Chapter 16
‘I must be seeing things.’
At first, Kim Byung-han denied reality.
But no matter how many times he looked, the face floating above the sun was undeniably his own.
‘It’s probably just someone who looks like me.’
His name hadn’t been mentioned.
So couldn’t it just be someone with a similar face?
Besides, there was no reason he should be the one to die.
Kim Byung-han reviewed the messages again.
《Identify and kill the ‘person whose face appears on the sun’.》
《Upon success, the Abyss will be cleared.》
《Time limit: 72 hours.》
《If failed, the ‘Death Knight’ will appear.》
They had to find him—and kill him.
But why?
Everything was different from the Abyss he experienced yesterday.
Back then, all they had to do was fight monsters.
Telling people to kill a fellow human—was that even acceptable?
“Team Leader, it really does look like you.”
“…Watch it, Lee Min-soo. How does that look anything like me?”
“Come on, it’s obvious. Even the background reflected up there is our office. See? Look, I wave my hand and you can see it next to the face.”
“What the hell are you saying?!”
Thwack!
Kim Byung-han smacked Lee Min-soo’s hand away hard.
He had seen Lee Min-soo’s waving hand reflected next to the face on the sun.
It was clear to anyone—Kim Byung-han was the target. But he vehemently denied it.
“Use your head. Does that make any sense? I’m not some kind of monster.”
“…You don’t know that.”
But Lee Min-soo’s expression had gone cold.
“Hey. You know who I am, right? I’m Team Leader Kim Byung-han! Your boss!”
“Team Leader. The truth is, I went through an Abyss myself yesterday during lunch.”
“…?”
“In that Abyss, monsters that looked just like humans were chasing us. So I ran nonstop for six hours. Do you know what happened to the people who tripped or collapsed from exhaustion?”
“How the hell would I—”
“They were eaten alive. Eyes gouged out, brains oozing, bellies ripped open and faces buried inside to tear out the guts.”
At some point, a dagger had appeared in Lee Min-soo’s hand.
His gaze was ice cold.
Seeing those eyes, Kim Byung-han’s face hardened.
“You… Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“Considering there are Abysses like that, wouldn’t it make sense that there are monsters who act just like humans too?”
“Lee Min-soo! Do I look like I’m pretending or faking something to you?!”
“After yesterday, I realized something. In the Abyss, the only way to survive is to get out fast. Sometimes, I still hear the voices of the people begging for their lives. Damn it, I thought coming to work would help me forget.”
Thud! Thud!
Lee Min-soo struck his own head hard with his left hand.
The cheerful version of him from moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Turns out, it was Lee Min-soo who had been acting all along.
He came to work on purpose, hoping to forget what happened by sticking to normal routines.
But it wouldn’t fade.
It wasn’t a dream.
It was reality. A wretched, brutal reality.
“Why does the Abyss even pull in children? Isn’t that messed up? The monsters move at adult speed—how are kids supposed to escape from that? That’s not even a fair game.”
When he was first trapped in the Abyss, Lee Min-soo had grabbed the hands of children and run with them.
But eventually, he let go.
Because if he didn’t, he’d have been the one to die.
“Snap out of it, man!”
“I don’t want to stay here one second longer!”
Despite Kim Byung-han’s shout, Lee Min-soo swung the dagger as if to kill him for real.
But Kim Byung-han wasn’t about to go down so easily.
He quickly leaned back to dodge the blade and kicked Lee Min-soo with full force.
Crash!
Watching Lee Min-soo go skidding across the floor, Kim Byung-han cursed.
“You son of a bitch, after all I did for you! You’re lower than a damn beast!”
Just five minutes ago, the guy had been kissing up to him, calling him the best.
Furious, Kim Byung-han waved his hand in the air.
Then, items tumbled out from his [Inventory].
The gear auto-adjusted to his body and equipped itself.
With his full equipment now on, Kim Byung-han’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
“I’m gonna beat you within an inch of your life…”
“There he is!”
