Cha Seohu recalled the underground lab he’d been dragged to not long ago with Eun Woojeong.
The human-shaped monster in front of him now gave off a similar energy to Shelob, the spider monster they’d encountered there.
Judging by that level... probably SS-rank.
It would’ve been difficult alone, but now he had Eun Woojeong with him, so it was doable. They had a rough time with Shelob too, but in the end, they’d won.
And more than anything—
‘This time, I can stay beside him and keep giving buffs and heals.’
He’d unintentionally revealed his identity, but for Cha Seohu, this was the perfect environment.
Using all the skills he possessed to support the fight. How frustrating had it been to only use half his power until now?
“What are you doing.”
Cha Seohu called out to Eun Woojeong.
Eun Woojeong, who had been clenching and unclenching his hand while staring at it, suddenly snapped his head up.
The moment he saw that Eun Woojeong had regained his senses, Cha Seohu launched himself forward without hesitation. Around him, silver chains poured down like a divine veil of protection.
Seeing two S-rank Hunters charging at him, the goat-headed monster let out another roar. The earlier beam attack had shredded the flesh on its cheek, leaving ragged holes that stretched grotesquely.
Seohu thought it would use the same attack again—but this time, a fistful of bright yellow fluid burst from its mouth.
Ssshhhh!
“...!”
A harsh sizzling sound echoed as the liquid hit the brick and melted it away.
Thanks to the long sleeves of his robe, Seohu barely blocked the corrosive fluid and rolled aside in a hurry. At the same time, he slashed at the monster’s arm with his sword.
Kagak!
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
The sound was like scraping against solid ore. Not even a scratch—its arm remained perfectly intact.
When Kwon Taehyuk and Song Jiwoon had teamed up to kill the other one, their blades had worked just fine.
It must’ve been because Song Jiwoon had frozen the skin—that probably made a big difference.
‘Now what?’
He couldn’t count on Song Jiwoon’s help this time. To make matters worse, the floor soaked in that toxic fluid was now emitting a thick sulfur stench.
KRAAAHH!
The monster howled, wildly swinging both of its clawed hands.
Crash, rumble!
Fragments of broken buildings shattered noisily.
You’ve got tricks, huh. Cha Seohu dodged the flurry of fists raining down on him, his mind racing.
Neither he nor Eun Woojeong could do anything except physical attacks using chains and blades. To pierce through that tough, resilient hide...
‘Wait. I don’t necessarily have to cut or pierce through it, do I?’
Seohu’s gaze fixed on the goat head perched high above.
The monster was many times larger than him, and he’d been rolling around dodging attacks, so he hadn’t noticed it in detail before—
‘That mark on its cheek.’
When it had opened its mouth wide, the cheek couldn’t withstand the stretch and had torn.
Seeing that, an idea lit up in his mind like a flashbulb. It was worth trying.
“Watch out!”
Following a sharp warning, cold chains suddenly wrapped around his left arm.
Without resisting, Cha Seohu let Eun Woojeong yank him up and away. Boom! The monster’s foot slammed down where Seohu had just been.
Catching him mid-air, Eun Woojeong gave a smirking jab.
“You tell me not to just stand around, but what about you? Are you trying to prove you can tank a few hits without flinching or something?”
Seohu ignored the snide comment and spoke instead.
“Hey. Remember when we killed that spider freak?”
“...Suppose I do?”
“Let’s do the same thing again.”
Beneath windswept blond hair, a deep, amused smile appeared.
“Instead of slicing it, let’s pull something off. Like its head or arm.”
Eun Woojeong instantly understood what he meant and waved his hand. Chains summoned from thin air shot out in every direction.
Hooks at the ends of the chains dug into debris, crumbling buildings, the hotel’s front wall, even a wrecked car.
Dozens of white chains extended indiscriminately, soon forming a giant spiderweb. The monster caught in the middle was the perfect prey.
Eun Woojeong stepped onto one of the chains.
The monster twisted in alarm, struggling against the tightening web of chains. Looking down from above, Eun Woojeong brushed his chest lightly.
‘My strength...’
Normally, summoning this many chains would’ve already placed strain on his heart.
The pain would intensify, his skill would falter, break off. At worst, he’d even start coughing blood...
‘But I’m fine.’
In this state, he could probably summon dozens more chains without a problem.
His movements felt lighter than usual. Even after inhaling the toxic fumes, he didn’t feel any numbness.
