By Zephyria “Park Seung-min Awakened, thank you for your hard work. You may return home now.”
It wasn’t until some time after getting into the official vehicle returning to the Sunrise Guild that Park Seung-min finally came to his senses. His pride deeply wounded, he lashed out in anger. Jeong Si-young, and the Special Unit members’ disappointed gazes felt like thorns in his side.
“Damn it, as if you’d be anything special if you weren’t a High-level Awakened! What’s so great about being a common Dealer that you look at me with such disdain…!”
This was a contradictory accusation that also applied to himself.
Park Seung-min, who had been spewing curses, gnawed on his lip. Because he had scraped his purification power to the bottom to heal Jeong Si-young, he couldn’t purify anyone for a while. And the reward for such effort was that condescending look…. This was the first time he had used his purification power to the point of exhaustion! As he fumed, a sudden sense of unease settled in Park Seung-min’s heart.
‘…Why does my ability feel like it’s getting weaker and weaker.’
For some reason, the purification power that had once surged so abundantly didn’t seem to return even after resting well. The more he used it, the more its amount gradually decreased, making him increasingly anxious. Perhaps it was because of the vivid nightmares he had been having every day recently.
In those dreams, Park Seung-min had almost completely lost his purification power and couldn’t recover. Then, everyone in the world laughed at him, calling him a fraud….
“No. I’m a High-level Awakened. It’s an absurd dream. Just a dream! Fuck!”
Shivering, Park Seung-min shook his head violently, disheveling his neatly styled hair. He repeated to himself several times. If a High-level Awakened like him was recovering this slowly, surely other Purifiers would also have quite a hard time with purification. He found solace in the thought that a Purifier’s abilities were inherently this insignificant.
Yohan, who had been staring intently at the screen, sighed with regret.
“Ah! I lost again….”
On the screen, Yohan’s character’s eyes were displayed as (x_x), lying down. Joo Ho-young, who was on a winning streak, spoke with a sympathetic expression.
“Shall I use just one finger next time?”
“No!”
Yohan bristled slightly at the suggestion that Joo Ho-young would play with just one finger. Joo Ho-young was already playing with several handicaps. Not using one hand, interference from spectators, tickling, and so on…. Determined to win against him using just one hand next time, he stood up, and Seo Yakrin, who had been watching, quickly stepped forward.
“Hey, play with me too.”
“Don’t get mad if you lose.”
“As if I’d lose even against someone using one hand?”
Seo Yakrin, who had declared this with such confidence, was utterly defeated. Joo Ho-young had only played a close, back-and-forth game when he was playing with the much younger maknae for fun; he showed no mercy to his teammates. Seo Yakrin stared blankly at his character, who had been so brutally defeated. Yohan realized.
‘I would have lost even if he used just one finger….’
Yoon Seung-ryong, who had been watching with amusement, also challenged him, but this time Joo Ho-young was simply toying with him. Angered, Yoon Seung-ryong shouted.
“Again, again!”
To the cheerful game BGM, the Team Sun lounge became boisterous. Although Yohan was not officially part of Team Sun, he often spent time with them when he had free time.
Even when Team Sun often came to pick Yohan up, the Little Sheep team members accepted it with understanding, given their connection from the Abyss. In fact, they seemed to think it was good for Yohan to interact more with Team Sun, often urging him to visit and nudging him. Every time he visited, the team members would give him snacks, call the new members by name in a friendly manner, chat, and offer useful advice.
While the four of them were goofing around, the Team Leader, Vice Team Leader, and the remaining two were looking at documents, making calls, or typing. As if this was normal, the three of them paid no attention, but Yohan felt unnecessarily apologetic and kept glancing around. Lee Hyun-muk, whose eyes met Yohan’s, smiled and said to Lee Chan-ha.
“I thought the Rift Management Agency would ask for help soon.”
“They don’t want to grovel to us. Captain Jeong Si-young must be at her limit by now, right? I’m a bit worried about how long she can hold on with so little purification.”
Jeong Si-young…. The name was so familiar that Yohan recalled the Captain of the Rift Management Agency’s Special Suppression Unit, who had a severe corruption on her left arm. He felt an urge to purify her as quickly as possible.
‘Still, they said the construction is almost finished.’
