Chapter 218
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: Descent into the Spiral
We sliced into the octopuses with the diligence of Noryangjin pros filleting live fish.
The pitiful wails of the legless cephalopods—heads all that remained—rang out everywhere.
"Pathetic deep-sea baldies."
With those freakish tusks clustered on their noggins like teeth instead of hair, who were they to charge us?
If it weren't for that bizarre Erosion Zone from moments ago, putting down trash like this wouldn't have been such a chore.
We kept carving through the octopuses as we pressed on, finally reaching the outskirts of our target: Tel Aviv, Israel.
"What's Israel's claim to fame?"
Jeong Oh-hoon asked as our ship drew closer to land. I gave him a crisp reply.
"Dunno. Chemtrails sound good."
He shot me a look.
"What's that?"
Instead of answering, I glanced at Han Sang-ah.
"Faster to ask her."
She jumped in like she'd been waiting.
"You know contrails from planes? There was this theory they were poison gas dispersed by airlines secretly run by Jewish capital and the Freemasons."
Jeong Oh-hoon let out an "Oh, really?"
"Jewish capital? I know the Korean version pretty well."
"That's actually true."
Koreans pulled off what the Jews never could. A monstrous regime puppeteering the world, wringing blood from the masses, rigging the press, running wild with covert human experiments.
And don't forget an outfit rivaling the Freemasons: the descendants of Dangun. Wait, scratch that—they had one.
Not exactly brag-worthy, but damn impressive.
"For a more vanilla specialty, Dead Sea salt."
Hearing that, Han Sang-ah chimed in.
"Dead Sea salt, Himalayan pink, sea salt... their makeup's not far off from table salt."
Choi Yeo-reum, who'd been listening, piped up.
"But the minerals differ."
"Short on minerals? Skip the salt. Eat varied. You've got cash—grab pharmacy-grade multivitamins, the medicinal ones. Not health supps."
"What's the diff?"
Choi Yeo-reum's question sealed her doom. Jeong Oh-hoon and I knew better from hard experience: never prod Han Sang-ah lightly.
She didn't.
She unleashed a torrent on pharma vs. functional foods.
On the gentle sea, it soothed like a lullaby. Eyes growing heavy.
At last, Tel Aviv, Israel. Han Sang-ah's lecture wrapped.
"Scenery's insane here too."
Thousands upon hundreds of shattered mirror shards drifted lazily in the air.
Each gleamed wildly, reflecting chaos to dazzle the eyes. Vision swam.
Amid the mirrors, sinister damp blobs slithered in ecstatic silence.
Groan-like dirges swelled from nowhere, joined by sourceless voices droning tuneless, senseless hymns.
"Drains the soul just listening."
Lee Se-eun griped curtly, drawing her greatsword. The ground ahead exploded, twisting into knots.
Earth chunks soared skyward, elongating like taffy, tangling madly. Gum-matted hair vibes.
Paths severed; severed lands reconnected.
"Some welcome. What the hell?"
A vortex of black and white lines patterned the boundless sky, spawning illusions.
The world warped and spun. Floating mirrors amplified every mutation.
"Gonna hurl."
Jeong Oh-hoon muttered, kneading his temples. Faces paled around.
"Shit brewing? Go drop it quick. Urgency or not, body's gotta body. Wet pants? Longer cleanup."
All eyes pinned me.
"What? Not that? Then hustle."
No point loitering with constipated mugs. Tel Aviv secured; Great Eight Erosion Core pinpointed.
"Check this."
Han Sang-ah lobbed a GPS my way. Compass-equipped.
"Lost its mind."
Compass whirled berserk, playground-spinner style.
GPS signal? Nada. Silver lining: confirmed Tel Aviv.
Starting point locked. Beyond? Zilch.
"Getting... sucked? That."
Israel's native soil stretched taffy-thin into a helix plunging pointward.
Nationwide drain-swirl effect.
Our spot to vortex core: 500km minimum. Israel's footprint begged to differ.
"Points the way clear enough."
Twisted helix heart: Shaddai Club, our mark.
"Almighty Club, my ass."
Spectacle awed, sure. But Almighty scale? Not yet.
Spiral-tracking, center-bound.
"Moving? Or pulled?"
Sung Si-hoon wondered. I grinned.
"Scared sans scrap?"
"Caution kills fewer."
Tongue-click.
"Eaten? Fine. We'll botulism their guts."
"Overthinks like Choi Yeo-reum always has."
Jang Tae-seok jabbed.
"You're the brainless one."
Choi Yeo-reum snapped back.
"Ignorance issues?"
He proclaimed, eyeing her.
"Force failing? Skip schemes. Power up."
Half-hour trek. Lee Se-eun spoke.
"Eerily quiet. Me only?"
Consensus vibe. Zero pushback. Silent spiral stroll.
No monster pops. No irritants.
Sole foes: creeping void-terror, sense-scrambling terrain.
"Gearing up a bash."
No resistance screamed two plays.
Suspicious—bail. Nah. Korea ain't waving hello.
"Early party's polite, no?"
Play two it was.
No resistance? Thrill! Full throttle!
"Prepping? Beat 'em there, trash it."
Falter for their giggles? Pass.
We blitzed the colossal pit at reality's rim.
Full tilt? Mach speed.
Barriers? Body-slammed. Straight-shot to sinking helix hub.
"Erosion Core."
Black maw yawned. Entry. Gonzalo kept his unaltered, at least.
"Stock cars vs. full-custom jobs? Kinda."
Lee Se-eun shouldered her blade, strode ahead—voila, Great Eight auto-tuner.
Pre-dive glance at Han Sang-ah.
"Revenge waits for openings."
She halted, met eyes.
"Carve one. You can."
Faith overboard. Time for boundaries.
"Chasing yours might wipe us."
"Like kid-trip stone-scolding easy?"
Her: "Hunter oath? For now."
Expected no easy fold.
Not hopeful anyway. She's barreled here for it.
Like nixing civil service post-exam quals.
Bonus: no slap incoming.
Half-expected.
"Best happy end. But choice-time? Regret-proof."
Life's war; worst-case prepped.
Barracks binders skip norms.
She advanced to maw.
"Parents perished here. Zero regrets since. Advice noted."
She vanished within. I eyed abyss, plunged.
Dark drop. Sensory blackout. Solo void-float?
Standing? Dangling? Meh.
Pew-pew-pew. Dark split; eyes bloomed horde.
Spear lanced one.
"Glaring at grown-ups?"
Sank deep. Chew-vibes rippled shaft. Yanked: teeth gaped past popped orb.
Eye-stare triggered overlay.
Full hint? Then what?