He felt an unusual surge of competitiveness—but in this kind of situation, that was a welcome reaction.
This was Cha Seohu’s buff.
According to what he’d learned, the more skin contact they had, the stronger the buff.
“......”
Feeling an inexplicable burning inside, Eun Woojeong licked his lips beneath the mask, then leapt down without hesitation.
Chaeng, ching!
While Eun Woojeong scattered chains, Cha Seohu had kept the monster occupied, then withdrew just in time.
As he stepped back, Eun Woojeong landed in the now-empty space, unleashing a storm of chains. Their coordination was flawless.
So many white chains shot forward at once that they completely filled the field of view, wrapping around the monster’s arms. The remaining chains bound its entire body.
Then—Eun Woojeong yanked with full force.
Krrk, krkrrk!
The monster snorted and thrashed, but as the pull intensified, it let out a shriek.
Controlling over a hundred chains, Eun Woojeong’s gestures were fluid and ruthless.
The sound of stretching skin and tearing flesh was unspeakably grotesque.
The monster’s massive arm tore off completely and slammed onto the ground. Blood poured like a waterfall.
Shelob’s poison had been a headache back then—
“Purifying now! Keep going!”
The moment a stinging sensation touched him, a warm energy spread across his back.
Brilliant wings flared wide from Cha Seohu’s back as he clasped his hands together, spreading waves of purification.
The SS-rank demon-blood couldn’t withstand it and instantly turned into clean water.
Grrrk, grrk!
Realizing the tide had turned, the monster struggled harder. But trapped in the spiderweb, there was nowhere to run.
Testing the buff’s limits, Eun Woojeong summoned even more chains.
The next target: its neck. So many chains wrapped around it that the goat head vanished from view.
The monster frantically scratched its own neck with one arm. Each time its claws touched, a few chains broke—but not «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» enough to make a difference.
Tear, tear.
Slowly, its face and torso began to separate. Through the ripped flesh and chains, black muscle was exposed.
“...!”
It was then that Eun Woojeong noticed a sword blade slip past his cheek.
A narrow gap between all those overlapping chains.
The sharp tip plunged straight through.
Cha Seohu, having approached in an instant, looked down at the monster’s throat impaled on his sword. His focused face showed no emotion.
With that same expressionless calm, he twisted the blade sideways.
Slaash— the monster’s neck, already halfway severed, couldn’t withstand the chain’s pull. Its head tore off completely. The decapitated body slowly tilted and thudded to the ground.
“Phew.”
Cha Seohu let out the breath he’d been holding, flashing a grin as if unaware of Eun Woojeong’s stunned gaze.
“Its skin’s the only tough part.”
What he meant was, the flesh beneath was soft—easy to cut or pierce once past the outer shell.
“...Ha.”
Eun Woojeong let out a hollow laugh, then shut his mouth with a complicated expression.
‘He really is Cover.’
Mentioning their fight with Shelob so casually, syncing up like they’d trained together—
Eun Woojeong couldn’t stop his thoughts from spiraling. The discomfort wasn’t just in his head—his chest felt off too.
He didn’t even know what this feeling was.
Among the swirling emotions, the clearest one was irritation. As soon as he caught his breath, he grumbled.
“You’re really working me hard. Oh right—we had a deal, didn’t we? How are you going to pay me back for helping you this time?”
“There he goes again. Acting like you didn’t enjoy flying around juiced up on my buff. You think I didn’t notice you testing your limits?”
As expected, Seohu was completely unfazed by Eun Woojeong’s sarcasm.
Cha Seohu leaned on one leg, tapping his shoulder with his sword as he smirked. He looked like some gangster straight out of a back alley.
Swaggering up to Eun Woojeong, Seohu suddenly reached out—and grabbed him by the collar.
“What the—”
With a yank, their faces were suddenly inches apart—Seohu’s bare face and Eun Woojeong’s mask.
Seohu leaned in, whispering like it was a secret.
“Be honest. You want my buff, don’t you?”
“......”
“If you really didn’t care, you wouldn’t have been testing the limits.”
Black eyes gleamed as they stared straight into Eun Woojeong’s masked face.
“Last time it ended with a handshake, but next time... I might give you something more.”
“......”
“Aren’t you curious? How much stronger you’d get with a buff higher than a handshake? I mean—if you’re nice, I could give it to you right now.”
“......”
Eun Woojeong narrowed his eyes behind the mask. His expression was annoyed, but his tightly shut mouth never said no.

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