TFN C70

Chapter 70

Ash fell like snow.

The acrid scent of smoke stung Wonhyo’s nose.

The moment his eyes opened, he scanned his surroundings. A barren wasteland stretched before him—endless and lifeless.

『Participant count confirmed. Dungeon difficulty set to C-rank.』

『Average participant rank: S. Difficulty increased to A-rank.』

『You have been summoned by the Wrathful One. The power of rage intensifies.』

A system window blinked into view, summarizing the current dungeon state.

Though the total calculated rank was higher than the previous one, it was still manageable.

『□□ Tower (C-rank)

Beyond the desolate lands across the Styx, the seed of £∂▲Å has taken root. Eliminate it.

Boss defeated: 0/1』

Relieved, Wonhyo closed the window.

There was no time limit this time.

Without the system constantly hounding him to hurry up and slay the boss, it felt almost… liberating.

He gripped his divine blade tightly, fixing his gaze on the distant objective.

Beside him, Cheongmun had also finished reading the notifications and began to move.

When Wonhyo glanced briefly at the hand that had slipped away from his, he quickly turned his eyes elsewhere, feigning nonchalance.

Through the murky yellow haze, a faint outline flickered beyond the whirling dust.

Cheongmun noticed it too. “It resembles the one from the last boss room.”

Wonhyo squinted. From this distance, all he could see was a blur—but if Cheongmun could already recognize it, his vision must have been sharper.

There was nothing else in sight in any direction.

Cheongmun summoned a cube and stepped onto it. Wonhyo followed swiftly, crouching low as the cube lifted into the air.

From above, the wasteland unfolded in greater detail—vast, silent, empty.

The last dungeon had been full of broken fragments of reality, where ghostly shells of buildings floated under a sky split open by a black void. Rivers of darkness had once flowed upward into it.

But here, there was only dryness. Dust and sand rolled endlessly with the wind—no ruins, no remnants, no trace of life.

Wonhyo stared ahead.

At first, he thought the object on the horizon was a jagged splinter, a needle-thin shadow skewering the sky.

But as they drew closer, he realized it was a tree—its blackened branches sprawling in every direction like a monstrous web.

“It’s even bigger than before,” he murmured from within his mask.

Cheongmun said nothing, but the hard set of his jaw was agreement enough.

When they finally reached the clearing, a system alert appeared.

『You have entered the Boss’s Domain.』

Wonhyo exhaled sharply and tightened his grip on the divine blade. His eyes darted, searching for the vengeful spirit.

This time, at least, it wasn’t tearing apart corpses or scattering flesh like before. The area beneath the tree was eerily calm.

Cheongmun landed a short distance away and dismissed the cube. He pointed toward the base of the massive trunk.

“There. It’s embedded in the pillar.”

Wonhyo turned—and froze.

Something writhed within the tree’s bark.

It had a head, a torso, limbs—yet its proportions were grotesquely twisted.

The arms were too long, with extra joints protruding like splintered bones. The legs bent wrong, with an extra knee below each knee. The feet sank into the earth, roots tangled around them.

It looked almost fused with the tree—half man, half wood.

Whether it had been captured by the tree or was trying to merge into it, he couldn’t tell.

Then, the thing turned its head.

The face—rotated a full one-eighty degrees—still bore traces of its living form.

Its misplaced eyes, nose, and mouth pulled into a crooked grin.

“I think something’s attached to the spirit,” Wonhyo muttered, brows furrowing.

Ever since his skill rank increased, his senses felt sharper within the dungeon—every trace of energy glinting like a blade.

He examined the aura clinging to the ghost, then turned his attention to the tree itself.

『Knowledge registered under “All Spells Return to the Spirit” is reacting.』

『Unregistered talismanic artifact detected. Would you like to register it?』

So the rank-up allowed this kind of insight too—reading not just charms, but magical constructs.

A talismanic artifact… That meant it wasn’t ordinary wood. The tree itself must be a vessel of spiritual function.

“Register,” he said.

『Trace of “Zelkova Tree” detected.』

『Trace of “Sacred Pillar” detected.』

『Trace of “Wish-Granting Charm” detected.』

As the system analyzed, Wonhyo lifted his hand and sighed.

Zelkova. That meant fire.

