CHAPTER 55: FIGHTING TO PROTECT

Rhys hit the ground hard, the air escaping from his lungs in a gasp. Beside him, Eun-woo rolled on the wet stone, his arms shielding his face. The blow had been brutal, but not lethal. They were both conscious. Dazed and in pain.

The orange glow of the torches flickered on the walls as the fake Eun-woo’s body dissolved into golden particles, carried away by an invisible current.

And then, with a thud, the creature fell behind them. Its long, pale limbs pinned Rhys and Eun-woo to the ground.

Eun-woo growled as he felt the claws on his shoulder blades. As Rhys lifted his face a few inches, his eyes met Nolan’s.

The man remained seated, not having moved a single muscle since they arrived.

"Why?" Rhys muttered, his voice raspy. "Why are you doing all this?"

Nolan held his gaze.

"It’s not personal, Rhys," he replied, then nodded.

The creature reacted immediately. One of its limbs shot up, freeing Eun-woo’s body for a second, only to come down with a thud.

"No!" Rhys cried, writhing under the other limb, desperately trying to free himself, but the creature’s weight barely allowed him to move.

Eun-woo screamed, this time in a heart-rending tone. The creature had sunk its claws into his back and lifted him with monstrous ease, as if he weighed nothing.

Eun-woo’s body hung, trembling in pain. Blood trickled down his waist and legs.

"It’s a bit boring that the esper doesn’t want to fight me..." the creature muttered in a hollow voice.

And without further ado, it brought him to its mouth. The jaws slowly opened, revealing rows of jagged teeth.

For Rhys, time seemed to stand still. He struggled desperately, ignoring the creature’s claws digging deeper into his skin. His breathing was erratic, ragged with anguish.

He reached out, feeling the ground for something to help him. His fingers brushed against small stones, but he still threw them one by one, furiously, straight at the creature’s face. It was no use. Nothing could stop it.

And he... he couldn’t do anything. The pain was insignificant compared to the helplessness that coursed through him. He felt small, insignificant, unable to protect the only person he loved.

Then, Eun-woo reacted.

With a short cry, he kicked out with one of his legs and delivered a direct kick to one of the creature’s feathery ears. The impact resounded sharply, like the slap of a drum.

The monster squealed, a high-pitched, distorted sound that filled the entire cave. It jerked in irregular spasms, its claws loosening for just a second.

Eun-woo let go and fell hard to the ground, but before he could catch his breath, Nolan was already standing in front of him, a rifle in his hands.

He swung the rifle like a bat, sweeping it in a curve before slamming it into Eun-woo’s temple. His already weakened body barely shook from the blow before he collapsed to the ground.

Rhys, trapped under the creature’s weight, felt something inside him tear as he watched it fall.

Nolan dropped the rifle, his chest heaving, and looked at the creature with a grimace of annoyance.

"Don’t boast if you can’t contain a defective esper either."

The creature took a deep breath, a sort of hissing sound.

"It’s been a while since we did this... It took me by surprise."

Rhys muttered through gritted teeth, his voice thick with rage.

"I wish Jess had known she was harboring a murderer."

Nolan’s eyes hardened.

"This has nothing to do with Jess."

The creature pressed its limb further into Rhys’s back, crushing him against the stone.

"If you want to blame someone," It murmured near his ear, "blame Blackwood. He was the one who caused it all."

And without further ado, with his free claw, he picked Eun-woo up from the ground as if he were a broken doll.

He raised it back to his mouth.

Rhys screamed, helpless as the teeth closed around Eun-woo’s head.

Then something hit the ground.

Rhys held his breath.

For a moment he thought it was blood.

But not.

It was a thick, golden liquid.

The creature screamed, this time in genuine pain. Its arm shook, releasing Rhys as it tossed Eun-woo through the air as if he were burning in its grasp.

Rhys sprang to his feet and darted away from the creature. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a deep wound yawning across the creature’s neck. Golden liquid spurted out, dripping down its chest like glowing lava.

