By Zephyria 
“What? The government… why? How could they?”
Yohan couldn’t comprehend it at all. In this day and age, Awakened were valuable assets. One only had to look at how Korea had become a relatively safe country thanks to two High-level Awakeners in the past. Beyond that, considering the Sunrise Team’s significant contributions to society, he couldn’t understand at all why they would do such a thing.
“It couldn’t have been an attack aimed at the disappearance of the entire Sunrise Team. It must have been that everyone was unfortunately caught up in an attack targeting me…”
Though Lee Chan-ha’s voice was calm as she explained, her eyes flickered with an undeniable, hateful thirst for revenge. After pausing for a moment, she closed and reopened her eyes before explaining.
“The day before we disappeared into the Abyss, Go Jae-won summoned me, saying there was a rescue request from a Rift.”
At that time, Lee Hyun-mook and the other team members were away on Rift expeditions or other business. Lee Chan-ha, without any suspicion, headed to the Rift Go Jae-won had mentioned. Her defensive abilities were most suited for protecting people and during rescues.
However, upon arrival, the person to be rescued was nowhere to be found, and as soon as she arrived, she was suddenly attacked by unidentified Awakened. While she was responding and fighting, she realized she had already fallen into the Abyss. Joo Ho-young continued the explanation for what happened while she had lost her memory.
“I returned after finishing my business early and heard Chan-ha Hyung had already been dispatched, so I went to help. But when I came to, he was attacking me. Judging by his actions and words at the time, he seemed to be hallucinating. I couldn’t subdue Chan-ha Hyung alone, so I ran around asking for help.”
He added that if things had gone slightly wrong, Lee Chan-ha could have been suspected of being a severe Corrupted and subjected to forced quarantine or execution. Thinking back, he explained that it seemed like they were aiming for his execution. If Joo Ho-young hadn’t returned early, that’s precisely what would have happened.
When all team members, except Go Jae-won, rushed over after receiving the call, Joo Ho-young was severely injured. As they tried to subdue Lee Chan-ha while protecting Joo Ho-young, the Abyss suddenly opened. In an attempt to save both of them, the entire Sunrise Team disappeared into the Abyss.
“But when we returned, our Jae-won Hyung had told quite a lie, hadn’t he? He said it seemed like we, a team that had never been more harmonious, had fallen into the Abyss due to internal discord and conflict? After becoming President, he practically sold our guild to the Rift Management Agency, and last year, he even received an award for being a model Awakened?”
Yoon Seung-ryong chuckled as if he were telling a very amusing story. The circumstances clearly pointed to Go Jae-won being the traitor, leaving Yohan speechless. Lee Chan-ha said with a cold laugh,
“He probably wanted to get rid of me and take the Vice Team Leader position.” And some high-ranking official must have wanted to curb the momentum of a team that was doing too well.”
Everyone hated Go Jae-won and burned with a desire for revenge, but among them, Lee Chan-ha’s was the most intense. It was undoubtedly due to her guilt over her team members suffering hellish pain because of her. Even though it was all the traitor’s fault.
“Then, if I had revealed that I could cure Corruption, by now…”
As Yohan trailed off, a grim premonition crossing his mind, Lee Hyun-mook nodded in agreement.
“They would have tried to keep you, Yohan, by any means necessary. Even if the other side forced your detainment, there’s nothing we couldn’t resolve with force, but if that happened, it would have become difficult to live peacefully in Korea. The same would apply to your family, Yohan.”
Yohan swallowed dryly. He loved Korea, and his family living in Korea was precious to him. Lee Hyun-mook continued,
“And we must secure as many Corrupted Awakened as possible who are currently detained by the government. They are in a perfect state to be taken as hostages.”
“It’s also good for propaganda. I can already see the news headlines. Purifier Yang Yohan Ignores Corrupted! And they’ll say that a single guild shouldn’t monopolize Purifiers for the national interest, so they’ll dig up not only your past but your family’s too… If you can’t withstand public opinion and go to the government’s Awakened containment facility, what will happen? Our Yohan will cry every single day. Of course, we wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing, but there’s no need to take the harder path, is there?”
Saying this, Yoon Seung-ryong tore open a bag of snacks and stuffed them into his mouth. Yohan swallowed another dry gulp. Then, he replied with a voice full of disappointment,
“Then I won’t be able to awaken other Purifiers for a while.”
