The Abyssal Shockwave
Cheon Seong stared at the half-dead hacker sprawled on the floor of his ruined lab, jaw clenched tight. “That bastard sure asks for a lot. How many high-class talents do you think I am?”
“Don’t people normally say something like that themselves?” the calm voice of Loki echoed through the speaker.
Last time he had been ordered to dig up the number-one guild in Korea’s first division captain. Now the request was for the wife of the Sword King himself.
“He has to learn my value. How did I end up tangled up with a scumbag like this? Uuuugh! Hey. How long have I been working?”
“Don’t know. This side has tighter security than the Flame King’s. It’s already a struggle for me.”
“Hurry up! You sound so outdated.”
“If I’m outdated, then your skill is outdated too. And if it’s urgent, just call Sara in.”
“No way. Sara’s busy collecting other information right now.”
They bantered back and forth, hands never pausing as Seong sent the man his orders. The more the investigation went on, the deeper the shadows grew on both their faces.
[This is…]
“…What the hell is that guy involved in?”
No matching information.
The results of the investigation into the wife of the Sword King that Cheon Seong had requested. Nothing. Not a single detail matched what the public knew—nothing at all.
As if the woman had never truly existed.
Whoosh—!
A single window suddenly bloomed on the monitor. Horror flashed across Imir and Loki’s faces as both of them lunged into protective postures.
[Do not interfere.]
“Run!!”
[Aaaah!!]
BOOM!!!
Mir and Loki threw themselves to the ground, heads protected, as a colossal explosion swept through the lab and hurled them across the wreckage.
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“So that’s how it ended?”
Cheon Seong looked around the devastated lab where Imir’s work had once stood and spoke into the speaker. “I thought it would be better to come and see for myself after hearing the phone call.”
“Yeah, you damn bastard. What the hell are you going to do about this!”
“…Sorry. I’ll cover repair costs as much as I can.”
Cheon Seong felt guilt gnawing at him for the man who had been badly hurt while trying to help him and offered an apology. Imir let out a long sigh, ruffled his hair, and shouted in a voice that sounded nothing like his usual self.
“Ha—damn it! I make more money than you! Just bring me good materials later if you find any. As long as you bring them, I can cover the loss somehow.”
The tone was rough, and to anyone else it would have sounded like cheap pity. But Cheon Seong knew. This was Imir trying to comfort him in his own awkward way.
The words Yuna once said to him echoed in his mind.
Seong, you’re really bad at comforting people. You look angry on the surface, but underneath you’re clearly worried about others. And I love that side of you more than anything.
At the time he hadn’t understood what she meant.
He only took care of Yuna and Hana. Who was he supposed to worry about?
Now, seeing this version of Imir, he realized just how much the regression had softened him.
Wasn’t a bad relationship also a good one? Looking back, he had been quietly taking care of Yoo Hwa-young and Dang Hwa-ran without realizing it.
He had simply been hiding it from Yuna.
Of course, as he always said, that bastard Cheon Yu-seong was the exception. He was a scumbag who didn’t deserve to live in the first place.
“Hey. Why the stupid grin?”
Cheon Seong’s lips twitched when he touched his mouth. It was the smile he hated most.
“Just… I like that side of you.”
“Wha—?! What the hell are you saying, you bastard!”
SLAP!
Imir’s cheeks flushed red as he suddenly jumped and delivered a sharp slap to Seong’s back.
[Aigoo! Aigoo! He’s really going all out this time.]
Loki showed a cartoonish grin on his screen while spinning his robotic body. Seong didn’t lose his temper at the remark and simply stepped closer, smiling.
“Loki, you worked hard too. If there’s anything I need to bring next time, just say the word.”
[Hmph! If you think I’m that easy, you’re in for a big surprise. What do you have? Ramen and steak? Humans eat that crap? Anyway, bring me a ton of actual human food. Mir never gives me human food!]
“Hey! You called Nepira food, remember!”
Imir called her by her old nickname, Nepira. Seeing the mention of food made Cheon Seong’s face twist with sorrow.
If even a single vehicle couldn’t be driven properly, how had Nepira—once the sin of Lust—managed to cook complex meals? Cheon Seong didn’t even want to imagine the result.
“Loki… I’m glad you’re still alive.”
[Sob! Do you understand me?! That pink-haired bitch only ate her food and kept asking for more!]
