The steel spear stabbed into the blue head's body. And the fact that the blue head's ability was water...
"Are you really not going to use your ability?"
"Chhhhhhhhhh!"
The blue head glared at Cale's taunt.
It realized that the leader and the person who would land the final attack was Cale.
Crackle. Crack.
Cale's entire body was surrounded by rose gold thunderbolts once again.
A person next to Cale clasped his hands together.
"I have faith."
It was Joo Ho-Shik.
"I have faith that the Commander-nim's thunderbolt will follow the spear into that monster's body and make that bastard perish!"
His gaze and his faith headed toward Cale.
"I have faith!"
Crackle!
The rose gold light became even stronger.
Cale felt the power of the Fire of Destruction with his entire body as he started to think.
'...I will give it my best.'
His soul already take severe damage from that last combo, however, Cale decided to use as much strength as he could possibly use in the present situation. Hopefully, his fire would burn this bastard enough before the Horn comes out.
'The yellow head too...'
There was one more bastard waiting to be taken down.
Lee Soo Hyuk and the others should be holding that bastard back right now. But things should be a lot harder over there. Which is why, this group needed to quickly meet up with the other squad.
Cale noticed the blue head look somewhere at that moment.
He opened his mouth to speak.
"Above!"
The blue head headed for the ceiling of the subway tunnel by the time he had shouted.
+
"Is it running away!?"
"Shit!"
Bud and Glenn's agitated shout could be heard inside that Mercenary King's office.
+
The others started to run toward the blue head at the same time.
"We were expecting that!"
"Bae Puh Rum, shut up and attack!"
Bae Puh Rum and Kim Min Ah recalled what Cale had said.
'If it keeps being attacked and is placed in a dangerous situation, the monster will try to get out of the tunnel and head above ground.'
The two of them had wondered if that would be bad.
However...
'But it doesn't matter.'
Cale picked up the walkie-talkie and started to speak.
"Please get it ready."
"Yes, sir. I got it."
Jo Min Yeh, the spider web fisherwoman, would be up there even if the blue head managed to make it out.
The spider web she casts was a thicker web than anything in the world.
Even if the blue head managed to make a hole in the ceiling, Jo Min Yeh's spider web would be waiting for it.
That was why Cale had said the following to the others.
'Once the blue head is flustered because of the spider web... I will kill it.'
Crackle.
Cale headed toward the blue monster that was pushing its head into the ceiling.
'It's possible.'
It was possible to hunt them one by one without having anybody die.
Cale had that thought and channeled even more of his Fire of Destruction into his hands.
"I have faith!"
Joo Ho-Shik shouted and the others prepared to attack to support Cale.
+
"Go, Hero-nim!"
"We believe in you!!"
They all had wished to have Joo Ho-Shik's ability at the moment.
+
It was that moment...
'Shit!'
Cale's vision blacked out for a moment as one of the recoil from overusing his power. His nose began too bleed as well in addition of the pain he must endured.
It was just for a second or so.
But as he wasted that precious moment a horn comes put of the blue head's forehead.
He had no choice but evaded the Blue Head's different pattern and stepped back for now.
Piiiiiiiiiiiiii-
There was a sharp noise coming through the walkie-talkie.
'An emergency signal!'
This was the noise for when there was an urgent situation.
Cale turned on the walkie-talkie and heard Lee Soo Hyuk's voice.
"Rok Soo! The Yellow Head is heading over!"
+
"Cale. Please Cale. Run away... It... I-It is okay to run away... please..."
Deruth is begging with tears already streaming down his face.
His words might made him sounded unreliable.
But he's not talking as a Duke right now.
He is talking as a parent.
A concerned father who has deep regret on not taking care of his son properly.
A man who is worrying about his little boy's safety.
+
Bang! Bang!
The now horned blue head slammed its horn into the ceiling.
Craaaaaaack. Craaaaaaack.
The ceiling slowly started to crack.
But it did not matter. Jo Min Yeh's spider web and people to help her should be waiting above.
"the situation had changed."
Cale started to speak once his eyes finally focused back after much effort. He then raised the walkie-talkie towards his mouth.
