Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Ha-kyung moved by following the sensation of Soul Brand.

The deepest part of the boss's nest.

And yet, on the surface, it was an utterly ordinary space.

But Ha-kyung was certain.

[‘Soul Brand’ detects Traces of a Fragment]

[Signal has become clearer]

Because the closer he got, the harder his heart pounded, as if it might explode.

The problem was that there was nothing around him but solid stone.

Ha-kyung tapped the wall and floor with Crimson Edge.

They were only light jabs, but they were not weak.

That was thanks to Abyss Refinement.

Yet all they left were a few scratches.

The structures of the boss's nest were considerably sturdy.

Ha-kyung suddenly looked back.

“Come to think of it, this place is pretty intact.”

The fight against Veil Lancer had been nothing short of fierce.

In particular, that wolf-head's skill had been incredibly powerful.

Plasma Bolt or whatever it was.

If fired at maximum output, it created a fifty-meter pit.

Since the place had withstood a skill like that, how tough must it be?

Ha-kyung pondered.

‘This is going to be a pain to break through.’

Besides, Crimson Edge and the Resonance Pillar were not particularly suitable tools.

It would have been nice if he had something like a pickaxe.

Ha-kyung, lost in thought, suddenly looked down at Veil Lancer.

“Hey.”

―What?

“Are you hard, by any chance?”

―What kind of dogshit nonsense is that now?

“If you answer properly, I’ll kill you quickly.”

―You want me to cooperate when you’re not even going to spare me?

“Then keep getting dragged around like this.”

―Ah, shi......

“Oh? Are you swearing?”

―I’m not!

“Not what? Swearing?”

―I’m not cooperating!

“You could just answer. You’re making a whole production out of it.”

―Eeeeeeek!

Veil Lancer struggled, but in the end, he was only a head.

All he could move was his jaw.

What could he possibly do?

Of course, he could still chatter.

Which made him extremely noisy.

Ha-kyung was about to throw Veil Lancer away when he abruptly stopped.

‘Ah, that won’t work.’

The bastard communicated through telepathy anyway, so getting farther away would not matter.

So he decided to carry out the idea that had just come to mind.

Originally, he had planned to use Veil Lancer's limbs as a substitute pickaxe.

But was a skull not also a considerably hard body part?

It would also shut him up.

Ha-kyung spun Veil Lancer's head round and round.

―Hey! Hey! What are you doing?

“Have you ever heard of swinging fire cans?”

―How would I know that crap?!

“If you don’t know, just take it, punk.”

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Ha-kyung spun his arm like a madman.

Then, the moment the speed reached its peak.

He quickly let go.

Just like a softball pitcher.

WHIRRR! CRASH—!

―Aaaaaaagh!

Veil Lancer's head smashed into the wall of the boss's nest.

As expected of a noble of The Void, the impact was considerable.

Ha-kyung threw him a few more times with the same motion.

WHIRRR! CRASH—!

―......

Then the telepathy fell silent.

And cracks also formed in the wall.

With one action, he had gained both benefits.

Ha-kyung smiled in satisfaction and retrieved Veil Lancer's head.

“Good work. Nice performance.”

―For me, a noble of The Void, to be treated like this...... How bitterly unjust.

“If you keep talking, I’ll throw you again.”

―......

Veil Lancer closed his mouth once more.

It seemed he had properly realized who was the strong one and who was the weak one.

Eventually, Ha-kyung was able to obtain a small black crystal.

It was the Ultimate Abyss Fragment, which he had not seen in a very long time.

His joy lasted only a moment.

Ha-kyung quickly snapped the crystal.

[Ultimate Abyss Fragment opened]

[A vast amount of Abyss Energy is being transferred]

[Ultimate Abyss Key Progress: 3/3]

FSSSSSS!

A vivid Gray-White energy wrapped around Ha-kyung's entire body.

Soon, the violet key fragments began merging into one.

RATTLE! CLACK!

A piece of metal embossed with skulls and demons fell into Ha-kyung's hand.

As Ultra-High-Purity Abyss Energy was absorbed, a heavy pain arose.

But he was not aware of it at all.

