Chapter 117: The Chase Begins

Kim Chan seemed to feel strongly that he couldn’t just stand by, as he began to engage in the battle more actively.

Utilizing his tanking strengths, he charged forward with his sturdy body toward the frozen Mud Monster.

It was as if he instantly understood Roy’s intention behind freezing the Mud Monster.

‘Uh, uh…?’

However, what happened next was something neither Roy nor Kim Chan had anticipated.

The frozen Mud Monster suddenly stretched out its arms wide as if waking up, then hugged Kim Chan and dashed toward the wall.

The force was so overwhelming that Kim Chan was dragged along helplessly.

Fortunately, he soon regained his senses and pounded the monster’s back with his tightly clenched fist, but it was to no avail.

“Kyaaaah!”

“W-what is that?”

“Everyone, get out of here!”

As they moved outside, the screams grew louder.

The Mud Monster jumped straight from the building onto the sidewalk and ran off as if it had a destination.

Roy, riding on Solum’s back, pursued the Mud Monster closely.

Kim Chan’s complexion worsened in real-time.

The Mud Monster’s tremendous strength seemed to constrict even his solid body’s breathing.

His face flushed bright red like someone holding their breath for a long time, then slowly paled — the slow-motion-like image was imprinted on Roy’s retina.

“Kim Chan! Hold on a little longer! Aqua, Ris! Break the monster’s arms!”

The Mud Monster’s torso was still largely frozen, but the ice was slowly losing strength and melting away.

Despite Aqua pulling all of Roy’s magic power to use her abilities, the monster’s strength was formidable.

“Por…!” (Contractor, that monster’s power is increasing!)

Following Roy’s orders, Aqua froze the arm parts further, while Ris used his wind blades to try to sever the arms.

Ka-ga-ga-gak-

However, only the sound of ice grinding could be heard harshly — the Mud Monster’s arms remained firmly attached to its body.

“Piii!” (This guy’s stronger than I thought!)

Even with the combined attack of two Spirit Kings, the Mud Monster only hesitated momentarily when hit.

There was no reaction as if pain didn’t exist — no response that a living being should naturally show.

“Ugh, Roy hyung…”

Kim Chan struggled to steady his flickering vision.

If not for the Legendary Weapon-grade armor he wore, his ribs would have long since caved in from the tremendous force squeezing his upper body.

Despite the immense pain that could make him lose consciousness at any moment, he wasn’t afraid.

That was because Roy was relentlessly chasing after him at an incredible speed, constantly in his sight.

“Solum!”

Roy shouted Solum’s name.

Finally, the Mud Monster’s feet reached a sparsely populated area.

The wide plaza was peaceful and leisurely, with only a few people enjoying their time, oblivious to the chaos inside the concert hall.

“Hey! Look back there!”

“Ahh! Is that a monster?”

“Mom…”

“Honey, come this way!”

Four men and women playing badminton scattered in panic, while a family chatting on a blanket abandoned their picnic bags and ran.

Paaat—

As people hurriedly escaped the plaza, Solum raised a pillar of earth.

Puh-eok—

The Mud Monster, still carrying Kim Chan, couldn’t avoid the pillar and crashed into it.

The impact was fully transmitted to Kim Chan, who gagged and vomited.

Luckily, he hadn’t eaten due to nerves over his debut stage.

Despite being attacked and dazed, his strongest thought was that the fans must never see this scene.

“Piiik-!” (You stupid idiot!)

Ber’s fire-based attacks were inherently lethal.

Though, with precise control, he could attack only the Mud Monster without harming Kim Chan, but there was concern that heating the mud might make it harder.

Therefore, Ber had no choice but to remain on the sidelines, stomping his small feet impatiently.

But his patience was reaching its limit.

Thump, thump, thuuung—

“Ber…”

Ber curled up and began ramming his body into the Mud Monster.

Unable to use his true powers, he resorted to a reckless body slam — a self-sacrificing action that moved Kim Chan enough to make his eyes glisten.

“Chan hyung! Just hold on a bit more!”

“Chan-chan! I’m coming to save you!”

Lee Hajun and Song Doyoon arrived at the plaza.

Hajun’s magic arrow pierced through the log-like arms binding Kim Chan.

Having experienced the monster consuming precious arrows before, this arrow only delivered damage and then faded away.

“I guess it’s better to use it for melting rather than illusions.”

Song Doyoon pulled out a small vial from his finger and popped the cap.

The sharp, biting smell that wafted from the open bottle made Hajun grimace and step back.

It felt like sticking one’s nose into a trash bin left under the blazing midsummer sun for a long time.

“Hyung, can you warn me ahead next time before using poison?”

The stench was so harsh it momentarily made him dizzy.

“Ah, sorry. Come here.”

Only then did Song Doyoon realize he had unintentionally team-killed and gently applied a refreshing-smelling liquid under Hajun’s nose.

“I’ll apply it beforehand next time. Doesn’t smell now, right?”

“Yes!”

It was amazing.

Just a moment ago, the smell was nauseatingly unpleasant, but now it felt as if they had entered a forest full of phytoncides — refreshingly pure.

“Is that not dangerous for Chan hyung?”

Hajun’s worried voice came beside Song Doyoon, who was preparing to use poison.