"Stop attacking"
His order confused many people.
The yellow head was heading over here toward the blue head. And it would be too hard for them to fight it if the two heads fused back.
Lee Soo Hyuk's voice could be heard again.
"What? Rok Soo! If we stop attacking—"
"The foundation would crumble and bury us all. So stop attacking and retreat"
His voice is calm as usual. But on the contrary, Cale is trying to maintain his sanity as his records find it an appropriate time to break into his head since the crack in his soul worsen significantly after that attack at the start.
"Oh, and Soo Hyuk hyung?"
Cale then added, knowing the other's nature.
"You too. Retreat. Do not chase after that yellow head. This is a command from your commander. You did a good job"
"...understood, sir."
Every life is precious right now.
And Kim Rok Soo... well, he just happen to be quite fond of Lee Soo Hyuk.
'If he died here...'
A physical pang on his heart made him stumble as a record of Lee Soo Hyuk's death played in his head.
+
A record had played on a split screen at that moment...
['Kim Rok Soo!'
He could hear Choi Jung Soo's voice. Choi Jung Soo was standing in front of him with his sword raised.
Cale could also see a large monster coming out of the ground, making it seem as if the world was covered in darkness and fire. Numerous other monsters that seemed to be the large monster's subordinates were next to it.
He watched as his work buddies charged toward those monsters.
Fellow team members, his sunbaes, and his friends.
People who he had been working together were all charging toward this deathtrap.
'Kim Rok Soo! Hurry up and contact the government and central HQ! Send an emergency signal to all guilds!'
Cale could hear his team leader, Lee Soo Hyuk's voice.
This is what Cale, Kim Rok Soo, had said at that time.
'...This is difficult. Team leader, this is too difficult.'
Kim Rok Soo who oversaw the strategical planning in the rear support calculated the numerous records in his mind ever since the monsters had appeared in the world and concluded.
'We are all going to die if we try to fight that monster right now.'
This was how Lee Soo Hyuk had responded to him.
'But what else can we do?'
Kim Rok Soo could not forget team leader Lee Soo Hyuk's face as he asked that, as well as Choi Jung Soo's face as he held the sword in his hand again.
He had not been able to respond to Lee Soo Hyuk's question.
The large guild in charge of this area had run away.
Because of that, there were no ability users nearby who could block the monsters that suddenly appeared.
However, there was someone who had anticipated this sudden monster's appearance.
'Kim Rok Soo, it's not your fault.'
The voices of his only friend who had said that to him in a mischievous way hit Kim Rok Soo, Cale, like a tsunami.
'Hey, it would have been really bad if it wasn't for you.'
The Kim Rok Soo at the time had so many records and data that he could use his ability to foresee the appearance of the second strongest monster ever seen in the history of the Earth.
One hour.
It wasn't much time, but it had been enough for them to contact the guild responsible for that area to prepare and evacuate the citizens.
However, while Kim Rok Soo could foresee the location the monster would arrive but not its strength.
That was why his teammates who had already come here knowing that they might die had to face an existence beyond their expectations.
Cale could smell, see, hear, and feel the conversations from that day, the heat and burning smell in the air, as well as the black and red surroundings of that day.
'Kim Rok Soo, wipe your nosebleed. You should get some rest if you have overloaded.'
Kim Rok Soo used his sleeve to wipe his nose. He had continued to pay attention to Lee Soo Hyuk as he did that.
'Ah still, thanks to you and our efforts, most people evacuated on time. Well, although the guild in charge ran away as well. We just need to hold that monster back until reinforcements arrive.'
Cale felt his head getting hotter and hotter as if he was getting a fever.
However, the records in Cale's mind did not stop.
He recalled what team leader Lee Soo Hyuk had said after that.
'This isn't that hard. Actually, no.'
Team leader Lee Soo Hyuk had seemed calm even while looking at that scary monster.
'Hey, have you ever seen our team do easy work? We always have had to do everything in our powers to survive.'
Not even once.
Kim Rok Soo had never fought a battle with an overwhelming advantage ever since joining the company and working under team leader Lee Soo Hyuk.
