Chapter 80 : Encounter with the Unknown – 1

We arrived at the Songdo Anomalous Phenomenon Occurrence Zone in Incheon, where the latest anomaly—tentatively called the “Black Hole”—had appeared.

The first thing to greet us as we stepped out of the car wasn’t reporters or staff from the Awakened Association.

It was a dust storm thick enough to obscure our vision.

There was no time for a briefing.

Not that I needed one—I’d already gotten a rough explanation from Yui Seul during the car ride.

Together, Yui Seul and I entered the anomaly zone.

“Cough, cough, hack…”

The farther we walked, the thicker the dust became.

What the hell happened here?

Yui Seul glanced at me, coughing pitifully, and spoke in a casual tone.

“Oh right, I forgot to give you a mask.”

“Cough, cough… Why are you totally fine, Seul…? Doesn’t your throat hurt?”

“It does.”

“Then how can you—”

“Don’t whine. Just tough it out. You’ve got a sturdy body, so why are you making a fuss over something like this? Anyway, we’re short on time, so just keep up.”

My faith in humanity is rapidly vanishing.

There’s a limit to being coldhearted—telling someone to endure it with sheer willpower? 

Seriously?

I could only hope that a devout follower’s bronchial tubes were as tough as their skin.

Resolving an anomaly is like a time attack in a game.

Generally, the sooner it’s handled, the better.

But if it’s delayed, the consequences are definitely bad.

The best example would be the anomaly that turned the Han River into the waters of the Styx.

At first, it was said the contamination was so small it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.

But within just one day, the pollution had spread across the entire river.

Thankfully, there was an Item capable of purifying water, and an Awakened who knew how to use it properly.

If not for that, the black hand that defiled the Han River… might have reached all the way to the Pacific.

The reason Yui Seul was in such a rush was because of this.

Currently, the anomaly known as the “Black Hole” remains unresolved and left unattended.

If its resolution is delayed any further… the radius of its gravitational pull may gradually expand over time.

It didn’t take long to reach the epicenter of the anomaly from the entrance of the Anomalous Phenomenon Occurrence Zone.

The dust thickened.

Visibility grew worse by the minute.

Now I think I’m starting to understand why Yui Seul commented on my outfit.

Dust had long since crept in through the flapping hem of my skirt, coating my thighs in dirt.

It even found its way in through the gaps between my tight buttons, filling my cleavage with grime.

It was a discomfort beyond words.

With every step I took, my breasts jiggled, and the dust that had invaded my bra seemed to dance along with them.

Meanwhile, Yui Seul wore a full-body combat suit, so it seemed like the dust wasn’t able to get inside her clothes.

Maybe I should just come out to the world and get myself one of those suits too.

The discomfort was so serious, I was genuinely starting to consider it.

I’m not the kind of person who can endure something like this with sheer willpower, like Yui Seul suggested.

So.

Let’s borrow the power of a god.

Not perseverance—faith will carry me through this.

“Oh great deity, Beachy Mutbyeol, my radiant star—please, rid me of the dust that has invaded my bra, brush away the dirt stuck to my thighs, and also…”

“You think praying all day and night is gonna solve anything? Just deal with it. Tough it out with grit.”

“It is working, though.”

“…What?”

Seriously.

After praying, I felt a little less uncomfortable.

Surprisingly, as long as my prayers are reasonable, Beachy Mutbyeol seems quite willing to answer them.

I asked for divine garments and received them.

I asked for protection to keep my sanity intact, and I got that too.

The dust wasn’t completely gone, but I definitely felt better than before.

There wasn’t a hint of falsehood in my expression, and Yui Seul looked at me like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Then she finally spoke up.

“About that god you believe in… seriously—”

Suddenly.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

“Stop.”

Yui Seul quietly drew her sword—Iron Greatsword Mk-III.

I couldn’t see anything yet.

But it looked like something was up ahead.

Then Yui Seul—Raised her sword vertically.

And brought it down in one swift motion.

SSHHHHHHRRRRIIEEK!

Yui Seul’s sword let out an ear-piercing shriek.

With a blast of sound that cut through the air, the dust surrounding us was cleaved apart.

It wasn’t just that the sword wind blew away the dust.

Yui Seul had literally sliced through the dust.

And as the cut dust scattered, our visibility slowly began to return.

“…Oh, f—”

I was left utterly speechless at the sight before me.

What unfolded in front of my eyes was a massive crater, 300 meters in radius and 600 meters in diameter.

The kind of scene that would make anyone think, “Did a meteor crash here?”

There was no way to even guess how deep into the earth it had penetrated.

If I had to estimate… it was likely at least the height of a 15-story building.

I already knew how this happened—Yui Seul had told me earlier.

She said that traveling to the center of the anomaly and returning had required moving a total of 600 meters, round trip.

During that movement, the anomaly’s gravity had sucked in everything around it,forming this massive crater.

