Chapter 39: The Aftermath
The air inside Floor 20 reeked of blood, sulfur, burning bodies, and cracked obsidian.
A strike team of twenty elite Hollow Oath operatives crouched in the deep shadows of a ruined pillar near the entrance to Vespera’s throne hall.
All of them were hand-picked, peak A-rank combatants augmented with forbidden artifacts and dark rituals. At their head stood Executor Kane, a cold-eyed killer wearing a cracked bone mask.
“Remember the plan,” Kane whispered into his communication rune.
Even though their original strategy was completely fucked because of that unknown anomaly, seeing him fight the Sovereign on equal footing meant he was the best distraction they could have asked for.
“Vespera will be distracted by that unknown. While she’s busy claiming her new ‘consort,’ we strike her true form from behind. Disable her core, get the birth shell as a reward, and retreat. Do not engage the boy unless necessary. He’s disposable.”
The operatives nodded silently. This was the exact moment they had prepared weeks for. The Mass Descent event was working perfectly. Thousands of monsters had poured into the human world, serving as the ultimate distraction while they waited for the Floor Boss to weaken.
Through a high-grade scrying orb, they watched the titanic battle unfold.
That unknown human was fighting Vespera head-on. Impossibly heavy punches landing. The dragoness transforming into her true colossal form. It was going exactly as predicted—the Sovereign would be exhausted after dealing with the bait.
“Hold…” Kane murmured, raising a gloved hand. “Wait for the perfect moment.”
Then, everything went wrong.
The human leapt straight into the dragon’s maw. A golden-red explosion of pure power erupted from inside her skull.
Vespera’s agonizing roar shook the entire floor. Her colossal body collapsed, shrinking rapidly back into her humanoid form.
They were about to leap into the fray when—
The impossible happened.
The boy grabbed the Tower’s divine binding chains and completely shattered them.
The scrying orb cracked from the sheer magical backlash. Several operatives fell to their knees, clutching their heads in agony as the Tower’s absolute authority recoiled.
“What… the fuck…?” one operative whispered in sheer horror.
Kane stared at the fading, staticky image, his knuckles turning white around the hilt of his weapon.
“Abort! Abort the mission! Retreat immediately!”
After witnessing what that unknown monster in human skin had just done, the team didn’t need to be told twice.
They fled Floor 20 like rats escaping a sinking ship, ripping open every emergency teleportation scroll they had. Behind them, the terrifying sound of overwhelmingly powerful Guardians converging on the throne hall echoed through the dark corridors.
By the time the strike team returned to their emergency outpost on Floor 15, what they saw left them completely speechless.
Their entire outpost had been utterly destroyed.
Deep beneath the ruins of Seoul, inside the obsidian war room of the Hollow Oath, the air was suffocating. It wasn’t just disbelief hanging heavily in the room—it was raw, gnawing panic.
The twelve inner circle members stared at the holographic screens floating above the crystal table. Multiple recovered video feeds played simultaneously, casting an eerie, chaotic glow on their pale, tense faces.
A soft-faced, unassuming Korean-American soldier being yelled at by his superior officer. A single punch sending the officer flying across the room. The cruel transfer order stamped with: Eden’s Vault – Comfort Specialist. The desert drop. The giant black scorpion carrying him away into the dunes.
Then, the newer, utterly terrifying footage: Hyun-woo casually obliterating a Harrower with a single punch during the Pearland invasion. Moving at speeds that flat-out defied the laws of physics. Saving Captain Lila Voss. Getting dragged into the rift.
And finally, the most damning clip of all, retrieved from Kane’s disastrous strike team. It showed Hyun-woo standing in Vespera’s ruined throne hall.
The colossal, apocalyptic Dragon was pressed naked against his chest, completely docile, while four of Eden’s Vault's most nightmarish Guardians surrounded him, guarding him with a terrifying, jealous devotion.
Elias Voss gripped the edges of the crystal table, his knuckles bone-white. His normally cold, calculating eyes were wide with stress.
“Are you telling me,” Elias hissed, his voice trembling with a dangerous mixture of fury and dread, “that the boy—the disposable trash that was thrown away as a comfort slave—is now walking around with four Guardians of Eden’s Vault? And a Floor Boss wrapped around him like a loyal bitch?!”
One of the elders let out a dry, mocking laugh that sounded more like a nervous tic. “According to the files, he was a complete normie! No Talent. No background. Just a pretty face that got him bullied in the military! How is he suddenly taming monsters that even S-rank heroes wouldn’t dare approach?!”
Sister Mirel tapped her long nails frantically on the table, her usual haughty smile entirely absent. “Our intelligence was flawless. Before entering Eden’s Vault, he was completely ordinary. A weak, Talentless soldier sent to die because he punched his commander. This shouldn’t be mathematically possible.”
Executor Kane stepped forward. He was still covered in thick dust and dried blood from the failed operation, his chest heaving with shallow breaths. The cold-eyed killer looked genuinely haunted.
