By Zephyria Though considered inferior to Dealers or tankers, perhaps because he was a High-level Awakener, Yohan’s broken arm healed in less than a week. Carefully removing the splint and moving it, he felt no more pain. Before departing, Yohan packed food and medicine for a few days into his backpack. As he stepped out the front door, Lee Hyun-muk gestured to the old cart he had brought from the supermarket and asked indifferently,
“Shall I give you a ride in the cart until the road ends?”
Yohan shook his head left and right and refused.
“How old do you think I am to ride in a cart?”
And a moment later, Yohan was screaming, unsure if it was from fear or excitement, while riding in the speeding cart. The cart pushed by Korea’s strongest Awakener was naturally very fast, making it both terrifying and exhilarating. When the road abruptly ended, Yohan, still excited and slightly out of breath, got off the cart. It felt like they had covered a distance that would normally take three hours in just 30 minutes.
“It was a little scary, but fun….”
Lee Hyun-muk, showing no signs of fatigue despite having run it like a rickshaw, ruffled his hair again. This time, the déjà vu of being treated like a child was strong, but Yohan decided to let it slide.
‘Lee Hyun-muk is thirty-three years old now, isn’t he.’
He was a full ten years older than Yohan. And this treatment, like a child, wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Gripping the backpack straps tightly, Yohan walked forward with determination. The Abyss, which had once been endlessly terrifying, felt a little less so now that he had Awakened.
As if he hadn’t lost his spear long ago, Lee Hyun-muk walked in one direction without hesitation. It was as if he could sense the weapon’s location. After walking for some time, he suddenly stopped and tilted his head. Ahead of them lay a dense, overgrown forest.
“…It wasn’t a forest here before. The swamp seems to have grown larger.”
Then, he looked at Yohan with a thoughtful expression. Lee Hyun-muk had not entered the forest during his exploration around their dwelling a while ago. It likely meant it was quite dangerous. After a moment of thought, Lee Hyun-muk made a decision.
“From here on, it would be better for you to be in front of me.”
It seemed he deemed it better to retrieve the weapon, even at the risk. Yohan swallowed dryly and gazed into the dark forest.
“M-me, in front?”
“That way, I can react immediately.”
Though suddenly scared, Yohan didn’t back down and bravely stood in front of Lee Hyun-muk. As if to reassure him, Lee Hyun-muk gripped his shoulder and said,
“And can you light up the surroundings while we move?”
“Of course!”
Happy to be of help to Lee Hyun-muk, Yohan immediately conjured Light Particles. This illumination ability required much less power than purification, allowing him to maintain it for a long time. As the bright light shone, grotesque things fled from the dark forest entrance with a screech! Yohan took a deep breath.
“Then, I’ll proceed.”
With sole trust in Lee Hyun-muk, he stepped into the black forest. He hadn’t walked more than a few steps before the ground felt soft and yielding. In fact, even though he was supposed to be in front, Yohan was positioned at a slight diagonal, almost as if Lee Hyun-muk were walking beside him, which eased his tension considerably.
Creak… Squeak… Monstrous roars like the cries of unpleasant monkeys echoed from all directions. The forest, filled with light, which they had never seen in the Abyss, was stirring.
The corrupted wilderness, untouched by human hands, was difficult to traverse. If he hadn’t Awakened, if there were no light now, he would have fallen countless times already. After walking for some time, Lee Hyun-muk reached out, stopping Yohan’s steps, and murmured softly,
“Something’s strange.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“The tree species are different from those near my home. And the trees around here all look the same.”
Different tree species? Yohan looked at a nearby tree. A knot, twisted eerily like a human face, stared back at him. Glancing around, he saw that other trees had the same unsettling appearance. Yet, Yohan couldn’t discern the difference between the trees near his home and those here. However, he immediately understood the statement that the trees all looked the same.
The position of the knots, their twisted shapes, the branches that extended outwards. Nothing was different. And the next moment, Lee Hyun-muk scooped Yohan up and started running. As soon as he ran, the trees moved. The knots Yohan had thought looked like human faces moved towards them.
“Ugh, ugh!”
Fearing he might bite his tongue, Yohan covered his mouth instead of screaming. Countless gazes poured down on them from all directions, as if he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed until now. Then, the gazes began to writhe and move. They intertwined branches and moved roots, beginning to merge. The trees surrounded them, closing in.
Fortunately, Lee Hyun-muk escaped the encirclement just before they were trapped. However, the crisis was not over. Yohan’s eyes widened as his gaze drifted upwards. A dark, creaking shadow fell over their heads.
