"Clowns? You have to be kidding me. Nope, no way—sorry, Master, I can't do this."
"It's okay. Go ahead."
Hwan shook his head, terrified out of his wits. He threw the red injections in Inho's way, instantly exiting the gate without hesitation.
"Great, there goes our booster. It just had to be fucking clowns."
Inho stored the injections in his inventory as he grumbled. Eight people had come down to seven before the gate closed, but no one else left the premises. Five minutes passed as they stood rooted in place.
"Inho, how's the map looking?"
Yoon Seoyul backed Inho, who appeared to be walking toward them in confusion.
"Master, the map is blurred... This is the first time this has happened."
"It is a maze, after all," Kim Ryung remarked, observing the unclear map.
"I thought as much. Doesn't matter—we'll just have to find the way ourselves."
"What about that clown? What if there are more of them in the maze?"
Yoon Seoyul composedly muttered, ignoring the map as he strode toward the doorway. Jun, from behind, spoke in a weak voice, glued to Jin's side.
"That's why I had Feiyang take care of the backline. Inho also has his shield in case of an emergency."
Following Yoon Seoyul, he nodded in agreement. They didn't need to worry at all, actually. While they had been conversing with each other, Cheon Areum had already assessed the maze and the potential dangers lurking inside. The ground, dirtied with negative energy, was in his palms. He was connected to the vicinity, fully in control.
"Cheon Areum, walk on my side. Don't go running off by yourself."
The hand that was still trapped in Yoon Seoyul's grip pulled him back a few steps. In his excitement, he seemed to have walked ahead of the others. Kim Ryung, who was close by, smiled with a red glint in his eyes.
"You might not be afraid of clowns, but they're not just ordinary clowns, Areum."
"Is that so..."
All the more reason for him to be intrigued by them. The doorway led them to a straight, long path. The colorful head that had peeked at them was nowhere to be seen as they reached the end. It extended to three more routes.
"Master, should we split? It would be easier since it's just the beginning. We should be able to handle it by ourselves."
Feiyang voiced her thoughts, standing at one of the passages, having chosen her way. If they split three ways, it would be a little difficult to keep track of all of them separately...
"No, it might save us time, but the risk is too big. We might not be able to reunite again."
Yoon Seoyul spoke, having already decided. Obviously, no one objected to the decision. They walked tirelessly until Cheon Areum detected movement ahead. His eyes instantaneously shot up with a spark. As an S-Class, Yoon Seoyul was on alert too, stepping toward it cautiously.
It was just a few mere steps away. Overtaken by agitation, Cheon Areum unconsciously drew away from Yoon Seoyul, running straight to it—and just as he turned his head, a face painted black and white came into view.
The face tugged the ends of his lips into a slow, unnatural curve, eerily looking him directly in the eyes. The skin was painted an unnerving white, contrasting starkly with the hollow black eyes that seemed to devour light. Faintly glistening, exaggerated teardrops were drawn beneath each eye, giving the illusion of perpetual weeping. His lips, stained pitch black, stretched into a grotesque smile that didn't quite reach the eyes—eyes that watched with stillness.
The vibrant splash of color in his hair and clothing clashed jarringly with the macabre appearance of his face. Neon streaks of blue, pink, and green ran through his hair in wild, chaotic tangles, and his outfit—loud and mismatched with clashing patterns—looked like something pulled from a circus wardrobe. Yet none of it could soften the chilling effect of his ghost-white face and blackened features.
In the blink of an eye, the eerie face that had only peeked through moments ago was now inches from his own—but an arm wrapped firmly around his waist, yanking him backward with swift force. His body collided against a firm chest as he was pulled away from the figure. The air seemed to crackle with tension, the ghostly presence still lingering inches away from them, its dark eyes following him as he was dragged out of harm's way.
"Are you crazy?! What are you thinking?"
Yoon Seoyul's loud voice loomed over his head. He couldn't see, but Cheon Areum was grinning just as creepily at the clown. That was the only reason the clown had yet to do anything to them—or him.
But enough.
Having had a closer look at the clown, he lost interest just as fast. The others caught up to them as the ground beneath the clown opened, swallowing him in a quick succession. Before anyone could react, the clown dropped into the crack, and it shut just as immediately, crushing his entire body. No sound escaped the clown—it was that fast. Hot red blood pooled out from the small fracture Cheon Areum had left on purpose.
"What just happened?"
"It didn't even attack us? Is this possible?"
Jun and Inho marveled upon arriving.
Having encountered one by chance already, there was no need for the others hiding to be alive. Cheon Areum dragged out every one of them to their location, wondering if all of them had the same appearance. In just a few seconds, they were swarmed by the copy-pasted clowns closing in on them from all sides.
Boring.
"Oh, what the fuck."
"Circle around the healers—"
Yoon Seoyul couldn't finish speaking. All of the clowns fell down simultaneously. A ground-breaking sound echoed around them as the white floor was dyed a dark red color. No one spoke as they stared in terror.
"Something is wrong here, Master."
Kim Ryung's smile dropped, his tone stern.
"We should get out of this maze."
"I can blast the walls if you want, Seoyul."
Kim Ryung proposed, but Yoon Seoyul declined.
"Keep your energy. I'll do it. Which direction is the best, Inho? I think you can tell that much from the map."
"Master, it should be this way."
Inho pointed to the right wall. Kim Ryung nodded, drawing everyone back a few steps—when Cheon Areum spoke up.
"It's this way."
He pointed to the left side nonchalantly. The exit had been in his face for some time now. Yoon Seoyul turned to look at him with a raised brow.
"How'd you know that? I can see the map—it's this way, Master."
Inho rambled, insisting on the left side.
"The walls move every few seconds. Are you sure your map is updating the maze?"
"So how'd you know that?!"
Inho exclaimed, eyes wide as he gripped his hair frustratingly. Cheon Areum tilted his head upward.
"Look up. You can see the walls moving."
The high-ceilinged walls could be seen clearly shifting. They hadn't noticed the walls moving from their sides, but from afar, it was clearly discernible—or that's what everyone believed. In reality, Cheon Areum was the one moving the walls while everyone's eyes were fixed on the ceiling. He couldn't tell them he could sense it. It was easier to just show them.
"There was never a way out of this maze, then. We have to break out."
Kim Ryung mumbled as Yoon Seoyul moved to the left side.
"Kim Ryung, make sure everyone stays right behind me."
Is he planning to use Unstoppable Charge?
One of Yoon Seoyul's abilities was Unstoppable Charge—as the name suggests, once activated, it would only stop after the task was done, ignoring everything else. That's why Kim Ryung had to make sure the others followed suit, because Yoon Seoyul wouldn't be able to check on them after its activation.