Chapter 66: The Drowning Depths

#66

The light swiftly enveloped Ju Uiryeong’s body, then crept outward, snaking its way to seize Dokyeom’s ankles. It felt like the chilling grasp of a water spirit, dragging them down into the depths.

Ju Uiryeong, who had been sweating profusely for a while, slumped to the floor, muttering incoherently to himself.

As a torrent of blood erupted from Ju Uiryeong’s pale, constricted mouth, everything abruptly reverted to its original state.

Along with the colossal Spatial Teleportation skill.

A blinding light burst forth from the massive formation etched into the ground, obliterating their vision. Simultaneously, a colossal bolt of lightning, resembling a network of capillaries, tore through the ominous storm clouds and struck down.

The world turned white.

This pristine white light consumed everyone. It swallowed Ju Uiryeong, who was still coughing, the serpent that had lunged at Dokyeom’s back with bared fangs, and even Agon, whose face was twisted in a grotesque grimace.

The burgeoning flash of light culminated in an explosion. Once the light dissipated, only the sound of rain remained in its wake.

*Swaaaah—*

The relentless downpour struck the cement road with a rhythmic patter.

A silent street. Hunters with dazed expressions. And the surviving Agors, shaking themselves off as they rose.

It was gone.

The massive Chimera had vanished from their sight in the blink of an eye. Only a colossal sinkhole remained.

“What… in the world…”

Even after scouring the area, not a trace could be found. The hunters, who had been staring blankly at the sky, one by one turned their attention to a reporter who, despite the dreadful weather, had risked their life to fly a helicopter.

*Tototototot—*

Unlike the other helicopters that had landed due to the worsening weather, this lone chopper hovered precariously, performing a dangerous aerial ballet. One of the reporters, seemingly driven mad, even hooked their legs around the helicopter’s landing gear, hanging upside down to capture the entire scene.

It was a crazy sight, yet oddly enviable.

At the sight, the hunters immediately scaled the nearby buildings, scrambling towards the helicopter like zombies.

‘I need to see what they captured first.’

“Hey, reporter! Let us see that camera for a moment! Ah, just come down here!”

“Get lost! Do you think I’d hand this over?! This is my livelihood, you damn hunters! I risked my life to film this, and now you’re demanding I give it up?! Just go away, you have no business here! Try to come any closer, and I’ll drop everything!”

The hunters, bickering with the reporter, were oblivious. They didn’t realize that three people had vanished along with the Chimera amidst the chaos.

Furthermore, two shadows had slipped into that blinding light, following Dokyeom.

One was a man who had cleverly concealed an insignia on his inner wrist, while the other was an elite soldier of the Hell Legion, a ‘General’ grade undead, emanating blue flames.

The vanished figures were not three, but five.

****

*Bubble, bubble—*

Dokyeom gasped for breath. He couldn’t breathe. His body felt endlessly heavy, as if someone were dragging him down from below.

All he could see around him was pitch-black darkness. This boundless, zero-gravity space evoked a chilling terror.

Yet, suddenly, a deafening roar echoed, and a colossal monster plunged into view, accompanied by a cascade of bubbles. The beast thrashed its limbs, struggling desperately.

From its eagle-like beak, which gasped out air, numerous bubbles continuously erupted.

Upon seeing the creature, Dokyeom steadied his resolve and held his breath. As he relaxed his body and calmed his mind, just as he had practiced, the suffocating agony gradually subsided.

This was underwater. Deep within a seemingly bottomless canyon.

*Bubble—!*

The Chimera, clearly in agony, thrashed wildly. It twisted and struggled, attempting to ascend, but it was all in vain.

The more it struggled, the further its body would sink. Such was the inherent nature of this canyon.

This lake was once a place where a Gate Break had occurred, altering the terrain. Water spewed from the Gate had created a lake 100 meters deep on the slopes of Seoraksan Mountain.

Its depth was roughly equivalent to a thirty-story apartment building.

Since that day, the area had been closed off by order of the government and the Association.

[‘Gate Breaks sometimes leave behind anomalous phenomena that defy common sense before vanishing.’]

This statement was the reason. Following the Gate Break, an abnormal phenomenon arose in this lake: buoyancy simply did not apply.

Consequently, the Association and the government had no choice but to designate it a hazardous zone.

No one knew why. They only knew that due to the Gate Break, buoyancy didn’t function in the lake, meaning anyone who fell in would sink indefinitely.

Dokyeom himself wasn’t certain about this anomaly, as it was a detail he had only briefly mentioned in his novel. Since he had concluded it with a mere rumor, confirmation was necessary, and he had sent Orias to investigate.

The results of sending Orias here to investigate confirmed that the anomaly, which he had initially dismissed as a mere rumor, was indeed real. Furthermore, several experiments revealed that the heavier an object, the greater the gravitational pull it experienced underwater.

