Moon's Labyrinths

There was something about being in a foreign land that made people’s hearts flutter . This was especially true for those that lived in Seoul .

The party walked down the road at night while gazing at the bright stars and the Milky Way .

“It has been a while since I could watch the stars like this . It’s very pretty . ”

“Don’t you work on the Moon as a researcher, Ms . Chelsea? You should have gotten a lot of opportunities to see the stars . ”

“You really don’t know anything, Mr . Sungyoon . ”

Chelsea wagged her finger .

“There is a clear difference between watching the stars from space and from Earth . They both evoke completely different emotions . ”

The others nodded at Chelsea’s words .

Sungyoon and his party were heading toward Lee’s house . However, even though he had accepted Lee’s invitation of his own volition, Sungyoon looked disappointed . He kept looking backward .

Jimin let out a sigh and said .

“It is just a couple of hours . You’re usually separated from her for a longer period, so why are you acting this way today?”

“That’s for work, so it can’t be helped . But we’re on vacation . What if Shinhae wakes up? What if she becomes disappointed by her father’s absence?”

Shinhae and Jiyoon were not going to the dinner . The little girl had been tired from swimming all day, so had gone to sleep, and Jiyoon had stayed behind to look after her .

“Shinhae told you she was tired and wanted to sleep . It’s true that she doesn’t like being separated from you, Mr . Sungyoon . However, she’s not the type of girl to cry without a good reason . Don’t worry about her . ”

Shinhae had spent a lot of time away from Sungyoon, so she did become lonely easily . However, she had also developed an independent streak thanks to this experience . And even if Shinhae were to look for her father on waking up, Jiyoon was there to give an explanation . Shinhae would be disappointed, but she would understand the situation and wait for her father .

“If you’re like this right now, what will you do when she gets married?”

Jimin spat out her words .

Sungyoon came to a stop . His head moved in a mechanical manner as he looked at Jimin .

“... Marriage?”

“You don’t have to react in such a stereotypical manner . Stop it . ”

Jimin shook her head from side to side and walked forward . The others let out a burst of bitter laughter .

Lee’s house was located atop a hill in an isolated location, so the road was quiet and didn’t even have proper illumination . It was a scary environment, but none of them felt fear . The world-famous Knight and his party had negotiated with their countries, and they were allowed to carry their Devices and Gems . Since they were fully armed, they had no reason to be afraid .

Boom!

“Huh?”

The party stopped walking . They heard a pretty large explosion and saw flames reaching high in the air .

By the location of the flames, the party could tell that the explosion had occurred at their destination, Lee’s house .

“Mr . Sungyoon!”

When Grace called out his name, Sungyoon immediately increased his speed .

“The two of you should accompany Ms . Jimin and Ms . Chelsea!”

Since these two couldn’t fight, Sungyoon left them in the care of Grace and Emily . Then, like a bullet, he shot forward toward the fire . As he moved closer to the red conflagration, the smell of smoke got thicker . So he put more strength into his legs .

When Sungyoon arrived at Lee’s house, he saw a large flame dancing and engulfing the picturesque white bricked house . It was a horrifying dance expressing the devil’s delight .

Sungyoon was about to check if anyone was inside and save them, but before he could do it, something else caught his attention .

- Hmmph! Your resistance is futile . ”

‘Monster?’

His eyes clearly saw a monster .

This monster was much larger in size than a human . Horns, wings, and black needles were all over its body . It couldn’t be anything other than a monster, but . . .

‘It spoke?’

Of course, monsters were incapable of speaking as they didn’t possess a rational mind . However, the monster in front of him had spoken . This was his first time seeing a monster capable of speech, so Sungyoon was taken aback .

‘Did this guy do all this?’

Sungyoon looked between the burning house and the monster . He couldn’t fathom the identity of this being, but one thing was for sure . It was not to be underestimated . Sungyoon quickly took out his weapon .

- Some poor bastard came in . I guess he doesn’t value his own life .

The monster already knew Sungyoon had arrived on the scene, so it didn’t look surprised . It turned toward Sungyoon, while Sungyoon wondered how to respond when meeting the first monster capable of speech .

He didn’t know whether to immediately attack it or ask it a question . While Sungyoon was having a hard time making up his mind, Kevil’s eyes widened .

- What the hell? This guy is better than this one!

The delight in its voice was evident . Kevil then unloaded something from its shoulder and carelessly threw it aside . Sungyoon finally realized Kevil had been carrying Lee . The old Connector was still alive since he was groaning . But Sungyoon could tell he was in a rough state .

Lee was missing an arm and a leg, and his entire body was coated in blood . Sungyoon could even see bones sticking out the region where the limbs had been severed . The version of Lee, who had been deeply moved by meeting Sungyoon, could no longer be seen .

This monster had attacked Lee for some reason and set his house on fire .

Sungyoon raised his sword and shield . He had no idea how strong the monster was, so he overclocked his Gems .

“Did you do this?”

