Chapter 108: Celestial

The commotion outside the precinct was so loud that even those inside could feel the chaos.

A few officers rushed out to see what was going on.

“…Ugh!”

But before long, they came running right back in.

They flailed their hands, pointing outside, while their flustered mouths struggled to form any words.

“What is it, what’s going on?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the entrance at that unusual reaction, and soon they saw the cause.

A woman whose glamorous appearance did not fit the precinct at all.

Behind her trailed awakened ones like bodyguards, and outside, a swarm of reporters was barely visible.

“Uh… Haven’t I seen her somewhere before?”

The suddenness of it all left everyone’s minds blank for a moment, but it didn’t take long to figure out who she was.

“Yoon Seulah?”

A face familiar from TV, news, and newspapers, popping up every now and then.

Just her presence seemed to brighten the dreary precinct.

Former awakened of the Taeryong Guild, a businesswoman who had proven her abilities, and an influencer as famous as any celebrity.

It was Yoon Seulah.

“M-Madness, no, why is Yoon Seulah here…?”

“Forget that, get her over here!”

“Contact the chief, now!”

The moment everyone inside understood why it was so noisy outside, the inside became just as tumultuous.

“…Huh?”

At the sound of someone’s stunned exclamation, everyone froze.

Their movements paused, and a brief silence fell, because what they witnessed simply defied common sense.

The face of the person who came in behind Yoon Seulah was also incredibly familiar.

“That… Daphne?”

Hair of deep blue, impossible to miss.

Even those who seemed to be Daphne’s bodyguards were famous awakened who appeared on TV all the time.

While Yoon Seulah’s appearance was already hard to process, Daphne’s presence went far beyond that.

Yoon Seulah was, after all, a Korean, a businesswoman active in Korea—a celebrity one might be lucky enough to see by chance.

But Daphne, suddenly here?

Her presence brought an almost surreal sense of distance.

She was the most famous woman in the world.

Ask anyone who the strongest awakened is, and her name was always on the list.

Daphne’s sudden visit to Korea was in the news just a few hours ago… Why would she come to such a small precinct?

That question was quickly answered.

“Oh, look who it is.”

A man cosplaying as a magician got up from his seat, as if he knew them.

And just as soon as the question was answered, a new one arose.

“You’re just in time. Let me out, will you?”

‘Why was their mentally unstable friend acting so chummy with these two giants?’

‘Was he planning to embarrass himself in front of Daphne, who’d just come to Korea? What if he left a bad impression of Korea?’

Those trivial worries—

“So here you were, Hio Pavlenko.”

“It’s been a while, Hyunseung.”

—were immediately drowned out by the two’s responses.

“I can’t believe you two came together. You noticed my message, didn’t you?”

Hio grinned as he spoke to Yoon Seulah and Daphne.

In the videos people were taking, there was a secret message that Hio had hidden.

He’d cast magic disguised as a magic show, faint blue flames trailing high in the sky.

He thought that because they noticed, Daphne and Yoon Seulah had managed to find him.

Of course, neither of them knew about Hio’s little trick.

Yoon Seulah had kept a watchful eye on the places where Hio first appeared, and just happened to find him.

Daphne, knowing Hio’s characteristics well, had used her abundance of manpower to track him down through brute force.

Realistically, with the countless videos and posts uploaded every day, there was no way a simple magic show would reach these two giants.

Only Hio, oblivious, was feeling satisfied.

Daphne and Yoon Seulah didn’t bother explaining the details to Hio.

After all, there was a mountain of things to discuss and do.

So, naturally, the three of them left together.

To Daphne and Yoon Seulah, getting Hio out—who hadn’t even committed a crime—was as easy as flipping their hand.

“So this is why everyone sings the praises of power.”

He couldn’t help but recall how nice it was to be treated as an imperial knight.

Whether Hio cared or not, Yoon Seulah and Daphne engaged in a subtle war of nerves with Hio between them.

“Why does that woman keep following us?”

Daphne’s words came through a translation Artifact, and Yoon Seulah replied nonchalantly.

“That’s what I want to ask. Daphne, why are you here at a time like this? Shouldn’t you be extremely busy? As the first awakened, no less.”

“I came here for the most important matter.”

“So you mean, above all else, Hyunseung is what matters most?”

Daphne’s eyebrow twitched at Yoon Seulah’s pointed question.

It was a question that could easily be misunderstood if answered carelessly.

But Daphne Kirin was not the sort to care about such things.

“At this point in time, he’s the most important person.”

Yoon Seulah was left speechless by her directness.

“Then what’s your relationship with Hio? Are you his girlfriend or something?”

“W-What are you talking about… We’re just acquaintances, that’s all.”

Daphne turned her gaze to Hio.

With a look asking, “Is that true?” Hio nodded.

“Good.”

