By Zephyria “This place is also where the Korean sector barely overlaps.”
Yohan, realizing it belatedly at Lee Hyun-muk’s words, sighed.
“Now that I think about it, all the places that were devoured from around the world must be here in the Abyss.”
Since the Rift incident, the Earth has been gradually gnawed away by Rifts and the Abyss, and places where people could live have been shrinking. Generally, Rifts would open in urban areas with active populations, often including farms that raised livestock in large numbers or habitats for migratory birds. It seemed to prefer places where creatures lived in groups, no matter who looked, so urban housing prices had fallen compared to before.
“If you go in that direction, there’s the Russian urban sector. This way, I think, was where Italy used to be. And for now, we’re going to find a place to stay for a few days.”
“I hope we find a place soon. Lee Hyun-muk-ssi has been carrying me all this time, and it’s strangely tiring.”
Yohan said, feeling a bit embarrassed as he yawned. Strangely, his eyes kept closing, and he felt so tired that he thought he could sleep soundly if he just lay down.
“It’s natural to get tired when you use your abilities.”
“Then are you tired too, Lee Hyun-muk-ssi? You fought that monster so hard earlier.”
“…Well, I don’t think it was that hard, maybe because I purified it.”
The two walked for about two hours, chatting about this and that, and finally found a place suitable for staying. It was a modern-style house, and nearby was a building that seemed to have been used as a livestock pen.
“I think it was a pig farm. I can faintly smell livestock.”
Yohan sniffed and was a little surprised. He definitely felt his senses had become much sharper since his Awakening. Lee Hyun-muk carefully examined the house and, judging it to be safe, opened the door and went inside. It had been left unattended for so long that dust piled up on the floorboards, yet he felt a strange sense of guilt for stepping inside with his shoes on.
The interior of the house looked like it had been abandoned for at least ten years. Nothing was intact, and a sticky liquid had leaked from the refrigerator and dried up, making it too scary to even open. Yohan flinched when he found a framed picture hanging inside the house.
“The pictures have gotten really strange…”
The faces of the people in the photos were distorted into shapes closer to demons or ghosts than humans. Lee Hyun-mook, who was searching for a room to sleep in, replied without even looking at the picture frame.
“Inorganic matter is also affected by Corruption, though less so than organic matter.”
Only then did Yohan recall how the writing he saw while exploring the Ruined City seemed strangely damaged. The damaged shapes were also eerily creepy, and he had thought it was just his imagination, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Feeling uneasy, Yohan carefully took down the picture frame and laid it face down neatly.
“Ah, a mirror.”
Having had a troublesome experience, Yohan checked the bathroom first and found a mirror that was smudged and stained. He rubbed it vigorously with a nearby decaying towel until it squeaked, then tilted his head.
“My hair… is fluffy?”
He hadn’t been able to wash it at all while struggling, so every time he touched his hair, he felt the oiliness, to the point where it was sticky. But for some reason, now his hair was fluffy, as if he had just washed it and dried it with a hairdryer. Suspiciously, Yohan kept touching his hair, then tilted his head and looked down at his clothes.
“My clothes are clean too…”
Could purification also remove old grime, not just Corruption Treatment? If so… how wonderful! Yohan, who had been feeling stuffy from not being able to wash, hopped out of the bathroom.
“Lee Hyun-muk-ssi! Look at my hair!”
An excited Yohan went to Lee Hyun-muk, who was laying the bedspread upside down with the dust-free side up, and thrust his hair forward. Lee Hyun-muk gazed at the crown of his head and then stroked it. Yohan, flustered, lifted his head abruptly.
“N-no, I didn’t mean for you to stroke it…”
“You didn’t?”
Perhaps because he had seen Lee Hyun-muk’s face often lit with a faint smile since his Awakening, Yohan’s heart kept pounding strangely. He cleared his throat and shared his newly discovered fact.
“It seems my hair was purified when I used my ability earlier. It feels like I just washed it, right? Fluffy and not oily… My clothes are clean too… I couldn’t wash because I didn’t have enough drinking water! How stuffy I’ve been!”
He spoke incoherently, filled with excitement. Lee Hyun-muk, who had been listening silently, nodded and said, “I see,” then pulled Yohan towards the bed. When told to take off his shoes, Yohan obediently took off his sneakers and climbed onto the bed, then suddenly realized. Am I being treated like a child right now?
Only after lying down on the bed did Yohan realize how incredibly sleepy and tired he was. It made sense, as he hadn’t slept properly for two days because of the Madman Lee Hyun-muk. After that, he was chased by Lee Hyun-muk, crying and wailing, chased by the Flood, broke his arm, Awakened, used his abilities…
“Let’s sleep for now.”
Lee Hyun-muk said in a soft voice and covered Yohan’s vision with his palm. With that alone, Yohan blinked a few times and then, as if by magic, fell into a deep sleep.
For the first time since falling into the Abyss, Yohan slept soundly, a sleep as sweet and deep as honey. With a groan, he stretched, and his padding, which he had used as a blanket, rustled. Yohan savored this rare, languid feeling and then got out of bed.
