By Zephyria ― Everyone, did you have a good holiday? Today, the last day of April, there was news of a Level 7 monster appearing in Gwangjin-gu…. …Awakened individuals dispatched by the government’s Rift Management Agency… successfully eliminated the monster and removed the contaminated materials…. There were thirty-two victims in total….
Yohan woke up to the sound of the news. He had dozed off while watching TV and ended up taking a nap, which was incredibly sweet. He looked around slowly. Outside the window, warm sunlight shone brightly on the bed, and everything around him was neat, without a single worn or tattered corner. He couldn’t feel any monstrous roars resembling wails or any eerie presence from anywhere. As he blankly gazed out the window, he heard a voice calling him.
“Yang Yohan, it’s time for your examination.”
He turned his head to see an examiner, whose face was now quite familiar, standing beyond the transparent glass door. Yohan greeted him and stood up. The examiner, wearing safety gear, asked in a somewhat blunt voice,
“Yang Yohan, do you have any physical abnormalities such as rashes, itching, or sensory paralysis?”
“No.”
“Do you have any mental abnormalities such as auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, premonitions of an ominous future, depression, lethargy, or recurring nightmares?”
“No, I do not.”
After answering the questions one by one, his temperature was checked, and the double isolation doors opened. Two intermediate awakened individuals followed behind the examiner. As Yohan walked with them, his gaze caught on a single word.
[Rift Management Agency Special Safety Complex]
Yohan’s face, which had been passing by indifferently, suddenly brightened. It was because he had spotted a familiar face. The person drinking a beverage grinned and waved at Yohan.
“Yohan. How have you been?”
“Hyung Seung-ryong!”
As he grinned back and greeted Yoon Seung-ryong, Yohan suddenly recalled the day they escaped from the Abyss.
Not long after everyone had escaped the Abyss, several helicopters hovered overhead. Yohan, simply happy to see a device functioning properly besides his game console, was looking up with tearful eyes. Lee Hyun-mook called out, “Yohan-ah.”
“The Rift Management Agency will be here soon, so for now, let’s hide the fact that you are a Purifier.”
“But they’ll surely conduct all sorts of tests. They won’t be able to hide that I’ve Awakened.”
Although he didn’t know why he was being told to hide being a Purifier, Yohan asked back, bewildered, as nothing bad had ever happened when he followed Lee Hyun-mook’s words. This was his first time experiencing such a situation, but he could roughly anticipate that the government would bombard them with all sorts of tests, just like with Assistant Managers. And it was obvious that the fact he had Awakened would be revealed amidst it all.
Naturally, the physical differences between Awakened individuals and non-Awakened individuals are significant. Their strength, stamina, and regenerative abilities are extraordinary, making it impossible to hide. The simplest way to distinguish an Awakened individual was to inflict damage on their skin and observe the speed of recovery.
“I’m not asking you to hide that you’ve Awakened. For now, let’s say you are a Low-rank Awakened of the Strength Enhancement Type. For your secondary ability, claim it’s high regenerative power like Chan-ha’s. And try to conceal your energy as much as possible. Can you do that?”
If it’s like that… he thought he could do it. Fortunately, he had poured all his energy into purifying the city district just before, leaving him depleted, and as a Purifier, Yohan’s physical strength wasn’t that great to begin with. Moreover, with current technology, they could only detect the presence of Awakening, not its characteristics or type.
“Yes, I’ll do that!”
As soon as he answered, several figures descended from the helicopter flying overhead. They landed with heavy thuds, without parachutes or ropes. They were all Awakened individuals, belonging to the Special Suppression Unit directly under the Rift Management Agency.
The well-trained Special Suppression Unit members, extremely vigilant, aimed their guns from a distance. They were all heavily armed with equipment that protected them from contamination from head to toe. Even for an Awakened individual, guns were quite threatening weapons. Especially if they were loaded with bullets refined with Eternal Stones and imbued with special abilities. However, Yohan seemed to be the only one among them feeling tense. Lee Hyun-mook pulled Yohan closer and placed him behind him. Amidst the palpable tension, the leader reported via radio.
“First Special Suppression Unit has arrived on site. Suspected contaminated civilians found. Presumed to be Lee Hyun-mook, missing for three years, and four others. Additionally, one unidentified individual, anomaly.”
“Three years ago?”
Yohan unintentionally mumbled, unable to comprehend. He had entered the Abyss shortly after the three-year anniversary event, held in remembrance and to pray for Lee Hyun-mook’s return. And since he had spent a year in the Abyss, it should now be four years ago. A thought that something was wrong entered his mind, and Yohan swallowed dryly. However, the members in front of him were watching them with extreme caution, so he couldn’t ask anything. The leader asked,
“Are you Lee Hyun-mook, who went missing three years ago?”
He thought they were being cautious because he might be a monster with mimicry abilities or severely contaminated. It was understandable. The monsters that emerged from Rifts were by no means easy opponents.
“Answer me.”
As if they would turn him into a sieve if he did anything even slightly strange, the members aiming their guns exuded a shimmering aura. Their gazes were intently scrutinizing Lee Hyun-mook’s white hair. Lee Hyun-mook, relaxing his body, moved as slowly as possible to avoid provoking them and said,
“Captain Jeong Si-young, it’s been a while.”
