WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 56
──────
South Korea Abyss Countermeasures Conference Room.
A satellite image of Busan filled the screens on the wall.
As I took my seat, I asked,
“I heard there was footage missing from the previous raid records.”
The Association official across from me nodded.
“We found it while searching and seizing materials from the Headquarters archives. It is a Video Scroll used by Park Jun-hyeok.”
“And the official report?”
“...It states that it was not used.”
He opened a sealed case.
“In reality, it was stored separately immediately after the return. It was set so that it could not be viewed without the approval of Association Chairman Park Gang-sik.”
The scroll was unfurled across the table.
“It records the wearer’s field of vision and surrounding sounds.”
“Let’s play it.”
Bzzzz.
An image appeared in the air.
A dark mine shaft.
Broken guards lay scattered across the floor.
The view settled on a piece of debris.
The cut surface was far too smooth.
Soon, the view lifted, revealing a wide cavern.
A blue crystal rose at its center.
A man stood beneath it.
Black martial garb.
A cloth belt around his waist.
A single unadorned sword.
The pale, sickly-looking man turned his head.
Even when he saw the approaching Raid Party, his expression did not change.
「...One person?」
It was Park Jun-hyeok’s voice.
Other races emerged from the mine shafts surrounding the cavern.
Warriors holding axes.
Ash-skinned beings with bows aimed at him.
Even small winged creatures flying near the ceiling.
Everyone’s attention was fixed beneath the crystal.
He was the only one within the claimed territory.
「Pull him away from that crystal. Prepare ranged attacks.」
Before the tanks could raise their shields, arrows from the other races flew.
Roots surged from the ground, while flames and beams of light engulfed the man.
Shing.
The sword was drawn.
The figure before the crystal blurred.
At the same time, black robes appeared behind the axe-wielding warrior.
Slice!
Arrows split apart.
Roots were cut down, and the bodies that had held weapons collapsed.
The winged beings fell from the ceiling.
The flames were still burning the afterimage before the crystal.
「Block it!」
A supporter’s light descended over the shields.
A silver line skimmed across them.
The upper halves of the shields slid away.
The two tanks standing behind them also fell.
The view spun frantically.
Afterimages in black martial garb remained in front, at the side, everywhere.
Park Jun-hyeok threw himself forward.
Slice!
Blood splattered across one side of the screen.
Along with the sound of a sword falling, the view rolled across the floor.
The screams stopped one after another.
When the view rose again, most of those who had filled the cavern had fallen.
The man in black had already turned his back.
Drip.
A drop of blood fell from the tip of his sword.
「Mr. Jun-hyeok!」
A healer entered the view.
When she pressed on Park Jun-hyeok’s shoulder, healing light spread.
「Don’t move. Let me treat the wound first...!」
Park Jun-hyeok looked past her.
One of the other races fleeing into the mine shaft collapsed before the entrance.
The man in black slowly turned his head.
Toward the two people still alive.
Park Jun-hyeok’s breathing grew rough.
His hand came into view at the bottom of the screen.
A short dagger drawn from inside his armor.
Black patterns were carved along its blade.
The healer grabbed his arm.
「Move!」
「...I have to live.」
She hesitated.
「...Pardon?」
Thud.
The dagger plunged into the healer’s chest.
“Gasp!”
Someone in the conference room sucked in a breath.
The healing light flickered.
The healer looked down at her chest, then raised her head.
「Why...?」
Park Jun-hyeok did not let go.
「I have to live!」
The black patterns spread across the healer’s body.
The hand gripping his wrist went limp.
At that moment, the man in black looked this way.
The tip of his sword moved.
But before it could reach them, the screen warped black.
And that was how the footage ended.
“...”
Silence settled over the room.
“What... was that?”
A government official spoke first.
“Did he stab the person who was treating him?”
With a grim face, the official in charge turned the pages of the file.
“Among the Relics held by the Association, there is a Cursed Dagger. It sacrifices a living person to send its user to a safe area. As far as I know, its use was never authorized...”
