78
078 — The Vast Sky
Grisella's body went limp and began to fall. The Erosion's power that had been keeping her suspended in the sky had long since been severed.
Jin-woo grabbed her corpse and fell together with her. Thud. With a small sound, he landed on the ground.
Kuguuuuuuuuung—
The tower-like pillar behind Grisella cracked and began to collapse. It was the core of this Erosion, unified with Grisella's soul. It lost its power and collapsed simultaneously with her death.
At the same time, cracks appeared in the sky. The pillars spread around the area all collapsed, and the monsters either froze in place or fell down.
Signs that the Erosion was ending. However, Jin-woo did not let his guard down. Shin Do-ung, who had arrived late, tried to speak to Jin-woo but then looked inside the collapsing pillar.
"What is that...?"
At the end of Shin Do-ung's gaze. Something rippling could be seen in the middle of the collapsing pillar. It resembled the portals seen in Gates.
Jin-woo's eyes narrowed. Black flames were being caught in his energy sense. Flames of a different caliber from those of Grisella or other minions.
'His flames still remain.'
Grisella, who had been the medium of connection, was dead, but his flames had not completely died. Not only had they not died, but they were trying to escape through the portal inside the pillar.
Jin-woo immediately rushed forward.
"Brother!"
Shin Do-ung called out loudly as Jin-woo suddenly entered the collapsing pillar. To walk into a place where such large falling rocks were dropping? It was incomprehensible to him who couldn't see the black flames on the verge of escape.
Fragments of the pillar fell over Jin-woo's head as he ran. There were small debris-like pieces, but also many house-sized boulders.
They weren't aimed at Jin-woo, but it was still a dangerous place. Unable to avoid them all, Jin-woo ran forward, avoiding as much as possible and cutting through what he couldn't avoid.
Toward the portal visible ahead. Toward the black flames about to escape into it.
'Am I too late?'
The distance to the portal was about three steps away. But the black flames had already entered the hole. And the hole began to close.
What had initially been the size of a small door was now about the size of a window. When Jin-woo took another step forward, it was already small enough to be called a mouse hole.
[ Muhaha...... kikikik...... ]
The God of Sky's voice could be faintly heard. Perhaps because Grisella was dead and the Erosion was collapsing, it wasn't clear. However, he could definitely tell that it was mocking him.
Jin-woo took another step forward more forcefully. Then he thrust his sword toward the portal that was just closing.
Was it because he had thrust the sword hastily? Or was it because the momentum from his running was too strong? Not stopping at just the sword, Jin-woo's arm also slid into it.
But.
'I stabbed him!'
There was a definite sensation in the sword. He had succeeded in stabbing him.
[ Let go...... You bastard......! ]
Jin-woo absorbed the black flames as usual. But the reaction was different from usual.
All the flames up until now had been absorbed by Jin-woo without resistance. Whether they were the Lord's minions or the souls of eroded dragons, it made no difference.
But for the first time, he felt resistance. It was quite strong too, to the point that it seemed like Jin-woo's arm might be torn off.
Meanwhile, the portal was still shrinking at this very moment. Before the black flames could do anything, just the portal's closing was enough to leave one arm severed in a different dimension.
Should he let go of the sword and pull out his arm?
Or should he hold onto it and endure until the truly precarious moment?
He wasn't given even a full second to contemplate. Jin-woo did not let go. It was an opportunity to cut and absorb the God of Sky's soul, even if it was just a part. He couldn't miss this opportunity.
[ Grab the scabbard! ]
Just then, the God of Moonlit Forest shouted loudly. It was the loudest and clearest voice of hers that he had ever heard. How much strength was she exerting?
Proportionally, Jin-woo's reaction was also quick as he grabbed the God of Sky's scabbard with his other hand. At that moment, the glass orb that was said to be the God of Moonlit Forest’s divine artifact also began to shine.
The two divine artifacts resonated and directly affected the portal. Though he didn't know the principle, the hole that had been shrinking stopped. It was temporarily fixed at about the size of a mouse hole.
[ Impossible......! ]
Thanks to this, a bit more time was given, and Jin-woo could devote all that time to absorbing the creature. With a short death cry, a massive amount of flames began pouring in through the sword.
It was so overwhelming that he felt like he might lose consciousness. If he lost even a thread of concentration, it seemed like he would be sucked into the hole and drift aimlessly through an unknown world.
"Keuk...!"
Organization would come later. He could feel that it wasn't being properly digested, but first he needed to pull out his arm.
When he pulled his arm out from the portal, the hole that had stopped also moved again. It gradually shrank and then disappeared.
"Phew......"
Jin-woo collapsed and caught his breath. This time it was really close. What would have happened if he had accidentally been forcibly sucked into the portal?
This portal was opened by a part of the God of Sky's soul to return to the main body. Naturally, its end would be connected to where the main body was located.
'The God of Sky's, no, the Lord of Oppression and Ceiling's divine realm.'
If he had been dragged there, the outcome was obvious. He would have been devoured and spent eons as his slave, like Grisella.
'Thank you.'
[ The God of Moonlit Forest is relieved. ]
When he expressed gratitude to the God of Moonlit Forest who had helped, such a reaction returned. She seemed to have been quite anxious as well.
Looking up, the upper area was blocked by rocks. The falling rocks had become entangled with each other, creating a cave-like state.
Still, there was no need to worry. Sure enough.
"Brother! Are you safe!?"
Shin Do-ung lifted away the rocks and created an escape route. Through the rock hole he had made, the vast sky could be seen outside.
