Moon’s Labyrinths (Web Novel)

Amidst all the smoke, Connectors fought each other in the streets, something forbidden within Armstrong city. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the current situation within the city was a shit show. However, it wasn’t as if the situation outside Armstrong city was great either.

“Did you find it?”

Earlier, Sungyoon's ears had picked up an explosion that had emanated from the direction of Armstrong city’s outer walls. An explosion had indeed occurred at the outer wall, which was one of the most important structures in the city. Thus, Armstrong city's higher-ups had dispatched troops to the outer wall. It was a priority for them.

“Uh! I found it.”

The outer wall now had a big cavity inside it along with traces of fire and impact damage.

“I think someone detonated an explosive here.”

“Do you see the culprit?”

“No.”

A team of Connectors surveyed the surroundings. They only saw broken debris from the devastating explosion and no traces of any human beings.

“Thankfully, the explosion couldn’t create a hole through the wall.”

The outer wall of Armstrong city was very thick, so it had survived the significant damage caused by the explosion. This situation was good news for the humans living in the city.

Clap!

The leader of the group clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

“We are fortunate that the outer wall is intact! However, more suspicious items might still exist nearby, so we’ll do a sweep before departing to help catch these terrorists! It's absolute chaos in the inner city right now!”

“You don’t have to tell us. We can see what's happening right now.”

The investigators looked toward the urban district of Armstrong city. Red flames and black smoke were still making their presence known to them, and the sounds of explosion and destruction erupting from within the city made it clear that a battle was ongoing.

“Yes. Things aren’t going well. That is why we have to quickly—”

“L-leader!”

A desperate yell rang out as one of the investigators ran up next to the leader of the team. The leader had sent this investigator outside as a precaution. The man was supposed to be on patrol, yet he had returned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ou-outside…”

The man was having a hard time getting his tongue to work properly. He stumbled over his words a couple of times. The leader didn't press him for an answer. In fact, he gave him some time to gather himself.

After the man finally got control over his tongue, he barely spat out some words that made all of them turn pale.

“It's crawling with monsters outside!”

It was then that the investigators realized the flow of magical energy on their skins.

***

Sungyoon’s party didn't know that a serious threat was approaching Armstrong city. They were focused on defending themselves from their pursuers' attack as they headed toward the city hall.

Sungyoon was too busy to think about anything. He had to fend off attacks from a very skilled foe that had set his eyes on him. If Sungyoon's concentration slipped even a little bit, the mace could bash his head. Even in such a dangerous situation, Sungyoon felt a sense of deja vu.

‘His movements feel familiar...’

Suddenly, a voice disturbed him.

“@#%^$!”

Sungyoon couldn't understand the language that came out from the mouth of Plu-El, who was slung over Tim’s shoulder.

“What the hell? What’s wrong with this woman?”

After being handed over to Tim, Plu-El had been quiet. So when she went berserk, Tim was taken aback. However, Tim wasn’t in a position where he could let Plu-El do what she wanted. He kept her from moving.

“*#&#$^@^#@^&!”

She kept yelling at the man attacking Sungyoon.

“#$^$#Sung Hyunwoo#$%#$%!”

‘What did that woman just say?’

The voice distracted Sungyoon, and his arm came close to being crushed by the mace. He desperately deflected the mace as he looked at his attacker.

‘Sung Hyunwoo? Mr. Hyunwoo?’

Now that he thought about it, he realized that the man's build was similar to Sung Hyunwoo. He just couldn’t confirm it since the man's entire body was encased in armor. Of course, Sungyoon could be mistaken, but the suspicion within his heart had blossomed when he heard Plu-El’s words. He felt as if his suspicions were turning out to be true.

Plu-El kept cursing.

“*&#%^#%Jungbum#$^#$!”

She once again said a word that he could understand, a word he had a lot of ties with.

‘Mr. Hahn Jungbum?’

Sungyoon knew that she knew Sung Hyunwoo, but he never expected her to know Hahn Jungbum too. The information that he had to find out from Plu-El had now increased. However, it was not the time to do that yet. They had to first hurry up and escape from this fight.

Thankfully, they were close to their destination. They ran through the deserted streets to arrive at a four-way stop, then they took a sharp left turn.

‘We just have to run in a straight line!’

Sungyoon assumed he would be running through another deserted street, but what he saw on the street left him stunned.

“What the hell!”

“This can’t be!”

Tim shouted out loud, and Emily mumbled. Their reactions were different, but the emotion they felt was the same.

Shock!

“Why are monsters inside Armstrong city?”

Tim’s voice rang out within the city.

***

“What are you going to do?”

The half-bald Deputy mayor tried to press the Mayor for an answer. The Mayor didn't know what to say as he kept his hands around his head.

‘What the hell is going on? What should I do?’

The Mayor kept asking himself as he went over the incidents happening in his city. However, he couldn't find any answers.

“… How many Connectors do we have left?”

He was barely able to open his mouth.

When the Deputy Mayor got a response, a bit of color returned to his face. The person in charge was about to do something, and this bolstered the spirit of the people working under the Mayor.

