Abyss (1)
"Third Hell: You have arrived at the Abyss."
All types of pain increased by 20x.
A parched, cracked wasteland stretched out. Crimson lava flowed through the fissures.
Yun-seok looked up at the sky. There was no sun, no moon, no stars—just darkness. In contrast, the lava flowing across the ground shone more vividly against the void.
You are a challenger who is not a demon. The Archduke of the Abyss curses you.
Movement speed reduced by 50%. All stats -2.
The curse is offset by Purification Light.
The curse vanished before Heart of Freedom even activated. Well, if he turned off Purification Light, the curse would return immediately... but he had no intention of doing that anyway. No change there.
"......"
Yun-seok scanned his surroundings. Burning corpses crawled up from the cracks in the earth, from beneath the lava. Not just one or two—hundreds at least.
But...
This place suits me perfectly.
Sssizzle!
The moment Purification Light touched them, the corpses melted into ash and vanished.
They even drop essences.
The essences were smaller than those in the Deep Labyrinth, but their sheer numbers made up for it. And he didn't even need to swing his sword.
Nice.
No need to waste time picking them up one by one. Yun-seok manipulated his Blood Demon Qi to collect the essences straight into his bag as they fell.
By the time he finished, the portal had closed. How did he get back to where he started? The system kindly provided the answer.
Slay the Archduke of the Abyss
It didn't mention a return portal opening, but contextually, achieving that goal should do the trick.
So, where could he find the Archduke of the Abyss? Yun-seok checked his map periodically as he walked in a random direction.
And then.
"A human? Why's a human here?"
"...Chiiik! Catch this one and we'll get treasure!"
He encountered a three-man party: an orc, a lizardman, and a demon. They were challengers, no doubt—probably from the Exploration Trial.
No wonder I hadn't seen any demons. The maps must be separate.
Just like in missions, where demons were on the enemy side, they seemed divided here too.
Their eyes already gleamed with greed. Even if he revealed they were fellow challengers, they wouldn't believe him. Or worse, they'd just try to kill him anyway. Every demon he'd met was like that.
They were distrusted by other challengers in the plazas and rarely showed up there.
"Die!"
The orc swung a massive axe down at Yun-seok. A wild, brute-force attack relying on strength alone. But their teamwork was decent. The moment Yun-seok sidestepped, the lizardman charged from the side with dual swords.
Whoosh!
Clang!
No need to block with his own sword. He conjured a Blood Demon Sword and hurled it; the lizardman blocked but got flung back by the rebound.
Binding skills lose effect due to Heart of Freedom.
The demon lurking behind had tried some skill, but unfortunately for them, it was the wrong type. When it failed, the demon rushed into the fray. Surprisingly, its weapon was a claw protruding from the back of its hand.
What? All three are melee fighters?
Unlike human, beastkin, or elf parties that divided roles systematically, these three were all close-range types. Honestly, why even party up like this? But...
Well, moving solo in this wide-open wasteland would be tough.
Yun-seok focused on defense. He could end the fight in a blink if he wanted, but first, he wanted to see their hand—what aces they held.
"Return of the Wraith!"
"Berserk!"
"Lightning Sword Aura!"
When Yun-seok didn't go down easily, they pulled out their skills one by one, as expected. He'd planned to drag any promising ones to the arena, but...
No need to watch more.
Slash!
Unimpressed, Yun-seok swung his sword and severed their heads in one stroke. They died instantly, without time to feel pain.
Whatever. Plenty more chances.
He collected their essences too, stuffing them into his bag. They'd hunted diligently; even for him, it was a decent haul.
Better move fast.
For the Exploration Trial, Yun-seok had two goals: unlock hidden spaces for equipment items and fill a 1-ton subspace bag with essences. The latter would hit target around day 15 naturally, but the former required haste.
As he dashed around, steadily filling his bag...
Suddenly, Yun-seok halted.
Avatar.
This wasn't an ant-nest like the Deep Labyrinth. Endless open plains. The Abyss was darkness incarnate, but the lava lit the ground, making aerial scouting easier from above.
Flap! Flap!
Yun-seok spread his wings and soared upward through the dark. But soon, things didn't go as planned.
