Chapter 48: I didn’t do anything?

“Hoo-hoo-hoo… To sleep right on the office floor and wake up in the morning, I guess I have a talent for homelessness?”

Sihyun ruffled his messy hair and got up from his spot.

He must have been truly exhausted, as his body ached all over, and even after sleeping for quite a long time, he still felt a lingering fatigue.

It was understandable; he had tried everything imaginable to escape.

He had even considered climbing down from the 11th floor using the pipes.

“I couldn’t get out in the end, though. Oh, by the way, what time is it now?”

Sihyun checked the current time on his phone.

[9:00 AM]

It was precisely the time the lockdown was lifted.

“I need to fly straight home.”

Thankfully, nothing special seemed to have happened while he was asleep.

‘It’s a relief that nothing happened to Luna, but thinking that she might have fallen asleep from exhaustion while waiting… Ugh! My heart feels like it’s tearing!’

He recalled Luna, clutching his lapel, her golden eyes shining as she gazed up at him.

– “Sihyun… come quickly…”

Luna’s incredibly pure eyes pierced Sihyun’s heart.

“Ugh! Luna, kill me… No, don’t kill me… I’ll be there soon, so please forgive me!”

To betray the expectations of the prettiest and cutest Luna in the world!

Yes, I’m trash.

Unrecyclable trash!

“Today, I will be Princess Luna’s s*ave for the entire day. As soon as I get home, I’ll really kneel, bow my head, and beg for forgiveness.”

He had broken a significant promise: an engagement.

It was doubtful whether Luna would forgive him…

“I’ll just have to propose doing everything today, from engagement to marriage. Even if it’s part of a pretend game, I hope it makes Luna feel a little better.”

Sihyun stood up and immediately ran to the first floor.

‘It’s opening just in time.’

The moment the iron lockdown gates sequentially rose and the doors opened.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!

SCREEEEECH!

The detection equipment installed everywhere to monitor the Guild staff began to go haywire.

– BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

The noise from dozens, hundreds of machines blaring simultaneously sounded like screams.

“W-What! What’s happening all of a sudden!”

“The equipment is blaring alarms. Something’s wrong.”

“Someone turn it off! My ears are killing me!”

The staff were disoriented by the sudden, unpleasant noise.

It was as if the entire Guild building had transformed into a detection device; the alarms continued to blare without stopping.

“The detection equipment has gone mad! Why is it doing this?”

“It’s strange… Even so, all this equipment malfunctioning simultaneously? It doesn’t make sense logically.”

“This… it must have detected something.”

BANG!

Suddenly, one of the detection devices exploded with a loud roar.

CRACKLE!

One exploded, and as if on cue, other devices began to explode in a chain reaction.

“T-This… the Horror’s energy is too strong for the equipment to withstand.”

“If the energy is this powerful, then surely…”

Before someone could finish their sentence, the entire building began to shake eerily.

– WHOOSH!

“What was that? Something like a dark red curtain just passed by!”

“It wasn’t a curtain… That was—”

The Guild agents immediately recognized the nature of the energy that had swept past them.

“This is the Netherworld… It passed by incredibly fast, but it’s definitely the Netherworld.”

“The Netherworld? Then surely…?”

“At least Calamity-level… or perhaps an even greater Horror has appeared again. Everyone, quickly connect to the operations meeting room and the monitoring room! Hurry!”

While everyone around was scrambling back upstairs, Sihyun bolted out of the building without looking back.

“Damn it… Damn it… Damn it!!!”

Before his eyes, message windows endlessly blared alarms.

DING!

DING!

DING!

[WARNING! Apocalyptic Horror, Luna’s condition is extremely unstable!]

[WARNING! Apocalyptic Horror, Luna is being swept away by waves of despair!]

[WARNING! The exact reason is unknown, but Luna’s emotions are fluctuating rapidly!]

Looking at the countless warning pop-ups, only one word kept echoing in Sihyun’s mind.

One day.

‘It was only one day…’

Just one day.

He had left her alone for just a single day, and Luna had crumbled.

– “Sihyun… I’ll wait…”

It was none other than himself who had neglected the girl who promised to wait obediently.

“You pathetic idiot… Just one day…?”

Sihyun felt extreme disappointment in himself.

“I promised… I promised Luna…! And here I am, talking about ‘just one day’…!!”

He had thought it was part of a pretend game.

Just a simple game played with a girl.

