Chapter 110 : As Long As You’re Here, I Want to Live

Lee Chae clung to Hae-jin, mentally sorting through every bit of information he knew about Humanoids.

He replayed everything that had happened when he was taken to their hideout by Yeo-jun—the true body of the Humanoid—but the only takeaway was that you could trust no one when they were around and that their specialty was hallucination skills.

‘Ah, if only Yong-yong were here… wait, Yong-yong?’

Thinking of Yong-yong sparked an idea. Lee Chae didn’t hesitate.

“Hyung, your phone!”

“Huh? Why the phone all of a sudden…?”

“When the Humanoids caught me before, the first thing they did was get rid of my phone. Why would they do that?”

Hae-jin nodded immediately, catching on. If phones didn’t work inside a space created by a Humanoid, they wouldn’t have bothered to destroy it. In other words, phones do work in this space.

Lee Chae pulled out his phone. The screen was covered in missed calls. He immediately hit the button to call Jae-hyung.

“Ah… it’s ringing. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

Hae-jin finally stopped walking. Then, Jae-hyung’s voice came through the receiver, sounding frantic as if he were being chased. Lee Chae switched to speakerphone so Hae-jin could hear.

—Hyung-su-nim! Where on earth are you?!

“We fell into a trap set by a Humanoid monster.”

—Haa… I thought so. Jin-woo Hyung came back, but when we asked where he’d been, he couldn’t remember anything. No matter how I look at it, it was a trap to lure Hae-jin Hyung in… GAH!

“What? What happened?”

—It’s a Lamia! We’re fighting a Lamia right now!

“What?!”

Lee Chae was so shocked he forgot to breathe. His hand holding the phone shook violently. Hae-jin spoke up in his stead.

“What? While I was lured into a trap, a Lamia attacked Legion? What’s the situation?”

—Jin-woo Hyung is leading the charge with the members. Luckily, Seo-geon Hyung is here with his hallucination skills, so I’m just providing support.

“So you can’t send backup?”

—We have to deal with the Lamia as fast as possible first. Do you know where you are?

“The space didn’t distort while we were moving in the car. Based on that, we are definitely at Frame.”

—Got it. Hang in there a bit longer. We’ll do our best.

Lee Chae, who had been listening to everything, suddenly cut in.

“Jae-hyung-ssi, when the Lamia is at full defense, have you tried using physical attacks and hallucination skills simultaneously?”

—No. We’ve always used them separately. When defense is full, attacks don’t land well, and physical hits usually break the hallucination.

“Try using them together. If Legion’s S-rank Espers attack from both sides, you should be able to take down a Lamia.”

—I’ll try, but… will that work?

He sounded unsure, but Lee Chae was certain.

“You know that among monsters, Lamias are the most driven by instinct and have the least patience, right?”

—Yeah, but what does that have to do with it?

As Lee Chae started to explain further, Hae-jin chimed in, understanding the logic.

“Jae-hyung, the reason you couldn’t use physical attacks during hallucinations was because the target kept waking up, right?”

—Right, that’s why we never used both at once.

“Exactly. But what Lee Chae is saying is that if you trigger a hallucination, wake it up with a physical hit, and then trigger it again repeatedly… the Lamia’s patience will snap. It’ll eventually give up on defending against one of them. It’s a creature of pure instinct. Get it?”

—Ah! I see. You mean push it to the limit. Until its patience explodes.

“Right. We’re counting on you.”

Jae-hyung wished them luck and hung up.

In reality, the ones who should be worried weren’t Jae-hyung’s group, but them. At least Jae-hyung knew what he was fighting; here, the real enemy hadn’t even shown its face yet.

“Don’t worry. Didn’t you see earlier? I can handle this alone.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I’m afraid I’ll be a burden.”

“Burden? Please. And hey, Jin-woo is back, so that’s a win. We just need to get out of here. Hold on tight, I need to find the exit.”

Lee Chae obediently held onto Hae-jin, leaning his ear against his chest. He could feel Hae-jin’s calm and stability; he wasn’t lying about not being worried. That allowed Lee Chae to stay level-headed as well.

Lee Chae widened his eyes, peering into the darkness ahead. Something unidentifiable began to squirm in the distance. Hae-jin tightened his grip on Lee Chae with one hand and prepared to attack with the other.

The temperature dropped, and a bone-chilling wind brushed past their cheeks. As they drew closer to the mystery entity, Lee Chae bit his lip to keep from gasping.

However, a strange sensation had been bothering him for a moment. He looked down and realized Hae-jin’s hand was in a very inappropriate place.

“W-wait… Cha Hae-jin, what are you doing?!”

Hae-jin, who was shamelessly kneading Lee Chae’s rear, replied coolly.

“Hmm? What? Is there a problem?”

“…I mean, look at the situation! What are you doing?!”

