[Judge "Iris" says "Save my [Defendant]"]

I was stunned and it was not just me but even the other [Judge] were surprised. [Judge "Ares" widen his eyes and says "Are you crazy? Why would you ask for help from a worthless person?"]

[Judge "Iris" glares at Judge "Ares" and scoffs "I don't need to tell you the reason"]

When I read their message, I was surprised to learn that the archangel [Judge] "Iris" had such a sharp tongue. Maybe that's why she doesn't talk much...

Suddenly, I sensed another attack coming from below and quickly jumped forward to avoid a claw that was trying to kill me. Gritting my teeth, I reminded myself that there was no time to think about trivial matters.

Frowning, I looked around quietly, trying to locate my opponent, but there was only silence in response. It didn't matter who's defendant of [Judge] "Iris" was at this moment. Saving them would be easy, and there was no need to dwell on this offer. It was already a huge advantage for me.

Without hesitation, I grinned and said, "I accept your offer."

Immediately afterwards, a tingling sensation ran through my body. Before long, my eyes changed color to gold, allowing me to see my surroundings clearly even in the darkness.

[You have obtained a skill from [Judge] "Iris". -- ]

I was in awe but quickly came back to my senses as I felt another coming attack from below, I leaped again but this time I waited until the claw is out before I held my gun and aimed at it.

Boom!

Eeeeeeee!

The monster squealed in pain before it rose from the ground and revealed it's appearance. Seeing the appearance, I frowned and recalled the information about this monster. Without hesitation I used my appraisal skill to confirm it and found that I was right. It is a giant mole monster. No wonder it attacks from underground and has this kind of claws.

The giant mole roared in pain as it's left claw exploded. I stood still and waited, the giant mole saw me and glared at me ferociously, it crawled towards me at a fast speed but I just stood still without moving an inch, indifferent to the situation. Just as the claw was about to reach me, I grinned and mouthed "Goodbye"

Crash!

The giant mole was suddenly eaten by a much more gigantic shadow that almost enveloped the entire sight of mine. My hand shook slightly but I held it with my other hand and closed my eyes. I've seen blood before in the battlefield back in my military days, I also felt near death situation before but, this is different

The scent of this monster made it look like it was death itself. The gigantic monster bit the giant mole and ate it slowly, making the sound of bone shattering and flesh being chewed.

I felt vomiting from disgust but held it back, slowly, I opened my eyes and saw the appearance of the monster. It had a grass green flesh with one eyeball on the top and it had an ogre shape body, but what was terrifying is that on the stomach part was a large mouth with deadly sharp teeth that is long as my arm, it also has a long tongue that is as long as it's body which made it even more horrifying

I sensed his arrival earlier the moment I shot the giant mole, it should've been attracted by the sound of explosion. I knew that I can kill the giant mole myself, but if I shot again once more the the sound will make the other monsters attracted to me so instead, I let the mole became the target itself

This is probably a C - Level monster which wouldn't be easily killed by my gun. With that thought, I took this opportunity and turned around to walk away while the monster hasn't noticed me yet when--

Crack

Grr?

Looking down I found that I stepped on a tree branch, all that I could think of this moment was--

'Fuck! Why did I have to experience this bad cliche type of death?' Knowing that I couldn't run away anymore I turned around to face the monster only to be stunned, the monster, was 'looking' at me, but it was strange, it did not move and just 'stared' at me. I thought of something and slowly, I walked to the side quietly and found that the eyes of the monster did not move. Then, I raised my left hand and shook it in front of it's eyes but found that it still did not move an inch

That's when I thought 'Can it not see in the dark?'

It felt like a miracle if it's the truth, that means, I can still run away. If this monster depends on sound then…

Slowly, I raised my hand and aimed the gun at the right side, with the sound of 'click' the gun was triggered and the tree that was hit at the distance exploded causing a huge commotion as more trees were affected by it

The monster roared and immediately ran towards the sound of explosion. As soon as the monster disappeared from my sight i let out my breath and finally breath. I didn't know I was subconsciously holding my breath the whole time that happened, how long had passed? About a minute and so? But that still felt like an eternity to me

Soon afterwards I heard and saw more monsters approaching towards the explosion and I took this chance to walk away silently.

