Chapter 124

"Yeah."

"Ga-eul, use your ability to create the shortest distance from that surface to the rift."

In other words, instead of having to vertically fall through the crater and go a long way, they would make a hole in the side of the black mountain and pass through the hot passage as briefly as possible to reach the front of the rift.

"We'll have to fly inside, but as soon as the view is secured, Min-ki, you teleport us."

"...I understand what you mean."

It would be great if they could accurately teleport right in front of the rift, but even a slight mistake could make the destination point inside a lump of solidified lava. Instead, if they used his ability at the right time, they could significantly reduce the passage time.

"And then we break it once we reach the rift."

After the explanation, silence flowed.

Ga-eul's role was to pierce through the ultra-high temperature wall layered with hundreds of lava mutants, and Min-ki's was to move while carrying the maximum of 3 people he could transport in the narrow passage filled with steam. Even if they refused, saying it was reckless, Soram had nothing to say. He would somehow get to the front of the rift, but these three people here were not in a position to impose his thoughts under the pretext of orders like in the previous life, nor did they have that kind of relationship.

"..."

Ga-eul, who had finished thinking briefly, clenched her fingertips tightly.

"...It's simple. While I make the path, you guys recover as much as possible."

And she was the first to lift her feet off the ground.

"Wait a moment."

Rather, Soram strode over and stopped Ga-eul.

"Are you really going to do as I said? It's not even a sure method."

"I know I could die, but I also know that method is the best."

"..."

"Let go. I need to concentrate."

Ga-eul, who had shaken off his arm, began Soram's operation while examining the surroundings. Soram looked at her back with a somewhat dumbfounded feeling.

In the previous life, Ga-eul didn't like Soram very much. Soram and Ga-eul, who tried to recklessly move forward, often clashed, and when Soram created a situation where Ga-eul had no choice but to follow, she was mostly deployed with an expression full of anger. Even that, pushing away all her teammates and alone. It was an action that clearly showed distrust towards Soram.

He had given an order twice as unreasonable as back then, but Ga-eul had no complaints. Before he knew it, a purple afterimage had formed around Ga-eul's eyes. Ga-eul moved her steps and went a little further down the steep cliff.

...This life was indeed strange.

"It'll be the last chance."

Min-ki said in a low voice as he followed Ga-eul. Well. Soram answered while stepping on less solidified spots on the surface to avoid them.

"There will be more. Since it stopped after 42 hours, it'll resume activity and come again in two or three days."

"Just say it's the last."

If they failed this time, the only ones who could aim for the lull that came after would be the foreign hunters brought in with a huge sum of money. Because by then, all the Korean hunters capable of dealing with the Great Rift would be dead.

"Hey, all three of you stay there. I'm going down now."

A ridge that dropped off like a cliff appeared in front. Below the cliff, dark red lava was boiling along with seawater. Ga-eul, who had leaped down, walked down calmly, tapping the bottom with her bare feet.

"Phew..."

The sides of the black mountain entered her purple eyes.

Ga-eul's special ability, known as the "eyes that find weaknesses," was closer to intuition or combat sense, strictly speaking. She could gauge faster and more accurately than anyone else which point to hit with what intensity to achieve the desired result through an attack.

Usually, of course, the purpose of eliminating the enemy was the greatest, so she would find the point where the maximum impact would be delivered. However, now the purpose was different, so she had to be much more careful. Ga-eul's steps gradually headed downward. To pierce as close as possible to the rift buried at the bottom of the water, naturally, it had to be a position as close to the water surface as possible.

Ga-eul, who had descended to a precarious height where the dark red seawater was undulating just a few steps ahead, stood in front of a sunken spot.

Here it is.

Screech―

As soon as she placed both hands on the ground, her palms began to burn. Ga-eul gauged the intensity of the attack with one eye squinted.

It was true that it would be dangerous, and it was certain that she would be injured by the aftermath of the attack. However, Ga-eul swallowed one thing she had wanted to blurt out the moment Soram finished his explanation. It was that the roles of Ga-eul and Min-ki among the four were only up to entering the front of the rift.

Then, who would break the huge rift that had spewed out lava for 40 hours, which was the most important task?

Perhaps Jin Soram himself was thinking of breaking it while his whole body crumbled. Even if Han Tae-un helped, he would surely overdo it to take away his share.

Stupid bastard. Everyone else noticed it except him.

Ga-eul caught her breath. It seemed like it would hurt much more than she thought, but anyone among the three people who had approached behind her as she stopped would have made a similar resolution.

After finishing the measurement, when she took her hands off, they were already tattered with burns. If the surface exposed to the sea breeze and rain was like this, the inside filled with steam and sulfuric gas would be much hotter.

"What the hell were you going to do if I said I wouldn't do this operation?"

Soram shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I would have given up on the skin and gone in from the peak."

"...It's annoying that the guy who always talks nonsense is serious about such things."

Ga-eul frowned and pulled her neck and shoulders to loosen them.

"Hey, I'll try my best to stay conscious, but if I faint, just throw me towards that ridge and go. Don't miss the timing because of me."

"Faint? Do you think the aftermath on your arm will be that severe?"

