#63 Flowers of the Abyss (2)
Kwaaaaa—!
A massive gate rippled violently. Everything around it shuddered unnaturally. What spewed out in all directions was black demonic energy.
The gate wasn't complete yet. It was still in the formation stage. Once finished, its true nature would reveal itself.
Thud, thud—
Ghost walked slowly, swallowing hard.
“......”
This familiar aura. Ghost narrowed his eyes and turned to Big Boss.
“It's a familiar energy. It feels just like the one Dr. Jackal used. Perhaps—”
“......”
Big Boss nodded.
Since crash-landing on Earth, Big Boss and Ghost had sensed quite a bit of demonic energy. This aura was remarkably similar to that of the infamous mad scientist from the slums, Dr. Jackal.
“Did he crash-land here too?”
“Too early to judge.”
As they conversed in the Mu continent's tongue, a man approached from afar.
His name was Kato Masa. World Rank 30, a powerhouse. His code name was Ghost Sword. Fittingly, a long Japanese katana hung at his waist.
He was a ruthless man. After Daybreak, Japan's hierarchy had devolved into a warring states era. Not just monsters, but humans carving up territory. And that era was still ongoing.
Ghost Sword led Murasame, one of Japan's three dominant guilds.
Ghost Sword eyed Big Boss and Ghost with his signature sharp gaze before speaking. An Awakener beside him cast a translation spell.
“Big Boss. Thanks for coming all this way.”
“No need.”
Big Boss replied curtly, glancing across. Murasame had fielded about a hundred members. That was the raiding party that had thrived through the current warring states.
Impressive caliber.
Korea's Awakeners were bizarrely strong, a mystical eastern powerhouse. But Murasame's elites here could easily rank among the BIG 3.
“Let's raid as negotiated.”
“Agreed.”
“Byproducts and magic stones first. Whoever kills the monsters claims them during the raid. We'll negotiate your cut later.”
Ghost Sword nodded at Big Boss's words.
“As per the contract.”
They turned simultaneously. No press or smartphones here today.
Guuuuung—
Suddenly, the gate's dark glow intensified.
Soon—
Kugugugung—!
It spewed demonic energy massively and cracked open with a creeeak.
The gate was complete.
The dungeon interior revealed a deeply oppressive cityscape. As the vanguard scout, Ghost entered the city and nodded slowly.
This scenery was all too familiar. It was the slums of Mu continent.
“......”
Ghost's eyes grew profoundly calm.
Mu's slums were like a vast underground anthill. Digging deeper to evade imperial pressure, creating a labyrinthine, bizarre underworld. Always damp, reeking of foul mold.
Crime was everyday life everywhere, swarming with half-human monsters from body modifications.
He scanned around. Thick demonic energy wafted.
Throb, throb—
His body resonated with the demonic energy. Aftereffects of human modification.
Dr. Jackal had turned children into test subjects from infancy. Of a hundred, half were discarded as failures. Dumped into the deepest abyss of the underworld, the trash heap.
Those discarded in the trash heap stood out amid the black refuse. Their modification aftereffects caused eerie glows, resembling blooming flowers from afar.
Thus, they were called flowers of the abyss.
Flowers of the abyss. Among them, Big Boss and Ghost had survived—and hated Dr. Jackal.
Slither— slither—
Suddenly, Ghost spotted monsters emerging one by one from the shadows.
“......!”
Half-human, half-monster forms. Upper body human, lower spider; upper beast, lower human. Arms like grotesque mantises, backs with massive tentacles.
A motley crew of monsters revealed themselves in the dark.
Test subjects.
Ghost easily identified them. Dr. Jackal's modified humans.
But.
Human instincts...
His past modifications retained full human intellect. These showed none.
Completely... gone?
Gulp!
Ghost swallowed unconsciously.
Jackal. The Dr. Jackal in his memories was a devil in human skin.
Slum kids were easy to buy. To many slum parents, children were cash on demand.
That monster bought them for body mods!
Shiver—
Ghost felt his body tremble involuntarily. His terror was instinct etched into his brain.
Guild members gathered around him, scouting.
“You alright?”
The scout squad leader asked cautiously.
Ghost nodded.
