By Zephyria Yohan realized belatedly and let out an “Ah!” He didn’t realize how happy he was when he saw Lee Hyun-muk come to save him earlier, so he unconsciously called out, “Hyun-mook Hyung.”
Before he could say anything, Lee Hyun-muk scooped Yohan into his arms and stood up. He was about to ask to be put down, but Yohan closed his mouth and instead hugged Lee Hyun-muk’s neck tightly. He didn’t want to be separated again, realizing how terrifying the loneliness he had felt for days had been. They were still inside Black Mountain, after all.
“Then, since Yohan wants to go too, shall we head out?”
Yohan felt quite embarrassed by Lee Hyun-muk’s blatant favoritism, but Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young didn’t seem to mind at all. Lee Hyun-muk lightly leaped up through the hole he had made. Even though it was easily several meters high, he exited the cavern in a single bound. The other two also exited the cavern without much effort. Although Yohan was also a High-level Awakener, every time the three of them showed such a performance, he doubted if he could do it himself.
Behind Lee Hyun-muk’s back, Yohan watched the hole they had exited through slowly close as if healing. Was it just his imagination that it moved with the carefulness of holding something precious?
‘Speaking of which, what is all this….’
Yohan’s eyes widened in surprise. A long passage stretched out before him. It wasn’t just any passage, but a dark one covered in thick ice. Casting a light, Yohan asked,
“How did you guys dig all of this?”
They didn’t have excavators or shovels, so even for an Awakener, it must have been difficult to dig with bare hands? More than anything, it felt less like it was dug by human hands and more like something long and enormous had gnawed its way through. Like a centipede rather than an earthworm…
“At first, we just dug, but as you know, Black Mountain can move, right? It kept reverting to its original state, so it was quite a struggle. The Team leader scouted, I dug the tunnel, and Ho-young froze it to stabilize it.”
At Yoon Seung-ryong’s words, Yohan’s eyes welled up with tears again, moved. Isolated alone for days, he had become quite sentimental compared to usual.
“You all went through so much trouble because of me. Thank you so much….”
“If I have to save our cute Yohan, what wouldn’t Hyung do? Let’s get out of here quickly and eat something delicious.”
Then, Yoon Seung-ryong ruffled Yohan’s hair. And then he dropped a bombshell.
“It seems Ho-young is reaching his limit, so it’ll be difficult to keep this passage stable for much longer, you know?”
“What?”
The moment Yohan asked in fear, something like ice powder fell with a rustle. Simultaneously, the three of them started running. Yohan’s scream echoed faintly like an afterimage within the hastily made ice cave inside Black Mountain.
They were almost buried alive, but after much struggle, the three of them managed to escape Black Mountain safely. After passing through a pile of rotting monster bird carcasses that gave off a foul stench, they finally stopped moving once they reached a place unaffected by Black Mountain’s influence.
“My goodness, the sky….”
It was dark red, but it was still the sky, and they were incredibly glad. Yohan, shedding a tear of emotion, tilted his head.
“Um, but… doesn’t the sky seem a bit brighter than before?”
The sky, which had been dark and gloomy, dark red like a sunset after dusk, seemed slightly brighter than usual. No, rather than brighter, it felt like a piece of filth had been removed… Unable to articulate the feeling precisely, Yohan’s brow furrowed. Yoon Seung-ryong looked up at the sky and tilted his head.
“Does it? I can’t really tell.”
“Maybe it has gotten a tiny bit brighter, like Yohan Hyung said?”
Looking at Lee Hyun-muk, he gazed at Yohan affectionately and said,
“If you say it’s brighter, then it’s brighter.”
It was an attitude that suggested he would believe Yohan even if he said beans were fermented to make meju. Looking again, the sky seemed no different from usual. Feeling sheepish, Yohan lowered his gaze. He must have been mistaken from being in Black Mountain for too long. In any case, now was the time to revel in the joy of escape.
As Yohan purified the ingredients that had become corrupted and sprouted eyes, limbs, and other features on their surfaces, Yoon Seung-ryong quickly whipped up a feast. The main dish was surprisingly pork belly. Unlike the Japanese sector, this place was truly ‘wild,’ with quite a few ‘animals’ roaming nearby.
A giant black pig or wild boar, the size of a small hill, was instantly butchered and placed on the grill. They brought out the precious ssamjang and gochujang from their seasoning stash, and the fresh vegetables that Yoon Seung-ryong had managed to pack when escaping the Japanese sector were also placed on the table.
Pigs were rarely seen in the Japanese sector, so Joo Ho-young, who was eating samgyeopsal from the Abyss for the first time, had his eyes wide open. He then fixated on the meat sizzling golden brown on the grill, drooling. Yohan swallowed and sat down next to him.
