FLIA 57

They walked and walked without end. Even though Yohan was now a high-level awakener and confident in his stamina, the sheer size of the plain was beyond belief. Only after walking for what felt like forever were they finally able to secure a shelter.

It was an enormous, ancient tree that looked like it had just died. Birds that had been feasting on its wailing fruit like a banquet straight out of a horror movie turned and screeched menacingly. But after a few bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, they cried out mournfully and scattered. A few were skewered by Yoon Seungryong and Ju Hoyoung’s weapons and fell dead.

“This tree’s pretty solid. I like it.”

Lee Hyunmook struck the trunk a few times with enough force to make it ring like metal. His lips curved upward. Curious, Yohan tried hitting the tree himself and quickly cradled his now-stinging hand. It wasn’t just sturdy, it was unnaturally dense. No wonder it made a metallic sound.

“If we hollow it out, it’ll be perfect.”

“But it’s so hard…”

“It’ll take some work, but…”

Hyunmook placed his hand on the base of the tree. As he pressed down, his fingers slowly sank into the wood. When he clenched his fist, a chunk of it broke off with a dull crack. Yohan’s mouth dropped open. Hyunmook casually tossed the piece behind him, and Ju Hoyoung gleefully scooped it up.

“Nice, firewood.”

Fist-sized chunks of firewood kept dropping out. Yohan tried to help collect them, but he couldn’t keep up with Ju Hoyoung’s speed. Meanwhile, Yoon Seungryong was using his spear, shaped like the Green Dragon Crescent Blade¹the legendary weapon of Guan Yu, a hero from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms., to clear the surrounding grass. He seemed to be creating a clear field of vision, likely to prevent ambushes. Watching everyone at work, Yohan clasped his hands politely and asked Hyunmook,

“Team Leader, what should I do?”

“Right. Yohan actually has something important to do.”

Hyunmook tossed him a bundle of firewood, then guided him to a naturally curved root. He sat Yohan down and gently stroked his hair and cheek.

“Sit here and rest.”

“Huh… but…”

They’re all working, and I’m just supposed to sit here? Feeling awkward and unsure of what to do, Yohan hesitated. Then Ju Hoyoung came over, stacked firewood, and lit a fire. Not long after, Yoon Seungryong handed him roasted potatoes and corn before returning to his clearing.

Embarrassed, Yohan sat and nibbled the nicely roasted food while sprinkling purifying light around. The truth was, after being trapped in the Black Mountain for so long, his body was sore and tense, and he was exhausted from constant purifying without proper rest. The warmth of the fire lulled his head lower and lower.

He nodded off, jerked awake, then nodded off again. Who knows how many times he repeated the cycle before someone called softly, “Yohan-ah.” He snapped upright from his drowsy state. Blinking heavy eyes and looking around, he was surprised.

“Wait–everything’s already done?”

“Yup. Let’s go inside and get some real sleep.”

Still half-asleep despite his nap, Yohan let Hyunmook lead him toward the tree. He glanced back at Seungryong and Hoyoung.

“Go ahead and sleep first. The hyungs got something to talk about,” they said, settling near the fire.

“O-okay…”

As he answered, Yohan thought to himself, Wait, “hyungs”? But Hoyoung’s not a hyung…Still, the pull of sleep was overwhelming, and his thoughts drifted as he crawled into the massive hollow tree.

“Wow… this is nice…”

The once-dead tree, now purified, gave off a faint, calming scent of wood. The mattress and sleeping bag Seungryong had laid out were just what Yohan had missed. He dove into the soft bedding, feeling as if nothing in the world could be more luxurious. As he yawned, his sleepy eyes scanned the space.

The inside was cozy, the sleeping bag warm. Outside, Seungryong and Hoyoung murmured beside the fire. Most reassuring of all, Hyunmook was nearby. The taut tension that had gripped him like a rubber band finally began to unwind. The comforting sense of safety filled the space where his fear had been.

His eyelids drifted shut. In a sleepy mumble, he whispered a goodnight to Hyunmook, then fell asleep as if fainting.

***

The moment Yohan vanished underground with a single scream, Yoon Seungryong and Ju Hoyoung were paralyzed with fear. For two reasons: one, the terror of losing the only miracle in this hell; and two, the dread that now turned toward the team leader standing beside them.

