Call of Abyss

Chapter 14

Mina watched as the golden barrier that formed from a room on the fourth floor of the Yellow Mansion gradually expanded to envelop the mansion.

In the garden surrounding the mansion, numerous yellow sparks flew, and the Abyss Ones began to retreat without even approaching the mansion.

As Mina examined the mansion closely, she noticed that the flames seemed to be gradually calming down after the golden barrier surrounded the mansion.

"It's the reinforcement of Ada Lovelace's barrier.

It certainly isn't just an empty reputation.

With this, it seems that the Medici Family evangelists and Abyss Ones will find it difficult to approach the mansion."

Francesco, an elder of the Medici Family who was watching the mansion beside Mina, clicked his tongue regretfully and spoke to Mina.

"It's nothing more than child's play in front of me."

Mina smiled, clasped her hands neatly, and then slowly opened them again.

A small bird-shaped flame appeared above Mina's palms.

Mina raised her arms, sending the small flame bird into the sky.

The small flame bird flapped its wings and soared into the sky, growing larger as it ascended.

"Mina... that size could be dangerous for us too."

Francesco, looking up at the massive flame that had transformed into a phoenix shape reminiscent of old murals, spoke with a worried voice.

"They'll know to avoid it, right? I can't control my power well when I get excited."

Mina laughed out loud and clapped her hands once as she watched the massive flame in the shape of a phoenix.

The phoenix-shaped flame flapped its wings toward Ada's mansion in response to Mina's clap.

Then, dozens of flame masses emerged from the phoenix's wings and began to fall toward Ada's mansion and the nearby ridges.

During the day, Seoraksan boasts beautiful scenery, but around 10 PM, it is shrouded in darkness, making it difficult to find traces of its beauty.

Go Jun-young, a firefighter affiliated with a fire station near Seoraksan, often enjoyed looking up at the mountain while breathing in the fresh air conveyed through Seoraksan during the day, but at night, he couldn't enjoy the scenery and spent his time reading in the waiting room.

That day, too, Go Jun-young was reading in the waiting room, as usual, planning to lie down for a short nap.

Just then, Kim Jin-ho, a firefighter who was looking at his phone next to him, shouted loudly that a wildfire was spreading rapidly around Seoraksan, shaking the waiting room.

"A sudden wildfire? It's not even the season for wildfires, so what's going on?"

Go Jun-young asked Kim Jin-ho in a doubtful voice.

At that moment, the dispatch bell rang loudly in the waiting room.

An uneasy premonition never misses.

Go Jun-young sighed softly and quickly prepared to leave with his colleagues in the waiting room.

"This wildfire doesn't seem like an ordinary one.

There's talk that it could endanger Sokcho City if we're not careful, and it's already started moving south, spreading toward Odaesan.

If that happens, Gangneung City and Donghae City could be at risk in an instant.

We must extinguish the wildfire spreading from Seoraksan quickly, no matter what."

As Go Jun-young and Kim Jin-ho put on their firefighting gear and boarded the fire truck, Yoo Sang-gu, the fire chief who was already in the fire truck, explained the situation briefly to them in a somewhat tense voice.

"Chief, do you know how this wildfire started?

Is it possible for a wildfire to spread this quickly?"

"I don't know. There are many questions about this wildfire.

Anyway, several firefighting helicopters have already been dispatched to Seoraksan, and our top priority is to go near Sokcho City and prevent the wildfire from reaching it.

It's a dark night, and the wind is particularly strong today, so be extra careful during the firefighting operation."

"Yes, understood."

The fire truck carrying Yoo Sang-gu, Go Jun-young, and Kim Jin-ho started running down the road with its sirens blaring.

Kim Jin-ho took out a notebook from his pocket, opened it, and gazed at the photo inside for a moment.

In the photo, Kim Jin-ho was smiling brightly with his wife, who passed away in a car accident two years ago, and his five-year-old son.

The accident happened right near the fire station where he worked, and despite being a firefighter, he couldn't save his wife and son from the burning car.

That fact weighed on Kim Jin-ho's mind every day and became the driving force for him to desperately save people at accident scenes during dispatches.

Kim Jin-ho gently touched the photo with his right hand.

Help me save many people this time too.

Kim Jin-ho thought to himself as he looked at the photo of his wife and son.

"It's complete chaos.

No matter how strong the wind blows, how can the fire spread so rapidly?"