“The dungeon is... how to put it. Not wide, but deep.”
He was right. The structure mimicked the slum anthill perfectly. Endless descent underground.
The scouts pressed on. Ghost felt his body start glowing eerily. The thick bandages wrapping him hid that glow and his grotesque form.
“Monsters average... around C-rank, I'd estimate.”
Scouting continued. Midway through endless descent.
Ghost sensed intense demonic energy and raised a hand.
The scouts behind halted.
Shaaak—
Ghost melted into the scenery. Stealth activated.
He descended another stair lightly, peering into the next basement.
Guuuuung—
A vast underground space appeared. About two hundred pyeong, dank, with green liquids flowing like groundwater. A massive monster slumbered, head bowed in it.
Definitely a mid-boss.
Ghost knew it.
Plague Lord Lopsilon, guardian of Jackal's lab.
Plague Lord Lopsilon. This confirmed the dungeon's link to Dr. Jackal.
First checkpoint.
Mark here as the first point.
Ghost returned to the scouts slowly.
“Scout ends here. First checkpoint target is this spot. Head back.”
The raid party soon began the assault.
Napa was raid-renowned. True to form, they moved in 5-man squads: front tank, mid DPS, rear mage and healer. Classic RPG setup. High survival, sustained.
Murasame, conversely, was all-out aggression, slaughtering monsters.
Progress was smooth. The monsters' low intelligence meant powerful single hits crumbled against coordination.
Ghost spoke quietly to Big Boss.
“Definitely linked to Jackal. Spotted Plague Lord Lopsilon.”
“......”
Big Boss nodded gravely.
The raid steamrolled to Lopsilon's layer. Drops were few magic stones, but decent materials made reviews positive.
“Lopsilon, huh...”
Big Boss eyed the structure before speaking.
“All-out rush would mean heavy losses.”
“Likely.”
Lopsilon, Jackal's lab guardian, spewed virulent gas and plague everywhere.
Big Boss bellowed.
“Napa raid party, fall back!”
Napa's strength was ironclad command. Human bonds weak, but money solidified them. High salaries underpinned obedience.
Napa halted and retreated crisply.
The squad leader asked.
“Master, why?”
“The boss ahead is perfect for wiping a mob. Elite few is better.”
The leader nodded sharply.
“Understood. How many?”
“Five.”
Ghost Sword approached Big Boss.
“Elite squad, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm...”
Ghost Sword stared piercingly.
“Fine. We'll send five too.”
Turning, cruelty flashed in Ghost Sword's eyes.
Do it now?
He was greedy. Big Boss was top-tier even in Korea. The alliance was to covet that power.
His katana gleamed oddly.
About thirty years ago, in a bizarre dungeon from an unseen gate, he'd met a hammering blacksmith.
That sword: Ghost Blade Murasame.
It absorbed souls of the slain, growing stronger. But slots limited.
He wanted Big Boss or Ghost for the last.
Ghost Sword shook his head.
Not yet.
This was just mid-boss. Unprecedented raid dungeon scale. Backstab after final boss.
Plenty of time.
Good mood rising, he hummed.
Great spoils and power awaited here.
Heard Big Boss ranked 2nd in Korea. Stronger only the Awakener Association's witch.
So—
Devour him, and it's done.
He'd end the warring states. Unify Japan, then conquer Korea.
Guuuuung— guuuuung—
Kang-ho checked the throbbing Eternal Crystal. The demon realm one now fused three, hypersensitive.
Precisely.
Resonating.
Namely, another demon realm Eternal Crystal nearby.
Variables too.
Cycle accelerating.
Demon realm crystals appearing faster.
Hypotheses: Eternal Crystals... attract each other.
Kang-ho rose slowly.
No media buzz, no personal feeds on dungeons.
Meaning: not Korean soil. Secret op, or undiscovered.
Either way, ill omen.
Kang-ho woke sleeping Theo.
[Huh?]
Theo rubbed eyes, rising.
“Let's go.”
[Eh?]
“Eternal Crystal appeared.”
Kang-ho showed his vibrating crystal.
[......]
Theo's eyes turned serious. Kang-ho offered the constellation gauntlet again.
“The cycle's speeding up.”