Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 62.
The moment Ha Gyeong was swallowed by Dread River.
Ha Gyeong swung the Crimson Edge like a madman.
His intent was to slash through his own insides so violently that the creature would regurgitate him on instinct.
But the situation unfolded in a direction entirely contrary to his expectations.
Clang!
“What?”
Ha Gyeong’s face twisted in bewilderment.
He’d raked his blade across the esophagus using Compressed Abyss Resonance.
Yet instead of blood and tissue spraying outward,
only sparks scattered like orange fireflies alongside a metallic ring.
The internal organs certainly looked no different from ordinary ones to his eye.
In the end, Ha Gyeong found himself dragged deeper still.
‘If even the internal organs are this hard, finding a weak point won’t be easy.’
Yet Ha Gyeong forced himself to remain calm.
There’s always a way out, even when the sky itself falls.
Even a fortress of iron has its gaps.
Presently, Ha Gyeong tumbled into a fairly spacious chamber.
About the size of a small gymnasium.
The darkness was overwhelming, so he decided to bring forth light first.
Click! Click! Click!
He pulled out a Glow Stick and snapped it—a soft green luminescence bloomed into being.
But then something unexpected stood against the far wall.
A figure much like a boy.
Ha Gyeong found himself asking without quite thinking.
“Who are you?”
Then, feeling rather foolish, he smiled.
This was the Incomprehensible Tier Dungeon of the Bottomless Abyss.
A colossal monster resembling a giant maw.
The belly of the Dungeon Guardian, Dread River.
For a person to exist in such a place seemed impossible.
Not an adult, certainly.
But a slight-framed boy with azure hair.
Yet an unexpected answer reached his ears.
—Good to see you.
“What? You’re… human?”
—That hardly seems likely.
“True enough. So what are you?”
—An entity of interest to you.
Ha Gyeong’s brow furrowed.
Being swallowed by Dread River was absurd enough.
But to encounter an unknown entity within its belly—
what manner of luck was this?
The boy moved toward the Glow Stick Ha Gyeong had dropped.
—Humans use the strangest objects. Gate Breaks hold up well enough. Quite fascinating in many ways.
The moment Ha Gyeong caught the creature’s murmur,
he felt as though something had pierced straight through him.
The content was far from ordinary.
He pressed forward with another question.
“Are you the Emperor of the Bottomless Abyss?”
—I expected you could infer as much, but your perceptiveness is remarkable. Truly, you bear the mark of one who escaped the Abyss Ruler’s grasp.
“What’s your connection to the Abyss Ruler?”
—A sort of… distant cousin, you might say.
“In other words, you’re in league together.”
—Close enough.
Ha Gyeong felt as though a weight had lifted from his chest.
Until now, he’d entertained countless theories.
About the Emperor mentioned by the Core Guardian and the Talent Devourer—
whether it was the same as the Abyss Ruler or not.
But now that endless mystery dissolved in an instant.
The Emperor of the Bottomless Abyss stood before Ha Gyeong.
“Well, that settles it then. But why are you interested in me?”
—I was curious.
“About what?”
—If I told you everything, it wouldn’t be as amusing. Still, one thing is certain: you are indeed a being of value.
Hiss-s-s-s!
The boy’s form began to disperse gradually.
Becoming dust, scattering on the air.
Ha Gyeong, watching this transformation, spoke calmly.
“Why do you wish to remake Earth into something like the Upper Abyss?”
—Because it is destiny.
The Emperor of the Bottomless Abyss left only empty words in his wake as he began to fade.
That smile hanging at the corner of his mouth seemed almost mocking.
As though he found the struggles of the Awakened Ones beneath contempt.
Ha Gyeong clenched his fist.
“Destiny isn’t something you submit to. It’s something you forge.”
—I thought you might say exactly that.
“So let me land one blow.”
—Hm?
Whoosh! Thud—!
Ha Gyeong’s fist connected directly with the boy’s disintegrating face.
He closed the distance in an instant using Wall Resonance Step.
Then drove in the Collapse Heaven Fist without hesitation.
He didn’t employ Kin Predation, yet the force was extraordinary.
Enough to shatter the Emperor’s form entirely.