‘The key is complete......’

Was this not the scene he had dreamed of?

Perhaps because it had been completed so suddenly.

Ha-kyung could only feel dazed.

Then belatedly, reality set in.

A sensation like insects crawling beneath his skin.

It was the repulsive force of Abyss Energy.

Ha-kyung let out a groan.

“Urgh!”

At the same time, he controlled the seething Abyss Energy.

He had experienced this so often that he skillfully calmed it.

At times like this, trying to seize the flow of Abyss Energy was not the answer.

The correct answer was to circulate Mana strongly.

If Abyss Energy was a rampaging horse, Mana was a powerful rein.

At last, Ha-kyung slowly opened his eyes.

Then a blue glow spread faintly from them.

Compared to before, it was a much calmer effect.

Still, that did not mean there had been no progress.

Ha-kyung contemplated the stately flow of Abyss Energy.

‘It’s like two rivers joining together.’

Of course, what he possessed was the great river.

The Abyss Energy that had flowed in was the small stream.

It was a perfect analogy.

Ha-kyung looked down at the Ultimate Abyss Key.

“I got it sooner than I expected.”

He was not ready yet.

He still lacked reliable companions.

Nor did he feel as if he had surpassed his father yet.

Still, completing the key was encouraging.

Because his goal had become even clearer.

Ha-kyung immediately put the key away.

And yet, for some reason, he felt that something was missing.

He looked around with a puzzled expression.

Then he saw Veil Lancer crawling away using his facial muscles.

“What are you doing?”

―Damn, you’re annoyingly sharp.

“Seeing you try to run away, you must have been plotting something. This is why confirmed kills are important.”

―Confirmed kill? What’s that?

“It’s a thing. Goodbye, you small-fry noble of The Void.”

CRUNCH!

Without the slightest hesitation, Ha-kyung drove Crimson Edge into him.

There was nothing more to gain from Veil Lancer anyway.

He had only kept him alive to buy time.

If his usefulness had run out, then it was right to dispose of him cleanly.

But the result was quite different from what Ha-kyung expected.

“What? Why is there nothing?”

Even though the light had faded from Veil Lancer's eyes, there was no system message.

Naturally, no reward appeared either.

Ha-kyung found it strange.

Had he not obtained Dead Zone when he fought the Core Guardian?

After pondering it carefully, he soon realized the reason.

‘The core. It’s because that’s missing.’

Dead Zone was a skill that had appeared when he destroyed the core.

Right now, all that remained was Veil Lancer's corpse.

He could not feel the core's presence at all.

It was regrettable, but he had to be satisfied with having disposed of one of the Emperor's subordinates.

Ha-kyung headed toward his team members.

‘The clones are gone, and things are almost finished over there too.’

The boss of the Abyss of Silence.

Silent Archbishop had just fallen.

By coincidence, all the raids ended at almost the same time.

Ha-kyung returned carrying Veil Lancer's corpse.

Then the team members' expressions became subtle.

“Um...... Captain, why did you bring that back?”

Admittedly, it did look rather terrifying.

It had not been neatly processed either.

He had brought back the limbs and head as they were.

Ha-kyung spoke with a suspicious expression.

“It doesn’t really have value as loot, but something about it bothers me. I don’t think we should leave it here.”

“Are you worried it might recover?”

“Yes. Its leg was cut off before, but today it appeared perfectly fine.”

“Then we need to dispose of it thoroughly. Please leave it to us.”

“Thank you.”

Ha-kyung handed Veil Lancer's corpse over to Yu Se-ha.

Soon, the team members swarmed around it and poured all kinds of skills into it.

But then Yu Se-ha abruptly returned to Ha-kyung.

“Captain.”

“Yes?”

“How did you fight and beat something this ridiculous?”

“Where is this coming from all of a sudden......?”

“Even when we pour skills into it, we can’t even scratch it.”

Thirty minutes had passed since they said they would dispose of it.

Yet Veil Lancer's corpse was still intact.

The gazes of the team members looking at Ha-kyung were filled with awe.

Everyone seemed to be thinking something similar to Yu Se-ha.

