Chapter 35

[Grrrrr―]

[Kieeeek!]

[Keke, kekeke!]

[Euheuheuk, euheuheuheuk!]

As soon as he got off the jet, various monsters’ ear-splitting cries pierced his eardrums.

Werewolves, Wendigos, Goblins, and even Banshees.

Haon identified several types of monsters just by their cries. All of them were tricky monsters to deal with.

Not only that, but there were also giant black venomous spiders, red-tailed wyverns, and ogres. New monsters were continuously emerging from inside the monster gate.

A Wendigo, upon seeing humans, charged at them. Haon reflexively pulled out a dagger, but Cha Yugeon was faster.

[Aaaaah!]

The Wendigo writhed in pain as it was engulfed in blazing red flames. The more it suffered, the more fiercely the flames burned, and soon, the Wendigo turned into a black lump of coal and fell to the ground. The smell of burning meat wafted in the air. Haon frowned.

“We’ll handle this here, so don’t worry and just go.”

“The Wendigo was almost upon us, and you just stood there. What if my gui… Keheum, what if someone got hurt? Would you take responsibility?”

Cha Yugeon responded to Won Jaehyuk’s words in an irritated voice. Haon was surprised by the words that he barely heard and looked at Cha Yugeon. Cha Yugeon seemed flustered for a moment but soon returned to his usual self. Haon tilted his head, he must’ve heard it wrong, but then Cha Yugeon coughed and called to Haon.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Oh.”

It seemed like he was about to say ‘my guide’?

Was he worried that the Wendigo would attack him?

Even though he knew it couldn’t be, Haon couldn’t shake off his doubts. However, now was not the time to clear up those doubts. Haon silently followed Cha Yugeon towards the monster gate. Baek Chan-kyung also moved with his two assigned guides.

“Damn, why are there so many?!”

From behind, Siyun’s annoyed voice was heard. Haon worriedly looked back but relaxed upon seeing Won Jaehyuk taking down a Banshee approaching them. Since there were people taking care of the outside of the gate, they had to trust them and do their part.

Even if monsters were defeated outside the gate, as long as the gate remained open, monsters would continue to appear. So, they had to close the gate as quickly as possible. Haon gripped his dagger tighter and quickened his pace, with Cha Yugeon matching his steps.

At that moment, a giant black venomous spider shot a web at Haon’s group. Cha Yugeon burnt the web while turning the giant black venomous spider into roast meat.

Simultaneously, a huge lump of asphalt flew towards Haon. He tried to dodge, but a powerful stream of water blasted the asphalt lump away before he could. Surprised, Haon looked at Baek Chan-kyung, who smiled faintly.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Seeing Haon expressed his thanks made Cha Yugeon’s expression sour. He raised his voice irritably.

“Won Jaehyuk, are you not fighting properly? Don’t let it bounce this way.”

“Sorry!”

Despite the deadly warning, Won Jaehyuk apologized nonchalantly. He seemed to be a nice person. Well, perhaps that was why he could get along with Cha Yugeon. Haon shook his head slightly.

While they were moving, Haon’s group arrived at the gate. The rift in the ground, stretching vertically from the ground to the height of a high-rise building, was as black as a black hole.

A cyclops was emerging from it.

Cha Yugeon used his telekinesis to jump into the air and surrounded the creature in blazing red flames. Soon, as the cyclops writhed in pain, cracks formed in the ground, and fires spread around.

“Tsk.”

As Cha Yugeon clicked his tongue intending to extinguish the fire, streams of water flew from all directions. The powerful jets of water not only subdued the surrounding fire but also directly attacked the cyclops.

[Grrrrr!]

The cyclops was in pain, but it was helpless against the strong water pressure. Haon, having experienced it the power of that water pressure, simply clicked his tongue.

Then, the cyclops’ joints twisted grotesquely and started to bend. Cha Yugeon was manipulating the cyclops’ body with his telekinesis.

[Grrrr―!]

Eventually, the creature let out a death scream and collapsed to the ground. The asphalt around where it fell was circularly excavated.

“Don’t interfere on your own.”

“I intervened because you seemed to be struggling. If it was inconvenient, I apologize.”

“What? Do I look like I struggling?”

“Yes, it looked that way, but never mind if not.”

Baek Chan-kyung coldly retorted as he passed by Cha Yugeon and entered the gate.

