Moon's Labyrinths

The three of them blinked, then chuckled. Sungyoon put down his sword and shield and flopped to the ground.

“Uh, Mr. Sungyoon? Grenoid should be awakening soon.”

Tim sounded surprised, but Sungyoon remained nonchalant.

“Why does that matter? It's not like he's right in front of us. We’ll keep our guard up, but even if we miss his revival, others will alert us. A lot of people are monitoring the situation.”

Many Connectors had been stationed at various locations. Some locations even had cameras, and on top of that, the satellite in the orbit around moon continued to monitor where they were.

After looking at each other, the three of them followed Sungyoon in sitting down, albeit with some hesitation. However, none of them spoke; they kept looking around.

“I plan on going on a trip with my family.”

Sungyoon was the first one to speak. His comrades were still on edge, but they started to focus more and more on Sungyoon’s story.

“Since it has been very eventful these days, I haven’t done many activities with my family. I can't recall the last time I went out to play with Shinhae.”

This topic was of great concern to Sungyoon.

“If I think about it, I never went on a proper trip with my wife after my remarriage. This time, I’m going to go all out on a trip. Moreover, Shinhae will soon be entering elementary school, so it’ll double as a celebration for that event.”

Sungyoon imagined an excited Shinhae going to elementary school with the backpack he had bought for her. A smile made its way to his lips without him realizing it.

“You really love Shinhae, Mr. Sungyoon.”

As always, Sungyoon's love for his daughter was apparent to everyone. Grace let out a bitter laugh.

“You're right. I’m thinking about staying with my family. It has been a while since I spent an extended amount of time with them.”

Grace was wise. She realized what Sungyoon was trying to do, so she spoke up after him.

“I’m a bad daughter who always makes my parents worry. At the very least, I should spend several days with them. Also, my grandmother really wants to spoil me when I get back.”

“Won’t you have to participate in a lot of parties, Ms. Grace?”

Grace crinkled her face a bit.

“I usually turn down most of the invitations, but I’ll have to accept several when all of this is finished.”

Suddenly, as if Grace had a great idea, she laughed and looked toward Sungyoon.

“How about it, Mr. Sungyoon? Would you like to go to a party as my partner? Everyone will love that.”

Her counter-question took Sungyoon by surprise, and he could only blink.

“I don’t think it's a place for someone like me.”

It would be a party in a foreign land, and Sungyoon couldn’t escape the mentality of being a normal Korean man. Moreover, Grace would be participating in the parties conducted by London’s high society. Even if he had Grace’s invitation, Sungyoon would feel a bit uncomfortable going to such parties.

“Right now, no one on Earth would think that you're unqualified to attend such parties, Mr. Sungyoon. In fact, they’ll probably trip over each other to invite you.”

Even after she said that, Sungyoon showed reluctance to the idea of going to such parties. Therefore, Grace used the magic word.

“You will meet a lot of people at these parties and can broaden your horizon. You can start establishing connections. Also, wouldn’t it be a great experience for Shinhae?”

“… I’ll ask Shinhae if she wants to go.”

As always, the magic word worked. Grace let out a satisfied laugh.

Before Sungyoon could change his mind, Grace quickly turned to Tim and Emily.

“I’ll also invite the two of you. You should definitely come with Mr. Sungyoon. Now that it's out of the way, what will the two of you like to do after all this?”

The first one to answer was Tim.

“Get married.”

“Now that I think about it, you're dating several women.”

“Yes. They are good people. However, I’ll postpone the marriages until a much later date. When everything ends, I would like to rest. I want to eat and sleep.”

Everyone agreed with Tim’s sentiment. In truth, Sungyoon’s party had been working excessively in recent days. It wasn't as if Grenoid and the monsters would pull back because the Connectors were getting worn down. Even if they discounted the physical hardship that they went through, the Connectors were under a lot of stress.

“I see. I probably won’t leave home for a while when this ends.”

“Me too.”

Sungyoon and Grace spoke up.

When Tim’s turn came to an end, everyone naturally turned to look at Emily. She took a moment to think before speaking.

“I have nothing in mind right now. If I do have a wish, I would like to spend such times with all of you.”

A small twinkle appeared in her eyes.

“Even after all of this is over, I hope we can continue to spend time together like this. I hope we can continue hunting monsters as a party, and laugh and cry as always. I want to go on trips with all of you.”

“You want a peaceful daily routine again. Yes. I would be happy with that.”

It would be boring everyday life stuff for them, but it would be a return to the happiest parts of their lives. As someone who had lived a roller coaster of a life, Emily’s words touched Sungyoon’s heart more than ever.

Just like that, the party started several more conversations. At times, they even laughed. Thankfully, everything occurred as Sungyoon had intended.

“It seems we're less nervous now.”

“Yes. When I look back on it, we were too stiff. How could we have properly fought in such a state?”

Tim made exaggerated movements to show that he was feeling better.

“Since we're fighting the mother of all battles, it can’t be helped. Still, I'm thankful that we've loosened up. After all, the promised time is approaching soon.”

Sungyoon looked down and focused on the flat surface at the center of the crater. The nearby magical energy had started to buzz. It sounded like the chant of slaves praising the descent of their owner. At the same time, it sounded like prey nervously crying when their natural enemy was about to show up.

