Moon's Labyrinths

Sungyoon dashed through the roads, which were now a mess. All the cars were trying to get on the road, and the people in the streets were confused about what to do.

A monster had attacked the city and caused a calamity. It was driving the citizens of London into a state of panic.

Sungyoon’s lodging wasn’t too far away from Buckingham Palace, so he was able to arrive at his destination in no time.

Grace was already waiting for him at the front gate.

“Mr. Sungyoon!”

She greeted him with a loud voice.

“Thank you very much for getting here so quickly!”

“You can thank me later. How long will it take for us to get to the scene?”

“Follow me!”

Grace ran as she led Sungyoon into the palace. Soon, they arrived at a large landing pad.

“The helicopter will be here in a moment.”

Sungyoon nodded.

They silently waited for the helicopter.

Sungyoon moved away from the restless Grace and picked up his handphone. He made a call.

He could hear the rings. A long time passed, yet no one answered. He let out a small sigh, and he was about to end the call.

- …dad?

A sleepy voice came through the phone. It seemed Shinhae had been sleeping.

It was to be expected as there was a time difference between Korea and England. Sungyoon called his daughter had called during her sleeping hour.

He could hear someone ask, ‘Is it your dad?’ It seemed Jiyoon was sleeping next to Shinhae.

“… Were you sleeping?”

He was waiting to go into a battle where he would be putting his life on the line. This might be bad luck, but he wanted to hear his daughter’s voice before he went into the fight.

- Yes. Are you working, dad?

Shinhae had been awoken from her sleep, but she didn’t complain. If she could talk to her dad, she didn’t mind what time it was.

“Yes. I’m going to go do something very important soon.”

- I see.

The father and daughter continued their quiet conversation.

Since Shinhae was still very sleepy, her words were slurring together. Sometimes, he heard her yawn. However, the little girl didn’t stop talking. There was no way she would do that.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

The rotor of the helicopter made some noise. The helicopter slowly descended from the air to land nearby. It was time.

“Dad has to go to work now.”

- Yes, dad.

Shinhae said something that gave a big boost to Sungyoon’s courage.

- Do your best.

“… Yes.”

He ended the call and brought down the handphone from his ear.

“… Was it your daughter?”

“Yes.”

Grace studied Sungyoon.

“I’m sorry for asking you this question. But why are you helping us?”

Sungyoon wasn’t British. And from what she had observed, Sungyoon didn’t have a strong sense of justice. In fact, he was indifferent when it came to other people.

However, he had readily volunteered for this mission despite it being very dangerous. It was out of character for him.

“I do have a basic sense of justice, and I can’t turn a blind eye when so many people are dying right now. Above all else, you are my comrade, and you asked for my help.”

Moreover,even if he died here, Shinhae’s future would be guaranteed. It helped sway his decision.

Grace was silent. Sungyoon didn’t say anything special, but the meaning behind his words changed when one considered the current circumstance. He was saying these words as he was heading into a battle. His words left a deep impression on her.

“… As a representative of the people of Britain, I would like to thank you. You will forever be a friend to this country. Even if it's just me, I will do my best to help and support all your endeavors from here on out.”

Grace had said something significant. At the very least, she would do everything in her power to help Sungyoon from now on.

However, Sungyoon didn’t take her words too seriously.

In the first place, he didn’t want anything in return from England or Grace. He just wanted to live a happy life with Shinhae. The backing of a country wasn’t that important to him.

“You don’t have to thank me to that extent. If the battle looks insurmountable, I’ll be running away.”

“If that happens, I’ll make a promise to you right now. I’ll block the monster so that Mr. Sungyoon can run away.”

Grace didn’t hesitate before speaking such words.

The helicopter finally landed. The clothes and hair of Sungyoon and Grace fluttered as the rotor of the helicopter created wind vortices.

The two of them got on the helicopter.

There was no turning back now.

They closed the door, and the helicopter lifted into the air. Sungyoon took a firm hold of his Devices and Gems as he thought about the impending battle.

‘Behemoth. There is no way I can fight it straight on with my current level of power.’

However, it wasn’t as if it was a no-win situation. Grace had asked this of him, and he couldn’t just watch a massive number of people die. However, he wouldn’t have accepted this request if there was no chance of victory.

‘First, there is Ms. Grace’s firepower.’

She had the superior firepower that came with using magic. Spells allowed magic users to damage opponents much higher in level. This held especially true for Grace since she was a Connector optimized to use magic.

‘Moreover, we’ll receive support from the British police and army.’

Their weapons won’t be effective, but they could distract the Behemoth.

Above all else...

‘There is a possibility that it has been weakened.’

In the monster’s guide, it was written that a Behemoth possessed overwhelming strength. Just the force in a single strike with its claws could easily cut down a two-story house. However, the Behemoth he saw on TV wasn’t that powerful from what he had observed.

‘If we overclock our Gems, we have a chance.’

But they couldn’t underestimate their opponent. Connectors also became weaker on earth.

Moreover, they had to finish the fight before their overclocked Gems broke. They had to worry about that stipulation too. Above all else, they had to end this fast as soon as possible since they were fighting in the middle of London.

‘Hit hard and fast.’

This was the only viable strategy.

They could slowly see the scene of the attack.

Acrid black smoke was covering the sky, and a cloud of dust covered the nearby region. Pieces of buildings were scattered everywhere as if a bomb had gone off.

Despite all of this, the monster was visible.

It looked like a god of war who had descended to the surface of the world to rain down destruction. It stood in the middle of the pandemonium as it destroyed everything near it. However, it wasn’t the destruction that grabbed Sungyoon’s attention. It was something else.

