CHAPTER II
Crossing The Thin BorderShortly after the silence that followed the monster's presence, puzzled cries and nervous shrieks came from left and right. But not even the chaotic noise was able to drown out the laughter coming from the monitor. The workers, young as the rest of them, immediately dropped whatever tools and whipped out weapons of their own, excited smiles spreading upon their lips unlike the crowd's fearful faces. Words were exchanged between them in hushed whispers. And as the hostile being drew closer, so did their footsteps.
MAN, YOU GUYS ARE NO FUN. COME ON, THIS WILL BE YOUR CHANCE TO PROVE YOURSELF AGAINST ONE OF OUR VERY OWN VIRUSES!
A Virus...?
OH RIGHT, HEH. MOST OF YOU ARE PRETTY NEW AT THIS. WELL, LET ME EXPLAIN! VIRUSES ARE THE VERY ENEMIES YOU WILL BE DEFEATING THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE TRIALS! A WORTHY OPPONENT TO SHOW YOUR STRENGTH AND WORTH IN THIS PATHETIC WORLD.
Trials? What the hell are those? What are they making us do? Are they making us kill each other? No idiot, we're already dead. I'm scared... Everyone but the smug workers began asking each other all sorts of questions, while some merely kept quiet with troubled faces, some trembling as they thought further into their situation.
"Be quiet."
Immediately every head turned to Minki, who donned an expression of disinterest. While he only recieved scoffs from those who were filled with anticipation, the unknowning rest along with Dongho just stared at him--- and everything else in confusion.
OH? I'M GUESSING YOU'RE GOING TO TRY AND MAKE AN EFFORT, LITTLE MINKI? The figure gave a sharp-toothed grin, folding his hands together. And in that moment, the workers exploded with harsh remarks, sending him threatening glares.
"Oh , Minki. You better let us fight this one too. You're a selfish prick if you're going to try and get the reward all by yourself."
"I don't even think I've even seen him practice fighting."
"Like there's even anything on his bones that would help him out."
The male just exhaled through his nose and brushed his bangs away from his eyes, never flinching from any of their words. He returned their comments with a quiet huff and took steps towards the creature, his face unreadable--- unable to tell whether he was afraid or confident. Dongho watched him closely, observant of his minimal reactions, curious as to how anyone would be so calm in this kind of situation. So calm when he's faced death.
"If any one of you want to risk losing your good ending, I suggest you shut up and let me handle it," he retorted with a tighter grip on his dagger, dashing towards the Virus with cold eyes.
He released a cry the moment he felt something wrap around him, clenching his eyes tightly shut. Tentacles. How original of them. The tentacle tightened its hold around his slim figure and left only one arm free of its trap, the blade still held loosely in between his fingertips. The shouts and jeers from the bystanders were nothing against the roars resonating in his eardrums and pounding in his head. The male breathed slowly, his nose wrinkling at the strong tar-like stench emitting from the enemy. In a split second, he returned the weapon back into his palm and swiftly sliced the sticky bonding out of his way, giving him his release.
But that didn’t protect him from the high distance he fell.
WELL… AREN’T YOU AN INTERESTING ONE, LITTLE MINKI?
Dongho watched with worry and hesitation, tentatively stepping forward to help him land safely. The other boy just gritted his teeth together the moment he noticed and faced him with a sneer, shaking his head as a discouraging response. Before he could come in contact with the floor, he was whipped into one of the walls by another extended limb, crashing into tile and cement. Minki exhaled shakily in exasperation and tried to get up, his knees buckling under him.
“I knew he was too weak.”
“Practice makes you perfect, Choi Minki. Guess you weren’t as flawless as you appeared to be.”
“Let me have at it next! I got dibs.”
At the corner of Dongho's eye, he spotted JR smirking before turning to leave the scene.
Before anyone could stop them, the workers ran for the creature with their own weapons in hand with their shouts bouncing along the walls. The Virus was slow at that moment, but the moment the young humans were noticed, extensions shot towards them---- only to stab through some of them rather than grabbing at them all. The whole room went silent, the remaining watching smoke seep through the punctured bodies before they all fell to the ground and dissolved into nothing.
Screams of horror followed the thumps of those who fell.
The figure relished in the sweet sounds of despair, a chuckle audible enough to the crowd. At the corner of Dongho's eye, he spotted JR smirking before turning to leave the scene. OOPS, GAME OVER FOR THEM! SHAME. THEY WERE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED. BUT NO MATTER. WHO'S NEXT? They squinted their eyes towards everyone but even the remaining workers backed away, taken aback by the power the Virus held. The figure grinned devilishly, eyeing Dongho especially. The teenager only swallowed hard, his fists shaking while he stepped forward. AH, SUCH A BRAVE SOUL YOU ARE. THANK YOU, KANG DONGHO.