“Captain, are you by any chance the same species as that thing?”

Of course, it was probably meant as a joke.

But Ha-kyung was a man who had been thoroughly hardened by John.

He lightly shrugged.

“My father was quite the monster, yes.”

“No, I was just joking, and you suddenly turned it into a family landmine......”

“I was joking too.”

Ha-kyung chuckled and passed by Yu Se-ha.

Then he began gathering Veil Lancer's corpse.

If they could not dispose of it, he had no choice but to smash it personally.

Not here, though.

He would do it after crossing back to the real world.

Yu Se-ha watched him, mouth hanging open.

“They said he was influenced by Mr. John? Looks more like birds of a feather to me.”

***

Ha-kyung's Raid Party returned safely.

Of course, the way back was not smooth.

Monster attacks from The Void were incredibly brutal.

Still, thanks to the Escort Team, there were no major problems.

An Internal Auction was held at Association Headquarters, but he did not participate.

‘All I did was beat the crap out of Veil Lancer. Besides, I got the Ultimate Abyss Fragment too.’

Of course, it was not as if Ha-kyung had done nothing.

Had he not rescued the team members trapped by the curse?

Even finding that gimmick was an impressive achievement.

But it was not an artifact that was particularly useful to Ha-kyung.

So he decided not to get greedy.

Once the Internal Auction ended, Ha-kyung immediately finished the settlement.

He paid the team members' labor costs with the money from selling the artifacts.

Then he stopped by the office for a while.

Perhaps word had spread that Ha-kyung had come in.

Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won came up immediately.

“I heard you caught a trusted subordinate of the Emperor of The Void. You worked hard.”

“Ah, yes. So I need to write a report.”

“Please leave it to me.”

“Please take care of it. I have something else to do.”

“Yes.”

Ha-kyung took out an ominously shaped black bag.

It was a body bag, the kind one might see only at a disaster scene or in a movie.

When he opened the zipper, strange-looking things tumbled out.

A large head resembling a canine.

Limbs with twenty-centimeter blade-like protrusions attached.

And a pair of membranous wings.

Strangely, although quite some time seemed to have passed, they had not rotted at all.

Instead, a terrible stench filled the office.

Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won, who had been busy typing on his keyboard, sprang up in horror.

“Gah! W-what on earth is this?”

“You know. The Emperor's trusted subordinate I took down.”

“This is that thing?”

“That’s right.”

“No, why in the world did you bring this all the way here......?”

“I brought it because it might recover if I left it there. It bothered me.”

“If that is how you feel, Committee Member, then it cannot be helped.”

“Please don’t mind me. Continue your work.”

Ha-kyung waved his hand as if it was fine.

Then he began whispering with John.

“Bro. Start here?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to smash the intact parts first?”

“That makes sense, right?”

“Definitely. Definitely.”

“Then I’ll start with the legs?”

“I will take the arms.”

“Hup!”

CRUNCH—! THWACK—! WHAM—!

Horrifying sounds that were enough to raise goosebumps all over the body rang out one after another.

And they were not merely beating it.

Ha-kyung and John were hammering it while using all kinds of skills.

In truth, they had no choice.

Veil Lancer's body was unbelievably hard.

So hard that most Awakened would not even be able to scratch it.

Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won clutched his head in agony.

Then, before long, he calmly immersed himself in writing the report.

Ha-kyung turned to John with a puzzled expression.

“I was trying to finish this as quickly as possible because it might make him uncomfortable, but he suddenly became fine.”

“Those earphones work well.”

“Ah, noise cancellation?”

“Bro, you don’t have those?”

“They turn into junk if I take them into the Abyss, so there’s no way I would have bought them.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. Looking at it now, ordinary life is kind of fascinating.”

Jeong Tae-won had plugged his nose with tissues.

And with his earphones on, he had turned his body away.

It seemed he was trying to cut himself off from the Veil Lancer crushing operation as much as possible.

Ha-kyung and John shrugged and focused on the work again.

But it was right then.

―You damnable bastards!

Along with the sudden roar, a Gray-White beam of light burst out.

From Veil Lancer's shattered head.