“… It is eating people?”

When Sungyoon mumbled those words, Grace checked to see if he was telling the truth.

“… Do monsters usually eat people like that?”

Monsters ate people. They really liked eating the hearts of Connectors, and they even ate the rest of the body. Of course, Grace knew this.

However, the Behemoth was acting like a regular creature that needed food to live.

Monsters prioritized killing over eating food. But this Behemoth was acting differently from the monsters that they had seen up until now.

“I have no idea why it is acting that way. Maybe it is different from the monsters on the Moon, since it suddenly appeared on Earth. Still, it doesn’t change what we have to do.”

Sungyoon activated the Gems on his Device. Soon, he looked like a stylish knight.

“We just have to stop it.”

The helicopter moved towards an open space that was a bit away from where the Behemoth was rampaging.

Boom!

Sungyoon jumped off. The people who had been running away stopped to stare at the situation. Even if they were in a panic, someone had just jumped off a helicopter to land on the ground. Moreover, he was dressed like a knight. They stopped because it was an amazing sight. No, it was an absurd scene.

Grace jumped out after him.

“I’ll be going first.”

“Let’s go together! It’ll be too dangerous by yourself!”

Sungyoon shook his head from side to side.

“We don’t have time. One of us has to get there as soon as possible. I have to go buy some time for us.”

Grace was too slow to keep up with Sungyoon.

She threw something toward Sungyoon. It was an earpiece.

“… Please be careful.”

She grasped her two hands together as she spoke.

Sungyoon nodded. He then briefly took off his helmet to put on the earpiece, and started running after that.

He didn’t need someone to tell him where the Behemoth was located.

He just had to track the fire and smoke. He headed towards where the screams and roars emanated.

Sungyoon was rushing forward like a mad boar, and people quickly got out of his way. They were desperate to run away, yet some crazy guy in armor was barreling through them. Some cussed at him for his rudeness.

However, Sungyoon ignored his surroundings. He focused only on running.

A two-floor house was in his way. He didn’t hesitate and put strength into his legs.

Pah-aht!

His body surged into the air.

Puh-uhk!

In a flash, he had jumped over the house.

Dirt flew into the air when he landed in the backyard on the other side.

When people saw him land, they all stopped. Their mouths fell open from being surprised.

“What the hell was that?”

“I... I have no idea.”

However, no one had an answer.

Sungyoon left behind the confused people, and he ran toward the scene of destruction.

***

The Behemoth was indiscriminately destroying the city. Its sharp claws cut into lines of family houses. It stomped on buses. It killed humans.

“Ooh-ahhhhhhhk!”

“Kyahhhhhhhk!”

People screamed as they ran away. The Behemoth was fast, but it moved in a leisurely fashion. It chased after the humans.

Kwah-jeek!

“Kuh-uhk!”

Its claw pierced through a man who was running away, and then the monster moved the man to its mouth. The man was still twiching, seemingly was still alive. But the Behemoth tossed him into its mouth.

Koo-roohk! Koo-roohk!

The Behemoth let out a cry of satisfaction as it continued its rampage. It was slowly heading toward the center of the city.

Hunt and destruction.

The Behemoth enjoyed both very much.

However, fun had its own place. It was hungry.

This time it swept four screaming humans into its mouth. The humans squirmed in its mouth until they became still. The monster loved that sensation. However, its hunger wasn’t satiated.

Bang! Bang!

Something hit its skin once again. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel good either.

The Behemoth frowned as it looked at the policemen who had fired on it.

The policemen turned pale at the monster's gaze.

When the Behemoth charged toward them, they desperately ran away. However, the Behemoth eventually caught up with them, and its claws ripped them into pieces.

The Behemoth’s charge hadn’t just killed the policemen. A lot of humans in its path were also squashed beneath its feet. The people nearby, who hadn’t been able to run away, were frightened out of their mind as they scattered in all directions.

However, some were unable to run away.

The Behemoth’s charge was so fearsome and frightening that a woman’s leg refused to work. She fell to the ground. The Behemoth had appeared right in front of her.

“Mooooooooom!”

The child in her arms cried as she buried her head into the woman’s bosom. The woman instinctively hugged her child tighter, and she turned her back toward the Behemoth to shield her child.

However, the woman knew. Her body wouldn’t be able to save her child. It was useless as a shield.

Koo-hoo!

The Behemoth noticed her.

The woman tried to push with her feet as she desperately tried to distance herself from the Behemoth. She knew it was futile to resist, but it was the only thing she could do.

Boom! Boom!

Obviously, the Behemoth moved faster than she could drag her body. It then stood in front of her as if to show off its power.

Koo-roohk!

Was it having fun? It let out a sound of unknown meaning. Then it slowly raised its arm.

“Ah, ah ah ah...!”

She let out a soft moan as she waited for her inevitable fate. She hugged her child tighter. It was a useless gesture, but her instinct as a mother told her to do that.

Too-hwahk!

The claws finally fell toward them like a guillotine. She shut her eyes tight.

Boom!

An explosive sound rang out. She was so surprised that she screamed.

However, there was no pain. There was no death. Some small rocks fell on her, but nothing else happened. She slowly started to open her eyes.

As the thick dust cloud subsided, she could slowly start to see the scene in front of her.

The enormous monster was still in front of her.

However, someone else had appeared between her and the monster.

He wore a silver-colored armor with a red cape. His hands held an enormous sword and a sturdy shield. This man, who looked like a knight, was blocking the terrifying claws of the monster.

He turned to look at her.

“Are you okay?”

She swore on her life. At that moment, the man in front of her looked like a gallant knight straight out of a fairy tale.