STJ_26
A moment of silence, like the calm before a storm. He could even hear the whisper of the wind.
The forest's movements grew more intense. At first, only a few trees swayed, but now the entire forest seemed to move as one living entity.
A loud cracking sound echoed as tree roots were torn from the ground, followed by the deep rumble of the earth. After a brief pause, the booming noise came again.
"Not just one or two."
Something beyond the trees had yet to reveal itself, but from the sound alone, the sheer menace of the creature could be felt.
Doyoung felt his heart sink and took a deep breath.
Guhyeong, the leader, calmly gave orders to the Espers and soldiers.
"Delta, prepare for battle. You will protect the Guide and head to the bus. When I give the signal, move immediately."
"Understood!"
As Doyoung's gaze wandered, it landed on Iijun, who was staring straight at him, as if he were the only one there.
Iijun approached calmly, reaching out with gentle affection. His hand, which softly brushed against Doyoung’s forehead, exposed by the wind blowing through his hair, slowly traced down his face to his chin.
With delicate fingers, Iijun gently pinched Doyoung’s small chin and lowered his head. Then, he kissed him softly.
Doyoung did not stop Iijun’s kiss, it felt like a sacred ritual before heading into battle. No, more precisely, he did not want to stop it.
If this was a ritual for victory, he would gladly do it over and over again.
Their lips met and parted with a faint pop. Iijun gazed deeply at Doyoung, who quietly accepted his kiss, then pressed another light kiss at the corner of his eye.
Doyoung's expression as he slowly opened his eyes, which had briefly shut, was clearly imprinted in Iijun’s mind. His thumb gently stroked Doyoung’s chin.
“It’s okay. Nothing will happen.”
“…Don’t get hurt.”
“I met my Master like this, so how could I possibly lose control and get injured?”
His nonsense was oddly reassuring. It made this critical moment feel like nothing too significant. So, Doyoung felt a little relieved.
Kwong, kwong. The intervals between the tremors shortened.
“It’s coming.”
At Guhyeong’s signal, soldiers carrying rifles approached Doyoung and Juhyun with determined expressions.
“You need to leave.”
Doyoung turned around, and Iijun’s hand, which had still been holding his, slowly slipped away with reluctance.
As Doyoung walked away with a heavy heart, he could hear Guhyeong reporting to headquarters through the radio. It was reported that the number of incoming Creatures was not small.
Would they be okay? They had to be okay. Because this was Sa Iijun.
The atmosphere fell silent once again. An unseen but tangible anxiety loomed over them.
With the soldiers providing protection, Doyoung and Juhyun began moving toward the bus. They had barely taken a few steps.
Kiekk!
Suddenly, an ear-splitting monster’s screech echoed, like a signal marking the beginning of battle, shaking the ground beneath them.
The Creatures came rushing from afar, tearing through the forest, turning it into a green mush as they charged forward.
It was impossible to tell where they began and where they ended. At a glance, there had to be dozens of them.
“Hurry!”
A soldier shouted while aiming his rifle at the approaching Creatures, stepping backward cautiously.
Without thinking, Doyoung glanced back and saw the battle unfold, a clash between dozens of bloodthirsty monsters and the Espers, who met them with deadly precision.
Haerin lifted one of the Creatures into the air, and Iijun followed up by blowing it apart. The shattered scales and razor-sharp horns of the Creature turned into lethal projectiles, piercing the bodies of others nearby.
One of the Creatures, impaled through the eye by its comrade’s horn, let out a gut-wrenching scream before collapsing. The battlefield became a chaotic mess, bodies tumbling over one another, and those charging from behind kicked up a storm of dust.
In that moment, Iijun’s face was imprinted in Doyoung’s mind like a haunting shadow.
Everywhere Iijun touched, blood and flesh were scattered. Wiping the splattered blood from his face with his hand, a strange smile curled at the corner of his lips.
Seeing that smile, Doyoung realized, Iijun was struggling desperately to hold onto his sanity.
Since childhood, Iijun had been trapped in a cage, pushing himself to the brink, his anger and resentment piling up with no release.
And now, he was fighting to let it all out. Instead of unleashing his suffering on the world, he poured it into bloodshed, destroying the bodies of these monsters.
As if he was fighting for his life just to keep from drowning.
Just as Doyoung felt a pang of sympathy for him—
A sudden whoosh sliced through the air nearby.
Doyoung’s body lurched violently, as if struck by a sudden gust of wind. Regaining his balance, he felt a burning pain searing through his forearm.
“Sniper!”
“It's sniper! At seven o’clock!”
Hearing the soldiers’ shouts, Doyoung finally realized, he had been shot.
From the opposite direction of where the Creatures had appeared, figures hidden in the forest began emerging one by one. About ten people, their faces concealed by balaclavas that revealed only their eyes, stood armed with rifles.
Clutching his bleeding arm, Doyoung looked up, and met Iijun’s gaze.
Since when has he been watching me?
Iijun’s burning, sun-like eyes shifted from Doyoung’s face to his blood-soaked arm.
