FLIA 27

To gather ingredients, the two of them returned to their shelter. On the way back, Yohan stopped by a rice field he had taken note of earlier. Sure enough, the plants there were squirming vigorously, some appeared sentient, others seemed highly poisonous. Buoyed by the success of purifying the apple, Yohan exclaimed,

“There might be some decent leafy greens to eat here. If we’re going to lure Mr. Yoon Seungryong, we should prepare a proper spread.”

“Alright. Then stay here for a second.”

As Yohan looked like he was about to rush in, Lee Hyunmook stopped him and drove his spear deep into the ground. After stirring it around a bit, he skillfully tangled up twisting stems and roots and yanked them out like dried fish, tossing them onto the road. The plants were too grotesque to identify by seed, so they moved from one field to another, purifying them one by one. The results were as follows:

An onion the size of a human head, a cucumber as thick as an arm, a disturbingly long chili pepper, lettuce and perilla leaves large enough to use as fans, clusters of round cucumbers growing by the dozens on a single vine, and green onions that looked at least ten meters long. After digging for a while, a deeply moved Yohan fell to his knees and shouted,

“I found it!”

He held a bundle of garlic in his hands. Though it had limb-like stalks and was the size of a watermelon, it was still garlic. On the way back, Yohan’s arms were filled with leafy greens, while Lee Hyunmook carried a pig on his back.

“Shouldn’t we taste-test it to see if it’s delicious enough for Mr. Yoon Seungryong?”

Yohan looked up at Lee Hyunmook with a desperate expression, as if he’d cry if told no. Instead of replying, Lee Hyunmook silently began slicing the blood-drained pork.

Yohan, having found a grill plate at a house, attached a butane canister from the supermarket to a burner and lit it. He then grilled thick, fatty meat, he wasn’t sure if it was pork belly, pork jowl, or collar meat, until it sizzled golden brown. On a lettuce leaf split into six pieces, he placed a spoonful of rice, two slices of pork, and a chunk of garlic drenched in ssamjang, then offered it to Lee Hyunmook.

“Here, you go first!”

“Thanks, Yohan-ah.”

Every time Lee Hyunmook affectionately called him “Yohan-ah,” a strange ticklish sensation fluttered in Yohan’s chest. Lee Hyunmook took a big bite of the wrap and slowly chewed it, savoring the flavor. For once, his usually shadowed eyes gleamed faintly.

“After tearing into monster meat for so long, eating like this… it really feels like a luxury these days.”

“Well, now that I’m here, you can eat nothing but delicious things from now on!”

With a cheerful shout, Yohan quickly made a wrap for himself and popped it into his mouth. His purification ability was truly amazing, not the slightest odor remained. In fact, it tasted even better than meat from a butcher’s shop. Even in a monster-infested abyss, the combination of ssamjang, garlic, pork belly, and leafy greens formed a perfect harmony.

“This is so good…”

For a long while, they were too focused on their luxurious meal to talk. As they happily ate dinner, Yohan started to feel sorry for Yoon Seungryong. The man had probably been surviving in that dark, gloomy cave for three months, drinking filthy swamp water or eating monsters. He wanted to let him taste something this good too.

After two full days of deep rest to fully recover, Yohan began diligently grilling pork belly the next morning. He grilled about five geun’s worth, then looked at Lee Hyunmook as if to ask if that would be enough. Lee Hyunmook shook his head.

“Let’s just grill the whole pig and bring it.”

“Wait, that much?”

“Seungryong’s stomach’s gotten pretty big… Honestly, I don’t think even that’ll be enough.”

Picturing the moderately muscular Yoon Seungryong, Yohan tilted his head. Was he really a heavy eater? Then again, most awakened humans did eat a lot. After grilling an entire giant pig all day, they stopped by a supermarket to restock on sauces and then set off again toward the swamp.

Maybe because it wasn’t their first time, the second trip didn’t feel as hard. No, actually, it really was easier. Yohan looked around carefully, a bit surprised.

“Doesn’t it seem like the water level in the swamp has gone down?”

After checking the nearby trees and rocks, it became even more obvious. There were clear marks showing where the swamp had receded.

“Probably all drained into the cave. I did poke a hole in it.”

“Ah…! That’s why it’s so much easier to move around.”

