Chapter 19: Right to the Surface
*
Gang-ho quickly ran to the landing point and caught Reina, who was losing balance and about to fall.
Thud.
“Ugh!”
Gang-ho felt a strange shock for a moment.
Crackle.
The tiny electric sparks surrounding Lisa suddenly disappeared, absorbed by Gang-ho.
‘What the…?’
At the same time the query popped up, an urgent message appeared on his status screen.
[Disaster Manual Emergency Patch]
[(New) Chapter 24: Alien/Different Dimensions]
[…]: …….
[Starting Update.]
[Progress]: 2%
This phenomenon was now familiar, but there was no time to think about the content.
Boom! Bang!
Meanwhile, the explosion sounds grew louder, more frequent, and closer. Unsurprisingly, the vibrations intensified as well.
“Ugh.”
“What should we do?!”
People were clearly entering a state of panic. They all knew that if they couldn’t get through that door, they’d be buried alive.
“Move aside!”
Before they knew it, flames were swirling around Lisa.
“Spontaneous combustion. With fire.”
What she murmured wasn’t a chemical formula like before, so they could grasp its meaning.
Fwooosh!
Boom!
A fiery storm erupted around Lisa.
Gasp!
Gang-ho quickly pulled up a barrier and stepped back to let Lisa unleash her thoughts.
‘Dousing fire with fire. Good attempt. I wonder if the red flames can subdue the black flames?’
Gang-ho had a little hope in Lisa’s flames. With Reina’s physical prowess blocked, he thought the black flame might share electricity attributes like his own.
‘If it’s fire, then…’
Wouldn’t it at least create a gap?
Kaboom! Bang!
The power of the eruption surpassed the last time they encountered a plasma cannon. Truly, its destructive power was nothing short of spectacular.
The people gasped in awe at the raging fiery storm around Lisa and the cascading flames bursting from her arms.
“Ooooh!”
“Wow!”
It wasn’t the first time they’d seen this, yet every single time it awed them. That was Lisa’s flame.
However, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Whooooooosh.
When the crimson flames struck the black curtain, a strange resonance echoed, absorbing all of Lisa’s fire.
Swoosh!
Gang-ho had an instinct that something was wrong and turned to Lisa. Her body trembled violently.
She was gritting her teeth.
“Ugh!”
It looked as if she was barely resisting being sucked into the black curtain.
“Satoshi!”
At Gang-ho’s shout, a dazed Satoshi reflexively rushed toward Lisa.
Whoosh!
Almost simultaneously, Lisa collapsed, seemingly exhausted.
Thud.
She truly began to get dragged into the black curtain.
Drizzle.
Fortunately, Satoshi managed to reach Lisa just in time and swung his arm widely.
Swish.
In his hand, a dagger with swirling, unknown dark energy appeared. Following its trajectory, a red line was quickly drawn in the air.
Shink.
The sound of something being sliced echoed in the empty space. Then, thin sparks dispersed and vanished, resembling the cut edge of a rebar bundle.
Sssssss.
Finally, Lisa’s body, which had been dragged along the ground, came to a stop.
After witnessing the brief sequence, Gang-ho had to bite his lip instead of feeling relieved.
‘Those mutants all died getting sucked in like this.’
The black flame, which absorbed powers, didn’t seem to be merely taking that ability from Lisa.
“Hah, hah, hah.”
She looked utterly exhausted, as if she had no strength left to stand up. It had drained all her stamina in an instant.
From this, Gang-ho realized something else as well.
‘Without special abilities, it absorbs life force, huh?’
Ordinary humans likely left nothing behind.
Gang-ho let out a low grunt without realizing it.
Hmm.
How on earth could he eliminate such a monstrous energy being? He couldn’t come up with a solution.
Feeling frustrated, he glanced at Inder, who was controlling the panic among the people. Their eyes met, and without fail, a telepathic message came through.
[I saw it too. It’s a transdimensional entity that can absorb and reflect energy.]
– So there’s only one way to deal with it, right?
[…….]
Inder couldn’t answer, even though he understood what Gang-ho meant.
‘We either exceed its absorption capacity and make it explode or absorb the entire black flame itself.’
Theoretically, that would work, but practically, it was nearly impossible.
There was no way to know how many mutants and humans that black flame had absorbed to block their only escape route.
And the idea of bursting it after fattening it up? Ridiculous.
Conversely, the other way was even more impossible.
While lost in thought, Inder looked down at his own hands.
Haa. ‘Is there really no way?’
He was angrier about his own powerlessness than feeling despair.
Just then, Reina, who had been unconscious in Gang-ho’s embrace, opened her eyes.
“Ugh…. Thanks.”
After quickly glancing around, she assessed the situation, muttered her gratitude, and attempted to stand.
