I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 23

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 23
The Suction-type Dungeon.
True to its name, it is a dungeon that pulls in all living creatures in the surrounding area the moment it manifests.
An extraordinarily rare phenomenon—so uncommon that there were few recorded cases of its occurrence worldwide.
Within Korea, Suction-type Dungeons had appeared only five times.
In three of those instances, they had manifested in remote locations where there were no casualties.
One remained active and was being managed by the Association, while the other two had been completely cleared and closed.
“And the remaining two caused significant casualties. One appeared in an amusement park in Seoul, and the other in the busy district of Gyeongju. Both dungeons were sealed.”
Wind continued to flow through Gachisan Station.
It was not the wind from machinery or air currents rising from above ground.
It was a wind that pulled things from outside inward.
“Suction-type Dungeons continuously draw in nearby creatures by varying their intensity. Yesterday it might pull organisms with the force of a gentle breeze, and today with the force of a typhoon.”
Choi Jeong-moon explained it like a briefing.
I took in his words and carefully observed the surroundings.
The closed station was utterly silent.
The team members, evidently accustomed to such situations, vaulted over the ticket gates and entered the station.
“This is why Suction-type Dungeons are always maintained at a certain distance. People are prohibited from approaching within a five-meter radius. Still, there are occasional cases where someone gets caught, and the rescue team has to enter.”
“Is there a pattern to it?”
“Not that I know of yet. Many researchers are still trying to find regularities. But because Suction-type Dungeons are so rare, it’s difficult to study them. We’re simply going to close this one, so research won’t be possible.”
With so few cases, data could never accumulate.
I finally understood why Suction-type Dungeons had to remain a mystery.
My throat went dry without reason.
“Unexpected situations can occur in a Suction-type Dungeon at any time, so stay in position and always remain alert.”
“Understood.”
As we descended to the platform level, the wind grew fiercer.
My hair whipped about in disarray, and my wings trembled so violently they fluttered with a rustling sound.
“Sigh……”
Finally, a large gate opened in the middle of the platform came into view.
The platform screen doors were half-shattered, and the walls bore countless scratches and cracks.
It looked as though a train had rampaged across the platform.
And the cause of all that destruction was right there—that gate.
“I thought the damage on the tracks came from it pulling in the train……”
A dungeon manifesting on the platform had sucked in a subway car passing through the railway.
Only now did the power of the Suction-type Dungeon feel truly real.
“Entering.”
Two figures wearing Protective Armor went ahead into the dungeon.
Three others with Spear/Sword followed behind them, and the mages and I brought up the rear.
Wheeee—!
The moment we stepped inside, a violent wind tore through our ranks.
The sudden gust was strong enough to lift our bodies clean off the ground.
“Wh—what——?”
“Gasp!”
“Watch out!”
The wind whipped me around like a tornado, tossing my body every which way.
I felt like a fish trapped in someone’s shaking plastic bag, and my eyes clamped shut of their own accord.
“Healer!”
“Lee Ji-eum! No——!”
Only when I realized the two voices were receding in different directions did I understand that it was already too late.
Crash——!!
“Aaagh!”
The wind hurled me onto the damp ground and then abruptly ceased.
“Cough!”
I jerked my upper body upright.
The smell of soil and the stench of moisture pierced my nose.
Or perhaps water itself had gone up into my nose.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
I scrubbed my face roughly with my sleeve.
Only after wiping away the moisture could I finally look around.
“Mage? Leader…… Choi Jeong-moon?”
There was no one beside me.
It seemed the whirlwind had scattered our positions in all directions.
‘In a Suction-type Dungeon, unexpected situations can occur at any moment, so please don’t stray from your designated area and remain alert at all times.’
“But you never mentioned that unexpected situations could happen that would separate us from our positions…….”
I dragged a hand across my face.
At a glance, the surrounding terrain was pure swampland.
The dense forest stretching all around let in only the faintest traces of sunlight.
I couldn’t even see the entrance—I had no idea where the whirlwind had hurled me.
‘I can get out by Sunday, right? Right?’
I tilted my head back to look up at the treetops.
First priority was finding my teammates and regrouping.