“So he killed a teammate to save himself with an unauthorized Relic?”
Someone cursed under their breath.
“That’s why they hid the footage.”
The conference room stirred.
“...”
But regardless of the unrest, I stared at the spot where the footage had disappeared.
The fact that Park Jun-hyeok had done such a thing was not surprising.
He was the bastard who had even sacrificed his father for his own life.
What mattered now was not his malice.
We had to identify the living enemy first.
“Please rewind it to where they entered the cavern.”
The official touched the scroll.
The blue crystal.
The man standing alone beneath it.
“Play it again from there.”
The man in black drew his sword.
The instant his foot brushed the ground, his body was already moving beyond the encirclement.
‘Footwork.’
Then, the light gathered at the tip of his sword extended in a thin line.
The shields split before the blade even touched them.
‘Sword Qi.’
Many races used similar powers.
But none could imitate those movements.
While evading attacks, the man moved into the next opponent’s blind spot.
His sword passed through before the shield could rise, and the delayed counterattack cut through only an afterimage.
It was not movement that relied only on strength and speed.
Technique carved into his body.
Even his judgment, which did not hesitate over whom to cut down first.
“...Mr. Kang Seong-un?”
The Association official called to me.
I stared at the frozen screen.
The man in black martial garb, guarding the mine’s claimed territory alone.
A man for whom a single sword was enough, even while facing the other races and South Korea’s Raid Party together.
It was as I had feared.
He came from the Martial Realm, the place that had to be watched most carefully among all dimensions.
“Mr. Seong-un.”
Seo Mun-seok spoke cautiously.
“If you believe this raid would be too much...”
His words trailed off.
He glanced between the screen and me.
After seeing such an overwhelming scene, he apparently found it difficult to press me into entering the Abyss.
I leaned back in my chair.
“He certainly won’t be an easy opponent.”
“Then...”
“I said he won’t be easy. I didn’t say it would be impossible.”
“...Pardon?”
“We’ll need to prepare more thoroughly before entering.”
I turned my gaze across the table.
“Have you brought the compensation for my participation in the Abyss raid?”
The acting Association Chairman raised his head.
“Yes. We have prepared it.”
He gestured to an employee beside him.
Soon afterward, two security personnel entered carrying a small case.
Sealing patterns densely covered its surface.
Click.
The case was placed before me.
The acting chairman inserted a key.
When the official touched the patterns, their blue light went out one after another.
The final lock was released.
“This is the item we agreed upon.”
The lid opened.
A necklace lay on black cloth.
A thin gold chain.
The round ornament at its end bore a pattern resembling the sun.
The red gem at its center glowed faintly.
When I lifted the necklace, warmth spread to my fingertips.
【Sun Necklace】
Grade: Transcendent
Effect: Repels the wearer’s cold and keeps their body healthy.
It was a Transcendent-grade accessory, the rarest kind.
But its effect was not particularly impressive.
There was not even a line saying it increased attack power, defense, or stats.
“The confirmed effect is as described.”
The acting Association Chairman said,
“It provides resistance to cold and stabilizes the wearer’s physical condition. No additional functions have been discovered yet.”
“...”
“That is why we have been researching it under the assumption that there may be additional activation conditions.”
I knew.
I knew how long the Association had held on to this item.
The reward for the first clear of the thirtieth floor.
Park Gang-sik had practically taken it from me, its rightful recipient, under the excuse that it was a national asset.
Even so, he had not given it to his son.
It had no effect that would immediately help in battle.
He had hidden it away in the Association vault, waiting only to discover its hidden power.
He must have thought that power would eventually become his as well.
“Have you completed the ownership transfer procedure?”
“Yes.”
The acting Association Chairman handed over a document.
“This is not a loan, but a transfer. Government approval and the Association’s procedures have all been completed.”
I examined the document.
Transferred item.
Ownership transfer.
No obligation to return it.
The conditions were exactly as Miller had confirmed.
I signed the acceptance line.
