C.398

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 D 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 its 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 didnt do that by mistake. Thieves dont make mistakes!

Thats not true.

In PMHs story mode, theres a scene where Phantom Thief Neon makes a mistake and gets frustrated.

And though I dont 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

I faced the Dragon King not too long ago in a space similar to this one.

This came after Neons cards were activated. So hes 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.

Theres only one superior being that comes to mind.

Neons 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 thats 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. Its been a while since Ive been greeted by a human being, so I guess I just feel like youre particularly polite.]

Midhir spoke with a smile, perhaps noticing that I questioned his statement.

Seeing his rather bright attitude, I thought of something.

He mustve been reunited with tan.

In the myths, the story of Midhir and tan 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 tan.

[Hehehe, Im glad I lent my strength to that thief. Its 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 students first painting was stolen, and that fact remained unknown.

In this world, however, he actively contacted the media and announced that Imoogis Exorcism was stolen.

So, unlike in the game, Neon is here, and he established a connection with Midhir.

Hes a superior being known in the myths to have ventured to recover his lover, so he mightve been tempted to lend his strength to this heist/retrieval mission.

In Celtic myths, theres also Morrgan, a goddess famous for revenge, but maybe shes 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 D Danann hasnt 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 mustve been busy moving, careful not to get the spotlight.

[Its 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 didnt pay any attention to the humans. The thief and the night hags disciple, the Crow Devil Kings 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 theyve leaked information to somehow ensure Sung Gukeons attendance.

Was the purpose to let the treasure be captured by humans?

[Correct. Theres 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 D 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 partys hands.]

It seems like Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong successfully retrieved Imoogis Exorcism.

So the Tuatha D Danann used indirect means, but they were actively intervening all along.

It seems like from the beginning, the Tuatha D 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.

Its possible that they didnt know about the demons ability to make a specific space an otherworld, but Im sure the Tuatha D Danann knew better than anyone else about the existence of Balor, the one-eyed giant.

We couldve died under Balors gaze!

I know that it was because of the clues from the Tuatha D Danann that we were able to retrieve Imoogis Exorcism quite smoothly, but Im not settled.

I cant let this pass.

Phantom Thief Neon and Merlins disciple were almost exposed to Balors eye. They were in extreme danger.

I was openly blaming him, a superior being, for it, but Midhirs smile deepened.

Far from being angry, he looked rather happy.

[I see youre not only polite, but also kind.]

[We were on guard for Balors eyes. We prepared a gift for each of those children.]

Energy waves flowed from the tips of MIdhirs 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.

[Weve blessed them so that they can block Balors eye at least once. I never meant to make a shallow move on the child I gave an order to. And]

Midhirs voice sounded playful.

[The treasure that youre going to retrieve now is a mythical spear that can defeat that Demon Kings eye. Dont fret. As long as you have that spear in your hand, Balor cannot do anything out of order.]

A weapon that can stop Balors eye.

One of the four treasures of Tuatha D Danann.

Theres 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 tan, but the memories of the times we spent together were never recovered. Help my child not to go through the same thing.]

Midhirs voice was full of regret.

Its understandable, natural even since he would never regain that lost time.

If hes 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 dont make mistakes then what is this?

Its not a mistake, but its something close to that.

Then cant we just call it a mistake?

Phantom Thief Neon stood his ground as he retrieved the trump cards.

Technically, it wasnt really a mistake since the cards moved of Midhirs volition.

Anyway, I should follow Midhirs words for now and retreat with the treasure.

I was confused, but I decided to ground myself with Midhirs 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, theres 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.

Were now in the land of the Celtics.

Those two weapons, when touched, could bring down heavens wrath.

But Im 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.