Maybe because the water level had dropped, there were fewer monsters as well. The two of them walked diligently and finally reached the cave again. First, they cleared away nearby trees. To keep the food from getting soaked in swamp water, they fashioned a platform from trimmed wood and lit the burner. As they placed the fresh pork on the grill, the meat sizzled and released an irresistible aroma.

While Yohan focused on grilling, Lee Hyunmook neatly stacked the mountain of pork they’d grilled at home onto the platform. Using a shovel, he mixed chopped garlic, ssamjang, and leafy greens with the pork, but it looked less like human food and more like feed for a beast.

“Mr. Hyunmook, want a bite of ssam?”

“Hmm, why not.”

The two of them munched on wraps here and there for about an hour as they grilled. Yohan kept glancing nervously toward the distant cave. There was still no sign of Yoon Seungryong coming out.

“But do you think the smell’s even reaching the cave?”

“Seungryong’s always had a sensitive nose. And this used to be one of his favorite foods, it’ll be hard to resist.”

Then it happened. From deep inside the cave, a low, eerie wail echoed out, and Yohan froze. His neck creaked as he turned to look at the cave again.

“Was that just now…?”

“Pretty strong reaction, but I guess it’s still not enough to make him crawl out. Should I give him a little taste?”

Lee Hyunmook stood and walked to the edge of the cave’s deep hole with several wraps in hand. He tossed one inside, then popped another into his mouth and chewed as he began tossing one wrap every ten minutes. Yohan watched with a mix of worry, wondering if they were even reaching Seungryong, and regret at the wasted food.

After Lee Hyunmook had repeated this seemingly pointless wrap-tossing routine a few times, a sharp cry echoed from deep within the cave. Startled, Yohan leapt to his feet.

“There we go. You want some, don’t you? Then crawl up here and get it.”

Lee Hyunmook muttered dryly and tossed the rest of the wraps into the hole, then gave Yohan a signal. Yohan quickly turned off the grill, grabbed the butane and burner, and rushed away to put distance between them.

A terrifying roar rang out several times, shaking the ground. Yohan felt something massive and long slither its way upward, and the color drained from his face. Whatever was coming up might be human… but why did it sound like that?

Crash… KUUUUNG…!

Half of the cave collapsed as the swamp’s water level sank even further. When Yoon Seungryong, who had been holed up for so long, finally emerged, Yohan realized he’d made a huge mistake. His gaze slowly tilted upward.

“Yoo… Yoon…”

He was so shocked he couldn’t even speak.

Even Lee Hyunmook, who had suffered the worst corruption, still looked like a human. So Yohan had simply assumed Yoon Seungryong would be in a similar crazed state. Was it just that Lee Hyunmook had held on longer because he was a high-level awakener, or was Yoon Seungryong’s corruption that much worse?

What crawled out of the cave looked like a massive, elongated centipede. Its black, moss-covered armor glistened wetly, and its legs were extraordinarily long, even for a centipede. Yohan felt like he might actually pass out. He tried desperately to find something vaguely human about it. At the creature’s head, there was something resembling a human torso. But its skin was black, its face was… and what was on that face…

That’s Mr. Yoon Seungryong? …No, that’s just a monster. How could a human become that corrupted? A wave of nausea hit him, but he clenched his teeth and endured.

The moment it crawled out of the cave, the centipede-monster, no, Yoon Seungryong, charged straight toward the source of the scent. Reaching the platform stacked with pork, the creature didn’t eat right away. Instead, its upper body swayed slowly, its long forelimbs gently prodding the food drenched in ssamjang, garlic, and leafy greens. Acid dripped from its gaping fangs.

A few seconds later, Yoon Seungryong lunged, overcome with excitement. He grabbed the food and shoved it into his mouth. It was like he didn’t even notice Lee Hyunmook or Yohan standing nearby. Watching him eat so frantically, all of Yohan’s disgust and discomfort melted away, replaced by deep sympathy.

Lee Hyunmook didn’t try to stop him. He simply stood there, watching silently as Yoon Seungryong devoured the food. The pork they’d spent all day grilling disappeared in less than a few minutes. With a sorrowful sound, Yoon Seungryong wandered around, then began licking the wooden platform. When he started gnawing on the bare wood itself, Lee Hyunmook finally spoke.

“Seungryong-ah, it’s been a while.”