By Zephyria “I know I looked dangerous earlier. But I wasn’t really in danger, was I? I fully understand that it was a situation that would make Hyun-mook Hyung angry. Still, to this extent? This place… isn’t the Abyss anymore.”
The gazes of the companions, who had been panicking before Lee Hyun-muk’s true form, wavered. Yohan asked Lee Chan-ha and Joo Ho-young, who were still holding onto him stubbornly.
“Isn’t Hyun-mook Hyung the one who’s dangerous right now? Really… can he return to normal this time?”
As if persuaded by his words, the hands holding him slowly loosened. Yohan pleaded desperately.
“So please, just let me go before it’s too late. Please….”
Anxious at the thought that he had to go in quickly and stop Lee Hyun-muk, Yohan stomped his feet. Amidst the heavy silence, someone blurted out.
“I’ll go too.”
Surprisingly, it was Joo Ho-young, who had always run away and always wanted to run away. Even now, he was so terrified of Lee Hyun-muk that he wanted to flee, yet he didn’t let go of the hand holding Yohan’s arm. Yoon Seung-ryong looked up at the sky once and let out a deep sigh. Then, he patted Yohan’s shoulder and said,
“Yeah, me too. I have pride, how can I let Yohan-ssi go alone? And… if people have any decency, they should know gratitude. The Team leader has done so much for us.”
Yohan’s face, which had been inwardly afraid of going in alone, brightened. Seo Yakrin then nodded.
“We can’t just send our maknae alone. Besides, as much as I’m grateful to Yohan-ssi, I’m also grateful to our Team leader.”
The person who once hated Lee Hyun-muk, asking why he hadn’t been left to die, spoke. Finally, Lee Chan-ha also slowly nodded. Her gaze, shifting between the Purification Field and the contrasting black field, was heavy.
“We’ve been through this countless times already, so one more time won’t change much. I’ll go with you too.”
“Then let’s go in quickly!”
Yohan, eager to go, flapped his held arm. Lee Chan-ha stopped him from entering immediately, shaking her head.
“But how about resting for an hour first? We’re too exhausted right now. We don’t know what will happen inside, so it’s best to recover some purification power.”
Hesitating, Yohan nodded. He was indeed very tired from deploying the Purification Field earlier. It wasn’t a comfortable environment inside anyway, so resting a little seemed like a good idea.
He plopped down on the floor. He had no appetite, but he forced himself to chew and swallow the snack Yoon Seung-ryong offered and closed his eyes. Soldiers searched the surroundings, but Lee Chan-ha had obscured them with an illusion, so he could rest soundly without worry. An hour passed, and Yohan got up. This time, his teammates didn’t try to stop him.
“Hoo…”
Yohan stood before the infinitely dark curtain, devoid of any light, and took a deep breath. Then, without looking back, he leaped inside.
Despite his resolve, his stiffened breath escaped with a gasp. It was dark and vast all around. Yohan felt for the first time that even air had density. If the Abyss was heavy, this place was infinitely light. So light, it felt like his body was being pulled somewhere. As he instinctively tried to infuse his weapon with light out of fear, a bright light burst from beside him. Startled, he turned to see Yoon Seung-ryong holding out a lantern and grinning.
“How is it, cool, right? My X-Doraemon pocket. For now, conserve your strength as much as possible.”
“…Yes. I will.”
Yohan managed a small smile at Yoon Seung-ryong’s jest. It was certainly a time when every bit of purification power was precious. They advanced, relying on the light of Yoon Seung-ryong’s lantern.
Unlike last time, Lee Hyun-muk’s interior was somewhat full. This was because a part of the city he had swallowed remained intact. In this desolate, dark landscape, everyone felt the same.
“This is really creepy. It feels like we’re back in the Abyss…”
Seo Yakrin muttered to himself and then firmly shut his mouth. He thought his own words were unlucky. To compare it to the Abyss, no matter how frightening the Team leader was… Seo Yakrin inwardly clicked his tongue, but Yohan spoke in a deliberately bright voice.
“But we don’t feel any Corruption, so it’s much better than the Abyss!”
It was true. Inside here, at least, the contamination level wasn’t rising. What was even more surprising was the presence of hundreds, perhaps over a thousand, beings inside. Yohan stopped walking and looked around in bewilderment.
“There are monsters. And people too…”
“Yeah. As Yohan-ssi said, our Team leader must be out of his mind. To do this knowing civilians are here.”
Joo Ho-young shivered as he muttered. Yohan also hadn’t expected so many monsters to be inside Lee Hyun-muk. He had seen him swallow monsters with shadows in the Abyss, but had only thought he had died afterward.