“Get him!”
“Kill him now!”
A sudden mob burst into the room, and Kim Byung-han could only panic.
People were swarming from the entire building, all aiming to bring him down.
Just from what he could see, there were easily over fifty of them.
No matter how strong he had become from two Abyss experiences, it was impossible to take on more than fifty people at once.
Kim Byung-han swung his sword at the oncoming attackers.
Slash! Slash!
“D-Don’t come any closer! I’ll cut down the first bastard who steps forward!”
But there was no hope.
He was quickly cornered into the back of the office.
“I’m Kim Byung-han! I’ve shared meals with you for over ten years!”
He screamed himself hoarse, but no one listened.
To them, Kim Byung-han was nothing more and nothing less than a target to kill.
And the crowd only kept growing.
Meanwhile, Park Chan-woo stood off to the side, deep in thought.
‘What kind of grudge did he earn to get targeted on Day Two?’
This wasn’t a common occurrence.
No, he had never even heard of someone being targeted this quickly.
Opening an Abyss came with risks even for creators. And if the objective was simply to kill one person, there was hardly any reward in it for them.
‘Is there really anything a creator can gain from killing Kim Byung-han?’
He just seemed like a clueless mess.
That’s why Park Chan-woo became curious.
What the hell did that guy do?
What enormous mistake had he made to be targeted on the second day?
“Push in!”
“Kill him! Just kill him already!”
The crowd bristled with killing intent.
Their number had now surpassed fifty—approaching a hundred.
The only magic Park Chan-woo could currently use was [Reflection Magic].
There was no way he could spare the effort to pull Kim Byung-han out of that mess.
Sssit! Sssit! Sssissit!
He glanced down at the floor.
A white ball of fur was circling around his feet.
He looked again at the name floating above it.
Then, a window appeared before him.
Name: Radiant Anubis
Level: 1
Grade: [Legendary]
Description: A young Anubis. Though a being that brings, consumes, and guides death like a grim reaper, it has been transformed into a radiant form due to the effect of ‘Mystery’.
Strength (10)
Stamina (20)
Agility (10)
Intelligence (10)
Mana (10)
Unique Magic:
– [Enlarge] ([Epic])
– [Flower of Life] ([Legendary])
Even though it was only Level 1, its stats were superior.
A total stat of 60.
‘It’s only Level 1, but it rivals most Level 10s.’
On top of that, it didn’t have a negative level.
That’s because Radiant Anubis was recognized not as equipment but as a ‘pet’.
However, even Park Chan-woo had rarely seen a pet of [Legendary] grade.
Pets obtainable from the Abyss were extremely rare to begin with.
After all, the Abyss was a world created by demons.
A place filled only with monsters that sought to kill humans—having a pet that followed a human in that world was contradictory in itself.
“[Enlarge].”
Poof!
Upon activating the skill, ‘Radiant Anubis’ swelled up with a puff of smoke.
It turned into a fluffball roughly 1.5 meters in size.
“W-What the hell is that?!”
“A m-monster!”
“Run for it!”
People mistook Anubis for a monster and scattered in a panic.
Meanwhile, the large furball began hopping along.
Already completely exhausted, Kim Byung-han saw the approaching furball and reached for it like a last hope.
“P-Please, sto—!”
Swoosh!
Kim Byung-han was crushed beneath the furball.
At the same time, Anubis, locking his body in place with tough fur, leapt toward the window.
Crash!
With the sound of glass shattering—
‘I-I’m going to die. I’m really going to die!’
Kim Byung-han began plummeting from the 11th floor.
* * *
“Where the hell is that bastard hiding?”
“Did you find him?”
“Not here!”
“Damn it!”
The people inside the building poured out in search of Kim Byung-han.
“Hh…!”
Tremble, tremble, tremble!
Barely managing to hide beneath some rubble, Kim Byung-han covered his mouth and held his breath.
Like a terrified beast, he shivered uncontrollably.
