Chapter 189
Chapter 189
The pool of magical energy was manifesting all across the country, and monsters could appear from any of these locations . So the government had put the Connectors on standby in multiple locations all around the country . This plan would allow them to quickly deploy the Connectors to troublesome spots .
The government did their best to listen to the wishes of the Connectors, but the compet.i.tion to be stationed at popular locations were too fierce . In the end, they had to use a lottery system . Sungyoon had been stationed near his house . He was put on standby close to Seoul as a sign of respect from the Korean government .
Usually, four Connectors were a.s.signed to a single standby location . Two Connectors manned the day s.h.i.+ft, and the other two manned the night s.h.i.+ft .
If a monster appeared, the nearest two Connectors had to go out and kill it .
Sungyoon’s s.h.i.+ft was thirty minutes away from ending, yet the monster had appeared now .
He kept cursing as he gathered his Devices and Gems . Then he ran straight up to the roof .
The helicopter was still .
It seemed the pilot wasn"t here . Sungyoon waited next to the helicopter .
It didn’t take long for the pilot to arrive on the roof . However, someone had arrived alongside the pilot .
“What are you doing here, Mr . Jinsoo?”
“I want to go with you . ”
Jinsoo shook his Device .
“It isn’t Mr . Jinsoo’s s.h.i.+ft right now . ”
“It"s only a thirty-minute difference . I spoke with the Connector who is on the night s.h.i.+ft with you . He said I can take his place . ”
Jinsoo was putting himself in harm"s way to attack the monster . It was his choice, so Sungyoon had nothing more to say .
Soon, the two of them entered the helicopter and flew toward the place where the monster had appeared .
***
They arrived at a location near a little town nestled near the foot of a mountain in Gyeonggi Province . The helicopter slowly decelerated and hovered in midair .
“Great . At least, we won’t have to search for this monster . ”
Jinsoo spoke while looking down .
He could see a dense forest at the foot of the mountain . The forest was so dense that one couldn’t see the ground from above . Yet, Jinsoo easily spotted a monster within these dense trees . Its head was protruding above the trees .
Since only Sungyoon and Jinsoo had come here to fight the monster, the ma.s.sive body of the monster wasn’t a good sign . However, it also allowed them to get an accurate location of the monster .
Boom! Boom!
“It"s a Giant . ”
Jinsoo told Sungyoon .
“Let’s do this!”
He then let out an energetic shout as he imbued his Gems with magical energy . Soon, his body became covered in armor .
“I’ll be going first!”
Jinsoo jumped out even though the ground was still very far away .
All the Connectors who were put on standby were skilled . Heights of this magnitude weren’t an obstacle to them .
‘He is full of energy . Is it because he is young?’
Sungyoon couldn"t see an open spot where the helicopter could land, so he signaled the pilot and also jumped off the helicopter .
Boom!
A normal person would suffer life-threatening injuries if they fell from that height, and that was the case if they were lucky . However, Sungyoon’s armor absorbed all the shock . His gaze immediately moved forward .
Ggoo-uhhhhhhhhh!
The Giant made two big swings with its fists .
Kwah-jeek! Kwah-jee-jeek!
The tall trees broke like straws . However, Jinsoo’s movements were smooth as he pushed past the chaos and swung his spear .
Suh-guhk!
The spear blade made a deep wound in the Giant’s wrist, and blood gushed out .
Ggoo-ahhhhhhh!
“This is easy! You should just stay back and watch, Mr . Sungyoon! I’ll kill it by myself . ”
Jinsoo shouted as he gripped his spear with his hands . He stabbed the Giant’s side and left a big wound .
‘Will he be ok?’
Sungyoon had been about to enter the battle from the rear, but he stopped when Jinsoo shouted those words at him .
Sungyoon hesitated . He wondered if it was really ok to just stay back and watch . However, Jinsoo was starting to corner the Giant, so Sungyoon decided to take the back seat .
‘Look! Am I not amazing!’
Jinsoo turned backward to glance at Sungyoon .
Sungyoon"s appearance, his stylish silver armor, and his red cape, they all were exactly the same as what Jinsoo had seen on the TV . Sungyoon had even received the nickname of ‘Silver Knight’ in England and Korea . People went nuts for an image of him, and rumors had it that his figurines were also going to hit the markets soon .
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Woo Sungyoon was the greatest star that had turned out amongst the Connectors .
‘Who cares about that? He just barely entered the Great Labyrinth!’
