Chapter 132: The First Hour

Two hours had passed since Yoo Eunha was summoned by the president. Ha Ji-eun arrived at the mage tower, only to hear that Eunha had left, and lifted the cake with a sigh of disappointment.

"Ah, cake."

"Yeah, the chocolate cake you liked last time."

"Eunha eats way too much cake. Her teeth are gonna rot at this rate."

Ha Ji-eun giggled at that. "Ahaha, true. Maybe next time I'll bring some non-sweet bread."

"Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten it."

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"Right? Last time she said bread without sugar isn't even bread~"

As Lee Sera grumbled and plopped down on the sofa, a chilling, piercing alarm blared from the phones—beeeep—beeeep—beeeep.

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"It's not just my phone, right?"

"Yeah, unnie. A-all of them are going off."

Eun-byeol, startled, grabbed her phone in a panic. Ha Ji-eun checked the message and furrowed her brow.

"E-evacuate?"

The hairs on their necks stood up in an instant.

"W-what the hell is this?"

"Is it real?"

"We're already in a mage tower, so maybe we're fine…?"

Ha Ji-eun scratched her head, a bad premonition gnawing at her, and frantically searched her phone.

"An Abyss alert in the Seoul area means… Gangnam Abyss is the problem, right?"

"Ah."

"I-it's not far from here…?"

Lee Sera peered anxiously out the window.

"A-an Abyss alert means something's wrong with the Abyss. It can't be Code Black, right?"

"Huh?"

"I mean…."

Lee Sera pointed at the blood-red sky.

"The sky turning like that… it's the precursor to Code Black."

Eun-byeol and Ha Ji-eun whipped their heads toward the window at her words.

"……."

Silence fell like a shroud. Outside, the sky burned an eerily crimson hue, sending chills down their spines.

"The Blackest Night…."

The catastrophe that claimed 120,000 lives and injured over a million. It had all begun with the sky staining red.

"The precursor to the Blackest Night disaster was a red sky, right?"

"Yes."

"And surely…."

Lee Sera picked up where Ha Ji-eun left off.

"The first hour is the golden time for containment, like we learned."

"Right. H-how long ago did it start?"

Eun-byeol was trembling so hard that Ha Ji-eun scrolled through her phone for updates. The 1st Army must be holding it back—no way a country like Korea would fall like this. Desperately searching, Ha Ji-eun found a broadcast.

"Oh, there's a stream?"

"Hacked military CCTV?"

"Looks like it."

As Ha Ji-eun tuned in, the screen showed soldiers holding back abyssal creatures from the Abyss, flanked by two mages.

"Ah! Thank goodness—looks like two 1st Army mages are there!"

Eun-byeol, checking the stream on her phone, suddenly screamed.

"Aaaah! That's—that's Eunha, isn't it?!"

The Eun-byeol beside her spotted Yoo Eunha.

"Huh?"

"F-for real?"

"Didn't she go meet the president?"

"Oh my god! W-we have to help her!"

"She went to the Abyss? What do we do!"

Ha Ji-eun stomped her feet in frustration when someone shuffled down from upstairs, still half-asleep.

"Yaaawn. Kids, didn't your phones go off? I sent the little one off and was gonna nap…."

Lee Ha-ryeong scratched her belly as she descended. Ha Ji-eun shoved her phone with the stream in her face.

"Ah, Ha-ryeong-nim. Right now…."

"It's Code Black."

Lee Ha-ryeong froze mid-step at Lee Sera's words.

"Code Black? The Abyss?"

"Yes, Gangnam Abyss."

"Wait, then… the president and the kid are both there."

"Pardon? Y-yeah, Eunha's there."

"Aaaah!"

Clutching her head and yelling, Lee Ha-ryeong pointed at the three girls.

"Tell Clear to activate the tower's barrier. If people come flooding in, let them and evacuate everyone to the underground training hall."

"Pardon?"

"Now! I'm heading to Gangnam Abyss! Guard the tower! Oh, and pass the word to Kang Seo-hee in the training hall!"

"Pardon?"

"Y-you're going, Ha-ryeong-nim?"

Lee Ha-ryeong's face hardened at Lee Sera's question, then twisted into a subtle smile.

"Yeah. Looks like it's time to keep that promise."

Just 20 minutes. It had only been 20 minutes since they started fending off the abyssal creatures pouring from the Abyss.

"Huff… huff…."