“Yes, but only for a while.”
Although it was regrettable that Lee Hyun-mook said it would only be for a while, Yohan had no choice but to accept it. Jeong Si-young, who was suffering from Corruption, and the people from the Special Unit flashed before his eyes, but he endured. To the dejected Yohan, Lee Chan-ha said in a soothing tone,
“And Yohan-ssi, you have revenge to seek, too.”
“Revenge….”
Only then did Yohan remember his own situation and muttered blankly. Revenge… Just as the Sunrise Team was betrayed by the traitor Go Jae-won and fell into the Abyss, hadn’t Yohan also fallen into the Abyss because of his friend Park Seung-min and other mercenaries? Having spent a long time together in the Abyss, Yohan’s past was shared with everyone.
“I did some investigating on that friend of yours, Park Seung-min. Shall I tell you how he’s doing?”
It was unclear how Lee Chan-ha managed to investigate while being in the same containment facility, but that wasn’t important. When Yohan nodded, Lee Chan-ha said,
“That friend told your family that you went missing after being attacked by monsters while coveting supplies within the Rift. He even asked the mercenaries he knew to help with the search, extorting hundreds of millions of won. Isn’t that incredibly shameless and brazen?”
“What… did you say?”
Yohan couldn’t believe his ears. What followed was a blazing anger. Not only did he use himself as a sacrifice to escape the Abyss, but he also extorted money from his family with lies? It was utterly inhuman.
“Chan-ha-ya.”
Lee Hyun-mook, his face slightly creased, called out to Lee Chan-ha, who was whispering like a demon, in a chiding tone. Lee Chan-ha shrugged her shoulders.
“It was a fact you needed to know anyway.”
When Lee Hyun-mook admonished her with his gaze, Lee Chan-ha lowered her eyes. After a moment of silence, Yohan confessed his true feelings.
“That’s right. I wanted revenge… anyway. I haven’t forgotten for a single moment since I fell into the Abyss.”
Though incomparable to the hardships the other members had endured, the year spent in the Abyss was a painful and difficult time for Yohan as well. The harsh environment was one thing, but the possibility that he might never return home was what caused him the most pain. In the Abyss, where there was neither day nor night, he thought countless times, dozens of times, before falling asleep.
Was the speed at which the Abyss was expanding at that time so rapid that it required him to be thrown in as a sacrifice?
No matter how he thought about it, they could have all escaped sufficiently. Moreover, the exhilaration and malice he saw in Park Seung-min’s eyes the moment he pushed him… He could never forgive that.
If he could go back in time, even if Park Seung-min hadn’t pushed him, he would have jumped into the Abyss to save these people. Separate from that resolve, the sinister, vile gaze of the traitor was still lodged in Yohan’s heart like a wedge.
Having known Park Seung-min for a long time, Yohan had occasionally witnessed him revealing his selfish nature, which he couldn’t hide. However, he had always treated Yohan exceptionally well, which is why they remained friends. Only now did he realize that it was all Park Seung-min’s deception.
“Alright. Then, shall we have a toast for everyone’s successful revenge?”
Seo Yakrin shouted, cheerfully opening a beer bottle. They each poured their preferred drinks into their cups and looked at their leader, Lee Hyun-mook. He gave a bitter smile for a moment, then opened his mouth in a firm voice.
“To successful revenge.”
“To successful revenge!”
Clink! The drinks sloshed merrily as their cups met. Gulping down his cola without restraint, Yohan thought. How should he get revenge on Park Seung-min? Naturally, the targets of revenge also included those mercenaries. But for now, it was better to put those thoughts aside. It was too joyful to be back in Korea with everyone, sharing delicious food.
“This feels like a happy dream…”
Joo Ho-young suddenly muttered in an excited voice. He was fiddling with the Game Console he had brought back from the Abyss. It was an item in such good condition that it was hard to believe it came from there. Yohan cleaned the slightly smudged Game Console with purification and said with a smile,
“It’s a good thing it’s not a dream, right?”
In response to Yohan’s question, Joo Ho-young lifted his gaze from the Game Console and looked up. For the first time since their Escape, his eyes welled up with tears, and he replied, “Mm,”
“It’s really a good thing it’s not a dream.”