He looked around for Eun-woo. He hadn’t completely crashed into the wall. He’d used his legs to cushion the impact. He remained crouched, trembling... and his eyes were glowing red. The color of danger.

Nolan cursed and reached for the rifle. He’d barely reached for it when Rhys lunged at him. The impact sent them rolling to the floor. Rhys drove his forearm into Nolan’s face and slammed him against the wall to prevent him from moving again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, the creature lunged at Eun-woo.

Eun-woo dodged just before the blow, twisting his body nimbly. His arm sliced through the air, and a red wave of energy shot out, piercing the creature’s chest. The monster screamed, stumbling backward, leaving a trail of its golden blood on the ground.

Rhys continued to struggle with Nolan. Nolan managed to turn and try to raise his knee, but Rhys intercepted him, pinning his arm against the stone.

Eun-woo leaped up. He landed on top of the creature and punched it again in the ear. Then he landed another kick straight to the chest.

The creature stumbled, growling, its limbs flailing.

Nolan roared from beneath Rhys.

"You don’t understand what’s at stake!"

"Of course I don’t understand!" Rhys snapped, shoving his head back against the stone. "And even if I did, I wouldn’t accept you doing something like that!"

A deafening roar tore through the chamber.

The creature, now enraged, lunged at Eun-woo. He leaped back, dodging the swipes by millimeters.

"You feel different," the creature snarled through gritted teeth, its limbs flailing as it lunged at him again. "You’re not the same."

Eun-woo blocked one of its attacks with his forearm and immediately counterattacked with a kick that pushed it into a broken stalagmite.

He wasn’t fighting on instinct alone. There was calculation in every move. Without a word, Eun-woo forced the creature away from the area where Rong Ye lay, guiding the battle to a deeper, darker corner of the cave.

As if even in the midst of that brutality, his priority was still to protect.

"I’m still the same as always," he replied, his breath coming in short bursts.

The creature let out a hoarse, bitter laugh.

"So you pretend to be a sheep when you’re really a wolf."

Eun-woo smiled, tilting his head slightly.

"You might be right," he muttered sarcastically, dodging another blow. "Because I know how to take you out in one move, but I don’t do it because fighting you is fun... Maybe those who left you behind did it as a gift for me."

The creature erupted in fury as if Eun-woo had touched one of its open wounds. Each of its movements became more erratic, faster, and more ferocious.

Eun-woo danced between his attacks with almost insulting ease.

"You don’t know a thing, brat!" the creature roared, launching a charge that shattered a rock wall.

"No, I don’t know," Eun-woo admitted, spinning in the air and landing behind it. "But I’m starting to get a few ideas."

A gunshot ripped through the air, so sudden it took Rhys a second to understand what had happened. He saw Nolan move at the edge of his vision, released by a blow that left him momentarily stunned.

The rifle moved from the ground to Nolan’s hands swiftly. There was no hesitation in his eyes, no hesitation in his fingers. He fired without hesitation. Rhys barely managed to react before Eun-woo stepped between them like a shield at the last second. The bullet struck him in the abdomen, drawing a groan, but didn’t fully go through.

"Eun-woo!" Rhys caught him in his arms.

"I’m fine..." Eun-woo murmured, his eyes no longer glowing red. "It’s not a deep wound."

Rhys looked up just in time to see Nolan rush over to Rong Ye’s motionless body. He knelt beside him and pressed his palm against the ground.

"We have to do it!" Nolan shouted.

The creature responded immediately to the call. Still dripping golden blood from its wounds, it stood in front of Rong Ye. It extended its hand and placed it firmly on the rocks.

Only then did Rhys notice.

On the ground, a pattern that had until now gone unnoticed was beginning to reveal itself. It wasn’t etched or drawn. It was a symbol formed by the meticulous arrangement of rocks, an arrangement so precise it seemed natural...

The creature’s golden blood reacted immediately. As if drawn by an invisible magnet, it began to flow toward the center of the symbol, feeding into the grooves between the stones. A golden glow coursed through the pattern, and the air vibrated.

And then, a sharp crack, like a lightning strike, shook the cave.

As if a Rift could open at any moment.