Atmosphere

Following Ryun's lead, it wasn't long before Vahn and Co reached the outskirts of a rather pungent region known as Gallstone Village.

As the name made readily apparent, Gallstone Village was just that, a village located inside of a large, mountain-sized, gallstone. It was half-embedded in a ceiling formed from the flesh of the Guardian, and, though most of the region had dried up by now, there were still areas of moisture and an incredibly foul-smelling aroma permeating the atmosphere.

Pausing at the base of a snaking set of stairs, formed from a series of stones that had been piled up to facilitate access to Gallstone Village, Ryun pressed a small indentation, saying, "Though it should be impossible for an outsider to reach this location without the support of a Guide, we have taken a number of precautions to ensure the secrets of the Red Witches remain as such. If you attempted to ascend the stairs without pressing these indentations in a specific pattern, the entire stairway would collapse. In the worst-case scenario, the village itself can be dropped on foes, crushing them before penultimately exploding."

Imagining the massive gallstone dropping on his head, a wry smile spread across Vahn's face as he considered whether or not he would be able to lift the entire thing. He knew it should be possible, but, even to this day, he didn't really have any feats to demonstrate his lifting strength. All he knew for certain was that he could lift several million kilograms even before his ascent to Tier 5. Now, so long as he 'needed' to, he should be able to lift any amount of weight so long as he was given the time to adjust his mental state...

Noticing the thoughtful glimmer in her Master's eyes, Ryun fell silent as she stood next to Fenrir at the base of the stairs. They had become accustomed to their Master's introspective nature, so, with 'knowing' smiles on their faces, they patiently awaited his return to reality with their tails wagging rhythmically behind them.

Sensing the sudden emergence of an unfamiliar presence, Vahn immediately snapped out of his reverie while performing a grabbing motion at the air. This was followed by a girlish exclamation as a rather petite yet well-endowed redhead, garbed in a black vest, grey undershirt, dark-grey skirt, and black jackboots appeared out of thin air.

Recognizing the obvious similarities between the woman and Ryun, Vahn allowed her to stand of her own volition as his own redheaded companion asked, "What are you doing here, Ai? Where is Soo Min?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Ai, who had promptly plopped to the ground following Vahn's release, jumped up with a start as she excitedly exclaimed, "Hwa Ryun? Is that really you!?"

With the petite Ai approaching like a starstruck fan preparing to tackle their idol, Ryun returned the woman to her senses with a crisp smack to the face, stunning everyone present as she said, "I asked you a question. Explain the situation."

Though she had briefly fallen into a stupor, mouth agape with her hand tentatively touching the area where Ryun had smacked her, Ai recovered shortly thereafter, revealing in a melancholic tone, "Soo Min has been killed..."

Frowning deeply in response to the sudden revelation, Ryun's ears flattened aggressively atop her head as she grabbed Ai's shoulders and said, "Tell me everything." in a threatening tone.

Though she wanted to inquire about the fluffy ears atop her senior's head, Ai nodded furiously in response to Ryun's threatening tone, explaining, "She was caught and tortured to death by a man named Hell Joe. He wanted to use her to locate the fragments of the Thorn. He refused to believe that her powers didn't function on the Floor of Death so she ended up dying before her time..."

With each word spoken, Ryun's expression became progressively darker as the atmosphere around her become agitated. The thought of someone torturing her kin to death was already bad enough, but, far worse than that, Soo Min wasn't meant to die on the Floor of Death. This implied that Hell Joe was acting in defiance of fate, and, while this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, the actions he had taken were unacceptable. Most Red Witches lived their entire lives knowing when, where, and how they were going to die so it was impossible to imagine how terrified Soo Min must have been upon realizing that her path had been severed...

Liberating Ryun from her downward spiral, Vahn placed his hand atop her head, gently caressing her silky-smooth hair as he promised, "We will make him pay."

Following an affirmative nod, Ryun threw her arms around Vahn's body, face buried in his chest as she allowed him to hold and console her. This surprised Ai quite a bit, but, rather than remark on the peculiarities of the situation, she awkwardly inched closer to Fenrir to ask a few questions...

---

Though he had already made up his mind on the matter, Vahn's anger towards Hell Joe increased to an extreme when he saw the state of Soo Min's body. Ryun had asked him to take a look at the woman, and, if possible, she wanted him to revive her. Unfortunately, Soo Min's spirit had already departed her body. Hell Joe had consumed the energy comprising her Ego, and, to make matters even worse, her vitality had been depleted to the point that her scar-covered body was in a state bordering on mummification, her expression perpetually fixed in a mask of horror...

In the end, the most Vahn could do for Ryun and Ai was restore the condition of Soo Min's body so that those performing future pilgrimages wouldn't have to witness the travesty wrought by Hell Joe's depravity. Any further treatment would depend on whether or not they were able to acquire Soo Min's Ego, but, considering the circumstances, the most likely outcome was that Hell Joe had assimilated it into himself in much the same way as White. Still, he wasn't just going to give up, so, following the treatment, Vahn learned more about the situation from Ai before the four of them made their way to a region in the Floor of Death known as South City.

Contrary to the name, South City was more of a wasteland than anything else. The few residents that were present resembled emaciated corpses with sunken features, ghostly complexions, and soulless eyes. This wasn't a complete exaggeration either, as, in exchange for eternal life, nearly every resident of the Floor of Death had their 'Souls' removed by an Artifact known as the Soul-Stirring Ladle.

As the name implied, the Soul-Stirring Ladle was, quite literally, a spoon with the power to scoop up a person's 'soul'. More specifically, it was enchanted with a powerful spell that allowed it to separate a person's spiritual body from their physical form.