The attack Song Doyoon had made on this group was still a vivid impression in Hajun’s mind.

The word “melting” had suddenly conjured up a cruel image.

“Of course not. Do you think I’d melt Chan too?”

Saying that with a scary smile, Song Doyoon made Hajun grimace in reluctance.

‘The hyungs have been bickering a lot lately…’

Kim Chan and Song Doyoon, being the same age and roommates, had grown close but also frequently argued.

Mostly over trivial matters like whether toothpaste should be squeezed from the middle or pressed from the bottom.

Watching them often made one sigh involuntarily.

“Kim Chan! Hold your breath for a moment!”

Unaware of Hajun’s thoughts, Song Doyoon dashed toward Kim Chan and the Mud Monster tangled together like one body.

‘What is that guy trying to do now?’

***

Meanwhile, Roy was mobilizing all the Spirit Kings to shatter the Mud Monster’s body.

The problem was that as the monster’s body broke apart, it quickly restored itself at an accelerating speed.

Without clear eyes, nose, or mouth, it was impossible to gauge how much damage the monster was taking.

Amidst this, Song Doyoon approached holding something bulky in both hands, making Roy uneasy.

“Por!” (There’s a strange smell coming from that bottle!)

Aqua, who was circling the Mud Monster sprinkling ice powder, suddenly stopped moving.

As the King of Water Spirits, she immediately sensed the ominous aura from the poison Song Doyoon held.

“Ris, seal the monster’s movements.”

“Piit!” (Got it, Contractor!)

Unable to rescue Kim Chan using even the Spirit Kings’ powers, Roy decided to trust Song Doyoon.

Ris flapped his wings and spread a transparent net in the air.

“What is this…?”

Kim Chan blinked rapidly at the strange sensation constricting his head and back.

A cool breeze was felt, but strangely, he couldn’t move his body.

“Piiik!” (Crazy guy, now’s the time to attack!)

Ber, sensing Song Doyoon’s impending poison attack, inflated his size to shield Kim Chan’s body.

Unlike the wind, the warmth made Kim Chan turn his head back.

“Piiik, pík!” (Don’t worry, scaredy-cat friend! Ber’s got you.)

No matter how loud Ber shouted, Kim Chan couldn’t understand, but Ber’s jet-black eyes shone brightly.

Not with his usual cute expression, but with the majestic intimidation of a phoenix, comforting Kim Chan’s anxious heart.

Kim Chan himself had been overwhelmed by a strange unease upon seeing Song Doyoon running toward them.

“Take this!”

Song Doyoon spat out a villainous line and sprinkled a subtly grayish liquid onto the immobilized Mud Monster.

Chiiiiiik—

“Piiit.” (What is this!)

Though he aimed to spray the poison only on the Mud Monster, Ber protecting Kim Chan was inevitably affected as well.

As Song Doyoon’s poison met Ber’s flames, it couldn’t work properly and sizzled away.

Though it caused no significant damage, the unpleasant sensation boiling within made Ber let out a loud, irritated cry.

“Oh. Still, there’s some effect?”

***

Meanwhile, Song Doyoon himself shrugged his shoulders.

Ber grumbled in annoyance, but the attack was effective.

He had secretly worried the poison might not harm the monster at all, but the Mud Monster’s arms and legs began to melt and sag.

“Uum-.” (Contractor, the monster has an opening.)

Solum was the Earth Spirit King.

All the components forming the Mud Monster’s body were under Solum’s control.

However, because of the evil magic contaminating the earth, much of the mud had slipped from Solum’s influence.

But as the monster melted by Song Doyoon’s poison, parts of the mud making up its body fell under Solum’s control again.

“Huk, hyung…”

Not missing this brief opening, Roy pulled Kim Chan’s body out of the Mud Monster.

The silver armor was completely smeared with mud.

Knowing how dangerous even a handful of that mud was, Aqua hurriedly wiped off the mud from the armor.

“Poruru.” (I’ve never seen anything like this before.)

Inside the water vortex, the mud silently screamed.

Its struggling movements looked as if it were alive, causing Aqua’s small face to grow serious.

However, the mud soon lost its strength under Aqua’s purification power and turned back into ordinary dirt.

“You okay, junior?”

“Wow. You’re still holding on after that attack? What is that thing, really?”

Kim Taejin and Yoo Jaeri arrived at the temporarily quiet plaza.

The other High Cycle members were still waiting inside the broadcasting station.

Like the other members of Kkoribyul, they had split up, unsure of what might happen there.

“Luckily, only the monster remains.”

Kim Taejin glanced at Kim Chan, whose face was pale but seemed uninjured.

They had tried to come sooner but were nearly stopped by people who recognized Kim Taejin and Yoo Jaeri on the way.

Chasing after the Mud Monster and Roy’s group on the surface had been a mistake.

“Sorry. Something urgent came up. Please make way for a moment.”

They had to move carefully to avoid injuring the crowd, which inevitably took time.

“Then shall we finish this?”

Kim Taejin nodded toward Roy.

After patting Kim Chan’s shoulder a couple of times, Roy stood beside Kim Taejin.

“This is a creature that physical attacks don’t work on properly.”

“Yeah, it seems that way.”

“I tried to shatter it, but do you have any special method, senior?”