Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss - Chapter 394

Chapter 394: Chapter 392: Awakened
Jinhyu gasped as the monster’s heavy arm slammed against his side, sending his body flying like a broken ragdoll across the forest ground, crashing through leaves and roots until he finally rolled to a stop with a painful groan, coughing out blood as he struggled to even breathe.

His vision blurry but still fixed on the massive monster now turning toward Nayoung, who stood frozen in place, her knees shaking as she stared at the creature with wide, terrified eyes, unable to move or think.

Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, louder than everything else, louder even than the monster’s growls, and she looked around desperately, her voice trembling as she muttered, “Professor’s not going to help us? But… how can we awaken in this situation? This is impossible… I don’t… I can’t…”

And then suddenly, a flash of light appeared in front of her and two figures stepped through the trees—Elshienne and Nathan, their faces serious and calm, as if the monster before them didn’t frighten them at all.

and when Nayoung saw them, her eyes widened and her lips parted with a small, hopeful smile, “Guys! How did you get here?!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Elshienne said sharply, her voice filled with urgency, “Go help Jinhyu!”

“Now, Nayoung!” Nathan shouted, already running toward the monster as Elshienne followed.

Nayoung blinked, nodded quickly, and turned to run toward where Jinhyu had fallen, but the monster let out a roar and slammed its fists to the ground, sending a shockwave that cracked the earth around them, and vines shot up again, wrapping and whipping violently in every direction.

The monster’s glowing eyes locked onto Elshienne and Nathan.

And without warning, it charged toward them, its limbs stretching unnaturally, bark and moss twisting into razor-sharp shapes, and its roar so loud that even the trees shook—and just as the monster was about to strike, about to crush both Elshienne and Nathan beneath its stone-like arm, the two of them screamed—screamed so loudly that the entire dungeon seemed to echo with their voices.

“NOOOO!!” Nayoung screamed back, her heart stopping in her chest as everything slowed down—the vines in the air, the dust, even her own breath—and in that moment, her world shattered.

Seojun’s voice echoed above the dungeon like a thunder from the sky, “Nayoung… Nathan and Elshienne forced their way in. There’s nothing I can do now.”

Her eyes filled with tears, her lips trembling, “No… no, no… this isn’t real… this can’t be real…”

She stumbled forward, her mind overwhelmed by fear, anger, and helplessness, and she dropped to her knees, covering her ears as if trying to block out the sound of the monster, of the screaming, of everything.

“What is going on…? Why is this happening…?”

Jinhyu, his body barely able to move, dragged himself forward and shouted, “NAYOUNG! NAYOUNG, PLEASE!!” but she didn’t hear him, didn’t respond.

And then the monster turned again, setting its sights on her.

It roared and raised its arm, ready to bring it down and finish her—and in that instant, Jinhyu shouted, pulling his hand up with the last of his strength, and a weak but burning fireball shot from his palm, striking the monster on the side of its head.

The monster didn’t fall, but it did stop.

Jinhyu blinked in shock, feeling the fire lingering in his hand, and whispered, “I-I’m awakened… b-but…”

His body trembled, his legs refusing to move, blood dripping from his wounds, and yet he still lifted his hand again, and this time, he summoned a line of fire across the ground between the monster and Nayoung—a barrier, thin and unstable, but enough to make the monster stop and hesitate.

“I’m right here, you damn thing!” Jinhyu shouted, his voice hoarse as he forced himself to stand on one leg, leaning against a broken tree, “Come on! You want me? Then come get me!”

The monster let out a screech and began pacing, staring at the fire but for now, it did not move forward.

And Jinhyu… Jinhyu didn’t look away, even as pain crushed his body. All he wanted now was to protect Nayoung Even if it meant he had to burn himself doing it.

Hannah gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth as she watched the scene unfold on the screen above them, her eyes wide with horror, and beside her Minseok clenched his fists, his voice shaking as he stepped closer to Seojun.

“Master… please!” Minseok begged, his voice cracking, “Nayoung lost it! She’s not moving, she’s not herself anymore!”

“Jinhyu’s trying to protect her!” Hannah added, her eyes brimming with tears, “He can’t last much longer, he’s hurt, he’s bleeding—please stop this already!”

But Seojun stood silently, his arms crossed, unmoved, his eyes locked on the scene playing out above them.

Minseok gritted his teeth, his voice growing louder, almost shouting now, “Master! Jinhyu just awakened! He lost too much blood! He won’t be able to fight anymore! If you don’t want to help them, then at least let us help them!”

“We can’t just watch this!” Hannah cried, grabbing Seojun’s sleeve, “They’re our friends!”

Then suddenly, a painful scream tore through the dungeon—Jinhyu.

The sound made all three of them flinch and whip their heads toward the screen.

The monster had grabbed Jinhyu, lifting him into the air with one massive clawed hand, the jagged wooden fingers curling tightly around his waist, squeezing until he gasped, his vision going black at the edges.

It opened its giant mossy mouth, the smell of rot and wet dirt pouring out, and Jinhyu struggled, raising a shaking hand, trying to summon fire—anything—but nothing came out.

“No, no—damn it!” he cussed, eyes wild, pain shooting through his whole body, “H-HELP! SOMEONE! PLEASE!”

And then—

The monster stopped.

Its body froze in place.

A strange, silent crack filled the air, like something invisible splitting apart.

Then slowly, from its shoulder down to its side, the creature’s massive body began to separate—clean, smooth, as if sliced by a perfect blade—and the monster, still holding Jinhyu, fell into two halves, crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud that shook the dungeon.

Jinhyu’s wide eyes looked past the falling body—and what he saw made his heart stop.

There, standing behind the monster’s corpse, was Nayoung.

She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with every shaky breath, her body glowing faintly as mana flickered wildly around her like sparks dancing in the air.

In her hand, she held a long, silver blade—its edge sharp and gleaming, and its circle-shaped handle resembling that of an enormous scissor.

Her eyes were no longer filled with fear.

They were clear.

They were focused.

“…N-Nayoung…” Jinhyu whispered, his voice barely audible as his body gave in and he collapsed, blood dripping from his mouth, “You… awakened…”

“JINHYU!!” Hannah and Minseok shouted at the same time, their hands slamming against the barrier as their hearts raced.

Then—

With a single clap, the dungeon flickered And in a flash of light, both Jinhyu and Nayoung appeared right in front of them.

Seojun stood a few steps away, clapping slowly, a faint, satisfied smile on his lips. “See?” he said, his voice calm, “That didn’t take so long.”

But Nayoung, still trembling with raw energy, still glowing with flickering mana, looked at him—no, glared at him—with fury in her eyes.

Without warning, she screamed and rushed forward, her blade raised, her voice cracked and full of pain, “WHY?!”

Nayoung swung at him, the blade roaring with mana, her movements wild and fast, no longer the girl who once hesitated and feared.

She was out of control.

Consumed by rage.

Fueled by fear turned to anger.