“Ah.”

Lee Hyunmook let out a short, low sound. And then–

The first to flee were the birds that had been charging recklessly at Yakrin’s command. They scattered in panic, shrieking like people. But even faster than their retreat, something darker began to spill from Hyunmook’s body.

No–it wasn’t shadow. It was darkness.

The same kind Yohan once described in a hallucination: pure blackness without a single speck of light. It poured out like someone had dropped black ink into the air, unreal, unearthly. It spread faster than even Ju Hoyoung could react.

“Aaaaah!”

Ju Hoyoung screamed and collapsed to the ground, trembling, unable to lift his head. Yoon Seungryong barely remained standing, but he was no less terrified. The first place Hyunmook’s darkness surged toward was the Black Mountain.

The moment it touched the mountain, the earth began to tremble violently. As if being slashed and gouged from the inside, the mountain convulsed with repeated earthquakes. Hyunmook slowly turned his gaze to the side.

“I missed.”

His red-glowing eyes snapped toward the sky. Seo Yakrin, the monstrous bird, flapped its wings and frantically fled. One of its massive wings was twisted, Hyunmook had severed its muscle in a flash. As Yakrin staggered away, Hyunmook murmured,

“It’s fine. Yohan has a part of me. I can still find him.”

The birds touched by the darkness flailed and tried to flee, but unlike Yakrin, they had no chance. They were swallowed whole, never to make a sound again. Hundreds of birds vanished at once. Then, in a gentle tone, Hyunmook encouraged the trembling Yoon Seungryong.

“Seungryong-ah, go. Move now.”

At those words, Seungryong dove into the shadow-loosened mountain. His body twisted and swelled before vanishing into a cloud of dirt and rock. Then Hyunmook turned to Ju Hoyoung.

“You too, Hoyoung.”

Still vomiting on the ground, Ju Hoyoung staggered to his feet and ran after Seungryong. The hole in the Black Mountain began to close, but he froze it in time. The frost, as hard as stone, stopped the collapse. He ran through the tunnel, freezing every surface behind him to keep it stable.

Meanwhile, Yoon Seungryong dug with everything he had to find Yohan. His body, though powerful, couldn’t withstand the mountain’s hardness, and flesh began to tear and wear away. But his regenerative power enhanced from Yohan’s purifications carried him through. He didn’t even register the pain.

I have to find Yohan. I have to find him, no matter what. He repeated it like a mantra as he dug blindly. That was when a whisper slid into his ears, carried on a shadow that had slipped into his skull.

Down. Go down.

He immediately shifted downward. A cold chill crept up his spine, but whether it was from his teammate’s icy aura or his own fear, he couldn’t tell.

Right.

Again, the whisper. He turned right without hesitation.

Down. Even deeper…

A long shadow slid out beneath him, softening the mountain’s density. As the centipede-like form burrowed ahead, the Black Mountain trembled like it was in pain.

Left. Down. Again, left. Faster. We need to find him quickly. You’re doing great… Try moving even faster. You can do it.

Seungryong moved like he was possessed, following the voice echoing in his ear.

This pursuit continued relentlessly for days. None of the three stopped, not until their hearts gave out. The Black Mountain tried to collapse the tunnels or crush them, but every attempt failed. Hyunmook’s darkness, thicker and more suffocating than the mountain itself, silenced even its groans.

In the end, it was the Black Mountain that lost. Even as it clung to its precious secret, it had no choice but to surrender and reveal what it had hidden in its deepest, most sacred place.

When the voice in his ear finally fell silent, Yoon Seungryong let his battered body collapse, completely spent.

The black figure that had approached before anyone realized it reached out and gently patted each of the team members–who were now barely clinging to consciousness, gasping for breath after exhausting nearly all their strength–as if to say they had done well. Yoon Seungryong weakly lifted his trembling gaze and looked toward the team leader. This terrifying being, even more horrifyingly, was capable of taking on a human form.

Then it jumped into the space where the ground had crumbled and light leaked through.

At the moment when light and darkness mingled like a shimmering haze, Yoon Seungryong…

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  the legendary weapon of Guan Yu, a hero from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.