By Zephyria 
Yohan, who had been diligently eating the beef that Yoon Seung-ryong piled generously onto his plate, looked up at Lee Hyun-muk’s words.
“About 30 percent of the severely contaminated Awakened who were being held by the government have agreed to be transferred here.”
“Wow, really?”
Yohan’s face lit up. The terms ‘imprisoned’ and ‘transferred’ made him feel like they were talking about prisoners. Considering that society treated them not much differently, it was true. Seo Yakrin, who had been drinking continuously, spoke without a hint of intoxication.
“Well, how desperate must they be for Eternal Stones? Especially considering the contamination levels of Captain Jeong Si-young and the Special Unit members. In my opinion, they’re at a level that would warrant imprisonment by government standards, but they’re being forced to work due to a lack of personnel.”
“Their contamination level seemed quite severe. It didn’t seem like the purification power contained in the Eternal Stones alone would be enough to resolve it.”
Yohan sighed. Having seen Lee Hyun-muk and his companions severely contaminated in the Abyss, Jeong Si-young’s contamination was quite serious, even if it seemed relatively mild in comparison. Although she appeared fine during the interview, Yohan could see injection marks on Jeong Si-young’s neck. They were likely painkillers or sedatives.
Moreover, these purifying Eternal Stones are merely like batteries. They release a fixed amount of energy when a large amount of purification power is poured into them, and they become completely depleted after a certain period. Although they planned to resolve everything within that time, he was worried.
“Yeah, their arm probably isn’t shaped like a normal person’s anymore.”
Joo Ho-young said casually, instantly snatching the meat from Yoon Seung-ryong’s personal plate. It made sense that it wouldn’t be a big deal from their perspective. He then tried to take Seo Yakrin’s meat but was caught by psychokinesis, and he couldn’t even find Chan-ha’s meat right in front of him. Due to the nature of their abilities, he was weak against Seo Yakrin and Chan-ha. He didn’t dare touch Lee Hyun-muk’s meat, so Yoon Seung-ryong glared at Joo Ho-young for stealing his own meat.
Anyway, returning to the topic of Eternal Stones, the government had no choice but to hand over the Corrupted. If they forcibly confiscated them, there would be no solution if the person simply took the Eternal Stones and left the country. And if they let them be, it was the only means of Corruption Treatment.
Naturally, there was considerable criticism online about a single guild monopolizing the only means of Corruption Treatment, but no one present seemed to care. Since escaping the Abyss, everyone had seemed happy and joyful, so Yohan decided to go along with it.
“Speaking of which, the location for the guild building has finally been decided, Yohan-ssi.”
Lee Chan-ha refilled Yohan’s empty drink and showed him the location on her phone. It wasn’t far from the old Sunrise Guild building. It had to be located in a transportation hub for easy dispatch at any time. Seo Yakrin asked,
“Yohan, how about you? Where will you commute from now on?”
“Uh…”
“You can live at the guild building, or find a separate place to live nearby. Or you can commute from your parents’ house.”
Commute! The word was still unfamiliar to Yohan. Now that he had a job, he was a proper member of society. He habitually started to say he would commute from his parents’ house but stopped.
‘Come to think of it, that’s too far?’
Going back and forth between the Sun Guild and home would take four to five hours round trip. The old him would have asked his parents first and then given his answer. But now, the answer came without hesitation.
“Then I’ll live at the guild building!As a Purifier, his participation in Rift strategy was essential, so he had no choice but to live near the guild. Besides, the thought of living at home, constantly being compared to his Hyung, felt stifling, so this was good. Moreover, at twenty-four, it was time to date, get a job, and become independent. …It would be okay to live with Hyun-mook Hyung, right? Yohan swallowed his dark desires along with the alcohol.
“We should have another welcome dinner the day our Yohan joins the guild.”
Seo Yakrin said, chuckling as if drunk. Yohan also giggled. Thinking he had already gone through the hardest things in life in the Abyss, he felt like there would be no more hardships ahead. Joo Ho-young excitedly stood up and shouted,
“Let’s go to karaoke for the second round!”
“Sounds good!”
He shouted bravely and clinked glasses with everyone again. It was a moment of boundless joy and fun.
