Chapter 116

The hunters headed to their assigned positions. Soram and Tae-un also stood on the rooftop of a commercial building not far from the bright red sea.

Branch Director Shin Gi-hyeon was positioned closest to the wriggling, approaching lava waves. The moment the lava finally occupied the sandy beach and set foot on the road, he knelt on one knee on the ground.

"You thought only you could shake the earth?"

His two hands struck the ground with a loud bang!

Rumble―…

From where his palms dug in, the asphalt cracked, and the ground rose up like lush grass. The branch director's ability spread to the sides, creating a chest-high wall behind the sandy beach.

Wriggle, squelch, squelch.

The lava that had crossed the sandy beach crashed into the wall like a wave. The blocked lava stretched its hands upward as if trying to climb the wall. Seeing the crimson viscous fluid undulating beyond the wall, the hunters at the front tightened their grip on their weapons.

Grrrk, grk, grrk.

The lava increased in volume by stickily merging with the newly surging lava from the sea and bubbled.

Rumble, grrrk, brrk, sizzle―!!!

"Gasp, it rose up... Branch Director-nim!"

Three strands of lava raised their heads above the wall. The mutants that brought their gaping mouths towards Branch Director Shin Gi-hyeon were closer to human form than they had appeared on the screen. The moment they approached right in front of them…

Swish―

Min-ki, who appeared in the air above the upper part of the wall, drew an arc with his sword. The waists of all three lava mutants were cleanly cut off. Min-ki came to the branch director's side, placed his hand on his shoulder, and teleported three steps back.

Although the sword had clearly entered to the same depth, the reactions of the three lava mutants were different. One simply had its form blurred as if water had been splashed on it and merged back with the lava behind the wall. Another disappeared into black smoke like a typical mutant, and the remaining one had only its severed section come over the wall and wriggled inside.

The branch director, who approached it, stabbed his sword into the severed lava lump.

Crack.

As soon as the stabbed sword tilted, the wriggling mutant turned into black smoke and disappeared. The branch director's eyes glinted.

"There's a black core inside the lava that rises from the ground! Break it!"

'Yeah. You should have noticed that much right away.'

The information was also conveyed to other hunters, including Soram, through the in-ear communication device.

For the mutants of a flood dungeon to move in a certain form rather than a natural flow, they needed a core. If they hadn't noticed it early on, he was going to go down and tell them, but there was no need for that.

The branch director's wall and the lava were still in a tense confrontation. The lava continued to rush in from the sea, unaffected even by a part of it turning into smoke. The wall that Branch Director Shin Gi-hyeon had reinforced by pulling the ground from behind blocked the surging lava more firmly. The lava that had fully accumulated in front of the wall also gradually rose in height as it raised its body.

Grrrk, grrrrk.

Sizzle―!

The lava that appeared this time stretched out its arms forward with its mouth wide open like zombies in movies. Due to the undulating lava behind it, the barrier gradually turned bright red from the heat.

"The heat is enough to melt the wall. Don't overdo it and dig in when attacking. Even a graze will cause a serious injury."

With that final transmission, lava began to seep in through the cracks at the top of the wall.

Crrrack―

The lava that had surged upward simultaneously splashed onto the top of the wall. Crimson lava flowed down the inside of the wall.

"It's too much."

Instead of forcibly maintaining his stamina-consuming special ability and enduring, the branch director prepared for full-scale combat.

Shing―

Behind Soram's back, Tae-un also drew his sword. When he turned around at the sound, their eyes met. Tae-un approached and lightly grasped Soram's elbow. Even though the heat-blocking fabric of the clothes shouldn't allow body temperature to be felt, it seemed like a familiar warmth touched him.

"It's scary enough with just the situation, can't you let go of your anger?"

Soram didn't even snort. He had ignored the words telling him to run away, so what the hell was he scared of?

"I can't let it go."

"Then be angry later."

"Later when?"

"After we finish this safely."

Ha, this shows that it's your first time experiencing the Great Rift. You died here twice, you bastard. And I…

During the decades that had accumulated through regression, Tae-un remained the same, erasing everything and staying as his 26-year-old self. Suddenly, an even greater fear than Tae-un's words of being scared gripped Soram's throat.

You can't. The you standing in front of me right now can't disappear.

Soram bit his lips a few times and then spat out a very awkward word.

"'When it's over'... I'll pluck out all your hair."

"...Okay."

"Even if you're dragged to the guard floor for unauthorized absence, I won't visit you, and while you're locked up, I'll set your closet on fire."

"Why the closet?"

"Seeing your cheeky clothes pisses me off more. You should only wear suits on weekends and when sleeping."

"..."

The verbal abuse was so cruel that he would rather be punched. Moreover, the result wasn't even resolving his anger but merely postponing it.

Boom―

A loud sound came from the position where the front team had met the lava. It was the sound of streetlights and utility poles, whose lower parts had melted due to the inflowing lava, collapsing. The trembling of the ground became a signal flare, followed by explosions and impact sounds of various sizes.

The battle was fierce from the start. The hunters, who had learned how to deal with the lava, confronted it and attacked the mutants the moment the core was visible. However, if the timing was even slightly off, the lava that had its form shattered would immediately wrap around their bodies.

However, the hunters who had voluntarily taken the front line didn't care about the increasing injuries, and the information they learned while fighting at the forefront was quickly conveyed to the rear teams through the in-ear communication devices.

Soram, who had been watching them, also slowly drew the sword at his waist. The last thing he checked before jumping into the battlefield was the time. The numbers that appeared on the pager pointed to 4:00 p.m.