“Is he coming?”

Grace gripped her staff as she stood up. Tim and Emily also stood up.

Sungyoon observed their faces.

‘Thankfully, they aren’t behaving like before.’

The three were nervous even now, but unlike before, they weren’t paralyzed due to the nervousness. The nervousness was just appropriate to help them in the imminent battle. Sungyoon no longer needed to work hard to calm them down.

‘Let’s focus on the battle now.’

Sungyoon picked up his sword and shield once again, then looked at the crater below with his sharp eyes. Magical energy had started to move in a raucous manner. Each movement amplified the magical energy, and in a flash, the quantity of magical energy rose by several times.

It was an oppressive feeling where a massive amount of energy moved all at once. Connectors who could feel the magical energy raised their guards to the extreme. The magical energy gathered inside the crater. That crater was the location where, according to Hyunwoo, Grenoid would revive.

At first, the magical energy rushed here and there without any order. However, it soon moved in concert with other waves of energy and diverged. The energy waves clashed against each other then separated.

The only consistent part was that magical energy was swirling in a clockwise manner. It was like an enormous tornado, not visible to the eyes, had formed in front of them.

“It's starting, Mayor.”

- Yes. I already received the report.

“How are the cameras and the communication devices?”

- The communication devices haven’t gone down, and all the cameras are streaming the footage with no problem.

The circulation of magical energy hadn’t bricked the electrical machines. However, the future was uncertain.

- I have no idea whether they’ll function in the future or not. All electronics brick inside the labyrinths. Please keep in mind that this transmission might cut out at any moment.

“Understood.”

Just as Sungyoon ended his call with the Mayor—

Kwah-jeeek!

An odd sound of something splitting open rang out. It sounded like the scream of a soul that had been caught in limbo. No, it was unclear as to whether it was sound or not.

“Mr. Sungyoon.”

“I’m seeing it.”

As he answered Grace, Sungyoon kept staring at a certain location. At that place, the tornado of magical energy was the fiercest. It made its presence known. The center of the tornado was devoid of magical energy. It was the eye of the tornado where magical energy danced around in a dizzying fashion.

A crack appeared.

“Is that… Is he tearing the fabric of space?”

Tim’s eyes narrowed. However, he didn't do this because his vision had been obstructed. He had narrowed his eyes because he was having a hard time believing the sight.

A crack had appeared in the air. No one knew how this could be possible, but they clearly saw the tear in the fabric of space.

Sssk!

It was like watching the door to hell open as something suddenly appeared from within the crack. A hand came out. The hand was enormous, and its fingers were very long. It had smooth white skin, and that skin was filled with black letters.

Tuhp!

The hand grabbed the edge of the crack. Soon, another hand appeared and grabbed the other side.

Zzuh-zuh-zuh-zuhk!

In a flash, the crack expanded. The hands were forcefully ripping open the tear in space. The tear kept expanding until it became as large as a building, then an enormous foot appeared from the dark space.

Koo-ooh-ooh-oong!

After exiting the crack, the foot landed on the Moon's surface. A large cloud of dust rose into the air. The foot was like the hands. It had white skin, but the skin was covered with dark letters that looked like tattoos.

Ooh-doo-doohk!

Finally, its face came out. The face was pretty plain and uninspiring. He had a sharp chin and no mouth. His red eyes were so large that they covered one-third of his face. However, his large eyes weren’t disgusting at all. They looked like glass beads, and some might consider them beautiful. On either side of his head were horns that looked like tree branches.

Tuh-uhk!

He placed his left hand on the ground. His arms were so long that he just had to stoop a little for his palms to touch the ground. With a squirm, he pulled his entire body out.

Ssssssssk!

When the being had fully come out of it, the tear in the fabric of space started to close. It was as if it knew its job was done. The crack quickly disappeared, leaving behind no traces in the air.

Soon, the Moon regained its normal scenery. The only thing out of place was a large, white giant standing on its surface.

“… Is that Grenoid? He looks a bit different from what I imagined.”

Tim mumbled to himself.

Everyone had imagined Grenoid to be an ugly monster. Such thoughts were expected since most of the monsters looked ugly. As the leader of the monsters, Grenoid should've looked even uglier. However, the giant in front of them looked only a little bit odd. In fact, he looked mysterious rather than monstrous.

Ssssk!

Grenoid straightened himself. Its shape was similar to a human's. His long arms, which reached his ankles, swayed a bit as he looked at his surroundings. Right now, he looked like a child searching for his mother in an unfamiliar place.

“Isn’t he acting a bit too calm for the leader of the monsters?”

Emily asked in a surprised voice.

Sungyoon tapped his communication device.

“Can you hear me, Mayor? The being that we assume to be Grenoid has appeared.”

- Yes. We've confirmed its presence.

Thankfully, their communication devices were fully functional.

- Are you sure that is Grenoid, Mr. Sungyoon?

It seemed none in the command center could make that call.

“It has to be, right? That white being is the only thing that appeared. If Mr. Hyunwoo was right, that should be Grenoid. What should we do, Mayor? Should we do as planned and attack it?”

As soon as Sungyoon asked if the plan was a go, Grenoid started moving.