FLIA 169

“Yeah, right! Let’s go, go!”

Yoon Seungryong as he slapped Ju Hoyoung’s back on purpose. Since the much younger Yohan was so fearless, Ju Hoyoung tightly closed his eyes and tried hard to resist the pathological anxiety that came from the enhancement side effect. When he was about to walk quickly again, Yoon Seungryong stopped.

“Wait, the old hag isn’t here, so let’s ride this instead.” He said that, and while rummaging through his pocket, he pulled something out of the void. It was a motorcycle. It was so unexpected that Yohan and Ju Hoyoung forgot for a moment how serious the situation was. Yohan stammered as he asked.

“Oh, a motorcycle… how did that come out from there?”

“This much is nothing. I figured we’d need transportation someday, so I packed it, and I’m finally using it here.”

Then he took out one more. Joo Hoyoung quietly approached and touched the body, and he went blank. Yohan saw him quickly mount and start the engine and thought that with his speed, does he even need a motorcycle? But since his eyes sparkled so brightly, Yohan couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud.

He didn’t have a license, and he had never ridden a motorcycle before, so Yohan got on with Yoon Seungryong. Soon, with a loud engine sound, the motorcycle sped forward. It was slower than Seo Yakrin, but it was nearly the same travel speed. Yohan’s only task was to move his spear left and right to indicate direction. To cheer the others on, he shouted.

“I think we’re almost there!”

Because it was part of Lee Hyunmook, Yohan could feel a strange resonance from the Eternal Stone the closer he got to him.

‘Anyway, this place is also inside Hyunmook-hyung, so does getting closer to him even mean anything?’

Yohan soon changed his mind.

‘If it means nothing, then what? There’s only one thing we can do now.’ Besides, even thinking that way felt like a luxury. Another trial had appeared. The solid and flat ground began to soften, and the motorcycle’s speed clearly slowed down. It got worse and worse until it was almost a swamp. They ignored it and kept going, but the motorcycle eventually broke down.

“Damn it! This is bad!”

Even while shouting, Yoon Seungryong tossed the motorcycle away without hesitation. Then the mud started bubbling like it had been waiting, and something rose from within. None of the three were surprised. Some part of Lee Hyunmook’s will was clearly blocking their advance. It was stubborn resistance.

Gurgle, blurp, blub…

Something shaped like a human body rose. Just like the giant heart and the horned monster before, it was obvious this thing would regenerate too, so the three tried their best to ignore it and keep running. But in the end, their feet got caught. Since Yoon Seungryong’s ability was useless here, Joo Hoyoung stepped forward.

Crack! In an instant, the dark red muddy field froze. The ground hardened, so it became easier to run, but that didn’t last long.

From the shallow frozen spots, mud people rose and approached. Their movement was slow, but there were so many that it was impossible to ignore. Since they couldn’t defend or fly, the three swung their weapons and attacked the monsters. But as expected, they kept rising again from the ground. The more they defeated, the more appeared, and the number kept growing until…

“Wait, this thing’s a hand?”

Yohan, who had slashed off one monster’s head with his spear, gasped. At first, he thought five monsters had emerged, but now he realized they were the tips of fingers. They quickly retreated.

Blub blub…! With a huge bubble, both fingertips pushed up, and the mud split to both sides like waves. From between them, a massive head slowly rose. Ju Hoyoung glanced at the head that was coming up, then at Yohan, and his eyes showed determination.

“Yohan-ah, come here.”

When Yohan went closer, Ju Hoyoung used his buff on him. Yohan understood what that meant and looked at him with trembling eyes. Ju Hoyoung patted his shoulder and spoke. The head had already risen past its eyes and up to its nose.

“I think I have to stay here.”

“Hyung…”

“If that thing comes all the way out, we’ll really have no answer. You said it’s just a bit farther, right? So go.”

Ju Hoyoung pushed Yohan’s back and jumped onto the giant head. The moment he pressed his pale hand against the center of the forehead, white frost began to spread. The freezing began from the head without a pause.

The slowly rising head stopped. Winter fell across the entire area. Yohan looked back once at Ju Hoyoung, then he kicked off the frozen solid ground with Yoon Seungryong. The lip he was biting tore, and it hurt.

