By Zephyria “It’s been a while since everyone’s seen each other since returning from the Abyss. Lee Hyun-muk, you’re as reliable as ever. Hahaha! Our Lee Chan-ha, you get more handsome every time I see you. Seo Yakrin, you’ve gotten prettier too?”
“Tch.”
Lee Chan-ha’s gaze was utterly cold, and Seo Yakrin openly expressed her annoyance, but Kim Jong-seok, despite sweating profusely, persevered with his greetings. He greeted Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young warmly, but he brushed past Yohan without even offering a handshake. However, the Team Sun members seemed to prefer it that way. Seo Yakrin gently patted Yohan’s back and said,
“That’s right. Our Yohan doesn’t like being touched.”
Yohan, who had been standing quietly, trying his best not to attract attention, felt his eyes waver. What, doesn’t like being touched…? And Kim Jong-seok probably heard that too…. He must have an incredible poker face, just smiling without acknowledging anything.
“Alright, everyone, please sit here, sit.”
Since it was a celebration for those who returned from the Abyss, the protagonists, Team Sun, were given the most prominent seats. The seats were arranged in order of age, starting with Lee Hyun-muk, closest to Kim Jong-seok. Naturally, Yohan was assigned the lowest seat. As Yohan headed towards his seat without much thought, Yoon Seung-ryong was already sitting there.
“I like this seat.”
“I’ll take this one.”
Joo Ho-young quickly swapped nameplates and sat on the opposite edge. In the end, Yohan took the most central seat, with Lee Hyun-muk and Lee Chan-ha seated immediately beside him. It was a position of protection, ready to fully shield Yohan no matter what happened.
As a result, Kim Jong-seok, who ended up sitting right next to Joo Ho-young, looked displeased. Joo Ho-young started playing a game boisterously and even put on earphones, making it impossible to talk to him. Seo Yakrin, sitting next to him, crossed her arms with a rather indifferent attitude. Yoon Seung-ryong, only interested in food, flipped through a pamphlet.
“Judging by the smell, it looks like they’ve set up a buffet inside. When do we eat?”
Even Yohan, whose senses were heightened, couldn’t smell anything from inside the annex building, so his sense of smell was truly remarkable.
‘Speaking of which, something….’
As Yohan fidgeted uncomfortably and kept looking around, Lee Hyun-muk, sitting right next to him, asked,
“What’s wrong, is the chair uncomfortable?”
“No. But something’s bothering me… It feels strange….”
He couldn’t pinpoint it, but he felt an unpleasant, uneasy sensation. If he had to compare it, it felt like cockroaches were crawling somewhere… Then, Yohan’s gaze met Park Seung-min’s, who was sitting right next to Kim Jong-seok on the opposite side.
Park Seung-min’s gaze was burning. He looked unable to comprehend why Yang Yohan, not himself, was enjoying himself in that seat. Yohan gave a deliberate smile to the greedy traitor. It felt somewhat satisfying to see him agitated.
‘Isn’t it about time for the purification power I boosted for him that day to wear off?’
The purification power he had initially received in abundance naturally wouldn’t recover. It was simply piled high like a mountain of rice in a bowl. Only the amount of purification power equivalent to the bowl was originally permitted to Park Seung-min. And that was a volume smaller than a rice bowl, about the size of a soy sauce dish…
― We will now proceed with the Rift Management Agency’s Abyss Returnee Celebration Ceremony. All attendees, please take your seats.
Following the announcement, everyone took their seats. There were dozens of cameras from reporters and phone lenses quietly live-streaming the event. Most were focused on Team Sun, the biggest topic of conversation, and Park Seung-min, the sole Purifier.
Normally, Yohan would have been busy hiding his face from the cameras focused on him, but not today. The uncomfortable feeling he’d had since earlier was growing stronger. He had thought it was displeasure towards Park Seung-min and Go Jae-won, but no matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t that kind of feeling. And now, it seemed he wasn’t the only one noticing. As the ceremony proceeded, Lee Hyun-muk opened his mouth and subtly called out,
“Chan-ha.”
Just by calling her name, Lee Chan-ha, who understood immediately, nodded. Yohan was so on edge that he didn’t even notice his teammates exchanging glances. The feeling was incredibly vague. If he had to compare it, it was like a danger signal was about to arrive but was being jammed by some kind of interference…
― I am deeply moved that such a meaningful event is being held today. There have been no Awakened who have returned from the Abyss anywhere in the world, but our proud Republic of Korea has produced the first. The Republic of Korea, which possesses an Abyss returnee! Please give a round of applause to the returnees!
