FLIA 40

Gritting his teeth, Lee Hyunmook gently set Yohan down from his arms. Then he grabbed onto Yoon Seungryong, who clung to him like a leech. Blue veins bulged on the back of his hand.

“Yohan, go… first. I’ll handle this somehow… later….”

The words squeezed out from between clenched teeth. As he spoke and raised his head, one of his eyes had turned bloodshot. Yohan shook his head fiercely.

“No! We have to go together…!”

Even if it had all been a hallucination, being separated from the two of them had been a horrifying nightmare. He couldn’t leave, not after seeing what happened to the monster that had been touched by the Flood.

“Go, now…!”

Even as Hyunmook pushed him away, the mass of the floodspawn, barely kept at bay, was drawing closer with every second. It was already right in front of them. Yohan, overwhelmed with anxiety and on the verge of tears, suddenly spotted something.

Hyunmook’s spear.

If he could imbue food and people with his power, why not other objects?

Yohan snatched the spear off Hyunmook’s back and poured everything he had into it. Just like the metal shards earlier, the spear blazed with brilliant white light. Radiance flowed from the spearhead. The weapon burned hot, its gleaming tip aimed straight at the floodspawn.

Now, right now! It was as if the spear itself were telling him to act.

Yohan turned toward the monstrous, apocalyptic threat surging toward them. With rage and fear blazing in his eyes, he stood his ground, back turned to shield the other two. As tears welled and light shimmered on the verge of falling, he thrust the spear with all his might toward the hideous mass that had come to devour them.

A blinding corona of white light exploded forth. The flash pierced through the body of the floodspawn. The writhing mass froze, then began to shrivel with a comically quiet pop! The weapon in Yohan’s hands grew even hotter. Light and darkness swirled in violent turbulence within the lump, shrinking and compressing. And then, with a deafening boom, it exploded.

Black soot, smoke, and sludge-like filth lashed out toward Yohan as if bearing hatred, but only a single drop grazed the back of his hand. Even that quickly faded, dissolving meaninglessly into nothing.

The remaining floodspawn quivered, then turned and fled in the opposite direction at full speed. The white light rippled once in the air and vanished. The black-violet jungle was now filled with vibrant, lush green on all sides.

“Haa… hahh… I… I did it…!”

Yohan collapsed, staggering while still gripping the spear. Tears and sweat dripped from his face, soaking the dirt. His head was spinning from pouring out all his energy. He wanted nothing more than to faint, but he endured and lifted his head.

“You two… are you all… right…?”

He turned around with a trembling voice, and was left speechless.
Two pairs of crimson eyes were staring at him.

The floodspawn’s close proximity had driven both men into madness in an instant.

“…Not okay, huh…”

He muttered weakly and crawled forward. If just being nearby caused this, what would’ve happened had they actually made contact with the spawn? The thought sent chills down his spine. He first pulled Yoon Seungryong, who was clawing at the dirt and trying to burrow into the ground, back out. He shoved a piece of snake jerky that had fallen nearby into his mouth, then turned to Hyunmook.

“Yangyang-ah.”

Lee Hyunmook smiled dazzlingly, his face as handsome as ever, and called out to Yohan. The blade was still embedded in his thigh.

“It’s Yang Yohan… Are you… not in pain?”

“A tactical nuke dropped! All this ruckus, all this noise? Yangyang? Yangyang? Yangyaaang~?”

“…Yangyang lamb meeeat? Gimme some.”

Now Yoon Seungryong was muttering nonsense too, lying spread-eagle on the ground like a drunk. Still, it seemed the danger had passed. Aside from the saw blades poking out of Seungryong’s arms, there were no further mutations. Yohan let out a sigh and carefully pulled the blade out of Hyunmook’s thigh. Blood welled up in an instant.

“Ugh… uuugh…”

Hyunmook didn’t even groan, but Yohan felt tears prick his eyes. He bit his lip to hold them back and pressed his hand firmly to the wound to stop the bleeding. Anxiously watching, he was relieved when the bleeding subsided a moment later, thanks to Hyunmook’s impressive regenerative power.

But the relief was short-lived, quickly replaced by concern.

“What do I do… both of them are out of their minds.”

One was sprawled out from extreme laziness, the other clinging to him like a duckling. If there was any silver lining, it was that neither seemed inclined to wander off. With his current strength, Yohan could probably carry them both, so at least they wouldn’t be stranded.

