Delivery from Hell: Storming Eden Penthouse

Eden 2, Seoul Gangnam—Edeni Penthouse.

Before the doorbell rang, the Elder of Abundance straightened his clothes in front of the mirror. He couldn't afford to fail this time. Even if it meant kneeling in humiliation again, he'd sell his soul if it meant getting his hands on a perfect, untouched pizza.

Ding-dong. The cheerful bell chimed, and the elder bolted to the door like a man possessed, flinging it open.

"Ohhh... you've arrived! My salvation, my atonement!"

There stood a helmeted delivery guy. In one hand, a massive pizza box. In the other, a "service" bag packed with magitech gear.

"Sir, sorry for the wait."

The excited voice filtered through the helmet. The elder nodded frantically, hands outstretched.

"I've been dying! Hand over that box quick. Should I kneel again? Or maybe bow?"

"No need. Special service this time—skipping the formalities."

"Hoo? Now that's service mindset. Perfect!"

The elder grinned sleazily as he snatched the pizza box. The delivery guy smoothly removed his helmet.

"It is a service... but I'll need your life as a tip instead."

"...What?"

At my entrance, the elder's eyes widened slowly.

"You... you're...?"

Luckily, he recognized me—no need for intros. My kick sent the pizza box flying through the air from his grasp.

"Go! Adel!"

"Kyahahaha! Hell express delivery, straight from the abyss!"

Bursting from the magitech bag: a purple-haired mad mage, shrunken via subspace magic. Adel von Kraiber.

In her hands, a magitech shotgun linked to her ring.

"Open wide! Mana blast!"

Bang!!

Adel pulled the trigger, and purple mana slugs erupted from the barrel like shotgun pellets.

"Gah!"

The elder, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠struck dead-on, watched his premium silk robe ignite. The marble floor beneath him melted into slag.

"Y-You bastards! Do you know where you are?!"

"Where else? Your precious Eden."

"How do you—"

"Not your business."

I snatched the falling pizza box mid-air with one hand and kicked off the floor. Pizza to Adel. Fisted knuckles straight for the elder's solar plexus.

Boom!!

The elder's body rocketed backward, smashing through a display case. He crashed amid tumbling vases and paintings—priceless "art" that shattered on him like clingy lovers.

"Kuhak! Lee Han... you dare?!"

Dust billowed from the wreckage as the elder rose, eyes rolling back in rage.

"My... my collection! My carefully curated food stockpile!"

Behind the wrecked case spilled not gold or jewels, but premium canned goods and dried rations scraped from around the world.

"I'll kill you... you dare defile my sanctuary?!"

Vrrrrm! A sticky, nauseating green aura oozed from him like swamp gas.

"Rot away! Become fertilizer for my garden!"

He swept his hand, and the luxury rug rotted into black sludge instantly. The decay wave surged toward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me and the madwoman like a tidal wave.

"Eww! The smell! Total shit!"

"Hey, watch your language."

"What? It is shit."

Adel pinched her nose and retreated.

"Lee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Han! Don't touch it! Skin and muscle melt on contact!"

"Got it."

Knowing full well, I didn't dodge. I walked into the decay wave.

"What? Lost your mind?"

The elder sneered at my approach.

"Arrogant fool! Think eating a Dragon Heart makes your flesh immortal too?!"

The corruption targeted me... then engulfed.

Whoosh! Golden radiance erupted from my heart. The dragon's authority. Flames of purification that incinerated all impurities.

Sizzle! The green aura touching my body vaporized into white steam.

"I-Impossible! My power doesn't work?!"

"They say organic's good for you, but yours is too rotten even for that."

By now, I was right in his face.

"Time for extra service."

Crack! My uppercut snapped his jaw back. His body floated upward.

"Adel! Follow-up!"

"Roger! Take this, Sticky Cheese Net!"

She fired the special ammo I'd nagged her to rename a dozen times. A hot, viscous purple mana net enveloped his airborne form.