Woowoowoo… The trees grew larger, emitting a chilling hum. The sight of countless identical small things merging into one colossal entity was repulsive and terrifying. A monster, having gathered its dispersed clones to search for prey, looked down at them from a height of over ten meters.
“Damn. Trees don’t conduct electricity well.”
Patting Yohan’s frightened back, Lee Hyun-muk muttered indifferently. His gaze was fixed on the top of the giant ancient tree. A long spear was lodged diagonally in one of its branches. However, he couldn’t easily attack the monster. Realizing what he was contemplating, Yohan took a deep breath and said to Lee Hyun-muk,
“I’ll stay as safe as possible. You can’t fight like this, can you.”
Lee Hyun-muk, his brow furrowed in conflict, finally nodded. He placed Yohan at the edge of a suddenly formed clearing, where dozens of trees had vanished.
“…I’ll be back soon.”
If Yohan hadn’t Awakened, or if he weren’t a High-level Awakener, Lee Hyun-muk would never have left him alone. Though their physical conditions were inferior compared to Dealers or tankers, a High-level was still a High-level. He wouldn’t die easily. Knowing this, Lee Hyun-muk resolved to finish it within three minutes.
Lee Hyun-muk first unleashed a powerful lightning strike in all directions. Crackle! As black thunderbolts struck the roots and branches, the giant ancient tree, which had been moving sluggishly, reacted.
Woowoowoo…! Oooooh…!
With cries that were hard to distinguish between admiration and lament, countless branches writhed and shot towards Lee Hyun-muk. Though their speed was like streaks of light, unlike the sluggish movement of its trunk, Lee Hyun-muk dodged them with ease. What was difficult to dodge, he burned to ashes with electricity.
Simultaneously, lightning repeatedly struck the tree’s trunk. Each deafening roar, which made the surroundings blur, carried immense energy as it exploded. It burned through the hard, tough bark, steadily chipping away at its defenses. As the bark was completely burned away, revealing softer flesh beneath, dark red sap-like blood flowed out.
Yohan watched Lee Hyun-muk’s fight with bated breath. Unlike the fight with the subway monster last time, other monsters seemed unwilling to approach. That was fortunate. It looked like he could finish the battle quickly, just as he said. It was then.
Thud… A small, but bothersome sound reached Yohan’s ears. As he turned his head towards the sound, something sprang out from the ground. It was a writhing, pitch-black root.
“Aargh!”
Yohan screamed and quickly dodged. The root narrowly grazed his head. Then, with a distinct snap! a root as thick as a human torso writhed and shot upwards. Lee Hyun-muk, who was halfway through burning the ancient tree with high-voltage lightning, belatedly sensed something was wrong.
“Yang Yohan!”
Yohan threw himself forward, narrowly dodging the root that was trying to crush him. However, his luck ran out there; the third attack was impossible to avoid. Lee Hyun-muk’s arrival and Yohan’s instinctive release of power happened almost simultaneously.
Flash! A blinding black and white flash erupted simultaneously. One was Yohan’s, the other Lee Hyun-muk’s. Lee Hyun-muk, who had snatched Yohan just before the attack of branches and roots could reach him, faltered.
Pop, pop, pop… Where Yohan’s flash touched, white flowers bloomed. The wooden mass, whether a giant root or branch, became covered in flowers emitting a sweet, rich fragrance. The ancient tree, showing signs of confusion, stiffly swung the branch covered in flowers, and the white petals fluttered to the ground. Seeing their shape, Yohan murmured in bewilderment,
“They look like acacia flowers….”
The scent of spring flowers, as if blooming in winter, wafted through the black forest that had been filled with stench. The area Yohan purified, having returned to ‘normal,’ now looked like ordinary trees. Seeing this, Yohan suddenly shouted to Lee Hyun-muk,
“Lee Hyun-muk, the place I purified can’t move! Then I…!”
Indeed, ordinary trees couldn’t move so violently in the first place! In Yohan’s mind, he thought he could firmly bind the trees’ movements just by purifying the roots in the ground. However, before Yohan could finish speaking, as if reading his thoughts, Lee Hyun-muk shook his head resolutely.
“I should have finished it faster in the first place.”
But Yohan’s mouth, which had been opening and closing, shut. Lee Hyun-muk covered Yohan’s ears with both hands. Yohan’s wide eyes read the movement of Lee Hyun-muk’s lips.
—If the attack isn’t effective, strike harder…
Then, a massive impact occurred.