With all of the Infernals handled, they regrouped, though they were all surprisingly more tired than it seed from the non-pressing battles.
"Is it just …or is it hot in here?" Xiaodan asked, breathing more heavily than before.
"...Yeah," he answered.
"Those bastards are dead, so what's the deal? It's not like they–oh," Korain ate his words as he looked past the two.
"What is it…?" He asked quietly.
Though he could feel what it was before even turning around, his own eyes confird it: half of the basent had suddenly been engulfed in verdant flas.
"What the–?! When did this happen?!" He called out.
"Crap!...Hey, new kid!" Korain looked at Xiaodan, "Got anything that can put out flas?"
Xiaodan gulped, visibly sweating as he looked at the flas, "...I don't know, but I can try!"
While Xiaodan began invoking so sort of unknown magic, Korain rushed over and hoisted the unconscious Eunji up with one arm, slinging her over his shoulder.
He began to cough out, pulling his scarf over his nose and mouth, feeling the smoky air fill his lungs.
Shit…This is bad! He thought.
"Don't breathe this stuff in! I think it might be laced with sothing!" He warned.
Though by now, his warning would already be too late as they'd all been breathing in the fus of the billowing flas.
Xiaodan huffed, sweating heavily as he guided his hands in a dance-like flow before casting his mystical invocation, "May health abound forever. May peace abound forever: Auspicious Aqua!"
Manifesting from Xiaodan, who held his palms together in a prayer, was a large, serene bubble of aqua that swirled itself with a wind of light traces of blessed aqua, combating the verdant flas.
The flas had already crawled up the pillars of the basent that supported the ceiling, stretching above them as the large bubble continued to generate further bubbles that aid towards the green inferno.
"Is it working…?" He questioned.
Korain continued to sweat, moving up the steps with Eunji on his shoulder, "--I'm not sitting around to find out! Sorry, but I can't let her breathe all of this in! I'll bash that door down, if I have to!"
As the burly, one-ard man rushed up the stairs, he stayed down to witness the extinguishing bubbles do their work.
Xiaodan was profusely sweating by this point, standing amidst the flas, though not being directly touched by them, it was still clear that the heat itself had an impact on them.
He began to notice it: the verdant, raging flas sizzled and released steam, beginning to dwindle away from the effects of the mystical bubbles that swallowed their hungering destruction.
"It's working! You did it!" He called out, keeping his scar over his nose.
Though by the ti the green flas had been quelled, he looked on at Xiaodan's back, who swayed in a peculiar fashion before–
"Crap!"
He rushed over in an instantaneous dash, catching Xiaodan before he could fall over. In his arms, the silver-haired, lithe martial artist was breathing heavily, clad in sweat as their eyes were closed.
"Xiaodan!" He called out.
A light, weak chuckle left Xiaodan's lips, "My bad…I guess I got a bit light-headed from the heat."
To his surprise, Xiaodan opened his verdant eyes, weakly managing to stand himself up with a bit of assistance.
"Are you sure you're fine?" He asked.
"...Yeah, just a bit nauseous still–but nothing I can't handle!" Xiaodan assured him.
Even with the blaze put out, Korain was still stomping up the stairs, marching upwards with a certain anger lacing his intentions as it was clear what he really wanted to do.
Baek-Hyeon. I'm interested, too…In questioning his intentions, he thought.
He began to follow Korain up the stairs, with Xiaodan watching him for a mont before promptly following–clearly not having much of a mind of their own in this foreign environnt.
"Here–take her for , would you, lad?" Korain said.
With one arm, the burly, tall man moved the unconscious, short-haired woman from his shoulder, holding her towards him as if passing a note.
"...Sure," he nodded, sheathing his daggers before holding Eunji in his arms, "What're you going to do?"
Korain paused for a mont, staring at the closed, sealed-off door to the basent, "I'm going to bust this door down."
"I an after that," he clarified.
"Isn't it obvious?" Korain looked back at him, resting his trust claymore on the pauldron of his armor set, "I'm going to have a few choice words with Baek-Hyeon."
It was clear what that ant by the uncharacteristic anger in Korain's tone as he stared down the door, preparing to break it down.
There was no denying that sothing was amiss, or at the very least, Baek-Hyeon displayed an extre amount of negligence.
It was Baek-Hyeon who was responsible for checking out the basent–Dae-Seong told us that. Then he adamantly pushed for us to co down here, only for it to end up housing unknown enemies? Even if Baek-Hyeon was unaware…He still needs to be talked to, he thought.
"Alright…Get back," Korain warned.
He nodded silently, stepping down a few steps while holding Eunji; Xiaodan did the sa as they both looked up, watching as Korain reared his claymore back as it beca engulfed in a swirling wind.
With a strong roar, Korain slamd his blade down, cutting down the door and blasting away the furniture used to keep it shut–all in one fell swoop.
Xiaodan whistled, "I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that."
"Co on," he quietly ushered the new mber up the stairs.
"Roger," Xiaodan nodded.
The two silently followed Korain up, who stomped up the stairs and out of the basent with conviction.
They entered the lobby, seeing Baek-Hyeon standing in the middle of it, who turned around to see Korain stomping towards him.
"What's this? Aren't you all supposed to be bunkering away?" Baek-Hyeon asked with a smile.
The gray-uniford man had his collar gripped as Korain reached him, holding him close with a bubbling anger.
"That's right–we were supposed to be, until flaming bastards barged in and tried killing us!" Korain told him straight to his face.
Baek-Hyeon looked at him, unflinching as his collar was held onto tightly, placing his own hand on Korain's wrist, "Release your hand."
"I don't think I will," Korain squinted at him, "I've been thinking about this for a little bit now. You never talk to anybody. You never use that newfound strength of yours to aid expeditions. Even now, you assure us this basent, that you scouted out, is safe, then have the audacity to seal it off while there are monsters lurking down there?"
They stayed silent, watching as the executive mber of Gangcheori reprimanded the angelic-powered man.
Baek-Hyeon's smile faded as his expression shifted to a taut, serious one, looking down at Korain with his divine, golden irises, "...What're you implying, Korain?"
"I'm implying that sothing isn't right about you. I have a certain sense for this kind of thing–I can almost sll it: the dishonesty, the facade, the paper-thin veil of benevolence. In reality, you're–"
"Korain."
The mix-colored haired man was stopped in his words by another voice–a commanding tone that even he stopped to listen to.
"Leader?" Korain looked to the side.
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