They checked the people located closest to them. It was strange that there was no commotion, but for some reason, they were unconscious or dazed, unresponsive to external stimuli.
“Should we gather them in one place for now? We can’t take them with us.”
Lee Chan-ha, who had been meticulously observing their surroundings, made a cold judgment. The monsters lurking nearby showed no signs of attacking, and the civilians were all calm. Most importantly, they lacked the capacity to rescue them. Agreeing with Seo Yakrin, they quickly gathered the nearby civilians and placed them inside a building. They blocked the entrance to prevent monsters from entering and then moved on.
Crack, crackle…
As they gathered people and moved them to one place, a constant noise like cracking stones echoed. This was also different from the ‘inside’ of the past, where no sound could be heard. Joo Ho-young, his nerves on edge, muttered.
“What is this noise?”
“We don’t know the cause for now. We don’t even know which way to go. Does it make sense to search for the Team leader inside the Team leader?”
Yoon Seung-ryong laughed irritably and tore at his hair. Yohan, standing idly and looking around without heading anywhere, suddenly turned his head. His spear was humming. As Yohan looked, it vibrated even more strongly as if waiting.
Now, Yohan knew well that Lee Hyun-muk hadn’t obtained the Eternal Stone from somewhere else, but had given a piece of his own. Yohan furrowed his brow, concentrated, and slowly turned, holding his spear. The vibration grew stronger in a specific direction.
“…I think we need to go in that direction.”
With no other clues, everyone followed Yohan’s words without complaint. As they walked slowly along the bleak and eerie street, Lee Chan-ha suddenly spoke.
“Now I know the identity of that noise, Yohan-ssi.”
He, who was always calm, became unusually serious and pointed to a building.
“Aren’t the gaps between buildings wider than before? Look. The asphalt is cracked too. This place is expanding in real-time…”
Indeed, it was as Lee Chan-ha said. The asphalt continued to crack, widening the gaps between buildings. Joo Ho-young, with a grim expression, estimated and said,
“I don’t know if it’s just expanding internally or actually expanding outside, but at this rate, it will cover the entire Korean Peninsula within a day. We need to hurry.”
At his words, their pace quickened. Everyone was extremely tense and began to sweat. As they soon left the city, a strange landscape unfolded. It was a wilderness where occasional natural scenery like trees and rocks, and fragments of buildings of unknown origin, suddenly popped out. Swallowing dryly, Yohan advanced in the direction his spear guided him.
How long had they walked? Would they ever reach the end, could they find Lee Hyun-muk, and if they met him, what would they say to persuade him? Complex thoughts made Yohan sigh.
“How much further do we have to go? If it’s like this, why don’t we just fly?”
It was when Seo Yakrin grumbled.
“Something’s appeared.”
Lee Chan-ha said in a highly wary voice. Indeed, there was a mass in the direction they were advancing. As they slowly walked closer, the shape, buried in darkness, finally became clear.
It was a giant heart.
Strangely, from any angle, it looked like a human face. With every beat of the heart, a peculiar harmony was heard. Thump, whoosh, thump, whoosh, thump, whoooosh… Between the irregular beats, something like a whistle leaked out. It was a melody that strangely captivated people.
“Yohan-ssi! Snap out of it!”
“…Gasp!”
Thanks to Lee Chan-ha’s loud call, Yohan snapped back to reality and realized he had been unconsciously listening and was trying to get closer to the heart. If Lee Chan-ha, who had strong resistance to this type of attack, hadn’t accompanied him, he would have already approached it.
“Damn it… Vice Team leader. I’m going to attack.”
Seo Yakrin, shaking his head vigorously to regain his senses, asked Lee Chan-ha. In a situation like this, where the Team leader Lee Hyun-muk was effectively absent, command fell to Vice Team leader Lee Chan-ha. After a moment’s hesitation, Lee Chan-ha nodded.
“Attack.”
With permission granted, a golden aura surged from Seo Yakrin’s body. The power, which he had deliberately suppressed when people were watching, fiercely shot towards the heart. A golden claw, like a giant’s hand, clawed and tore at the heart. Slaaaash! The heart was soon ripped to shreds and burst. It was a more anticlimactic end than expected. Everyone felt a sense of unease rather than joy. Seo Yakrin asked belatedly,
“But is it okay to burst this… Huh?”
The ground trembled, and something surged from within the burst heart. It was a heart of even greater size. The heart convulsed, pouring out black bodily fluid. Roaaar! It poured down with the force of a waterfall, scattering foul-smelling black droplets everywhere. As Lee Chan-ha hastily erected a barrier, a dense black mist enveloped the surroundings.