#62 Flower of the Abyss
Gwooooong—
When he opened his eyes, a blue aura rippled all around him. Was it the sea? This world pressed down on his body with crushing pressure, yet it was endlessly blue—pure, unrelenting blue. What spread through the world in shades of blue was mana. The mana felt like dense water, squeezing his entire body from every direction.
Kang-ho had glimpsed many dreams before. But this was simply his own pure dream. There, beyond that space. Amid the blue haze, only the shadow of a man was visible. Kang-ho turned his gaze toward it.
Thud— Thud— Footsteps slowly drew near. The figure sharpened into focus. Looking closer...
'It's me.'
Standing there was another Choi Kang-ho. The features, the clothes—identical down to the last detail. Kang-ho stared silently at his other self. The other stared back.
It asked.
Kang-ho answered.
"Not yet."
But then.
"......Soon."
The other self smiled faintly at him.
That resolve conveyed itself clearly.
Kang-ho opened his eyes to find Theo and King sitting cross-legged in one corner of his now much larger home.
'A dream...'
He was certain it stemmed from the Eternal Crystal in his heart.
'Are you ready—'
—to accept me?
"......"
Kwaaa—!
Suddenly, a surge of considerable mana drew his gaze. It gathered around Theo's entire body, condensing into utmost purity. Beside him, King was training his mana in the same way.
Lately, their routines had been much the same. Mana training demanded persistence and effort. Yet with the right method, results came swiftly. The common belief was that more mana was always better—the more you had, the stronger you were when using the same abilities.
'Impressive training method.'
It produced mana of extraordinary density. Its purity was cleaner than anything Kang-ho had ever seen. But few could master it. Awakeners in this era joined organizations young if they had any talent, growing through their proprietary methods. Asking them to switch now would be futile.
Pat pat—
Seol-a wandered in front of them before dashing to Kang-ho. He spread his arms wide.
"!"
An exclamation point seemed to pop up over Seol-a's head. Her tail wagged furiously side to side. She backed up hesitantly, crouching low.
"......?"
Papapapapow!
She kicked off explosively and rammed her head into him. Then she lifted her head with a beaming grin. It was the body slam she'd learned in War Monkey Village.
Woof! Woof woof!
Suddenly, barking came from outside. Peeking out, Kang-ho saw three large War Monkeys standing there. Seol-a hopped up to cling to the windowsill, squeaking kyiiing kyiiing.
Flap flap flap!
Her tail thrashed wildly—she was thrilled. Seol-a pondered briefly behind her. She was clearly struggling for words.
Kang-ho asked softly.
"Friends?"
"!"
Seol-a's eyes went wide, nodding as if to say how'd you know?
"Fwiend."
Pang!
She shifted to fox form and leaped out the window to the War Monkeys. Kang-ho rose leisurely, leaning against the frame. He watched her charge at their bellies with all the suckling strength she'd built, slamming into them.
"......"
Splat!
Seol-a took a War Monkey's light straight to the head and went flying—whoosh—crashing into the chicken coop on the far side.
"......"
He flinched but held back. Soon, Seol-a burst from the coop with two Thunderbirds in tow. Caw caw caw! A 3-on-3 tag match ensued.
Watching them brawl, Kang-ho let out a long sigh. That was their way of talking—fighting as greeting and conversation. Seeing Seol-a take hits hurt, but...
"......"
She grinned ear to ear, loving every second. He could only chuckle wryly.
Crackkk—
The window frame he'd leaned on crumbled. Probably from the gear weighing down his body.
'Guess I can handle more now.'
Kang-ho crossed his arms seriously and stepped off to find heavier equipment.
Thump— Thump— Thump—
His heart beat faster and faster. He sensed something was coming—his heart's power told him so.
Thump— Thump—
Opening the door revealed a red-haired woman.
"Your place has gotten pretty lively."
"Oh, when'd you get here?"
Kang-ho's stern face softened into a smile. It was Lee Min-ah, Awakener Association President.
"Just now. What's with those guys?"
Seol-a and the three War Monkeys had tired out, flopping belly-up and panting.