He had thought it was nothing more, nothing less.

“Pure Luna had believed my words exactly… that I would definitely return and get engaged to her tonight…!”

He had explained engagement and marriage in detail, making Luna hopeful.

– “Sihyun… and me… marriage…”

She was a girl who couldn’t express emotions, but she was clearly delighted.

He had ruthlessly crushed Luna’s expectations.

He himself had done it.

“Why did I make a promise I couldn’t keep like that…!”

That he would return quickly today too.

So, to wait obediently.

He had said it so confidently.

‘But I…!’

A feeling as if his guts were twisting surged within him.

Luna was alone, and no one was by her side.

She waited, and I didn’t return.

In the end, the girl crumbled by herself.

“There’s plenty of time for regret later… Right now, returning to Luna is the top priority.”

Sihyun leaped into the Netherworld, where dark red energy swirled, without a moment’s hesitation.

****

– BEEEEEEEEEEP!

The Dawnlight Guild’s operations meeting room was still a chaotic mix of blaring alarms and people’s murmurs.

“What on earth is this…?”

“It’s strange! The detection equipment and cameras installed across Seoul are disappearing one by one.”

“Disappearing, what exactly does that mean? Is it being destroyed by the Horror’s power?”

“It’s a little… different. If you look at the footage transmitted by the satellite cameras, you’ll all understand what I mean.”

A monitoring agent displayed the footage on the massive screen located on the meeting room wall.

“What is this…? Is this reality right now?”

“Everyone understands now, don’t you…? This isn’t just a simple concept of ‘being destroyed’.”

– WHOOSH!

Structures throughout downtown Seoul were fragmenting and disintegrating as if evaporating.

It was a phenomenon where everything within the Netherworld, from living beings to colossal buildings and even the Hangang Bridge, gradually disappeared.

“How are we supposed to deal with something like this… with human power…?”

While everyone stared blankly at the scene, Guild Master Han Dojin opened the door and entered.

“We have witnessed this phenomenon before. Didn’t everyone see the message that appeared in the Netherworld just a moment ago?”

[Apocalyptic Horror ‘The Collector’ has awakened.]

The Horror that instantly transformed a happy New Year celebration into a scene of massacre.

The first Apocalyptic-level.

– Trembling.

‘Damn it… I thought I was okay, but was it still too much…?’

The moment he realized The Collector had appeared, Dojin’s hands and feet began to tremble slightly.

Tight.

He quickly grabbed the trembling part with his other hand and forcibly calmed himself.

‘I must not be anxious. It affects the morale of other agents.’

Dojin shook his head vigorously, casting off negative thoughts.

“Since the Horror has appeared, we must respond somehow. First, we need to determine the scope and center of the Netherworld. The Collector will surely be there.”

“Master, you’re not suggesting going there, are you? You know, don’t you! Even Headquarters Chief Seo Jihun couldn’t do anything against an Apocalyptic-level Horror.”

“Then are you saying we should just stand by and watch people die? Has everyone forgotten why we established this Guild and fight against Horrors?”

There were countless Guilds around the world, but their ideals were all the same.

“Protecting humanity from Horrors. There is nothing else we prioritize.”

“…I seem to have misspoke. Please forget it. But Master, there’s another problem.”

The executive assisting Dojin quickly manipulated the monitor and displayed an additional screen.

A scene where the dark red Horror energy engulfed the entire map of Seoul.

“The Netherworld is too vast. It has already swallowed Seoul from end to end. And it’s continuously expanding in real-time, making it impossible to pinpoint its center.”

“Wait, does this country just say ‘no’ to everything without even trying?”

At that moment, Victoria, who was observing the situation from a commander’s chair, interjected.

“We’re already within the Netherworld’s sphere of influence anyway. We can’t leave even if we wanted to. There’s no other way but to find where the Horror is.”

“Master Victoria, we know that. But that’s precisely why it’s difficult to pinpoint the Horror’s center. All the detection equipment has gone dead.”

“I can see that. So, we need to use a different method.”

Victoria turned her gaze to Elissa, who was sitting while hugging herself.

“Elissa, can you find where the Horror is with your ability?”

“Normally, Horrors don’t have emotions, so my ability isn’t very helpful… but uniquely, I can somewhat sense the emotions of this Horror.”

Elissa closed her eyes for a moment and began to read the myriad emotions flowing within the Netherworld.

Sadness and despair.

‘These are the emotions of dying people…’

Fighting spirit and rage.

