“That’s ing genius!”

While the team began to converse and devise a plan amongst themselves, Minho distanced himself from the small crowd once again. He slowly lay down and inhaled heavily, trying to calm himself from the unexpected blood loss. As he let his eyes fall shut, he saw the dark room that everyone else did, a massive hourglass sitting at the centre of a glass table.

He flinched slightly as he felt a familiar presence by his side. He opened his eyes to see Kai and Beomgyu crouching on either side of his shaking body. He forced a smile and wiped away the stains of blood bordering his lips.

“Hyung, a-are you okay?”, Kai asked as he handed over a bottle of water. He didn’t want to force the other to speak up, but he couldn’t leave him alone either. “Do you think you’ll be able to use your power to help us put an end to this?”

Beomgyu hissed at the abrupt question, a bit disappointed that Kai would ask something so serious when the poor boy was hurting from within. He shook his head and added, “You can take a break. Regain your strength. When you’re ready, let us know, and we’ll put the plan into action.”

Minho simply nodded as he slowly hoisted himself up on his elbows, folding his legs into a crisscross position. “I’m fine. We can start. I’m fine.” He didn’t realise that his bitter tone easily revealed his lie.

As Beomgyu and Kai carefully helped Minho get up, a horrifying scream echoed within the area. They whipped their heads towards the source of the sound, only to have their jaws wide open at the sight. They didn’t even have a second to think or process the situation as they ran towards the car and shut the doors, forcing Yeji to drive away and keep some distance.

The helicopter quickly lifted itself to a greater height, attempting to stay out of the vision of the new group of slimes that rose from the river, their claws crushing the already damaged fencing at the edge of the body of water, their gooey bodies gliding forward and filling the area far too quickly.

It was a pity that those with their mysteriously gifted powers couldn’t pour out a series of attacks, for their minds were clouded with fright and panic, leaving no room for concentration.

“Why are there so many?!?” Yeonjun yelled as he pointed his index finger and began counting the slimes in sight. “Seven of them, you’re kidding me!” He then peered his head out of the window, pulling out the pistol and aiming it towards a visible gland. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his arm while the vehicle drove over the irregular terrain.

While Yeonjun managed to weaken two of the slimes by shooting the hanging piece of flesh at the back of each creature, a mild argument broke out within the car, debating on what to do next.

“Taehyun, why the hell are we waiting?!? Minho-hyung’s our key here, and he can save us!” Beomgyu tried to reason with the red-head, who simply refused to speak. He looked over his shoulder to peek through the window, frowning at the way the slimes were creeping closer.

He screamed as he ducked and moved away from the window, only to stumble and shake as the vehicle juddered and jolted on the ground, the metallic body dented at the sides. He was only thankful that the claws that collided with the vehicle didn’t particularly pick up the whole car and swing it away.

“I wish everything would stop!” Minho hesitantly yelled out, only to reach forward and pull on the gear stick next to the driver seat, seeing Yeji stuck with her hands on the steering wheel. As the car skidded to a halt, he pushed open the door and crawled out, coughing loudly with his eyes shut tight, his breath hitching.

“Damn it, Minho, what the hell?!?”, Yeosang was the first to speak up as he threw out a rope ladder from the hovering helicopter, slowly climbing down with some difficulty. He then took in the view around him, gulping down heavily as he noticed the tragic way in which four members of the team, as well as the little girl, stopped moving at once.

He glanced back at the aircraft and commanded, “Keep that girl safe!”

The only good part about this was that the slimes were motionless too, one of the claws just behind the car.

“W-We were being attacked!”, Minho tried to explain as he rose to his feet, wiping away the blood on his sweater’s sleeves and his jeans. He then turned around to see the tattooed members all surrounding him with worrying eyes. He huffed and let out a small chuckle. “Don’t let this be in vain. ing destroy those u-ugly things!”

The others wasted no time to encircle the septet of monsters, knowing that they only had less than two minutes to defeat the slimes and proceed with the rest of their newly devised plan. One after another, shards of ice sliced through the glands while roaring flames began to burn away the jelly-like limbs; vines and thorns wrapped around the slimes, squeezing the viscous substance as bubbles of sizzling water ate away the creatures; a strong gust of wind brought together the scattered claws, only for the claws to shatter with heavy vibrations rupturing them into fragments that dropped to the ground in an instant.

As the slimes reduced into a slippery puddle giving off a terrible smell, Soobin used his telekinetic power to transport the wreckage and remains of the claws to the side, knowing that he could use the sharp pieces against the creatures when needed.

“, two minutes is so less!” Jungeun bent over to catch her breath, before walking over to lean against the parked car. She turned around to face Taehyun, who was still sitting inside. “Taehyun, is this really possible?”

The latter walked out of the car with Yeonjun holding his hand; he nodded firmly and pointed at the helicopter. “All of you with the powers, get into the copter, and the rest will stay in the car at a distance. Hoseok-hyung, keep the copter adrift and as soon as Minho-hyung stops time again, the rest of you throw out your attacks at different sections of the river. Do it all at once and make every second count. You can do this, no, you have to do this.”

In just a few seconds, the car drove further to the side, waiting in a precise area that would allow the ones inside to quickly evade any incoming attacks. Under Taehyun’s temporary guidance, – they would all be motionless upon Minho’s words anyway – Yeji kept her hands firm on the wheel, while Yeonjun kept a close eye on the little girl that was tragically brought into their never-ending, apocalyptic chaos. They all had their eyes concentrated on the aircraft just a few metres away from the river, hovering at a significant height.

“Are you all ready? Is this height good enough?”, Hoseok asked as he adjusted his earmuffs. He looked over his shoulder to see the others nodding eagerly, relieved to know that he could assist them on their mission. He was glad the aircraft could accommodate eight other people behind the cockpit. “Okay, Minho, take the lead!”

The latter in a deep breath as he acknowledged the fact that he was several metres off the ground, his fear of heights slowly starting to irk him. He quickly took a sip of water to wash down the faint traces of blood, grimacing at the awful taste lingering on his tongue. He wiped away his mouth with the back of his hand, before declaring, “Alright, I’m ready. Do this properly, put an end to it. Please.”

“Hyung, we won’t disappoint you.” Kai reassured with a sweet yet tired smile. He tightened his fists as he inched closer towards the open door, a nervous squeal living his