“…I’ll kill them all.”
Even though he couldn’t hear his voice, Doyoung could read his lips, those were the words he had spoken.
Haerin slammed another Creature into the ground with a curse.
“Damn it, who the hell are these bastards? Did they miss while trying to shoot the Creatures?”
“No, we’re their target.”
Guhyeong answered, spreading his arms to form a dome-like transparent barrier around them. Doyoung realized, it was a shield, Guhyeong’s ability protecting them.
Bullets pounded relentlessly against the transparent wall Tae Guhyeong had created.
“Shit! It’s a trap! They lured us into an open area with no cover on purpose!”
One of the soldiers, losing his composure, shouted in panic.
Guhyeong kept reinforcing the shield, holding back the relentless barrage while scanning the team’s condition. Unfortunately, one of them had already acted without orders.
There was no need to ask who it was.
It was Sa Iijun.
“Sa Iijun! Get a grip!”
Iijun’s eyes burned with intensity, the whites of his eyes almost glowing like fire. His hand, once aimed at the Creatures, lowered. Then, as if possessed, he began walking toward Doyoung.
“Sa Iijun! Where the hell are you going?!”
Haerin called out to him in a worried voice. But that voice never reached Iijun’s ears.
The hellish scene, bullets raining down, Creatures shrieking, slowly faded from his view.
The only thing Iijun could see was Doyoung’s pale face and the fresh red blood trickling from his arm, seeping through the fingers pressing against the wound.
“How dare… how dare they…”
At that moment, the air around Iijun seemed to be sucked toward him, as if a black hole had formed. Hair and debris whipped wildly in all directions.
Then, after a few seconds of eerie silence—
A deafening explosion erupted, followed by a massive burst of crimson flames.
Boom!
The fire, devouring everything around it, glowed with an eerie blue hue. As it expanded, it formed concentric rings around the dome before exploding outward in an instant.
“Aaaahh!”
The scorching wind tore through the area, so intense that its heat could be felt even inside the protective barrier.
Juhyun staggered, screaming, and reached out for Tae Guhyeong’s hand to steady herself. Meanwhile, Doyoung, dizzy from blood loss, collapsed onto the ground.
The sight before them was beyond belief.
Outside the transparent dome, a storm of fire twisted and raged like a tornado.
Ear-shattering explosions roared, punctuated by the agonized screams of the burning Creatures trapped within.
A pillar of fire ripped through the atmosphere, forming a massive mushroom cloud, like a nuclear explosion. The world beyond was completely obscured, swallowed by volcanic ash and flames.
“Sa Iijun! That’s enough! Stop! You’re going to rampage!”
Guhyeong’s panicked shout rang out.
At last, as the flames began to die down, not a single trace remained of the attackers who had aimed their weapons at them, not even fragments of bone. The forest where they had hidden was completely incinerated, and the fire had spread to the low hills beyond.
Yet, many of the Creatures still remained. Nearly half had perished, but the others endured.
Some rolled on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames on their backs. Others staggered, their melted snouts exposing jagged teeth. The ones at the rear, perhaps shielded by the corpses of their fallen kin, were relatively unscathed.
Iijun’s eyes burned with terrifying intensity. The look in them made it clear, he desperately needed guiding to regain control.
I have to go. To Sa Iijun.
Following an instinctive pull, Doyoung struggled to his feet. Seeing this, Iijun, his eyes ablaze, shouted toward Nam Yuseong.
“Yoo Namsaeng! Get him back to headquarters, now!”
“What? But I’m still a rookie—”
“Fuck, just do it!”
Yoo Namsaeng glanced around, taking in the sight—Iijun on the verge of losing control, the civilian soldiers, and finally, Doyoung.
“Out of everyone here, who should I…?”
“Juliet!”
At Iijun’s shout, Yoo Namsaeng turned his gaze back to Doyoung.
But Doyoung’s eyes remained fixed on Iijun.
He didn’t know exactly how he would be transported, but even through the pain, he clung to his clarity.
“No!”
Iijun had already unleashed too much of his power. The battle wasn’t over, but he needed guiding immediately.
If Doyoung left him here now, and he lost control, if he died…
“Sa Iijun!”
Hearing Doyoung’s desperate call, Iijun smiled, at the worst possible moment. As if just hearing his name was enough to satisfy him.
To others, his blood-covered face paired with that smile might have seemed eerie. But to Doyoung, it was unbearably tragic.
Doyoung shook his head firmly. This wasn’t the time to leave. He had to get closer to Iijun, even if only to reach for his hand.
As he bit down on his pale lips, preparing to step toward Iijun, a thin hand caught his wrist, Yoo Namsaeng.
Their eyes met, and in an instant, Yoo Namsaeng’s gaze shifted, glowing with an eerie, mysterious hue. A white vortex swirled around them.
A strange sensation enveloped Doyoung’s body, but before he could react, he looked at Iijun one last time.
Behind Iijun, who smiled softly as if finally at ease, the Creatures charged toward him all at once.
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