Chapter 78

"What would you do if an alien said they liked you?"

As he leaned his forehead on her shoulder and asked, Seo-un swept her back even more.

"Hey, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"

"The alien said they really like you."

When Chahaya raised his head, his eyes sparkled with a sense of wonder.

"I don't like aliens. I really hate those with a lot of tentacles."

"What if the alien was handsome?"

"Isn't it pretty?"

Ah, that's right. Chahaya mumbled, and his eyes relaxed.

"Yeah, if the alien was pretty."

"Well, I might think about it."

"Liar, you're changing your mind again, aren't you?"

Seo-un couldn't understand why he kept making those bright eyes. Could he have seen an alien in the black wall or the gate?

"What, have you seen an alien somewhere?"

"I see them all the time."

Seo-un chuckled at his absurd joke.

"Let's take a shower and rest for a bit, then go look for Brother Abdullah. Go, top predator."

She was just busy pushing his broad back into the bathroom.

"Promise me."

Seo-un mimicked his tone, saying, "I promise?"

"Promise with all your heart."

"I promise with all my heart, okay?"

Only then did Chahaya, seemingly satisfied, move his heavy body that wouldn't budge. Seo-un, who had to struggle to send him to the bathroom, immediately jumped into bed and buried herself under the covers.

Suddenly talking about aliens, he was just a funny guy.

'You're really liked.'

Still, his voice tickled her heart. Her fingers itched so much that she had to grip the blanket tightly. The sound of "you're really liked" echoed in her ears like a lullaby.

***

Hiss, hiss... hiss...

A damp breathing sound came from somewhere.

She had heard a similar sound somewhere before, probably in a hospital. It was the sound of an oxygen mask helping her grandfather, who was seriously ill, to breathe. Seo-un, recalling her grandfather's shriveled hand, tilted her head in confusion.

Surprisingly, she found herself standing in the middle of a desolate desert.

The sandy hills crunched and stretched out in the distance, and the wind that eroded the hills stirred up sandstorms. Whirlwinds carrying sand spun around everywhere.

Seo-un covered her mouth with her hand to block the sand, but, like in her previous dream, she didn't feel any sensation. Despite the complete darkness, she could easily distinguish objects.

Sssss, this time a sound like a snake's threatening hiss was heard.

Only then did Seo-un notice two people climbing up the sandy hill she was standing on.

One wore large goggles and a thin mask, while the other wore the same goggles but a dust mask like those seen in chemical plants, connected to an oxygen tank on their back.

Why does only one person carry an oxygen tank? Is the person with the regular mask okay? Seo-un, who also didn't find it hard to breathe, wondered if one of them had a health condition.

Suddenly, an earthquake struck the unstable sandy hill, and her legs felt as if they were being swallowed by quicksand. The ground vibrated continuously, like aftershocks.

"Sister! It's a scorpion territory shift!"

The man with the thin mask shouted as he climbed over the sandy hill.

"But the scorpions haven't desertified yet, right?"

The voice revealed that the one with the oxygen tank was a woman.

"Run first!"

Seo-un also took a step back at the desperate cries of the two people. The sandy hill she was standing on caved in, and her body swayed. Sand spurted into the air like a geyser, and not just one but dozens of them were erupting.

Plop, plop, the sound of sand bursting out from various places gave a sense of the size of the creatures. A large shadow loomed over Seo-un's head.

"Sister Han-sol! Run without looking back!"

Unlike the others who fled, Seo-un turned around. Her eyes naturally looked up. A scorpion, at least 3 meters tall, was spewing sand from its mouth.

The scorpion's tail, as hard as a rock, was curled up in anger. The black tail, which seemed to contain a deadly poison with just a touch, quivered. The scorpions, not just one but densely packed, trembled.

These are, mutants. Seo-un had never seen a scorpion mutant before, but her instinct told her.

Seo-un finally came to her senses. Sliding down the sandy hill, she tried to escape from the scorpion swarm, but they seemed to be targeting the two people, moving their dozens of legs.