"Be careful of overload. It's not a battle to break through and pass like other dungeons, but to endure as long as possible. We'll be facing the lava for at least 10 hours."

"Okay."

Soram turned to look at Tae-un. Tae-un was already looking at him.

"Han Tae-un, never try to save me. I'm stronger than you."

His body tilted over the railing.

"And don't die."

***

5:00 p.m., 5 hours after the dungeon occurrence.

Grrrk, grk, grk―…

"What a brutal sound it makes!"

The head of a lava mutant with its mouth wide open was pierced with a fierce shout. The mutant, whose core was shattered, turned to dust, and the lava flowing around it temporarily retreated like a receding wave.

As evening approached, the sky covered in gray ash gradually darkened. The smell of sulfur began to boil from various places on the land invaded by lava. The hunters had cut down hundreds of lava mutants for about an hour. However, the black mountain beyond the sea spewed out lava at an unchanged speed as if it didn't matter. When the lava mutants that had raised their bodies disappeared, the newly surging lava from behind filled their place.

"Over there, move back!"

A few strands of lava infiltrated the living area by going around the buildings in a direction the front team couldn't see. They were the responsibility of the team positioned right behind. The long-range attackers who had been watching outside the windows on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the buildings attacked the cores, and the hunters with faster mobility than the flowing lava broke the asphalt to block the flow.

The lava that was blocked and accumulated wriggled and fiercely surged upward.

"N-now! Now!"

"Yes."

Upon receiving the signal, Tae-un, who had been floating in the air, fell down and cut out the core embedded in the mutant's neck.

Sizzle―!

Before the mutant turned into black dust, a hot blast of air hit him. For now, it felt hot, but if it accumulated, it would take a toll on the skin and respiratory system.

It was becoming more and more apparent that the Great Rift was on a different level from other dungeons ranked by numbers. Unlike other dungeons where they could at least sense the presence of enemies, they had no choice but to be more tense because they didn't know when or where the lava would surge up.

The surrounding temperature where the lava had invaded became so stuffy that it didn't feel like late November. And instead of the cool sea breeze that originally blew in this place, hot gusts of wind circulated everywhere.

Grrrk, grk, grrrrk―

The lava that had surged in following it climbed up the walls of the buildings on both sides. Tae-un tightly gripped the handle of his sword again. There was no room for other thoughts even for a moment. The sword wrapped in a white aura first cut down the lava mutant on the left. Then, cutting down another mutant that had jumped over his head, he retreated.

Thud, thud, thud.

At that moment, footsteps approached the place where Tae-un was standing. The vigorous running steps stopped in front of the alley where Tae-un stood.

"..."

Soram glared at Tae-un with a deeply furrowed brow, then turned his body with a hmph and went back. As a bonus, he dealt with the mutant that had been trying to raise its body from the ground by throwing a paper airplane.

"Hmph."

"..."

Tae-un followed Soram's back with his eyes. The tip of the paper airplane, which had turned bright red while passing through the lava, was already dripping with molten metal. Although the sword was in a slightly better condition, he couldn't guarantee how long the weapons would last.

"Aaaah!"

At that moment, a human scream was heard from not far away. When he ran in the direction of the sound, he saw a hunter sitting down with lava spilled on his arm. Unlike the arm protected by the specially made clothes, the back of the exposed hand was charred black. Tae-un grabbed the back of the hunter's neck and pushed him to the rear.

"Haa, ah, th-thank, you..."

The leg wrapped in a white aura kicked the ground and leaped forward, cutting down the mutant that had injured the hunter. At the same time, footsteps ran from the alley next to him.

"What? Why did you scream?"

"It wasn't me, but another person was injured,"

"I know it wasn't you."

Soram scanned Tae-un from the top of his head to the tips of his toes with a furrowed gaze. His protruding lips seemed to convey the meaning, 'You're unharmed.' This time too, Soram turned his body after finishing his own business. Tae-un flew through the air and caught up with him.

"Jin Soram."

"What?"

"Even if you don't keep your promise, I will. I absolutely won't get seriously hurt, so you just focus on yourself."

"When did I ever not keep a promise...?"

Ah. Soram, who had recalled something, closed his mouth and raised the corners of his eyes.

"I can't die until I hear your answer, it's too unfair."

Tae-un pushed up Soram's furrowed brow, making his eyebrows into a figure eight. The gaze below it wavered for a moment, then he slapped the hand away.

"Get it together. This isn't the time for this kind of thing."

"Right. They're swarming in over there again."

"..."

The road he turned to look at upon hearing his words had turned into a crimson river.

From the coastal road to the barricade, most of the paths were uphill. The lava, unable to flow against the slope, continued to undulate and stretch out its arms upward like zombies.

Squelch, grrrk... clack, grrrrk…

Then, sensing the presence of the two people standing in front, it swelled its body upward.

Sizzle―

The tip of Tae-un's sword, which had been thrust out, pierced the core. It scattered into black smoke, and the other mutant that immediately appeared behind it was instantly eliminated by Soram, who flew with a blue mist. As if they had coordinated, the two simultaneously flew towards the direction where the lava was swarming.

The blue mist completely enveloped Soram's sword. He kicked the air and moved forward, swinging his sword widely. Whenever he approached to attack the lava, no matter how quickly he dodged, he inevitably took damage from the heat and some of the splashing liquid. Both Tae-un and Soram already had blackened backs of their sword-wielding hands.

'It's only been about an hour since the battle started.'

If the dungeon was going to open at the worst timing anyway, it would have been better if it had opened the day before. The ability and recovery power that had been strangely well-utilized yesterday were especially desperately needed now.