Blood dripped continuously onto the ground, but Dohyuk did not look down at his wound. Looking at it wouldn’t do any good anyway, so it was better to not look. Fortunately, he couldn’t feel the energy drain eating at his energy anymore. Even the wounds seemed to be okay. However-
“Ugh…”
Dohyuk threw up blood. It wasn’t because of some kind of injury, it was the heat that hurt him from within. It was the sensation that you had when you ate something very hot or sharp that hurt your inner organs.
‘I hurt myself by digesting this labyrinth?’
That was the only explanation. He felt it the moment when he pulled out the labyrinth, but he had swallowed a ‘big’ city multiple times already.
And that wasn’t the only unanswered question.
‘This is really strange.’
The size was absurd from the start. When he first heard that it was a labyrinth, he imagined some crude structure that Jung Ilgyu had created. But when he saw the huge structure in front of him and felt the huge tremor after spitting it out, he was shocked. That ‘labyrinth’ was about a few huge buildings added together. It was impossible to install such a thing underground in a short amount of time.
There were only a few who could do such a thing.
Gods.
Dohyuk knew that it was possible with their mighty power, but that structure wasn’t a Godly Item. That’s why he was able to swallow it in the first place.
‘What is it then…?’
Not created by a God, but defied godly power completely. If Ilgyu’s Circle could create such a thing, would the god that watched over this land allow it to be buried down here?
“…”
Dohyuk then conjured up a certain theory, but there was something more important right now.
The structure itself. He didn’t know where he needed to go, but he needed to move for now. Dohyuk walked through dark passageways, or rather he tried to.
He heard a sound in the darkness and stopped. And with that, he pulled himself backward as something shot past above him.
“…!”
Dohyuk jumped back up and spread his hair, unleashing the Nature he got from Giwon and the skill he got from Aruga. Both Natures combined allowed him to turn his hair into a dart-like weapon to be thrown against an attacker.
‘It hit.’
Dohyuk was certain that it hit the target that seemed unaware of the attack. But-
The hair struck against the metal object and dropped to the ground. Then the attacker came into Dohyuk’s sight.
“What in the world…”
It wasn’t a human. It didn’t look human from the outside at least. It was shaped like a well-built man, but with steel-like metal. The sword that shot past him was its arm. It attacked Dohyuk again at a faster speed.
Whatever it was, he needed to fight it off.
Dohyuk kicked the metal enemy’s head and neck.
‘I did it!’
Dohyuk felt pain coming from all over his body and he moved in for the second attack. The attacker was surely made out of some kind of metal, but it looked like one could destroy it also. The attacker then brought its knee up to Dohyuk’s body and he blocked it with his palm. He felt his finger bones breaking, but he didn’t care.
After a few more exchanges, Dohyuk realized that it was getting faster. After his fourth kick, there was a dent in the surface of the steel-like body. Dohyuk then raised his feet again and it blocked itself by raising both hands. However, that was Dohyuk’s intention as he pulled back and grabbed the body with both of his legs and pinned it down. He then began pummeling its head with his fists.
“AGH!”
As Dohyuk stopped and let out his breath, it stopped. The head was crushed with Dohyuk’s blood spattered all over it.
“Hah…”
Dohyuk rose up and looked down at his fist. It was all crushed up.
-Interesting.
“…?!”
Dohyuk glanced around, shocked by the sudden voice.
-So you saved your feet in case you meet another enemy?
But there was no ‘new’ enemy around. This meant… Dohyuk took a step back. The enemy was standing up again. The crushed head was shaping itself back to its normal self.
-You will feel tremendous pain with that body.
The voice was sent directly into him, just like those angels. Dohyuk did not question it.
‘This is…’
Dangerous. There was no way for him to win if this went on. Dohyuk turned and tried to run, but the attacker was standing in front of him in the next moment. Dohyuk raised his arm to defend and the blow hit his arm, breaking his bones. Then, another fist punched his stomach.
“ARGH!”
He spat blood out again and moved back. He tried to put himself together, but he couldn’t. The damage was too severe now. Besides, the attacker was now much stronger.
‘It… it wasn’t getting faster.’
It was just checking his strength. It was a power that was far beyond that of Dohyuk’s, and it was much stronger than Jung Ilhu.
-I see.
The voice seemed to be astonished.
-You still tried to see the target. I see that you are determined as well.
The attacker did not finish Dohyuk off. Instead, it came closer to him and looked down even when it didn’t have any eyes.
-Can you stand?
“…What?”
-I’m asking if you can walk on your own.
Dohyuk was confused.
-Oh, maybe you are misunderstanding. I see that you are enemies with the ones outside.
The figure stepped back.
-I’m not the one that you might be thinking of right now. Those fools are using my place however they like, but it matters little to me.
Dohyuk closed his mouth. His wounds hurt, so it was hard to concentrate on the voice that was being sent to him.
“…You are not with Jung Ilhu?”
-If that ‘Jung Ilhu’ you speak of is the one that snuck into my place like a rat and piled up his trash, yes you are right. I let them live, except for those that ventured too deep into my place. They seem to think the places they stayed in are safe so they didn’t come in any further after that.
The reason why Dohyuk did not consider the voice to be a lie was because of his theory that he thought up. This structure wasn’t created by humans or gods. Only one logical answer remained.
“You… this structure… is from the other world.”
-Oh?
The astonished voice confirmed that Dohyuk’s theory was correct.
-Let me ask how you came to the idea.
Casita’s needle brought the world and its inhabitants to Earth each time it moved. As such, it was natural to consider that this structure and this being was transferred over. Dohyuk didn’t know much about the other world, but he thought about it from time to time.
“I thought maybe there is someone like me out there.”
One who resisted the ‘illumination’ and stood against the gods.
-….
Silence fell for a second and-
-HAH!
The voice burst out in laughter. Blass the Iron Fist was the one who resisted against ‘Vehume the Vampire’ and Casita who invaded his world and maintained his consciousness to the end. He was the true treasure hidden beneath this labyrinth, the one who stayed outside of Casita’s system.
-Follow me. I’ll show you something interesting.
