EP.139 The Sky Seen Again
The Abyss vanished, and the earth turned upside down. That day, the ground reclaimed its floor, and the sky shone down into the heart of the Abyss.
The evening sky, with the sun sinking toward the horizon, was closer to darkness than light, but all things in the world were relative.
Compared to the endless darkness of the Abyss, it was no different from a lamp, and those within felt that they had regained the sky.
With a single Jizan, Shei lifted the ceiling, then collapsed backward, utterly exhausted. The Step Cloud that had expended all its strength vanished, and Shei’s body tumbled headfirst.
Tirkanjaka caught her in darkness. Seeing Shei’s lips move feebly, she hurriedly asked,
“Where is Hyu?”
Shei felt a little aggrieved. She had pushed the earth upward, yet no one seemed interested in that.
Still, she was just as curious about him, so she groaned and somehow managed to answer.
“…We have to find him. If it’s that guy, he probably isn’t dead….”
But her condition was far too poor for her to do anything. Shei tried to raise her upper body, then gave up and collapsed again. Whenever she tried to speak, only broken, wavering groans leaked from her mouth.
Only then did Tirkanjaka check Shei’s condition. Perhaps feeling a little apologetic, she carefully placed her on Rallion’s back and said,
“You must have had a hard time. Shei, rest for a while. I will search for him….”
That was when it happened. Lash and Kallis, who had been holding their breath for fear that the ceiling might collapse, approached them once their safety was assured. Tirkanjaka hurriedly asked them,
“You arrived at a good time. Did either of you happen to see where Hyu went?”
Lash answered,
“You mean the teacher? Didn’t he go up first?”
“Go up first? The sky was blocked off by the earth… I do not quite understand what you mean, but in any case, how could Hyu have gone up?”
“How should I know! But when our eyes met, he gestured that he would be up ahead!”
“He gestured?”
Tirkanjaka raised her head and looked toward the top of the Abyss.
The ceiling had vanished from the Abyss—or rather, from the pit that was no longer an Abyss—and despite having regained the sky, it was still quite deep. Even after reaching the summit of the Corpse Mountain, one would have to ascend almost as though flying to reach the surface.
As Tirkanjaka continued to doubt the claim, Lash’s voice came again.
“That’s right! I didn’t see how he went up because he disappeared afterward, but surely the teacher had some way! He might have climbed up hanging from the ceiling, like those beast girls!”
Just then, Aji’s cry rang out from the surface. Butterfly’s cry followed. The two beasts were howling with joy at having reached the surface again after so long.
Though they had been on the opposite side of the Abyss, the two had remained attached to the ceiling, then reached the surface while clinging to the ceiling as it flew upward.
Of course, such a thing was possible only because they were kings of beasts.
“If it was Hyu… it wouldn’t be strange for him to do anything at all. He might even have climbed up while hanging from a single thread.”
“Would he not? Otherwise, are you saying he is here but refuses to show himself? Even if the teacher enjoys playing tricks, surely not.”
Even so, Tirkanjaka could not imagine him flying through the sky, and she kept tilting her head.
“No. Hyu may be behind the mountain. I will go there and search for him.”
“Since you’re going, why not ask Jiseon as well? Wouldn’t she know better?”
Lash pointed toward the summit of the Corpse Mountain. There, Jiseon was kneeling before the Grandmaster. She held herself with great reverence, as though she intended to offer the memorial she had been unable to give earlier, even now.
The sight of her with one arm missing was almost pitiful, but that lay somewhat outside Tirkanjaka’s concerns.
If one had dared to oppose the Progenitor and escaped with only an arm lost, it was practically the same as being shown mercy.
“I will see.”
Tirkanjaka promptly approached her.
Although the earth had just overturned and the Abyss had been freed from its long imprisonment, it seemed entirely unrelated to Jiseon. With concrete fragments scattered across her head and shoulders, Jiseon struggled to steady a wine cup with one hand while tilting a bottle.
Tirkanjaka came up beside her.
First, Tirkanjaka checked the other side of the Corpse Mountain. There was not even a trace of his shadow behind it. After looking around for a moment, Tirkanjaka asked Jiseon,
“Look here. Do you know where Hyu went?”
Jiseon answered without even turning her head.
“Why would you ask this humble one about his whereabouts?”
“You were the last person to see him. Answer the question.”
“Until a short while ago, the two of us were fighting.”
“The victor was clearly decided, and the loser must obey the victor’s will. You should answer even more faithfully.”
“…Heh heh. What a farce….”
Jiseon gave a short, hollow laugh, then laboriously set down her wine cup and pointed upward with a finger.
“…He went up.”
“How?”
“There was a rope. After driving it into Tantalus, he grabbed it and climbed up when the ceiling overturned.”
“Is that truly the case?”
“Would this humble one have any reason to lie?”
Having finished speaking, Jiseon calmly poured more wine into her cup. Seeing her detached from everything, Tirkanjaka did not press her further and muttered as though to herself,
“Where could he have gone without a word?”
“If he left without a word, would that not mean he has departed?”
