“Taehyun, hey, look at me!”

Soobin placed both his hands on either side of the younger’s cheeks, a pitiful look in his eyes. He took in a deep breath, waiting for the other to mirror his action. He knew that the sight of empty streets reminded the younger of some painful memories.

“Deep breaths!” He kept on repeating the phrase like it was a mantra that kept them safe.

Taehyun nodded, feeling his chest rise and fall with the other’s command. He shrugged off the hands on his cheeks, nodding slowly. “We n-need to get the others moving.”

He quickly walked to the edge of the park, asking the police officers and the security guards to keep the civilians heading straight towards the newly exposed area. He decided not to mention the fact that they might encounter blood, knowing that it would only make them panic.

As he re-joined the squad, he saw the fright written on their faces. He only wished he could somehow throw that gloom away.

Beomgyu came rushing from the park, with Kai following just behind. He bent over, his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He lifted his head and said, “Taehyun, I know you want to head back to the r-river and attack those slimes, but I really think we should m-move with the others and hide within the buildings.”

“What? No, Beomgyu, we have to-”

“Kang Taehyun, you better listen to me right now!” Beomgyu’s voice was sharp and adamant. He flinched as he felt his shoes soak in the water that rolled along with the flood. He tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of wetness, pointing towards the river with a torch. “Look!”

Taehyun fixed his gaze on the troop of monsters creeping closer, his eyes widening as he gradually understood Beomgyu’s suggestion.

The slimes were far more dangerous now, their limbs already moving around maniacally, the claws clanging together viciously. Despite the lack of change in their appearance, the creatures seemed like ones the team has never seen before.

Kai broke the sudden silence, taking the lead. “Don’t worry, I have an idea, but we have to start moving!”

He waited for the team to progress towards the dormitory buildings, before he joined them at the back of the group; he desperately searched for the drowning courage within him, knowing that he had a mission to complete.

“Kai, what are you going to do?!?” San was at the very front with a torch in his hand, his finger resting on the switch, but he hoped that the streetlights lighting up the empty vicinity would not dim out. He screamed out at the top of his lungs, his voice mixing with the panicked cries of the others, “You better not run off again!”

“No, I won’t! Just keep running!” Kai tried not to falter as he looked over his shoulder, holding his breath at the terrifying sight.

It was time.

He slowed down to a stop, thankful that the others didn’t notice him do so. He turned around, facing the monsters approximately half a mile away. He shut his eyes for a quick moment, feeling the fire dance within him, and he knew he was ready. He snapped his eyes open, putting out one arm with his palm facing the top of the barrier.

He didn’t need to keep his mind extremely focused on the fire anymore; he simply raised his hand in a small gesture, a grin forming on his face as he saw a wall of fire rise from the ground, partially hiding the slimes and lighting up the area. However, with the great distance, the wall was more or less weaker than expected.

“Holy , Kai!”

The aforementioned turned around again, joining the others, his feet picking up the pace. He knew that the fire would hold the monsters back, perhaps melt or burn them down too. He knew that the squad wasn’t strong enough to tackle the creatures that seemed far more menacing than before.

With his hopes high, he kept advancing, his eyes lingering on the towering streetlights at either side of the road – but his hopes began to weaken.

“Oh my God…” Jisung slowed down with a sob, causing the others to turn towards him. He lifted his hand to point towards a tree, spotting a tragic splatter of blood on the grass and the bark of the tree.

Lying on the ground was the carcass of what seemed like a dog, its bones sticking out, its flesh crushed and falling out of the skeletal structure, a pool of fresh blood surrounding the dead animal. It must’ve been trapped between the barrier and the tree, meeting a cruel death with no way to escape.

As if that sight wasn’t devastating enough, the streetlights began to flicker, a clicking sound scattering across. In the span of a few seconds, the lights faded out, and everyone was overcome with utter darkness yet again.

“J-Jisung, we have to keep moving!”, Minho pulled the younger by his shoulder.

He switched on a torch and noticed that most of the civilians had already disappeared behind a few buildings and houses, beams of light spreading out from their flashlights.

“Damn it, the fire’s out!”, Kai complained helplessly as he let his eyes float back to the forthcoming slimes. He thought he had things under control, but he realised that the low level of water on the ground was putting out the fire.

Without a thought, he motioned his hand to raise up a wall again, all the while jogging along with the team. However, the pressure was too immense on his shoulders, weakness pulling him down as he felt his strength go away with every move he made.

If his hopes had weakened before, there was no denying that his hopes were now truly gone.

“Never mind, I got this! Fire, water, wind, they’re all fluids! What we need is…” Jungeun pushed Kai behind her, a firm expression on her face. She simply put out an index finger, flicking her hand up, causing a robust wall to emerge from the ground, completely blocking out the slimes from view.

“A solid!”

She knew that the wooden divider would slow them down at least temporarily, for she knew that the claws would break through in a while, but she hoped that provided sufficient time for the others to hide and take shelter.

“Okay, get in here!” Changbin pushed open the door to one of the buildings, gently pushing everyone inside. He stepped in and shut the door, hastily grabbing a torch from one of the others, flashing it against the glass door. He squinted his eyes and tried to catch a glimpse of the civilians further away from them, sighing in relief as they all hid behind a block of houses.

“Is everyone alright?”, Hoseok spoke up as one of the eldest within the team. He gently laid down the corpse he carried with him, unable to let go of the sorrow holding him down. Tearing his gaze away from his friend, he quickly inspected the others, ensuring they were all safe. He realised that the nurses were not here, and he hoped they were safe with the rest of the citizens.

The only ones who seemed in distress were Felix, his waist starting to bleed again as he leaned against a wall and slid down into a comfortable position, as well as Haseul, who had anxiety veiling her face.

“I’m so scared… What if there are students who died because of the barrier? They were just sleeping at this awful hour… They don’t deserve this…”, she whispered to no one in particular, burying her face into her hands.

“Haseul-unnie, we don’t deserve this either… Let’s just hope they made it out in time.” Jungeun walked away from the team, heading towards a window on the other end of the lobby. She pulled away the curtains and peeked out, feeling her breath hitch at the sight.

“The wall’s going to break! I-I can feel it breaking! We have to hold them back somehow, but I can’t put up a wall from so far away!”

“Soobin, can’t you just use your telekinetic abilities to move the slimes back into the river?”

The others diverted all their attention to Soobin, realising that Wooyoung was asking the important questions now. They knew that they had to work together, but they also realised that there were some tasks that were fit for just some people.

“W-What? I was struggling to move a car, which is relatively small, and a ten-feet-tall creature that’s very wide, is just impossible! There’s a limit to what I can move… It’s tiring, and my arms feel like collapsing if I try to move something too big…” Soobin hoped that the others didn’t hear his words as an excuse, because he sincerely wanted to help, but he didn’t know how.

“No.”, Yeonjun interrupted. “Soobin, you are your only limit. Be confident, will you? Have faith in your strength, have faith in what you can do!”

“Hyung, it’s not-”

“Look at me!” Yeonjun placed his hands firmly on the younger’s shoulders, staring into the other’s eyes despite the darkness shrouding the lobby of the building. “You are one of the strongest people I know. You are kind, you are loving, you are generous, you are supportive, you are meticulous, you are handsome. These are words you used to describe yourself back when we all hung out together! Where did that attitude go?!? Be confident, Choi Soobin!”

Soobin knew that those were his words – ones he used far too often, far too shamelessly – but he felt giddy inside. Hearing such touching words co