abcnovels
Chapter 345:
Chapter 345:
Chapter 345:
The inside of the ruins was much more expansive than it appeared from the outside.
A peculiar space. That was Yu-hyun's first impression upon seeing this place.
The strange structure and the bizarre aura flowing through the air were unlike anything he had seen in his previous life.
There was even a rancid smell, as if a wound had festered for a long time and started to rot.
‘This isn't just an ordinary ruin.’
Yu-hyun brushed his hand along the wall. The ruins should have felt very solid judging by the material, but the texture he felt was closer to something soft and squishy.
It only took the form of a wall; it wasn't a real wall. And the liquid flowing down the wall wasn't water from a leak.
It was bodily fluid.
The wall itself was a gigantic, writhing piece of flesh.
Yu-hyun soon realized that the ruins themselves were a massive living organism.‘Is Jia inside this place? A flesh ruin, how grotesque.’
Whether this was real or some monstrous creation born from a jumble of memories, he didn't know.
He felt like he would lose his sanity if he stayed here too long.
Deciding to rescue Kwon Jia as quickly as possible, Yu-hyun moved.
Rip.
With a strange tearing sound, the flesh of the wall split open, and phantom creatures poured out from the gap.
Covered in sticky bodily fluids, creatures with smooth white skin emerged. They stood up, tearing through the film-like membrane.
‘So, they won’t just leave me alone.’
[Ugh, what is this! Disgusting! Gross!]
‘What do you think? The mother body is giving birth.’
The ruins were a single, living organism, and its main body was producing these monsters.
The sudden spawning after remaining calm until now could only mean one thing.
The mother body had sensed Yu-hyun's intrusion and was trying to expel him from within.
It wasn't simply trying to eliminate an enemy; it was activating a kind of defense mechanism to protect the most important thing inside.
[What are you going to do?]
“Break through.”
Yu-hyun didn't even feel the need to draw his weapon. Though the phantoms were threatening, they were no match for him now.
Boom!
With a single step infused with his inner energy, all the phantoms charging at Yu-hyun were crushed flat under the pressure.
Seo Sumin would have been astounded if she had seen this sight.
Yu-hyun had modified the "Heavenly Pressure Black Wave," a derivative technique of the "Seven Demonic Black Sky Divine Art."
Applying another modification to an already altered technique was impossible for anyone except the original creator, Seo Sumin. Yet Yu-hyun had achieved the impossible.
“No time to be hindered.”
The writhing passage suddenly started to narrow.
[The mother body is trying to block your path!]
“I’ll just pierce through.”
Yu-hyun gripped Baekryun, transforming it into the shape of a harpoon. He threw the harpoon at the now needle-thin flesh tunnel.
[Leviathan]
A beast of the black sea opened its mouth, creating a path. The narrow passage widened, creating a large wound.
The torn flesh fell, and smelly liquid spurted out like broken pipes.
[Ugh, disgusting!]
“Let’s go.”
Yu-hyun ran straight down the path Leviathan had made.
* * *
“What on earth is this?”
“It’s growing larger.”
The Collectors who arrived at the scene to contain the rampant world in Gangneung broke out in cold sweat as they looked at the gigantic dome filling their view.
At first, they heard it had swallowed up all of Gangneung, but now the dome had steadily expanded to dominate the eastern region of Gangwon-do.
“The diameter has exceeded 50 kilometers?”
“It’s already engulfing Pyeongchang. At this rate, it will reach Seoul in less than six hours.”
“This is insane. Why is this happening?”
According to the briefing materials from the Association staff, the rampant world was continually expanding without stopping.
The rampant world that started in Gangneung had already reached Pyeongchang, its diameter now 50 kilometers.
As it grew larger, the expansion speed increased, and it would reach Seoul in six hours and Jeju Island in less than ten hours.
If this situation wasn't contained, Korea would be completely swallowed by the rampant world in ten hours.
To prevent this, numerous top-tier Collectors and Walkers gathered in one place.
“The Grinder! What about using the Grinder? We have the Text Schröder!”
“The rampant world is too large for the Grinder to cover. And it would take countless Collectors to bring the Grinder inside.”
“Isn’t it better than doing nothing?”
Arguments erupted from all directions. Even if they used the Grinder, the rampant world had grown so large that it was uncertain if it would be effective.
There had never been a case where the size expanded this much within just three hours without any precursory signs.
Ultimately, the only option was to send a massive number of people inside to destroy the presumed core.
No one knew how many Collectors would die in the process.
But they had no choice but to fight. There was nowhere to retreat. Running overseas wouldn't stop the rampant world.
“Each team, move quickly!”
“Stay calm! Check on your team members since communications won’t work inside!”
The Collectors swallowed hard and looked at each other before entering the rampant world with determination.
They were all shocked by the sight that greeted them inside.
“Damn, what is this?”
“What kind of world is this? It looks like more than just a few worlds combined.”
“A fusion-type Mental Realm? But even a rough count shows more than 50.”
What greeted them was no ordinary Mental Realm. The interior was a nightmare, explaining why it was called a rampant world.
It was a space where all sorts of bizarre things mixed and twisted together, like the horrific aesthetic imagination of a madman brought to life.
Mountains that should have been there were covered with grotesque flesh and metal structures, and phantoms roamed over them.
“Damn it! Here they come! So many of them!”
“Everyone, form a line!”
The phantoms screamed as they charged at the Collectors who had entered. Their numbers appeared to be in the thousands.
They had just entered the outskirts, yet they were greeted by an army of phantoms.
Some of the Collectors looked beyond the phantoms.
‘What the hell is in there?’