The enjoyable time continued late into the night. After the dinner, since Yohan had no car, Lee Hyun-muk decided to drive him home. Yohan’s cheeks were flushed red from the lingering excitement of the boisterous and fun dinner. He was a little disappointed that he wasn’t more drunk despite drinking so much.
“Was the dinner good today, Yohan-ah?”
Lee Hyun-muk asked kindly as he started the car. Although he was now a High-level Awakened and wouldn’t be seriously injured even in a traffic accident, Yohan habitually fastened his seatbelt and replied.
“It was great! I want to do it again!”
Even in the Abyss, they had gathered to eat and drink, but it was strongly for the purpose of survival. Today’s dinner felt like a proper social activity after a long time in that regard. He was also happy because it felt like a confirmation that he would continue to be with the Sun Guild here.
“But I decided to live at the guild building. So, where will I be living?”
As the car started, Yohan glanced at Lee Hyun-muk and asked what he had been wondering about since earlier. Lee Hyun-muk smiled and replied. His smile, which had always been faint in the Abyss, was now clear after their return. It had been like that throughout the dinner today.
“Wherever you want to live.”
“Ah… Then…”
“But if possible, I’d like it if you lived with me at my place.”
Hearing that, Yohan’s already flushed cheeks turned even redder.
“…Of course, I intended to!”
He replied and then smiled broadly, opening the car window and pretending to get some air to cool his face. He thought, ‘Dating is this good,’ and looked out at the dazzling night view. Even after the Great Rift incident, the city landscape hadn’t changed much. However, it was a scene that could disappear at any moment if a Rift opened.
“Rifts will continue to open, won’t they?”
“As long as the Abyss exists, they will.”
“What will happen from now on? The Abyss… and this place.”
Yohan murmured, gazing at the beautiful and peaceful scenery that was too lovely to disappear. The flush of excitement on his face subsided a little. After being immersed in vague happiness for a long time after escaping the Abyss, he finally felt like he was facing reality.
“I think there’s a high possibility of a Great Rift opening soon.”
“…A Great Rift.”
How many people had died every time a Great Rift opened on Earth? Normal Rifts only invaded localized areas, giving people a high chance of escaping safely. However, Great Rifts always occurred in densely populated areas, specifically capital cities. Because of this, famous metropolises like Monaco, Macau, Hong Kong, Delhi, and São Paulo vanished in an instant. In Korea, after the center of Seoul, Busan also disappeared.
“If you think of it as a person, the Abyss is now starving and has had its food stolen. It tried to swallow a city because of us, but it was taken back. But if it gives up there, it has no choice but to starve to death. So… my guess is that a Great Rift will open nearby again soon.”
Rift zones appear sporadically across the Earth, but the Abyss and Great Rifts had visible paths of movement. Ten years ago, Rifts covered various parts of the Earth, and a year later, a terrible Great Rift opened. Starting in India, the Great Rift soon devastated the entire country. It moved along densely populated cities and had already circled the Earth ten times, meaning it completed a circuit of the Earth once a year.
Considering the Great Rifts, which were incomparably more dangerous than normal Rifts, many people still lived in capitals or large cities, even though they knew it was dangerous to live in densely populated areas. This was because Rifts were not the only threat to human life. Monsters that constantly emerged from Rifts were also a terrible threat to civilians. Living in a city meant they could at least receive immediate help from the government or guilds.
“But this time, even if a Great Rift opens, there’s a way, right?”
Yohan said in a determined voice. He wasn’t pretending to be brave. It took less than half a day on average for the Abyss to appear after a Great Rift opened. This was why the casualties were always severe. Unlike normal Rifts, monsters would rampage and swarm, and the Abyss would appear before all citizens could evacuate. However, Yohan had ample time to deal with it.
“If I purify the land as soon as a Great Rift opens, the Abyss will have no land to swallow. So, every time a Great Rift opens in the future, I can cover it with a Purification Field… But… that’s right, Great Rifts don’t only appear in Korea…? What if one opens abroad?”
Yohan slowly realized. Later, when Intermediate and Low-grade Purifiers appeared, they would purify the land where Rifts occurred, thereby blocking the possibility of the Abyss appearing. However, for Great Rifts, Yohan would have to go himself.