Chapter 22: Welcome back
Sang Hun Lee stood in front of the door to one of the apartments in the high-end apartment complex, trying to get readings of anything anomalous, yet the place was awfully calm. He turned back to the teenage girl before him.
"Agent Choi, are you sure this apartment is a domain? We have gone over so many different floors."
"Yes, this is it."
"You have already said so four times now."
"No, I am sure of it."
Sang Hun Lee could only relent and turned to knock on the door.
He agonised at how differently Awakened were treated. Or maybe it was just that being part of a chaebol family afforded her more flexibility? He couldn’t know, but what was clear was that the Organisation held this girl in high regard, because if anyone else had done and acted the way she had, they would have been severely punished unable to see the field for quite sometime. Yet here he was, babysitting her while the Organisation Children of Entropy were running wild.
Yes, dealing with an Archetype was of great importance, but so far nothing had happened. And how sure were they that the girl wasn’t leading them on a wild goose chase while the Children of Entropy... who knew what those lunatics were up to?
He looked at the girl before him, a wide smile pasted on her face.
"Great. You can read minds now," Sang muttered helplessly.
He could only move forward and knock on the door, but the moment he came into contact with it, he felt something odd.
He knocked again.
Suddenly, the teenagers trailing behind them became active, beginning to utter command phrases with great authority. A faint spiritual pressure leaked from them as the strange marks that had been placed on their bodies began to glow with a brilliant golden light.
"You shall not pass!" the boy suddenly said.
"Return how you came," the girl said.
When this happened, Sang Hun Lee began to think maybe there was some truth to what the Stage 2 Awakened had stated. And clearly, she was enjoying the whole situation.
He began channelling his meaning. As he did, the area suddenly became saturated with spiritual pressure, the laws within the space bending to his will. Yet the door remained static, washing away his Stage 4 spiritual pressure and every attempt to gain control, pushing him back a couple of steps.
"It seems there truly is something here."
He said as he began to analyse the area.
"Agent Choi, can you see anything with your eyes?"
he asked as he tried to find any weakness himself.
"No need to struggle, Captain. There seems to be something reacting oddly. I can’t make out what it is, but if we stay here till morning, we should get our answers."
"Morning? What do you mean, morning?"
"If you are too impatient, the two of them can offer another solution. After all, they led us here, didn’t they? Maybe you can use them to bypass the defence."
Sang Hun Lee turned to the two teenagers, his eyes sinking.
His sister was their age. He couldn’t be that cruel to kids. And even if he did, what if he angered the entity? Wouldn’t that be horrendous?
"We shall wait then," he said as he took a seat on the floor next to the door.
Choi Ae Ran followed suit, with the other two teenagers taking a kneeling position next to the door. Seeing this, Sang Hun Lee tried to convince them not to, but his words landed on deaf ears, so he let them be.
He turned to look down the long hall, an elevator sitting at the other end. Anyone passing by would surely notice him with a bunch of teenagers camping around this door.
This is going to be a long night, he couldn’t help but think.
----
Dan Woo was acting as Cha Hwa Rim as she bulldozed through the assailants that had been closing in on the school. Sure enough, it was the Blood Ink Society, yet there were some unknown figures mixed in among them.
Everyone came at her brandishing weapons, with some clearly making use of their enhancements, yet to Cha Hwa Rim, this all seemed too easy.
"You trash should be happy to receive my guidance," she spat as she moved.
A couple of kicks, punches rearranging the anatomy of many people, head slams, body slams, whipping kicks...
Dan Woo had never been in a brawl, let alone an overwhelming fight like this, but currently he wasn’t Dan Woo—he was Cha Hwa Rim. And Cha Hwa Rim had a great know-how for breaking skulls, dislocating shoulders, breaking jaws, and ripping family jewels. She was a vicious fighter and a battle maniac.
Dan Woo could feel it as her heart pounded, a mob of twenty reduced to bits in a matter of seconds, barely breaking a sweat.
Cha Ha Rin and Im Nari couldn’t help but be simultaneously scared and amazed at the skillfulness and viciousness of Cha Hwa Rim. She was a stunning tigress mowing down her enemies.
As the enemies all fell, she turned back to Cha Ha Rin and Im Nari.