They really never had it easy.
'This is just the same as usual. That is why we need to do what we need to do. Isn't that right?'
Kim Rok Soo had laughed at that comment back then. It was because Lee Soo Hyuk was right.
'Huh? You're laughing now, you little punk?'
Team leader Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo had left the laughing Kim Rok Soo behind as they joined the other team members to fight.
The strength of the destructive monster.
His teammates fighting against it.
All of them being put in danger.
They started to run toward him.
All of these images mixed together in Cale's mind.
He saw someone down there in the darkness.
He sat down to see everything being destroyed by that large monster.
He could also hear the siren behind him signaling the fact that reinforcements had arrived.
'...You, you-'
And then...
'You-'
Kim Rok Soo was standing there unable to speak properly while Choi Jung Soo was kneeling in front of him with his sword stabbed into the ground.
'What is it, you punk.'
Choi Jung Soo who had no blood left to cough up was jokingly responding as he died.
'I leave it to you.'
He could also see team leader Lee Soo Hyuk close his eyes while leaving the rest to him.
All of them.
All of his teammates had died just like that.
'Mr. Kim Rok Soo! Mr. Rok Soo!'
Once Kim Rok Soo was the only one remaining, he had snapped out of it after someone from the reinforcements team grabbed his shoulder.
'And then, and then I-'
Cale recalled how Kim Rok Soo had acted back then on the battlefield where all of his team members were dying.
He looked once toward team leader Lee Soo Hyuk who had closed his eyes, and then once at Choi Jung Soo who had his head down. After that...
'Here is the status report.'
He looked toward the government officials, guild members, and ability users who had come to fight against this monster and calmly started to speak.
His team leader and his friends had left the rest to him.
'I will explain the fighting patterns of that monster.'
He first explained about the battle. Then he asked the person next to him for something once he stepped back and the reinforcements moved in to fight against the monster because he had no fighting power.
'Please collect their bodies.'
It was because Kim Rok Soo could not move at that time.
He had explained about the monster's abilities with his remaining strength even as his nose continued to bleed. The reinforcements all focused on his explanation, but nobody said anything about wiping his bloody nose.
Kim Rok Soo had felt as if the world was crashing down at that moment.
'...It's too late.'
The reinforcements had been too late.]
No one can utter a word...
If they're not crying by then, then they'd be looking down seething quietly...
They don't know what's going on.
They do not understand why such record is being played to them let alone why their Hero has this memory when he, along with some people they had seen looked much older than the present.
[All will be answered in due time]
That's all Kyou said before continuing with the Present Cale...
+
Boom. Boom.
Cale's heart suddenly ran wild.
The sense of responsibility, anger, and sorrow that had made Kim Rok Soo's heart boil had risen. The things that he had barely managed to suppress deep inside himself were running wild.
However, no one noticed on what's going on with him as at that the same time the ground shakes violently from the blue head's rage.
"...Fuck!"
Bae Puh Rum thought Cale was swearing from the situation.
But in actuality he's trying to snap out of the damn record and focus back to the present.
'Fucking focus!! We're all going to die if you mess up here!! Snap out of it, damn it!!'
Cale clawed his thigh to help his grounding. Thankfully, it did help.
+
No one is blaming him for being distracted with such record forcefully played in his mind.
Although it was indeed not the right time to be blanking out, none of them could blame him since it was pretty much a nightmare for them who only sees it.
Just how bad it is for Cale Henituse who lived through such tragedy?
Suddenly they all understand why he's always willing to jump in front of dangers for their sake.
+
Bang! Bang!
The horn on the blue head started to expand the crack in the ceiling.
Craaaaaaack- Craaaaaak- Craaaak!!
The blue head finally cracked through the ceiling and pushed its horn toward the surface.
Cale could see the light as soon as he said that.
Although the sky was covered in fog, the outside was still brighter than the underground.
"Roooooooooooooooar!"
The blue head roared as it pushed its body toward that light.
It felt as if the blue head was an imugi leaving a dark cave and ascending to the heavens.
'Ascending?'
Cale contacted the walkie-talkie to someone else as soon as he had that thought and started to shout.
