FLIA 35

They continued walking through the city center, now overgrown with vines and trees. Though it meant taking a slight detour, moving along the roads allowed them to travel much faster. The only problem was the monsters hiding inside the rusted cars and buses, occasionally giving them trouble.

It happened while the three of them were walking across an overturned tour bus. With a loud crash, the windows shattered, and a massive carnivorous plant lunged at them.

“Uwaaagh!”

Yohan let out a scream. Unlike animal-type monsters, plants emitted almost no presence, making them hard to detect. Lee Hyunmook reacted instantly, grabbing Yohan and lifting him out of harm’s way. At nearly the same moment, Yoon Seungryong spun around sharply.

“That was close. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lee Hyunmook asked calmly, as if nothing serious had happened.
Yohan, still shaken, pointed and shouted in alarm.

“Seungryong-hyung got eaten!”

Just as he had moved to shield Yohan, Yoon Seungryong had been sucked into the plant’s huge, gaping maw.
As he thrashed inside, he began shouting angrily at the top of his lungs.
Lee Hyunmook, however, didn’t even glance his way. He focused instead on Yohan, flicking off a small leaf that had latched onto his back, trying to suck his blood, and crushing it beneath his shoe.

“We should keep our distance.”

Rather than rushing to help, Lee Hyunmook simply picked up Yohan and lowered him from the bus. It was a cold response, but not without reason.
The carnivorous plant, now thrashing like a heron trying to swallow a fish, suddenly began to emit smoke. Then, with a hiss of toxic fumes, it melted completely into goo.

“Ugh, dammit – kaah… ptooey!”

Yoon Seungryong emerged from the dissolving plant, spitting out the thick, sticky mucus that had gotten in his mouth. He viciously stomped what was left of the plant into the ground, then turned to Yohan with a mild expression.

“Yohan-ah, can you purify me? I smell like a hundred-year-old pile of rotted food scraps.”

Aside from being drenched in sticky slime, Yoon Seungryong was completely unscathed. Relieved, Yohan purified the foul-smelling mucus, which turned into sweet honey…Now completely sticky and sweet-smelling, Yoon Seungryong trudged forward, occasionally licking the residue from his own hands.

As they were about to leave the city center, the group stopped again for a meal. They ate pre-prepared rations, and as Yohan munched on a rice ball, he spotted a small monster hovering nearby.

It was so tiny, barely the size of a fingernail, that it looked more like a dust bunny than a living thing. It crept along on its thin legs. It seemed so insignificant that neither Lee Hyunmook nor Yoon Seungryong even bothered to glance at it.

‘What is that thing…?’

As Yohan watched curiously and took another bite, a chunk of his rice ball dropped to the ground. The little monster scuttled over eagerly. Its target: the fallen bit of rice. Amused by the sight of a monster eager to eat proper food, Yohan watched in interest, until he gasped.

“Wait, huh?”

The monster, busily scarfing down the rice, slowly began to transform.
Moments later, it had taken the shape of a plump, tiny lizard! Startled by its own transformation, the lizard bolted off with the rice clump still in its mouth. Yohan, excited, called out to Lee Hyunmook.

“Mr. Hyunmook, did you see that? It ate my food and turned back into its original form!”

“Yeah, looked like a small lizard.”

Lee Hyunmook replied in a gentle voice. Strangely, neither he nor Yoon Seungryong seemed surprised. Apparently, both were already aware that Yohan’s food held purifying power.

“You both knew already? I had no idea…”

“Well, you’re always handling huge bursts of energy, so it’s no surprise.
But for me, your energy is so strong I can feel even a tiny bit of it. I’m sure the Team Leader feels the same.”

I see…Listening to Yoon Seungryong’s explanation, Yohan glanced at his rice ball. Could he use food as a weapon in emergencies, feed monsters and purify them? But realistically, shooting out light would be far more efficient and faster than tossing food. It was a silly thought.

After finishing the meal, they resumed walking. By the time Yoon Seungryong’s frustration with his sticky, honey-covered body reached its peak, they had re-entered the jungle and discovered a pool of water.

“Should we wash up and refill our water here?”