Sungyoon was on the same level as Jinsoo . However, Jinsoo had traveled far deeper into the Great Labyrinth than Sungyoon . A part of Jinsoo knew that his progress in the Great Labyrinth had been possible only due to the support given by Fabion . However, that didn’t matter . At the end of the day, he was ahead of Sungyoon .
‘I’m amazing too!’
There was no way he was inferior to Woo Sungyoon . The proof was in the pudding . He was beating back the Giant .
‘Look! Look at me! I’m pus.h.i.+ng it so hard that the Giant can’t even put up a fight! I can be as good as ‘The Connector’! There is no way I’ll be shoved to the side by ‘The Connector’!’
Poo-oohk!
The spear pierced through the monster"s thigh .
Jinsoo saw the Giant go mad with pain . He let out a b.l.o.o.d.y smile as he tried to extract his spear .
‘What the h.e.l.l!’
He found that the Giant’s muscle had great elasticity, and it flexed to keep the spear in place . Jinsoo placed his feet on the Giant’s thigh as he pulled with all his might .
Slip!
‘Blood!’
Jinsoo hadn’t noticed it, but the Giant’s blood was coating the shaft of the spear . It was the price for not keeping all of his attention on the monster and just gazing at Sungyoon even in the middle of the fight .
Hoo-oong!
“Koohk!”
The Giant’s ma.s.sive fist flew toward him . Left with no other choice, Jinsoo unsummoned his spear and jumped off from the Giant’s thigh .
‘Hurry! Hurry up!’
He imbued his magical energy into the Gem to summon his spear once again . However, he needed time to activate his Gem . The only problem was the fact that the Giant wouldn’t stand still and wait for him .
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Giant’s fists kept attacking Jinsoo . He could barely dodge the fists, but a chill ran down his spine when he saw the craters the Giant’s fists left on the ground .
‘s.h.i.+t! I have to do something!’
Kwahng!
At that moment, a s.h.i.+eld blocked the fist that was about to hit Jinsoo .
The angel-like wings slowly receded to form the red cape once again .
“I’ll take over from here . ”
Sungyoon didn’t even glance at Jinsoo . He immediately stabbed his sword into the Giant’s hand .
Kyahhhhhhhhhk!
The monster screamed in pain and desperately retracted its hand . Sungyoon felt his sword being dragged away, so he let go of the hilt .
The sword’s electrical attack would continue to attack the Giant even if Sungyoon wasn"t touching the weapon . The Giant"s muscles convulsed in the area surrounding the weapon, and its arm started to move in an erratic manner .
‘It isn’t that tough . ’
The monster kept trying to pull out the sword that was attacking it with electricity . If it were a tough monster, it would have ignored the pain and tried to squash Sungyoon . In some ways, the Giant"s actions were very cute .
Sungyoon summoned his halberd and activated his earth magic .
Puh-uhk! Puh-uhk!
Stalagmites shot up from the ground . Of course, the number of stalagmites that appeared was lower, and their height and destructive capability were lessened compared to that on the Moon . Obviously, it couldn’t damage the Giant . However, the stalagmites were useful as stepping stones . They allowed Sungyoon to jump atop the monster"s head . Sungyoon could also use the trees around him, but he didn’t use them as he didn"t know how st.u.r.dy they were .
The Giant was still trying to desperately pull out the sword . Sungyoon had already landed on its head, and he took a firm grip of his halberd .
Puh-uh-uhk!
He brought it down straight into its skull . Before the monster could even react, Sungyoon summoned his hammer and hit the handle of the halberd with all his strength .
Kwah-jee-jeek!
The halberd pierced deep into the Giant"s head, and the monster stopped moving in an instant .
Boom!
It slumped over the stalagmites summoned by Sungyoon, and Sungyoon jumped down from its head .
‘The fight against the Behemoth allowed me to gain experience of fighting against large monsters . It was a big help in this fight . ’
In the past, Sungyoon would have had a much harder time defeating this monster . However, his experience and the fact that the halberd was a Jewel rank weapon now had immensely helped him this time .
His halberd didn’t have any special ability like the lightning attack of the sword . It was just as sharp and st.u.r.dy as a Gem one rank above it, and in these aspects, it outs.h.i.+ned those weapons with abilities that were at the same rank . The same applied to the hammer too .
Ssssk!
When the stalagmites disappeared, the Giant’s body fell to the ground . The fall crushed several trees, and the Giant’s enormous body created an open s.p.a.ce in the dense forest .
