Inside the dimly lit room, the four men stared at the young man covered in blood.
Lyden smiled at Park Rim, and then the rest of them.
"I have been looking for you, Yang Seung-Joo." He ignored the other three like they were nothing but mannequins.
However, Yang Seung-Joo reacted like a threatened animal that wants to bare its fangs.
"What are you guys doing?! Attack him!" Yang Seung-Joo commanded.
Yang Seung-Joo should have people secretly watching the den, but no one alerted him. Although he did not have many hunters on his side, his people were not weak.
Responding to their boss, the two muscular men quickly activated their aretisite.
"Aauuuuuuhhhhhhh!"
The one with the blonde hair yelled out, and when he did, a massive gust of wind came out of his mouth.
Lyden was off caught and was blown several meters along with bits and pieces of the den.
He skidded across the hard ground like a puck on ice.
On the tongue of the blonde-haired man, there was an aretisite. The aretisite looked like a small pink octopus with a large trunk like an elephant.
His 2-star aretisite was a close-range attacking type, Octogust.
He blew at Lyden with the power of the wind.
However, the wind he summoned disappeared after traveling a few meters. It was like a car braking hard.
"He has excellent reflexes. He stepped away at the last second. Because of that, my attacked has lessened. But, nonetheless, that should break many of his bones." The blonde-hair man said to the black-hair man next to him.
The black-haired man was not worry that his friend was not able to finish him then and there. His aretisite was a buffer type that granted him abnormal strength to his limbs.
"Muscle's Muscle," He said as he activated his aretisite.
He felt a rush of power flowing down his thighs to toes.
His legs became jacked like that of a powerlifter. Veins were bulging everywhere.
"I will end his life quickly. He should be unconscious after that." The black-haired man grasped the machete next to him and with great control of his legs' muscle, he leaped towards Lyden. He was careful not to jump too high, or else he would break his bones.
It was not possible to reinforce his bones or tendon his aretisite. Instead, he does grueling training to bear the pressure of it.
After three leaps, he made it where Lyden was laying down flat on his face.
Just as he was about to take Lyden's head with his machete, Lyden stabbed it with his nails into the oncoming machete with great force.
The black-haired man could not hold onto the machete, and it was sent flying out of his hand.
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"What? How?!" He could see the machete have holes on it as if it shot by a gun at point-blank.
"Does he have an aretisite that strengthen his fingers and nail?" The black-haired pondered anxiously.
'This guy must have multiple aretisites within him. Hard nails, greater strength, and tough defense?! Is this possible?'
When he was close enough to attack him, he could not see any blood coming out from his friend's attack.
Sensing great danger, he leaped into the air.
Lyden already got up and saw the black-hair man trying to retreat to his allies.
He leaped into the air with higher speed than his opponent.
'I should carefully try to hold back my strength this time.' Lyden did not hold back his strength because he felt merciful. Instead, he held back was because he wanted to train himself to control his power.
'Let's try with one finger,' Lyden decided.
As the two glided in the air with haste. Lyden was already closed in on his opponent like a homing missile.
'He is fast!' The black-hair man quickly reacted and activated his aretisite once more. He felt his legs were losing strength, and then his arms increase in mass. He was preparing to block Lyden's attack, instead of attacking him, with pure muscle.
With a flick on Lyden's index finger, the black-hair man flew backward towards a warehouse next to the Hung Dong-Gali's den.
With dust and rocks flying everywhere, the black-hair man crashed against the steel wall of the warehouse.
He unconsciously transferred his power from his arms to his back muscles, thus, reducing the damage he had taken when he crashed into the wall.
'What a monster?! He is more terrifying than those things that came out of the tower!' The man thought while in pain. He was barely conscious as blood was seeping out everywhere from his body like a broken fountain.
He willed his aretisite, and his muscles from all over his body increase evenly in size. Although his muscles were not as big as before, he was still strong from head to toes.
He pulled himself up to see the white man looking at him through the dust in the air.
"You can still stand?" Lyden thought that a flick was still too strong, but he now thought differently.
"What is your...name?" The black-haired man spoke with great pain.
He wanted to know who was the monster in human skin.
"Lyden..."
"Are you human and... not a monster?"
Lyden did not answer him. He always thought of himself as a human even with his new body.
It was because someday he knew that he had to choose to become a real monster or die like a human.
'So in the eyes of others, I am a monster even though I look human.' Lyden sighed, but when he does that, the blonde-hair already sneaked up next to Lyden.
"Aauuuuuuhhhhhhh!" A scream echoed throughout the night sky, and the dust was blown away along with Lyden.
The blonde-hair man quickly ran up to his friend and picked him up.
"Let's get back to the boss. We cannot take care of this alone. He reacted to it once again and jumped before he took the full force of it. The first time was indeed, no fluke."
The injured man agreed, and with the blonde-hair man carrying him, they returned to the boss and Park Rim.
"Yang Seung-Joo, you have to help us. We will die at this rate."
"Your aretisites, give me your aretisites, and I will kill him. I will return it to you guys once I'm done killing the intruder." Yang Seung-Joo said to the two.
Yang Seung-Joo was not confident anymore now that he saw Lyden's strength.
The other two nodded and released their aretisite so Yang Seung-Joo can assimilate with it. The two felt the connection between their aretisite broke when they did.
Yang Seung-Joo gave back the Drill Worm aretisite to Park Rim. Park Rim did not cut the tie yet because Lyden came in out of nowhere.
"Take this back, and buy me time. I need fifteen seconds for each one. So I need a total of 30 seconds, do you understand?!" Yang Seung-Joo said to Park Rim.
Park Rim stood there like a statue.
'There is no way I can do it. Those two were 2-star hunters, and I am only a 1-star hunter.' He felt a burden that was impossible to overcome when Yang Seung-Joo said that. He was shivering in fear.
"Man up, already!? Didn't you say your brother was fighting him!? He has most likely died! Don't you want revenge for him!? So hurry the fuck up and go out there!" Yang Seung-Joo yelled at him.
Park Rim took a breather before he steeled himself.
Although Park Rim did not like Yang Seung-Joo, he was right. He did not have anybody to protect him anymore. His brother died protecting him, but he felt a great sense of guilt.
He thought they if they fought together then Park Yoo-Jae would still be alive.
'He is right. I will avenge my brother.' He promised himself that he would not let others bring him down. That he would become a brother that Park Yoo-Jae would be proud to have.
His Drill Worm returned inside his body, and he carefully walked towards the direction where Lyden was blown away by the blonde-haired man.