The darkness here wasn't mere absence of light. 10m, 20m, 30m... The density increased the higher he went. That's how it felt. Purification Light's range narrowed, and he couldn't see below at all. Visibility barely 10m. Absurd, given the lava's glow on the surface. And strangely, the pressure mounted too.
Guess I have to hoof it after all.
As he turned to descend...
Something swam out of the darkness.
...Magic beasts here too?
A shark-like monster, bones and skin only. Megalodon, maybe? No idea how it hovered without wings, but it was huge. Yun-seok drew his sword warily.
It couldn't enter the light, circling the edge like a predator eyeing prey.
Let's take it down.
He wrapped his sword aura and fired. But...
What, this tough?
Not full power, but only a scratch? Did it get buffs in the dark? He closed in quickly to bring it into the light.
Slash!
It split cleanly, like sashimi. Not very resilient; the halves powdered instantly, dropping an essence. Yun-seok caught it with Blood Demon Qi. His eyes widened.
The hunting setup was surprising enough, but...
This essence is huge!
Fist-sized. Compared to fingernail ones in the Deep Labyrinth, absurd.
Didn't seem that much stronger though...
Maybe terrain effect. It had tanked his strike fine in the dark.
With the essence safely bagged, Yun-seok smiled. Like catching a rat while stepping back from a cow, but...
Good spot to be.
The darkness itself might be a hidden space.
A bit too obvious for one, though. Most challengers lacked means to fly up, and even then, lanterns wouldn't pierce 1m.
Light seems safe. Let's go higher.
Yun-seok ascended slowly. Distance sense vanished in the all-encompassing dark—like flapping in place. But the shrinking light radius confirmed progress.
When it dwindled to about 3m...
"Return to where you belong, impure sinner."
A dry yet grandly resonant male voice echoed from above. Simultaneously, a greatsword flew from the dark—aimed at his wings, to send him back literally.
Clang!
Parrying with his sword, Yun-seok's first impression: heavy. Very.
Stronger than most Duel challengers, maybe...
But that was it. No pressure; he overwhelmed easily.
Toward the unidentified figure's gleaming white eyes in the dark, Yun-seok charged.
"...?"
Closing in dispersed the dark, revealing the foe. Not quite as expected.
Pure white armor edged in gold, helmet covering all but eyes. And pristine white wings. Couldn't not think angel. Even exuding a holy aura.
What? Doesn't fit the concept.
Encountered deep in hellish darkness teeming with grotesqueries—too incongruous.
Doesn't matter.
Just a momentary flinch. Yun-seok pressed with his sword.
"How does a sinner wield such power...! Are you the Archduke's pawn?!"
Yun-seok didn't answer. Better to swing once more.
Boom!
Bang!
Boom boom!
Each clash made the foe feel the overwhelming gap, fleeing upward. Yun-seok pursued relentlessly. Light shrank, pressure surged exponentially, but...
Fine. For now.
"Stop! Cease! Do you truly seek oblivion?!"
Dunno about that, but curious what essence a boss like this dropped. Maybe special rewards.
Boom!
Boom boom!
Bang!
Yun-seok kept chasing, striking. As he aimed a finisher at a momentary opening in the dark...
The darkness vanished.
Purification Light spread wide again; pressure gone. A blinding white expanse where eyes might fail. Never imagined this above the pitch black.
Yun-seok shielded with Blood Demon Qi, expecting a counter in the gap.
But...
"H-how?! How do you enter Heaven without perishing?!"
The foe just stood, eyes wide in shock.
"...Heaven?"
Hell below, so heaven above? Yun-seok eyed the space beyond warily.
Like atop clouds, a grand white castle loomed over empty void.
As if realizing something, the foe spoke.
"You... are no sinner of the Abyss."
He lowered his greatsword.
"I am Setiel, guardian of Heaven. What is your name? Why were you trapped in the Abyss without being a sinner?"
The atmosphere demanded talk. Yun-seok dropped his guard too. No choice.
Setiel, Heaven's guardian. Hundreds—no, thousands—like him swarmed toward them, wings beating.
Run?
Might not be too late now, but...
"If this is our error, we shall compensate you."
Setiel's polite tone gave him pause. Specifically, that word: compensation.
...What to do?