By Zephyria Finally, the Purification Field, unfurled in the distant sky, reached the ground. Now, nothing within this brilliantly shining dome was contaminated. However, even with Joo Ho-young’s buff, the Purification Field’s area was insufficient to cover the entire Great Rift zone. The Great Rift, still spread like cracks in the air, writhed.
‘I just need to do it like I did in the Abyss.’
Yohan thought, intensely focused. But perhaps due to being too tense since earlier, it wasn’t working well. It was when he tightened his grip on his weapon, feeling anxious.
“Yohan-ah.”
At the familiar name, he snapped his head up. Lee Hyun-muk, who had finished herding the monsters and returned, was now beside Yohan. He grasped Yohan’s shoulder with a warm, gentle touch.
“Take a deep breath…”
Yohan looked at Lee Hyun-muk once, then exhaled, taking a deep breath. His shoulders, which had been tense, relaxed.
“Yes, well done. Shall we try again now? Slowly. Vision isn’t what’s important. Focus on the feeling.”
A large hand covered his eyes. At first, he was flustered, but when he closed his eyes, he could focus better on the light he had cast. Slowly, he paid attention, imagining pushing out the scattered veil of light. This time, it thankfully moved according to Yohan’s will.
The Purification Field moved slowly, sweeping over the Rift areas it hadn’t yet covered. It moved in a circle, bit by bit erasing the contaminated parts. The Great Rift, which had been gaping open in the air, trembled as if vibrating.
“A robot vacuum cleaner…”
Yoon Seung-ryong, who muttered this, was slapped on the mouth by Seo Yakrin. It was meant to tell him not to disturb the concentration, but Yohan heard it all. As he involuntarily let out a laugh, his tension eased, and moving the Purification Field became easier. Then, after a few minutes, just as Yohan swept over the last part of the Great Rift, someone cried out.
“It’s disappearing! The Great Rift is disappearing!”
The cracks in the air, which had stubbornly persisted, were being filled in. They spread again like a desperate struggle but were repaired. They shrank and shrank, remaining as a single point, and finally, even that completely vanished. At that moment, everyone rejoiced. It was the first time they had eliminated a Great Rift.
“We’re alive! We’re alive!”
Alive. That was precisely the right word. Until now, they had been helpless, only being chipped away at, with no way to stop even regular Rifts, let alone Great Rifts. Now, there was hope.
After confirming that the Great Rift had truly vanished completely and that nothing within the Purification Field was contaminated, Yohan collapsed. Or rather, he tried to sit down. Lee Hyun-muk, who was beside him, held him firmly before he could fall. Leaning on him, Yohan gasped for breath, drenched in sweat.
“Wow, I was so nervous… There were so many people here, I was afraid something might go wrong…”
“You did wonderfully. It was less of a big deal than you thought, wasn’t it?”
After a brief hesitation, Yohan nodded. It was certainly as Lee Hyun-muk said. Compared to the terrifying might and desperate struggle of the six monsters, their end had been almost trivially easy. This meant that the Flood couldn’t exert its full power here, unlike in the Abyss. Lee Hyun-muk looked around and concluded.
“This seems to be the result of their utmost effort.”
“I’m truly relieved. I was scared it would become like the Abyss here…”
Muttering, Yohan relaxed his body. Finally, a genuinely happy expression appeared. As always when he cast the Purification Field, he was extremely exhausted, but he felt good. And perhaps because it wasn’t the Abyss, he wasn’t as drained as before.
“Our maknae~!”
Seo Yakrin, who had leaped up onto the rooftop, ran over and hugged Yohan tightly, patting his back with immense pride. Then, the other team members also rushed over and ruffled the hair of the youngest, who had worked hard. Even with his strength gone, Yohan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Despite the rather fierce battle, the team members were not tired at all. That was understandable, as they hadn’t fought with their full strength.
“It really is peaceful here. Honestly, I think I could have handled it all by myself?”
Joo Ho-young said, looking down from the edge of the building, his position precarious. Although it was mixed with a bit of boasting, Yohan honestly agreed. Had the team members even exerted half their strength? Yohan thought as he wiped his sweat with a handkerchief handed to him by Lee Chan-ha.
‘If we had used our full power, it would have been truly easy.’
But no one showed their full strength. They were already under scrutiny from the government as it was. No one wanted to cause more trouble.