The white furball that had pulled him out vanished the moment it touched the ground.
After that, Kim Byung-han had no choice but to hide here and there, avoiding everyone’s eyes.
‘Why are they doing this to me?! What did I do to deserve this?!’
A voiceless scream.
He was losing his mind.
Why had he become the target?
He briefly thought this might be a prank show, but the killing intent in their eyes was real.
Those people genuinely wanted to kill him.
《Night has fallen.》
《‘Spectral Bats’ roam the streets.》
《‘Spectral Bats’ seek only their target.》
《When they find their target, ‘Spectral Bats’ emit a sound and shine a bright light from their eyes.》
With nightfall and the moon rising, Kim Byung-han’s face no longer appeared in the sky.
Instead, bats called ‘Spectral Bats’ flew all around.
They slipped into tight spaces even human hands couldn’t reach.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
“Shit…!”
Eventually, Kim Byung-han’s location was discovered.
He ran with everything he had.
But as time passed, the number of bats increased.
Their eyes glowed with bright light, illuminating Kim Byung-han’s position.
It was as bright as daylight around him now.
“There he is!”
“Knew he was hiding nearby!”
“Get him!”
Sssshhht!
Thunk!
“Argh!”
An arrow struck Kim Byung-han in the side.
He screamed and rolled across the cement floor.
He tried to get up—
Ssshhht!
Thunk!
“Agh!”
This time, it pierced his left thigh.
The pain was so intense he couldn’t even scream anymore.
It was agony.
Surrounded on all sides, Kim Byung-han crawled on the ground as dozens encircled him.
“You should’ve died quietly. Why cause all this trouble?”
“What a pain in the ass for one fat pig!”
“Step on him!”
“Never liked this guy anyway!”
“Acted all high and mighty over nothing!”
They each shouted something and stomped on him with all their might.
Curled into a ball, Kim Byung-han cried uncontrollably.
He prayed, again and again, that this was just a nightmare.
Because everyone trampling him now were once coworkers who laughed and shared meals with him.
People he had seen face-to-face as they rotated through different departments.
But the moment the situation changed, they turned on him and started lynching him as a group.
‘P-Please… spare me…’
He couldn’t even speak anymore.
There wasn’t a single person in the world on Kim Byung-han’s side.
Perhaps these people were the real monsters.
They all seemed like evil spirits.
Poof!
Then it happened.
A familiar sound from somewhere.
“Huh?”
“Th-That monster from earlier!”
“But… the one next to it…?”
The crowd stopped stomping on him in surprise.
In that moment, Kim Byung-han managed to raise his head to see who had appeared.
‘Th-That guy is…?’
He had definitely seen him before.
The one who had killed the Game Master Andariel yesterday and joined forces with Lee Hyuk-soo.
“Doesn’t seem human, right?”
“He’s a demon!”
As the one they called a demon—Park Chan-woo—approached with the enlarged Anubis, people began to back away.
By the time Park Chan-woo was within reach, they had scattered in all directions.
Kim Byung-han looked up at him with a battered, broken face.
“S-Spare…”
His teeth were shattered, and he slurred the words.
Park Chan-woo smiled and asked,
“Do you want to live?”
“…!”
Kim Byung-han nodded frantically.
“Then you’ll have to answer my questions truthfully.”
“A-Anything… just ask…!”
“Did you sign a ‘Incarnation’ contract with a Creator?”
“N-No, I didn’t—”
“Guess I’ll be leaving, then.”
If he left now, people would come swarming again.
And this time, Kim Byung-han would die for real.
As Park Chan-woo turned his back, Kim Byung-han shouted in desperation.
“I-I did!”
“With whom?”
“Uh… The Creator of the ‘Invisible Hand’…”
Kim Byung-han stammered.
There had been a clause in the Incarnation contract stating he must never tell anyone about it.
But when you’re about to die, rules like that don’t matter.
‘So that’s what happened.’
