Chapter 113

2-4. False Hope

Outside the drawn curtain, a clear cement-colored crack was drawn vertically. In the middle of the violently surging sea, a column of smoke rose. As if announcing the end of peace and the beginning of disaster, the blue sky was covered with black mushroom clouds.

Boom, boom!

With consecutive explosions, lightning flashed as dust collided in the thickening smoke.

"Aaaah!"

The wave that had grown in height due to the aftermath of the explosion engulfed the onlookers beyond the breakwater. They were drenched and fled in a panic.

Rumble―…

The window frame that Tae-un had his hand on trembled. The sound of the earth rumbling began not only from the direction of the sea but also from all around the guest house.

Thud―

"Han Tae-un!"

After an earthquake that shook the entire house, the old wardrobe tilted in the direction where Tae-un was standing. Although he had a surprised expression, he easily supported the wardrobe with one hand.

"I'm, fine...!"

Bang! Bang!!

Before he could set it back up, ear-splitting thunder rang out. It didn't take long to realize that the source of the loud noise was the sound of the ground splitting. Along with the roar, the crack that occurred on the road in front of the beach stretched its branches and reached the yard of the guest house. The vibration inside the house intensified.

Thud, thud, creak, creak―

"Han Tae-un, come this way!"

Kwang―!!!

Before the aftermath of the earthquake subsided, the outside of the window exploded in bright red, and the glass window shattered due to the impact. As soon as Tae-un hurriedly wrapped Soram's head with his sleeve, suffocating heat and sand carried by it blew in through the broken window.

"Cough, cough, heuk."

Outside, which he could barely see again, the column of black smoke had thickened, and crimson waves were surging on the surface of the sea.

"The sea is..."

Tae-un's eyes wavered, unable to fully comprehend the sudden unreal situation. Soram, who had gotten up, snatched the car key hanging on the wall and tightly grasped it in Tae-un's hand.

"Go back to Seoul right now. Take the car to the station and call the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters or whatever about the emergency situation and take the next train no matter what."

"Soram-ah, that doesn't seem like a simple explosion but a dungeon."

"Whatever! You shouldn't be here right now! No, take the car. I'll fly you to the station. Right now!"

He was at least prepared for the Great Rift. Although he was afraid, he would never fall into a state of panic no matter when it occurred. However, the Great Rift opening in a situation where Han Tae-un was here was something he was not prepared for at all.

"You're telling me to go even after seeing that disaster? Then what about you?"

"I belong to the Busan Branch now. You belong to the headquarters."

"In this situation, the headquarters will request support. So..."

"Even if they send a request, you won't be called! Why would they send you when the Flight Team leader is here!"

Upon hearing the shout, Tae-un stopped talking. And with a sense of strange discomfort in his words, he examined Soram in shock. But Soram had no room to pay attention to that.

Boom boom boom―!

The roar and the sound of collapse rang out again. This time, Soram pulled Tae-un's arm.

Thud!

The fluorescent light cover fell to the floor and shattered. The ceiling dropped powder as if it would collapse at any moment. Tae-un pulled the grabbed arm forward.

"Let's go out for now."

Soram held him with one hand and grabbed the carrier placed in front of the door with the other, leaving the room.

Standing in the cracked yard, the devastation that had befallen the seaside village was more clearly visible. The consecutive explosions and the waves that engulfed the stores in front of the sea following them, the column of smoke that had grown even larger, and the strange red light that began to shine on the waves.

"Ugh..."

Faced with that scene, Soram hurriedly covered his mouth with his palm. The hand that touched his lips was already wet with cold sweat. The accumulated fear had already begun to grip his heart. The sound of waves, which had been peaceful for a while with Tae-un, returned as an even greater nightmare than before.

'...Why is it closer?'

In the previous life, the distance between the land and the epicenter was at least 200m. But now it seemed to be less than 100m. That meant the time for the lava to rush into the land would also be brought forward.

"Han Tae-un, quickly, quickly go back to Seoul..."

At that moment, a figure appeared in front of the two with a swoosh of wind.

"Jin Soram! Why aren't you coming to work or answering calls!"

It was Min-ki who had come to find Soram directly, who didn't show up even in an emergency. Min-ki, who had come with a furious expression, saw the other person besides Soram and frowned, saying, "Huh?"

"Chief Han-nim? Why are you here...?"

Before hearing an answer, Min-ki shook his head, saying, "Ah, no."

"It's rather fortunate... Because in an emergency, the power of each 1st-grade hunter is desperately needed."

