The traveling party entered the Abyss.
Throwing their bodies from the hole-ridden floor, they stood upon what seemed like an endless void, as if they were about to plummet into the bottomless pit.
At the moment of throwing themselves, none in the party flinched, but each of them momentarily entertained the thought that they might fall.
Such was the nature of the Abyss.
Upon stepping down, the group instinctively understood something no one had told them.
This place was where both space and time died and stagnated.
Turning their heads, there was almost nothing to see.
A black space devoid of up, down, left, or right.
Naturally, the sense of space was dead, and with no changes in the environment, the sense of time was also absent.
No one could be sure if this was truly the world.
Even Lewena, who was somewhat familiar with this space, felt this way, and so did Aslan, who first encountered it in the game.
However, it wasn’t a completely insensate void.
“The floor feels bad.”
Phey, who was barefoot and thus most immediately able to feel it, spoke.
At Phey’s words, Angie and a few others in the group lifted their feet to step on the ground.
By doing so, they could perceive the shadow that functioned as the floor.
“Hmm, definitely. It’s an unpleasant place.”
Following Tiamat’s remark, the group looked around.
Especially by looking upward, as their eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, they could discern the faint darkness nearby and the deeper darkness farther away.
This dimness allowed for a slight sense of distance.
That dimness was the kind that induced claustrophobia, and because of it, Ereta frowned and muttered.
“Somewhere… This is an uncomfortable space. It’s suffocating too.”
As she muttered, Aslan also felt the oppression.
In fact, even a hint of unease swirled within that oppression.
It must be due to memories. Aslan knew a place similar to this space.
It was the black space he entered whenever he associated with the Dark Ram.
That deep and ominous abyss.
Of course, there was a difference.
If the space of the Dark Ram was somewhere dark and murky, a chasm where you couldn’t see even a foot ahead, like a pitch-black room,
then now the Abyss felt as though made of black fog or shadows.
The sense of space here was richer than in the realm governed by the Dark Ram.
That sense of space soon manifested as gaping maws appearing overhead.
The hole hovering above began to let light seep through, and standing beneath that light, Aslan glared at the approaching monsters.
The monsters were the same as those Lewena had seen when escaping the Abyss before.
Blackened gaping mouths, emaciated bodies crawling forward.
If these were the native creatures of the Abyss, then the Abyss had undoubtedly changed greatly since Aslan last knew it.
Nevertheless, Aslan didn’t retreat. Glancing briefly at his companions, he moved his hand.
He drew Sepsis.
Then he drew Bestia.
And he whispered.
“Purity.”
The sword blazed white, proving its resolve and illuminating this dim world.
As he slowly moved the tilted sword, the surrounding area was filled with a fading white afterglow.
Holding two swords, one in each hand, Aslan shouted.
“Don’t stray far from here! You’ll lose your way quickly! Hold your position while we deal with them!”
An order that would normally be impossible to follow. Yet, without any objections, the group raised their weapons.
Soon, the monsters came rushing in.
Ki E E E!
The gaping mouths charging forward, raising claws like hooks high above their heads and leaping.
Their relentless pursuit formed a tide blending into the darkened space.
But the group hesitated not. The first sound heard was the piercing air.
Thung!
As if expecting this, the group stiffened their stance, and an arrow shot between them pierced straight through a monster.
Kwa-ddeok!
Not only piercing, but penetrating through the monsters behind it as well, skewering them all like shish kebabs.
Yet Tiamat watched this and slightly furrowed her brow while pulling out another arrow to place on the string.
These monsters in the Abyss were tougher than the ones they faced outside.
Moreover, they were tenacious. What would be fatal wounds for normal beings—penetrating injuries—only caused them to rise again and keep moving.
Monsters with gaping holes in their stomachs rose and charged once more. Aslan and the group stood firm and received them.
Jjeok!
Richard’s fist extended and struck the monster’s jaw.
Gripping the tilting head and twisting his body, he threw it, causing the monster to collapse with its head torn off.
Like bursting a water balloon, the monster spilled out its sole content—the Abyss—as it died.
Even after death, the monster remained stubborn.