"No. I have to hit this with my whole body. It's also more difficult to control the direction because it's hard, and I can't make a hole big enough for you to go down without touching the wall with just my fists."

"Then, even if you do it over multiple times with a weapon,"

"If you make a wrong crack, the seawater will rush right in. It's better to hit it directly by feeling."

"..."

That was something even Soram hadn't anticipated. Ga-eul patted her right arm and left waist with the back of her right hand.

"Don't worry. I can do it sufficiently."

Ga-eul glared at a certain point on the ground. A long purple afterimage lingered on her side profile like shattered sunlight.

Boom!!!!!

Her left torso, which had charged, collided with the black mountain. The surface was deeply dented, and a large pit was created where Ga-eul had been. Then, another roar rang out from inside.

Bang!!!!!

Ga-eul had made a second attack from the inside.

Crumble―

After the collapsing sound, smoke rose from inside.

Screech―!!!

It meant that the path Ga-eul had made was connected to the passage. Min-ki teleported inside first, and Soram and Tae-un followed. Min-ki, who had arrived first, supported Ga-eul's collapsing body.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, cough, I'm, ugh, still, conscious."

Ga-eul covered her mouth and nose with her hand, but blood dripped down from underneath. Even in the darkness, her side profile was tattered with burns. Min-ki let Ga-eul lean on him, and in the meantime, Soram and Tae-un arrived and placed their hands on him.

"Teleporting!"

Soon, the four of them disappeared from that spot.

As soon as they entered deep inside, steam struck them. Min-ki examined the surrounding shape and teleported again.

The path Ga-eul had pierced guided them to the deep layers and then merged with the straight path the lava had originally passed through. The four of them now began to fall vertically. Just moving made their whole bodies hot as if engulfed by lava. It felt like the heat was invading the tubes inside the body connected to the mouth, nose, and ears, burning them.

The narrow space was even more agonizing than expected. A chill came belatedly that if they had taken the path Ga-eul hadn't shortened, they might have arrived in a near-death state. As he descended, Soram glanced up. Like a frog in a well, there was a round sky pierced above his head. The sky was covered with dark clouds, making it difficult to gauge the height.

At that moment, a small light flickered from above where Soram was looking. The light gradually increased in size and approached the four of them.

"...Damn it."

It wasn't a bright white light, but the red conflagration that had tormented them so relentlessly.

***

The lava scattered on the sea and land suddenly raised its crumbled body and floundered towards the black mountain at an abnormally fast speed.

Screech―

A chill spread over them. Director Park Jae-seon hardened the lava mutants to stop their movement, and in that gap, other hunters destroyed the cores.

The kids seemed to have approached the deep layers where the rift was located. The movement of the mutants outside was typical of when the rift was threatened.

Clang! Clang!

Swords were desperately thrust towards their cores as they quickly retreated. A few hours ago, the hunters had fought with the purpose of not letting the lava into this land, but now they chased the burning ground with the determination not to send a single one to the black mountain.

Crunch―!!!

The lava mutant that was about to cross into the sea was suddenly blocked by the ground that had risen from there. The abruptly risen wall spread wide to the left and right. As if to block the lava, just like when the battle first began.

Behind the battlefield, Branch Director Shin Gi-hyeon, who had his hand on the ground and was roughly catching his breath, was there.

"You finally came back."

"How can I lie down when only my young son has gone to his death?"

Everyone was equally anxious about that fact. They hoped for safety without any incident, but the black mountain, which had become as silent as death after two roars, was equally ominous.

Boom!!!

At that moment, a fierce vibration burst out from the submerged part of the black mountain.

Swish―

The single paper airplane remaining in Soram's possession soared upward. The melted and deformed paper airplane pierced the core of the last enemy and fulfilled its lifespan.

"Jin Soram, get your head out of the way!"

Seeing Soram's attack, the others also immediately grasped the situation. As soon as Soram moved his upper body, a thick whip stretched straight upward.

Clang! Clang!

The whip blocked the falling lava fragments and wrapped around the protruding part of the wall, lifting Ga-eul, who was holding the handle, into the air.

Min-ki, who had disappeared from that spot leaving the three people behind, appeared in front of the lava above. After eliminating the mutant, he descended back to the height where the group was and stood on the uneven surface.

"The less solidified lava above has melted down. It must have sensed the danger."

"Then, for now, we'll have to eliminate them as they appear while going down..."

"Hey! Below! It's coming from below too!"

A crimson light cast down below the feet of Soram and Tae-un, who were floating in the air at the very bottom. If the lava that had come down from above was a dark red color just before solidifying, this one was a vivid crimson color that had just been created.

Hot heat struck in front of their faces. A flying spark left a scratch on Tae-un's cheek. A lump of flames stretched out its arms.

"...!"

It was a reflexive action. Soram reached out his hand first towards the approaching lava. Blue mist gathered in front of that hand and soon created a blue wall. As if it contained the will of the caster, the wall was erected closer to Tae-un's direction.

Tae-un had called this technique the winter sea wave. The calm sea on a day when the sunlight was not strong. A white aura approached and overlapped on top of it. It filled the gaps between the incomplete blue foothold and widened the range to the front of Soram's body.

"Ugh...!"

The defensive wall, which had become the color the surrounding sea originally held, pushed back the hot lava.