"No. Han Tae-un is going back now. He came down yesterday to see me and got caught up in this, so I have to send him back to the headquarters right away."

"If it were normal, I would have naturally told him to do so. But that measurement is in progress, but it's probably the 3rd Great..."

Boom boom boom―

Kwaddeung, kaddeudeuk!

The ground shook again, and a few houses finally collapsed, unable to withstand the impact. The red light on the surface of the water had somehow grown even larger. Min-ki, who saw the collapsing village, bit his lips until they turned white.

"Let's go for now. Go to the branch and talk."

"I told you I'm sending him from here."

"...Then what are you going to do, Chief Han-nim,"

Beep, beep―!!!

What interrupted the conversation was Tae-un's pager, which had received a signal from the headquarters.

"This is Team 7 Chief Han Tae-un."

―Are you crazy?!

A rough voice and a fierce shout burst out. The owner of the voice was the deputy director. It was natural since Tae-un had left without permission, was absent without notice, and was not answering calls in this emergency situation. After a few rough words, Tae-un, who had been listening silently, answered.

"Yes. I'm in Busan. I'm sorry."

―...Ha…

The deputy director's sigh was deep. It was accompanied by a lament that he should have been careful of the proverb 'those who are near ink get stained black' long ago.

―So what are you going to do now? Choose whether you'll return to the headquarters or stay there in the form of volunteering.

At that moment, Soram tightly grabbed Tae-un's arm, which he had placed in front of him to respond to the call. The pale face that approached Tae-un said fiercely, biting his teeth.

"Answer that you're going back right now."

"..."

Seo Min-ki also couldn't say anything, only frowning anxiously, knowing that he couldn't forcibly hold him back.

"Even if you come, come later, I'm telling you to come later! Deputy Director-nim, take this guy! We don't need him!"

―Shut up, you bastard. I didn't ask you!

"Han Tae-un said he's going. He just answered. So take him! You can send a helicopter or whatever. Please."

"Jin Soram."

"Go!"

"..."

There was a reason why Soram had been unable to control his unusually loud voice. It was because of Tae-un's expression. The gaze that had already reached a conclusion, and that conclusion was the opposite of Soram's intention.

"I'm sorry."

"You..."

"I will join the Busan Branch."

"..."

...There was no way he didn't know. That Han Tae-un would definitely act like this in a situation where a dungeon had opened right in front of his eyes.

Soram threw away Tae-un's arm that he had been holding. It was Han Tae-un's natural behavior, but why? It felt like he had been betrayed.

The price of letting his guard down for a day was too miserable. What was the point of that warmth melting and eventually making things turn out like this? Soram unleashed that despair on himself and Tae-un.

***

The 3rd Great Rift that had come to the Republic of Korea was a flood dungeon, and the form of the mutants spewed out by the dungeon was confirmed to be lava.

The rift occurred deep below the surface of the water, reaching far down into the ground even after touching the bottom. The lava that spewed upward from there was similar to an underwater volcano.

Lava was constantly generated from the black open crevice. At first, the sea cooled the lava. The cooled lava hardened on the ground where the rift was buried, creating a black hill, and the lava that continuously spewed out at the same speed covered the top of the hill, repeating the cooling process and gradually growing.

In the meantime, the seawater around the epicenter began to boil, surpassing the ignition point. Fish that had been swimming nearby and suffered misfortune died, unable to withstand the heat, and their carcasses soon melted at high temperatures.

As time passed, the hill became a mountain, and the moment the height of the black mountain surpassed the height of the sea, the situation changed drastically as a black peak emerged above the surface.

Kwaaang―!!!

The destructive power of the lava, which had been suppressed by the cold and water pressure in the water, and the lava that exploded when it met the oxygen in the air, was on a different level.

The black mountain instantly raised its body above the surface as high as a person's height. It was large enough to be clearly visible to the eyes of the general public standing on the shore. The mountain was still growing, and the risen peak was constantly spewing lava without rest. The crimson lava began to approach the land, riding on the heated seawater.

"Also, the lava... is not just flowing but moving on its own."

The video filmed from the air appeared on the screen. As explained, the lava that came out of the crater rose upward as if attracted by a magnet, and sometimes sank deep into the water. It even sensed the approaching filming equipment and charged at it. It was an impossible movement with a natural flow. It meant that it had at least an aggressive nature.

In the screen, a bird mistook the warm sea for land and flew in low. And before it could sense anything strange, a lump of lava that had jumped up swallowed the bird. When the lava fell back into the sea with a thud, only the melted bone powder remained as a trace of the bird. The spines of those watching the screen turned cold.