Free Web Novel“No, I said no!”
“Seungryong.”
“Even now, whenever I think back to the first time I was dragged into Bumram, it’s terrifying!”
Yohan had no idea what Yoon Seungryong was talking about. But the rest of them seemed to understand exactly what Seungryong and Hyunmook were discussing. Joo Hoyoung, eyes still fixed on his game console, spoke up.
“I’m in favor.”
“Hey, Joo Hoyoung!”
“Honestly, we have to forgive the things people do when they’re contaminated. Especially you, Seungryong-hyung—you’re the last one who should say that.”
At Hoyoung’s words, Seungryong’s shoulders slumped, though his scowl remained. The air had grown heavy, and while Yohan hesitated, Hyunmook laid a hand on his back. That simple warmth steadied him.
“If there’s a chance destroying that core opens an exit—then even if what’s left of him is just a corpse, or worse than a corpse, we have to bring him out.”
“That’s exactly why we can’t do it now! Not with Yohan here!”
“Or maybe, because Yohan is here, we can. And honestly, from a human standpoint, we owe it to him to check, don’t we?”
When Seo Yakrin added that, Seungryong finally deflated. He clamped his mouth shut, slumped against the cave wall, and thunked his head back against it once before saying nothing more. Yohan, who could no longer stay silent, blurted out nervously,
“What are you all even talking about?”
“Sorry, Yohan. We didn’t mean to leave you out.”
Hyunmook apologized first, then explained.
“We were talking about bringing back Lee Chanha.”
Lee Chanha? The sub-captain of Sunrise Team? Yohan, who had already been troubled by the lack of a tank in their last battle, felt a jolt.
“But you said he was dead.”
“...Well. I guess I’d better start from the beginning.”
Hyunmook settled into storytelling mode. Seungryong sighed, rummaged in the air, and pulled out some dried jerky. It was a way to ease his foul mood by chewing something. When Seo Yakrin jabbed him in the side, he glared back, then grudgingly handed pieces out to the group.
“Chanha... he was the first to be swept into Bumram. And after the captain, he was the one most consumed by it.”
“Honestly, ‘swept in’ isn’t even right. He threw himself in.”
Seungryong added in a sour tone. Hyunmook did not deny it. Yohan shook his head. To step willingly into something so foul, so horrific, even to approach it was unbearable—how could anyone leap in? He couldn’t believe it.
“Why would he do that?”
Hyunmook’s answer was simple.
“Because he went mad.”
“Yeah. And I mean properly mad. He basically fell in love with Bumram.”
Seungryong explained further. Driven insane, he was dragged into Bumram, and then—fell in love with it? Yohan couldn’t grasp it. But he could at least imagine how dreadful it must have been for them.
“As you know, when you’re contaminated, your mind breaks. Call it ‘negative enhancement’ or whatever, but it’s just becoming a lunatic. And Chanha’s case was extreme.”
Yohan thought of each teammate’s negative enhancements. Hyunmook had his madness but never once gave up. Seungryong was afflicted with gluttony and lethargy. Seo Yakrin suffered from uncontrollable rage. And Joo Hoyoung’s avoidance and gaming obsession were obvious. In truth, Hoyoung’s didn’t seem that severe—probably because he’d never been swallowed by Bumram himself. Seungryong gave a bitter laugh.
“His negative enhancement was obsessive cleanliness.”
“Ah...”
Yohan groaned aloud. Of all things—obsessive cleanliness, in the Abyss? This world was filthy, sticky, reeking with rot. That kind of affliction here would drive a man insane far faster.
“He kept deceiving us, sowing discord, causing endless strife. Then one day, he dove into Bumram. The captain nearly killed himself trying to drag him out, but Chanha slapped his hand away. He was swept away. We thought he was dead. But after a long while, he began to reappear.”
Seungryong sighed, recalling the faraway past.
“And every time, he screwed us over. He did everything he could to drag teammates into Bumram—and more often than not, succeeded. I was the one hit the hardest. In the end, he destroyed us to the point we could no longer function as a team. The captain did something about it, but by then it was too late. ...So what exactly did you do to him?”
Hyunmook quietly tore off a piece of jerky and fed it into Yohan’s mouth before answering.
“I made him as small as possible without killing him, buried him deep. And whenever he recovered, I’d come back and make him small again.”