"Spider web!"
The blue head seemed to be responding to him as it started to head toward the surface even faster, looking like a blue imugi in the process.
The horn and head were already above ground and the body was quickly coming up as well.
"Chhhhhhhhhh!"
However, the blue head could not stop screeching even though it was above ground.
"Hold onto the spider web!"
Jo Min Yeh shouted and her long white hair that came down to her hips shot out in all directions.
A large white spider web instantly appeared.
"Grab onto it as the squad leader-nim mentioned! Hold on tight!"
"Push your legs into the ground and hold on! We can't be dragged by the monster!"
The white spider web fell on the blue monster.
"Chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The blue monster started to flail.
"Pull!"
"Raise it up! We need to capture it!"
All ability users nearby pulled the spider web from their respective locations with both hands held tightly onto the web.
"Chhhhhhhhhh!"
They could hear the monster's angry shouts.
Cale heard Jo Min Yeh's voice through the walkie-talkie at that moment.
"We won't be able to last long!"
Cale was already moving up.
"I have faith!"
He could hear Joo Ho-Shik's shout.
The people could see something shoot up from underground after the blue monster.
It was a person covered in rose gold thunderbolts.
"...Commander."
+
"Go. Cale-nim... you can do this..."
Clopeh clasped his hands as he put aside his recordings knowing that this image will forever burned in his mind even without those devices.
It is simply impossible to forget these scenes.
+
Foresight.
They had only heard about that ability, but they had never seen his attacking ability before.
They had only heard rumors about how he was strong.
As their young commander shot up into the air...
"Screeeech!"
The blue monster made a noise that was different than before as it pulled its body above ground. It then tried to get out of the spider web.
Riiiiiip-
The spider web started to rip because of the blue head's horn.
"Squad Leader-nim!"
Jo Min Yeh raised her hand toward the people shouting at her.
Her commander had given an order to the walkie-talkie in her other hand.
"Retreat."
Jo Min Yeh shouted with one hand still in the air.
"Retreat!"
Chhhhhhh-
The spider web covering the blue head quickly disappeared. That white spider web came back to the tips of Jo Min Yeh's hair and the others quickly retreated as well.
They then saw it.
"Screeeeeeeeeech!"
They saw that there was a steel spear stabbed into the body of the monster that had just come above ground.
They could also see some grey clouds that were different from the fog start to form above the blue monster.
In addition, they could see their commander being surrounded by wind as he floated high up in the air above the monster and pointed down at it.
Finally, they could see a rose gold thunderbolt that seemed to take away all noise and light from the area shoot down toward the monster, specifically, toward the steel spear.
They saw all these things.
They had seen these things in just a few seconds.
After a few more seconds...
Baaaaaaaaaang!
A loud explosion covered the ground.
"Holy shit! Such strength-!"
"...Eek, move back, move farther back!"
The people escaping the thunderbolt retreated while being unable to take their eyes off this fearsome yet beautiful rose gold light.
"Screeeeeeeeeech!"
The rose gold thunderbolt flowed down the steel spear and into the blue monster's body.
However, there wasn't even a scratch on the beautiful blue scales.
"Grrr, grrrrrrrrr!"
The thunderbolt that had crawled into the injury like a snake and attacked the blue monster's weak insides was destroying it from inside.
The Fire of Destruction. It was living up to its name.
"...Ah."
As someone gasped...
The blue monster's body slowly tilted to the side.
Boom-
It fell on the ground with a loud noise.
It sounded as if a large tree had fallen.
+
Everybody, both in Kim Rok Soo's world and Cale's, was at a loss for words for a moment.
+
One ability user pointed to the sky at that moment.
"Huh?! The Commander-nim!"
Cale's body curled forward as he floated in the air.
The grey cloud was already gone and the wind surrounding Cale was slowly disappearing as well.
"Ugh."
Cale began to cough out blood as he tried to burn the blue-headed monster till there's nothing left.
However...
'I... failed'
And now he's throwing up blood as if it was poison and his body is trying to get rid of it.
+
"No. You did not fail, Cale-nim... you did not..."
