like it was the auction that triggered the connection between Midhir and Phantom Thief neon.
In PMH, Painter Hong Kyungbok remained lethargic after his student’s first painting was stolen, and that fact remained unknown.
In this world, however, he actively contacted the media and announced that Imoogi’s Exorcism was stolen.
‘So, unlike in the game, Neon is here, and he established a connection with Midhir.’
He’s a superior being known in the myths to have ventured to recover his lover, so he might’ve been tempted to lend his strength to this heist/retrieval mission.
In Celtic myths, there’s also Morrígan, a goddess famous for revenge, but maybe she’s already intervening in this situation through the Crow Devil King.
[The Fomorian demons prepared a lot to insult us. We arranged an act of revenge in response.]
“…Revenge?”
So it seems that the Tuatha Dé Danann hasn’t been watching complacently.
As higher beings, their intervention in this world is limited, but there could be a few of them that are still within reach.
They must’ve been busy moving, careful not to get the spotlight.
[It’s one of my specialties to let the opponent off guard under the guise of a strong player. Eochaid Airem fell for this trick too.]
Eochaid Airem, the one that Midhir played Celtic chess against in the myths.
I remember an anecdote detailing how Midhir, a famous Fidchell genius, beat Eochaid Airem by elaborately seeming sloppy in the beginning to keep his opponent at ease.
[They were wary of other royal lineages, and even us, in the beginning, and they didn’t pay any attention to the humans. The thief and the night hag’s disciple, the Crow Devil King’s agent, a human fit to be king, and you. We provided the requisites to make this happen ourselves.]
A human fit to be king…
Is he referring to Sung Gukeon?
That means they’ve leaked information to somehow ensure Sung Gukeon’s attendance.
“Was the purpose to let the treasure be captured by humans?”
[Correct. There’s nothing better than letting humans recapture a treasure in the hands of the demons that look down on them. The same is true for other auctions.]
The Fomorians asked Sung Gukeon to destroy the treasure.
In a sense, both the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians had the same idea — use humans to humiliate each other.
Midhir continued speaking
[I feel sorry for the child I gave my order to, but I think the painting of the failed dragon is already in your party’s hands.]
It seems like Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong successfully retrieved Imoogi’s Exorcism.
‘So the Tuatha Dé Danann used indirect means, but they were actively intervening all along.’
It seems like from the beginning, the Tuatha Dé Danann had been planning and setting up this situation to retrieve their treasure.
If so, they must have a rather wide knowledge of the Fomorians’ history.
I suddenly felt choked up.
It’s possible that they didn’t know about the demons’ ability to make a specific space an otherworld, but I’m sure the Tuatha Dé Danann knew better than anyone else about the existence of Balor, the one-eyed giant.
‘We could’ve died under Balor’s gaze…!’
I know that it was because of the clues from the Tuatha Dé Danann that we were able to retrieve Imoogi’s Exorcism quite smoothly, but I’m not settled.
I can’t let this pass.
“Phantom Thief Neon and Merlin’s disciple were almost exposed to Balor’s eye. They were in extreme danger.”
I was openly blaming him, a superior being, for it, but Midhir’s smile deepened.
Far from being angry, he looked rather happy.
[I see you’re not only polite, but also kind.]
“…”
[We were on guard for Balor’s eyes. We prepared a gift for each of those children.]
Energy waves flowed from the tips of MIdhir’s fingers and formed a shape.
One was a card, and the other was an oak cane.
Those were the weapon items carried by Neon and Goo Seulbi.
[We’ve blessed them so that they can block Balor’s eye at least once. I never meant to make a shallow move on the child I gave an order to. And…]
Midhir’s voice sounded playful.
[The treasure that you’re going to retrieve now is a mythical spear that can defeat that Demon King’s eye. Don’t fret. As long as you have that spear in your hand, Balor cannot do anything out of order.]
A weapon that can stop Balor’s eye.
One of the four treasures of Tuatha Dé Danann.
There’s only one thing that comes to mind.
Lugh, the god of light, and his spear that is said to guarantee victory.
While I thought carefully of what I should say next, Midhir burst into laughter.
[Hoohoohoo, you seem like a good child. I can trust you confidently with the treasure.]
“Excuse me? The treasure?”
[Our time is up. Take good care of those two kids.]
What does he mean, by entrusting the treasure and the two kids to me?
I planned to connect to Merlin through Goo Seulbi after retrieving the treasure though!
[I was reunited with Étaín, but the memories of the times we spent together were never recovered. Help my child not to go through the same thing.]
Midhir’s voice was full of regret.
It’s understandable, natural even since he would never regain that lost time.
‘If he’s talking about Neon, and his memories and time that he could lose, then maybe…’
Before I could bid goodbye to Midhir, he already left.
In an instant, his presence became blurred, and a ringing sound reached my ears.
Somehow, I was back in the castle.
And, as if not even a few seconds had passed, Goo Seulbi and Phantom Thief Neon were still bickering.
“If thieves don’t make mistakes then what is this?”
“It’s not a mistake, but it’s something close to that.”
“Then can’t we just call it a mistake?”
Phantom Thief Neon stood his ground as he retrieved the trump cards.
Technically, it wasn’t really a mistake since the cards moved of Midhir’s volition.
‘Anyway, I should follow Midhir’s words for now and retreat with the treasure.’
I was confused, but I decided to ground myself with Midhir’s words first.
As he said, if we had the Spear of Lugh, along with the gifts given to Neon and Goo Seulbi, we would be safe from Balor.
I reached for the treasure.
“Wait, there might be an alarm attached to that or something!”
“If that treasure is a weapon, there’s a possibility that it will reject you if you touch it!”
The Spear of Lugh and Sword of Nuada.
They were the weapons wielded by the gods who were considered as the greatest of their era in Celtic mythology.
We’re now in the land of the Celtics.
Those two weapons, when touched, could bring down heaven’s wrath.
But I’m not worried about that at all.
‘Midhir himself said he entrusts the treasure, and I have that skill too.’
The skill to use all weapons and shields.
I was blessed with that skill the moment I came into this world.
<Skill Use Objects activated.>