Daphne nodded as well.

“Then you can go back now. Where we’re going isn’t a place for ordinary awakened to follow.”

There was no time to waste.

Even as they spoke, they were making their way to the airport.

But Yoon Seulah was not about to turn back just because Daphne told her to.

Whatever the first awakened was hiding.

She had barely managed to track down Hyunseung Lee, who could be called the key.

From her perspective, there was no way she’d miss this opportunity.

“Ha, even if you’re Daphne Kirin, you have no right to tell me to go or stay.”

Yoon Seulah turned to look at Hio again.

After all, Hio himself had just said he was looking for Yoon Seulah.

So, if anyone was to decide whether she stayed or left, it should be Hio.

Sensing this, Daphne also looked at Hio.

With both women staring at him, Hio nodded indifferently, as if annoyed.

“Let’s just go. We don’t have time.”

He could guess what Yoon Seulah was curious about.

And why Daphne wanted to leave Yoon Seulah behind.

But to him, it didn’t matter at all.

First awakened, hero, whatever.

Their status, their secrets…

None of that mattered—he just wanted to deal with the Abyss Gate as soon as possible and return to Arilleia.

That’s what worried him far more.

If, by any chance, the unpurified dragon awakened…

“Set your priorities straight, Daphne. If that energy gets out, it’s over.”

There was also the fact that he hadn’t expected Daphne to show up.

If Daphne hadn’t come, he would’ve asked Yoon Seulah for information about the Abyss Gate and a ride, but now, leaving her behind was just too much.

Hio wasn’t that shameless.

“See?”

He didn’t know why Yoon Seulah looked so triumphant, but in any case, that’s how the party was decided.

At that moment, each of the awakened escorting the two women stepped closer and whispered news in their ears.

At the words, the women’s faces grew serious.

“The Gate Break… has occurred.”

The Abyss had finally burst.

“The problem was a lack of resolve.”

“Resolve?”

“I mean the will to stand and fight even if it costs your life. The possessed ones just didn’t have enough of it.”

***

Inside Daphne’s private jet en route to the Abyss Gate.

Though Daphne’s tone was calm as she explained to Hio, her words were anything but.

From the start, the 51st Floor was filled with unexpected variables.

The condition for clearing was to wipe out all the monsters on the floor.

The problem was, there was absolutely no information about the 51st Floor’s Boss Monster.

“If I didn’t know about it, that means no other Raenka has ever seen this type of Boss Monster either.”

At Daphne’s words, Hio gave a faint nod.

“Daphne, you’re saying a Boss Monster that even you haven’t seen before appeared on the 51st Floor…”

That was certainly an unexpected variable.

Daphne’s knowledge and experience with Ventair was second to none.

“It started with a few bold awakened being killed instantly by unexpectedly overwhelming power.”

High-ranking Raenka and awakened.

They’d never truly faced mortal peril.

What they called crises were always within their own control.

They’d never really faced a situation where their lives were on the line.

“Plus, on the 51st Floor, logout was impossible for ten days. As soon as they felt real danger, that was the first thing they remembered.”

‘What if logout became impossible again?’

‘What if they really died here?’

They’d gained fame and power as if playing a game, always growing stronger without obstacles.

But if you looked beneath the surface, there weren’t many willing to risk their lives in true crisis.

“As soon as one person ran, everyone else logged out like they’d been waiting for it. They must have figured staying behind alone would be suicide.”

From the mid-floors on, even the Abyss Monsters themselves were on another level.

There was a reason why you needed a large expedition and had to be cautious.

There were still plenty of Abyss Monsters left, and now a new, powerful type of Boss Monster.

Daphne and a few others fought hard, but it was no use.

“They weren’t the kind of members to fail the clear. If they’d kept fighting, they would’ve succeeded—though a few more might have died in the process.”

The problem was, there was an escape route.

The problem was, none of them had ever truly risked their lives.

The Boss Monster truly possessed disaster-level strength.

But those gathered were the world’s top awakened—they could have withstood the disaster.

It was only the mid-floors, after all; failure on the 51st Floor was unthinkable.

They’d only grown strong on the outside—their hearts still stuck in the ordinary past.

So the clear failed.

“I don’t trust those people anymore. Fools who only know how to bask in empty fame.”

Daphne’s blue eyes turned icy cold.

Just thinking about it made her blood boil.

No matter how she thought about it, those fools had far more fame than they deserved, inside and out.

They ran for their lives, knowing full well what their failure would bring.

They had no sense of responsibility, just a desire to be worshiped.

“That’s why I came to find you, Hio Pavlenko. Or should I say, Hyunseung Lee, here.”

Daphne looked at Hio across from her.

A man for whom even comparing him to those fools was an insult.

He didn’t covet fame or show off his power.

Yet he was stronger than anyone.