Go Jun-young, watching the majority of the ridges ahead burning red, spoke in disbelief.

Before long, fire trucks that had gathered from somewhere were lined up behind the fire truck carrying Go Jun-young, forming a long procession.

The sight of several fire trucks running down the dark road with sirens blaring made Go Jun-young even more tense.

"I can see downtown Sokcho in the distance.

Let's get off here and start the firefighting operation."

Yoo Sang-gu pointed to a hillside on one side of the road and said.

By then, the flames had already descended the hillside and were crossing the road.

"Jun-young, the wildfire has already invaded the village and burned down several houses.

If we can't stop it here, it'll spread to downtown Sokcho, and then an uncontrollable situation will occur.

We must stop it!"

As the fire truck stopped on one side of the road, Kim Jin-ho got off the fire truck, saw a village burning on a nearby ridge, and spoke to Go Jun-young.

Go Jun-young, momentarily dazed by the sight of the burning ridge and village, quickly came to his senses and helped other firefighters move the fire hoses.

"Concentrate the spray in that direction to prevent the fire from crossing into downtown Sokcho!"

"Yes, Chief. Understood."

As soon as Yoo Sang-gu gave the order, Kim Jin-ho grabbed the nozzle of the fire hose, and Go Jun-young held the fire hose right behind Kim Jin-ho, starting to spray water toward the burning hillside.

"What is that?"

Kim Jin-ho, seeing two flame masses emerging from the flames and slowly approaching him, initially felt scared and took a slight step back.

However, the two flame masses soon transformed into familiar shapes, and Kim Jin-ho couldn't help but burst into tears as he saw the forms they had taken.

They were the forms of his wife and son, whom he had lost in the car accident.

"Honey.... Seong-woo...."

Kim Jin-ho dropped the nozzle of the fire hose and walked toward the two flame masses as if entranced.

"Hey! Jin-ho! Where are you going? Don't go!"

Go Jun-young hurriedly grabbed the fire hose nozzle that Kim Jin-ho had dropped and shouted at him.

The two flame masses approaching them didn't seem ordinary.

But despite Go Jun-young's shout, Kim Jin-ho continued to approach the two flame masses.

"Honey, Seong-woo, I love you."

As the two flame masses got closer, Kim Jin-ho spread his arms, trying to embrace them.

At that moment, with a loud bang, the two flame masses caused a massive explosion, engulfing Kim Jin-ho, Go Jun-young, and several nearby firefighters and fire trucks.

"Jin-ho! Jun-young!"

Yoo Sang-gu, seeing Kim Jin-ho and Go Jun-young caught in the massive explosion, lost his composure and shouted.

The surrounding firefighters who were extinguishing the wildfire were startled by the sudden incident and sprayed extinguishers at the spot where Kim Jin-ho and Go Jun-young were caught in the explosion.

"Why does this keep happening...."

Yoo Sang-gu muttered to himself in disbelief as he looked at the fire-engulfed fire trucks and his subordinates.

The faces of his subordinates who had lost their lives while working at fire or accident scenes flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Although the scale of the wildfire was large, the possibility of such a tragedy occurring should have been non-existent.

This was the first time such an accident had occurred during a wildfire extinguishing operation for the experienced fire chief, Yoo Sang-gu.

The explosion accident that had just happened before his eyes felt like a lie to Yoo Sang-gu.

"Chief...."

Hearing someone call him from somewhere, Yoo Sang-gu looked around.

Three flame masses, each taking the form of a person, emerged from the flames and approached Yoo Sang-gu.

"Geon-woo, Sang-mun, Seok-pil...."

They were all former subordinate firefighters he had lost in accidents in the past.

Although a long time had passed, Yoo Sang-gu had never forgotten their faces for a single moment.

"How are you here.... I've really missed you guys....

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

"Chief.... Let's be together now."

"Yes, let's be together.

This time, I'll definitely protect you."

Yoo Sang-gu, shedding tears, slowly approached the three flame masses that had taken the form of his former subordinate firefighters.

The faces he had always kept in his heart and longed for....

This time, he would definitely not leave them alone and protect them.

Yoo Sang-gu made a strong vow in his heart as he walked toward the three flame masses.

"Fire Chief Yoo Sang-gu!"

Although he heard someone urgently calling him, Fire Chief Yoo Sang-gu paid no attention.