Before he completely disappeared into the darkness, he looked back. Dozens of mud figures were frozen around Ju Hoyoung. In the dimness, they looked like mannequins or figures. Yoon Seungryong, who now had no calm left, muttered.

“This doesn’t feel right. We’ve been losing people one by one since earlier. It’s like it’s picking us off, making situations where someone has to stay behind on purpose…”

Yohan agreed. But even knowing the method, they had no countermeasure. He thought it would be better to face hundreds of abyssal monsters instead, because this opponent gave no room to respond.

After that, the two ran silently. Fortunately, maybe because Ju Hoyoung had frozen the source of the mud, the ground no longer softened. Even as a high-level awakener, Yoon Seungryong’s breath grew heavy, and a sweet taste rose in his mouth. Then something appeared in the darkness. It was a cave entrance. Yoon Seungryong screamed.

“No… Yohan-ah… please tell me it’s not, okay?”

Yohan wanted to say no too. But the Eternal Stone hanging from his spear clearly pointed at the cave. When they passed by it, the resonance weakened, and as they got closer, it strengthened. Yoon Seungryong clutched his head but had no choice. Since no one knew what could happen if they wasted time, he decided fast.

“Damn it! The team leader’s not gonna hurt you anyway. Let’s go!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

Trying hard to hide his fear, Yohan entered the cave. The entrance was narrow, just enough for two people, but as they kept walking, it got wider and wider. When Yohan looked, he could see clearly that Yoon Seungryong was extremely nervous. He too was so anxious and couldn’t help but ask.

“Seungryong-hyung. Can I really… persuade Hyunmook-hyung?”

Yoon Seungryong looked back at Yohan. He was smiling.

“Yohan-ah, do you know what makes you different from us?”

Even though it wasn’t hot, Yohan wiped the sweat running down his forehead from how nervous he was and hesitated before answering.

“…Because I’m a purifier?”

“You’re the only one who saved the team leader.”

Yohan stopped at the unexpected answer. He looked down at the smooth ground that shone dimly under the reflection of the lantern light Yoon Seungryong was holding.

“Before the fall into the Abyss and even after, the team leader saved us countless times, but none of us ever saved him. You did.”

Yohan stayed silent and just listened to the honest words of someone who was always cheerful. Yoon Seungryong’s gaze as he looked down was heavy.

“Our team leader’s really a pitiful guy, don’t you think? Every time, he ruins himself trying to save teammates who are useless, who hate him, and who are scared of him. So… if something happens to me, you run. And meet the team leader. We can’t, but you can.”

As he said that, Yoon Seungryong handed over the lantern he was holding. When Yohan took it, Yoon Seungryong raised his spear and struck it into the ground. The cave shook. It was alive.

“Run!”

While dragging his spear across the ground, Yoon Seungryong shouted. Yohan ran without looking back. With every step, the lantern swung and scattered chaotic light in all directions.

Silent screams echoed around him. Even though Yoon Seungryong injected numbing poison into the spot he had cut open, the ground still thrashed. The cave that had widened began to shrink again.

“Damn it, seriously! Team leader, you’re really too much! You’re doing this now?!”

Yoon Seungryong cursed loudly. Trusting the purifier Yohan, he filled the surroundings with poison. The thick mists of deadly toxins spread everywhere. Numbing poison, nerve poison, sleep poison… The movement of the massive creature seemed to calm a little, then the surroundings suddenly began to close in. Yohan was running with all his strength.

“…Go, Yohan-ah!”

With a push on his back, he barely managed to escape outside. The push was so powerful that he rolled across the ground and groaned as he got up. Even then, he held the spear and lantern with all his might. Yohan turned around with fear. Behind him, the cave had vanished like it had never existed.

“Seungryong-hyung…?”

He called in a trembling voice, but no one replied. What he expected had happened. He was alone now. His breath caught in his throat, and his head spun. Crawling a bit on the ground, Yohan staggered to his feet. Then he started running.

“Hah, hah…”

He was completely alone now. Lee Chanha, Seo Yakrin, Ju Hoyoung, and even Yoon Seungryong. Losing every person he relied on filled him with terror and fear. His body and mind felt numb. Yohan tried hard not to awaken his senses or emotions. If he still had the strength to cry, he wanted to save it. He cleared his mind as much as he could and ran straight along the dark path before him.