The Phantom of the Abyss
After emerging from the vast, open space where pillars of absurd, towering proportions were embedded everywhere, our party walked for quite some time. Truly, there were no living creatures in the ruins of the Abyss. Just as Henry had claimed—that the indigenous life forms had been completely eradicated—nothing remained in the ruins. I had even brought the mushroom people and the main body of the Jet-Black Cockroach just in case, but they seemed of little use, so I had sent them back to the base.
Water droplets falling from the ceiling, which had no visible end, slowly soaked our bodies, and moss that had bloomed lushly along with the roots of withered plants occasionally caught our ankles. Overall, it was a place that felt slightly damp and cold. The rusted weapons and the bones of unknown intelligent beings scattered here and there told us that there were once those who had taken root and lived here.
'It's full of traces left by unidentified races...'
Looking at it roughly, it seemed that those who lived here had their own culture and civilization... but it looked like they had all been killed by the hands of Henry, who had lost his head and gone on a rampage.
'Of all the places I've seen so far, this is the most... normal and beautiful.'
From the Black Market to the Backworld filled with errors, the Forest of the Missing where bugs reigned, the twisted Thrill Mansion, and the filthy underground of the Black Market... every place I had wandered through until now was either dirty or disgusting. So, I hadn't expected much, but the ruins were actually quite magnificent, save for being a little eerie and gloomy. It felt like I had come to some foreign tourist attraction.
'It's so peaceful that I'm actually a bit uneasy...'
On one hand, I felt a sense of unease as I looked around the ruins, which showed no signs of any incidents. After all, it would have been normal for an accident to have occurred at least three or four times by now, but strangely, the path to reach this point had been smooth and easy.
'I hope nothing happened at the base...'
My anxiety grew even more when the guild chat stopped working. Perhaps because we had come too far, leaving behind the Crimson Zone covered in walls of flesh, I could no longer use Yoo Hye-ji's guild chat once we entered the ruins of the Abyss. Thanks to that, I had no choice but to walk through the ruins, following Henry's guidance, without knowing anything about the situation.
I sincerely hoped that nothing would happen while we were away. Whether they knew my heart or not, my companions were busy chatting away in the peaceful ruins of the Abyss.
"Kimchi stew is best with tuna, right? Isn't it?"
"No way! Eunji unni! It's much tastier to put pork in kimchi stew."
"I think both are delicious."
"Aww. Oppa, but you still have to pick just one..."
"I respect Oppa's opinion. I think both are delicious, too."
"Ah..! Hey!! Kang Hwayoung!! What's with that change of stance!! Me too! I think both are delicious too, Oppa!"
"Eunji unni... it's already too late."
"You!"
Eunji and Hwayoung clung to my right and left arms, chattering and playing around. The topic was mainly about food... I was surprised that their tastes were so different. For the record, I'm the type who eats well if you just give it to me, so it was hard to choose one over the other, and I kept giving neutral answers.
"Sniff... hmmm..."
"Oh. Harin-ah. That's a no-no. You can't eat that."
"No, Oppa. I know that much... don't treat me like a dog..."
"Ah... Harin-ah, I'm sorry..."
Harin was wagging her tail, sniffing around the ruins like a puppy out for a walk with its owner. Then, she occasionally showed interest in the bones of the dead subterranean people, and when I told her she shouldn't eat them, she got upset.
'But the way she acts is so dog-like...'
I felt like I wanted to put a leash on her... 'Huh...? That... that might be okay...' I briefly imagined Harin, who could be called an inumimi with tails and ears, wearing a dog collar and walking around naked.
'Come to think of it... I think I was supposed to get a footjob from Harin for 24 hours a while ago...'
I had forgotten about it because I was busy living. Harin had also gone to another space for about a week in the middle, so there hadn't been any time. I'll have to ask her next time when I can spend some quality time with her. I'm not sure if I'll ever have the time, though... there are just so many women, you see...
"No, but Jojun oppa. My sister keeps dumping too much work on me."
"Really? Aram... she does sleep a lot... and she does seem a bit lazy."
Areum was venting to me about the frustrations she usually held toward her older sister, Aram. Since Aram wasn't here right now, her complaints were pouring out like a dam breaking. But listening to her, most of the complaints were about her sister dumping her work on her. Listening to it, I realized that Aram really liked to tease her younger sister, Areum.