Not the fake sky that the God of Sky had created inside the Erosion, but the real sky of the world he lived in.
***
Along with siren sounds, dozens of ambulances came and loaded all the unconscious people.
Thanks to Shartia and Ma Du-sik's perfect protection, no one was injured. At most, they had some scratches from falling when they fainted.
Still, they needed medical examinations just in case. While working hard on the Erosion's aftermath.
"You've worked hard, Hunter Kang Jin-woo."
"You handled it quickly. As expected, you're amazing."
There was also much to discuss with Ma Du-sik and Shartia.
After exchanging a few words, consoling each other's hardships, the main conversation began.
"Hunter Kang Jin-woo. Do you happen to know what Lords are?"
The word 'Lord' came from Ma Du-sik's mouth. Shin Do-ung, beside him, didn't seem that surprised either.
"Did you hear it from Grisella?"
"I heard her mention such beings several times. I was planning to question her about it in detail, but......"
Ma Du-sik shifted his gaze to one place. There lay Grisella's corpse that Jin-woo had brought, covered with a cloth.
"Lords are......"
It was overwhelming to know where to start explaining. Still, everyone present here was an S-rank Hunter. Veterans who had experienced up to the 5th floor.
Jin-woo explained that the identity of the 13 Gods of the 2nd and 3rd floors was Erosion Lords, and among them, the God of Sky was the mastermind behind eroding this Earth. He intended to speak only of the essentials, but as he spoke, it inevitably became lengthy.
During the story, reactions were varied. Ma Du-sik's face was full of wrinkles as if he had a headache. Shin Do-ung didn't hide his sharp expression. Shartia also had the most serious expression he had ever seen.
"Grisella seems to have been the God of Sky's minion. She broke free from his shackles and escaped to come here, but it all seems to have been his trap."
"That's......"
"Wait a minute, Jin-woo. There are rumors that you brought down the Sky Temple on the 3rd floor. Did you know all this when you did it?"
Shartia threw a sharp question. It was true that he had known about the Lords and the God of Sky first, but Jin-woo shook his head.
"What I'm telling you now are things I learned while active on the 3rd floor. The Sky Temple, as you'll understand from the story, was a place that Mahiri touched first, not me."
To explain how he had learned about the Lords and the God of Sky would require explaining many things, like going to the Elf world, the Ireland incident, his previous life, and so on.
So he said he had somehow learned about it on the 3rd floor. The process wasn't important anyway.
"Hmm. It seems like very important information, but the problem is that knowing it doesn't particularly bring any solutions to mind."
Ma Du-sik perfectly represented what everyone present was feeling.
They understood that beings called Lords existed. That among them was one targeting Earth.
But even knowing that, there was nothing they could do about it. For him, who wanted to solve current issues as mayor, it was a frustrating situation beyond measure.
"Really? Even though only a part descended, it was that strong?"
On the other hand, Shin Do-ung was gripping his spear tightly while emanating fighting spirit. His eyes were sharp as he recalled Grisella's power that he had witnessed inside the Erosion.
"Even after becoming S-rank, I'm still far off."
Though he seemed to speak in a light tone, his voice was by no means light.
Even among S-ranks, combat abilities varied, but he had never felt a wall before. No matter how strong an S-rank was, he believed he could definitely surpass them through training.
But Grisella's case was different. She was clearly a level stronger. If just a part of a Lord's descent was that strong, it meant the main body was much stronger.
Around that time, Ma Du-sik, who had organized his thoughts, shook his head.
"According to her story, there's one of his minions on Jeju Island. I'll immediately investigate and inform you of that information."
He would dispatch Hunters from the Management Bureau to observe Jeju Island's condition and report back. Gathering information like this and sharing it with the country's Hunters was also one of the Management Bureau's duties.
The immediate discussion concluded like that.
However, one person remained. After Ma Du-sik and Shin Do-ung left to attend to their respective matters, Shartia, who had stayed behind, asked Jin-woo.
"Jin-woo. May I create a grave for her?"
Shartia's eyes were on Grisella's corpse.
"Grisella's grave?"
"Yes. I want to bury her in an appropriate place."
When an Elf dies, their kind retrieves that soul and offers it to the World Tree. Could that species' instinct remain in Shartia as well?
No, even without that, anyone who saw a pitifully dead corpse would want to bury it.
"I have a suitable place in mind. I want to bury her together with a tree."
"Please do so."
There was no reason to object. If Shartia said she would handle Grisella's corpse, Ma Du-sik wouldn't object either.
He might want to take the corpse for research, but he couldn't say such a thing in front of Shartia, who was known as an Elf's reincarnation.
Besides, researching it would be no different from a monster's corpse. Grisella was no longer an Elf but a pitiful minion consumed by Erosion.
The day ended like that, noisy with ambulance sounds. However, Jin-woo still had tasks remaining.
***
Returning home, Jin-woo immediately fell into solitary meditation without even recovering from fatigue.
The absorbed God of Sky's flames, that part.
It had not been properly absorbed yet. Thanks to this, Jin-woo's flames had a chaotic appearance, mixing blue and black colors.
'This isn't good.'
He had a strong premonition that this wasn't good. This mixing was definitely not a good direction.
Rather than mixing, it would be better if it turned completely black. Of course, the best thing would be to return it to its original blue color.
For that purpose, Jin-woo closed his eyes and delved into his inner self. Through meditation, he intended to understand the black flames and completely absorb them as his own.
As a result, a strange scene unfolded.
Clearly he had his eyes closed. Until just now, he could only see the black scene inside his eyelids.
Before he knew it, a vast sky was spread out before his eyes.