‘Can we even make it there safely?’
That was the extent of their idle thoughts. Facing the phantoms approaching them was their top priority.
Soon, the Collector army and the phantom army clashed, turning the surroundings into a battlefield in an instant.
* * *
“Hah, this is bad.”
Yoo Young-min tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth as he looked down at his sniper rifle.
The rifle he had used so skillfully was now unrecognizable, having been destroyed. He had fought valiantly against the White Knight but could not penetrate the strange force protecting the knight.
‘Even with all the buffs and special armor-piercing rounds, I couldn’t break through.’
Furthermore, even a single hit from the opponent's attack was dangerous. An arrow had barely grazed his shoulder, yet the wound had turned a sickly purple.
His head was already dizzy, and his vision swam.
The various diseases infused in the arrow were consuming his body.
‘How do you beat this?’
His attacks were ineffective, and the enemy's attacks were fatal with just one hit.
Moreover, already being diseased meant that merely stalling would lead to his defeat.
The White Knight on horseback slowly approached Yoo Young-min.
The knight’s intense gaze seemed to say resistance was futile.
‘Damn it, what a mess.’
Under normal circumstances, Yoo Young-min would have chosen to retreat before the fight was over.
He had always fought battles he was confident he could win. But from the moment the first bullet was blocked, he had felt it.
No matter what he did, he couldn't win.
In that case, running away was the right choice. It was the obvious decision.
‘But, what about my comrades?’
Retreating now would make him a coward.
He had finally met someone who understood him in this isolated world, and he couldn’t betray them.
If he left his comrades to save himself, he would be truly alone.
“I don’t want that.”
Thud.
Yoo Young-min dropped his broken sniper rifle and drew a new weapon. His ability wasn't limited to firearms; anything that could attack from a distance worked for him.
“It’s not over yet. Bow against bow. One more round?”
The White Knight’s face twisted in anger at his taunt. Even the knight's horse snorted and stamped in fury.
Yoo Young-min forced a smile, trying to appear confident, but inside he was terrified.
‘Ah, I’m really going to die.’
But he felt he couldn’t rest in peace unless he landed at least one hit on that knight.
Just one shot.
[Such reckless behavior is not advisable.]
“Who’s there?”
Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Yoo Young-min turned around.
A man in a black tailcoat and a black silk hat. In his gloved hands, he held a familiar revolver.
[We’ve been together for quite some time, haven't we? Don’t you remember me?]
“Ah, Maxwell!”
[Finally, you remember.]
“Why, why are you here…?”
[The Lord instructed me to help you if you were in danger. You seemed to be doing well so far, but I couldn’t stay idle against the White Knight.]
Maxwell said this and pulled the trigger of his revolver at the White Knight.
Bang! The ear-splitting noise of the revolver echoed as the bullet
flew towards the White Knight. The knight remained still, assuming it would be another ineffective attack.
But that assumption was quickly proven wrong.
Thud!
Maxwell’s bullet pierced the White Knight. The knight looked down at his chest in shock.
White blood flowed from the wound, but it healed instantly as if time had reversed.
“A wound… How can it heal so quickly?”
[It seems my attack lacks the power to truly wound him.]
“What do we do then?”
[You must help.]
“Me? But I can’t break his defense.”
[Don’t worry about that.]
Maxwell smiled gracefully, his eyes glowing red from beneath his mask.
[I will assist you. With your strength and my probability manipulation combined, we can defeat him.]
Of course, the White Knight wouldn’t just wait quietly.
Enraged, the White Knight aimed his bow at Maxwell.
An arrow shot like a beam of light, but it veered off course and flew in a strange direction.
Maxwell had altered the probability to make the arrow miss him.
Seeing this, Yoo Young-min thought they could win just like this, but Maxwell read his thoughts.
[I can’t keep this up for long. I don’t have unlimited energy. Blocking like that can only be done five more times. To end this fight, you must act.]
“…I understand. I’ll do it.”
[Good.]
Maxwell quickly pulled Yoo Young-min towards him, narrowly dodging another arrow.
[It seems the White Knight has figured out what we’re planning. He’s targeting you.]
“So, what do we do?”
[We buy time. Until I transfer my probability manipulation to you.]
“Can I really do it?”
[Don’t forget, I never attempt the impossible. Just like you.]
Maxwell could manipulate all possibilities. In this world, nothing was completely possible or impossible.
Yoo Young-min nodded awkwardly but determinedly at Maxwell’s words.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
[Let’s delay the horned knight as long as we can.]
Yoo Young-min and Maxwell ran from the White Knight, as if they had made a pact.
The furious White Knight chased after them.
* * *
Bang!
Breaking through the fleshy wall, Yu-hyun reached the innermost part of the ruins and narrowed his eyes at the altar before him.
Kwon Jia sat on the throne at the top of the altar with her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful it seemed she was having a pleasant dream.
But the throne she was connected to was linked to the altar by strange tentacles, which wriggled as they drew something from her.
“Jia!”
Despite Yu-hyun's desperate call, Kwon Jia did not open her eyes. Instead, the response came in the form of a bleating lamb.
Baa.
Yu-hyun's expression hardened instantly. The fourth seal he had feared had been broken.
In the center of the stairs between Yu-hyun and Kwon Jia, a figure appeared, emanating a chilling black aura.
Riding a pale skeletal horse, holding a lance in one hand and a scythe in the other, was a skeletal knight.
“The Blue Knight of Death.”
The steward of the apocalypse who had killed Yu-hyun in his past life and marked the end of his 99th trial.
He had returned, borrowing Kwon Jia's nightmare, to stand before Yu-hyun once again.