—You utterly mad creature. To lay hands upon my face…!
The Emperor’s mouth, all that remained, continued its final sputtering.
Ha Gyeong trampled the Emperor’s remains underfoot and exhaled a long breath.
Crack!
“Phew… Destiny, my foot.”
Whether it was the Abyss Ruler or the Emperor of the Bottomless Abyss,
one truth remained certain: they deserved annihilation.
Ha Gyeong surveyed his surroundings.
‘The Emperor aside, my priority now is escape.’
Ha Gyeong examined the walls of Dread River’s gullet with care.
But there seemed to be no obvious weak point.
Just crimson-hued intestinal tissue.
Even Compressed Abyss Resonance couldn’t so much as score it.
This was maddening.
Yet then, a dark discoloration caught his eye.
Ha Gyeong tilted his head.
“Huh? Why is the color different only here?”
At first, he had no idea what it was.
Striking it with his blade only produced that metallic ring.
It differed little from the surrounding tissue.
But the moment he glimpsed the faint ivory powder on the floor,
Ha Gyeong understood without deliberation.
‘Could this be a mark from the Collapse Heaven Fist?’
He drove his fist against the wall.
Boom! Boom!
The impact produced a heavy sound, much like his blade strike had.
But the response was different.
Rumble! Rumble!
The throat wall, which had shown no movement until now, began to writhe.
In that moment, Ha Gyeong grasped it.
‘Blunt force only? Sharp blades won’t work?’
It was an extraordinarily peculiar design.
Absurd, even—yet Ha Gyeong’s body was already moving.
When in Rome, one must follow Roman law, as the saying goes.
He drew out the Resonance Staff and began striking the wall with vigor.
Thud! Whoooosh—!
Each swing sent forth a strange vibration.
Colliding with something soft and yielding,
it produced no suction.
Yet the effect was undeniable.
The wall’s writhing intensified.
And soon, faint light poured down from above.
In that moment, Ha Gyeong was certain.
‘The mouth has opened!’
Now he just needed to escape.
But the spacious chamber suddenly began to contract.
Ha Gyeong felt panic rising.
‘At this rate, I’ll be crushed.’
Dread River, rather than swallowing prey whole,
possessed the ability to contract its tough stomach walls and pulverize its food.
At this rate, Ha Gyeong would be masticated to death inside the beast’s belly.
He bolted forward, feet planted against the walls.
Patter-patter-patter!
Ha Gyeong’s Awakened skill—
Wall Resonance Step deployed itself.
He passed through Dread River’s throat in an instant.
If all went well, he’d be free in moments.
Assuming Dread River didn’t close its maw.
But then the creature’s palate entered his vision.
‘Before I go, I should leave a parting gift.’
In most living beings, the palate lies close to the brain.
A single strike there might deal catastrophic damage.
Ha Gyeong adjusted his grip on the Crimson Edge.
[Will of the Core Guardian creates an extreme annihilation zone.]
Whisper. Thunk!
The blade’s tip pierced the crimson palate.
And then something miraculous occurred.
Dread River’s dense internal tissue vanished in an instant.
As though scooped clean with one motion.
Cyan blood erupted outward, misting the surroundings in a fog.
‘That found its mark!’
Elated, Ha Gyeong threw himself forward without hesitation.
Dread River was beginning to luminescence.
Snap!
Sharp teeth grazed Ha Gyeong’s back with a whisper.
Though he’d tumbled out nearly defenseless, he didn’t crash to the bottom.
The Deep Sea’s abyss was filled with breathable water.
Ha Gyeong descended gently to the seafloor and turned to face Dread River.
‘Will that be the end of it?’
But the result deviated slightly from his hopes.
Because Dread River’s head was so immense,
a mere two-meter-diameter wound couldn’t kill it.
Yet the gain was substantial enough.
His team had earned some breathing room.
The moment Ha Gyeong appeared, Ryu Jeonghwan’s urgent voice rang out.
—Now! We must seize the opening Ha Gyeong created! Front line, suppress Dread River’s movements immediately!
The tanks rushed forward, hurling their Taunt Skills in rapid succession.
