Chapter 5 : If only he couldn’t talk

Jihan, glaring annoyingly at Sekyeom, turned his gaze back to the monster.

The white smoke exhaled by the monster was growing thicker.

Even from a distance, the heat felt this intense; if people were caught in that smoke, the damage would undoubtedly be severe.

After forcing down his fear and calmly organizing his thoughts, Jihan tightened his grip around Sekyeom’s neck and spoke.

“Let’s lure it somewhere without people first.”

“We have to.

There’s a riverside nearby.

I’ll lure it there.”

Coincidentally, Changsu’s wedding was held at a convention hall in Yeouido.

The after-party was also near the wedding venue, so the Han River was quite close.

Sekyeom, who had surveyed the terrain as soon as they soared into the air, determined the direction and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

Thwack!

The monster, turned bright red as if flushed with heat, cried out as an invisible force struck its forehead, then tilted its head curiously.

Then, it immediately turned towards where Sekyeom was floating, puffing out smoke, huff, huff.

It looked just like a kettle starting to boil.

“Looks like it’s mad because you hit it…”

Jihan’s face turned pale as the smoke grew denser.

He immediately buried his face in Sekyeom’s shoulder.

Glancing at him, Sekyeom continued snapping his fingers, luring the monster towards the Han River.

Each time his fingers snapped, the monster took a hit, bouncing its body like pudding and using the rebound to follow the two.

After a short while.

“Looking at it continuously, it seems to have some cute aspects too.”

Whether trying to reassure him or not, Sekyeom made such a nonsensical comment.

At that moment, Jihan lifted his head from Sekyeom’s shoulder and glared sharply.

“If it’s so cute, why don’t you take it home and raise it!”

“Unfortunately, pets are forbidden where I live.”

“So you would raise it if entry was allowed?”

“Well.

It looks like the food costs would be high.”

Sekyeom, still holding Jihan while luring the monster, shrugged lightly.

His attitude showed not a shred of tension, and Jihan, too, relaxed his stiff shoulders.

“Please, can you take this seriously…”

“I am taking it seriously.

This is just to ease your tension.

Anyway, if it’s a Code Green, I could probably handle it myself before guild support arrives, so why are you so scared?”

Jihan blinked as if he had heard something unexpected.

It was true he was utterly terrified, floating in the air for the first time and encountering a monster.

But he hadn’t realized Sekyeom had noticed and was joking to ease his tension.

Giving a slightly touched look, Jihan cautiously asked with hope.

“Is it really an opponent easy enough for you to handle alone?”

“Yeah.”

“If I can receive proper guiding.”

“…Are you messing with me?”

Jihan’s gaze unconsciously fell on his Esper Watch.

This guy, who didn’t even have a pair guide and was running around with dangerous levels, was spouting nonsense.

“What I mean is, don’t be too anxious.

Though you can’t really relax either.”

“What you just said made me even more anxious, you know?”

“Really? I tried my best, but it’s difficult.”

Sekyeom, while still luring the monster, wore a sullen expression as if there was nothing more he could do.

Jihan stared at him quietly, then let out a long sigh before speaking again.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“…Do you think I could guide you?”

Realistically, guiding was possible.

If a guide decided to, even forced guiding was possible.

The problem was that Sekyeom, who had to receive it, might suffer side effects and collapse, leaving them helpless.

“Let’s keep guiding as a last resort for now.”

Sekyeom, lost in thought for a moment, decided to postpone the guiding.

Jihan hadn’t expected much either, so he nodded in agreement.

As they talked briefly, the scent of water reached their noses.

They had arrived near the Han River bank.

A rough voice with a deep resonance made ‘bbo bbo’ sounds like it was trying to be cute.

The monster, emitting white smoke from its entire red body, quickly leaped up and followed, seemingly targeting Sekyeom.

Each time, the ground vibrated finely, and the asphalt pavement cracked as if an earthquake had occurred.

“What do we do now?”

Watching the monster that had been lured all too well, Jihan swallowed dryly and asked Sekyeom.

Sekyeom, frowning in thought, extended his palm towards the monster and slowly curled his fingers.

[Bboo?]

