The Spectors stood motionless, watching as Min-ho, Sae-wee, Im-hee, and Ji-su froze from fear.
Nothing happened for several seconds, up until Min-ho summoned his Relic into his hand. The glassy eye with a green pupil straightened as though coming awake, formed from smoke.
He immediately turned the Relic's gaze to the closest Spector, freezing it in place.
Before he could turn the Eye to the second, the Spector knocked the Eye off his hand—and him off his feet.
It then struck with its stinger, but Min-ho rolled to the side at the last second.
"Get out of here!" Sae-wee shouted at Im-hee and Ji-su, who stuttered back before doing as she commanded.
The second Spector gave chase, but Sae-wee intervened, striking its exoskeleton so her dagger slid off.
She gritted her teeth as the shock of the impact ran up her arm. Anger filled her being at why all Spectors they fought always had coverings strong as titanium.
She bolted back, then deflected the stinger that came down on her and ducked under a pincer swing.
Her eyes fell on Min-ho for a second, and when she discovered he was okay, she returned her attention to her opponent.
Min-ho scrambled to his feet, deflecting frantically.
He tried to recall his Relic, but the Spector pressed him hard. He needed an opening, because in about seven seconds—maybe less—the frozen one would wake up.
CLANK!
CRACK!
His dagger sparked on the Spector's pincer—its Critical Enchantment.
The exoskeleton split open.
With no time to think, Min-ho drove his blade into the exposed flesh.
"KEEEEE!" the Spector screamed.
Now being given an opening, Min-ho recalled his Relic into his hand, then pointed it at the Spector.
The Eye shone as its power took effect. In the span of a second, the Spector froze.
"Ahh!"
The voice cut through Min-ho like an energy beam.
"Sae-wee!" he called out, turning to her.
His breath caught when he saw the Spector's stinger in her shoulder.
"No," he whispered.
***
With a groan, Dok-su pulled Jang-book out of the hole. The moment they crumbled to the ground, the ground began to crumble under them.
"Shit!" Jang-book said as he grabbed Dok-su and shot the earth under their feet upwards, propelling them into the air and away from the shattering ground.
They crashed into a much more solid area with heavy groans.
Though Dok-su was mad about the rough landing, his tongue was tied, considering Jang-book did save their lives.
Frowning, he got onto his feet and stretched his back.
Jang-book did the same, but his gaze never left the crumbled ground.
"What the hell was that?" Jang-book asked, then turned his sights to the roof.
Dok-su remained silent, dreading more and more the safety of his brother.
***
Damn it! Will Im-hee be able to heal a poisoned wound? he dreaded as he lunged at the Spector.
He struck at the base of the stinger, aiming at the joint where the sections of the exoskeleton met.
His dagger slid through the narrow space and tore into the flesh hidden underneath.
The Spector cried out and pulled its stinger out of Sae-wee's shoulder.
She fell with a yelp, clutching her shoulder—a white silk-like thread still trailing from the Spector's stinger.
Min-ho's eyes widened.
That instant of distraction had cost him—the tail slammed into his side, launching him into an outcropping rock.
"Ah!" he groaned, and in a blink, rolled to the side as the stinger fell upon him, breaking into the rock with a ferocity that would have destroyed his skull.
Rolling to his feet, he turned to the Spector. Relief overcame him when he saw the Spector stuck to the rock.
He wasted no time racing toward Sae-wee, who was still on her knees, trying her best to swallow the pain burning in her shoulder.
"Sae-wee," he called out as he fell to his knees, placing an arm on hers.
"Cut it off," she said, aiming her remark at the thread connecting her to the Spector.
Min-ho hesitated for an infinitesimal second, before acting on a whim and slashing the thread without thinking twice.
"Ahhh!" Sae-wee screamed, as though her very soul was connected to the thread.
Min-ho watched the thread sever, and blood rushing out of the one still connected to her.
What is this? Min-ho pondered.
"KKKKEEE!" the Spector whose stinger was still buried in the rock cried out as it still tried to free itself from its entrapment.
"We have to get out of here," Min-ho said, picking Sae-wee's arm and placing it on his shoulder.
He pulled her onto her feet and began to sprint with a speed she could keep up with.
The others will be awake any second now, he thought, then glanced over his shoulder. There's no way we can take them.
He turned back to Sae-wee. He wanted to ask her to hold her wound, but he didn't need to—she had already placed her hand against it.
They ran as fast as they could away from the Spectors, which began to give chase not too long after.
As he led them into several forks that split along the way, Min-ho prayed in his heart that the Spectors couldn't trace them with the smell of blood. Otherwise, they would have lost them.
After they had run a good enough distance, Min-ho stopped at a small opening in the wall, where he and Sae-wee hid for the meantime.
He laid her against the wall as she tried to contain her wound and her heavy breathing.
He turned off his Z-Eye, then helped her to turn hers off before leaning against the wall.
He couldn't do anything apart from watch as they waited.
Ten seconds later, all three Spectors came rushing into the passageway, stopping right at the small space he and Sae-wee had hidden away.
His heart pounded as he contemplated whether to summon his weapon or not.
Damn it.
He stayed still, his thoughts racing in every direction for a solution.
The Spectors scanned the environment, looking in every direction. One of them drew closer to the hole Min-ho and Sae-wee were hiding in.
Min-ho could feel it. He itched to summon his dagger but knew doing so could alert the creatures.
Sweat beaded on his brow the closer the Spector got.
It began to place its head inside...
CLANK!
A faint noise echoed from deeper in the tunnels. It sounded like metal clattering against stone.
Min-ho blinked.
Ji-su? Im-hee? he thought.
The Spectors turned like rabid dogs, bolting after the sound.
Once their footsteps faded into the distance, he and Sae-wee sighed audibly. Though one sigh was more strained than the other.
Neglecting his rapidly beating heart for now, he got on his knee and investigated Sae-wee's wound.
"How you feeling?" Min-ho asked—an obviously dumb question.
A little light on blood, Sae-wee smiled.
"Terrific," she said, her smile genuine.
Looking at her smile, Min-ho felt something inside him shift. His heart thumping for a moment.
Snapping out of his daze, he focused on her wound.
Though she held it, blood was still gushing out from all sides of her arm.
Whatever the Spector had done to her, it would seem it made her red fluids flow like a fountain.
They needed to close up the wound.
"Give me a second," he said, then called on his menu.
He wasted no time purchasing a stove and summoning it in their midst.
She groaned a bit, her lips tightening as the wound ate into her.
"Hang in there," Min-ho said, dread filling his stomach.
These Spectors are of the Third Tier, yet they have such a dangerous ability.
He placed his dagger over the flames and waited while it heated up.
She's lost so much blood. I don't know if she'll be able to fight. He bit his lip.
Damn it, he cursed.
With the two of them, they could at the very least stand up to a single Spector. But now he was alone. Which meant if they encountered any Spectors, it would be over before it even began.
He ignored his shaken spirit as he lifted his now glowing dagger.
He looked Sae-wee in the eyes, seeking confirmation.
She nodded, then shut her eyes and leaned back.
Min-ho hesitated. But he steeled his nerves and pressed the side of the blade against her wounds.
She groaned quietly, her body tensing up as she fought back the pain.
Min-ho felt his being shatter as he watched helplessly.