Yohan stared intently, momentarily forgetting his discomfort, at how terrible Kim Jong-seok’s speech on stage was. Loud applause echoed from all directions. Yoon Seung-ryong openly glared at Kim Jong-seok from head to toe.
― Also, haven’t we had a double celebration in our country recently? Purifier Park Seung-min! Please come up! Come on, don’t be shy!
Wasn’t this an Abyss Returnee Celebration Ceremony? Yohan was bewildered as Park Seung-min ascended the stage. Now he saw that it was essentially a promotional event for the High-rank Purifier, disguised as a celebration for Abyss returnees.
‘I’m glad I’m not up there….’
Park Seung-min, with a face full of self-importance, grabbed the microphone. Just as he was about to introduce himself.
― Hello, I am High-rank Purifier Park Seung-min—
BEEEEEP—! Before his greeting was even finished, a sharp, ear-splitting beep echoed. Kim Jong-seok still had a smile on his face, but as the beep grew louder, his expression finally contorted. He pointed at the speaker and yelled,
“Person in charge! Who’s in charge of the equipment! Hurry up and fix it!”
Civil servants scrambled below the stage. However, even after attempts to fix it, the noise didn’t resolve, and eventually, the power was cut. Click. An ominous silence fell. Park Seung-min, standing blankly on stage, scowled, then tried to compose himself again.
“Oh…!”
Suddenly, with a chilling sensation that became clear, Yohan involuntarily jumped to his feet. Several reporters’ gazes shifted to him, then scattered as screams erupted.
“Aaaargh! What is this!”
“Monsters! Aaaargh!”
As monsters with grotesque appearances suddenly appeared among the crowd, people seated in chairs screamed and jumped up. If one looked closely, it was clear these weren’t just monsters but people who were severely corrupted.
“Where’s the Purifier? Where’s the Purifier, where, where, where, where, where.”
“Purify, aaaaah. Aaaah, sa, ah. Gu, guu, help…. me.”
“Ugh, uweeeek.”
A disgusting, giant skin flower bloomed on the forehead of one of the corrupted. Pistils and stamens made of hair writhed. One corrupted person staggered and fell, then crawled on all fours. Another continuously vomited filth from their mouth.
Yohan realized that the uncomfortable sensation he was feeling originated from these severely corrupted individuals. The feeling, which had been vague like radio interference earlier, now became clear. Yohan opened his mouth.
“Those people…!”
The moment he realized, Lee Chan-ha scooped Yohan into her arms and leaped high. Lee Chan-ha, who had leaped while tightly hugging a startled Yohan, landed in the press area, where many reporters were gathered. It was also the most densely populated area. She unfurled a wide, blue barrier, enveloping the screaming people.
“Ah! Lee Chan-ha Awakened!”
“Everyone, escape here!”
As Lee Chan-ha shouted, the panicked and bewildered people immediately rushed into the barrier. The rather large barrier was sufficient to accommodate many people. Held in Lee Chan-ha’s arms, Yohan surveyed the surroundings. CRASH! A loud roar echoed, and looking over, Lee Hyun-muk was pinning an infected person who had lunged at the stage to the ground. The person was twice as large as an ordinary human.
“Pu, ri, fi, er, I, neeeed….”
Lee Hyun-muk frowned as he heard the infected person, whose head was crushed in his hand and couldn’t move, mumbling. The infected people were all calling for a Purifier, and it felt as if they were brainwashed.
The problem didn’t end there. In addition to the infected who seemed to have sprung up from the crowd, other infected were emerging from the small forest surrounding the hotel annex.
“Seo Yakrin, Joo Ho-young! Check where the infected are coming from!”
Hearing Lee Hyun-muk’s command, the two disappeared in the direction of the forest. Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong took down the infected one by one. Their abilities were difficult to use in a place with so many civilians, so they resorted to pure hand-to-hand combat.
“Pu, ri, fi, er! Cough, cough, pu, ri, fi, er!”
“There, there, there, there’s light! There’s light! Light!”
Lee Chan-ha’s barrier was ‘unfortunately’ quite a distance from the stage. Kim Jong-seok and Park Seung-min, who were standing on the stage, became desperate. It was obvious the infected were swarming towards them. Special Suppression Unit members surrounded the stage and formed a scrum, but there were gaps due to insufficient personnel. He, who almost got caught by an infected person climbing onto the stage, felt his life threatened and yelled at the top of his lungs,
“Lee, Lee Chan-ha! That’s not it! I’m here! Protect me first! I’m a High-rank Purifier!”
No matter how desperately he called out to Lee Chan-ha, who was maintaining the barrier, she didn’t budge. Realizing it was futile, Park Seung-min frantically urged Go Jae-won.