“He didn't just tame them, Elias,” Kane croaked, his voice cracking under the weight of the memory. “He also shattered the Tower’s authority. I saw it. The divine binding runes meant for Vespera… he tore them apart with his bare hands like they were wet paper. Our entire strike team barely escaped with our lives.”
A heavy, terrified silence fell over the room.
A blinding surge of fury rushed through Elias. For a split second, dark, volatile mana flared around his body, threatening to obliterate the table and everything in the room. The inner circle flinched, bracing for an explosion.
But Elias stopped. He closed his eyes, forcing his ragged breathing to slow.
He couldn't afford a tantrum. Decades of planning, the Mass Descent, the sacrifices for the Dark King—everything was jeopardized by this single, impossible anomaly. If he lost his head now, they would lose everything.
Slowly, deliberately, Elias reined his power back in. He opened his eyes, the chaotic rage replaced by a sharp, desperate focus as he mentally recalculated their entire global strategy.
“We don’t need to understand how he did it yet, we still got our hands on the first artifact,” Elias said, raising his hand to silence the rising murmurs with absolute authority. “The important thing is, we now know exactly who he is. Hyun-woo. 24 years old. Former private in the Auxiliary Support Division. No powerful family. No backing. Just a pathetic normie who got lucky.”
Elias stood up, his dark robes billowing slightly as he paced behind his chair, his mind spinning a new web.
“He foiled our plans, yes, but he has inadvertently given us something far more valuable,” Elias said, a cold, calculating gleam returning to his eyes. “A clear target. A weak point in the Guardians’ circle. Look at them. The Guardians are invincible, but they are clearly emotional when it comes to him. That makes them vulnerable. That boy will be our key.”
A tall woman in a sleek black combat suit stepped silently out from the shadows. Half her face was covered by a silver mask, leaving only sharp, predatory violet eyes visible. Lilith—one of their best Shadow Veil agents.
Elias looked directly at her.
“You will go to Eden’s Vault. Do not engage the Guardians directly. Find a way in through his old military connections. Sergeant Nesta still seems to have some lingering attachment to him. Use her as a bridge. Get close to the boy. Study him. Find out what makes him special enough to turn those monsters docile… and most importantly, how the hell he broke the Tower’s authority.”
Lilith bowed slightly, her voice smooth and confident despite the lingering tension in the room. “Should I seduce him?”
Elias smirked, though it was a tight, humorless expression. “If the opportunity arises. By the looks of it, a normie who spent his life being called pretty and useless will probably fold easily to proper temptation. Men like him are starved for real affection. But stay cautious. Even if he was ordinary before, something has clearly changed. We need to know what it is.”
Lilith’s violet eyes gleamed with dark excitement. “Understood. I’ll bring you results.”
As she melted back into the shadows, Elias turned back to the floating screens, staring at the frozen image of Hyun-woo’s soft, almost innocent face.
“You were supposed to be eaten alive in that vault, boy. Instead, you somehow turned it into your personal paradise. How amusing.”
Elias raised his hand and crushed the hologram, shattering the image into frantic, dying sparks.
“What are you planning, Elias?” Miriel asked.
But she only got dark, echoing laughter in return.
***********
The world woke up to hell two days later.
Global death toll estimates were still climbing, but provisional figures already placed civilian casualties between 87,000 and 112,000 in the first forty-eight hours. Entire districts in New York, Seoul, Tokyo, London, Mumbai, and Lagos had been turned into bloody warzones.
What shocked the world even more wasn’t the staggering number of dead. It was how so many of them had died.
International Awakened News Network – Emergency Broadcast
An exhausted anchorwoman spoke in a grave, shaking voice as gruesome footage rolled behind her.
“…While Higher Floor invaders did engage in direct combat with awakened defenders, multiple independent investigations and survivor testimonies confirm a disturbing pattern: the majority of civilian deaths were not caused by the monsters.”
Clips played showing Carrion Angels and Harrowers completely ignoring fleeing crowds, only attacking those who raised weapons or used magic against them.
“In many cities, once local defenders were overwhelmed or pulled back, the invaders stopped their slaughter. They patrolled. They watched. They waited. But humans… humans did not stop.”
The screen switched to grainy drone footage from Seoul, showing armed militia groups executing civilians trying to hide in the subway systems. In London, a gang of looters in tactical gear opened fire on families trying to evacuate. In Mumbai, a corrupt awakened syndicate was recorded using the absolute chaos to settle old scores and seize territory.
“Opportunists. Criminal organizations. Rogue awakened. Even some government forces in certain regions used the invasion as cover for violent purges and power grabs. The death toll from human-on-human violence now exceeds casualties caused directly by the invaders.”
The anchor paused, wiping a tear from her eye, visibly shaken.
“Out of all major population centers affected… one location stands out as a glaring anomaly.”
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Pearland, Texas
The suburban streets were eerily peaceful.
