The Return
The sky was stained a deep, bloody crimson. Everywhere, rivers of molten lava flowed like streams, and the steam rising from them was thick with the stench of sulfur. On the scorched earth, heated to a blistering temperature by the magma, lay thousands of humans, monsters, and demons, all wounded and broken. The number of casualties neared the thousands. Their agonizing screams filled the air, drowning out everything else.
This place, which could only be described as death or hell itself, was the Abyss. And in the center of it all, one man stood tall.
His name was Cheon Yooshin. His weary gaze drifted to a spot not far away.
"Keuk-keuk-keuk. Truly impressive. To think you not only fought my army alone but pushed them to the brink of annihilation."
The man—no, the creature—laughing before him had both legs severed below the knees, and one arm was missing entirely. He was not human. He had red skin, sharp horns protruding from his head, and eyes so filled with madness that even meeting his gaze sent a chill down one's spine. He possessed leathery black wings, and his tail was long and pointed, ending in a trident-like tip.
"You demon bastard, your mouth is still running, I see."
He was Marcass, the absolute ruler who governed the Abyss and the father of all demons. Cheon Yooshin frowned, as if the sight of him was deeply displeasing. A drop of blood that had been clinging to his forehead trickled down his cheek.
Yooshin squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, feeling a wave of dizziness, before forcing them open. It was no wonder; he, too, was covered in wounds from fending off the endless onslaught of demons. His entire body was a ruin.
"Let's end this. This tiresome game of war."
"Keuk-keuk-keuk. You say such amusing things."
"I'm being serious."
Yooshin dragged his unresponsive legs, forcing himself to walk toward the creature. The title of Monarch was an honor bestowed only upon the strongest among the demons, and the one they served was the very demon before him—the damnably persistent Marcass. Considering the hell he had gone through just to catch this guy, who rarely showed his face... well, anyway.
Even though his death was a foregone conclusion, Marcass remained composed.
"Any last words? If you have them, make it quick. We’ve at least shared a Choco Pie or two while fighting all this time."
At Cheon Yooshin’s words, the light in Marcass’s eyes dimmed, as if he were pondering something.
"You truly are a creature I can never quite understand."
"Yeah, just keep not understanding until you’re dead and gone."
Marcass chuckled softly.
"A human with power equal to mine... yet one who refuses to be a demon. How interesting."
"This bastard is still trying to treat me like one of his own. Why would I be a demon like you? I told you, I’m human!"
Black smoke began to violently churn around Yooshin’s fist.
"Keuk. Even after seeing that, you claim you are not?"
"Enough. Go to hell now."
Yooshin twisted his waist, pulling his fist back before launching it toward Marcass’s head.
Splat!
Like a watermelon being smashed, the head burst, and the white brain matter inside sprayed in every direction.
"Damn it, is it finally over?"
Perhaps it was because he thought everything was finished, but the strength that had been supporting his body began to fade. One knee buckled, hitting the ground, and unable to maintain his balance, he tipped over and collapsed to the side.
His vision, which had been sharp enough to see individual hairs from a kilometer away, began to flicker and dim.
'Is it time to die?'
But he wasn't afraid. He, too, wanted to rest now.
[Synchronization complete.]
'...Synchronization? What the hell is that?'
Yooshin’s eyes snapped open. The first thing that greeted him was a white ceiling. Next was the cold sensation of plastic covering his nose and mouth. Yooshin turned his head. On the monitor, green lines were tracing across a black background. The beeping sound that had woken him was coming from there.
'A hospital?'
That couldn't be. The place he had been—the place that had summoned him—didn't have facilities like this.
'Then, did I return?'
He had been certain he died. But what Yooshin was seeing and feeling right now was undeniably reality. Realizing the situation, Yooshin sat up. His arms were connected to IVs and drips. An unknown medication was being continuously pumped into his body.
The moment Yooshin, having ripped them off roughly, placed his feet on the floor—
Click!
The door opened, and a woman in a white nurse's uniform appeared.
