Chapter 61
Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Sealed Calamity
It was like watching a sealed calamity trying to emerge into the world.
"You sure about this? These are the coordinates the informant gave us, right?"
"Yeah, I'm telling you, it is. Where else around here would you find a cave like this?"
The man grumbled but kept anxiously scanning their surroundings.
"Still, this place gives me the creeps. What if the cave collapses on us?"
"Don't jinx it. You think a perfectly fine cave's just gonna crumble the second we step inside? You scared?"
"It's not that! Something about this place feels off. Like... my instincts are screaming at me."
The tomb raider raised his voice like it was nothing, but the hand holding the torch trembled faintly.
"Keep it in mind. This is where Exim Number 4 met her end. If we snag even one piece of her legacy, we're set for life."
"Yeah, but a ton of guys have already ransacked this place and left empty-handed. This cave didn't even exist until after Asrania died."
"That's exactly why there's still a chance."
The man snorted.
"Might not be a natural cave. Someone could've made it on purpose. And lately, no one's been coming around, right? They're all too scared."
"That's 'cause they didn't find shit."
"Maybe they overlooked something."
"Beginner's luck or whatever?"
"You calling us rookies?"
The man let out a mocking laugh, then unnecessarily raised his voice louder.
"I just have a good feeling about this. A real good one. Last night, I dreamed I was hugging a pig the size of a house. Today's the day we hit it big."
"...A pig dream?"
"It's a money dream, idiot."
"Huh."
"So shut up and follow me. It's our turn today."
For all his bold words, the oppressive pressure grew heavier the deeper they went.
This was the place where two Exims had died. Even the once-famous Asrania had perished here.
As nothing turned up, their impatience shifted to anxiety.
"Hey, there's really nothing here. Let's just go, please."
"Shut your mouth for once. I'm concentrating."
"Concentrating on what? There's nothing here."
The man shoved his partner aside and strode ahead.
That was when it happened.
"...What the hell."
Something squishy brushed against his toe. Too soft for a rock, too springy for an animal corpse.
It felt like stepping in sticky slime. Like squashing a slug.
The moment the man absentmindedly angled his torch downward.
"H-Hiiik!?"
His trailing partner let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Something huddled in the darkness. A black mass filled the passageway. An unpleasant, inky black.
Its undulating surface had the texture of shadow mixed with slime.
"R-Run! It's a monster!"
"Run!"
The two spun around to flee without looking back.
But.
Even after scrambling backward for what felt like ages, no sound came from behind them.
No sign of pursuit, no roars. Nothing.
"...Huh?"
The man stopped, panting, and cautiously glanced over his shoulder.
The black mass hadn't budged. It was as if time had frozen in that spot alone.
"H-Hey. Hold up."
"W-What?! Hurry up! Shit, we gotta run!"
"It's not moving."
The man swallowed dryly and edged closer again. His torch-holding hand shook violently, but his greed overrode the fear in a bizarre way.
He tentatively nudged the black mass with his foot.
Squish.
It yielded softly without resistance. That was it.
No hint of life whatsoever.
"This thing..."
The man gulped and held the torch closer.
In that instant, something clicked. The black lump and its writhing, grotesque tentacles.
"...Isn't this the Abyss?"
"W-What?!"
His partner's face went sheet-white.
"You're insane! Isn't that the monster that killed Exim 4 and 5?! You idiot, why'd you touch it?! We're dead!"
"Just calm down."
The man peered down at the Abyss.
"Looking closer, this thing..."
He swallowed again, then spoke with near certainty.
"Looks dead."
"F-For real? You sure?"
"Dead sure. Read it in a book. The Abyss attacks the second it spots you. Doesn't give you a chance to breathe."
He scanned the lump once more and added,
"But right now? Not a twitch."
Silence fell. How were they supposed to process this?
"So... we can just go past it?"
The man swallowed dryly. He turned to peer into the deeper darkness.
The torchlight reached only the cave walls; beyond that, who knew. Yet it felt like the depths were beckoning them in.
"If we leave empty-handed from here."
The man's eyes gleamed in the torchlight.
"We'll regret it till the day we die. Imagining gold bars back there, thinking 'If only we'd gone in, our lives would've changed.' I can't live like that."
"You're fucking crazy..."
Heading deeper? It was incomprehensible. Dead or alive, encountering the Abyss and walking away unscathed was a miracle.
Was this courage?
His partner thought it was just a path to self-destruction.
"Think about it."
Ignoring his partner's glare, the man pressed on, spitting with excitement.
"No one's ever mentioned an Abyss in this cave. Not once."
"... "
"Listen. Ever heard rumors of the Abyss showing up here?"
The partner couldn't answer. Couldn't, because if such rumors existed, they never would've come.
"Nope. Of course not."
The man grinned confidently.
"This place was just an empty cave till now."
He raised the torch high.
"We're the first ones to find it."
Leaving the still Abyss behind, the two cautiously stepped past.
"Man, I really don't know about this."
The partner muttered hoarsely.
The man didn't reply. He held the torch aloft and followed the black tendrils extending from the Abyss.
The tentacles stretched long.
Like a kraken hiding its body deep in the cave, dangling only its tentacles.
One step.
Another step.
The tentacles thickened ahead. Thread-thin at first, then rope-like, then root-thick, until they were pillar-sized.