Cha Yugeon, upon seeing this, muttered under his breath, “That bastard…” Haon, alarmed by the palpable hostility that seemed directed towards Baek Chan-kyung, quickly grabbed Cha Yugeon.

“Wait, wait! Cha Yugeon, snap out of it. We have enemies to deal with. Mr. Baek Chan-kyung is on our team, on our side!”

“There’s no way that bastard is on our side.”

Cha Yugeon growled in response to Haon’s urgent words. Although he knew that anger wasn’t directed towards him, Haon couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the intensity of it. However, he wasn’t so scared that he couldn’t speak up. Haon raised his voice.

“That’s your opinion!”

“Probably the same opinion that bastard has.”

“What are you talking about?!”

For a moment, Haon was puzzled by the incomprehensible words, but regardless, he had to prevent Cha Yugeon from attacking Baek Chan-kyung. While it was important to acknowledge that there were enemies to deal with, more importantly, the two of them weren’t compatible in terms of abilities.

Fire and water, water and fire.

Baek Chan-kyung could extinguish Cha Yugeon’s fire, and Cha Yugeon could evaporate Baek Chan-kyung’s water. Therefore, their fight would only end up wasting time without any clear outcome. In such urgent circumstances, they couldn’t afford such a futile fight.

“Fine, you’re right that you and Mr. Baek Chan-kyung aren’t on the same side. Everything you said is right. But right now, we need to complete the mission we’re tasked with.”

“Why?”

That fucking Why! Why! Why!

Haon grabbed Cha Yugeon’s collar and shook him, struggling to suppress the urge to shout, ‘Why don’t you just shut up!’ He pondered, trying to find a reason to convince the infuriatingly stubborn Cha Yugeon. But then Cha Yugeon spoke first.

“…When we’re back… We’re still going to train right?”

“Huh? Uh… well….”

“We didn’t do what we agreed on, did we?”

“Oh, right… that’s true. Yeah, you’re right. We should quickly finish the mission and go back to train!”

Surprised by the unexpected words, Haon stuttered, blurting out whatever came to mind. Since it seemed like Cha Yugeon had something he wanted to say, Haon had no choice but to go along with it.

“…Alright.”

Cha Yugeon’s demeanor softened as if the previous anger was a lie. Without any resistance, he simply listened to Haon’s words. At this point, Haon became curious about Cha Yugeon’s inner thoughts.

To put it nicely, it was just training, but Haon wondered if Cha Yugeon really wanted to do such intimate training with him.

Haon had no choice but to do it because it was necessary. And naturally, Haon thought Yugeon felt the same way.

But was that a mistaken assumption?

Did Cha Yugeon really want to have skinship with him?

If so… why?

Just moments after Yugeon’s previous ‘why?’ had irritated him, Haon asked the same question.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, let’s go in.”

Cha Yugeon suddenly seemed enthusiastic. It was probably just his imagination. Once doubts began to arise, everything seemed suspicious for no reason. That’s what Haon thought as he followed Cha Yugeon into the monster gate.

“It’s dark…”

While it had been bright daylight outside, inside the gate was a strange darkness that made it impossible to gauge the time. From the light visible ahead, it seemed that Baek Chan-kyung’s group, who entered first, had turned on the lights. Haon also took out his flashlight from his pocket.

“Oh… thank you.”

But Cha Yugeon quickly lit a fire brighter than the flashlight. Although there was the disadvantage that the flashlight emitted a white light while Cha Yugeon’s fire emitted a crimson light, in terms of brightness alone, Cha Yugeon’s fire was much brighter. Thanks to that, there was room to look around.

Even Haon, who had ample field experience, rarely entered the monster gate. Usually, even if a monster gate was created, it disappeared on its own in about 10 minutes. However, very occasionally, a gate that didn’t naturally disappear was formed. That’s exactly what was happening now.

In such cases, they had no choice but to destroy the gate themselves. Haon had learned from the few experiences that the process was never easy. So, he couldn’t help but be nervous. Haon swallowed nervously.

“Don’t worry. You won’t get hurt.”

Haon looked at Cha Yugeon in surprise at his words. He, too, looked embarrassed, scratching the back of his head and gazing into the distance. Then he turned his head to look at Haon. Slowly, his lips slowly parted.

“I’ll…”

“…”

“…Protect you.”