*****

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I don't know how many days had passed since then but, if my calculations are correct, at least three days have passed and I was able to safely get out of the dark forest thanks to the skill that the [Judge] "Iris" had given me

The world [Abyss] is a lawless realm where anything goes. Killing, terrorizing, and all manner of activities are permitted in this world. As the name suggests, it is an eternal darkness, completely devoid of light. The tress and plants could be found dead and withered, while the stones are tall, spiky, needle like shapes. The sky remains unchanged, devoid of stars and the moon, and it never transitions to day time.

Shortly after, I arrived at a city. However, it could barely be recognized as one. The entire place was engulfed in darkness, with crumbling buildings and destroyed roads. The city lay in eerie silence, devoid of any signs of life, be it humans or monsters.

However, I did not let my guard down and instead, my nerves tensed up even more. I walked through the city as quiet as possible and lowered my presence but I knew that eventually, this would not always work. I don't know why but I suddenly sensed something as if my senses were screaming danger and I unconsciously tilted my head to the side.

With the sound of something sharp coming fast, I felt cold wind blew past the other side of my head. Drip. Drip. Blood dripped down from the scar that appeared on my cheek.

'Clack' I opened my bag and held my gun tightly, reloading my gun I ran towards a giant rock and hid behind it. I made sure not to move even a single muscle, as if I wanted to become one with my surroundings. I even out my breath and sharply looked around, whether it is above or inside a building, I made sure that I wouldn't miss a single movement.

I was pretty lucky that the [Judge] "Iris" gave me this skill to see in the dark or else I'll be having a hard time, or even worse, dead.

I counted 1, 2, 3, 4-…Not long afterwards, something finally moved. I saw movements and found people wearing ragged clothes and robes with weapons hanging on their bodies. They seemed to be 'looking' around but I was certain, they cannot see in the dark. The reason for my theory is because when I was walking, they were able to 'see' where I was but the moment I completely stood still, they came out and weren't able to 'see' me hiding behind a rock with my head poking out. I did not take this chance to shoot and instead, waited.

Minutes later passed and still not sensing my presence, they finally let out a dissatisfied grunt and complained. "Where the hell did that person go?!"

"I can't sense them"

"Could it be they've already gone out of the city?"

"Impossible, in that short amount of time they already left?"

"That person must be hiding somewhere, search for them!" With that command, everyone started searching. I estimated how many they were and found that there are about eleven of them but I was still cautious, fearing that there will be more of them hiding somewhere near this area.

I did not act irrationally and stayed at my spot. Their senses are pretty keen to be able to perceive my location even though I have no mana. What's more, these people were probably born and grew up from this world which means they are accustomed to the darkness.

Biting my thumb I pondered on how I can escape from this situation. I contemplated and finally, I couldn't help looking at my gun. I was silent before I slowly placed it back inside my bag. Staring at the people my eyes shone gold with killing intent. 'I'll have to get rid of them using my own hands.'

…..

At a certain destroyed building, four people were searching for a certain person that entered their territory. A man wearing a camouflage outfit that is holding a wooden gun grunted in annoyance and cussed saying "Where is that little shit hiding?! We don't have all the time to go searching for a single person! 'Those' people will soon be here if we don't hurry up!"

"Oi! Calm down, before 'those' people get here we'll be able to find the person first!" One of them said to ease the tense atmosphere. The person wearing the camouflage outfit was not convinced and hurriedly searched for the person. The others know very well what he meant and also did not waste time and started searching.

Just as they were looking, the sound of something cracking was heard followed by a loud 'thud'. Everyone was alarmed and aimed their gun towards the sound, they asked "Who's there?!"

No one answered.

The person wearing a camouflage frowned and immediately thought of something, he exclaimed "Are you guys still here? Say your 'here' if you are!" The rest of his companions were confused but still followed and said "Here" one by one, but…

"Marcus? Oi! Speak up!" The person wearing the camouflage noticed that one of them was missing and called out that person's name but to a no avail, only silence answered him. "Shit!" Knowing that something was not right, he ordered "Everyone don't let your guard down!"

