Chapter 22: World.exe Missing

– We called this space the Horizon.

“I clearly said I didn’t want to talk…”

Jin-yeop tried to ignore what Alice was saying, turning away from her, but at the unexpected words, he frowned and turned his head back.

– Another space that suddenly appeared in the world we lived in.

“…..”

– All unidentified things inside the Horizon were called Ain.

“Ain?”

– Yes.

Because they are ‘non-existent beings.’

“…..”

– Don’t you think they have no world of their own?

Jin-yeop’s eyes, fixed on Alice, began to waver slightly.

Only then did Alice release the force binding Jin-yeop and stand up.

– It seems you are now willing to converse.

Alice lightly raised her staff, which was as tall as she was, and struck it on the ground.

Then, from somewhere, children who looked to be about three or four years old popped out and began busily moving about.

In an instant, the desk and chair Alice had been sitting at disappeared, and a tea table was created in their place.

The children, moving with quick, short steps, placed plates and teacups on the table, then huddled together behind Alice, sneaking glances at Jin-yeop, who was sitting slumped on the floor.

“Wh-what are these?”

– My Shamaranda.

“…..”

– I made them into dolls.

So all the children watching Jin-yeop with curious eyes were dolls.

Jin-yeop first stood up and observed the dispositions of Alice and the dolls called Shamara.

They truly seemed to want only conversation; he felt no hostility from them.

Even if this were part of a mental attack, Jin-yeop thought it necessary to play along, and followed Alice’s guidance to the tea table.

Sitting across from Alice with a suspicious expression, he stared at one of the Shamara that had drawn close to his side, standing on tiptoe to push a teacup towards him.

The Shamar, with sparkling eyes, had silver hair and blue eyes.

While their appearance was certainly too surreal to be considered human, their movements were too natural to say otherwise.

‘Not that life inside a dungeon is the same as the humans we know anyway.’

But this definitely felt strange.

Jin-yeop quickly averted his gaze from the Shamar and opened his mouth towards Alice, who was savoring her tea.

“So, is this space I’m in now a dungeon in your world… no, a Horizon?”

– Didn’t I just say?

Beings within the Horizon have no world.

“So what does that mean…”

– My world vanished, and I became a being within the Horizon.

“…..”

– I became what you call something inside a dungeon.

Alice calmly took a sip of tea and set it down.

– The being you eliminated was something I created.

To take my place.

“…..”

– I eke out an existence like this in the cracks of the distorted Horizon.

My power has weakened greatly; now all I can manage is to command Shamara in the form of children like this.

So, Alice too had had her own world, and they had called dungeons and monsters that suddenly appeared in that world the Horizon and Ain.

Then, she herself had become a dungeon entity and lost her world…

Jin-yeop narrowed his brow as he listened to the story, whose truth he couldn’t verify.

“So what happened to your world?”

– Well, I wonder.

At that moment, Jin-yeop’s mind went blank, as if struck on the head.

The words Alice had spoken scattered like puzzle pieces within him and began to reassemble.

“Does that mean if you can’t eliminate the dungeon, your world gets taken?”

Alice did not answer Jin-yeop’s question.

Seeing Alice neither affirm nor deny, Jin-yeop pressed her.

“I asked if your world gets taken.”

– It’s not that kind of concept.

“Then why did you lose your world?”

Alice hesitated for a moment, then stared at Jin-yeop and opened her mouth.

But Jin-yeop could not understand the words flowing from her lips.

Hora∇jeun ■〓▲ is ■∵ to ○∝dan☆.

Although ⊥ha▲ to some 〓▲, it becomes ○□, but ▼■∵ ∝…

“What are you saying?

Hey.”

∵ can interact with you like this because it is not ■∵

“Hey, Alice!”

The moment Jin-yeop lost patience and shouted, countless system windows began to fill his field of vision.

!! Warning !!

System: Abnormal access detected.

!! Warning !!

System: Access threatening stability.

!! Warning !!

System: Access denied.

Ins@ne #*ing.

Take &% away &.

His vision was completely obscured by the red flashing system windows.

But through the gaps in those status windows, he could see the space beginning to crack.

“Alice!”

Jin-yeop hurriedly reached out his hand towards Alice.

There were still things he hadn’t properly heard from her.

But the space rapidly collapsed, and even Alice, sitting before him, vanished as if shattering.

***

The muscles of Eun-ru’s jaw, clenched tightly, twitched slightly.