Seo-un, instead of fleeing, followed the scorpions chasing the two people. The scorpions raised their bodies and slammed them down, causing the sand to tremble.

Swish, the man with the thin mask drew a long sword.

"Sister! Keep running to the dome!"

The man stopped to protect the woman with the oxygen mask, summoning cosmos. A blue aura surged like a flame and spread over the sword. He was a supreme being.

Moreover, it was a very familiar aura...

Seo-un shook her head in disbelief.

The sand was being corroded by the scorpion's venom. The man with the blue aura instantly killed five scorpions, but more were attaching to the fleeing people.

Boom! To make matters worse, a scorpion blocking the escape route raised its head from the sand. When the woman with the oxygen mask looked up, the scorpion thrust its tail into her back.

Aaah! The woman's body was torn in half, and her oxygen tank shattered. Seo-un, screaming, tried to check the woman's condition, but she was already a severed corpse.

"Damn it! Sister!"

The supreme being ran to the dead woman and raised his sword to protect her.

"Damn this planet!"

A cry, like a wail, burst out from under the mask.

The scorpions not only shot venom but also stomped the ground, causing earthquakes. They didn't attack the supreme being recklessly but kept looking for an opening. The scorpions seemed to be an intelligent gang. Despite losing dozens, more joined later.

Huff, the supreme being's mask, soaked with sweat, was covered with sand. He summoned all the cosmos in his body, enveloping himself in a blue barrier. If he couldn't kill all the scorpions with this aura, he would die.

"Get back!"

At that moment, a large sand whirlwind was forming in the direction of the voice. A young man cut through the storm and quickly closed the distance.

The tip of the young man's sword, which had been pointing at the ground, was now aimed at the scorpion swarm. As he released a sword aura, a purple flash split the scorpions in half. Kiii! Hundreds of scorpions emitted a high-frequency sound, shaking the eardrums. The scorpions' black fluid pooled like a river on the ground.

Plop! The young man plunged his sword deep into the sand and released cosmos in one go.

Boom! The sword, now fully blooming, spread out, pushing back the dozens of sandy hills in the distance and filling the ground.

The world seemed to be covered entirely in purple, and the ground beneath the sand looked like asphalt.

A surviving scorpion, the largest and the one that had torn the woman in half, the leader of the group, began to crawl back to where the sand was.

The young man, without hesitation, threw his sword. Kaa! The scorpion, impaled on the sword, struggled, but the young man stepped on its head.

Gripping the hilt, he pulled out the blade and destroyed the energy center in the scorpion's chest.

The scorpion's body, emitting a terrible stench, corroded the asphalt. The purple aura that had gently enveloped the wide land gradually faded.

For a moment, the young man's cosmos had pushed back the desert, but the storm soon returned, covering everything in sand. The sand seemed to be endlessly generated, as if it would swallow the entire world.

The young man, who had wiped the venom off his sword, was wearing a black hood like a mask. Seo-un just stared at the young man as he helped the fallen supreme being to his feet.

She thought it couldn't be, but when she saw the sword he held, her eyes widened.

Matahari...

Although the sword was wrapped in black leather, not snake skin, she was sure because of the name engraved on the blade.

That sword was her 'Matahari' itself.

The supreme being, enveloped in blue aura, grabbed the young man's hand and staggered to his feet.

"Damn... the scorpions have all desertified. This planet... is a failure."

The supreme being, panting, spat out curses. The young man remained silent, extending his hand to the supreme being, who was bleeding from his arm.

"Is Sister Han-sol... beyond saving?"

The young man nodded.

His wounds soon healed, but he couldn't revive the one who had been torn in half.

The young man's face, hidden by the sandstorm, looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept for thousands of days. The young man, with a body weighed down by extreme fatigue, looked up at the sky.

Seo-un followed his gaze, but the sky was pitch black, like the bottom of a pit, with no stars in sight.

"Let's dispatch the messengers, Dohui."

As the young man pulled off his mask, Seo-un held her breath.

For a moment, the sandstorm paused, revealing his vivid purple eyes.

The young man was none other than herself.