Chapter 108: Void

Episode 108

Few individuals in the New Continent knew how to create dimensional rifts.

And even fewer could actually carry it out.

It required a significant amount of resources, such as magic stones, and the individual had to possess a high level of skill and power.

The Daehan Clan was one of the major clans that met all the criteria.

They could even secretly deploy their own hunters to create dimensional rifts within the dungeon, unbeknownst to the Colosseum organizers.

And this was exactly what Baek Jun had pointedly asked Yong Hangil.

Yong Hangil naturally felt a pang of guilt.

‘Did one of them deactivate their stealth?’

There was no other plausible explanation for how their meticulously prepared hunters could have been exposed.

But he dismissed the thought.

‘There’s no way I’d have such a careless hunter in my clan.’

The Daehan Clan, without a doubt, was the strongest and most prestigious clan in South Korea. It was where the nation’s most talented individuals gathered.

Anyone who made such a foolish mistake, deactivating their stealth, wouldn’t even pass the initial entrance exam.

He took great pride in the skills and discipline of his clan members.

‘Then why is he asking me this?’

He pondered, racking his brain.

His hunters would’ve immediately reported any suspicious activity to him.

Reaching this conclusion, he decided to feign ignorance.

“You don’t need to ask. All my men who were deployed on this island are right here in front of me.”

Baek Jun stayed silent, prompting Yong Hangil to raise his voice slightly after a brief pause.

“What’s the matter? Do you suspect my clan is responsible for creating that dimensional rift? ”

– … That’s not what I meant.

“Then why are you asking such a question?!”

His voice, gradually rising, reached a boiling point, tinged with anger.

Baek Jun immediately apologized,

– I apologize, that wasn’t my intention. I’ll call you back later.

The call abruptly ended.

Yong Hangil, after switching off the microphone, turned around.

“Team Leader Hong.”

Hong Yeonseok, who was instructing his hunters, immediately approached him.

“You called for me, Master?”

“It seems Baek Jun suspects something.”

“……!”

His eyes widened as Yong Hangil spoke quietly, issuing his instructions,

“Tell our men inside the dungeon to wrap up their operation and pull out. And make sure they don’t get caught while leaving.”

“Understood, Master.”

Hong Yeonseok bowed, turned, and activated the microphone on his earpiece, relaying the orders.

Yong Hangil watched him go and turned back, facing the giant, black portal and thinking to himself,

‘Kim Jinsung is as good as dead once ‘Void’ opens. A rookie stepping foot on the New Continent for the first time won’t stand a chance against ‘Void.’

When facing ‘Void’, strength was irrelevant. It couldn’t be defeated through brute force, only with specific tactics.

Not even a hunter stronger than Kim Jinsung would succeed otherwise.

* * *

Baek Jun, after ending the call, slammed the microphone down.

Jang Seungwook cautiously approached him, his face still stiff with displeasure.

“What did he say?”

“…He denied it.”

“Just as expected.”

It was, indeed, a predictable response.

He had expected Yong Hangil to deny it, whether it was the truth or not.

No Daehan Clan hunter would act alone without direct authorization from their master.

“Bring up the images.”

He barked an order to the staff huddled around the monitors.

Numerous images of the passage they had captured at his earlier instruction filled the monitors.

Each picture showed a small, amoeba-like blob pulsating in mid-air, captured from the moments right before the rift appeared.

“…It’s still bizarre. Why was there rift activity only near the passages Kim Jinsung passed through?”

He spoke, his gaze fixed on the images.

The captured images showed passages Kim Jinsung had either already passed through or could have potentially chosen. In short, he was destined to encounter a dimensional rift regardless of his choices at the forks in the path.

Jang Seungwook spoke up, adding,

“What’s even stranger is that there was no rift activity near the passages the other contestants passed through.”

“Exactly.”

He had already investigated if similar events had occurred elsewhere in the labyrinth when other contestants passed through.

They could find no trace of any such activity.

“This isn’t a coincidence. It can’t be.”

It was natural for him to suspect the Daehan Clan.

The way the rifts appeared was clearly deliberate, and the only ones capable of such a feat were the Daehan hunters.

But there was one glaring problem – he knew Yong Hangil wouldn’t do this, there was no reason, no motive.

‘Why would the Master do something like this…?’

He was wracking his brain for an explanation when,

“P-President! Look at monitor number 1!”

The panicked voice of a staff member snapped his attention towards monitor number 1.

“……!”

He saw a thick, deep purple line appearing in the air, stretching horizontally through the passage, as if space itself was being torn apart.

It was a dimensional rift, but it was elongated horizontally, a shape he had encountered only once before.

“Could it be…‘Void’?”

If it was indeed what he thought it was, the ‘Eye of Void’, then this was a dire situation.

The moment the ‘Eye of Void’ engulfed the labyrinth, every contestant inside would perish.

Season 12 would end in a catastrophic failure, forever remembered as the worst season ever.

**Bam!**

“Why?!”

He slammed his fist against the table, a look of utter disbelief on his face.

“Why is the ‘Eye of Void’, something rarely seen even in high-level Demon World Dungeons, appearing in a low-level one like this?!”

Jang Seungwook had never seen him lose his composure like this.

But things got worse.

“President!”

Jang Seungwook, pointing at monitor number 2, spoke in a panicked voice.