Ejected from the dungeon for unknown reasons, he stood before the gate that now seemed to have developed a barrier, making re-entry impossible, and repeatedly threw meaningless punches at it.

Even when he held his authorization against it, he couldn’t re-enter, and his punches had no effect whatsoever.

With trembling hands, yet a cold expression, Eun-ru contacted someone.

Shortly after, people began to arrive.

They poured out of vehicles and immediately surrounded the dungeon area.

One of them strode towards Eun-ru, who sat slumped in a corner with a dazed look.

“Lee Eun-ru.”

Eun-ru, sitting on a bench with his head bowed, his gloves tattered and torn, the back of his hands bruised and bloodied, lifted his head at the familiar voice.

“…Uncle.”

The man, called uncle, quickly approached Eun-ru, whose eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot.

“A dungeon re-awakening?

What the…”

“Give it to me.”

“…..”

“I said give me the contract.”

Eun-ru shot up from his seat and abruptly thrust out his hand towards his uncle.

His murderous aura was such that he could easily kill someone right then, but the man’s expression didn’t waver.

“No.”

“Uncle.”

“You’re going to live as a Guide.”

“…..”

“This is me being generous.”

The man raised one hand as he spoke, and someone quickly approached and bowed.

“The authorization?”

“Even with contact, the gate won’t activate.”

“Have you contacted the Management Department and Vibes?”

“Yes, they’re on their way.”

The man clicked his tongue, staring at the sealed dungeon entrance, then turned back to Eun-ru.

“A promise is a promise.

Even if you tear up the contract, nothing changes.

It’s an unbreakable contract from the start.”

“…..”

“Lee Eun-ru.”

“…..”

“I can let you do whatever you want, but living as an Esper is not allowed.”

“Then open that.”

Eun-ru stepped closer to the man with the resolute expression and spoke as if growling.

“Open it, by any means necessary.”

“What if I can’t?”

“…..”

“Going to use your ability to break the contract?

That’s fine by me.

Then you’ll never meet the person inside again.”

At those words, Eun-ru couldn’t contain his rage and reached out to grab the man by the collar, but the man deftly swatted away Eun-ru’s hand and narrowed his brow.

“Stop throwing a tantrum.”

Then he turned and strode towards the sealed gate.

The man threw off his coat, unbuttoned and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

Seeing this, someone investigating the front of the gate urgently shouted.

“CEO-nim, the Management Department contacted us saying not to touch the gate until they arrive…”

“Have there been cases of dungeon re-awakening before?”

“No, never.”

“Then there’s nothing the Management Department can do even if they come.”

“…..”

“Doesn’t matter if the person inside dies?”

When the man asked sharply, no one answered.

Amidst the quietly settling silence, the man took a stance and clenched his fist powerfully.

At the same moment, a strong wind began to rise from his entire body.

“Everyone step back!”

Those near the gate quickly retreated.

Veins stood out on the man’s forehead.

The moment the wind swirling around his body gathered at his fist, the man thrust his hand forcefully towards the gate without hesitation.

Kwang!

With a harsh sound of impact, a gust of wind erupted from the man’s fingertips.

Wind mixed with dust and sand tore sharply through the people.

It was such a powerful force that it made vision hazy.

Everyone braced their legs strongly against the wind to avoid being blown away, grabbing onto nearby objects and squeezing their eyes shut.

The force was formidable, but as the dust settled and the view cleared, what appeared was the gate, without so much as a single scratch, and the man whose hair and clothes were wildly disheveled from the rough wind.

“Tch.”

The man clicked his tongue and turned his head to stare at Eun-ru.

A dungeon re-awakening.

Something that had never happened once since he himself became an Esper.

No one in the world knew why an F-class dungeon entered for training had suddenly become A-class.

If this was something that originated from the dungeon itself, it was natural that external impact wouldn’t open it.

The man knew that fact well, but he had no choice but to try something anyway.

Throwing tantrums wouldn’t work anymore.

The man had certainly told his nephew that, but he himself was the only person who had to yield when Eun-ru threw a tantrum.

Because he knew better than anyone what the person inside meant to Eun-ru.

‘If time drags on further and Cha Jin-yeop ends up dead.’

If that happened, Eun-ru might not only break his contract with him, but in the end, might even go into runaway.

The man gritted his teeth, muttering inwardly.

‘That’s a life I saved.’

That must not happen.