To do that, climbing the trees to get a better view seemed like my best option.
Flutter!
I beat my thin wings, shaking off droplets of water.
The wings, soaked as they were, had no trouble lifting my body skyward.
‘Flower Call.’
The trees responded to my will, parting their branches to clear a path.
But something among the branches had other ideas.
Whoosh—!
“Ack!”
Splash!
Something thick wound around my leg and hurled me into the swamp.
“Cough!”
The moment I pulled my upper body above the water, thick, whip-like tendrils coiled around my shoulders and neck, dragging me down.
That wasn’t all.
Snap—crunch!
“Gasp!”
Something sharp bit into my forearm.
My bracelet gleamed, and a transparent barrier shimmered about an inch from my body.
But whatever had bitten me clawed at the barrier, desperately trying to reach me.
Rip!
I yanked my arm away hard, and something tore free from the murky bottom.
Squelch, squelch, squelch.
What refused to let go and kept stretching was a water lily—pure white.
Only after recognizing that did I finally understand what the whip-like things holding me were.
“You—let—go!”
I grabbed the lily with my unbitten hand and tore at it. Its teeth grated against my barrier with a sickening screech.
Click—tap! Click-click! Click!
As if awakened by that sound, white lilies all around began snapping their teeth together with sharp clicks.
Where stamens and pistils should have been, steel-hard, razor-edged teeth jutted out—a sight that made my skin crawl.
“Ugh…….”
I rubbed the spot where the lilies had bitten me and beat my wings harder.
Flutter-flutter-flutter—flutter—!
But all it sounded like was a dragonfly thrashing in a net.
The sound almost seemed to declare that my strength alone would never break free from these lilies.
In desperation, I shouted the skill name.
“This—Flower Call! Flower Call!”
My cries had no effect. The lilies remained unmoved.
“Let—go!”
The harder I struggled, the more viciously the stalks gripped me, and the lilies drew ever closer.
Countless teeth raked against my barrier from every side.
Cracks were beginning to spider across the shield under the relentless assault.
At this rate, there was only one outcome: being devoured.
‘Strength—I need the strength to break free! If I had strength……!’
“Synchronization! Dark Fairy Synchronization!”
Thorny brambles erupted around me, then crumbled to ash and vanished in an instant.
In that moment, the grip of the stalks holding me weakened dramatically.
Crack-crack-crack!
Roots and stems tore free as the earth itself heaved and overturned.
I pushed off the ground with all my might, beating my wings frantically.
Water lilies, dragged along by their torn stems, snapped their teeth furiously, emitting vicious clicking sounds.
I thrust my fingertips toward the water lily as if to vent my frustration on it.
“Get away! Disappear!”
The magical power I unleashed shattered the plant.
Crackle. Slither-slither, splash!
The stem that had coiled around my body went limp and fell onto the marsh.
Strength drained from me, but I didn’t descend into the swamp.
My nerve wasn’t steely enough to land on ground bristling with chattering water lily teeth.
“Phew.”
Exhaustion washed over me, but I continued to climb higher.
As I looked down across the broad expanse of the marsh, debris that hadn’t been visible before caught my eye.
“Oh….”
Torn fabric scraps and a partially submerged bag lay scattered there.
Beyond those remnants, a patch of dry ground free of water lilies and sharply splintered tree trunks told a grim story.
‘Chased by something, fell into the marsh, then caught by the water lilies?’
A soft sound.
It was small.
But my keenly honed ears caught it without difficulty.
I reflexively pointed my fingertips toward the source of the noise and attacked.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
A large leaf snapped under my strike, and a scream-like cry tore through the air.
The shrieking sound belonged to a child’s voice.
I flew over in a panic and cleared away the leaf with my bare hands.
A small child hiding in a shallow pit concealed by tree roots came into view.
A tiny body that looked to be only three or four years old.
“Ahhhhh! Ahhhhng!”
Was it fear at the disappearance of what had hidden them?
The child shrieked louder and wailed without pause.
“Um, hey. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Approaching or backing away seemed equally difficult.
To move closer was to invite more tears; to retreat left me worried.