Come to think of it, Aram is surprisingly playful. On the other hand, Areum, the younger sister, gives a pretty satisfying reaction when provoked, so I tend to tease her a bit too... Aram must be just as clingy and teasing to her sister.
'Well... Aram is a bit of a... siscon, after all...'
Aram loves Areum immensely. She seems to love her younger sister almost as much as she loves me. Although it seems she wasn't that close with Han Taeyang, who was her younger brother.
"How is Mer these days?"
"Hmm? Me? Well... I'm busy teaching Hangul as per the master's orders. The proportion of foreigners has increased quite a bit, you see."
"Aha... I'm sorry, it seems I've made you do too much work..."
"It is fine, Master. I am sufficiently satisfied. Bestowing knowledge upon humans is... always a joyful task."
Mer said that and grinned. Since Ha Jin-sung handles almost all the chores and Mer handles all the major affairs while I'm away, I always feel sorry and grateful.
"But Henry... are we really almost there?"
"Of course. It should be around here soon..."
"No... you said that an hour ago..."
"Th-that is. Just walk around a little more. It will appear soon!"
Ever since we entered the ruins of the Abyss, Henry hadn't been able to properly grasp the location of his body. It seemed that due to some curse, his power could only grasp the approximate location of his body, and as he got closer, it became impossible to find it.
In the end, we decided to borrow Harin's sense of smell. We would make her recognize Henry's scent and have her find the torso... For some reason, I felt a sense of moral corruption for making an adult woman do something you'd usually have a hunting dog do, but Harin looked happy, saying she could be of help to the party. No, she just seemed to enjoy the fact that she was taking a walk in the ruins with me. I should take her out for walks more often in the future...
"Sniff... Oh! Over there!!"
Harin, who was sniffing the ground with her nose twitching, shouted while looking in one direction and started running. Like a beast running in the vanguard, she tracked Henry's body at an incredible speed.
"Guys, run!!! We have to catch that!!"
"Understood!!"
We followed her, running, because we might miss it if we just stood there watching blankly. Henry's torso, which I observed while following, was wearing worn-out black robes and holding scimitars in both hands.
"Gyaaaa!!!"
"This!! Harin-ah!!!"
At the scream of Harin, who had reached Henry's torso first, we increased our speed even more. Looking from afar, it seemed her arm had been slashed while she was trying to block the torso from going elsewhere.
'Harin is fast, too... but to be faster than her...'
Henry's movements were at a speed that was difficult to follow with the eyes. I could never catch it alone. I needed a gang-up.
"Harin-ah!! Are you okay!!"
"Lord!! This guy...! He's filthy fast!!! And I don't see any openings!!"
Harin's arm had been slashed quite deeply. However, she endured the pain, dodging the scimitars Henry was swinging, and blocked the path he was trying to take. But it seemed she was reaching her limit. This was because Henry's torso had accurately grasped Harin's movements and was forming a sword curtain by swinging the two scimitars without any gaps.
"Henry! Can't you do something about that body?"
When I asked urgently, Henry, who was hanging from my waist, answered hopelessly.
"For now... you have to suppress it. It has been wandering alone for too long, so it is reflexively slashing at anyone who approaches..."
"Damn it..."
In the end, it meant I had to beat it up until it collapsed without killing it.
"Guys!! Let's go in!!!"
"Yes!!!"
"Uwo!! Let's go!!!"
Eunji and Hwayoung pulled the injured Harin back, and the two of them drove Henry's torso into a corner like crazy. Areum and Mer also started looking for an opening to strike.
"Harin-ah, just hold on for a second."
"Ugh... Gyaaaaaaak..."
In the meantime, I quickly healed Harin's arm with rising flesh. The blood bubbled, and the wound closed rapidly. Perhaps because the pain was just as great, Harin couldn't endure it and let out a painful moan.
"It's all done now."
"Hoo... hoo... ucha..."
As soon as her wound was healed, Harin stood up again.
"Are you going right away?"
"Yes!"
With a short answer, Harin charged forward. In the meantime, Eunji and Hwayoung, who had been fighting Henry's torso, started to be pushed back.
"Die!!!"
-Clang!!!
"Gyaack!! You bastard!!"
The greatsword of the Goblin King, swung by Eunji, collided with the scimitar and bounced back. Even Hwayoung's skill, which attacked his back by aiming for that gap, was blocked, and in the skirmish with Areum, he launched a counterattack as if he had grasped all her movements.