"Answer me first."
HM? They stared with curiosity, giving a sickly sweet smile. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?
"What's going on here? This... Those workers just disappeared just like that... What are you doing to us?"
The two stared back at each other until the shadowed being laughed in an uproar, shaking their head. YOU'LL FIND OUT EVENTUALLY. IT'D BE A WASTE OF WORDS IF YOU FAIL TOO. JUST FIGHT THAT THING, WIN, AND CLAIM YOUR PRIZE AFTERWARDS. NOW, SHOO.
Pressing his hands together in a poor attempt to keep them from shaking, he stepped closer to the creature and faced it with a determined face. He could hear the huffs and soft pants beside him, blonde hair waving around while Minki dashed alongside him as if undamaged. He took a deep breath and immediately ran for it, sweat beading down his forehead. Clumsily dodging each tentacle that came to them, both rolled to their sides and looked up at the disgusting presence before them, glancing towards each other with a small nod.
"Are you any good at fighting?" Minki inquired, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"If kendo counts," Dongho replied with a smile, at which the other faltered at the sight of it and turned away stubbornly.
"It's not exactly all that useful at the moment but---" Minki tossed the dagger over to him, breathing softly once Dongho caught it effortlessly. "Maybe that will be close enough. It's just like a sword. ...Except it's shorter."
The other male only blinked. "What about you?"
The blonde boy just gave a shrug and tousled his own hair, looking directly at him. "I'll create some sort of diversion. Keep its attention only on me so you can kill it. ...I'll be going first, alright?" Before he could recieve any response, he got up to his feet without any hesitation and returned to the Virus with more confidence than he had held before. Expectedly it grabbed onto him and lifted him up, trying to throw him off to get rid of him for good. The boy's arms were pressed tight around the wildly moving limb, keeping him from letting go unwillingly.
The immediate nod and shout of Dongho's name brought the other back up and running, swallowing his own spit out of nervousness. No, he shouldn't be nervous. Just treat it as an opponent. It's like a video game. Like a real-life video game, Dongho. Just do it. Of course, the Virus still kept its multiple eyes directly at Minki, trying to get him out of its sight with its tentacle still waving violently in the air. He slashed whatever came at him with the dagger and dodged what could still reach him, gripping onto the shaft tight with both hands.
"Dongho!"
Minki's sudden cry got him to turn around, his eyes widening at the dozens of long sharp needles coming straight towards him. Regeneration?! He released a sharp breath and prepared himself, making a proper stance with the dagger at ready. It was time to do or die. But before he could make a swing, the barbs stopped their movement. He looked up to see Minki, who had timed properly to let go and land safely, hopping from needle to needle to get rid of each of them.
At that moment, both their hands held onto each other with Minki leading the other to the nearest movable part of the monster.
"Just hold on."
"Minki---"
"Look! I know we don't know each other all that well, but just trust me right now and we can talk later, alright?!"
His sudden outburst surprised Dongho, still feeling unusual to hear the other raise his voice above a soft volume, but he nodded in understanding and held onto the Virus with his hand still gripping onto the blade, still not letting go of him. Once they were lifted up quickly, he held onto the other's hand tighter before raising the dagger up---
A squishing sound caused the observers to shiver, grossed out by the sight.
The blade came in contact with one of the creature's eyes before being forcefully pulled out, only to get stabbed into another eye. Loud growls and screeches caused the entire station to shake. As if seeking support from the warmth of someone else's hand, Dongho's hesitation grew even less as the male stabbed each and every eye, wincing at the sound of the smoke and sludge seeping through the deep punctures.
OHOHOHO! THIS VIRUS' WEAK SPOT HAS BEEN FOUND AND DESTROYED!
Both boys felt the opponent disintegrate and sink, jumping off of it to land on their feet. They both watched it vanish into particles then nothing at all...
But there was a voice--- a voice that they could have sworn was human.
Unable to register any words in their heads, every being just waited in silence until the crowd of people cheered for their victory with excitement and thrill running through them. Dongho and Minki was left bewildered, still eyeing the place where the thing had been killed on. They finally noticed their hands still clasped together and jerked away, an awkward shade of red creeping onto their faces.
THIS LEVEL'S WIN GOES TO THESE TWO BRAVE WARRIORS, KANG DONGHO AND CHOI MINKI!
And so their Trials have now begun.
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