"Oh, my goodness?! Patient, are you awake?"
"Where am I?"
Yooshin’s voice was somewhat raspy as he spoke.
"It’s a hospital. You’re in a hospital. You’ve woken up after five years! Oh! My goodness, look at me. Please wait a moment. I’ll go get your doctor."
The nurse hurried away. Watching her go, Yooshin said, as if he couldn't believe it,
"Is this really a hospital?"
***
Doctor Han Myeong-cheol sat in front of Cheon Yooshin, lost in thought. 'I can't believe it. How did he recover?'
Han Myeong-cheol recalled the time Cheon Yooshin was first brought to the hospital. Yooshin had collided with a 5-ton truck traveling at 100 km/h after its brakes failed. His entire body was a ruin, and the diagnosis was that he wouldn't survive. A week passed, then a month. There were no physical reactions, and he never woke up. They had run all sorts of tests, but they couldn't even determine the cause of his coma. In the end, Cheon Yooshin became a vegetable.
And yet, he woke up today? After a staggering five years. And with unbelievable recovery—on the very day he woke up, he could walk and talk on his own, and his vision was perfectly intact. All test results were normal, too. Usually, when someone wakes up from a vegetative state, it takes quite a long time to return to normal life. But the man in front of him was as fine as if he had just woken up from a nap yesterday.
As a doctor and a man of medicine, the Cheon Yooshin before him was full of mysteries.
"Are you feeling alright?" Han Myeong-cheol asked, looking at him.
"My body? As you can see. But what on earth happened? Why am I here?"
"Are you saying you don't remember?"
"Remember? What are you talking about?"
Han Myeong-cheol nodded. 'It might be traumatic amnesia.'
Traumatic amnesia. It referred to a phenomenon where a victim of a serious accident, such as a car crash, has no memory of the event. Han Myeong-cheol assumed Cheon Yooshin was such a case.
"You’ve woken up after five years. You were hit by a truck and have been in a coma for five years."
'What? I was hit by a truck?'
Then, does that mean I was summoned to another world after being hit by a truck? Cheon Yooshin couldn't understand why he had been summoned there. There was no great mage, no demon who had summoned him. He had just been summoned there for no reason. But he was summoned because he was hit by a truck?
The doctor in front of him seemed to be saying something, but not a single word reached Yooshin’s ears. That was when the door burst open, and someone entered.
"Yoo, Yooshin-ah! It’s really Yooshin!"
He turned his head at the familiar voice. There stood—
"M-Mom?"
"Oh, my! It really is Yooshin! It’s my Yooshin!"
His mother, who had practically run to him, touched Yooshin’s cheeks carefully and wept uncontrollably. For five years, his mother, Yoo In-sook, had heard countless things. To give up on her son. Why hold onto futile hope? That it wasn't good for her or her daughter. But Yoo In-sook didn't give up. She believed in her son. That he would surely open his eyes. And the result of that belief was right before her eyes.
"Is, is your body alright?" Yoo In-sook asked the doctor.
"He is extremely healthy. It’s unbelievable."
"Th-thank you. Thank you so, so much." Yoo In-sook bowed her head repeatedly, as if to express her gratitude.
"Geez, Mom. I’m really fine."
Yooshin reached out to grab his mother’s arm as she kept bowing, but he stopped. It was only then that he noticed the clothes his mother was wearing. The color of the fabric had long since faded from how long she had worn it, and the material was already frayed to the point of falling apart. Her once-beautiful skin had also turned rough to an unrecognizable degree.
Yooshin looked at his mother with sunken eyes and said,
"Mom, let’s go home. I want to go home."
"Yes, let’s do that."
His mother gripped Yooshin’s hand and looked at the doctor.
"Doctor, can he be discharged?"
At her words, Han Myeong-cheol nodded.
"The test results are perfectly normal. However, we need to monitor his progress, so you must visit us once every two weeks."
"Understood. Doctor. Thank you so much."