Even as the acting Association Chairman collected the document, his gaze did not easily leave the necklace.
It was a Transcendent-grade necklace.
Its effect had yet to be uncovered, but it was natural that he still felt reluctant to part with it as a national asset.
And now, it had returned to me as the price for raiding the Abyss.
Clink.
I undid the chain and put it around my neck.
The red gem touched my chest.
When I tucked it beneath my clothes, a gentle warmth spread through me.
* * *
Busan Abyss Cordon.
When I opened the car door, the sea wind rushed in.
Soon, I heard people’s voices.
“That’s Kang Seong-un.”
“He really came!”
“Mr. Kang Seong-un!”
I lifted my head.
People had gathered outside the cordon.
People holding photographs.
People clutching papers with names written on them to their chests.
People staring this way while gripping their phones.
They were people with family members left inside the Abyss.
When I stepped out of the car, the people moved.
Soldiers stepped out to either side of the path.
“Please clear the way!”
“Do not push!”
The man at the very front stopped walking.
Then he raised a photograph with both hands.
“Please. My wife is in there.”
Voices rose beside him as well.
“My son too.”
“Please, at least confirm whether they’re alive.”
Names followed.
Some people began to speak but could not finish.
I stopped before them.
The corners of the photographs before me were worn.
The papers inside transparent files were marked with clear folds.
How many people had they shown them to over those twenty days?
Whenever a Raid Party entered, they must have taken them out, only to fold them away again when they heard the team had failed to return.
“We have received all the photographs and personal information.”
An official who had followed me spoke.
“Please clear the way so he can enter...”
A white-haired old man bowed before me.
I reached out first.
“Please do not.”
When I helped him up, his wrinkled hand gripped my gauntlet.
His fingers curled with difficulty over the cold metal.
“Please, please. My daughter...”
I held the old man’s hand for a moment.
Then I slowly released it.
The surroundings gradually grew quiet.
The people in the back lowered their photographs and looked at me.
I bowed to all of them.
My armor made a quiet clink.
“You have waited a long time.”
Someone bit their lip.
I looked once beyond the cordon.
A black, warped space.
Streets and homes swallowed within it.
Then I turned my gaze back to the people.
“But after waiting all this time, I’ll return with your families.”
A woman covered her mouth with her hand.
The photograph she held lowered to her chest.
“Thank you.”
Her voice broke.
“Thank you... truly.”
The man beside her only nodded several times.
The others bowed as well.
I waited until they raised their heads.
“Please come back safely.”
Someone said.
“You too, Mr. Kang Seong-un.”
I looked toward the voice.
A woman clutching a family photograph wiped away her tears.
“Come back together.”
I nodded.
“I will.”
When I turned around, the people finally opened a path on their own.
They pulled their photographs close to their chests and stepped back while holding one another’s arms.
Between them, a path to the cordon was revealed.
Step.
I moved forward.
Behind me, crying and words of gratitude blended together.
Seo Mun-seok stood before the cordon.
Without saying a word, he bowed to me.
The field commander raised a radio.
“Open the entry route.”
Click!
The barrier gate opened.
Vehicles moved aside, and the soldiers guarding the entry area withdrew to either side.
Nothing remained to block the path to the Abyss.
I walked it.
The people’s voices grew distant.
In their place, a low hum drew closer.
Hummm.
The scenery warped beyond the black boundary.
Not even sunlight reached inside.
I stopped before the final barrier.
I took out the Black-Iron Greatsword from my inventory.
Its heavy hilt settled into my hand.
I secured the shield on my left arm.
Click.
The field commander straightened his posture.
He raised his hand in salute.
The soldiers along both sides of the path also stopped moving and faced me.
I gave them a brief nod.
I rested the Black-Iron Greatsword on my shoulder.
Beyond the boundary where five raids had failed, the man who had cut down everyone with a single sword was waiting.
Then I took the final step.
Swish.
The black space swallowed me.
A cold sensation swept across my entire body.
At last, even the wind and cries were cut off.
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