CHAPTER 52

"What a sight," Hirang remarked when he saw three children in the middle of a fierce fight. Even when the ground shook, they did not stop and only did when they finally noticed Hirang and OAR48's group.

"What the..."

A chill-looking child muttered in disbelief when he finally realized that a wall had opened, making the space where they were triple in size. He extinguished the large fire above him and looked at everyone on the other side.

"What did you guys do?" A little girl asked, her voice calm and small. It fit her petite and fragile frame, but her eyes held a firm confidence that made OSZ61's brow raise. She had a thick, gleaming yellow pole carved out of stone on her hands.

"Nothing you need to know," Hirang rudely answered, walking past the three. He had already located where the next statue was and advanced toward it without regard for the children all sharing bewildered looks.

Realizing that Hirang wouldn't explain anything, OAR48 slowly walked toward the three with OID76's help. Giving them an exhausted smile, he spoke. "I don't really know how the two figured it out, but they managed to open the wall by pouring aura on the stone statue."

"Don't lie." A little boy with curly shoulder-length hair remarked, not believing OAR48's words. He had tried whatever he could on the statue of the four-horned eagle earlier, but nothing happened.

The little boy initially believed it would be easy with its intricately carved majestic wings spread out to its side, showing its exquisite feathers. It was a perfect target for his large Earth Orb coated with lightning bolts. However, it was deemed useless to the rock-steady two-meter figure, who seemed to mock his futile attempt with its blank eyes.

OAR48 was on the verge of explaining, but the toll of lost aura left him feeble. Helping him stand, OID76 placed one of OAR48's arms over his shoulder and supported his body.

"We're not lying. The statue needs a particular aura, so it might not have worked earlier. The other two should try. By the way, I'm OAR48." he said with a weary smile.

The boy who tried attacking the statue introduced himself, "I'm OEM129."

"OST87," the little petite girl simply said.

"Weren't you the one closest to the exit after we were transported here? What happened to you? I thought you died because you're name was nowhere to be found on the second announcement," OSZ61 asked while scrutinizing the little girl.

"I got lost," OST87 answered like it was nothing significant.

Bewildered, OSZ61's mouth opened in awe. 'What did she do to get too far on the exit? Her name wasn't even on the latter half of the announcement.'

OAR48 directed his gaze toward the tall boy, anticipating an introduction. However, the child seemed preoccupied, fixated on Hirang, who was steadily approaching the eagle figure.

When OEM129 noticed that the tall boy did not intend to say his name, he shook his head and said, "That one's OFF134."

Looking closely, OAR48 saw that OFF134's gaze never pulled from Hirang. He was watching the white-haired boy like a hawk watching over his prey.

But OAR48 was not the only one who noticed that. The other children also picked up on the unusual interest, forming their own suspicions. As for OFF134 and OEM129, who had previously clashed with the tall boy, they had a clear idea why. Though they never talked outside the game, the scuffle they had was enough for them to define the boy as a mad warrior.

With an agile body and flawless fighting sense, it's evident to them that OFF134 received battle training despite his young age. His every move seemed calculated, and he had blocked his opponents' attacks with no sweat. OFF134 could've quickly finished them to get their Monster Cores, but he didn't. Instead, he prolonged the fight as if not wanting it to end.

And now, OFF134 was looking at his new opponent with eyes reflecting an excited gleam. Just one look at Hirang and his battle instinct boiled. He knew without confirming that Hirang was strong—someone who could fight him in equal standing and provide him a gratifying win.

"Who has a red aura?" Hirang suddenly asked, cutting the children's thoughts. His stoic voice echoed in the large space and reverberated in their ears like cold air. Standing before the colossal eagle statue, he recollected that it had been the first figure to change its color on the map.

"I do," OFF134 responded, slipping his hands into the pockets of his white training suit.

"Pour aura on the statue," Hirang ordered and stepped aside. He was sure that the wall on their left would open in no time, but an unexpected voice shattered all of his assumptions.

"I don't want to."

Hirang stilled, and his pitch-black eyes traveled to meet the auburn eyes of the child with a tall stature.

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Irked, Hirang tilted his head, and his eyelids dropped. He appeared more menacing and chilling than ever, sending shivers down the spines of the children around him. His brows furrowed in annoyance, and his grip on Hirayon's legs tightened, preventing him from slipping off. He wanted to hurry and get out of the place so Hirayon could be checked, but OFF134 was not making things easy for him.

"You want me to make you?" Hirang asked, his tone dropping like the weather inside the cave. It almost felt eerie with how freezing Hirang gazed at the tall child.

Suddenly, the cold air got warm, and the tall kid's body got covered with fire. His entirety was enveloped with flames, all madly dancing and mirroring the playful expression he had on his face.

In actuality, he was getting bored with the other two opponents he had. He even chose to use his weakest ability just to make things entertaining for him, who could end the two children with infernal fire.

But now, a worthy opponent has arrived. He couldn't tell who was stronger between them, but that thrill was enough to fuel his blazing desire to fight.