Under normal circumstances, the Ego would generally accompany the spiritual body as the two were intrinsically related to each other. Here on the Floor of Death, however, there seemed to be a spell in place that bound the Ego to the physical body, effectively making its residents immortal so long as they never left.

Though some might consider eternal life a boon, only an absolute fool would consider separating the spiritual body from the physical form to be a viable solution to finality. The spiritual body was the very foundation upon which the Ego was built. Though it was possible to infuse the energy of a person's Ego into a physical object, it would quickly lose its stability unless the material used was spiritual in nature.

Even under the most ideal of circumstances, it was only a matter of time before the Ego began to fracture and dissipate due to the lack of a spiritual body to serve as a proper container. This might not result in death, but, in a way, it was far worse as you would gradually lose all emotions before penultimately losing your sense of self. In the end, the best-case scenario was becoming a husk of your former self that clung to life without a sense of purpose. The more likely outcome, however, was becoming an entity that consumed the vital energies and essence of other living creatures in a vain attempt to compensate for what you had lost...

Seemingly understanding this flaw, the rulers of the Floor of Death had implemented policies that prevented residents from leaving. Anyone entering would also be required to give up their 'souls', not just for the sake of leverage, but to prevent the residents within from attacking.

Though the average resident of the Floor of Death was rather weak, their immortality made them extremely difficult to deal with. They also possessed a unique sensitivity to any living creature with a spiritual body, so, unless you were outrageously powerful, it was only a matter of time before the residents within swarmed you like an undead horde. This would gradually result in the degradation of their mental states, so, with very few exceptions, nothing with a 'soul' was allowed to enter the Floor of Death.

Not caring about this restriction in the slightest, Vahn walked through South City with a bundle of Talismans known as Bujeok in his hand. They were derived from a unique branch of mysticism that allowed monks to seal, and, under certain circumstances, control the dead. Since the residents of South City were effectively 'undead', the peculiar paper talismans could be used to completely seal their movements by simply attaching them to the forehead. Even the most powerful among them were not spared this fate, as, rather than simple ink, each of the Bujeok wielded by Vahn had been inscribed using his blood as a catalyst.

Long before he had reached Tier 5, Vahn already had a unique constitution. Even Da Vinci, despite hundreds of years and countless hours of research, had failed to make any substantial progress in understanding the peculiarities of his blood. Instead, it became progressively more mysterious the more she researched it. As a result, even the most simple Talismans inscribed using his blood were graded as B-Rank items, and, depending on the amount of effort put into them, they were capable of reaching much higher ranks.

Though it was a little overkill, each of the Bujeok in Vahn's hand were, on average, A-Rank Sealing Talismans. They could, quite literally, be used to seal away lesser Tier 4 beings, so, while there were a number of strong residents among the undead of South City, each was immobilized the moment his Talismans came into contact with their foreheads. To make the situation even more one-sided, Vahn could manipulate said Talismans at relativistic speeds and teleport them directly through his domain. Thus, rather than inviting a horde to pester them, the group of four moved freely through South City until they reached a massive tower known as the Red Fortress...

Not expecting Vahn to be so 'tyrannical', Ai found herself at a complete loss as she witnessed him deal with Hell Joe's supposedly powerful guards with a simple flick of his wrist. Earlier on, she had tried to give him advice on avoiding a direct confrontation, as, from her perspective, Hell Joe was not a foe just anyone could defeat. Now, she felt like a fool who had tried to caution a God against stepping on an ant nest. To make matters even worse, Ryun and Fenrir would send overtly teasing and borderline haughty looks her way, neither showing any signs of perturbation as they followed obediently behind the ridiculously 'efficient' Irregular.

Fortunately, while his expression remained absolutely calm, Vahn had never been lacking in regard to sensory capabilities. As a result, they stopped just short of entering the Red Fortress, his voice a calm and steady baritone as he said, "This foe is a little on the dangerous side. His aura is the same as the presence lingering within the corpse of the Guardian. For now, it would put my mind at ease if the three of you retired to the Little Garden. Don't worry. I'm not going to kill him before you've had a chance to ask your questions."

With the final few words directed toward her, Ryun nodded her head in understanding before planting a surprise kiss on his cheek and whispering, "Thank you..." in a sincere yet slightly heated tone. She was happy just being able to follow the same path as him, so, with Vahn often going out of his way to help resolve personal problems, Ryun couldn't help but grow increasingly infatuated with him. He also treated her with far more care and affection than she ever expected, so, while it earned her an incredulous look from Ai, she wasn't shy when it came to nuzzling against his chest with a smile on her face.

Chuckling in response to Ryun's affectionate display, Vahn habitually wrapped his hand around her waist before planting a kiss atop her head and lightly musing, "There is no need to thank me. After all, you've been a very good girl as of late..."

Recognizing the familiar term, an amused chuckle emanated from Ryun's throat as Fenrir, keying in on the phrase, nodded her head in affirmation before crossing her arms and saying, "See? What did I tell you? So long as you're a good girl, Master will always treat you well~!"

Though it earned them all an increasingly incredulous look from Ai, both Vahn and Ryun couldn't help but laugh in response to Fenrir's proud statement. This was joined by the latter, and, for the better part of a full minute, the three of them laughed heartily in spite of the dismal atmosphere and the presence of several sealed undead twitching about in the surroundings...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Ryun can be surprisingly harsh...','Talismans inscribed with the blood of a Tier 5 being are OP (O ^ O)...!','I kind of feel bad for Ai xD...

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