"Follow behind me closely," she said as she led them through the blood-splattered halls, filled with groans and cries of pain.
Cha Hwa Rim could only slowly guide them through the area. Even though she had a panoramic view of the domain and could easily tell where everyone was, coupled with the meaning leaking from the tattoo enhancements that gave her an idea of the abilities she was going to face and their levels, she was still a single fighter. After all, she needed to prioritise escape rather than confrontation.
[Ding]
[Domain Syncing: 32%]
Dan Woo could feel his abilities growing stronger and stronger as the domain kept syncing. It was a feeling of bliss and power that he had never dared imagine.
The more the syncing continued, the greater his senses converged with the entirety of the school. Right now, she could feel that, if she wished, she could morph any block within a radius of twenty metres from her, molding and melting it to her will.
As Cha Hwa Rim proceeded, she met a few of his former gang members.
"You have grown weak."
She said as she ambushed them, yet even with the ambush, a huge wave of energy erupted from one of them as the visage of a powerful bull materialized, pushing her slightly back, though not enough to destabilize her.
A wave of mist suddenly materialized, swallowing the huge energy wave, and the silhouette of the massive bull emanating from one of the tattoos was immediately suppressed, turning the bulky guy into a ragdoll to be beaten under Cha Hwa Rim’s fists and kicks. The other guy, seeing the overwhelming beatdown, didn’t even attempt to resist.
Cha Hwa Rim felt on top of the world, her blood pumping, itching for a fight as the overwhelming essence of her physical might slightly tickled her battle-maniac tendencies.
Yet when she gazed back at the two girls behind her, she could barely contain the urge to seek out other opponents, swiftly and carefully guiding the girls along the path of least resistance.
But just as they were running at full speed towards an obscure exit, strange whispers grazed Cha Hwa Rim’s ears. Her body and soul were suddenly overcome by a great premonition as goosebumps spread across her entire body.
Cha Hwa Rim abruptly came to a stop, with Im Nari and Cha Ha Rin, who had been closely following behind her, also following suit as she activated her Spirit Vision.
When this happened, a number of cold spirit bodies could be seen scattered around the space. Yet as she turned to look towards the direction they were heading, there was only pure darkness, one that seemed to be devouring everything.
Even the spirits seemed afraid.
Then suddenly, a butterfly appeared, magnificently beautiful, glowing with blue luminescence.
Cha Ha Rin and Im Nari seemed to be drawn towards it, yet Cha Hwa Rim could feel something ominous about the butterfly.
Then suddenly—
[Danger! Danger!]
[High-Level Intrusion Detected.]
[Domain Under Siege.]
When Cha Hwa Rim heard this, her entire focus turned to the small butterfly, its wings flapping gently, covered in beautiful blue symbols.
She activated her Spirit Vision once again, and there was something eerie leaking from its tiny body.
She glanced at the still-syncing notification.
[Domain Syncing: 58%]
She tried to channel her meaning, controlling the surrounding area as the mist gathered, attempting to cage the flapping butterfly. Yet whenever she created the mist and tried to turn it into something tangible, it would collapse in an instant, the butterfly continuously flapping its wings.
Then it landed on the ground.
Immediately, death spread like a tide as every flower, blade of grass, tree, and plant life found itself rapidly withering.
Indeed, she was dealing with a high-level anomaly.
Dan Woo’s mind raced through every possible way this could go as he observed the still butterfly slowly flapping its wings.
What abilities could this anomaly be hiding? And how would he beat it?
No.
He didn’t need to beat it.
He just needed to find a way to get Cha Ha Rin and Im Nari to safety.
He held the hands of the two bewitched girls, who seemed to be drawn towards the butterfly, as he slowly tried to walk in the opposite direction, all the while carefully observing the butterfly resting in the distance.
Then, suddenly, the butterfly flapped its beautiful wings.
One butterfly became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Before he knew it, there was an entire swarm.
"Not good."
Cha Hwa Rim said as she watched it happen.
Suddenly, the swarm of butterflies flew towards Cha Hwa Rim, prompting her to start running. Yet she was easily caught as the butterfly swarm completely surrounded her.
Then, suddenly, a voice reverberated throughout the area.
"We finally meet."
The voice said as the butterflies took on a human shape, materialising into a cloaked, masked figure.