Chapter 125

"...Ah."

Min-ki had seen the technique once on the battlefield. Whether it was the struggle of the rift that had stopped its activity, the lava collided with the wall and fell without being able to exert much force. However, it didn't stop there, and the flames flew a few more times and hit the blue wall. It was like the last soldier squeezing out his strength and shooting arrows tick, tick. Of course, it was only weaker compared to when the dungeon was active, but if hit directly, it would be enough to cause severe burns.

Grrrk, creak...!

In the meantime, another collapsing sound came from above. The gazes of the two people below and the two people above urgently met.

"You two go down while using that technique!"

"Seo Min-ki, go outside with Kim Ga-eul!"

Shouts erupted simultaneously, and the four of them confirmed that their thoughts were in agreement. Ga-eul retracted her whip, took an attacking stance, and shouted.

"Both of you come back alive!"

"You too!"

Soram and Tae-un descended while maintaining the defensive wall, and Min-ki grabbed Ga-eul's arm and moved upward.

Ga-eul jumped up while stepping on the side walls at a certain height. A purple afterimage lingered in Ga-eul's eyes as she looked upward.

"Seo Min-ki."

"Yeah."

"Stop exactly at that protruding spot."

"Got it."

After Min-ki and Ga-eul disappeared from that spot, they appeared at the height Ga-eul had mentioned. Ga-eul struck the wall with her whip, putting all her strength into it.

Boom!!!

"Ugh...!"

Min-ki supported her body that was pushed back by the recoil and hit his back against the wall instead. Cracks began to form at the location Ga-eul had struck, making a creaking sound.

Crack!!!

With the sound of splitting, the wall there disappeared as if collapsing backward. And the light from outside cast upon the two people who had been in the darkness for a long time.

Following Ga-eul's instructions, Min-ki, who had just ascended, finally grasped their location. The place where the two of them were standing was near the peak, and Ga-eul had shattered the less melted wall at the upper end where the mutants were melting down, dropping it into the sea as a whole.

"Haa, ha..."

The sea breeze brushed past their cheeks. Surprisingly, the air that had been suffocating when they first arrived on the black island felt refreshing. That's how hot it was inside.

Ga-eul kicked the wall first and went outside, and Min-ki moved sideways. Under the light, the two of them had changed a lot in appearance since they had last faced each other not long ago.

"Kim Ga-eul, I couldn't tell because it was dark, but it looks like you'll need about a year of treatment."

"You need to go to a mortician, not a doctor, to make a coffin for that face of yours."

In front of the two people who were catching their breath without even hiding their exhausted expressions, the lava mutants that had crawled up from the Busan side sea wriggled. Min-ki firmly aimed his sword, and Ga-eul her whip.

"Not a single one goes down here."

***

As the two people capable of flight began to pick up speed in earnest, they quickly moved away from Ga-eul and Min-ki. Now, even the sound of battle that had been heard from above was no longer audible at all.

The white and blue wall was still draped below the feet of the two, blocking the lava that occasionally ambushed them. And Soram belatedly discovered the arms that had wrapped around his back and head.

"Han Tae-un. Since when have you been doing this?"

"Ah, I was startled when the lava first came up."

"..."

"..."

Far from letting go, Tae-un slightly pulled Soram's body closer to him. Because of that, he didn't know that Soram was snorting like an angry beast inside his arms.

"Hey, you bear cub!"

Soram abruptly rose up from within his arms. Immediately after that, a scream burst out from the mouth of Tae-un, who maintained composure in any situation. Soram's hands had grabbed his short hair.

"Why, why are you doing this all of a sudden?"

"I told you! I told you not to save me! How many times did I say it!"

"It wasn't on purpose, it was a reflex..."

"I hate that even more! I'm! Stronger! I am!"

"No, ugh...! Wait, wait a minute. Let go. I'll explain!"

"Hmph..."

Soram loosened his grip on his hands as if telling him to speak. Tae-un brought out his debating skills that had earned him good grades as an undergraduate student.

"Your skills may be better, but it's true that I'm sturdier. Since, my side has a larger area, if I wrap around you, I can end it with only me getting hurt... Ow!"

"I said I hate that!"

Soram further reduced Tae-un's abundant hair. He wanted to throw punches if he could, but it was a shame that this was the only unharmed spot.

Even after being released after a long and desperate venting, Soram's face twitched with dissatisfaction. Tae-un sighed deeply while rubbing his aching scalp.

"Do you hate it that much?"

"Yes!"

"...Okay. Then I'll be careful and won't do it."

"Never, ever do it. Even if it seems like I might get hurt."

"..."

"You're not answering?"

"Ah, okay."

After hearing the desired answer with an expression that threatened to grab his hair again, Soram looked around at the still-descending surroundings.

"Han Tae-un."

"What now?"

"It's a bit strange here."

"...What is?"

"I thought it got cooler because we came down quickly, but it seems like the heat has completely disappeared."

