FLIA 164

Finally, the purification field that had spread from the distant sky reached the ground. Inside the dome that shone brilliantly, there was nothing corrupted anymore. However, even with Ju Hoyoung’s buff, the purification field’s range was not enough to cover the entire Great Rift area. The golden cracks that spread through the air were still writhing.

‘It’s fine if I do it the same way I did in the Abyss.’

Yohan thought that with intense focus. But maybe because he had been tense for too long, it didn’t work well. When he grew nervous and tightened his grip on his weapon,

“Yohan-ah.”

He quickly lifted his head at the familiar name. Lee Hyunmook, who had already finished driving off the monsters, stood next to Yohan. He placed a warm and kind hand on Yohan’s shoulder.

“Take a deep breath first…”

Yohan looked at Lee Hyunmook once, and he exhaled. His shoulders, which had been stiff, relaxed.

“Good, you did well. Let’s try again now. Slowly. Your vision isn’t what matters. Focus on the feeling.”

A large hand covered his eyes. At first, he felt startled, but when he closed his eyes, he could concentrate better on the light he had spread. He paid attention as he slowly imagined pushing away the scattering veil of light. This time, it moved according to his will.

The purification field moved slowly and swept over the parts of the rift it hadn’t covered yet. It drew a round circle and erased every dirty trace. The Great Rift that had gaped open in the air trembled like it was shivering.

“Robot vacuum…”

Yoon Seungryong murmured, and Seo Yakrin smacked his mouth. She meant not to disturb, but Yohan still heard it. When he accidentally laughed, he relaxed, and it became easier to move the purification field. After a few minutes, when Yohan finally swept over the last part of the Great Rift, someone shouted.

“It’s disappearing! The Great Rift is disappearing!”

The stubborn cracks that had hung in the air were being filled. They spread again in a desperate struggle but were restored right away. They shrank and shrank until only a single dot remained, and even that soon vanished completely. At that moment, everyone rejoiced. They had erased the Great Rift for the first time.

“We lived! We really lived!”

They lived. That was the exact expression. Until now, there had been no way to stop even ordinary rift, let alone a Great Rift. They could only watch helplessly as it consumed everything, but now there was hope.

After Yohan confirmed that the Great Rift had completely disappeared and that nothing within the purification field was corrupted, he collapsed to the ground. No, he tried to sit, but Lee Hyunmook, who was next to him, caught him before he fell. Yohan leaned against him, covered in sweat, gasping for breath.

“Wow, I was so nervous… There are so many people here, and I was scared something might go wrong…”

“You did very well. It wasn’t as bad as you thought, right?”

After hesitating briefly, Yohan nodded. It was true, just as Lee Hyunmook said. The terrifying presence and struggle of those six monsters made their end feel almost anticlimactic. That meant the Flood couldn’t fully exert its power here, unlike in the Abyss. Lee Hyunmook looked around and came to a conclusion.

“This seems to be the result of their best effort.”

“I’m really relieved. I was scared this place might turn into another Abyss…”

Yohan murmured as he relaxed his body. A proper smile finally appeared on his face. As always after using the purification field, he felt exhausted, but his mood was good. And maybe because it wasn’t the Abyss, he wasn’t as drained as before.

“Our youngest~!”

Seo Yakrin jumped onto the rooftop and rushed over, wrapping Yohan in a proud embrace and patting his back. Then the other teammates ran up and ruffled the exhausted youngest’s hair. Even in his drained state, Yohan laughed.

***

Even though the battle had been quite fierce, the team members were not tired at all. That was because they hadn’t fought using their full strength.

“This place really is peaceful. Honestly, I could’ve handled everything by myself.”

Ju Hoyoung said that as he looked down from the edge of a building. It sounded a little boastful, but honestly, Yohan agreed. Had the team even used half their strength? Yohan thought that while wiping his sweat with the handkerchief Lee Chanha handed him.

‘If they used their full power, it would’ve been easy.’

But no one showed their full power. They were already being watched cautiously by the government. No one wanted more trouble.

Yohan knew that their true strength was so overwhelming it would make anyone feel out of place. Unless someone fell into the Abyss and spent long years there like them, no one could reach the Taeyang Team’s level.