"Their way of chatting. Come in."
Kang-ho nodded inside.
"Big Boss hails from the slums of Mu Continent."
Lee Min-ah answered as she took the coffee cup Kang-ho offered. Her gaze flicked to King and Theo.
"Three guys in the house... That explains it?"
"Huh?"
She grinned at his puzzled look.
"Why it reeks of single-dad vibes."
"......"
She had a point. Kang-ho sniffed without a word.
"Anyway, he's as ruthless as they come from the slums. No holds barred... Typical of folks from there."
"Slums?"
"Yeah. The empire's dark underbelly..."
Her expression darkened as she spoke. She was from Mu Continent too, one of the otherworlders. And many here were Mu natives.
"Above all—"
In the northeast of Mu Continent lay the Moen Empire. Its rock bottom was called the slums—an underground world rivaling the glittering city above. A lawless hell, gathering society's dregs.
Sunlight never pierced Mu's slums. Children born there died without ever seeing it, learning of the sun only from tattered old books.
In a lawless world, might made right. Power! They threw everything away for it. To gain strength fast, forbidden drugs and body mods ran rampant. Countless sacrifices followed—mostly kids. Failures were discarded like trash.
"......"
Robe Gin—code name Big Boss—murmured up at the South Sea sun.
"Too damn bright."
His sunglasses hid crimson eyes that narrowed. He hated the name Robe Gin. It evoked his sewer-rat life. Abandoned as a mod failure, crawling screaming from the dump, surviving on malice—that was etched into it.
Ghost stood beside him. White hair, bandages wrapping from nose down—eerie. Twin daggers gleamed wickedly at his waist.
Ghost said lowly.
"The fleet's assembling."
Ships gathered on the South Sea. The water felt ominous despite clear skies—inky blue and brooding. Who knew what lurked in those depths?
Humanity had never conquered the seas. Not in the scientific heyday fifty years ago, nor in this Awakener era.
Kugugung—
Suddenly, two sulfur-yellow eyes gleamed far across the sea. They rose with a colossal body.
Shwaaaaa—!
Cimantars. Sea serpents about ten meters long, scales armoring their forms. Tough foes from the start—A-rank disaster monsters. And five already.
"......"
Big Boss stared, removing one glove. A blood-red hand emerged—veins bulging, red aura billowing.
Thud—!
Extending it summoned massive translucent red hands around the Cimantars. They gripped at once.
Kwajik!
The serpents crushed instantly.
"Launch."
Big Boss regloved and strode on. Five small mana-stone-powered ships followed, heading for Demon Island. Monsters eyed them hungrily, but crumbled before his grip. Crushing a few packs smoothed sailing.
"......"
Ghost noted the sea growing stranger. Black aura swirled; demonic energy faintly wafted.
"As expected."
Big Boss nodded at Ghost's murmur.
"Definitely demonic energy."
"Figured."
Skies darkened. Demon Island loomed under thunderheads—like the world's gloom gathered there. Pitch black, lightless.
Dadadada—
Ships neared. Eerie winds howled.
Shaaaang—
The calm waters weren't peaceful—storm-before-the-calm. Big Boss removed his sunglasses. Ghost, also from Mu slums, knew demonic energy well. It fueled slum mods. His right hand twitched.
He clenched and released it calmly.
Dudududu—
Demon Island neared. Other ships already docked.
"Murasame beat us here."
Big Boss nodded.
"The gate forming there's raid-gate class, like Yeongjongdo."
His voice grew grim.
"Dungeon byproducts are theirs if they want. But the core... It must be ours, no matter what."
"......Understood."
Ghost bowed.
"With that thing, maybe—"
Big Boss trailed off.
'We could break the curse on us.'
Kugung— Kugung—
Skies quaked, birthing dry thunderclouds.
Lee Min-ah said quietly.
"Above all... They curse the demonic energy."
"Hm?"
She shrugged at Kang-ho's quizzical look.
"Slum body mods leave nasty aftereffects. Culprit's Dr. Jackal, the mad scientist ruling the slums. Method's unknown, but he mods somehow."
"......!"