“Departed?”
“If he remains here, the Military State will pursue him. He left to avoid that.”
That was when it happened.
The surroundings suddenly grew noisy. At the same time, familiar rings of light shone in from all directions. Voices murmuring in confusion gradually drew closer.
“The ground! The ground has risen!”
“An earthquake…!”
“There are corpses everywhere…!”
“All sorts of debris are falling from the sky! Major, we have to evacuate!”
“Calm down!”
The angry voice quieted the murmuring. Amidst it, one particularly prominent voice rang out like a peal of thunder.
“When an abnormal situation occurs, hold your positions and send only the minimum number of personnel to report! Is that not the iron rule of our reconnaissance unit?”
“Yes!”
“If you understand, then hold your positions! We must prevent those demonic creatures from emerging from the Abyss again!”
Footsteps scattered in perfect order at the commander’s order. Soon, they appeared all around the rim of the Abyss. The sight of human silhouettes shifting against the neatly circular sky was quite imposing.
“Tsk, we can’t see inside! Bring the searchlights!”
The soldiers could not see through the dim pit. Just as they began looking for the searchlights—
“Oh! There are soldiers!”
“…Tsk. Lash, I shall hide for a moment.”
“Huh? Ah, right! You said we had to hide!”
While Kallis concealed herself, Tirkanjaka surveyed her surroundings.
Shei was exhausted and barely breathing. The kings of beasts had already gone outside and did not seem likely to involve themselves in a human conflict. The immortal could not die, but was hardly of much help.
‘I have to find Hyu.’
But he was nowhere to be seen inside the Abyss. He must have gone outside.
Perhaps he had hidden himself first because being discovered by the Military State could cause trouble. Just like Kallis.
‘If so, he should be hiding somewhere nearby. Then what I have to do is—’
Break through an escape route.
Tirkanjaka drew a deep breath, created stairs out of darkness, and trudged upward.
A round searchlight that had just approached tried to shine on her. Just before the light reached her, Tirkanjaka frowned, pressed down hard on her fingertip, then flicked it.
Crash, crash.
The instant the round lights drew near her, the lamps shattered one after another. The soldiers operating the searchlights fell backward.
The commander shouted,
“What is it? Something is approaching! Everyone, take firing positions!”
Wrapped in darkness, Tirkanjaka walked up onto the surface. What she faced there was an army numbering no fewer than three hundred.
They had brought dozens of vehicles and all manner of equipment, and now stood facing Tirkanjaka.
A beautiful girl with long silver hair and brilliant red eyes had emerged from within the Abyss. Every soldier of the Military State was momentarily stunned—but only for a moment.
Feeling instinctive fear toward the strangely beautiful being that had risen from the endless earth, they each gripped their weapons.
Tirkanjaka was tense as well.
She knew nothing about their weapons or their abilities.
Had it been her former self, unafraid of death, she would have driven them back first and thought afterward. But now her heart was beating, and behind her remained those who had been unable to escape. She had something to lose.
‘Should I try talking first?’
The Progenitor, who had never known compromise, took a humble stance for once. It was entirely different from the attitude the Tirkanjaka of history had displayed.
Unfortunately, however, this gave the unit, which had been briefly frightened, an unnecessary surge of confidence.
Naturally, that misfortune belonged to the military unit.
The commander shouted triumphantly,
“Surrender, trainee! Return to the place you came from and await your disposition!”
“That’s absurd….”
“Obey the order! If you refuse, we will open fire!”
Rat-a-tat!
Warning shots struck the ground at Tirkanjaka’s feet. Faced with an attack carrying sufficient threat, her expression naturally darkened.
“…You seem confident. Against me….”
Weapons she had never seen before in her life. Countless gun barrels trained on Tirkanjaka. Soldiers of the Military State all wearing identical uniforms.
She took them seriously.
“Then I shall use my full strength from the beginning.”
It was night, after sunset. The earth, filled with shadows, was a vampire’s domain. Her red eyes drew the darkness into her vision, and her authority unfolded.
Black knights rose from every direction. Shadows were their base and their supply lines. Their number reached a thousand.
The tide suddenly turning left the soldiers bewildered. The commander, his face white with panic, pointed a finger.
“Fire! Fire!”
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
At his command, a storm of gunfire erupted. A rain of bullets tore into the black knights.
But the black knights that had risen from the darkness endured the bullets, or let them slide off, and continued advancing. Bullets were far too small to clear away the darkness.
Against humans, the bullets might have been somewhat effective, but against the black knights they were weaker than flails swung by peasants.
“T-They aren’t going down!”
“The enemy keeps multiplying!”
The commander shouted frantically,
“I-I see! It’s an illusion. They have no physical form! Everyone, hold your positions! Don’t waste your ammunition and…!”
At that moment, one of the approaching black knights pounced on a soldier. The soldier screamed and rolled across the ground.
The commander hastily changed his orders.
“Stay together! Stand back-to-back and narrow the field of fire! And the equipment! Bring the lights quickly and shine them over here!”
The soldiers followed the order, cursing their commander under their breath.