Free Web NovelWhile running, Yohan shoved as much purification as he could into Hyunmook. All the while, monstrous roars echoed from every direction, pounding and cracking against the ice walls. Following the ice corridor, they had already managed to cover half the distance to their target in an instant. But the real problem began now. Before they could break through entirely, the ice walls collapsed with a crash. Monsters of unidentifiable origin poured into the corridor with shrieks.
“Yohan!”
Lee Chanha swiftly cast a shield shimmering with blue energy, and Yohan layered a globe of light over it. In that instant, Hyunmook, having barely regained his senses, gave Yohan a fleeting glance before hurling himself beyond the barrier. frёeωebɳovel.com
Kwarreung! Kwaaang! A terrifying storm of lightning surged forward indiscriminately. The monsters charging headlong in front of them convulsed and burned black. Those still clinging to life were finished off by Seungryong’s poison. Sparks flared occasionally, but Chanha’s barrier absorbed them, preventing harm. When Joo Hoyoung froze the melting monsters, those rushing in slipped and tumbled. Seo Yakrin knocked them away with blasts of telekinesis. Every second was a fierce, desperate battle.
Inside the globe of light Yohan maintained, everyone’s contamination advanced slowly. But the overwhelming flood of monsters remained the true problem. At this rate, Yohan’s purification would run dry before they reached the core. Watching the relentless horde and glancing at Yohan, Hyunmook gave the next order.
“Seo Yakrin.” freewebnσvel.cøm
“Got it!”
Yakrin leapt outside Yohan’s purification range. A merciless storm of telekinesis swept through the monsters. Contamination surged rapidly; Yakrin’s eyes glowed red. Crack, crunch...! His body swelled, and from his back burst wings, as if tearing open.
“AaaAAAHHH! You sons of bitches! Die, all of you!”
His furious roar shook the cavern. With multiple legs and wings sprouting, Yakrin took flight, lashing out in every direction with storming waves of dark golden telekinesis. Half-mad with rage, he missed spots that the other teammates covered. Now and then, parts of Seungryong’s or Hoyoung’s bodies were shredded by the savage telekinesis, but their regeneration healed them. Yakrin’s attacks slammed into Chanha’s barrier, but it held firm.
With Yohan safe beneath Chanha’s protection, the others unleashed their power freely. Their firepower far surpassed the last attempt.
Yet still—the sheer, endless numbers of monsters were the problem.
Overcome by contamination, Yakrin sprouted more wings and began striking at allies. Hyunmook blasted his wings with lightning without hesitation. Within Yohan’s purification range, Yakrin regained enough clarity to jump back outside, only to repeat the cycle three times.
Lightning rained down like countless spears, waves of deadly poison rolled forward, icy chills slowed the monsters, and ruthless telekinesis obliterated the area. Even so, the closer they drew to the core, the more maddened swarms poured down on them. Fetid breath, acidic fluids, ear-splitting howls—everywhere was chaos.
The monsters’ attacks broke through even to the barrier, striking more often now. Even with regeneration, Hyunmook and the others’ bodies grew more ragged. Each time blood and flesh of unknown origin splattered, Yohan’s hands trembled.
So this is why Hyunmook said the chances of failure were high. Yohan finally understood, raising his sweat-drenched face. The veil of light shone even more brilliantly. Through the nightmare shapes pouring like rain, crashing like waves, the place where the core lay became visible.
“Leader! Shouldn’t we... retreat?”
Hoyoung shouted, straining as he blocked several monsters with pillars of ice jutting from the ground. The brine from the salt lake had long since run out; what he froze now was monster ichor—or his teammates’ blood. Crimson ice shattered immediately, scattering fragments everywhere.
“Not yet.”
At Hyunmook’s words, no one complained; they pressed forward silently. Yakrin roared, trampling monsters beneath his giant body. Yet more creatures swarmed, biting and piercing him, climbing like ants. Lightning exploded across him. Yakrin convulsed in pain but pushed onward in fury, feathers and blood scattering grotesquely.
Seungryong spread choking clouds of poisonous mist to block the horde. Outside the purification zone, Hyunmook’s skin blistered red before regenerating; the same happened to Hoyoung. Watching his comrades suffer endlessly, Yohan grit his teeth.
Still, they advanced. Whenever monsters blackened the barrier, Yohan’s light flickered, revealing and hiding the Abyss’s heart in turn. Poison and fluids seeping into the sphere vanished without trace. His light still held.
Just a little further...
“Yohan.”
Hyunmook called to him. Amid the deafening howls, his voice was unnaturally clear. Yohan turned his desperate gaze from the core to him. He didn’t even know what expression he wore—only that he was utterly desperate. Though Yohan said nothing, Hyunmook spoke as if reading his thoughts.
“Yes.”
Yohan gasped, eyes wide, sweat stinging as it ran into them.
“Let’s keep going a little more. ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) We still have strength left.”
Then Hyunmook turned his back. The shadow beneath him rippled outward. It brushed the trembling teammates before devouring monsters one by one. The frenzied horde faltered, if only for a moment.
A carpet of shadow stretched ahead. No, it was more like a sheer cliff of darkness. Clenching his teeth, Yohan overcame his fear and leapt onto it. Chanha, panting harshly, followed close behind. Their steps trembled atop the shadow path.
Yohan sprinted with all his strength past Hyunmook, Seungryong, Hoyoung, and Yakrin. The monsters now seemed intent only on smothering the core itself, writhing to shield it with their bodies. Hyunmook’s shadow slithered and licked like a starving tongue, consuming them with grotesque eagerness.
“Yohan, look only at the target.”
Chanha’s voice came from behind, pushing Yohan forward. His body exuded dark blue energy, causing the monsters to hesitate. A dreadful hallucination spread over them, spilling even into Yohan’s senses.
A colossal monster, towering so high its head was unseen, suddenly appeared, stomping toward them. Though Yohan knew it was an illusion, its murderous presence felt real. From another side, rivers of molten lava poured down. Elsewhere, the core appeared to shift locations. Monsters howled and surged after phantoms. The path opened. Following Chanha’s words, Yohan fixed only on the true core’s direction.
Behind him, he felt Chanha’s body twist and collapse to the ground, felt him clutch Yohan’s ankle with desperate strength. Using illusions had sent his contamination skyrocketing in seconds. Yet his barrier still clung to Yohan with steadfast resolve.
Just a little more, just a little...!
We’ve come this far—I can’t go back without doing anything!
Yohan stared at the monsters’ grotesque wax-like bodies clinging to the core. Their living wall burned, melted, froze, shattered, and scattered under his teammates’ attacks. Yohan did not blink.
There—somewhere—there must be a gap...
Behind him, his teammates screamed one by one, unable to endure further. Yohan clenched his teeth and prayed: Please, please, please...!
And then—at last—he saw it. A fissure among the writhing mass. The moment he recognized it, he thrust the white-hot tip of his spear into the gap.
“......!”
Paaaahk! A brilliant radiance burst in all directions. Tar-like filth poured down, bubbling and melting at Yohan’s feet. He had pierced it! Found it! Right here! Yohan poured his purification power into the breach, refusing to let it go.