The words were softened, but Yohan understood instantly. The ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) jerky dropped from his mouth. The others chewed theirs calmly.
“At some point, he stopped recovering. Maybe he was out of strength.”
“Or maybe he just pretended to be.”
Seungryong picked up the dropped jerky and ate it himself. Hyunmook acknowledged the point calmly.
“The problem is, I’ve been too far gone myself lately. I couldn’t confirm it properly.”
The temperature seemed to plummet. No, it wasn’t just imagination. Hoyoung was the one releasing frost, face pale as ice. Yohan quickly bathed him in light, and Seo Yakrin let out a long sigh.
“So where did you bury the sub-captain?”
“Near the cliff by the Hong Kong sector.”
“That’s pretty far. Then it’ll take him a while to reach us, if he even can. Until recently we were all scattered anyway.”
At Seo Yakrin’s words, Seungryong gave another long sigh and stood, grumbling as he urged them on.
“Let’s get out of here. This cave is way too cramped for five.”
One by one, they gathered their things. Yohan glanced back once at the darkness beyond, uneasy to leave their goal unfulfilled, then followed.
“So next is the Hong Kong sector?”
“For now, yes.”
Yohan nodded, subdued. Hyunmook turned to him.
“Sorry for lying, Yohan.”
“It’s fine. I understand why you’d rather say he was dead.”
From their standpoint, it was easier to pretend he was gone. Yohan felt no betrayal—just sorrow. To have a comrade turn enemy in this unbearable Abyss, how could that not break them?
“Most likely, Chanha’s already too weak. Another monster may have finished him off.”
“But you still hope he’s alive, don’t you?”
Hyunmook held Yohan’s gaze, then nodded silently. His black eyes carried a weight no words could express—a despair and grief that would never leave, even if they did somehow escape the Abyss. Yohan couldn’t even imagine that burden.
“I hope so too.”
Speaking with all sincerity, he made Hyunmook smile faintly. For now, their long journey would be to search for Lee Chanha. The Hong Kong sector... what would it be like?
Lost in thought, they walked in silence. At last, the cave’s entrance appeared. Yohan quickened his steps, relieved—memories of being entombed in the Black Mountain were stirring again.
But the moment he stepped outside, his smile froze. He looked around in confusion.
“Hyunmook-hyung, the fog... it’s gone.”
Hyunmook rushed close and pulled him protectively into his arms. The fog that had been so thick they couldn’t see a step ahead had vanished, leaving the view wide open. But the stench of rot and fish reeked stronger than ever, choking him. Yohan hastily spread his light.
“What the hell is going on?”
Sudden changes in the Abyss always meant the worst. Seo Yakrin cursed, eyes narrowing. Yohan shrank back, scanning the surroundings.
Without the fog, they could finally see the Salt Lake district clearly. But it looked nothing like any lake Yohan had ever imagined. The water was the color of sewage, the banks lined with black, tangled seaweed like human hair. Enormous bubbles rose endlessly from within. The surface itself was endlessly dark. freewebnσvel.cѳm
“This feels bad.”
Seungryong scowled and pressed close to Yohan, ready to fight. Then all eyes turned toward the lake.
The bubbling swelled, and the surface surged upward. No—not the water. Something immense hidden beneath was rising. Yohan tensed. A whale? A giant squid? What kind of abomination this time?
But what emerged, shockingly, was a human face.
“...Huh?”
Caught completely off guard, Yohan let out a foolish sound. First, wet hair streamed out from the black water—what he’d thought was seaweed. Then a pale forehead, a straight nose. Crimson droplets slid down the strands of hair. A beautiful, neat face. In this Abyss where everything twisted and rotted, to see an unblemished visage—without Yohan’s purification—was utterly jarring.
And above all, the face was enormous, as large as the lake itself.
“Uh—uh?”
What? How could such a gigantic human face rise from the lake? It was so vast the enormous salt lake seemed like nothing but a puddle. Yohan was overwhelmed. And when the pale face opened its eyes—pitch-black, without a single speck of light—he finally recognized who it resembled.
“Lee Chanha...?”
He whispered in shock.
The vast, lightless pupils fixed on them, narrowing.
“Holy fuck.”
Seungryong and Yakrin muttered in unison—
and Yohan’s consciousness went black.