Thorns rising instantly from the spilled Abyss. Those thorns were slashed off by Phey, who ran low and swung a longsword.
Jjeo-jek!
Flying black thorns. Without stopping, Phey jumped, leaving only the sight of her red hair fluttering as she swung her sword.
Behind the scene of severed heads flying, Angie was swinging a greatsword from her back.
Kwa-a-a-ang!
The monstrous force that shattered and scattered its body made entirely of black liquid.
It was a tremendous power that created wind in a space devoid of it.
The wind stirred their hair, and as Aslan parried the charging monster’s claws with Purity and cleaved them in two vertically,
“Erreta!”
Calling out as he bisected them, Erreta’s mace, imbued with flames, left her hand.
The thrown mace embedded itself into the monster’s body, burning fiercely and reducing another monster to nothingness.
Thus, amidst the splintering and scattering monsters, the group remained steadfast.
Richard swung his fists pounding, Erreta followed beside him striking with an axe to finish the job.
Tiamat’s arrows pierced through monsters that Angie kicked to death.
The monsters creeping toward Angie were decapitated simultaneously by Aslan and Phey, and the falling heads were pierced by Lumel’s spear, which discharged lightning to incinerate them.
Somehow, there was no need to discuss how to fight.
Observing the situation, they chose the most appropriate option and acted accordingly.
That alone was enough for the group to coordinate perfectly.
They were veterans who had reached the pinnacle in their respective fields, so little explanation was needed on how to kill.
Bathed in the light descending from above, the group continued to slay the monsters repeatedly.
Though the numbers were overwhelming, there was no sense of fatigue.
A situation ripe for an unexpected event. Aslan was prepared for it.
“Lewena!”
Amidst the battle, the shout.
Only then did Phey approach the woman, who had been marginalized during the fight due to suspicions of betrayal, placing a longsword at her throat.
Simultaneously, the woman stretched out her hands, as if holding something, and slightly wrinkled her fine forehead.
Almost instantly, black mist surged from all sides. Not Lewena’s but the Abyss’s.
Just as those thorns and spears shaped like swords or daggers were about to pierce the group, Lewena’s Abyss enveloped the other Abyss in time.
Ku-ung!
A heavy booming sound.
It was the sound of the Abyss halting its attempt to pierce its own flesh.
The Abyss was an evil deity, a world with instincts.
The Abyss was trying to repel this foreign substance.
Ordinarily, there would be no way to counter this, but Lewena was present here.
Lewena, who could manipulate the Abyss just as well.
Since the Abyss held no superiority over itself, it retracted the attack it had aimed at the foreign substance.
What followed was an easy battle.
No matter how hardened the Abyss had become, it couldn’t withstand the seasoned weapons and excellent armaments wielded by the veterans, nor the bodies strengthened by divine power.
The group slaughtered the gaping-mouthed creatures mercilessly.
After swinging their weapons for quite some time and finally felling the last creature, Aslan felt satisfied.
The situation was much smoother than Aslan had anticipated.
Things were going according to plan.
However, Aslan’s instinct-like senses advised against letting down his guard, and he voiced his thoughts without hesitation.
“Everyone alright? Give me a status report. Don’t lower your guard.”
The group, weapons at the ready, glanced briefly at Aslan and spoke in turn.
“I’m fine. Got scratched a bit, but it healed just now.”
“I’m okay too. Just my favorite clothes got slightly torn?”
Sharp voices in succession and Erreta’s soft tone.
As Aslan heard these voices while transforming Sepsis into a shield form, reports continued.
“I’m fine.”
Tiamat’s brief report concluded.
“Phey’s fine too. How about Aslan?”
Phey asked in return.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“It was easier than expected, so I’m a bit uneasy, but I’m good too.”
“I’m fine.”
With Lumel and Lewena reporting last after Aslan’s response, the reports ended.
There were no returning sounds, and strangely, silence flowed.
Unconsciously, Aslan slightly turned his head to look around.
Aslan wasn’t the only one to sense something amiss.
“Richard?”
Angie’s bewildered voice.
To which the martial artist, who should have responded, was already gone from his spot.
Only an oppressive silence and an empty space remained in his stead.