“Amazing!”
Jinsoo approached Sungyoon . His eyes kept alternating between the Giant and his fellow Connector .
“As expected of the Knight praised by the world!”
“You praise me too much . ”
Sungyoon downplayed his achievement as he picked up the communication device and reported the situation .
Jinsoo had a bright smile on his face as he watched it all . However, his eyes, they were burning with an ugly light .
***
After he ended his two-month mandatory duty, Sungyoon had to go back to the Moon . As always, it was sad to say goodbye to s.h.i.+nhae . As he left for the Moon, s.h.i.+nhae and Jimin watched the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p from the ground .
“Let’s head back . Ok?”
It seemed s.h.i.+nhae was somewhat used to this now . She no longer cried . In fact, she was quite mature in how she acted as she said goodbye to Sungyoon .
However, the sadness felt by the child remained . She nodded at Jimin"s words with red eyes . When Jimin saw this, she lovingly embraced the little girl .
Jimin returned to Seoul with s.h.i.+nhae in her car . Her company was still busy with an increased workload, but it was getting its feet under itself . It was a bit more stable now .
That was why she had decided to spend the whole day with s.h.i.+nhae . But as they were about to enter Sungyoon’s house, they saw someone .
“… Why are you here?”
Jimin’s eyes turned sharp, and she asked in a cold and low voice . Jimin was already a charismatic and cold person, and this action made her appear more threatening .
However, her opponent wasn’t a pushover .
“You are the president of Jungb.u.m? Hahn Jimin? You know about me . That will speed up the conversation . I’m her mother, and I’m here to see my daughter . There is nothing out of the ordinary about this . ”
Miyun laughed as she looked at s.h.i.+nhae .
“It’s been a while, s.h.i.+nhae . ”
s.h.i.+nhae quickly hid behind Jimin when she saw Miyun . s.h.i.+nhae"s actions didn"t resemble that of a six-year-old child who missed the touch of her mother .
“I said why are you here?”
“Why do you think I’m here? I’m here to see my daughter . I don’t see anything wrong with me doing that . Do you?”
“You aren’t my mom!”
s.h.i.+nhae yelled out loud . The little girl trembled as she continued speaking .
“You aren’t my mom…”
“If I’m not your mother, who am I, s.h.i.+nhae?”
Miyun spoke to s.h.i.+nhae in a kind voice . However, Jimin didn’t miss that split second when Miyun’s eyes turned sharp .
This woman was being nice to s.h.i.+nhae, but she was like the devil trying to lure its victim .
No, she was the devil .
“She said you aren’t her mother . ”
Jimin tried to get on Miyun’s nerves, but Miyun remained calm and brazen-faced .
Jimin knew that even her own mother couldn"t compare to Miyun in shamelessness .
“You abandoned your child, but now you want to take her?”
“Oh my! Did my ex-husband tell you that? Do you really believe his words?”
Miyun put on an aggrieved expression . She spoke as if Sungyoon had spoken badly about her without any basis .
“I can’t believe you believed his words . I thought you looked smart, but it seems you are lacking experience since you are still young . You should try hearing both sides of the story before making such a proclamation . ”
“I can tell who is right and who is wrong by looking at s.h.i.+nhae’s behavior . ”
“Children are immature . They easily trust the words spoken by adults . I can guess what kind of nonsense my ex-husband told this child about me . It is obvious . As expected, I should"ve taken custody of the child… Whenever he goes to the Moon, the child is alone here . It seems he doesn’t even care about that . Jeez . ”
Miyun really was shameless .
Jimin already knew this, but her opinion about Miyun solidified .
This woman was her enemy .
‘I was planning on letting her off easy, but… . ’
Jimin didn’t care about Sungyoon’s past . She only wished to make a happy future for s.h.i.+nhae . She respected Sungyoon’s opinions when it came to his past, but it was a completely different story if the past came back to bite them . It was a problem if it was trying to prevent future happiness for both of them .
‘Alright . I don’t like you, and you"re giving me a reason to act . ’
Miyun had the perfect family in Sungyoon and s.h.i.+nhae, yet she had thrown away everything for her desire and selfishness .
Jimin had already received permission from Sungyoon . She could use any tool in her a.r.s.enal, by fair means or foul . Once Miyun targeted s.h.i.+nhae, Miyun had automatically become Jimin’s enemy . She no longer needed to hold back . A quiet murderous intent smoldered within Jimin .