Free Web NovelThey walked on through the city center smothered in vines and trees. It was a bit of a detour, but using the roads made their pace much faster. The only problem was the occasional nuisance of monsters hiding inside rusted cars and buses.
They were crossing over the overturned roof of a tour bus when—
CRASH! Glass shattered and a massive carnivorous plant lunged at them.
“Uwah!”
Plants made far less noise than animal-type monsters, so Yohan hadn’t sensed it at all before it attacked. Reacting instantly, Lee Hyunmook scooped him up and moved him aside, almost at the same time that Yoon Seungryong spun around with sharp reflexes.
“That was close. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Lee Hyunmook’s voice was calm, as if nothing had happened. But Yohan, pointing in shock, screamed.
“Seungryong hyung just got eaten!”
The timing couldn’t have been worse—while moving to shield Yohan, Yoon Seungryong had been sucked straight into the huge, gaping maw of the plant. Thrashing inside, he bellowed something furiously, but Hyunmook merely brushed a small leaf from Yohan’s back—one that had been trying to suck his blood—and crushed it underfoot.
“Better keep some distance.”
Rather than showing any concern for Yoon Seungryong, Hyunmook simply lifted Yohan down from the bus. Cold as it seemed, he had his reason. The plant, which had been shaking its maw like a heron swallowing a fish, suddenly began to smoke. Acrid fumes rose, and the entire thing melted into sludge.
“Ugh, damn it—ptoo!”
Spewing out the sticky slime that had gotten in his mouth, Yoon Seungryong stomped the half-liquefied plant into mush. Then, with a perfectly mild expression, he turned to Yohan.
“Yohan-ah, can you purify me? This smells like hundred-year-old compost.” free𝑤ebnovel.com
Aside from being covered in sticky muck, he was completely fine. Relieved, Yohan purified the foul-smelling slime—turning it into sweet honey. Now thoroughly sweet and sticky, Yoon Seungryong licked his own hand as they trudged on.
By the time they were leaving the city center, it was time to eat again. While they were working through the pre-made rations, Yohan noticed a tiny monster wandering nearby.
It was barely the size of a fingernail, looking more like a drifting dust clump than a creature, creeping along on spindly legs. It was so insignificant that neither Hyunmook nor Seungryong even glanced at it.
What kind of creature is that...?
As he bit into his rice ball, a clump of rice fell to the ground. The tiny monster scurried over, drawn to the dropped food. Watching it, Yohan thought it funny that even monsters coveted edible food—but then he was startled.
“Huh?”
The little thing chewed on the grains, and its form began to change. Moments later, it had become a plump, small lizard. Spooked by its own transformation, the lizard bolted with the rice clump in its mouth. Yohan, excited, called out to Hyunmook.
“Hyunmook-ssi, did you see that? It ate my food and changed back to its original form!”
“Yeah, looked like a little lizard.”
Hyunmook’s tone was mild, and oddly enough, neither he nor Seungryong seemed surprised. They must have already known the food carried purification energy.
“You both knew? I didn’t....”
“You handle so much power that you ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) might miss the little things. But to me, even the smallest trace of your energy is unmistakable. I’m sure the captain’s the same.”
I see... Yohan glanced down at his rice ball. Could feeding a monster in an emergency be used as an attack? But realistically, firing his light would be faster and more efficient than feeding it. Useless thought.
After the meal, they walked on again. By the time Seungryong’s irritation with his honey-coated skin had reached its peak, they reentered the jungle and came across a stagnant pool of water.
“Should we refill our water and wash up?”
They were running low on drinking water, so Yohan brightened at the idea. The pool smelled like it would guarantee food poisoning if drunk as-is, but that didn’t matter to a purifier like him. Hyunmook, however, frowned and scanned their surroundings.
“Water sources are always monster habitats. Best to handle this quickly and move on.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful!”
While Hyunmook kept watch, Yohan hurried to purify the pool, turning it into clear spring water. As soon as the bottles were filled, Seungryong stripped without shame and plunged in.
“Ahh, finally feel human again.”
He splashed noisily, scrubbing off the honey, and even washed his clothes with impressive speed. He had just wrung out his shirt when an unsettling laugh rang out.
Cree-hee-hee... heh-heh-heh...
The strange sound echoed faintly, receding into the distance. Both Seungryong and Hyunmook instantly reacted, lowering their spears into ready position. Yohan swallowed hard.
“You said weak ones here don’t make noise... right?”
Which meant, in this jungle, anything that made a sound was dangerous. Hyunmook moved closer to Yohan and murmured—
“We might be in for trouble. Let’s move.”
They left the water source quickly. But ten minutes later, Yohan knew they were already in trouble.
Suddenly, faint presences began to appear—first a few, then dozens, then hundreds. Kee-kee-geek... kkeur-reu-reu... The strange beings whispered and chuckled from all directions, growing louder. Seungryong clicked his tongue and broke into a run.
“Yohan-ah, run!”
Yohan, pale-faced, sprinted after him. Ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-hehh! Wild laughter poured in from all sides. Hairy monsters with upside-down faces swung from vine to vine in pursuit, the mouths on their foreheads grinning as they laughed.
...No—on closer look, the mouth was upside-down, so it wasn’t a frown at all. Even through the heavy contamination of their forms, it was obvious what they had once been.
“Damn it, looks like there used to be a monkey temple around here!”
Seungryong’s voice cursed from ahead. Even while running at full speed, his spear cut down grotesque creatures leaping out or vines blocking the way. Hyunmook ran close behind Yohan.
“Just keep your eyes forward. Save your ability.”
Nodding, Yohan focused on steady breathing and trusting them, not flinching even when a long arm lunged out from the brush for him. As he knew his role was not offense but self-preservation, Hyunmook’s blade flashed and severed the arm in a clean stroke.
“Captain!”
Seungryong’s shout meant how long are we going to run? He’d already cut down dozens, but the laughter all around wasn’t fading. Running without even panting, Hyunmook spoke in an icy voice—
“They’re herding us.” frёeωebɳovel.com
The words dropped like ice into Yohan’s gut. Alone, each creature wasn’t much of a threat—but in such numbers, even Seungryong and Hyunmook found them troublesome. Hyunmook quickly decided.
“Keep going. You’ll wipe them out at once.”
“Yeah!”
Seungryong’s reply was almost casual. Then Hyunmook gave Yohan his orders.
“Seungryong’s going to use poison—be ready to purify.”
“...Got it!”
Barely had Yohan answered when the trees began to thin, and a bizarre flower field appeared.
It was no ordinary meadow. In the Abyss, it was rare to see such vivid colors—giant, multi-colored blossoms swaying gently despite the still air, sweet yet faintly nauseating perfume hanging thick. Here and there among them lay shriveled monster corpses.
The creatures surrounded them, as if this had been their goal all along. The upside-down mouths on their foreheads twitched sideways, eyes glinting with malice. Instead of entering the flowers, Seungryong stopped at the edge, eyes blazing with rage and irritation.
“You bastards are dead!”
The moment the murky violet mist of his poison began to writhe, Yohan unleashed his own ability. Seungryong’s venom surged upward like a towering wall, then crashed down like a giant wave, swallowing the charging monkeys whole—a level of control Yohan could never yet hope to match.