Unlike Yohan, the Special Unit members couldn’t rest. Hundreds of citizens were unconscious or confused, so cleanup was urgent. But since there was no major threat within the purification field, they had room to breathe. Soon Jeong Siyoung came up to the rooftop too.

“Everyone worked hard. Thanks to you, almost no casualties occurred.”

Even as she spoke, there was a constant buzzing noise. It was the sound of drones flying around, filming diligently. Jeong Siyoung glanced at them irritably but left them alone.

“For casualties from a Great Rift to stay in single digits, it’s something we can call a miracle.”

Jeong Siyoung’s voice sounded somewhat stiff. It was because she had felt for herself the strength of these people in this operation.

Even if the civilians under Lee Chanha’s shield were fine, it was shocking that none of the Special Unit members were seriously injured. No, before surprise, there was astonishment. The members didn’t seem to notice it, but the entire battle had taken place inside the Taeyang Team’s grasp.

It was like a child’s pretend play, and every time the members were in danger, lucky coincidences happened right on time.

Since she had become a high-rank awakened one, Jeong Siyoung had almost never felt fear, but this time she had sweated through the whole fight. The monsters were less frightening than those people. Yet she swallowed that fear, looked at Yang Yohan once, and spoke.

“I’ve owed you again.”

“Eh, what debt? This isn’t much. Anyway, it’s lucky that no one died! Korea has to stay peaceful for us to live comfortably too!”

Yoon Seungryong, who had noticed that the other was nervous, answered loudly on purpose. Jeong Siyoung nodded and looked down the building. The members, who had always been grim during battle, unusually smiled brightly this time. Jeong Siyoung sighed once and spoke to Lee Hyunmook.

“Be careful for a while.”

She didn’t say who, but everyone except one understood what she meant. Then Jeong Siyoung laughed briefly in disbelief. Be careful? What could anyone possibly warn people who treated a chaotic battle like a playground about?

“…No, that was a pointless piece of advice. Anyway, I’ll see you again next time. Let’s have a drink together sometime.”

After that, Jeong Siyoung jumped straight down the building without turning back. She did it to command the remaining cleanup.

“I like how the captain’s always so chill.”

Seo Yakrin squinted her eyes and laughed. Lee Hyunmook fed a few pieces of ice to Yohan, who was still panting from exhaustion, and then touched his flushed cheek.

“Shall we go home and rest now?”

“Yes! I’ll wash up, then eat something delicious and sleep well.”

All the worries that had weighed on him vanished, and Yohan, cheerful again, leaned on Lee Hyunmook’s hand as he answered. Then he sighed once and stood up, and without any fear now, he jumped straight down from the rooftop. He landed with a tap and looked at the purification field that would keep glowing for the next few days.

‘The people living nearby will all be purified, right?’

When he thought of the people who had suffered now being able to rest, a smile appeared on his face. Lee Chanha, walking beside him, looked up at the purification field with a dazed gaze, so Yohan asked.

“Chanha-hyung, should we stay here a bit longer before going?”

“…No. There’s a lot to take care of back at the guild. You should rest at home too, Yohan.”

Lee Chanha shook his head in reply, though he sounded regretful. Yohan thought he should consider setting up a small purification field at Lee Chanha’s home again sometime.

While he thought that and walked on, they reached the edge of the purification field. The continuous flow of light was beautiful even to Yohan’s eyes. He gave a small hop and stepped outside the purification field.

“I called a guild vehicle, but… with the streets in this mess, I don’t know if it can get here.”

Yoon Seungryong sighed as he looked at the broken asphalt and the cars scattered everywhere, then stopped. In front of them, beside a military vehicle, stood several awakened soldiers and Kim Jongseok. He was temporarily filling in the vacant minister position after Hwang Yeongcheol’s disappearance.

His face was expressionless, his gaze hostile and wary. Facing them, Yohan suddenly recalled Jeong Siyoung’s warning. When Kim Jongseok tilted his head slightly, one person stepped forward and spoke to Yohan.

“Awakener Yang Yohan. We request your cooperation as a witness in the investigation of the S-Medical Pharmaceutical Company and Neon Guild illegal funding case.”