“We are contacting everyone, but there are too few of them! This is especially true of high rank Connectors!”

‘This is why I told them we needed to maintain the minimum number of Connectors that I prescribed!’

All the countries had unreasonably pulled back most of their Connectors from Armstrong city. They did it in the name of national security.

As he thought about that, the Mayor cursed those countries. However, it didn’t matter if he cursed them a thousand or a million times. Nothing would change.

“The terrorists are chasing the Knight and his party, and there are two groups?”

“Yes! Also, the investigative team we sent to the site of the explosions reported back. In all of these places, explosives were rigged to a timer! The culprits were nowhere to be seen!”

“Please contact every Connector that you can reach. I don’t care if the outer wall is destroyed. We’ll activate the outer defense to prevent any monsters from entering the city. In the meantime, the Connectors have to prioritize killing the ones that are inside the city. Then they can exit the city and fight the foes outside!”

“Yes! What should we do about the Knight, who is coming here?”

“Tell him to use the portal. He can go to the other city for a short time.”

“What? Are you sure about that?”

The existence of the portal was one of Armstrong city’s top secrets. If Sungyoon used the portal to run away, it would be revealed to his pursuers.

“It’s fine. I planned on revealing that information in the near future anyway. The portal isn’t as important as securing the woman right now.”

The Mayor’s eyes turned cold.

“The monsters' attack might be a coincidence, but it could also have something to do with the two groups who pulled off this terrorist attack. They made this bold move to seize that woman. This means she's much more important than we thought.”

Such a deduction and execution was to be expected of a man who could climb up the ranks to become the mayor of Armstrong city.

“Tell the Knight to leave her in that city, and then, immediately return to Armstrong—”

Kwahng!

“Mayor!”

One of the city hall’s employees slammed open the door, almost breaking it. The Mayor and the Deputy mayor frowned at the same time. They knew their subordinate wouldn’t act this way if he had good news, especially in their current situation.

“What’s wrong?”

He really didn’t want to ask the question because he was sure that the employee was about to say something that would give him a headache. However, as the mayor, he was obligated to hear it.

The employee uttered the cursed statement. It was a statement signifying that the worst-case scenario was about to unfold.

“A Connector near the Great Labyrinth sent a message…”

The employee shut his eyes as he almost yelled out his news.

“He confirmed that magical energy is leaking out of the Great Labyrinth too! Monsters are crawling out of the Great Labyrinth!”

***

Kwahhhhng!

Sungyoon’s party kept their pursuers in check as they fought through the monsters in their way. They were surrounded by enemies on all sides, but this new development did give Sungyoon's heart some comfort.

‘I can use the portal now!’

If he used it, he wouldn’t have to continue their troublesome efforts to escape. He would just have to open a portal and ask his party to throw their bodies through it. The pursuers' efforts would become futile. Nevertheless, Sungyoon didn’t plan on using it unless it was a dire emergency.

‘I have to keep it a secret.’

If the person who kept attacking him was Hyunwoo, he couldn't reveal the fact that he could open a portal. However, it was also true that his party could only hold out for a couple of seconds if Hyunwoo decided to get serious.

Sungyoon kept a close eye on the man he suspected to be Hyunwoo and got ready to open the portal at any moment.

As the party dashed forward, Grace and Emily cleared the monsters in front, while the two men kept the pursuers at bay. Thankfully, all these monsters seemed to have come out from the Beginner’s labyrinth, so Grace and Emily could effectively dispatch them.

Just as the party thought they had gained some breathing room, a single existence ruined everything.

Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhh!

A roar stopped everyone dead in their tracks, and the fighting ceased. The monsters that had been indiscriminately attacking the humans also froze. All the Connectors, including Sungyoon’s party, turned toward the source of the sound.

“… What is it now?”

Tim cussed. He got an ominous feeling as a tingling sensation ran down his flesh.

The roar had come from the direction of the Great Labyrinth. As soon as everyone realized this, the ominous feeling amplified by several folds. An enormous dark shadow emerged from the entrance of the Great Labyrinth.

Sungyoon knew this monster very well. It was the first monster that had appeared on Earth. It was the monster that made him into a global star. It was the monster that had made him the Knight.

“Behemoth!”

The Behemoth that had shown up on Earth was a weakened one. However, this Behemoth possessed its full strength when it emerged into the human city. It then let out an enormous roar to announce its presence.

Koohng!

The Behemoth took an enormous step and easily destroyed a building in the process. It was a surreal moment. The huge monster looked like a lion attacking a group of rabbits. A small smirk appeared on its mouth as if it was mocking the beings called humans.

Zzuh-uhk!

It opened its mouth wide. At the same time, a bright light appeared on the mouth.

All the Connectors knew what followed this phenomenon. The Breath! It was the attack that had almost destroyed the Buckingham palace and killed the queen.

“Shit!”

Even Sungyoon had to swear when he saw this.

When the light became as bright as it could be—

Puh-uh-uh-uhng!

An enormous beam of light shot forth from the Behemoth's mouth.