Even Choi Han felt like crying at the moment.
At the same time, Alberu, who is sitting down next to him is holding his throbbing head as he forced himself to watch it all as well.
He could not look away.
He felt like he wouldn't ever be able to face Cale again if he did.
+
Cale had quickly covered his mouth with his hand, but it was a vain attempt and everybody had clearly seen the blood.
'Shit... I can't faint right now.'
Cale mumbled as he felt his body slowly descending to the ground as he called off his sound of the wind
The people watching him were thinking that their commander had used too much strength such that he was unable to use his wind power any longer and was coughing up blood as he fell unconscious.
They couldn't help but flinch because a person, who already looked weak to start, was falling down looking like a weak autumn leaf.
It was at that moment.
"Bae Puh Rum! Hurry and support Rok Soo!"
Park Jin Tae called out Bae Puh Rum's name.
Getting beaten up to his senses by Lee Soo Hyuk is one thing. Seeing this and knowing that he couldn't do anything is entirely another case. Therefore, all he could do as the leader of Squad 3 was to yell at someone who is capable.
"Ah, of course!"
Bae Puh Rum snapped out of it after hearing Park Jin Tae's urgent voice.
He then quickly flew up to save the falling Cale.
However, Bae Puh Rum had a thought on his mind as he flew over.
'That was completely different.'
This one was completely different than the thunderbolt that Kim Rok Soo had used in the original shelter.
The thunderbolt he had used just now was so destructive that it felt as if the numerous thunderbolts he had used during the original shelter battle had all gathered into one.
Bae Puh Rum finally realized the difference between a battle where they only had to last for 24 hours and a battle that they needed to finish as quickly as possible.
At the same time...
'He's an amazing person.'
His feelings for Kim Rok Soo had moved past respect and towards admiration.
That was why he raised his speed as he needed to rescue the falling Kim Rok Soo.
"Huh?!"
Bae Puh Rum flinched.
There was something that was quicker than him.
"Tsk. Are you coughing up blood again?"
Something black had burst out from in between the fog-covered buildings.
"This is why I need to keep an eye on you."
The Dark Tiger majestically caught Cale and put him on its back as its black mane fluttered.
Boom!
It then landed in a similarly majestic fashion.
As everybody flinched at this...
Cale lifted his body up as he sat on Albert's back. By then, he has finally stopped coughing.
He then started to shout while his mouth was covered in dark red blood.
"What are you all doing?"
Everybody flinched at Cale's completely emotionless and cold voice.
"Are you all blanking out with the enemy in front of you?!"
'Ah.'
Everyone quickly turned their gaze toward the monster who's barely breathing as the fire died out.
+
"It's still alive?!"
"H-How... no, why the hell is it still alive!?"
"Just fucking die already, you piece of shit!"
Many emotions were thrown all over the place.
+
The monster was still alive.
They had forgotten about checking the status of the enemy because they had been focused on Kim Rok Soo's unbelievable strength and the enemy that had flailed before it fell.
"Chh... chhhhhhhhhhhh-"
The eyes of the heavily breathing blue monster were looking for an opening to escape.
"Fuck."
'Did I really have such a stupid reaction?! How many friends left this world before me while acting the same way?!'
Many frowned as they snapped out of their thoughts as they then started to run toward the monster.
However, It was at that moment.
Boom. Boom. Boom!
The ground started to shake.
They could feel vibrations coming from underground.
It was coming from something underground headed toward them from the north.
It was that bastard.
It was the yellow headed monster.
"Fuck!"
Everybody looked toward that direction as well.
"...Huh?"
Someone subconsciously gasped.
"The ground, the ground is moving up and down?"
The ground was indeed moving up and down.
It was as if something was headed toward them from beneath their feet.
It was as if that something was trying to shoot up into the air from underground.
Cale looked at this and started to shout.
"Everybody move behind me!"
It was at that moment.
Cale turned to speak to Albert.
"Hyung-nim, to the north!"
"I know!"
The Dark Tiger's body headed north to where Cale was pointing.
Baaaaaang!
The yellow headed monster shot up from underground right in front of Cale's eyes.