Moon’s Labyrinths (Web Novel)

Sungyoon felt a tingling pressure coming from her.

‘Is this the true presence of Grenoid's officers?’

It really was different from the time when he had faced off against Kevil.

‘Still, it's bearable.’

The fighting spirit felt more intense. However, Sungyoon was more comfortable right now than he had been when facing Kevil. The boost in his power could be one of the reasons for it.

‘This might be easier than expected.’

Sungyoon took a firm grip on his halberd.

As always, the first one to charge in was Bruce. He swung his fist with all his might, but Glaia’s long nails blocked the punch. The two of them clashed in a battle of strength; slowly but surely, Bruce was being pushed back.

Russell came up behind Bruce and stabbed Glaia with his sword. Glaia swung her tail to deflect the sword. The same sword that had easily cut through the Jormungandr’s scales couldn’t injure Glaia’s tail.

However, the attacks had yet to end. Sungyoon followed up after Russell and stabbed with his halberd.

Glaia slammed her tail into the ground and used the rebound to retreat.

‘Did I get her?’

Sungyoon felt a sensation run through his hands. The feeling was very faint. He had felt a lot of resistance, but he also felt as if he had cut something. However, it seemed he was unable to inflict a large wound.

Glaia raised her arm to wipe her face. A small amount of blood had smeared her cheek.

‘At the very least, my attack works on her.’

Even though the cut was tiny, it was a very heartening sight for Sungyoon. In contrast, Glaia’s face turned ugly.

Sungyoon felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to see Russell trying to communicate with him.

‘What's he trying to say?’

Russell made a gesture with his hands. It was a hand signal made up on the spot, so Russell couldn’t communicate in a precise manner. However, he got his point across.

‘He wants me to lead the attack?’

Russell and Bruce were distinguished fighters, yet Russell wanted Sungyoon to take the lead, and it seemed Bruce also felt the same way.

‘Is it because I wounded her?’

That was the only reason Sungyoon could think of.

‘They must have a good reason for doing this.’

The two of them had been Connectors for a much longer time than him. They were ripe with experience.

Sungyoon nodded.

‘I can wound her...’

As he thought about his attack, Sungyoon looked down at his halberd. What he saw surprised him.

‘The spear blade is damaged.’

Did Glaia’s hard skin do this?

‘No. It would've bent if that was the case. It looks like it melted...’

When he looked at the damaged spear blade, Sungyoon caught sight of Glaia’s blood. He quickly unsummoned his halberd, and the blood on the spear blade fell to the ground. It let out a caustic gas as it started melting the ground.

‘No way! Her blood is poisonous too!’

Russell and Bruce stiffened when they saw Glaia’s blood melt the ground.

Sungyoon resummoned his halberd, then gestured to the two men that everything was fine.

‘I have a lot of weapons. It's better if I attack her.’

The two of them had realized his intentions. They nodded as they once again glared at Glaia. Then, they charged forward and attacked Glaia from both sides. Glaia clashed with their weapons using her nails in a dizzying fashion.

‘Unlike their normally bickering selves, they are working very well together.’

The two of them had each other’s back as they quickly clashed against Glaia’s powerful nails. The sight of them disagreeing with each other could no longer be seen.

‘It's going to be tough to intrude into their fight.’

Despite this thought, Sungyoon had to do it. He rushed forward as he swung his halberd.

***

The gauntlets, the sword, and the halberd kept pushing Glaia backward; they left a lot of wounds on her body. Yet, the battle was not getting any easier. No, it had become harder thanks to the blood dripping out of her wounds.

The spear blade of the halberd created a new stab wound in Glaia’s arm, and Sungyoon immediately unsummoned his spear to get rid of the blood. He then took up his sword, dodged Glaia’s nails, and cut her arm once again.

Lightning erupted to burn the blood. However, the sword couldn't avoid being damaged. It just happened slower.

Glaia frowned for a moment when the lightning entered her body, then her neck started to bulge.

All three men immediately moved. The gauntlet and the sword distracted Glaia’s vision as her cheeks started to bulge. Then, the ax blade of the halberd aimed for her neck.

She lifted her head backward to dodge the blow. Sungyoon spun. He brought up the spear blade of the halberd from the ground to aim for her chin. His plan worked, and she had to bend her head back further.

The liquid in Glaia’s mouth overflowed.

‘Be careful!’

The three of them backed off at the same time.

Glaia lowered her head, and poison dripped out of her mouth. Any place the poison touched melted away.

Glaia wiped her mouth with an annoyed expression. Due to this, the poison got flung sideways, and it created new holes in the ground.

‘As expected, her poison does not affect her.’

If others tried to wipe away the poison like that, their arm would melt away. The act of keeping the poison in their mouth would be an act of suicide.

‘I don’t think my ax’s poison will have any effect on her.’

His ax could only inflict normal damage on her.

‘Still, it's true that she's accumulating more wounds.’

It was an encouraging piece of information.

***

The battle continued.