It seemed they hadn’t eaten properly for days, much like Yohan, as the meat, easily over twenty pounds, disappeared into people’s mouths as soon as it was cooked. Even when Yohan was panting, full, the other three people’s chopsticks didn’t stop.
“Where did all that food go?”
Yohan suspiciously lifted Joo Ho-young’s clothes. He had seen them eat so much, yet he didn’t seem particularly full. Lee Hyun-muk gently poked Joo Ho-young’s thin stomach, and Yoon Seung-ryong put a piece of fruit he had cut into Yohan’s mouth. Joo Ho-young shrugged and said,
“My digestion is just a bit fast, Hyung.”
Could this simply be explained by fast digestion? As Yohan pondered this, his attention was soon drawn elsewhere. Yoon Seung-ryong pulled something out of his ‘pocket.’
“Yohan-ah, look at this.”
“Gasp, Seungryong Hyung…!”
Yohan covered his mouth in amazement and joy. It seemed Yoon Seung-ryong had managed to grab one of each when escaping the Japanese sector, as he pulled out fruit, vegetable seeds, and saplings of various kinds, struggling as if his hair were being pulled.
“Once we settle down, we can farm again!”
“Really, really, that’s such a relief….”
Yohan, tearfully, petted the vegetable seeds that were trying to bite him. He thought he would never be able to eat perilla leaves, garlic, apples, or bananas again. As Yohan rejoiced, Lee Hyun-muk put another piece of fruit into his mouth. Yoon Seung-ryong put the fruit, vegetable seeds, and saplings, which were letting out monstrous roars, back into his pocket, grumbling.
“Honestly, we barely escaped the Flood, and then we ran right into that old geezer Seo Yakrin. We almost lost our Yohan forever.”
Yohan, who had been eating fruit from Lee Hyun-muk without much thought, froze. Swallowing the apple with a gulp, Yohan asked in a trembling voice,
“You met Seo Yakrin? Where?”
At that moment, a terrifying, enormous Monstrous Bird flashed in Yohan’s mind. Surely not? It wasn’t that giant, fearsome bird he had been so afraid of…? And Joo Ho-young solidified Yohan’s fear.
“You know, that incredibly huge bird in the sky? Yohan Hyung saw it too, right?”
As soon as he heard that, Yohan squeezed his eyes shut. He had a premonition that confronting Seo Yakrin would be incomparably more difficult than it was for Yoon Seung-ryong or Joo Ho-young.
“That, that giant bird… is really Seo Yakrin?”
“Yeah, it’s disgustingly big, isn’t it? What else would you expect from an old geezer.”
Yoon Seung-ryong said with a voice that seemed to hold considerable animosity towards Seo Yakrin, then grumbled.
“Are we really going to have to take that old geezer with us, Team leader?”
“You brought Ho-young, so we have to take Yakrin too, right?”
At Lee Hyun-muk’s words, Yoon Seung-ryong grumbled but didn’t object. Just like with Joo Ho-young, Lee Hyun-muk’s authority seemed as high as a mountain. Or perhaps… he seemed extremely afraid. Yoon Seung-ryong’s words from last time came to mind. The Team leader, who had entered and exited the Flood multiple times, had said he was scared… Even while eating a delicious meal, his appetite felt a bit bitter.
After finishing their meal, they began searching the surroundings to establish a dwelling. Walking close to Lee Hyun-muk, Yohan looked around. It had been a while since they crossed Black Mountain, and he could finally properly survey the new area they had arrived in.
Unlike city sectors, forests, swamps, or jungles, this place was a vast field. Faded wild grass, reaching up to his calves or thighs, swayed like waves in the wind. If that were all, it could be considered a rather beautiful landscape.
However, there were no buildings in sight, only occasional, strangely twisted, giant, thick ancient trees scattered sparsely. Flocks of emaciated birds, with only bones left, stared with pale gray eyeballs from the trees, meticulously scanning their surroundings.
Rustle… If movement was seen in the swaying grass, the birds would instantly take flight and dive down, their spear-like beaks aimed downwards. Then, the impaled prey would be lifted in their beaks, or sometimes the bird itself would be caught by something unknown. Seeing the grass stained red with splattered blood, Yohan trembled and muttered,
“This place seems quite dangerous…”
“This much isn’t even dangerous. It’s tame. I’d say it’s only about as dangerous as the beach.”
Yoon Seung-ryong said indifferently, stabbing his spear into the ground. When he lifted the spear, a long, wriggling creature with its head impaled dangled from the tip. Yoon Seung-ryong whistled and casually grabbed it, tossing it into his ‘pocket.’
“Score, snake meat.”
Though flocks of birds and unknown presences persistently followed the four of them, none dared to attack them easily. Yohan was very grateful for Lee Hyun-muk walking so close behind him. The incident where they were almost buried alive in Black Mountain had served as a wake-up call for everyone. Although they appeared calm and composed, their eyes scanning the surroundings were sharp.