They were running low on water anyway, so Yohan looked pleased.
Though the pool gave off a stench that all but guaranteed stomach issues if consumed, it posed no problem for a purifier like him. Still, Lee Hyunmook frowned and looked around cautiously before warning them.

“Monsters always gather near water sources. Let’s be quick and move on.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful!”

While Lee Hyunmook stood guard, Yohan quickly purified the pool, turning it into clean spring water.
After filling their bottles, Yoon Seungryong immediately stripped naked without a hint of shame and dove into the water.

“Aah, finally feels like I’m alive again.”

He splashed loudly, washing off the sticky residue. He even managed to wash and put his clothes back on at lightning speed. Just as he finished wringing out his shirt and slipping it back on, a shrill, unnerving laugh echoed around them.

Keeheehee… kkkk…

A strange laugh rang out faintly in the distance. Yoon Seungryong and Lee Hyunmook instantly reacted, tilting their spears into a ready stance.
Yohan swallowed nervously.

“You said weak things stay quiet here, right…?”

Which meant, anything that made noise was bound to be dangerous.
Lee Hyunmook stepped closer to Yohan and muttered,

“This might get annoying… Let’s move.”

They hurriedly left the watering hole.
But just ten minutes later, Yohan realized they were already in trouble. One by one, he began sensing distinct presences, then tens, then hundreds.

Kee, keekeek… kurrr…

The strange lifeforms whispered and giggled from every direction. The sound grew louder and more chaotic. Clicking his tongue, Yoon Seungryong broke into a run.

“Yohan, run!”

Pale faced, Yohan dashed after him.

Kyahaha! Kyaha-haha!

Cackling laughter exploded from all sides. Furry monsters with upside-down faces swung vine to vine as they chased. The mouths stuck to their foreheads contorted into crying expressions… or so it seemed. In reality, the upside-down mouths were smiling.

Despite their grotesque, corrupted appearances, the three knew exactly what they used to be.

“Shit, this is a pain. Must’ve been a monkey temple around here!”

Yoon Seungryong’s curse rang out from the front. Even while sprinting, his spear sliced cleanly through the grotesque monsters and obstructing vines alike. Lee Hyunmook ran close behind Yohan and said,

“Just keep running. Save your power.”

Yohan nodded and pushed aside his fear, trusting the two ahead of him.
Even when a long arm suddenly lashed out from the brush toward him, he didn’t flinch. He knew his role wasn’t to attack, but to keep himself intact.

Just as he’d hoped, Lee Hyunmook’s spear flashed and cleaved the reaching arm in one clean stroke.

“Team Leader!”

Yoon Seungryong called back, asking how long they were supposed to keep running. He had already taken down dozens of monkey monsters, yet the echoing laughter still hadn’t faded. Lee Hyunmook, running without a hint of fatigue, muttered coldly,

“They’re herding us.”

Yohan’s heart sank with dread.
Individually, these monsters weren’t too dangerous. But in these numbers, even Lee Hyunmook and Yoon Seungryong seemed irritated. Lee Hyunmook made a quick decision.

“Keep going. Seungryong should handle them all at once.”

“Got it.”

Yoon Seungryong answered without much tension. Then Lee Hyunmook turned to Yohan.

“Seungryong’s going to use poison. Be ready to purify it immediately.”

“…Yes!”

Yohan panted as he answered.
Soon after, the trees began to thin, revealing a field of flowers.

But it wasn’t a normal flower field.
The massive, vibrantly colored blossoms fluttered despite the complete lack of wind, releasing a sickly-sweet fragrance that was both alluring and repulsive. Here and there between the flowers, the shriveled corpses of monsters were scattered, making the sight even more disturbing.

It seemed the monsters had been trying to herd them into this field.
The creatures bounded in from all directions, surrounding them.
Their upside-down faces jerked and twisted as they stared with malice.

Instead of entering the flower field, Yoon Seungryong stopped at its edge.
His eyes burned with anger and irritation.

“You bastards are all dead now.”

The moment a sinister purple mist rose from his body, Yohan unleashed his purification power. Yoon Seungryong’s venomous aura surged like a towering wall. Then, forming into the shape of a massive wave, it crashed into the oncoming horde.

It was a level of ability Yohan, who could only emit his power around his body, could never match.