“…I have to ask, just in case. How long did it take you to go there and come back?”

“Ten minutes. It took a while because I had to cut through gravity as I moved.”

“So… you’re saying this giant hole was formed… in just those ten minutes?”

“Yup.”

“And to reach the center, we’ll need at least five more minutes from here, right?”

“Yup.”

“…”

“Let’s go.”

“W-Wait, wait! Hold on, stop!”

“What? What’s the problem? We don’t have time.”

As I panicked, she tilted her head in confusion.

“Everything’s the problem! How are we even supposed to get down there? How do we reach the center of that thing? And—”

“Ugh, blah blah, you’re so noisy! Shut up already, you’re scrambling my focus.”

“S-Still, we should at least have some kind of plan! You said it yourself—this anomaly isn’t one we can brute-force headfirst!”

“I do have a plan.”

“What plan?! You never told me!”

“I’ll clear the way, you gather info on the anomaly, tell me what I need to know, we resolve it. Done. Got a better plan? Say it now.”

“…”

“You don’t, right?”

“…No.”

“Let’s go.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t really argue with Yui Seul’s plan.

As simplistic as it sounded, it was a clean and effective method for dealing with an anomaly.

No matter what, I had to reach the center of the anomaly.

And to do that, Yui Seul had to carve the path for me.

Alright, screw it—let’s do this.

If I die, Beachy Mutbyeol suffers too.

So at the very least, they won’t let me die, right?

And so.

“How are we getting down?”

“With an item.”

Yui Seul rummaged through her pocket, then pulled out an item that looked like a marble.

Whoosh.

Out of nowhere, she yanked me toward her by the waist.

“Ugh…!?”

The movement was so sudden that an embarrassingly weird sound escaped my mouth.

Before I knew it, I was pressed tightly into Yui Seul’s arms.

She looked down at me—well, more like at my body—and said with clear dissatisfaction:“…You’re a lot bigger than I expected.”

“Huh?”

“Shut up. Hold on tight.”

Then she activated the item.

“Zyaaaaaaaak!”

I had no idea what kind of item it was,but something told me it wasn’t going to be normal, so I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed instinctively.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!!”

“…What are you doing?”

“Eh?”

“Open your eyes.”

“…Oh.”

We were already at the bottom.

Had it even taken 0.1 seconds?

As expected from an item.

“From here on, the moment you take a single step forward, the anomaly will activate. Stay sharp. If you lose your balance, miss a step, or let go of my back—you’re dead.”

“Y-Yes!”

Back in the car, Yui Seul had explained this part to me.

The moment we set foot forward,the anomaly would start relentlessly drilling into the earth.

The ground we were standing on wouldn’t be pulled by gravity.

Yui Seul would cut away all the gravitational pull from around us.

However, the area ahead of us wasn’t safe.

Even as we moved forward, the anomaly would constantly try to suck everything toward its center.

It was basically like walking down a crumbling staircase.

I visualized the whole thing in my head.

Yeah, it would probably look something like that.

“Be careful not to misstep”—that was exactly what she meant.

Because if I did misstep, just like Yui Seul said,my body would get sucked into that anomaly and turned into a shredded meat platter.

“You ready?”

“Yes!”

I understood just how dangerous this anomaly was.

Alright, let’s do this.

I nodded to Yui Seul.

And in response…she swung her sword with the force to cleave the earth in two and shouted:”Here we go!”

From behind, Yui Seul looked like a true warrior of justice straight out of a novel or manga.

As she swung her sword, we stepped into the range of the Anomalous Phenomenon.

And then.

And then.

…

…

…

“Nothing’s happening?”

There was no reaction.

What the hell.

Did some other Awakened solve it and run off while we were gone?

As I let out a sigh of frustration, Yui Seul spoke in a sharp tone:”This isn’t a good situation, so get it together. This is…”

“Ah, a variable!”

Right.

A variable had appeared.

The thing we feared had happened.

In that short time Yui Seul spent coming to get me, the Anomalous Phenomenon had changed.

Now, neither I nor Yui Seul could predict what form it would take.

We slowly approached the phenomenon.

To be safe, Yui Seul kept swinging her sword, warding off any potential danger.

I trailed right behind her, cold sweat dripping down my back.

Maybe ten minutes passed.

We finally reached the front of the phenomenon.

Yui Seul turned to me and said,”Check the info and fall back right after. For now, retreating is the smart move.”

“…Gulp.”

I stretched out a trembling hand toward the phenomenon.

It’s true—not knowing is far scarier than knowing.

So this is the infamous fear of the unknown that comes with these phenomena.

I carefully reached out to it,then, just like Yui Seul told me, I jumped back right away.

And then.

I saw the information.

*

[To the Devoted Follower]

1. I

2. wish to

3. converse

4. with you.

*

“Ah, hell.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

What the hell is this.