He saw two familiar faces approaching along a different passage.

Kim Jinsung and Lee Jiseong.

“Again…?”

Baek Jun, his mouth agape, watched Kim Jinsung and Lee Jiseong turn a corner.

It was the corner leading into the passage where the ‘Eye of Void’ was forming.

* * *

‘…What is that?’

Seeing the thick, deep purple line in the air, Kim Jinsung instinctively got into a fighting stance.

He looked at Lee Jiseong with an inquiring expression.

Lee Jiseong, reading his look, shook his head.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what that is. That’s the first time I’ve seen a rift of such a deep purple color…. Wait, I think I recall something about a rift like that…”

He tried to dredge up his memories from his time as a member of the body disposal unit.

The horizontal rift then suddenly opened vertically, like an eye.

A purple circle emanating from the center of the ‘eye’ began to expand.

One by one, monster-like forms started to rise from the ground within the circle.

‘…What are they?’

Kim Jinsung frowned, observing them.

They had diverse appearances, unlike anything he’d seen before.

Some resembled four-legged beasts, while others walked upright on two legs like Aards and Mantodeas.

Their semi-transparent, purplish bodies allowed him to see through them, the passage wall clearly visible behind them.

And their energy signatures were unusual.

‘I’ve never encountered this kind of energy before.’

It was so strange that he couldn’t even gauge their strength or determine whether they were alive or not.

He wondered if this was what it felt like encountering lifeforms from a completely different dimension.

‘I need to be cautious. Something seems off.’

He tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

Their indecipherable nature made them all the more menacing.

Then, one of the purple monsters fired a projectile from its mouth.

It resembled a dart or a small, silent missile that flew towards him silently.

‘…Not particularly fast, though.’

It was definitely slower than both Aards and Mantodeas.

He could easily block or dodge without even activating ‘Union of Body and Demon.’

He would have easily deflected it with his sword but, something about its energy signature alarmed him.

‘I’ll dodge for now.’

He instinctively decided to avoid the projectile rather than block. He sidestepped to the side.

The projectile harmlessly whizzed past and flew towards Lee Jiseong, who was running away.

“…Huh?”

Lee Jiseong, watching the dart approach, was startled, and then he relaxed.

It wasn’t particularly fast and didn’t feel threatening.

‘Can easily handle this!’

He confidently raised his sword, ready to block.

The projectile instantly struck the blade…

And then…

“…Ugh!”

He gasped in pain, blood trickling from his lips.

The projectile had pierced straight through the sword and his chest.

He stumbled, blood gushing from the wound. Then,

“……!!”

He saw more projectiles hurtling towards him, launched by the purple monsters.

“No!”

He tried to run, but the projectiles were too fast.

They pierced through his body effortlessly.

**Thud!**

He crashed to the ground.

Kim Jinsung, glancing back, saw Lee Jiseong’s body riddled with holes.

But what caught his eye was the pierced sword.

‘…No way?’

He looked ahead.

He reached his hand towards a projectile flying toward him, his hand transforming into a large scythe. He had activated the ‘Versatile Cutter Hand’ trait he’d acquired from the Mantodeas.

—

▶ Activated ‘Union of Body and Demon.’

▶ Activated skill ‘Indestructible Body.’

—

He also activated ‘Union of Body and Demon’ and ‘Indestructible Body’ as the projectile struck his transformed hand.

‘…!’

His eyes widened in shock.

The projectile had drilled right through the scythe, leaving a clean hole.

The wound instantly healed thanks to the ‘Ultra Regeneration’ trait from the Quagmires, but that wasn’t the main issue.

‘This means it’s impossible to block!’

The projectile had punched through his transformed hand with its 100% boosted defenses, even with ‘Union of Body and Demon’ and ‘Indestructible Body’ active.

There was no need for further testing. He couldn’t block the projectiles, he could only dodge.

‘In that case, I’ll strike first.’

He charged toward the horde of purple monsters, sword in hand.

Instead of dodging endlessly, he decided to attack first, taking out as many as possible before they overwhelmed him.

He swung his sword, infused with ‘Union of Body and Demon,’ aiming for the nearest monster’s neck.

His blade cleanly severed its head.

…And nothing happened.

‘What?!’

The monster was completely unharmed. It was as if he’d swung at a ghost.

‘My attacks are useless too? …Yikes!’

His brief shock was interrupted by the remaining monsters charging at him. He jumped back, barely evading their attacks.

He raised his sword to defend,

‘…Huh?’

But it felt incredibly light.

He looked at his sword and,

“!!”

His jaw dropped.

His blade was broken in half. Judging by the severed piece on the ground inside the purple circle, his blade must’ve grazed one of their attacks. And that’s what startled him the most.

‘My sword, infused with ‘Union of Body and Demon’ strength, was broken so easily?’

He stared at the monsters in disbelief.

He had fought many strong opponents, but he’d never felt so helpless.

‘What are they? This isn’t about them being simply strong or weak…?’

As he stood there, unsure how to overcome this challenge, a notification appeared.

—

[The Demon God Dantalian is looking at you with exasperation and pity.]

—

‘This bastard, again…!’

He felt another surge of anger.

This time, however, he didn’t suppress it, instead yelling out loud,

“If you’re so exasperated, give me a damn hint!”

A moment after shouting at the notification, a new message appeared.

It was another one regarding Dantalian.

—