Chapter 390
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Yerin's face hardened, sensing something was not right.
The woman called Mi-hyun was the first to run towards the source of the screams. Yerin was about to follow her, but then she stopped and looked back at us.
"Wait here for now. It's dangerous to go any further without proper equipment."
"Yerin, Yerin!"
Leaving only the words to wait here, Yerin quickly followed her colleague who had gone ahead. Those of us left behind looked at each other with awkward expressions.
"Damn. She just left."
"It seems like something's happened inside."
"You don't think… no way, right?"
"…It's probably true, isn't it?"
After a few omitted sentences were exchanged, silence ensued.
As if by agreement, we both sighed heavily at the same time.
"Sigh. Shall we go?"
"Okay."
Ryan and I started moving with anxious expressions.
As we moved further into the crevice, the size of the cave passage gradually widened, and as soon as we emerged from the passage, a very wide space was revealed with a sudden broadening in all directions.
In there, we were able to spot a horde of monsters and members of the Guardians Guild. However, both sides seemed to be in considerable chaos.
"What, what is this!"
"Don't panic, keep formation!"
-Screech!
The two sides were not fighting each other, but were fighting a swift onslaught of chains. Ryan and I quickly realized who the owner of the chains was.
Clutching my forehead with my hand at the headache-inducing situation, I groaned.
"Okay, attacking the monsters is one thing. But why is Boss attacking guild members?"
"Grr… I have no idea."
Ryan responded in a drained voice. He too couldn't hide his confusion at the absurd situation unfolding before his eyes.
The attacks directed at the guild members were weaker than those aimed at the monsters. It seemed like Kaneff was controlling the intensity to subdue them.
But we couldn't just let Kaneff's rampage continue. I stepped forward and shouted in the direction where Kaneff was likely to be.
"Stop it, boss! Are you really going to do this?"
Despite my shout, the movement of the chains did not change. Even though my voice was a bit drowned out by the chaotic situation, there was no way Kaneff couldn't have heard me.
Frowning, I shouted a warning.
"If you keep this up… the promise we made earlier is off!"
At that moment.
The active chains stopped moving all at once.
The chains that had been attacking the guild members slowly retreated and joined the ones attacking the monsters, then started moving again.
From then on, it was a one-sided slaughter.
-Bam!
The horde of monsters couldn't withstand Kaneff's attack once he was fully resolved. It was so one-sided that I felt a little sympathy.
In contrast, the guild members, liberated from the chains' attacks, turned pale instead. It seemed they realized that the chain attacks they had struggled against were not 100% serious.
Screeech!
The last monster, who had held on till the end, collapsed screaming in agony. An icy silence hung over the chaotic rift interior.
Thump, thump.
At a tap on the shoulder, Ryan and I turned our heads. There stood Kaneff, who had appeared out of nowhere, gesturing.
"Done watching? Let's go."
His calm demeanor as if he had merely stepped away for a moment was brazen. Ryan and I were left speechless at his audacity.
"What are you waiting for? We have to go find Speranza's gift."
"Oh, you didn't forget about that, did you?"
"Of course not."
"So, you came in here knowing that and wreaked havoc? Why did you suddenly attack the guild members?"
"The guild members? Ah! Those guys standing around in a daze? I just wanted to see what their skill level was, so I attacked them."
"And how is that justified?"
"I went easy on them. Really easy! They don't look like they're just scrubs. Overall though, their skills are a bit disappointing."
Disappointing skills…
Even though this guild is known to be one of the best in the country. But if we're using Kaneff's standard, anyone's skills would be considered disappointing.
"Oh! It would have been better if this was a rift with stronger monsters. I'm a bit disappointed."
"Please, don't say scary things like that. If it was a rift strong enough to satisfy you, it would be a national disaster."
We led the disappointed Kaneff back to the rift entrance. We decided to explain the situation to the shocked guild members later.
"You have to stop acting on your own now, boss. I'll really break our promise."
"Okay, okay. I'll just quietly follow you around now."
"Ryan, you should say something to the boss, too."
"Haha……"
Ryan just let out a hollow laugh, as if he was used to this kind of situation.
We quickly arrived at the rift entrance as I continuously nagged. Before stepping out of the entrance, I emphasized to Kaneff,
"You understand, right? As soon as we exit, we're going back to where we came from.”
"Got it. We're going back to that big building, the mall, or whatever, right?"
We confirmed the plan one last time and stepped towards the rift entrance. However, our plans were thwarted by a difficult situation that arose in front of us.
"I am ‘Kirwan', Feistar surveillance officer. I will be arresting you for violating the laws of dimension.”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
As soon as we emerged from the rift, we were surrounded by the waiting Angels. And an Angel named Kirwan, the Feistar surveillance officer, stepped forward to arrest us.