Houses still stood. Shops were mostly intact. The neighborhood ice cream truck was even back on its usual route, though the driver kept glancing nervously at the sky.
Only a few blocks around the downtown cinema showed heavy battle damage: deep craters in the road, a few collapsed buildings, and black scorch marks where monsters had dissolved into ash.
Yet compared to the rest of the world, Pearland looked like it had merely survived a mild summer storm.
Captain Lila Voss stood on a rooftop overlooking the area, her silver-white hair blowing in the wind as she reviewed the casualty reports on her tablet.
Only 19 confirmed deaths in the entire Greater Pearland area—and most of those were unfortunate souls who had tried to fight the monsters head-on before help arrived.
She lowered the tablet and looked toward the modest two-story house a few blocks away.
“That guy…” she muttered. “He really turned the tide here.”
A subordinate approached, saluting briskly. “Captain, we found something strange near the western evacuation point.”
Four bodies lay in a neat row on the grass beside a half-destroyed convenience store.
All four were completely petrified, turned solidly into gray stone, their expressions frozen in terror and pure agony. Their robes were torn and bloodstained, but the emblem on their chests was still clearly visible:
A fractured crown pierced by a black spear—the symbol of the Hollow Oath.
Forensic awakened officers were carefully examining them.
“Preliminary analysis shows they were petrified by incredibly high-class magic,” one officer reported, tracing a scanner over the statues. “And these men… they weren’t killed by monsters. They were executing civilians. We found six families shot in the back near their position.”
Captain Lila’s jaw tightened. “So they used the invasion as cover to slaughter innocents… and someone turned them into garden statues before they could finish the job.”
She crouched beside one of the statues and noticed something else—deep, fresh claw marks gouged into the stone, almost like a signature.
And resting perfectly inside one of the petrified eyes, left behind as a deliberate calling card, was a single, iridescent emerald snake scale.
Lila’s lips twitched into a faint, exhausted smile.
“…Guess we know who saved this neighborhood.”
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Later that evening – Temporary Command Center, Gorgon Territory
Inside a heavily fortified forward operating base near the upper levels of Eden’s Vault, Sergeant Nesta stood rigidly in front of a mana-powered video screen.
Colonel Valeria’s cold, calculating face flickered through the static.
“Status report, Sergeant,” Valeria demanded without preamble. “The surface is an absolute bloodbath. I need to know the Vault's perimeter is holding.”
“Holding the line, ma'am,” Nesta replied, keeping her posture perfectly straight. “But we've lost contact with several deeper sectors. Nothing here about Private Hyun-woo, either. He disappeared during the initial chaos.”
Valeria waved a hand dismissively. “Add him to the KIA list. We don't have the manpower to search for disposable…”
Valeria stopped abruptly.
Off-screen, a heavy door slammed open. Nesta could hear the frantic, muffled voice of an aide and the sudden shuffling of documents. Valeria turned her head, her annoyance flaring for a split second before her eyes locked onto whatever screen or file had just been shoved in front of her.
For a long, agonizing minute, the colonel said absolutely nothing. Her eyes darted back and forth across the intelligence report, the cold, aristocratic mask of her face cracking into absolute disbelief.
“Colonel?” Nesta prompted cautiously.
Valeria slowly turned back to the camera. Her previous indifference was completely gone, replaced by a razor-sharp, almost feverish intensity.
“Any sign of Private Hyun-woo?” Valeria asked, her voice tight.
Nesta hesitated for half a second, completely thrown off by the sudden reversal. “No, ma’am. Like I said, he disappeared. And I can't exactly travel to the Gorgon territory myself.”
Valeria leaned forward, her face taking up the entire screen. “…Keep trying. Discreetly, of course. The higher-ups want him brought in for debriefing immediately. Stress that he is to be treated as a high-value asset, not a suspect.”
Nesta’s fists clenched behind her back. “Ma’am… with all due respect, thousands are dead across the world right now. Many of them murdered by other humans wearing Hollow Oath markings. And you want me to dedicate resources to focus on one former private?”
Colonel Valeria’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “That’s not your problem, Sergeant. And that ‘former private’ isn't just a casualty anymore. We just received live reports from the surface. He somehow survived Eden’s Vault, breached the portal, and single-handedly turned the tide in Pearland.”
Nesta blinked, her mind refusing to process the words. “He… what? He’s a normie. How could he…”
“He obliterated a Harrower with his bare hands,” Valeria cut in sharply. “The brass is in an uproar. They want to know how he did it, and what else he brought back with him from those deeper floors. Do your job, Sergeant. Find him.”
The call ended abruptly, the screen dissolving into dark static.
Nesta stared at the blank monitor for a long moment, the silence of the command tent ringing in her ears. Slowly, she turned and walked over to the reinforced observation window.
She looked out over the cavernous, hostile landscape of Eden's Vault, her gaze fixing on the exact direction of the Gorgon's domain.
“…What the hell is going on?” she whispered, letting out a long, heavy sigh.