Having left the hospital, Yooshin and his mother boarded a bus. Even as she sat in her seat, his mother didn't let go of Yooshin’s hand.
"It really feels like a dream. That I can talk to you again, Yooshin."
Yooshin and his mother talked endlessly about everything they had missed. Then, the bus’s speed gradually decreased until it finally came to a halt. It wasn't just the bus. The four-lane road began to gridlock. It became noisy in an instant. The sound of horns blaring everywhere. But Yooshin caught something else amidst the noise.
'What is that?'
A faint scream had reached Yooshin’s ears. His gaze naturally turned toward the bus’s front windshield. Ahead, countless cars were packed tightly, stuck in place.
'Did a traffic accident happen?'
That was when—
"M-Monster!"
"Are you crazy! Is this a Gate Break?"
"It’s a Harpy!"
'Harpy? That Harpy I know?'
Why would that word come up here? And monsters? What kind of nonsense was that? People ahead were abandoning their cars and running toward the direction of the bus. Then, one or two at a time, they passed the bus. The inside of the bus also began to get busy and noisy.
"Driver! Open the door, quickly! We have to run, what’s the point of sitting here!"
As the passengers urged the bus driver, the driver, as if he understood, quickly opened the door.
"Yoo, Yooshin-ah! Let’s get out of here quickly, too."
Yoo In-sook also pulled Yooshin’s hand with a terrified look in her eyes. But—
"Wait a moment, Mom. Did I hear that right? A Harpy? You’re saying that’s here?"
Yoo In-sook was in a desperate situation, but she didn't forget that her son had been in a coma for five years.
"Yes. That’s right. While you were lying in bed, Yooshin, many things happened. I don't know the details either, but people call those monster-like things 'monsters.' And the Harpy is the same. So we have to run away quickly."
Just then, something caught Yooshin’s eyes. A raptor’s body with a human face—a Harpy.
"This is insane."
The appearing Harpies dived at high speed and began snatching people with their sharp talons. People struggled to escape, but no one could get away from the Harpies. Watching that, Yooshin suddenly looked down at his hand. To be precise, at his mother’s hand, which was holding his.
His mother’s hand was trembling like an aspen leaf. That trembling was being transmitted to him.
"Yoo, Yooshin-ah! Don't worry. You, you must be surprised because it’s your first time. But Mom will protect you. So, so don't be scared, okay?"
Even in the midst of that, his mother was trying to reassure Yooshin. Even though she herself was terrified to the point of trembling.
The passengers who had gone outside the bus also came back inside. Confirming that everyone was in, the bus driver quickly closed the door. Everyone held their breath. Just desperately praying that the Harpies wouldn't see them and would pass by...
But everyone’s wishes crumbled in vain.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
Everyone’s gaze turned to the ceiling of the bus.
'Four of them have landed.'
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Whether they were walking on the bus ceiling, every time they moved, a dull noise was vividly transmitted into the bus through the thin metal. Just as everyone was covering their mouths and staring at the ceiling—
Pop!
With a noise, long, sharp talons pierced through the bus ceiling.
Screeeech!
And the revealed talons moved. Every time they moved, the bus ceiling began to be sliced away.
Breathless gasps were heard here and there. It was the same for his mother. Now, his mother was trembling all over like an aspen leaf. Even then, she was blocking the front, as if trying to protect Yooshin.
Riiip!
Before long, the bus ceiling was ripped off, and people could see. Four Harpies were looking down at the people with innocent expressions. Their eyes seemed to be choosing which one was the freshest and tastiest food.
One of the Harpies moved quickly. Unfortunately, the Harpy’s target was Yooshin’s mother, Yoo In-sook.
'Ah!'
Yoo In-sook couldn't even scream and had no choice but to squeeze her eyes shut. Because if she dodged, her son might be attacked by that monster.
That was when—
"Where do you think you're sticking your talons, you crazy mob-trash?"
A voice, extremely calm and completely out of place for the situation, rang through the bus.
It was Yoo In-sook’s son, Cheon Yooshin.