Therefore, the plan was to simply wait for the Chimera to sink, and once it perished, he would just enter the water and retrieve its authority. The objective here was not to fight.

It was to somehow trap the boss and drown it.

[‘Orias, the demon of ‘Lemegeton,’ urgently shouts that they need to come out quickly!’]

‘I know. I know, but—’

*Bubble—*

It wasn’t easy. Despite the days he’d spent practicing diving with Agon’s help, his body refused to obey. His limbs felt sluggish, as if held captive, and his legs cramped repeatedly.

As he struggled, he spotted Agon’s faint figure in the distance. Agon, who had been looking around, swiftly approached Dokyeom upon seeing him.

Nevertheless, his speed was noticeably slower and more sluggish than usual.

This indicated that the anomaly affected Agon to some extent as well.

*Swaeek—*

Dokyeom also strained to reach out his hand towards Agon. However, something dark suddenly materialized beside Agon, lashing out like a whip.

It was the venomous serpent that had bared its fangs at Dokyeom before they came here. The Chimera’s tail.

‘Agon, your side…!!’

Dokyeom immediately pointed to the side and cried out. Even that effort caused him to writhe in agony, his body twisting as water surged into his throat.

His entire body felt heavy and numb. In that moment, the shadowy figure lunged at Agon, its maw wide open.

Agon twisted his waist, and the serpent narrowly missed him.

The snake’s head, having shot past, immediately changed direction and charged back towards Agon.

‘How is that damn thing so fast…!’

The serpent, seemingly unconstrained by the anomaly’s laws, coiled and twisted its body with complete freedom, swimming effortlessly through the water. At a glance, it was faster and more agile than Agon.

‘Given its weight, the downward pull must be immense, so how is such movement possible? Is it due to high skill resistance? Or simply because it’s a higher-grade creature?’

Perhaps the Chimera’s grade had already ascended to SS-rank. Or it might be on the verge of reaching SS-rank.

Dokyeom’s gaze drifted downwards, into the murky depths of the lake. Suddenly, everything went pitch black.

It was as if night had fallen underwater; where moments ago he could faintly discern shapes, now nothing was visible.

‘No, that’s not it.’

Dokyeom felt a chilling sensation. His thoughts reeled, and his entire body began to stiffen.

Something impossibly vast was before his eyes. A primal fear, akin to witnessing an ancient, gargantuan sea creature, washed over him.

‘Why… isn’t it sinking…?’

It was the Chimera. The Chimera, defying even this anomaly, instantly overturned all his hasty conclusions.

*Piiieeeek—*

Immediately upon hearing the Chimera’s fierce roar, Agon swatted away the serpent and turned his body directly towards Dokyeom. A turbulent wake churned behind Agon as he swiftly approached.

‘First, I have to get out. Suffocation aside, Agon can’t possibly fight while carrying me, a complete liability.’

‘I need to get out. Right now.’

Dokyeom shrugged his shoulders, hastily opened his inventory, and retrieved a gun. ‘If this place still retains Gate energy, then Gate-specific weapons might be usable.’

‘If only I had thought to pack an oxygen tank. I wasted time confidently learning to dive, but that was a misjudgment and arrogance.’

*Click—*

As he loaded the gun, he felt the normally unresponsive trigger press down with a weighty resistance. There was no time for relief.

Dokyeom aimed the muzzle at the Chimera and, just as he had in the Eulwangri Gate, activated his skills as he pulled the trigger.

‘, , ‘

*Thang, Thang, Thang—*

The bullets, propelled by the churning water, struck somewhere on the Chimera’s body. Yet, that was all; the only outcome was a disheartening message.

[‘Stability (B)’ skill has been nullified.]

[‘Empathy (B)’ skill has been nullified.]

[‘Harmony (A)’ skill has been nullified.]

As expected, the skills had no effect on the Chimera. Dokyeom did not lower his gun, instead pulling the barrel back to reload. This time, he imbued it with a different skill.

‘‘

His shoulders heaved as he gasped, barely managing to steady his aim. He pointed the gun towards the serpent’s maw, which was gaping like a pit, chasing after Agon.

‘Let’s assume its skill resistance is thanks to its thick hide. Then, conversely, what if I aim for the inside of its mouth, where the mucous membranes are exposed?’

*Thang—!*

The rapidly fired bullet, leaving a long trail, shot towards the serpent’s gaping mouth. Simultaneously, the Chimera’s beak descended upon Dokyeom with terrifying speed, like a bird spotting its prey.

This was a race against time. The perceived gap felt infinite. However, approximately a few seconds after the serpent swallowed the bullet, a reaction manifested faster than he anticipated.

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