Naturally, Kaneff tried to protest, but Ryan stepped in to calm him down.
"Calm down. I'll take care of this."
Ryan reassured us, then began to discuss matters with the Feistar surveillance officers.
Both Kaneff and I knew of Ryan's experience and skills, so we decided to watch quietly for now.
For a while, Ryan and Kirwan carried on a serious conversation. Kaneff and I, surrounded by Angels, kept our distance and watched the two of them.
But something was off. The look on Ryan's face, as he conversed, was noticeably stiffening. After displaying a gesture of frustration, he returned to where we were.
"What did they say?"
"Hmm… It seems they're taking issue with Mr. Kaneff's intrusion into the rift."
"What? But I was helping!"
"Whether Angels or Demons, their principle is not to directly interfere with the rifts that occur here."
"Damn! These rules they've made…"
While Kaneff grumbled, another Angel approached Kirwan and whispered something. Kirwan's expression turned serious, and he immediately came over to us.
"We've received a report from the personnel who returned from the rift. They were attacked by an unidentified entity inside."
"Ah…."
"Ah…."
"Ahem, ahem."
Ryan and I sighed as if the ground was collapsing beneath us, while Kaneff coughed awkwardly, avoiding our gaze.
"Was the unidentified entity that attacked them, by any chance, you?"
"That wasn't an attack. It was… well… it's a way of expressing a unique greeting from the demon world, you see?"
There's no way such a greeting exists…
During my time in the demon world, this was the first time I heard of such a bizarre custom. Ryan also shook his head in confirmation that it was a lie.
As expected, Kaneff's excuse didn't convince Kirwan. He glared at us with an even sterner expression.
"Not only did you enter the rift without permission, but you also attacked the personnel inside… As a Feistar surveillance officer, I cannot ignore actions that disrupt order."
As the atmosphere grew more serious, Kaneff, on the other hand, smirked.
"Good. I was just thinking that something was lacking with just that rift."
Whoooom!
As Kaneff raised his momentum, the surrounding space began to shake. The Angels around Kirwan and the area hastily moved back and reached for their weapons.
"What on earth are you doing?!"
"It's been a while since I've fought directly with Angels. Aren't there any executioner guys around? Those guys are fun to fight."
"Cease your hostile actions immediately. If not, we have no choice but to use force."
Despite the stern warning from the Angels, Kaneff only scoffed. As the situation escalated, Ryan and I rushed to Kaneff's sides.
"Ugh, Boss! Why are you making such a big deal?!"
"Calm down and please solve this with words. Words!"
"Let go! Those guys started the quarrel first."
"But we did wrong, didn't we?"
"I did nothing wrong! It was a greeting unique to the demon world, wasn't it?"
That damn demon world greeting!
There are so many kind and courteous demons in the demon world!
While we were reprimanding Kaneff, another Angel rushed toward Kirwan. Unlike before, the Angel had an extremely urgent expression.
"Big, big trouble, Kirwan!"
"What is it? Unless it's urgent, arresting these criminals is the priority…"
"The rift isn't disappearing, it's continually growing."
"What?!"
The urgent voice of the Angel reached our ears vividly. Naturally, everyone's gaze turned towards the rift.
"Is it for real?"
Just as the Angel had said, the rift, which should have vanished long ago, was still revealing its presence. Worse, it was growing in size, causing the surrounding space to collapse.
"What about the rift-sealing procedure?"
"We've tried, but it's not working at all. As it stands, we can't handle this with the personnel we have here."
"Darn it… everyone, assist with the sealing process!"
"Yes!"
"All!"
All of the Angels that had been in a standoff spread their wings and flew into the sky. They headed straight toward the rift.
Kirwan, who had been glaring at us until the end, also followed the other Angels into the sky. Ryan and I breathed a sigh of relief, and Kaneff clicked his tongue as if disappointed.
As I caught my breath, I looked at the rift where the Angels had flown.
"But why is the rift behaving like that? After my internal adjustments, it should naturally disappear."
"Hmm. It's definitely strange. Even with the Angels stepping in directly, they can't suppress the rift."
"Tsk! They were bragging about orders and stuff. Serves them right."
I let Kaneff's teasing pass through one ear as I anxiously observed the rift.
While the rift allowed us to avoid a difficult situation for now, the abnormal phenomenon of the rift was worrisome in many ways.
At that moment, a voice echoed in my head.
-Shall I help?
CH 388-397 (Happy Birthday my dear daughter) $2CH 398-407 (Subduing the Angels) $2CH 408-417 (Farm family, Assemble) $2CH 418-424 (The END) $2Prev I TOC I Next