The Rain Idol: Diva of the Divine

Chapter 8

Laras's world turned upside down. Genta had been there just a moment ago, acting like a tough guy with his cool attitude, and then in a matter of seconds, he vanished, swallowed by the dark, murky current of the Han River. Ten men in black suits with a sickening aura of dark sorcery stood surrounding her, their hands beginning to form forbidden seals.

"Genta!" Laras screamed again, her voice hoarse. She tried to lunge toward the river, but a sharp kick slammed into her ribs, sending her sprawling onto the wet asphalt.

"Save your breath for praying, Miss Hostess," one of Shin-woo's followers sneered. His face was deathly pale, like a living corpse. "The God of War doesn't like playing games, and that wannabe hero is currently becoming a snack for the dwellers at the bottom of the river."

Laras felt a familiar coldness creeping through her veins. It wasn't fear; it was Lanying. The Goddess began to awaken, thirsty for bloodshed. Her eyes changed color to a glowing gold, her pupils narrowing like a predator's.

"You..." Laras's voice changed, heavy and echoing with an ancient authority that made the ten assassins instinctively take a step back. "You dare touch what belongs to me?"

At the bottom of the river, Genta was struggling against the grip of freezing, pale hands. Damn, is this water or a walk-in freezer? he thought. He pulled a paper talisman from his pants pocket, but it was soaking wet. He stared at the shadow in front of him—a water creature with an eyeless face.

"Hey, lady!" Genta tried to speak underwater, air bubbles escaping his mouth. "If you want to catch a guy, at least take him out to dinner first, don't just go for the throat!"

The creature didn't care. Its grip tightened. Genta took a deep breath, focusing the remainder of his indigo energy into his fingertips, then jabbed it right into the creature's forehead. A small explosion of purple light traveled through the water, forcing the creature to let out a silent scream and release its chokehold. Genta kicked off the riverbed, swimming toward the surface like a salmon being chased by a predator.

SPLASH!

Genta breached the surface, coughing up river water that tasted like sewage mixed with rusty iron. He saw Laras already standing, her hair floating without wind, and the ten assassins beginning to tremble from the nonsensical spiritual pressure.

"Laras! Don't!" Genta shouted, still gasping for air at the riverbank. "If you lose control now, you'll level all of Seoul, not just them!"

Laras turned. The golden glow in her eyes dimmed when she saw Genta soaking wet, looking like a stray cat that had just fallen off a roof. "Genta... you're alive?"

"Of course I am, I still have monthly payments to make," Genta replied with a wince, trying to stand even though his muscles felt like they were being forcibly pulled. He looked up at the sky. "Ji-ah! Where's your luck?! I need a miracle, not a free bath!"

Suddenly, the dark Seoul sky turned into a bright pink hue. From behind the clouds, a transparent umbrella descended slowly. Ji-ah, the Goddess of Luck, hovered up there with a panicked expression.

"Genta! It's a mess! Because Shin-woo played dirty, my luck points are in the negatives! A meteorite just crashed into my office, and now... ow!" Ji-ah screamed as a bolt of lightning struck a nearby lamp post, causing power lines to snap and dance in the air like snakes.

"Negative?!" Genta shouted. "You're the Goddess of Luck, how can it be negative?!"

"I just slipped on a banana peel that appeared out of nowhere!" Ji-ah shouted in frustration. "Anyway, run! Bad luck is literally lining up to kill you guys!"

As if on cue, a container truck speeding on the overpass directly above them suddenly lost control. Its front tire blew out at the same time the brakes failed completely. The container tilted, hit the guardrail, and began to slide down toward where they were standing.

"Crazy! What kind of tragic comedy is this?!" Genta ran as fast as lightning, lunging at Laras and pulling her into his embrace. They both tumbled toward the bushes just as the container hit the ground with an earth-shaking thud.

Dust billowed high. Those ten assassins? They weren't so lucky. Three were pinned under the truck's body, while the rest scattered, hit by flying asphalt debris from the impact.

Genta held Laras tightly behind the protection of a remaining concrete wall. Their heartbeats raced together. Laras could feel Genta's body heat, the scent of rain, and the lingering sizzle of indigo energy. She felt safe, even though the world was collapsing.

"Are you okay?" Genta whispered, his breath hitching.

Laras looked at Genta, her fingers touching the wound on the man's forehead. "Genta, don't ever leave me down there again. I almost... I almost became a monster."

"I won't," Genta smiled faintly, despite his pale face. "Besides, I won't let you ruin my reputation as the coolest agent in the spiritual world."

BOOM!

The ground beneath them shook violently. The N Seoul Tower in the distance appeared to tilt. The effect of Ji-ah's negative luck began to trigger a massive chain reaction. A small tectonic earthquake triggered by spiritual instability started to crack the surface of Mount Namsan.

"Run now or we'll become future fossils!" shouted Ji-ah, who was now trying to hold up a billboard to keep it from falling on them.

Genta grabbed Laras's hand. They ran through the dust and rubble. Behind them, Shin-woo appeared from the debris, his face covered in blood but his smile remaining cold. He raised his hand, summoning black shadows that were far larger and hungrier than before.

"You think you can run from fate?" Shin-woo's voice thundered, clashing with the increasingly loud sound of the ground cracking.

Genta didn't look back. He pulled Laras into a narrow alley between rocks that were starting to slide. When they reached the end of the alley, Genta stopped abruptly.

The path ahead of them was cut off. A fifty-meter-deep ravine stretched out, separating them from the main highway. Below, the overflowing river stood ready to swallow anyone who fell.

"Genta..." Laras stared at the ravine in horror.

"Hold my hand," Genta commanded, his eyes glowing indigo purple again. He pulled the last ancient coin from his pocket. "We aren't going to jump. We're going to 'borrow' gravity."

"How?!"

Genta held Laras's hand tightly, a flow of warm energy moving from Genta's palm to Laras, calming the goddess inside her. "Trust me. Close your eyes, and imagine we're floating on the most magnificent stage ever built."

As Shin-woo's shadow lunged from the ruins with a glinting black dagger in his hand, Genta pulled Laras and they took a free fall into the dark ravine.

However, instead of falling, their bodies suddenly stopped in mid-air. Purple light began to wrap around them, forming a silhouette of magnificent wings. But just as they hovered, Genta felt something was wrong.

The coin in his hand shattered into pieces.

"Damn it," Genta cursed. "Our luck has officially run out."

The light flickered and died. Their bodies lost their lift in mid-air, right above the surface of the churning river. At the top of the ravine, Shin-woo laughed uproariously as he watched them fall like birds with broken wings.

Laras looked at Genta, who was still trying to reach for her hand in the air. They locked eyes, one last second before they hit the cold water's surface at high speed.

However, before they touched the water, Laras's hand suddenly glowed a blinding white. It wasn't the goddess's energy, it wasn't indigo energy, but something far older, something that should not have been awakened there.

"Genta," Laras whispered in a voice that wasn't hers. "Something is waking up down there..."

and he is waiting for us.

The water beneath them was no longer water. It was thousands of black tentacles crawling to the surface, ready to seize them.

Genta closed his eyes, gripping Laras's hand tighter. "Whoever it is, I hope they're open to negotiation."

And then, the world went completely dark.