‘It seems her nails also have poisonous properties.’

Sungyoon looked down. Glaia’s long fingernails had created clear lines on the ground. Her nails had ripped through the ground, but the shape was irregular as if the ground had melted around the divots.

‘She just needs to squarely hit us once to kill us.’

If framed that way, the fight was in no way advantageous for them. Russell and Bruce had similar thoughts, so they were always on high alert. They clashed with her a couple more times and inflicted damage on her while being mindful of the terrifying poison.

The ax blade of the halberd cut through her shoulder. Glaia’s right arm fell away, and blood fountained forth from the wound.

‘Oh no!’

Sungyoon unsummoned his halberd as he immediately retreated. Russell and Bruce did the same. Thankfully, Glaia's blood had not splashed on any of them.

Sungyoon summoned his halberd once again.

‘I can no longer use this.’

Although only for a moment, a massive amount of blood had fallen on his halberd. It had damaged the ax blade. Large and small holes had appeared on the ax blade; Sungyoon was quite fortunate that his Gem had survived that.

Unsummoning the halberd, Sungyoon took up his sword.

‘We're at a clear advantage now.’

Glaia clutched the location from where her arm had been severed as she glared at the three of them.

‘She’s no joke.’

If her stares could kill, the three men would have a hard time staying alive. However, the fight was turning advantageous for them in a decisive manner. They didn’t have any plans of letting go of this golden opportunity to kill one of Grenoid's officers.

‘Even if I lose a weapon or two, I have to kill her here.’

The three of them charged at the injured Glaia once again.

***

It was a fierce fight. Bruce and Russell were the highest ranked Connectors, while Sungyoon had transcended his own power with the boost from the source of magical energy.

Glaia was unyielding as the three men launched waves of attacks. However, there was always a breaking point. Sungyoon’s sword created a wide arc. Her blood had eaten away much of the blade, but the blade had yet to completely lose its edge.

In the end, the sword cut through her waist. Light flashed as lightning entered her body. The attack severed her body in half, and powerful lightning entered both parts. Even though she was an officer of the monsters, Glaia was reaching her limit.

Her mouth went open wide as she screamed. The scream was filled with pain, but no one could hear it because of the Moon's lack of air. The Moon’s environment had robbed her of her last cry.

Her upper body fell face first on the surface of the Moon, then her lower body drooped. It just looked like the lower body of a dead snake.

Sungyoon quickly unsummoned his sword to get rid of the blood, then resummoned it.

‘I can no longer use this.’

The blade was damaged all over with deep pockmarks everywhere. It seemed it would take a long time for his sword and halberd to regain their former form.

Sungyoon looked at Russell and Bruce. Their weapons were in similar states. Several locations on their armor had melted thanks to the poison, but the poison had not been able to reach their flesh.

After confirming that the two men were fine, Sungyoon took up his unharmed ax.

‘I have to end this.’

The poison from the ax wouldn’t work, but he could physically damage her with the weapon.

He could use either the ax or the hammer. However, if he used the hammer, blood could splash everywhere due to the explosion and lead to a catastrophe.

Sungyoon summoned his shield and kept it in front of him as he approached Glaia. Russell and Bruce walked with him just in case something bad happened.

Glaia raised her head. Her face had been buried in the dirt of the Moon and her blood, making her look miserable.

She had lost the battle, and she was about to lose her life. Yet, she acted as if something great had happened. She was laughing; it was a terrifying, yet odd laugh.

Sungyoon brought his ax down on her head. Glaia’s head split into two as blood fountained forth.

The three men retreated once again.

Glaia had used her arm to hold her upper body up. As her split head fell to the ground, her upper body buckled again. Then, her body started disintegrating. She melted away, and her melted flesh ate away at the ground, releasing toxic gas into the air.

If the Moon contained air, the lifeforms near this place would've instantly died.

After Kevil, another officer of the monsters had died. The trio of Sungyoon, Russell, and Bruce had killed Glaia. It was another step toward humanity's victory, yet the three felt leery.

‘It was way too easy.’

Even though they were strong, they shouldn’t have been able to kill an officer so easily. Moreover, the other monsters had shown no intentions of helping Glaia even when she was in grave danger.

This troubled the three men.

Above all else...

‘Why did she laugh before she was about to die?’

Sungyoon frowned and looked at the location where Glaia’s corpse had melted away.

***

“Glaia's dead.”

His already gloomy voice sounded much more bizarre when it had dipped lower. However, Udocus didn’t care that his voice caused discomfort to the others.

“Two of the three officers our great creator created are dead now.”

This news chipped away at his greatness. It was sacrilege.

“However, their deaths won’t be for naught. Their deaths will allow our master to be reborn in a more perfect environment!”

Udocus brought his staff down on the ground, and the nearby monsters growled in response.

“Let us start! With their sacrifice as the background, let us gather blood, souls, and power in one place. Let us put those foolish humans, who are celebrating their victory, in their place!”

Udocus’s red eyes shone within his robe.