So it was Jeong Si-young! Yohan’s eyes widened. He had been wondering if the person with a particularly unusual aura was a High-level Awakened. Jeong Si-young was a civil servant who worked at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was the second High-level Awakened to appear in Korea, following Lee Hyun-mook.
“Is your arm, injured in Andong last time, still the same? No, it must be. You were contaminated.”
Lee Hyun-mook’s words made the other party flinch. Once, a Level 9 monster had appeared near Andong, and Lee Hyun-mook and Jeong Si-young had formed a joint task force. Jeong Si-young quickly scanned Lee Hyun-mook from head to toe. His tone and demeanor seemed normal, and there were no visible contamination symptoms. Slightly lowering her guard, Jeong Si-young asked,
“…Are you really Lee Hyun-mook?”
“Yes, I am. I just returned from the Abyss.”
“Huh. Am I dreaming?”
With her gun still aimed, Jeong Si-young muttered in disbelief. There had been no cases worldwide of anyone being sucked into the Abyss and returning, so it was understandable. Just then, a team member listening to his earpiece reported,
“Captain, media helicopters are approaching. What should we do?”
Jeong Si-young seemed to be in deep thought. It seemed that a terrible disaster could occur depending on the other party’s contamination level. Moreover, wasn’t Lee Hyun-mook a High-level Awakened? As Jeong Si-young was about to reply, Lee Hyun-mook pulled Yohan closer, placing him tightly behind his back, and a helicopter appeared with a loud whirring sound. It was a helicopter with a familiar media company logo.
“Damn it, those bastards!”
Jeong Si-young bristled and gestured to her subordinate. As Yohan instinctively hid his face against Lee Hyun-mook’s back, a team member took out a megaphone from his waist and shouted.
― Hey helicopter! Don’t you know the approach restriction order has been issued! Turn back! Or we will open fire!
However, the helicopter only left with a humming noise after Jeong Si-young fired a warning shot. Realizing that Jeong Si-young’s face, along with Lee Hyun-mook and the others, except for Yohan, would have been clearly captured, she gritted her teeth.
“First, you’ll have to wear this.”
What she threw was handcuffs used to subdue contaminated Awakened individuals. These were also made of Eternal Stones and were imbued with a powerful debuff effect that forcibly lowered abilities. The government had been creating such tools as soon as they acquired Eternal Stones. It was no exaggeration to say that the government’s primary role currently was to subdue and detain contaminated Awakened individuals.
As Yohan flinched, Lee Hyun-mook calmly put on the handcuffs. The other members did the same. Knowing how strong they were, Yohan doubted if the handcuffs would be effective. Jeong Si-young cast a peculiar glance at Yohan.
“This one….”
“This one is a Low-rank Awakened, so they won’t be much of a threat. Right, Yohan-ah.”
“Yes, yes! That’s right….”
Normally, when Awakened individuals assessed each other, they relied most on instinct. So, Yohan’s heart pounded, fearing he would be exposed as a High-level Awakened. However, perhaps because he was a Healer type rather than a supporter, or perhaps because he was trembling with extreme tension and excitement, Jeong Si-young nodded slightly. She glanced at Yohan, assessing his threat level as low, and instructed,
“Still, you must wear this.”
What was then thrown was not handcuffs but a metal ring-shaped bracelet. As he put it on his wrist, his body felt drained of strength, but it was bearable. Jeong Si-young nodded after confirming everyone was wearing restraints.
“Let’s go. We will interrogate you further in a safe place.”
“Understood.”
Despite their compliant attitude, the Special Suppression Unit did not let down their guard. They acted as if they were beside terrifying beasts. Distracted by their demeanor, Yohan, who was just following Lee Hyun-mook, stumbled and hit his forehead on his back. As he coughed awkwardly out of embarrassment, Jeong Si-young looked back. She hesitated, then opened her mouth.
“If you are truly Lee Hyun-mook…”
After a brief pause, Jeong Si-young continued,
“Congratulations on your return, everyone. You’ve been through… a lot.”
Lee Hyun-mook offered a smile in response. Not only that. Even with handcuffs on, everyone seemed to be in a very good mood. Yohan was no exception. Just escaping that terrible Abyss felt like a breath of fresh air. No, it truly did. The air was so light and refreshing. It felt like walking through dirty water with heavy sandbags on, only to take them off.
Yohan looked around again, as if seeing it for the first time. The city, which he had purified and made completely clean, revealed itself brightly under the sunlight. It seemed to have reappeared exactly where it had been eaten by the Abyss. Though weathered, half-destroyed, and cracked in places, it even exuded a noble atmosphere like ancient ruins. It was due to Yohan’s lingering energy. Jeong Si-young seemed to feel it too, muttering unconsciously,
“Strange, my arm doesn’t ache as much today.”
Awakened individuals who fight against Rifts all suffer from contamination, big or small. They either endure the contamination and carry on with their daily lives, or their contamination level rises to the point where they are confined. Yohan could sense traces of contamination from Jeong Si-young. Especially her left arm, which moved unnaturally and looked somewhat strange.
‘I want to purify her…’
The Purifier’s instinct urged him to purify that person and make them clean, but he held back for now. Since Lee Hyun-mook had told him to hide being a Purifier, he had no choice but to ignore it, though he felt sorry. He made a mental note to purify her himself later.