"This crazy!!!"
"Ugh!!"
As the three were pushed back, Mer and Harin jumped in. Harin kept him in check from the front, and Mer swung her scythe at Henry's back as if she were going to cut the torso in half vertically, but he dodged that too. He even accurately grasped the trajectory of the scythe...
'No, does he have eyes on his back? Is his sense that sharp...? His head is here...? Don't tell me... is he reading the flow of air with his skin? No... rainwater is falling from the ceiling... there's no way that's possible...'
There were no openings, to the point where it felt like I was attacking an iron fortress. It was as if he was observing his state from a top-down view, catching even the parts that weren't visible.
"Hmm... this... strangely... my arm feels numb. Why is the sensation of my body..."
Then Henry said his arm felt numb. 'Wait... perhaps...' I shouted toward Henry's head.
"Henry! Close your eyes!"
"Huh?"
"Your vision seems to be shared with the torso right now, so close your eyes!"
"Ah! Damn it!! I understand!"
Henry hurriedly closed his eyes. Also, wondering if he might grasp movements through sound, I blocked his ears with pieces of tissue. I even hurriedly wrapped his head in bandages, wondering if he might even read the flow of air. Only then did Henry start to fail to perfectly block his back and allow attacks.
'As the distance got closer, your senses must have become strangely connected...'
It had been too long since the head and body had been separated, so Henry's head couldn't completely control the torso, but as they got closer, their senses seemed to have become half-connected, and they were sharing them by accident without even knowing it themselves. In other words, because Henry's head was watching the battle situation from a short distance away, his vision was naturally shared with the body, and he was blocking all attacks like a monster with omnidirectional senses. Anyway, thanks to limiting his five senses by wrapping Henry's head in bandages, his movements became a little sluggish.
"Now is the time!! Half-kill him!! I can attach his limbs even if they're cut off!!!"
"C-cut off his limbs!!! N-no!!! That's not allowed!!!"
Without caring whether Henry shouted or not, Eunji swung the greatsword of the Goblin King, dyed in shadows, and struck down Henry's torso. Also, Hwayoung, who had taken his back, used Harin's blood that had been spilled on the ground to cause a bloodstain explosion on Henry's legs and back.
-Splat!!!
-Kwang!!!!
Henry's torso, which had been blocking Mer's scythe by crossing his scimitars, stumbled forward as an explosion suddenly occurred from behind, and in that gap, Eunji's greatsword blew off his legs. The effect of covering Henry's eyes was certain.
"Gyaaaaaa!!!!"
"Ah, fuck!! You scared me!!"
"It hurts!!! It hurts... no... how long has it been since I felt pain... Hoo... it hurts..."
Of course it would hurt since his legs were cut off. Anyway, Mer, Harin, and Areum pressed down on Henry's flailing body, and Eunji and Hwayoung struck his hands to take away the scimitars he was gripping tightly.
"Ugh... the sword handle and... his skin are stuck together."
It seemed the sword and his hand had become one because he had been holding onto it for so long. Anyway, we succeeded in capturing him.
'This... I think it might be stronger if we don't attach the head...'
His combat power would be higher if his head were separated, but I think we have no choice but to attach it because it's difficult to control the torso properly otherwise.
"Henry. What do we do now?"
"Uh... for now, try bringing my head to my body."
"Yes."
As Henry said, I brought his neck to his body. Then, vein-like things wriggled from his body, pulled his head, and attached it. Even the legs that had been cut off were reattached in the same way. There wasn't even any blood from the cut areas... it was a strange body.
"Haa... it's done. It's attached. Finally, the control of my body has returned... Excuse me, Mer-ssi? Could you move aside?"
"Ah, yes."
At Henry's words, Mer hurriedly stepped aside.
"Huhu... to think I could really get my body back... I'm truly grateful. I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life."
Henry bowed his head toward me and my party. Soon, he said he would formally serve me, and I realized that some kind of connection had been formed between him and me. With this, I gained the Phantom of the Abyss as a companion. Now, if I go back to the base, pack the necessary items, and go to the Yellow Spot...
"Ugh..!"
At that moment, my head throbbed, and a warning that the base was in danger was transmitted. It was the cry of the Jet-Black Cockroach.