At some point, the lava attacks that had been intermittently continuing also disappeared. He didn't know how far down they had come, but the surroundings were no longer hot. Indeed, in the initial temperature that seared the skin, they wouldn't have been able to struggle while pulling and getting their hair pulled.

The wall below their feet scattered into powder, following the gestures of the two people. Now, a huge rift with its mouth wide open appeared on the bottom, whose outline was vaguely revealed. The pitch-black gap that didn't reflect a single point of light brought a sense of discomfort.

The vertical length of the rift was unknown as it stretched wide to the left and right, and the horizontal width seemed to be about the height of an adult man, even when roughly estimated by eye. Soram stretched his head out and examined the bottom.

"There seems to be space next to it, so let's land there."

"Okay."

As they got closer to the bottom, the black area reflected in their eyes gradually widened. A silent determination flowed between them instead of words for a moment. The handle, where bloodstains had hardened in the shape of a palm, was gripped tightly once again.

"Jin Soram, what do you want to do the most if you complete this task safely?"

It was a question that seemed to be the last conversation before touching the ground. Soram looked at Tae-un, then lowered his gaze blankly to the bottom again before answering.

"I want to go back to the room next to yours..."

"Yeah."

"I want to go to Ayoung's graduation ceremony together with everyone."

The small voice was clear, as if he had held the words for a very long time. And it was excessively modest for a reward he wanted to receive after saving the world. Tae-un felt like he now understood a little bit of what Soram feared the most, who didn't care if his own body was injured or broken.

Tap.

A chill was felt in the space where they landed. There was even a cold wind circling. Even though they were standing close to the wall, there was a branch extended from the rift just a couple of steps ahead of them. The rift, which had grown huge while spewing out lava for dozens of hours, looked threatening even when it had stopped its activity.

One end of the elongated rift was blocked like the rift they had seen. However, on the opposite side, the narrowed rift continued long like a river.

And in the direction the rift extended, a large cave was drilled.

"...That's definitely a bit strange."

"..."

It wasn't a space that could naturally be created by the eruption of lava. Soram and Tae-un moved their steps in that direction.

The closer they got, the deeper the questions became. As if only this place had been avoided by the lava, the floor was made of fine sand and there were no traces of melting from the heat. The direction from which the cold wind was blowing was also from inside.

"This might be a far-fetched idea."

Tae-un opened his mouth while examining the pitch-black interior.

"It's as if the rift is trying to protect what's inside."

A secretly hidden space. Flames erupt in front of it, but the heat never reaches the hidden space. The wind also blew in the direction of pushing out the heat that would be emitted from the rift.

"Shall we go in?"

Soram spoke first. Even if he hadn't said that, it was right to go. Because they were in a situation where they had a part of the rift's true nature, about which information was extremely lacking, right in front of their eyes.

As they walked a little further, their feet sank into the sand. The sand that rose to the soles of their feet was cold.

The inside was strangely quiet except for the sound of the wind. Only the crunching sound of the two people's feet stepping on the sand echoed in the quiet space.

"If the Great Rift is trying to protect it, is it the cause of the rift's creation after all?"

"Even if it's not that comprehensive... At least we might be able to find a clue as to why the Great Rift occurred in Busan."

"..."

"Han Tae-un, what do you think is there?"

"...Well. I can't say anything right now."

Aliens, gods, a great secret of nature that we don't know about. They had a similar conversation on the topic of the cause of the rift in an office where the three of them, including Ayoung, had been together. At that time, the three of them couldn't reach any conclusion, and the stories they shared were dismissed as absurd. However, in this strange place underground, next to the rift, it wouldn't be surprising if any of them suddenly appeared.

The size of the cave gradually decreased. Accordingly, the width of the rift also gradually narrowed, and now only a thin crack less than a span wide continued.

Finally, when they reached a dead end, the rift climbed up the wall. And on that wall, the clue Soram and Tae-un had been searching for was embedded in a completely unexpected state.

Their steps stopped involuntarily. Two pairs of eyes widened.

Soon, Soram bit his lips hard with a face that didn't know what expression to make between despair and relief.

Earnest wishes create miracles.

Humans who throw their bodies toward their desires, whether it be steadfast beliefs, survival instincts, selfish greed, affection, or devotion, often exert godlike powers.

The boy who wished to escape from an abusive family gained the ability to take himself anywhere.

The girl who had to let go of the family she had been with all her life made the sick puppy bigger and stronger than any beast.

The man who saw someone fighting desperately wished to lighten the burden on his shoulders and gained the power to go to his side.

Then, how would a wish that was not some noble desire, but a very earnest wish cursing the same humans and the world they live in, be fulfilled?

In the crack of the blackened wall, there was a person inside.

Without being able to move or speak, as if all abilities had been exhausted, only looking at Soram and Tae-un with bloodshot eyes.

Soram was the first to move. He slowly approached.

In front of the person who could neither speak nor hear, Soram greeted.

"Hello?"

In sign language, moving his hands.