“What situation? I’m touching my wifey. Does the ‘situation’ matter?”

Hae-jin’s eyes crinkled playfully.

“Even so, there’s a monster right there with its eyes wide open! How can you even think of this?”

“Wifey, you’ve been blowing in my ear, rubbing your face against my chest, and wiggling your butt! How am I supposed to hold back? I’m not a eunuch…”

“Ugh, so much for being ‘reformed’…”

“This is all because you left me alone for three years.”

Lee Chae looked at him with an incredulous expression before turning away. Arguing would only lead to more of the same. Besides, the monster was getting closer. Fortunately, it seemed unable to use long-range attacks; it just stood there, waiting for them to arrive.

As Lee Chae glared at the monster, Hae-jin’s hands didn’t stop. It was driving him crazy. If he could, he would have jumped down right then.

“KRAAAAA!”

The monster lunged. At that moment, boom! Hae-jin kicked off the ground and soared into the air. As the monster looked up, Lee Chae buried his face in Hae-jin’s chest.

“Damn, this thing is ugly. Wifey, don’t look at that, just keep your eyes closed. It’ll be over soon!”

Bang! Pop! Boom! Loud explosions rang in his ears. He didn’t feel any heat, likely due to the shield. He opened his eyes slightly to see how the fight was going, only to shut them immediately.

Skitter, skitter, skitter…

“Gasp!”

Beneath them, a sea of insects so thick you couldn’t see the floor was staring up at them. If they all took flight at once… a chill ran down his spine.

“Shit, it must have split. Maybe I shouldn’t have blown it up?”

Hae-jin was swinging his arms so much Lee Chae felt like he might fall. He gripped Hae-jin desperately.

“Honey, we don’t have time to be scared. Give me some power.”

“O-okay!”

Despite his fear, Lee Chae focused on guiding. The sickening sounds made it hard to concentrate, but he gave it his all.

“Hurry!”

Hae-jin shouted. Lee Chae opened his eyes to see several insects clinging to the shield. Their legs and mandibles worked busily, trying to crack the orb. Creeeak… It felt like it would shatter any second. Primal terror set in.

‘No. I’m not dying here!’

He had just finally reunited with Cha Hae-jin. He couldn’t die now!

Lee Chae grit his teeth and hugged Hae-jin. He visualized his favorite moments: their first date, their first night together, the moment of their first imprint. A surge of energy far greater than he expected began to flow. Hae-jin pulled him closer, cold sweat from his forehead dripping onto Lee Chae’s face.

Lee Chae transmitted every ounce of energy he had.

“That’s enough! If I take any more, I’m gonna end up making a move on you right in front of the monster. Stop.”

Only then did Lee Chae relax his body. Bolstered by the energy, Hae-jin shook off the insects and stomped hard. Fire erupted from the ground, and every piece of office furniture in the room flew toward the monster.

“KRRRR, GAAAAAH!”

A horrific sound followed, along with the smell of burning flesh. Hae-jin covered Lee Chae’s nose and mouth. When Lee Chae looked at him with wide eyes, Hae-jin spoke.

“The smoke might be toxic. It’ll be uncomfortable, but hold your breath for a bit.”

Lee Chae nodded while holding his breath. His eyes asked: ‘Isn’t the poison dangerous? Are you okay?’ Hae-jin smirked.

“I practiced detoxification skills. Three years was plenty of time.”

Lee Chae looked at him with an expression of pure admiration, and Hae-jin kissed his forehead as if he understood. Flying through the air for quite a distance, Hae-jin finally touched down in an area free of insect remains.

“Phew, just how many were there? Were they really trying to kill us?”

“If it’s a Cyclops, they’d definitely be trying.”

Hae-jin laughed innocently at the dark joke. It was amazing how he could look so happy after nearly dying twice already.

“Don’t smile like an idiot. Is this a situation to be laughing in?”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“That’s because…”

Because you’re smiling.

He didn’t say the words, but judging by the devious look on Hae-jin’s face, his thoughts had been read. Hae-jin’s expression was a mix of mischief and desire, just like back in the day when he used to flirt shamelessly.

Lee Chae wanted to look away, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the face he had spent three years yearning for. Even though they could die at any moment, the atmosphere felt strangely intimate, making Lee Chae grumble defensively.

“Just find the exit already.”

“Yes, sir! I have to listen to my wifey.”

Hae-jin began to run through the pitch-black darkness again. Though he had used up his energy guiding, Lee Chae felt a new strength welling up.

It was strange. When he had everything he needed in life, he wanted to die simply because Hae-jin wasn’t there. But now, in a life-threatening situation, he wanted to live with everything he had, simply because Hae-jin was by his side.

Lee Chae sent his thoughts inward.

‘Thank you for making me want to live.’

Hae-jin answered out loud.

“Me too.”