Clearly there hadn’t been an opening until now.
Its massive bulk notwithstanding,
Dread River moved with incredible speed.
But now, it was perfectly vulnerable.
Though Ha Gyeong couldn’t predict how long this window would last,
he kept his eyes fixed on Dread River’s movements.
‘It won’t hold for long.’
Given the beast’s colossal size,
what had been lost was no more than a fingernail’s worth of flesh.
A dangerous location, perhaps, but not a vital organ.
Dread River would regain its senses soon.
Ha Gyeong understood immediately what he had to do.
“Jon!”
“Yo! Bro. How’d it feel being chewed?”
“I was only swallowed. I was never actually chewed.”
“Well, you still got played with inside its mouth, didn’t ya?”
“Please save such nonsense for home. I have a favor to ask.”
“What do you need?”
“Anchor this to the ground. Every time I loop around, the creature pulls it free.”
Ha Gyeong handed Jon a Resonance Rope.
From absorbing so much Abyss Energy,
it seemed to be nearly fifteen centimeters thick now.
With this, even Dread River could be bound securely.
Jon grinned wickedly as he spoke.
“Oho! Going for some restraint play, are we?”
“Could you please refrain from that expression?”
“Gotcha.”
“Pardon?”
“I said I got it. You’re Korean and don’t know abbreviations?”
“What on earth is that supposed to—Regardless, will you do it?”
“Okay. No further discussion.”
Jon answered cheerfully.
Then he bit the far end to a clam nested within the coral.
This would be far sturdier than a simple knot.
The coral clam wouldn’t release anything once it clamped down.
Ha Gyeong gave a thumbs-up and immediately began sprinting.
Using Wall Resonance Step, he swept across the Coral Region in all directions.
After dozens of passes, Dread River’s movements grew sluggish.
Much like a criminal caught in Spider-Man’s webs.
“Graaaagh! Grrrrgh!”
Dread River thrashed and roared.
But it only convulsed slightly.
The Resonance Rope Ha Gyeong had set held firm.
He immediately grasped the Whisperer and spoke.
“The binding will weaken as time passes. We must defeat it before the hold breaks.”
—Understood. Beginning full assault. Healers, prepare your support.
The onslaught from forty Awakened Ones was a sight to behold.
Countless skills erupted across Dread River’s head.
Ryu Jeonghwan’s chosen strategy was simple: dig deep at one point.
After all, the opponent was a monster with hardened carapace covering its entire body.
Rather than search for an unknown weak point,
they would concentrate fire and forge one themselves.
Ha Gyeong waited for the ranged assault to pause, then moved in.
He carved a deep gash across Dread River’s skull.
Unleashing the Twilight Soul Flash’s pearl-white radiance as he did.
Thud!
The Crimson Edge’s Defense Break activated.
Dread River’s scales immediately flaked away.
Then Ha Gyeong’s blade pierced the newly exposed vulnerability.
Splurt—!
[Dungeon Guardian Dread River has been defeated.]
[You receive ‘Deep Sea Barbed Armor’ as a reward.]
Dread River’s massive body stilled.
The Resonance Ropes began snapping one by one.
Pop-pop-pop!
Dread River’s death throes and the team’s final strikes
had shattered the Abyss Energy’s binding.
It was a burst finished in the narrowest of margins.
Ha Gyeong exhaled with inward relief.
‘If we’d been even a moment slower, this could have turned truly dangerous. I’m grateful we managed it.’
Once Dread River began swimming away, there would be no catching it.
He sat breathing hard.
From expending so many resources at once,
he scarcely had strength to stand.
But then someone approached quietly and spoke to him.
“Um… Ha Gyeong?”
“Yes?”
He gave them a quizzical look.
Well, it would have been strange not to.
Standing before Ha Gyeong were the Raiders Guild’s Healers.
One of them, scratching the back of their head, spoke up.
“Thank you for all your hard work.”
“If you don’t mind us asking…”
“Would you sign something for us?”
The request was so unexpected that Ha Gyeong could only blink.
‘Nothing about this is normal. Or is this just what the Raiders are like?’
Gate Breaker
Author |
Morae Top
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(주) Samyang C&C
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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