"Gaaah! Hot! Let go!"

"Can't! The viscosity's insane—inspired by mozzarella that never lets go!"

Her ring flashed; she slammed her palm downward.

"Now, smash!"

Thud!!

He slammed into the floor, writhing in the cheese-net like a freshly caught tuna.

"Guh... grrr..."

Blood filled his mouth as he glared. The situation favored us, but madness and venom burned in his eyes.

"You brats... forgotten who I am?"

He gnashed his teeth.

"I am the Elder of Abundance! No mere gluttonous pig hoarding food!"

With a gesture, he pulled something from a dimensional rift. A grotesquely twisted black cube.

"Forcing my hand... consider it an honor."

He crushed the cube in his palm.

Rumble! The entire penthouse shook. Marble cracked; black thorny vines erupted from the fissures.

The vines wrapped him instantly, forming a dome shield.

"Lee Han! Back off!"

Adel shouted urgently. I leaped back just as a black shockwave burst from the dome.

Boom! Glass shattered outward; furniture flew.

Dust settled, revealing the elder huddled safe inside, wounds healing.

"Kekeke... this is the Absolute Devourer's Shield. Absorbs all external attacks, turning them into my sustenance."

"Absorbs?"

The intrigued mad scientist fired a fingertip fireball.

Whoosh. It sank into the thorns like a fly into a Venus flytrap—gone without a trace.

"See? Physical, magic—nothing works! The more you hit, the stronger I get!"

Even more intrigued, Adel donned her combat goggles.

"That structure's... weird."

Her fingers traced equations in the air, analyzing the shield. They kept glitching with red error messages.

"Mana flow's... closed. No, closed and open."

"...Speak English?"

"For real! Start and end loop infinitely."

She continued, explaining to me.

"Like a Möbius strip! Energy goes in... but no outlet. I don't even get what I'm saying. Anyway, breaking it's insanely improbable."

She cut me off as I opened my mouth, spotting something.

"Wait—this is the Paradox of the Mana Tunnel? Still debated in academia, unsolved. Infinite energy in a closed system possible? ...And this old fart has the answer?"

The elder smirked smugly at her words.

"Hoh. Not bad for a little mage. Knew someone might recognize it."

He peered arrogantly through the thorns.

"Indeed. Hoarding food taught me: finite resources can't sustain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eternal abundance. So I researched. Borrowed abyss power for the eternal cycle of consumption—endless loop and amplification!"

He gazed lovingly at his shield.

"But... one variable stumped me. Infinite amplification eventually shatters the vessel. Couldn't prevent the collapse threshold."

"So?"

"Realized I didn't need to solve it. All theory from assumptions. Infinite energy doesn't exist—so no paradox."

I prodded Adel deliberately.

"Adel. Any ideas?"

She tore at her hair.

"Damn it! That's cheating! Equations must hold to reverse-engineer and dismantle! It's just... a tangled yarn ball!"

The genius mage writhed. Like getting a flawed exam after deciding to ace it.

"Kuhahaha! Give up! While I gather power inside, you suck your thumbs. And if you do... I'll show you something grand."

The thorn shield swelled, devouring ambient mana. Time was on his side; he smiled in triumph.

"Whew."

Enough playtime.

"Hey, elder."

I looked down at him, curled tight in his barrier.

"That puzzle you mentioned. 'Infinite power in a closed system.' And the 'collapse threshold.'"

"Beyond a worm like you."

"Kinda hoped for a decent answer. What a letdown."

"Pfft."

He scoffed at my bluff. Top scholars—even he, delving abyss lore—had conceded the unsolvable. An F-grade hunter whining about disappointment?

"To think the mighty elder's at this level."

"No bluffing. That's god's domain."

I walked slowly toward him.

"Lee Han! Dangerous! Get close and it'll suck you in!"

Adel screamed, but my hand already touched the swirling black mana on the surface.

"Watch closely now."

The elder looked up from his absolute shield, puzzled.

"...?"

My eyes flashed gold.