Not just outwardly, but with a mental strength Daphne couldn’t even fathom.

“If I trust those fools one more time, who knows what disaster will come… So let’s put together another expedition with only people I can truly trust. With me.”

That was why Daphne had come straight for Hio.

He was the strongest person she knew.

And he was someone who would never run away.

Hio adjusted his hat and picked up his cane, which he’d been leaning on.

The Abyssal Curse was so thick he could feel it.

“There are two things. First, since the name Hyunseung Lee is no longer meaningful, just call me Hio from now on.”

With that, Hio Pavlenko stood up from his seat.

They had arrived.

“And as for stopping the Abyss Gate, I can do that alone.”

Through the window, the view was of the endless sea under a vanished sun.

Above the darkened, open sea.

“Don’t get involved.”

As he spoke, the plane began its descent.

“…Tch.”

On the opposite side of the plane where Hio and Daphne were talking.

There, Yoon Seulah clicked her tongue.

Hyunseung Lee and Daphne had moved to the other side, leaving Yoon Seulah out to talk in private.

But it was still the same plane; surely she could hear them if she tried…

“…But what magic did they use? I can’t hear a thing.”

And Daphne’s awakened stood guard, eyes blazing, blocking any approach.

It had been so long since she’d been treated this way…

Even so, Yoon Seulah wasn’t impatient.

She was the type to acknowledge what had to be acknowledged.

Daphne was the very pinnacle, even among the first awakened.

And Hyunseung Lee… she didn’t know his true identity, but judging from before, he was certainly above Nam Tae-min.

And based on Daphne’s attitude and words, it was hard to believe, but he was even above Daphne.

In other words—

“Leader of the first awakened… or the boss?”

‘Was he something like that?’

For now, she could only make wild guesses.

But being able to come this far with them meant something.

She’d missed her chance before, but this time, she’d watch up close and learn as much as she could.

About the first awakened, about the things they were hiding.

And about the mysterious Hyunseung Lee.

Just as Yoon Seulah made that resolve—

“Don’t get involved.”

Hyunseung Lee rose from his seat, and at the same time, the plane began its descent.

‘…Huh? Don’t get involved? What does he mean?’

The plane landed, carrying all of Yoon Seulah’s unresolved questions.

Outside, there was only darkness.

A Gate Break meant monsters pouring out of a failed Gate clear.

The same was true of the Abyss Gate; just like during the First Floor clear,

At the very start of the break, monsters would pour out like mad…

But reality was completely different.

“An island, huh. Certainly a first.”

Above the sea, a massive Gate lay horizontally.

When it shattered, an island as enormous as the Gate itself appeared.

And not on the earth—but floating in the sky.

Inside, the darkness was so deep that even moonlight could not enter.

“How picturesque.”

Hio sat astride his Phantom Steed, gazing at the island alone.

Of course, picturesque my foot.

All he could feel was the horrific Abyssal Curse.

If he was late in subjugating it, this cursed energy would spread across the world.

If there was a silver lining, it was that, as the whole thing moved as an island, the monsters inside weren’t spilling out.

If anything, that made it easier for Hio—he could wipe them out all at once.

“So, in the end, it comes down to Holy Power.”

Even now, his Reputation Points were skyrocketing.

He invested them instantly, pouring everything possible into Holy Power.

Because Holy Power was the key.

[You have purchased ‘Holy Power’ stat for 110pt.]

[‘Holy Power’ stat has increased by +11.]

The reason Reputation Points were rising so rapidly was simple.

You only had to glance around to see why.

The helicopters flying frantically about had been quickly brought under Daphne’s control, but with the sea so wide, it was impossible to keep everyone away.

On the nearby shore, crowds of people had gathered.

Because the island was so large, affecting a huge area, perfect control was impossible.

YouTubers, reporters, tourists, locals.

All sorts of people were gaping at the floating island in the sky.

Normally, once the danger of the Abyss was known, everyone would be scrambling to escape…

“If things go as I expect, I can settle this in an instant.”

Among the crowd, Yoon Seulah and Daphne were also present.

There was no need for them to enter that obviously perilous island.

As long as things went according to plan.

***

After scanning the people on the ground, Hio’s gaze returned to the shadowed island.

All he could sense was the thick, cursed energy of the Abyss.

A space. In front of the gigantic floating island, the Phantom Steed’s white wings seemed small, but shone with a sacred aura.

“Accursed denizens of the Abyss. What is your weakness?”

Seated atop the steed, Hio smiled and filled himself with resolve.

Souls tainted by the Abyss.

A deadly power to erase those souls forever.

“The answer is—”

He raised his staff high into the sky.

A dazzling golden radiance burst forth.

“Celestial.”

[Skill – ‘Celestial’ activates.]

Cutting through the darkened sky, the touch of a goddess swept over the island.