After using the en-suite bathroom in the master bedroom, he came out to find it strangely quiet. Recalling that Lee Hyun-muk always turned into a Madman after he slept, Yohan cautiously opened the door and stepped out. Lee Hyun-muk was standing near the living room window, looking outside. The dark red sky was, as always, ominously distorted.
“Lee Hyun-muk-ssi…?”
Worried he might have turned into a Madman again, Yohan called out cautiously. Lee Hyun-muk turned around.
“Did you sleep well?”
A normal answer came back, and Yohan’s face lit up. He was so happy that Lee Hyun-muk was sane that his smile was full of joy.
“I slept incredibly well! How about you, Lee Hyun-muk-ssi?”
As he asked, it felt strange. Come to think of it, he had never once seen Lee Hyun-muk sleep before. Yohan asked Lee Hyun-muk, feeling suspicious.
“You did sleep, right?”
“A little bit?”
Even though he was a High-level Awakener, Yohan worried if he really needed to sleep this much, but Lee Hyun-muk gestured towards the front door.
“If you’ve rested well, shall we go find breakfast?”
Yohan immediately understood the meaning and swallowed dryly, then nodded resolutely. Lee Hyun-muk’s words meant they would hunt monsters and then purify them to eat. He didn’t want to consume their precious preserved food, which had already been halved, so Yohan fumbled with his outer clothes and followed closely behind Lee Hyun-muk.
“We’re going to look for food and also do a light exploration of the surroundings.”
“Understood! I’ll follow you well.”
Yohan replied spiritedly. Lee Hyun-muk’s back looked very reliable today. He felt confident he could handle it even if Lee Hyun-muk turned into a Madman now, and Yohan’s steps were light.
Near the pig farm where they were staying, there were few buildings, unlike the Ruined City. Most of the terrain consisted of overgrown roads, fields, and ominous black forests. From within the black forest, vaguely shaped monsters would occasionally poke their heads out to steal glances at them before disappearing silently. Yohan pressed himself even closer behind Lee Hyun-muk.
“Wait a moment.”
Lee Hyun-muk raised his hand, signaling to stop, and strode forward. He lifted one foot and slammed it down with a bang! With a pained monstrous roar, something sprang out from the ground. A monster resembling a naked mole rat, baring its huge fangs, lunged at him, but it collapsed with a single punch from Lee Hyun-muk. Meanwhile, Yohan froze on the spot.
Yohan’s heart still pounded whenever he saw a monster. It was like a jump scare in a horror movie, appearing suddenly after hiding, and it was truly bad for his heart. Lee Hyun-muk kicked the giant monster a few times and tilted his head.
“Is this a pig or a mole rat?”
“I’ll try purifying it!”
Yohan, who had always been carried around like baggage, confidently stepped forward, thinking he could finally be of help to Lee Hyun-muk. He crouched down and cautiously poked the monster with his fingertip, then scowled. Sticky bodily fluid had gotten on his finger. After wiping it on his clothes, he glared at the dead monster and reached out.
When he used his ability yesterday, the situation was too urgent and chaotic, so he hadn’t understood what was happening. Therefore, this was essentially his first proper use of his ability. Yohan held his breath and concentrated, drawing out the power within his body.
Something that had pooled like spring water flowed out to his fingertips according to Yohan’s will. A bright cluster of light shimmered and spread towards the monster’s body. Yohan’s eyes widened. Where the light touched, the disgusting bodily fluid and the pustules on its skin began to disappear.
“Wow, wow!”
I really am an Awakened! Yohan’s cheeks flushed with excitement, but then he panicked. The energy, which had been flowing out like it was lagging, shook unstably and then suddenly stopped. He broke out in a sweat and tried again, but perhaps due to his panic, it didn’t work properly. After trying several more times, Yohan looked up at Lee Hyun-muk dejectedly and asked.
“…Have you ever tried eating mole rat?”
Only the shoulder area was purified, so he couldn’t tell if it was a mole rat that had grown giant due to Corruption or a mutated pig adapted to living underground. Lee Hyun-muk smiled faintly and patted Yohan’s shoulder to comfort him.
“You did well for your first time.”
“Really…?”
“And you probably haven’t fully recovered yet. You poured an immense amount of power into me, of all things.”
As he said this, Lee Hyun-muk took out a knife and began to cut away the purified flesh. Yohan flinched back to avoid the fresh red blood that poured out, tilting his head. The nuance of Lee Hyun-muk’s words made it sound as if he himself had become something more horribly corrupted than any monster.
Without any effort, Lee Hyun-muk cut away the flesh, bone and all, examining it closely and discarding any part that was even slightly corrupted. Yet, they obtained about four pounds of meat. When they returned to the house and grilled it, their mouths watered. Cooked to a golden brown and put into his mouth, it was unmistakably the taste of pork. Yohan, who was already happy from his Awakening, felt an even greater sense of happiness.
“Sniff, it’s so delicious.”
“…You were always a crybaby, and now you’re crying even when eating something delicious?”
Yohan hadn’t expected himself to suddenly tear up while grilling pork. He just giggled, sniffled, and then carefully grilled the meat and placed it on Lee Hyun-muk’s plate. After spending a happy day with salty tears and grilled pork leg, they decided to venture a little further the next day.