Sungyoon’s voice was low and calm . However, anyone familiar with him would have heard the suppressed rage in his voice .

However, Kevil didn’t respond .

-Ke ke ke! It’s really hard to find sacrifices . I can’t believe a good one just happens to be nearby . I’m really lucky on my first expedition!

“I asked if you did this . ”

Kevil ignored Sungyoon’s words once again .

Boom!

Kevil took a stride, and Sungyoon raised his shield in preparation for the attack .

No, he was trying to raise his shield .

Kwahng!

Sungyoon had no idea what had just happened when his eyes shot open .

“Kuh-huhk!”

As if a groan had risen up from the deepest part of his body, Sungyoon’s entire body hurt .

If he were a normal person, he would’ve died from the breathlessness due to the pain .

- Huh? Did you regain consciousness? You’re pretty amazing .

Sungyoon heard an ominous sound and shook his fuzzy head . As his eyes came into focus, he looked ahead .

The demonic monster was approaching him .

Sungyoon tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t move . So he looked down .

Absolute mess!

That was the only phrase that could describe what he saw .

All his limbs were broken, and they were pointing at odd angles . The middle region of his armor had been destroyed, and he could see his chest caved inward . His axe and his shield lay in the distance

Cough!

A metallic taste rose up into his mouth, and Sungyoon threw up . Red blood flowed down his lips . He was sure his organs had been damaged . Sungyoon realized that he had been hit by the monster .

However, Sungyoon didn’t remember what kind of an attack it was, and how had he received it .

- If you had stayed unconscious like that guy, you could have avoided feeling the pain .

Kevil spoke in a sarcastic manner . Sungyoon ignored the pain as he moved his broken hand and tried to activate his healing Gem . His twisted limbs returned to normal, and the pain slowly dampened .

- Oh ho! You’re different from that trash over there . I can see why you give off a strong scent .

Strong scent! It was an odd choice of words, but Sungyoon couldn’t afford to pay attention to what the monster was speaking . He had to either defeat it or run away .

Sungyoon activated his spells .

Boom!

Massive gravity hit Kevil .

Puh-uh-uhk!

At the same time, spikes made out of rock shot up from the ground . These spells were much weaker compared to what they were on the Moon, but Sungyoon couldn’t be picky .

Bul-duhk!

He got up and immediately moved away . His body still ached, but he didn’t have the luxury to rest . His sword and shield re-appeared .

Kwahhhhhhng!

The rock spikes surrounding Kevil crumbled into pieces, and a long whip of fire shot toward Sungyoon .

“Koohk!”

Sungyoon bent down, and the attack grazed past above him . However, it was enough to cause damage, and the effect of the attack was astonishing .

Hwah-roo-roohk!

‘Hot!’

The whip had been flying in the air, yet the grass on the ground was set on fire . Sungyoon felt as if he was walking within the volcanic region of the Great Labyrinth .

Boom! Boom!

The rock spikes melted from the heat, and Kevil appeared from the aftermath . Its hand held a long flame which looked like a fire whip .

Kwah-doo-doohk!

The long toenails protruding from its black feet crushed the broken pieces of the rock spike .

- Good! Good! It’s fun when the prey puts up a fight .

Puh-uhng!

Kevil swung the fire whip in a threatening manner, and it was enough to burn the surroundings .

However, Kevil didn’t look satisfied .

- Tsk! Places with no magical energy are annoying . How much power did I lose?

The monster wielded a shocking amount of power, yet it complained about the reduction in its power . Sungyoon was baffled .

Kevil once again focused his attention on Sungyoon .

- That one was too weak . He almost lost his mind from fear when he felt his great presence . I gave him some points for putting up a fight even as he cried to protect his family . Still, he remained a piece of trash . His family was burning in front of him, yet he could only cry . He wasn’t able to put up a decent fight . I hope you fight back a bit harder . This won’t be fun for me otherwise .

Sungyoon’s face crumpled .

His wife was a failure, but Sungyoon treasured his daughter . So he couldn’t forgive any violence against Lee’s family .

It happened at that moment .

“Mr . Sungyoon!”

He heard some voices . His party members, who he had left behind, arrived at the scene .

The faces of Jimin, Chelsea, Emily, and Grace went pale . They watched the flames rage around Sungyoon and Kevil .

- Are they your comrades?

Kevil asked .

Sungyoon could clearly see a smile form on the monster’s face . A chill ran down his spine, and he could feel cold sweat cover his whole body .

Kevil’s red eyes looked down at Sungyoon, and it spoke .

- This is great timing . The spices to the main dish have arrived . What will you do?

Just then, Sungyoon heard the loud sound of the heartbeat within him .

However, the heartbeat wasn’t the only thing that had sought him out this time around . Sunyoon felt like foaming at the mouth . Then, as if he were having a seizure, his hands violently shook and went limp . At this moment, he just wanted to sink to the floor .

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Sungyoon felt as if he were hiding, and a scary giant eye was looking down at his back . He felt fear .