Normally, red-hearted zelkova symbolized purification—it burned away all evil. But here, that power had clearly been inverted.

His divine blade shimmered and transformed—its edge sprouting supple green leaves like a willow branch.

“Watch out for fire!” he shouted toward Cheongmun.

The words barely left his mouth before the ground ignited.

A sea of azure flames erupted, engulfing everything in a heartbeat.

Cheongmun reacted instantly, grabbing Wonhyo by the waist and leaping skyward.

The force of it knocked the breath out of Wonhyo, but he swung his arm midair.

The willow branch lashed downward—whip-like. From its tip, blessed water exploded, scattering in every direction.

The sacred liquid hissed as it met the flames, suppressing them for a moment—but the inferno surged again, swallowing the moisture whole.

Cracks split open across the scorched earth. From beneath, gnarled roots burst upward like whips, striking out violently.

With one arm still around Wonhyo, Cheongmun summoned another cube beneath their feet, expanding it into a massive shield.

The roots slammed against it, bounced off—and then lunged again like spears.

Bang!

Cheongmun fired without hesitation.

The bullet blazed with holy light, expanding midair into a radiant barrier that trapped part of the tree.

Useless!

You think humans can defeat me?

The spirit’s distorted voice echoed, fury dripping from every syllable.

The roots convulsed wildly, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning bark.

But the moment Cheongmun opened his palm, the golden energy of Pama spread from beneath the cube, swirling into the black miasma.

Gold and shadow intertwined—holy light devouring corruption.

The roots turned to ash.

Without pause, Cheongmun fired again and again. Each bullet carried divine light, shattering the tree’s trunk. Pieces crumbled into gray dust, only to reform—and crumble again under relentless fire.

As the spirit faltered, Cheongmun tore off his glove and compressed the cube, trapping the entity within.

Krrraaaagh!

Why—why can’t I win?!

Its earlier arrogance disintegrated into shrieking desperation. The remaining roots thrashed, trying to burrow underground to escape, but the transparent lower layer of the cube blocked them completely.

Wonhyo pulled a folded paper from his pocket—one he had been shaping earlier while the Task Force had been debating.

『“Gokdu” activated.』

Paper effigies sprang to life, their limbs twitching like marionettes.

He raised them toward the four corners of the cube. The talismans obeyed, scattering to the cardinal directions and planting themselves in the air.

Lifting his mask slightly, Wonhyo called to Cheongmun. “We don’t have to capture it alive, right?”

Cheongmun paused mid-reload, one brow arching before he smiled faintly. “Can you exorcise it?”

Wonhyo nodded. “Yes.”

He lowered his mask again and replaced the willow branch with the jingling spirit bell.

“I’ll open the Gate of the Underworld and throw it back through.”

There were many rituals to drive out demons, but few knew of the one that literally opened the afterlife’s door.

Most exorcists sent spirits off with rites—offering coins, boats, prayers, and cleansing water. But this—this was different.

This was expulsion. A forced passage.

“How long will it take?” Cheongmun asked.

“Fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“Then begin.”

Without hesitation, Cheongmun agreed.

Wonhyo shook the bell sharply.

He drew a talisman on black paper and flung it forward.

Instead of burning into smoke like ordinary ones, this one gleamed wetly with blue light before freezing solid, turning to shards of ice that fell like crystal snow.

Combined with the All Spells Return to the Spirit effect, the fire receded instantly, trapped beneath a film of sacred frost.

Wonhyo seized the moment and rang the bell harder.

“Heaven and Earth aligned, Sun and Moon in harmony…”

The four paper dolls—gokdu—lifted their arms, mimicking his gestures.

He flicked his wrist, turning the bell into a fan and sweeping it through the air. Then he stomped his foot firmly against the cube’s surface.

The dolls followed, moving in eerie unison.

『”Baekhui-gamu” skill: “Deotboegi Dance” activated.』

『”Baekhui-gamu” skill: “Ganggangsullae” activated.』

They twirled and stamped, sweeping away impurity with each rhythm. Their dance circled wide, forming a great shining ring—a moving barrier of purification.

Spinning faster and faster, the gokdu danced on, their motions flowing between destruction and prayer—purging evil while invoking peace.

The glowing circle itself became a sacred boundary.

And within that luminous dance, the underworld’s gate began to open.