Hearing Kim Byung-han’s answer, Park Chan-woo’s smile deepened.
Now he was sure why Kim Byung-han had been ‘targeted.’
The ‘Creator of the Invisible Hand’ was the most despised Creator among all others.
Because—
“What did you steal?”
The Creator, Invisible Hand coveted the treasures of other Creators.
“E-Excuse me?”
“No, let me ask again. What did The Creator, Invisible Hand order you to steal?”
“T-That is…”
Kim Byung-han hesitated.
The Creator, Invisible Hand had offered him an Incarnation contract and granted him power.
But the condition for that power was a bit unusual.
He would be rewarded appropriately—if he stole the item that the Creator desired.
And yesterday, Kim Byung-han had stolen something from the ‘Abyss of the Night.’
The moment Game Master Andariel was killed!
“I-It was just… just a little ring I swiped…”
“Where is that ring now?”
“The Creator, Invisible Hand already took it—”
“No, you have it. Check carefully.”
Groaning, Kim Byung-han fumbled through his clothes.
And then, from the back pocket of his pants, a ring tumbled out.
“W-Why is this still with me?”
“He got caught and dumped it back on you.”
Park Chan-woo answered candidly.
Now the whole picture was clear.
The Creator, Invisible Hand proposed an Incarnation contract to Kim Byung-han. After accepting, Kim Byung-han stole a ring on the Creator’s command.
He offered the ring to the Creator, but the theft was discovered by the ring’s original owner.
To smooth things over, the Creator secretly returned the ring to Kim Byung-han, forcing all the responsibility onto him.
‘That thieving bastard—Invisible Hand has done this countless times with different Incarnations.’
His methods were so distinct, they were hard to forget.
He wasn’t hated by humanity—but by other Creators.
Still, what kind of ring was it that warranted a ‘targeted’ Abyss?
Park Chan-woo examined the ring closely.
And—
‘…Yeah, this one’s worth it.’
He could understand why a Creator would want Kim Byung-han dead.
Of all the things to steal—he stole that.
‘Oath of the Dead Ring!’
Hah.
Park Chan-woo let out an inward sigh of admiration.
Not because of the ring’s actual power.
‘The ring itself isn’t even that strong…’
It didn’t even come with a special unique option.
The only function it had was:
‘A ring that can seal the wearer’s power.’
You could seal your own magic power into the ring.
And Park Chan-woo definitely saw that ring during the ‘First Night Abyss.’
‘Game Master Andariel. She was wearing it.’
Why had Andariel worn the Oath of the Dead Ring?
The answer was simple.
To run the game.
If she had let loose her full power as a high-ranking demon, no human would’ve been able to withstand it.
In truth, Andariel was a monster stronger than the entire Twelve Divine Generals combined.
‘That ring must still contain the full essence of a high-ranking demon.’
…Chills ran down his spine.
High-ranking demons were monsters rated at least Level 80 and above.
They weren’t supposed to appear at this stage of the game.
So it was safe to assume the ring contained unfathomable magical energy. He was dying to know how exactly that vast power had been sealed into the ring.
But what surprised him more was Kim Byung-han.
‘Well, I always knew he had sticky fingers.’
He had caught him stealing from other employees a few times before.
Just like that, in the final moments before Andariel’s death, Kim Byung-han successfully stole the ring using the power granted by The Creator, Invisible Hand.
The Creator who wanted Kim Byung-han dead was probably someone deeply connected to the late Andariel.
What a gutsy bastard.
‘Now what do I do?’
…And so, Park Chan-woo was deeply conflicted.
The Creator, Invisible Hand.
His power in this Abyss was practically miraculous.
When he truly desired a treasure and managed to steal it, it wouldn’t vanish even if given away.
That’s why the ‘Oath of the Dead Ring’ still existed despite Andariel’s death.
Because of that irregularity, The Creator, Invisible Hand was despised by the rest.
Which meant—
‘…I could just swallow this ring for myself.’