The partner's stomach churned.
'...Is this really dead?'
Anxious thoughts crept in. Maybe they should turn back. But leaving empty-handed stung, and he knew how huge a 'first discovery' was, so he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
"See?"
The man seemed to read his unease and kept talking.
"We've made it this far."
Before he finished, the passage bent.
Round the corner, the cave suddenly widened.
The ceiling soared high.
At that moment, both men froze.
The tentacles clustered together.
Like roots merging into a single tree trunk, black tentacles layered around a central point.
Torchlight hit them, and they gleamed slickly.
Something was visible.
A person.
"A person?"
At the heart of the clustered tentacles, one person was enveloped.
Carefully. Protectively.
Not constricted to devour, but cradled like arms holding someone close, refusing to let go.
"...No way that's a person?"
The partner's voice cracked.
"Holy shit..."
He stumbled back, nearly tripping over a tentacle.
A chill raced up his leg as the black texture grazed his boot.
The man inched closer instead.
The flickering torch revealed a faint silhouette amid the tentacles.
Long hair. Ornate clothes. A familiar face.
The partner's eyes widened.
"Hey... no way..."
The man whispered,
"Isn't that Exim Number 4?"
The partner couldn't respond.
His throat was parched, tongue frozen.
Through gaps in the tentacles, a human face faintly appeared.
Dead? It looked so serene, like sleep.
"Jackpot. Huge find."
They'd found Asrania. Thirteen years after her death, with no body ever recovered.
"Selling that corpse makes us rich. Fucking life-changing."
Asrania was probably one of the most influential people ever.
His partner was convinced of that deep down.
"She had a daughter, right?"
"Y-Yeah. Heard she joined Exim."
"Perfect. This is it."
This corpse was worth more than gold. And it hadn't even rotted.
The two approached Asrania. They touched her face, pressed a hand to her chest to check for a heartbeat.
"Nothing."
"Definitely dead."
"Wow, what the hell happened here. Insane."
The man's voice shook with excitement squeezing his throat.
Rumors of her death had swirled, but doubts lingered. Some even said she was alive somewhere.
Now she was right here.
"This is nuts..."
The man gulped, then spat curses amid laughter.
"Fuck, we're made. Totally."
The partner backed away, then stopped. His heart pounded.
This couldn't be real. A bad premonition prickled his neck, but the man had already forgotten such instincts.
"Her daughter. Joined Exim, right? And the commander? Think she works with her group."
The man's eyes flashed.
"Perfect. This is it."
"What is...?"
"Don't think of it as a corpse."
The man whispered carefully.
"This is treasure. Jackpot money."
The partner's lips quivered.
"You don't mean..."
"Worth more than gold bars."
The man grinned.
"Gold doesn't even compare."
The two drew nearer.
Parting the black tentacles cautiously.
Avoiding their razor-sharp edges that could sever a wrist, moving agonizingly slow.
Up close, Asrania's face was beautiful. You shouldn't feel that about a corpse, but it was.
No rot stench.
Her skin held its form perfectly. Like she was merely asleep.
"Insane..."
The man brushed her cheek with a fingertip.
Cold.
"Definitely dead."
He immediately scanned around, as if such treasure couldn't be alone.
"Hey, find anything valuable quick."
The partner bit his lip. Was he sane? But yeah, this was huge.
Asrania's corpse. Priceless.
Right then.
The partner pointed to a corner.
In a crevice amid red dirt and black slime sat a massive greatsword.
Way too big.
The man rushed over.
"Holy shit, this..."
He gulped like he'd found a holy relic.
"Asrania's greatsword."
"What? How do you know?"
The partner asked, and the man grinned.
His eyes gleamed in the torchlight.
"History books. Symbol of Exim Number 4. Illustrations with that sword. I've seen 'em plenty."
"You some kinda Asrania fanboy?"
"Nah. Info gathering's essential."
The man gripped the hilt with both hands.
"With this, we're done. Done."
He heaved to lift it.
It didn't budge.
"Nngh...!"
His arms trembled. Back muscles strained taut.
The man clenched his teeth and tried again.
"Grrrgh...!"
The greatsword rose a finger's width before scraping back down.
Insane weight. Beyond human strength.
"H-Hey! Enough! Stop!"
The partner shouted urgently, but the man was deaf to it. Pride and greed tangled.
"No, I can do it. It's mine."
He gave up lifting and dragged it instead.
The blade screeched across the floor, scraping the cave.
Screeeeech.
Something twitched.
Ever so slightly.
The partner shivered, swallowing hard.
The man, still clinging to the sword, chuckled.
"See? It—"
Shunk.
He didn't grasp it at first.
A black tentacle burst from the man's chest.
It had pierced his heart from behind, protruding forward.
The man's mouth gaped.
"Uh...?"
His unfocused eyes met his partner's, then his legs buckled.
The greatsword slipped, clanging to the ground.
The man collapsed sideways, eyes wide open as life faded.
"...Ah, fuck. We're screwed."
The partner whipped around.
The black tentacles writhed.
The 'dead' lump turned into a oozing swamp in seconds.
The tentacles around Asrania loosened slowly.
Stumbling back in terror, the partner saw it clearly.
"...Huh?"
Asrania's eyelashes fluttered.