I suddenly raised both hands and smiled toward the child.
“Friends? It’s okay. I’m a person too. Not a monster. Look.”
“Huuu-ung. Hee-ung.”
The child struggled to calm their panic, tears streaming freely, their eyes wide and red.
I rolled my eyes, scanning the surroundings quickly, and reached out toward the child.
“I came to rescue you. To find your mom. Let’s go find her together, okay? Stop now. Stop. Yes?”
Whether the child understood my words or not, they shook their head violently and pressed further back into the pit.
Rustle—
Through the child’s wailing, I felt a very faint presence.
No—not faint, but rather….
‘Stealthy.’
Goosebumps rose across my skin.
Things were gathering, following the sounds one by one, and it felt as though they would discover us at any moment.
“Friend, have you ever flown before?”
There was no time to check if the child heard me.
I grabbed the child’s arm rather roughly and pulled them into my embrace.
“Mommmmy! Mommy!”
The child shrieked, arching their back and writhing in my grip.
But I had no time either.
I held the child firmly and forced a smile.
“We’re going to fly to your mom—are you going to keep crying like that?”
I said this to soothe the child, but my mind was already turning to the debris I’d seen in the marsh.
The remnants of someone who had been not far from this child.
‘It seems likely that….’
I shook my head sharply, trying to banish the dark thought.
Then I beat my wings hard so the child would hear.
Flutter.
At the sound like dragonfly wings, the child seemed finally to notice the wings on my back.
The child’s dark eyes grew wide and round, and their crying faded.
Small hiccupping sounds began, but that was better than wailing.
“Come on, let’s zoom away like an airplane. When you zoom, keep your mouth closed or bugs will fly in.”
Crunch!
The sound of footsteps crushing damp leaves drew closer by the moment.
I shot upward into the sky before it could reach me.
Without the Flower Call skill, the tree trunks and branches offered me no passage.
I held the child tighter against my chest and pushed through the branches, escaping the forest’s shadow.
The damp, dark air of the woods and marshland didn’t reach up here into the open sky.
Despite being a dungeon, vivid sunlight and warmth settled across my shoulders.
The child in my arms carefully propped against my shoulder and lifted his head.
“Sniffle. Sniff. Sniffle.”
Please don’t wipe your nose on my shirt. I have to wear this all weekend.
It’s a disposable outfit anyway—I wiped below the child’s nose with my sleeve and tilted my body to face outward.
From a distance, the sprawling forest glowed with beautiful green foliage.
‘Sure, it’s gloomy… no exit in sight… no people around… but at least the colors are pretty, I guess.’
“Wow!”
Thankfully, the child—oblivious to my inner complaints—let out a gasp of wonder with mouth agape.
I closed his jaw gently and laughed playfully.
“Keep your mouth like that and you’ll swallow a fly.”
The child quickly snapped it shut.
But curiosity got the better of him, and his bright eyes reached back toward my wings.
“Fairy.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah! You’re a fairy. This, this……”
“Cough!”
Even the wind can trigger a coughing fit.
I suffered severe spiritual damage from the child’s pure innocence and erupted into a string of coughs.
‘My defenses drop, so my anti-magic resistance drops too. That’s gotta be it.’
As I entertained this pointless thought, the child reached back, fidgeting with his hands to touch the wings.
I dodged his grasp just in case and smiled at him as kindly as I could manage.
Synchronization wouldn’t rise anyway, but I couldn’t afford to be harsh and cruel to a frightened child.
“Right, that’s correct. We have to fly now, so you can’t touch. Let’s find your mother first, okay?”
“I know the fairy grandmother, and I know the fairy teacher. Do you know them too?”
The child looked up at me with wet, swollen eyes, completely missing my point.
It was fortunate he’d stopped crying—wonder replacing fear—but this was terribly unfortunate.
“Fairy, can you do that floaty thing too? And glass slippers… and chasing away the bad witch, and also, also……”
I looked down at the trembling grass beneath my feet, then began to flap my wings deliberately but desperately.
‘Magician, Choi Jeong-moon… where are all of you? Please show up and take this kid before I die of embarrassment.’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————