‘These are the emotions coming from the Guild staff and those trying to resist…’

Then suddenly, Elissa felt an inexplicable emotion flowing out.

Guilt.

And a delicate emotion, as if from a young girl.

‘How can a Horror have such emotions…?’

Elissa opened her closed eyes, pointed at the monitor, and designated the area presumed to be the Horror’s center.

“I’m not certain, but there’s a place where a particularly unique emotion is felt.”

“Where is that?”

“It seems to be the area around Bosingak and Jongno… To read it more precisely, I need to get closer.”

As soon as Elissa finished speaking, Dojin stood up and gave orders to all staff.

“Detection Teams 1 and 2, along with all combat personnel, will move to the site with me immediately.”

****

“Haa, I somehow made it home, at least. I really thought I was playing some kind of obstacle avoidance game.”

The building looked as if it had been eaten by insects, with parts gnawed away here and there.

The roads and sidewalks were riddled with dark, deep holes, as if a giant spoon had scooped them out.

A situation utterly devoid of any sense of reality.

“This is exactly like the phenomenon described in the novel.”

I had seen a similar scene before.

“More precisely, I had read about it.”

It was a scene that always appeared in the episodes where Luna emerged as The Collector.

“The problem is, this is only stage one.”

The activation process of the Apocalyptic Horror, The Collector’s ability, is broadly divided into three stages.

[Stage 1]

: All living beings and objects within the Netherworld’s range are randomly ‘collected’ little by little.

[Stage 2]

: A colossal black sphere forms around The Collector, rapidly engulfing the Netherworld and everything within it.

“And Stage 3 is, literally, annihilation. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen worlds in the novel just ‘poof!’ and disappear.”

The Collector’s ability is absolute.

It is an authority (權能) that no Horror, no Awakened, can resist.

One question arises here.

‘By the way, why am I fine?’

The phenomenon of everything disappearing randomly is still ongoing.

Not only the building next door but also parked cars had almost entirely vanished.

But strangely, that phenomenon didn’t happen to me.

I can’t even use the beginner’s package right now?

‘Even if I could use it, I couldn’t because it’s not night.’

Honestly, no matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t know.

“There’s no point in continuing to think about something I don’t know.”

Thinking I was just lucky, I quickly ran up to my house.

THUD!

“Luna!! I’m here! Are you okay?”

As soon as I opened the door and entered, my eyes met with the girl sitting quietly in the middle of the room.

“Sihyun…?”

Golden eyes turned to stare intently at me.

‘Considering how much the notification window warned me… she seems fine? What is it??’

Honestly, I thought if her eyes looked strange as soon as I saw her, I’d have to run like hell.

Contrary to my worries, Luna did not appear to have lost her sanity.

A super fun hidden camera prank… No way.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but at least we can talk, so it’ll work out somehow!’

I let out a sigh of relief and approached Luna.

‘Maybe if I hug her and pat her, she’ll calm down!’

Yes, what I had taught Luna so far hadn’t been in vain!

How to wait.

How to be praised, etc.

‘Ah, is this what Miss Sullivan, who taught Helen Keller, felt?’

My child has finally grown!

I ran my hope circuits at full throttle, trying to think positively no matter what.

As I approached, Luna, as always, extended both hands, gesturing for a hug.

“Sihyun… hug me tight…”

“Of course! Come here, Luna!”

I squatted in front of Luna and reached out my hands to embrace her tightly.

“I’ll give you the tightest hug I’ve ever given—! Huh?”

– CRACKLE!!

“KYAAAAAAH!”

I couldn’t instantly understand what had happened.

I had clearly only approached to give Luna a tight hug.

‘What was with the electric shock?’

Had I evolved into Pikachu overnight?

Suddenly, Luna trembled as if shocked by a million volts and moved far away from me.

Worried about Luna, I approached her once more.

“Luna, are you o—”

– CRACKLE!

The moment I touched the fallen Luna, another electric shock occurred.

‘Huuuh??’

While I was bewildered, Luna, who had become an electric roast (?), staggered to her feet.

[D-Don’t come near me!! How did you figure it out? My acting should have been perfect!]

Acting?

‘What the hell is she talking about?’

Weren’t you Luna?

[Hoo-hoo-hoo… So, a loving man’s eyes can’t be easily deceived, huh? To love Luna that much. I’m impressed, Sihyun.]

‘What the hell is this, damn it.’