Eventually, as the three flame masses approached right in front of him, Fire Chief Yoo Sang-gu spread his arms wide and embraced them.

"I'm here, kids.... I'm sorry for being so late."

At that moment, the three flame masses emitted a dazzling light and caused a massive explosion.

This explosion, larger than the first, engulfed all the firefighters and fire trucks gathered for the wildfire suppression operation, instantly blowing away the surrounding roads and facilities.

Ada of the 9th generation was kneeling in the burning study, drawing an A-shape with her hands.

A constant yellow aura emanated from Ada of the 9th generation's body and flowed into the protective barrier surrounding the mansion.

"Great King in Yellow Hastur! Grant us the yellow power to block the enemies' attacks."

Ada of the 9th generation repeatedly chanted Hastur's name and continued to pray.

The more she prayed to Hastur, the more she felt her remaining life force gradually depleting.

Yet, after the appearance of the giant flame bird in the sky, even prayers became useless, and the protective barrier around the mansion gradually weakened.

Even if Ada of the 9th generation exhausted all her life force to strengthen the barrier, it was impossible to block the power of Cthulhu.

"Is this the end?"

Ada of the 9th generation released her hands from the A-shape and collapsed sideways.

In her fading consciousness, Ada of the 9th generation sensed the appearance of a yellow light before her eyes.

The King in Yellow had finally come to collect the price for lending his power.

Ada of the 9th generation gazed at the yellow light for a long time, eventually smiling gently and closing her eyes.

The thought that she had finally fulfilled her mission brought some peace to her departing heart.

Dozens of flame masses began to rain down on the mansion from the giant flame bird in the form of a phoenix.

The golden protective barrier that had been guarding the mansion suddenly disappeared.

"The barrier is gone. What on earth happened?"

"It seems Ada has.... passed away...."

In response to Sungmin's question, Baeksan sighed softly and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Damn Yellow Bow....

Is this the price you're demanding this time?

Is this the expensive price you really wanted?"

Baeksan cursed as he looked at the Yellow Bow in his hand.

"The flame masses are coming back."

Seoyeon pointed at the dozens of flame masses floating in the sky.

The flame masses were flying toward the group where Seoyeon and her companions were gathered.

"Nia.... please help us!"

Assistant Kim looked at the approaching flame masses with wide eyes, raising her left arm with the black snake tattoo and shouted.

"They've already arrived."

Nia, who had appeared unnoticed, approached Assistant Kim from behind and spoke in a soft voice.

"Nia...."

Assistant Kim called Nia's name in an emotional voice upon seeing her face.

"Unfortunately, it seems Ada has met her fate.

For now, I'll stop those flame masses."

As Nia extended her hand toward the sky, a thick black barrier quickly enveloped the mansion and the garden.

The flame masses flying toward the mansion were blocked by the barrier Nia had created and exploded with a popping sound in mid-air.

"Regrettably, I can't keep stopping the flame masses indefinitely.

The form you see before you, acting under the name Nia, is less than one-tenth of my original power.

In contrast, the student named Mina can almost fully wield Cthulhu's power.

Once she fully awakens her power, I cannot be her match.

However, I can buy some time.

While I'm holding off the flame masses, you must quickly find a way to escape."

"If I remember correctly, there should be an entrance to a secret passage leading to the coast under the mansion's dining room floor.

If we find the entrance properly, we can escape through the secret passage."

"Sounds good. Then let's quickly head to the dining room and find the entrance to the secret passage before the mansion completely collapses."

Nia nodded in agreement with Baeksan's words.

"What are those?"

Sergeant Shin said as he watched the human-shaped flame masses suddenly appear from the flames surrounding the mansion and approach the group.

"That's.... Apophis!"

As Nia shouted Apophis' name while looking at the human-shaped flame masses, a gigantic black snake emerged from her feet and devoured the human-shaped flame masses in an instant.

"You must not keep looking at these human-shaped flame masses.

They destroy a person's mind.

Hurry, there's no time. Run away quickly!"

As Nia continued to urge them, Baeksan bowed to Nia and led the group toward the mansion.

The mansion was mostly on fire and could collapse at any moment.

With the Medici Family, soldiers, and Abyss One surrounding the mansion, the only escape route for Baeksan's group was the secret passage.

Therefore, they must find the entrance to the secret passage before the mansion collapses, no matter what.