Yohan knew this too. The strength they displayed was overwhelmingly enough to make anyone feel uneasy. Unless someone fell into the Abyss and never returned after spending a long time there like them, there would be no one to match the strength of Team Sun.
Unlike Yohan, the Special Unit members couldn’t rest. With hundreds of citizens unconscious or in a state of confusion, the immediate aftermath was urgent. However, since there were no major threats within the Purification Field, they had some leeway. Soon, Jeong Si-young also came up to the rooftop.
“Thank you all for your hard work. Thanks to you, there were almost no casualties.”
Even as she spoke, an annoying buzzing sound continued. It was the sound of drones flying diligently and filming. Jeong Si-young glanced at the drones, finding them bothersome, but ignored them.
“That the casualties from the Great Rift were limited to a single digit is something that could be called a miracle.”
Jeong Si-young’s voice was somewhat stiff as she said this. It was because she had felt the power of these individuals during this Great Rift operation.
Setting aside the civilians who were under Lee Chan-ha’s shield, it was astonishing that none of the Special Unit members were seriously injured. No, beyond astonishment, it was horrifying. The team members barely noticed, but this battle was entirely fought within the grasp of Team Sun.
It was as if, like children playing house, fortunate coincidences occurred at just the right timing whenever the team members were in danger…
Jeong Si-young, who had rarely felt fear since becoming a High-level Awakener, had been sweating profusely throughout the fight. She was more afraid of these people than the monsters. However, swallowing that fear without a word, she looked at Yang Yohan and said,
“We owe you another debt.”
“Ah, what debt? It’s nothing for this much… Anyway, it’s fortunate that no one died by chance! If Korea is peaceful, we can live well too!”
Yoon Seung-ryong, noticing the other party’s tension, responded with deliberate heartiness. Jeong Si-young nodded and looked down at the building. For the first time in a while, a bright smile appeared on the faces of the team members, who usually looked grim after every battle. She let out a sigh and said to Lee Hyun-muk,
“Be careful for a while.”
Although the subject was omitted, everyone except one person understood what she meant. But then, Jeong Si-young let out a disbelieving chuckle. Be careful? Against people who treated this chaotic battle like a playground?
“…No, that was a pointless piece of advice. Anyway, I’ll see you next time. Let’s have a drink sometime.”
With that, Jeong Si-young leaped down from the building without looking back. She had to go and direct the remaining cleanup.
“The Captain is always cool, I like that.”
Seo Yakrin said with a smile, narrowing her eyes. Lee Hyun-muk gave Yohan, who was still panting from exhaustion, a piece of ice to eat and gently stroked his flushed cheeks.
“Shall we go home and rest now?”
“Yes! After a bath… and then eat something delicious and sleep soundly.”
Yohan, his worries and anxieties completely gone, now incomparably cheerful, leaned slightly into Lee Hyun-muk’s hand and replied. Then, with a sigh, he got up and leaped from the rooftop without hesitation. Landing lightly, he looked at the shining Purification Field, which would last for several days, and thought.
‘The people living nearby can all be purified, right?’
The thought of the suffering people finding peace brought a smile to his face. Lee Chan-ha, walking beside him, looked up at the Purification Field with enraptured eyes, so Yohan asked,
“Chan-ha Hyung, should we stay here a little longer?”
“…No. I have a lot of work to do back at the guild. Yohan-gun should also rest at home.”
Though regretful, Lee Chan-ha shook his head and replied. He would have to consider installing a small Purification Field at Lee Chan-ha’s house sometimes…
Walking with such thoughts, they eventually reached the boundary where the Purification Field ended. The ceaseless flow of light was beautiful even to Yohan’s eyes. He hopped out of the Purification Field.
“I called for a vehicle to the guild… but I don’t know if it can get here with the streets in this state.”
Yoon Seung-ryong sighed, looking at the broken asphalt and scattered vehicles on the street, then stopped short. Beside a military vehicle parked in front of them stood several Awakened in military uniforms and Kim Jong-seok. He was temporarily filling the vacant Minister position left by Hwang Young-chul’s disappearance.
A blank expression, sharp eyes that conveyed hostility and wariness… Facing them, Yohan was suddenly reminded of Jeong Si-young’s warning. Kim Jong-seok nodded, and one person stepped forward and spoke to Yohan.
“Awakened Yang Yohan. We request an interview as a witness regarding the case of illegal funding involving Samyeong Pharmaceutical Company and Neon Guild.”