Stumble.
“Uh?”
As expected, it seemed Reina was also out of energy, as she tried to get up but collapsed again.
Thud.
Once more in Gang-ho’s arms, Reina frowned.
“There’s no way to eliminate that thing.”
That was her firsthand experience from colliding with it. No further explanation was necessary.
Gang-ho nodded and then looked around. Everyone wore similar expressions.
Fear, despair, or resignation.
Inder, the others, the worn-out Lisa, and Satoshi, who was supporting her. So, he quietly asked Reina in his arms.
“Really no way?”
“… Yeah.”
She bit her lip, straining to answer. Gang-ho looked at her and said softly.
“One way just presented itself.”
[Emergency Patch Complete]
[New Update Details]
[(New) Chapter 24: Alien/Different Dimensions]
[…]: …….
[Section 3 – Entity]
[Name]: Dark App.
[Type]: Faux Black Hole (similar to a black hole).
[…]: …….
[Current Status]: Saturation 98%
From the conversation he had shared with Inder, he had some idea already, but now he had precise information.
‘This is enough. But,’
Gang-ho lowered Reina to her feet and stood up. The ground was shaking violently already, and they had to do something.
‘Can I really fill that last 2%?’
But that was no reason to hesitate.
Thud.
As Gang-ho stepped forward, all eyes were on him. A slight smile crept onto his lips.
‘Am I a natural-born sacrifice?’
It felt more tedious than admirable that he so naturally chose to sacrifice himself.
But he couldn’t take another step.
Thud!
Wolf blocked his path, rubbing his face against him.
Yap!
Somehow, it felt like Wolf knew all about Gang-ho’s choice. Gang-ho gently petted the bridge of Wolf’s nose.
“Wolf. Please look after the remaining team members.”
But Wolf backed away, rejecting his touch. Then, he let out a beautifully resonant howl.
Awoooo~!
In an instant, there was no time to react; Wolf dashed forward, disappearing in a flash.
Growl!
Crash!
Wolf’s leap, which had grown as large as a rhinoceros by the time he reached the first basement level, was impressive, just like before.
‘Ah.’
Wolf flew toward the glowing black flame, still simmering with dark energy, crashing into it with his full body.
Wooosh.
Kaboom!
“…….!”
An enormous wave of energy wrapped around Wolf’s body and exploded. The sheer power was thrilling to watch.
Boom, rattle, rumble!
However, curiously, the blast didn’t spread beyond Wolf.
‘The explosion felt like it could wipe out an entire city, yet how…?’
Wolf let loose a ferocious roar, as if battling an unseen enemy.
Grrr!
Ghaaaar!
As they watched, something clicked for Gang-ho.
[Attributes]: (New) Soul Detection: Soul Resonance. (New) Immaterial Absorption.
At the same time, he recalled Inder’s words.
– That black flame is a crystalline entity of immaterial energy.
A helpless sigh escaped him.
Ha!
‘It’s just an old saying that dogs can see spirits; how ridiculous.’
He had thought this when he first saw Wolf’s altered abilities.
Woo-ooooow~!
Wolf’s prolonged howl sent chills down his spine. One could sense his determination in that farewell-like cry.
“Wolf!”
Before long, Wolf’s body began to absorb the dark light, slowly fading away.
Swirl…
And then…
He vanished alongside the black flame.
“… Wolf!”
*
“Wolf has disappeared.”
Satoshi’s dazed muttering barely broke the silence.
Then Reina remarked, “The black flame is gone too.”
“……”
While he didn’t know the exact reason, Gang-ho, who had witnessed Wolf’s ability, could only surmise one thing.
‘Sacrifice.’
Wolf had embraced the black flame, containing its explosion within himself. He had absorbed it.
Gang-ho’s attempt to fill the saturation of the black flame was the opposite choice.
Yet in the end, Wolf’s decision was undoubtedly correct.
‘If that had exploded outside…’
The only scenario that came to mind was one of total annihilation.
The World Species Repository would have vanished without a trace.
Aside from that, the group was engulfed in sorrow over the loss of their comrade.
Wolf was not just a pet or a military dog that followed orders.
He was part of them—Gang-ho, Lisa, Reina, and Satoshi.
‘I thought we wouldn’t lose any more comrades during missions.’
Gang-ho bit his lower lip for a moment.
But he couldn’t just wallow in sorrow.
“How’s Dr. Inder doing?”
He asked Lisa, who was checking on Inder’s condition. He had lost consciousness due to extreme pain right before the black flame disappeared, and remained unresponsive.
“Physically, he’s fine. Breathing, pulse—all normal, and there are no external injuries.”
Gang-ho nodded.
Then he spoke to everyone, “We’re heading to the surface right now.”
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