The Mouth of the Abyss
Nick lay on the bed, the Book of Manti in her hands instantly bursting into flames and vanishing. Originally, she was supposed to remain catatonic for about a year while the book’s knowledge was forcibly imprinted into her mind, but thanks to the intervention of the Lesser Gods, time had been accelerated. As a result, Nick had absorbed all the knowledge in less than a year, allowing her to break free from Manti’s shackles. However, her lost memories and her gender-swapped body did not return. The Lesser Gods hadn't bothered to help with that; they felt that merely unsealing the Book of Manti was enough. They judged that expending any more causality to save Nick was a net loss—it would have been better to simply kill Nick via the Oracle and install someone else in his place as the Savior.
“Ugh... Where am I...”
Regardless, Nick woke up not only gender-swapped but also suffering from amnesia. Aside from her own name and gender, she remembered nothing about herself. She had no idea where she was, who she was, or what the current situation was. And so, Nick was terrified. Like a protagonist in a movie who had lost their memory, she trembled in a situation she couldn't comprehend and called out for help.
“E-excuse me... Is anyone there...”
Nick realized her voice was thin and delicate. She jumped in surprise and looked down at her small, soft hands. Then, she felt something was wrong. Having assumed she was a man, the moment she checked her lower half, she could no longer believe in anything.
“It’s gone... W-was it always gone? No... Was I a woman? Was Nicholas a girl’s name?”
She didn't know. Her head spun, her breathing grew shallow, and her body stiffened from an inexplicable sense of dissonance. Just as Nick, paralyzed by fear, was about to scream, the door rattled open and someone walked in.
“Oh... W-who are you...”
“Haa. You’re finally awake.”
It was Michael. He strode up to the awakened Nick and flicked her on the forehead.
“Ouch...!”
“You damn idiot. Do you have any idea how much hell we went through because of you... Phew... Forget it. You wouldn't remember anyway. Do you remember your name?”
“Yes...? Yes... Ni, Nicholas...”
“Yeah, that’s right. Nicholas. You don't remember anything else right now, do you? Not me, not where this is.”
“Yes... Th, that’s right...”
“Phew... I don't even know where to start. Do you know what a zombie is?”
Michael pulled up a chair and sat down, explaining the current situation and what was to come. As Nick listened, she couldn't understand what this insane person was talking about. Even if she had lost all her memories, she still retained her common sense. After all, Jojun hadn't fed her memory-erasing drugs until she forgot how to breathe out of fear of a team-kill penalty. To Nick, Michael’s words sounded like complete nonsense. It was hard to believe that zombies had appeared, that gods existed, and that she was a chosen hero who had lost her memories to a villain.
“E-excuse me... I’m sorry, but... it’s just too hard to believe... Zombies, you say...”
“Yeah. Your face says you don't believe me. Follow me.”
Deciding he had no choice but to show her, Michael took Nick to see for herself. He showed her the current state of a ruined America, the people starving in survivor camps, and the zombies beyond the barricades made of shipping containers.
“A, all of this...”
“It’s the truth. You were the leader here. A stupid, but righteous and merciful leader... People are waiting for your return. Even if you were a bit dim-witted, you were good at winning hearts...”
“I, I... I don’t... know...”
Listening to Michael, Nick doubted whether she had ever been that kind of person. She couldn't believe she had been the leader of such a massive place. It made sense, though; with her memories gone and her gender changed, her personality had twisted into something entirely different. The "I can do anything" mindset had vanished, replaced by a lethargy that made her want to do nothing at all. Furthermore, her sense of justice had withered, replaced by pettiness. Nick had become a coward. Her memory loss and physical transformation had changed her completely. And Michael saw through that change.
‘As I thought... I have to make her regain her memories...’
Michael thought as he watched Nick, who was frowning under the pressure. He didn't need a timid, hopeless leader like this. Even if the old Nick was a fool, he was still ten times better than this. He had to hurry to the Abyss.
“Big Sister...”
Roy gnashed his teeth as he looked at a photo of Helen. Having become a Jester through his contract with Paimon, he felt like he could do anything. The Jester was a class that couldn't even be compared to a mere porter. Moreover, thanks to the help of Aran, a Dragon-Blood Knight in the survivor camp, he had even regained the legs that had been severed. Roy was consumed by the arrogance that nothing could stop him anymore.
‘I will definitely catch you and kill you...’
Just as Roy was practicing his revenge in his head, Erickson visited Michael’s office.
“Michael. It’s done. The Ankh is about to burst.”
“Really? Let’s go immediately.”
As soon as he heard Erickson’s report, Michael went to the place where the priests were gathered. Dozens of priests and a Saintess were struggling to contain something that was on the verge of a runaway explosion.
“Mi, Michael!! What do we do!?”
“Michael!! The seal is about to break!!”
A cracked Ankh was floating in the air, emitting black lightning. The priests were sweating profusely, trying to suppress the Ankh, which was moments away from detonating, while supporting the praying Saintess.