The construction of the Treatment and Custody Center for Severely Corrupted, the reason Yohan was currently hiding his identity as a Purifier, was nearing completion. Once he took in and treated the severely corrupted individuals, the government’s justification for demanding obligations and responsibilities from him, a High-rank Purifier, would be significantly reduced, so Yohan was waiting for that moment.
“Hmm, I should get going soon.”
Lee Chan-ha, who had quickly and skillfully finished typing up a report, said, glancing at her watch. There was a reason Yohan had come to the Team Sun lounge early today. He had an event to attend in the afternoon.
“How annoying, do we really have to attend this kind of event?”
“The event name itself indicates we’re supposed to attend, so even if it’s annoying, we have to do it. It’ll be more annoying if we don’t.”
As Yoon Seung-ryong grumbled with great annoyance, Lee Chan-ha replied. The event they had to attend today was led by the Rift Management Agency, and its name was none other than ‘Abyss Survivor Return Celebration Ceremony.’ Naturally, this meant Yohan, one of the survivors, was also invited.
“Yohan-ssi, if attending is a burden, shall I use an illusion for you?”
Lee Chan-ha asked in a polite and courteous tone. Ever since escaping the Abyss, or rather, since Yohan purified him, he had always been excessively polite, which was somewhat burdensome. Thanks to this, Yohan also tended to reply more courteously to Lee Chan-ha.
“No, I’m fine! My identity has almost been revealed anyway.”
Following the incident with Park Seung-min’s parachute remark last time, Yohan’s face and name had been completely leaked to the media. He was trying to ignore it following Joo Ho-young’s advice, but he received so many interview requests from reporters and calls from old acquaintances that he eventually had to change his phone number.
“True, it would be a bit much to leave Yohan here alone.”
Seo Yakrin nodded seriously. Even after returning to the relatively safe Earth, they had always stayed by Yohan’s side. Purification wasn’t the only reason. They were worried about his safety. Honestly, it couldn’t be denied that there was an element of overprotectiveness, but Yohan understood their feelings and accepted it.
The public opinion related to the Sun Guild had been chaotic every day since their return from the Abyss. It was better to attend than to absent oneself and stir up trouble. However, they refused the official vehicle the government offered. The opinion was that the vehicle would definitely have a listening device installed.
“Why would they install a listening device?”
Yohan asked, bewildered, in the car heading to the event venue. What would they gain from listening to the team members’ idle chatter?
“Perhaps they think there’s something we’re hiding related to the Abyss? But even if not, they would have installed it. Not just in our country, but globally, mid-level Awakened, especially High-level Awakened, are usually targets of government surveillance. It’s because they possess power that is a threat to national security.”
Yohan nodded, understanding Joo Ho-young’s explanation. In reality, there were many facts about what happened in the Abyss that they were hiding, and he understood the caution towards the powerful. Of course, being monitored didn’t feel good either.
The event venue was a hotel about an hour’s drive from the Sun Guild. Reporters were already swarming at the hotel entrance, diligently taking pictures of the car with its windows tinted black, making it impossible to see inside. After being bombarded by countless flashes, the vehicle stopped in front of the hotel’s annex.
As they got out of the van, many people were wearing suits. Yohan glanced down at his own attire. The Sun Guild wore their guild uniforms together. Yohan, who had been secretly worried about wearing a suit, felt relieved.
As it was an official government event, many of the reporters were from other countries. The first return from the Abyss was a matter of interest not only to Korea but also to other worlds. They were guided by hotel staff towards the annex. A large banner fluttered above the stage and numerous chairs arranged in a wide open space in front of the annex.
[Rift Management Agency Abyss Survivor Return Celebration Ceremony]
“They’re making it seem like our escape is their achievement.”
Joo Ho-young said in a listless voice and then took out a game console from his pocket. His attitude clearly showed he had no interest in such events. Seo Yakrin, looking around, then scowled.
“They’re here too.”
In the direction Seo Yakrin was looking, there were several Awakened, including Go Jae-won and Park Seung-min. These were the members of the Sunrise Team, newly formed two and a half years ago, and they had continued to use the Sunrise Team name even after the original team members, including Lee Hyun-muk, had returned.
“Oh, everyone’s here? Welcome, welcome.”
Kim Jong-seok, the Director of the Rift Management Agency, whom they had seen before, rushed over with a welcoming smile. Beneath his smiling face, there was a searching gaze. Lee Hyun-muk stepped forward to represent them and shook Kim Jong-seok’s hand, as a barrage of flashes from reporters ensued.