“Yeah, yeah. You worked hard. I’ll bring plenty next time.”
[You’re a good guy!]
Imir puffed out his cheeks in thanks, then launched a legendary Hectopascal Kick at the robotic body of the now-happy Loki.
“Get out! You damn thing! I’m too busy because of you, so scram already!”
But the legendary Hectopascal Kick was far too difficult for a short-legged hacker like Imir to pull off. As he crashed to the floor and tried to roll toward the wreckage, a soft thud echoed.
Tap.
“Hey, Imir. You okay? Any injuries?”
“Eh? Eh, eh? Um… uh… n-no… I’m fine.”
“Heh, suddenly using honorifics?”
Cheon Seong laughed brightly at the words. Imir climbed down, patted his head, and smiled.
“Be careful. Even if it wasn’t a real body, pain is pain.”
“Y-yes… uh… I mean… um… thank you.”
“Good. Then I’ll be going. See you next time.”
Cheon Seong teleported away after the words. In the black-scorched lab left behind by the explosion, Imir was alone. He dropped to his knees, buried his face in them, and roared.
“Aaaah! I’m insane! I’m completely insane!! Aaaaaah!!”
He had always thought of Cheon Seong only as a friendly business partner. But deep down he had always known.
Being with him brought a strange comfort, an ease he couldn’t explain, as if the weight on his chest had vanished.
Why… why do I act like this around a human?
He knew Seong’s true identity. He should be on his guard. Yet every time they spoke, he forgot.
It was strange how easily he listened to a human’s request.
At first… at first I only wanted to investigate the arrogant little human because his power felt unusual… but instead of investigating, I’ve been helping him in every way while taking damage myself…
Even the information he and Sara didn’t know—secrets they had kept for years—was known to this twenty-year-old brat who had barely grown up. He was using a teleportation ability that almost no one in the world possessed.
His clumsy movements had grown noticeably skilled over time, making him look like a half-retired veteran. It wasn’t that either.
Even after secret investigations, he was just a typical psycho who had been abused by trash parents his whole life.
The cheerful smile he always wore was a lie. Looking at his actions now, his emotions were so dried out they rotted away, leaving only madness.
And that crimson-red light… no, the star…
Crimson had always been the color of bad omen.
Blood that had turned to dust carried that hue. Prolonged exposure to it supposedly turned ordinary people into battle-crazed fighters.
Yet the star was crimson. A color that should never have been mixed in the first place.
Yet when they talked, it felt like he knew everything about Seong from the beginning.
And the cold, ruthless side he sometimes showed? It was exactly the way a veteran who had fought in mud for decades would act.
If the crimson star explained it, then those appearances made sense. It was the same fate as those who were born under that star.
Cheon Seong knew his identity. He possessed power far beyond his age. He should be treated as the greatest threat. And yet he was a man carrying a crimson star…
“Ha! Snap out of it, Imir! Snap out of it! He’s nothing but a business partner. Nothing more. Besides, the women around him are already swarming like flies on honey. Yeah, exactly. He’s just a scumbag who knows how to handle women.”
Imir drew a line between himself and Cheon Seong, insisting they were merely partners. But Loki could see it plainly—Imir’s ears burning red.
My master really is too honest.
That look was nothing short of a girl who had fallen in love.
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“So what happened to the rat spying on us?”
[Nothing. Just gave a warning and left.]
“We don’t need to handle it?”
A low, deep voice answered. The owner of the dark, unkempt black hair on the other end of the line twirled a strand while replying.
[Even if we wanted to, we can’t. There are people around them. Touching them carelessly puts us at risk too. The Sword King wouldn’t have missed that, so why ask me?]
“…I don’t have time for games. I only wanted to confirm something clear.”
[Heh. Right, that makes sense. You’ve always been like this. Anyway, from now on you need to be a little more careful. I put in a lot of effort to stop you. It’s lucky the other side was careless. Otherwise I would have lost.]
“You lost because the opponent was that strong?”
[Yeah, about the same level as me, or maybe even stronger.]
Contrasting the low, heavy voice was a bright, cheerful reply filled with worry and thought. The middle-aged man with blue hair tapped his fingers on the table and answered through the speaker.
“…Okay, I understand. In this field you’re better than me, so if you say so, then that’s how it is.”
Tap!
CRACKLE!
Energy from the fingertips cracked the table where his hand rested. Items on the desk fell to the floor.
“Solomon.”