My vision was going white. Muscles twisted throughout my body, and my head throbbed from the ether overload.

"Hey, kid. You okay?"

"……."

I didn't even have the strength to answer Yoo Yeon, leaning against Jang-gil, when a familiar voice rang out.

"Huff. I didn't… huff… arrive too late, it seems."

Turning at Lee Ha-ryeong's voice, I saw her standing barefoot in nothing but an oversized T-shirt.

"…Did you seriously run here like that?"

"Tch! No choice! Anyone could see Code Black was imminent! Who has time for clothes or shoes!"

Lee Ha-ryeong tied up her pink hair and sniffled.

"To think I'd live through another Code Black like the one when I was ten."

"……."

With a sigh, she hefted a weapon I'd never seen before.

"…It's been ages since I last used this thing."

She placed a crown-shaped tiara on her head with a grave expression, then blinked at it in confusion.

"That's… really a weapon?"

"Shut it, kid. It's not like I picked the design for fun."

Kroooar—

Hundreds more abyssal creatures surged from the rift.

"No time for elaborate plans, kid."

"Sorry, but I'm at my limit."

As I slumped, drained, Yoo Yeon raised her staff.

Ether gathered in a stinging blaze, black flames engulfing everything ahead.

Paaaang—

Even from behind the wind, scorching heat singed my face, lungs burning.

'Even with the Sea's Guiding Star….'

I gripped my trembling arms, bracing my body against the gale. Massive ether displacement whipped up fierce winds. My small frame felt light enough to blow away in this.

I hunkered down, fighting not to get launched.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Yoo Yeon?"

The intense ether backlash made Yoo Yeon vomit blood.

"Tch! 7th-level magic outside the Abyss? Suicidal much? How much did you burn?"

"Hmph, I can squeeze out two or three more. Worry about yourself, sunbae."

"Hah. I'm fresh off the bench."

Lee Ha-ryeong gritted her teeth, supporting her.

"Ahh, to think Korea's sole preservation asset, Lee Ha-ryeong sunbae, is half-supporter~"

"Pop the heart core, and it's over."

"Open your heart core outside the Abyss? You'd die."

Lee Ha-ryeong gnashed her teeth at Yoo Yeon's jab.

"Damn it. Three of us holding Code Black? Yeah, that'll hold. And the 2nd Army bastards are nowhere."

Kwaaaang—

Mid-sentence, the northern and eastern concrete barricades crumbled.

"Barricades are breaking."

"I see it!"

As I geared up for a big spell, Lee Ha-ryeong stopped me.

"Save your ether. The real show's about to start."

"……."

"If you overload and drop, I can't protect you."

"But…."

"Quiet! If you die, how do I face Monica!"

North and east—past a few ruined buildings beyond the barricades lay the Han River. Things would spiral beyond control from there.

"No choice. Hand the rest to the military."

Entrusting abyssal creatures—resistant to physical force—to the army meant buying time with lives.

"…Gonna be a bloodbath."

No sooner had Lee Ha-ryeong spoken than familiar giants emerged.

Kuung—

The ground quaked. I bit my lip, feeling the tremors. The monsters that had wrecked the underground city were crawling out of the Abyss.

As they lumbered east, Lee Ha-ryeong, blocking abyssal creatures with magic, yelled.

"Kid! Take those giants! Military can't stop 'em!"

"Got it!"

Gripping Jang-gil, I dashed to face three giants. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My fingertips had turned purple, but I could hold a bit longer.

'30 minutes. Just 30 more….'

To buy time for Ether Dynamics, I fired a simple spell.

"……!"

A fist hurtled in on an unavoidable path.

"Damn, way faster than the others…."

Darkness swallowed my vision.

A hasty burning barrier enveloped me, deflecting the fist.

Thud—

The rushed shield shattered after one hit, but it saved my life.

"You idiot! Trying to get yourself killed?! Kid! Distance! Cough! Manage your damn distance! Cough!"

Yoo Yeon collapsed, vomiting blood and now nosebleeding.

"Fuck! Ether-starved and resorting to chantless magic."

"You okay?"

No answer.

"Urk!"

Vomiting what looked like a lung, Yoo Yeon passed out face-first.

Krrruk—

The giant's gaze fixed on Yoo Yeon.

"……!"

I bolted to her side, gathering ether.

The completed beam lanced straight, piercing the giant's gut.

A clean, gut-splitting strike.

But….

Krrruk—

There was more than one giant.