At that moment, the monster stopped its bouncy movement and halted in place.

Its round body, which looked soft and pliable, began to slowly crumple.

As Sekyeom applied pressure using his telekinesis, the creature tilted its head as if finding it strange.

Meanwhile, its round body started resembling a crushed can.

The increasingly crushed monster began to thrash about, trying to escape the pressure.

Its red body squirmed as it gradually inflated itself.

The parts unaffected by Sekyeom’s power swelled larger and larger, distorting its once-round shape into something bizarre.

Watching this, Jihan winced, wondering if it would just pop.

“…I can’t do any more.

Using more power would put me at risk.”

Jihan, who had been squinting as if watching a balloon about to burst right before his eyes, turned his head at Sekyeom’s words.

Sekyeom, frowning as if something wasn’t going as planned, clicked his tongue and hastily withdrew his hand.

Instantly, the monster’s body popped back to its original shape.

Happy to be back to normal, its bright red body bounced like a bouncy ball.

Its eyes, small relative to its massive body, curved as if smiling.

However, its voice was still that of a rough middle-aged man, creating a stark contrast.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jihan, looking disgusted at the joyful monster, asked Sekyeom.

Sekyeom, replying he was fine despite looking anything but, observed the monster with serious eyes.

Noticing the sweat beads forming on his forehead in that short moment, Jihan discreetly checked his watch.

ECI level 56%.

What had he even done to raise it by 5% already?

Sighing inwardly, Jihan tapped Sekyeom’s shoulder.

“Put me down first.”

“It’s more dangerous down there.

I’ll definitely not drop you, so don’t worry and hold on tight.”

“It’s not because I’m worried you’ll drop me, but because I’m worried you’re unnecessarily straining yourself.

You’re lifting the weight of two people, aren’t you?

So just put me down for now.”

“It’ll be faster for you to take care of that thing alone than fighting with me attached.

Right?”

Sekyeom, showing a brief sign of hesitation, seemed to find the argument reasonable and slowly descended to the ground.

The monster, bouncing menacingly, looked ready to charge at any moment.

Landing as far as possible from the creature, Sekyeom let out a worried sigh.

Feeling the stable sensation of his feet on the ground, Jihan tapped the floor a few times and then pushed Sekyeom’s shoulder, signaling him

not to worry about him.

However, Sekyeom hesitated to move away.

“I think it would be better if we moved together…”

“Stop talking nonsense and figure out what kind of attack works on that thing.”

Jihan pointed at the monster with his chin, arms crossed.

The creature, having turned to follow Sekyeom, was bouncing towards them.

Seeing the monster approaching where Jihan stood, Sekyeom quickly dashed forward and lifted himself into the air.

He deliberately changed direction in front of the monster, checking if it was following him properly.

However, the monster was still heading only towards Jihan.

Sekyeom urgently snapped his fingers.

Simultaneously, with a sound like kicking a water ball (thwack), the monster’s red body dented inwards.

Crying out as if in pain, the monster stopped and glared up at Sekyeom.

Its round eyes seemed slightly angled, looking angry.

[Bboooooooo!]

“Whoa, it looks really mad now?”

At the same time, the smoke emitting from the monster’s body began to thicken even more.

Puffing white smoke like a steam locomotive, the monster kept its body oriented towards Jihan while twisting only its head towards Sekyeom.

Then, the monster’s body split into two parts along the twisted boundary, like a pretzel.

“Somehow, this feels really ominous…”

Watching the smoke creep along the ground towards him, Jihan uncrossed his arms and slowly backed away, glancing towards Sekyeom.

At that moment, the monster’s body separated into two masses at the twisted point.

“Crazy! I knew this would happen!”

“Jihan!”

Ignoring Sekyeom’s shout, Jihan turned and started running.

Sekyeom, who had been drawing the monster’s attention, also noticed the strange development and flew towards Jihan.

“Jihan, this way!”

“Ah, f***! Which way is ‘this way’?!”

The top and bottom parts of the divided monster separated.

However, they weren’t completely detached; like a slime splitting in two, the middle part remained thinly connected as the upper and lower

halves began moving independently.