Angie’s eyes widened, and the group either looked around or pointed their weapons in confusion.
Aslan was the former and, therefore, he realized.
“It’s closed…?”
The hole above leading to reality was already shut.
Realizing that, Aslan acted immediately.
“Everyone gather! Something’s happening! We need to hold our ground here…”
Just as he lowered his head to pull out a rope from his backpack, Aslan noticed another person was missing.
“Aslan! Angie’s gone!”
Tiamat’s shout and Aslan’s bewilderment.
This was something that never happened in the game.
At most, the darkness obscured vision; complete disappearances didn’t occur.
This was clearly a different situation.
Unconsciously turning his head toward Lewena.
Though Aslan suspected Lewena as he looked at her, he soon realized this was beyond what she could accomplish.
And even in the moment Aslan looked at Lewena, the group disappeared.
“What is this… Tiamat’s gone!”
Too obvious a division. A method perceptible even to intellect felt oddly familiar.
Fate didn’t respond, and Aslan reflexively understood it was the work of the Dark Ram.
Within the bounds of the rules, actively intervening to try to kill Aslan.
A miscalculation. Realizing this, Aslan approached the group before it was too late.
His intention was to prevent physical separation through physical contact.
Rushing to Erreta first and grabbing her hand, Aslan watched as if mocking him, Erreta’s arm was severed, and she disappeared.
Briefly bewildered, when Aslan turned his head to call out to Phey,
“Phey!”
“Got it…”
Phey, who was running towards him, suddenly distanced herself greatly before vanishing.
One by one, as they disappeared, Lumel gripped her spear backward and stabbed it into the ground.
Pa-ji-ji-jik!
Attempting to push back the darkness with light from her spear, Lumel resisted.
Even she disappeared the moment the light faded.
Lewena too, the moment Aslan turned to look at her, seemed to vanish as if the space collapsed.
Standing alone where the group had all disappeared,
Aslan remained in a place devoid of up, down, left, or right, lacking spatial awareness.
Standing in a space akin to black mist, Aslan clenched his teeth.
Assuming they wouldn’t interfere like before was a misjudgment.
Thinking they wouldn’t suddenly intervene just because they hadn’t until now was clearly a mistake.
The Dark Ram dividing the group without any chance to interfere or block was blatant.
Aslan sensed malice in that blatant action.
Perhaps the reason the Dark Ram had left Aslan alive until now was for this single moment.
And if that was truly the case, this division wouldn’t be the end. Despite being bewildered, Aslan gripped his weapon and scanned the surroundings.
All he encountered in his sweeping gaze was darkness. Aslan glared at the darkness and thought.
The Possessors would surely come.
He didn’t know how many would come, but preparation was inevitable.
‘Perhaps the number will include the three from last time…’
Just as Aslan continued his thoughts,
Something appeared in the corner of Aslan’s vision and filled it.
An endless list stretching endlessly. Gradually consuming his vision and spreading across it.
[Ongoing Main Quest]
[Defeat the High Priest of Void and Chaos]
[Defeat the War Hero Rebecca Clarke, High Priest]
[Defeat Tubul Goryu, High Priest]
[Defeat Jun Enomoto, Reincarnated Sage, High Priest]
[Defeat Claude of Champagne Crusade, High Priest]
[Defeat Adam Snyder, Immortal Knight, High Priest]
[Defeat Kim Jung-cheol, Resolver, Priest]
[Defeat Tsukiyama Murata, Psychic, Priest]
…
…
The list kept growing. Endlessly expanding, it consumed Aslan’s entire left field of vision.
It looked like a system malfunction.
Watching the endless updates of Possessor names, Aslan froze as if his system had crashed.
And as Aslan observed it, he realized.
That he wasn’t the only one who knew Aslan well.
The Dark Ram also knew Aslan well.
The Dark Ram was the hunter, and Aslan was the prey.
Given the Dark Ram’s purpose was to consume Possessors like Aslan, the reversal of hunter and prey was unlikely.
When Aslan glimpsed through the endlessly expanding list and saw those approaching, he comprehended all the facts and quietly closed his mouth.
The Possessors were coming.