“Kyaaah!!”
“Ugh!!”
At that moment, several priests caught in the black lightning were thrown backward, their bodies scorched black. They weren't dead, but they didn't look like they could get back up.
“Everyone, get back!”
Realizing that trying to suppress it was useless, Michael ordered the priests to retreat. As even the Saintess, who had been holding onto the Ankh until the very end, pulled back, the Ankh began to shake violently in the air, spewing out darkness.
-Fwoosh...
‘Crazy...’
The highly concentrated darkness pierced the floor, creating a hole three times the size of a manhole. As the ground suddenly collapsed and a sinkhole formed, the people watching from nearby screamed and fled.
“Michael... do you see it?”
“I see it... Is that... a hole?”
“That must be the entrance. The entrance to the Abyss...”
“If we had been standing nearby without knowing, we would have definitely been dragged in.”
“Indeed...”
The entrance to the Abyss had appeared. A gate with no entry restrictions had been born.
“This means... there’s a way to save Nick on the other side.”
“Should we call the Oracle? I think we need to receive a new revelation.”
“Likely. No one knows... what lies at the bottom of the Abyss. We need the gods' help.”
Soon, they received a revelation to find the "Spring of Wisdom" located somewhere at the bottom of the Abyss. It was certain that if they threw Nick in there, her lost memories would return.
“So this is the entrance to the Abyss.”
For several days, the Japanese priests had been staining the cracked Ankh black, and finally, a door connected to the Abyss had appeared. The location was the recycling area behind the school. Because a large, black hole that showed absolutely nothing of the interior had appeared in a suitably gloomy place, it created a creepy, bizarre, and terrifying atmosphere. Since it was unsettling, I decided not to go in right away; I should have my slaves investigate the state of the interior first.
“Hey, Jin-sung.”
“Yes.”
“Call Lee Hoon and Lee Seon-jae. Let’s send them in as the vanguard.”
“Yes, understood. Hey! You there! Bring Lee Hoon and Lee Seon-jae!”
“Yes!! Understood!!”
No one knew where this massive hole in the ground led. Therefore, it was necessary to send slaves in first to check the condition on the other side.
‘Can’t have myself get killed instantly by being the first one in.’
I couldn't afford to be careless. Even when crossing a street, it’s much safer to wait a moment after the light changes and ensure all the cars have stopped before walking. So, it was best to send in Lee Seon-jae, a reasonably skilled Magic Swordsman, and Lee Hoon, who had stuffed himself with enough souls to burst, and check their reactions.
“Hiiik...”
Lee Hoon, who had been gender-swapped by me because he went for walks at night with Eun-ha, trembled violently. I’m pretty sure I gave that guy a girl’s name... Was it Lee Yu-jeong? I couldn't remember well, so I just decided to call him Lee Hoon.
“Hey, don't be scared. Loosen up and get ready to go in.”
“N, no... What is this... Seriously... This hole...”
While Lee Hoon was still terrified, Lee Seon-jae stretched and warmed up his body. This guy, Lee Seon-jae, used to lead some "raid team" or whatever, but now he was my slave, used as a test subject for safety inspections. Maybe it was because our first meeting involved him throwing a rampaging Dullahan at us and running away, but I felt like tormenting him whenever I got the chance.
“Alright, I’ll go in. Lee Hoon, pull yourself together. Don't cry like a little boy.”
“Ugh... Hey, you son of a bitch... I’m a girl now... What do you expect me to do when I’ve become so tearful...”
“Ahem. My bad.”
Lee Hoon still refused to jump into the sinkhole-like entrance. Lee Seon-jae grabbed her shoulders, preparing to jump. I gave them my instructions.
“Go in, check roughly what’s there. If you can come back out, do it immediately. Even if you feel like you’re going to die, come back out. No, just come out in five minutes. If you don't come out, I’ll assume you’re dead.”
“Y, yes, understood... Phew... Phew...”
Lee Seon-jae, who had been trying to act calm, took a deep breath as the moment to jump arrived, clearly feeling the fear. Well, I’d be scared too if someone ordered me to jump into an unidentified black hole.
“Then.”
“Uwaaah! H, here I go!!”
Lee Seon-jae and Lee Hoon let out a battle cry and leaped into the hole. At that moment, the two were sucked in at incredible speed, like dust being vacuumed up, and vanished.
“Huu...”
Just watching them get sucked in made me fear going in myself, as it looked exactly like being ground up in a blender.
‘Is this... really safe?’
If Lee Hoon and Lee Seon-jae didn't come back out within five minutes... then there was a problem. About three minutes later, Lee Seon-jae and Lee Hoon crawled back out from the bottom of the Abyss.
“Huu. Huu... Huu... F, fuck... Huuugh...”
“St, stop. Stop... Pl, please save me...”
Both of them were terrified. What on earth... had they seen down there?
“Hey. You guys... what exactly did you see...”
“Fa, faces...”
Faces...?
“The faces of countless people.”