"You can try but will never-"

Darkness emerged from Hirang's body. It crawled to the cave walls behind him, not skipping the torches that allowed them to navigate inside. It turned the space dark, leaving OFF134 as the only light source with his body wrapped with fire. Before the children could fathom what was happening, the darkness moved like smoke spreading in the air toward the wide-eyed boy with auburn eyes.

Seeing the attack, OFF134 nimbly dodged and ran to his left. He picked up his pace with the darkness on his trail until he ended up cornered on the leftmost cave wall meant for him to open.

With no other way to run, he surrounded himself with five tentacle-like red fires and willed them to push back the darkness nearing him.

Contrary to what he had expected, the fire did nothing, and instead, it instantly dispersed once it made contact with the raven-black smoke.

Astonished at the weak performance of his element, OFF134 missed an attack on his back, and his fire was smothered with the dark element in a blink, eating the child whole. He couldn't even utter a plea as he was devoured mercilessly by the ominous smoke. And with the fire gone, the area turned completely dark and still.

All children had grown motionless, too anxious to run with the cold sensation of looming death in the air. They all held their breath as they listened to the whispering sound the darkness made. Beads of cold sweat formed on their forehead, and their quivering eyes reflected the shadows of dancing darkness, ready to devour them like the first prey.

Even though OFF134 was to blame, the element seemed indifferent to such trivialities. They were sure it would eventually kill them all, whether they had done anything or not.

Even OAR48, who held some respect for Hirang for his strength, felt intense fear and thought he was not looking at a child but the devil itself. He wanted to do something and escape, but he couldn't even refute what more to move his feet and run from such dread.

He called upon all the deities in his mind to help them when suddenly consecutive coughs broke the silence as if the deities had heard his plea.

"Ugh, where are we?" the voice asked, which came in a raspy and weary voice.

Startled, Hirang looked back at Hirayon and met his tired, unfocused eyes. Thanks to his element, he could clearly see Hirayon's bluish-violet eyes even in the dark.

Caught off-guard, Hirang searched his brain for what caused a significantly drained child to wake up. A second later, he realized it might've been because his dark element had run wild.

"We'll be out in a bit. Just rest; you spent too much aura," he stated, his still cold voice holding some warmth that eased Hirayon's mind and stunned the rest.

Not noticing anything amiss, Hirayon weakly nodded. "Thanks..." he murmured before his head grew heavy on Hirang's shoulder; exhaustion once again overwhelmed his system,

"No problem," Hirang mumbled, casting a peculiar atmosphere that filled the listening children with awe.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Hirang retracted his ability, and the cave reverted to its dim lighting. Along with that, OFF134 discovered himself on his knees amidst the stones, his eyes blurred with unshed tears.

Looking down at his hands, he experienced a wave of relief flooding through his system. Seeing his body intact brought a sense of gladness, as he couldn't sense anything within the darkness except for the oppressive force of gravity pounding on him. He couldn't even think straight, and his mind only shouted for him to run.

Hirang glanced at the pathetically kneeling kid with a cold look. "Move."

He spoke one word, but the effect was tremendous. The children weakly dropped to the ground. Their weakened knees quivered, and their head lowered, not daring to glance at the white-haired child.

Slowly, OFF134 meekly walked where the statue was and quietly poured his Fire Aura. Even though he felt drained by how much aura the figure was taking, he didn't stop and continued doing so. He didn't care how much aura the statue would get; he wished it would drain quicker. He wanted to get away from the devil child fast, which was worse than any monster he had fought. The fear he instilled was nerve-wracking and simply traumatizing that even he, a proud son of a Fire knight, felt so small.

Once the ground shook, the statue stopped pulling aura from OFF134's hand. His knees trembled, and he eventually fell on the stony ground with a dazed expression. He felt utterly drained because of aura exhaustion and the mental strain of experiencing what the darkness could do. He even considered quitting the game but was too fatigued to will himself.

Unbothered by the situation he had caused, Hirang walked to the opened wall and advanced where the next statue was. This time, the figure was of a giant frog with two horns on its cheek. It had one eye on its face but had two mouths just below the carved eye. Without wasting any time, Hirang touched the statue and poured his aura. This statue turned black on the map, and he instantly knew his element could open the next wall.

Weakened but determined, he fortified his resolve and channeled the aura the statue required. After some time, the ground shook once again and opened another wall. This time, it revealed a small circular pond filled with swirling smoke, mimicking the appearance of a starry night sky.

In the middle of the pond was a statue of a giant butterfly with four wings. On its mouth was a sharp horn pointing at the galactic pond below.

Instantly, Hirang realized that the swirling smoke was a portal. He did not know where it would lead them, but his instinct told him to jump into the pool.

Trusting his will, he walked toward it and peered inside. The swirling hues of violet, black, and red brought back memories of the portal he had used before. While the colors differed significantly, he couldn't deny the familiar light sensation it evoked. Just nearing it made him feel like he was floating despite his feet on the ground.

The children watched Hirang's actions from a distance. They remained in the area where the horned eagle was, not daring to move or step toward the portal-like pond. As Hirang leaped and disappeared into the portal, everyone let out a shaky sigh. They were stunned by the fear they experienced in those few minutes, and a profound sense of ease washed over them at the realization that, finally, Hirang was gone.

R E H I L I Y A