The three of them raised their guns in a defense and offense posture. The person in camouflage walked over towards the sound where the 'thud' came from and not long afterwards, felt something under his feet. He crouched down and groped around but found something shocking, his pupils turned vertical and he yelled "Everyone retreat! We lost Marcus!" but before they could even react, another sound of 'thud' was heard and the person in camouflage was terrified. 'Who is doing this? Could it be- a monster?!' He calmed himself down and thought with a frown 'No. The monster wouldn't have left their bodies clean and intact' with that thought he said to the last person remaining "We lost another one of us"

"What?" The person remaining was stunned when he heard this and his hands holding the gun trembled. The person in camouflage said solemnly, with a hint of hatred in it. "It's probably done by the person we are looking for, it seems that the person wasn't weak as we thought they were"

"Is the person still around here?" The other asked with fear in his voice. The former nodded and hummed before saying "It's best if we retreat for now, but I'm certain that the person wouldn't let us go that easily. Isn't that right?" He said in a loud voice, waiting for an answer but after seconds later he laughed angrily and said "Of course you wouldn't answer, coward"

Unexpectedly, after saying this they suddenly heard something move from a certain direction and the person in camouflage did not hesitate and yelled "Fire!" before pulling the trigger. Bang! Bang! The sound of gunshots sounded in the dark.

It was heard from the outside and their other companions quickly gathered and ran towards this building. As if in a hurry, the person in camouflage's last companion was killed with a 'thud'. He fell into despair and was frightened, how can their be a powerful person here?

Just as he was despairing, he suddenly felt a sharp thing against his throat and his whole body stiffened. He made sure not to move an inch, fearing that he'll be beheaded at any moment. He then heard a youthful yet cold voice from behind. "Don't move if you don't want to die"

The person in camouflage cooperated with the person. He did not move and instead asked "What do you want?" He knew that this person would not kill him yet, because if he did have the intention to kill him, he would have done that earlier, that means he has something that this person wants. But he was still confused, why was he not able to sense this person? Is this person a higher level than they expected so the person was able to hide his presence? Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the person speak

"Who are 'those' people you are talking about earlier?" The person behind him said and he was shocked. So this person really wasn't from this city! How could this person not know 'those' people if he indeed was from here then?

He and the person behind him heard the sound of people coming towards him and the blade on his neck was pressed harder until it bleed. Fearing that he'll die he immediately answered "It's the Neukdae and Holang-I group! They always fight against each other and kills the outsiders claiming that it's their territoy!"

"Hmm" The person behind him hummed and just as he felt that the blade on his neck loosened, he heard the footsteps and calling of his companions. He took this chance to elbowed the opponent behind him but to futility it was dodged as if it was expected and before he knew it, his face was held and he saw a pair of golden eyes shining brightly in the dark, it was beautiful yet cold. He then heard the owner of those eyes speak with words that made him despair. "I was gonna let you live but…"

"I change my mind, you know too much"

Those were the last words he heard before he lose his life.

…..

Looking at the dead bodies around me I felt sick, no matter how many times I see a dead body it will still be etched into my mind. If it was before I would have probably puked, I wouldn't be able to kill them without hesitation. That was also one of the reason why I was bullied, they say I'm a failure. No matter how good my grades and aim was in the military, if I can't even kill a person that is our enemy then how am I suppose to help them?

I smiled bitterly. As I saw their companions running towards us, I turned and left.

…..

"Captain! They're all dead!"

Hearing this everyone gasp and the person wearing a robe frowned, he clenched his fist and 'looked' at the distance coldly. He said in a solemn voice "If we ever find that person, kill them- no, torture them first until they begged to be killed"

Just as they were planning, they suddenly heard the sound of other people banging and yelling loudly. They were familiar with this. It's 'those' people

Knowing that they might be sensed by 'those' people, the person called captain raised his hand and said "Let's wait until 'those' people leave first, then we'll continue searching, even if it means hunting that person through this entire city. For our fallen comrades"

…...

Hearing the sound of people yelling and drums banging, I flinched and hid behind a wall. I lowered my presence as low as I can and took a peek. Then, I saw something unbelievable. Their were two groups of people, facing each other and shouting nothing. They held torches and wooden guns, then, one person from both groups walked to the center. On the right side, it was a female with long blonde hair in a crop top and pants while on the left side was a male with a western hat and brown hair tied in pony tail while wearing a brown coat and a cigarette on his mouth. It was clear that both of them are the leaders of both groups

Just as I was pondering whether they were 'those' people who are called the Neukdae and Holang-I group, a message suddenly popped up before me.

[Judge "Iris" says "It's them. They are the one's who took my [Defendant] and held her captive"]