Still, they could be attacked again at any moment. If he could purify at least one of them, that’d be ideal, but he had used up almost everything against the floodspawn, and now only a faint glow flickered from his hands. He sat down in exhaustion, dazed after narrowly surviving the ordeal.

And then a memory flitted across his mind.

‘Come to think of it… my bodily fluids… actually work pretty well.’

Cautiously, Yohan turned to Hyunmook. He was humming softly, gazing off into space, his expression unreadable.

“Mr. Hyunmook, this is really… unavoidable right now.”

He swallowed dryly and stepped closer. Lee Hyunmook turned his head. Yohan glanced toward Yoon Seungryong, who was gnawing slowly on jerky, and muttered to himself.

“So, this is an emergency… and you said you don’t like blood, so…”

Clenching his fist, Yohan moved in closer. Even as Yohan boldly grabbed his shoulder and leaned in, Hyunmook remained calm. Their noses were practically touching, and the red in his eyes gleamed vividly.

“I’m just… going to try it. Just once…”

Yohan’s face was already flushed red with embarrassment as he mumbled. He hesitated, but then Hyunmook’s arm slid around his waist. Surprised, Yohan’s eyes went wide as Hyunmook smiled at him. With a deep, almost knowing voice, he murmured,

“My brave little Yangyang…”

Strong fingers gently caressed his body. Even in his crazed state, Lee Hyunmook’s continued tenderness gave Yohan the courage to press his lips desperately to the other’s. Just like back in the swamp, he hoped that if Lee Hyunmook tasted him, he might come to his senses.

His lips were hot. Maybe it was the effect of the corruption, but his whole body felt feverish, like someone burning up from illness. Yohan exhaled a trembling breath as he tightened his grip on Lee Hyunmook’s shoulder. Their soft lips rubbed and pressed against each other until Yohan cautiously slipped out the tip of his tongue. The moment he tried to nudge it between the other’s lips, it was sucked in deep with surprising force.

“Mm…!”

Startled, he instinctively flinched and tried to pull away, but this time it was Lee Hyunmook’s tongue that invaded his mouth. It was hot and soft, yet paradoxically firm, plunging into him without hesitation. It sucked on his tongue so hard it almost hurt, hungrily exploring every corner. Then, as if savoring his tension, it swept up the clear saliva that had pooled in his mouth, sucking noisily from one place to another.

Yohan’s heart pounded furiously. His fingertips, still clinging to Lee Hyunmook’s shoulders, trembled. He kept repeating to himself that this was just an act of purification, no more than a desperate attempt to save someone.

‘This isn’t a kiss. It’s not a kiss. I’m just trying to purify him…’

But no matter how many times he told himself that, the close, intimate contact felt far too indecent for something so clinical. All Lee Hyunmook was doing was swallowing up all the saliva from his mouth, yet it was too sensual, too much.

A soft moan slipped from Yohan’s lips before he could stop it. Alarmed, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to suppress the heat rising inside him. Just then, a hot, firm hand cupped his face. His eyes flew open in shock, and there were those black eyes, right in front of him. The joy of realizing Lee Hyunmook had come back to his senses was brief.

“…Haa, mm!”

Even fully lucid, Lee Hyunmook didn’t stop exploring Yohan’s mouth. He pushed his tongue in deep and licked relentlessly, scraping under Yohan’s tongue to coax out more saliva, then sucked at his now-wet lower lip until it grew plump. All the while, those unwavering black eyes stared him down, so intense that Yohan shut his eyes tightly again.

It felt… too good.

After falling into the abyss and facing death, he’d nearly forgotten what desire felt like, but now it surged through him, fierce and overwhelming. His lower abdomen tingled with heat, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. Lee Hyunmook, even devouring his breath as it trembled with lust, completely broke him down.

The only saving grace was that, from using too much of his ability, Yohan’s mind was beginning to drift. The edges of his tightly shut eyelids loosened, and everything began to blur and fade. His grip on Lee Hyunmook’s shoulders weakened.

“Yohan-ah.”

Lee Hyunmook spoke to him as he gasped, unsure whether he was passing out from exhaustion or from being kissed until he lost consciousness.

“You can only do this with me. Understand?”

It was perfectly rational, yet somehow disturbingly strange. But before Yohan could fully process the meaning behind it, his mind went completely blank and slipped away.