Jinyoung’s timing was perfect. The clawed hand sliced through the air, inches from his face. And when the creature’s momentum carried it past, he gripped his sword with both hands and swung hard into the wraith’s shoulder. He felt the blade sink in and cut into the bone.

  For most monsters, it would’ve been a critical blow if not a fatal one. But the wraith was unfazed, it barely flinched. Before he could follow it up with another cut, the next wraith was on him.

  Ever since their first encounter with a sin wraith, Jinyoung had noticed the careful attention the creatures paid to their targets. These things watched for openings in your defenses, uncertainty in your movements.

  A cold blast of air hit Jinyoung in the chest and pushed him back. The next attack came from the side, another wraith moving in to take the kill.

  It was relentless, just like the others that Jinyoung had fought. These things didn’t care about defending or supporting one another, all they knew was attack. Without a shield, Jinyoung was relegated to dodging or parrying each attack. Dodging was risky, but parrying was painful. A perfect parry worked out fine and saved his shoulders from the brunt of the impact, but misjudging the timing meant he took on the full force of the blow which shook him to his bones.

  Bones that had grown weary from the constant pace of battle.

  Jinyoung tried not to remember how tired he was or think of just how much his body ached. For the first few days, his feet had grown numb to the cold, but now they just hurt. From days of walking across uneven terrain, tens of battles and skirmishes, and likely from the thousands of tiny injuries he had accumulated over the weeks.

  Jinyoung winced at the pain when he shifted his weight to the ball of his foot and pushed off. The [dash] carried him about 4 meters away, well clear of the wraiths with enough distance to catch his breath.

  Hana, we need you.

  He looked at Willow and she shook her head. I d0n’7 th1nk … can h3ar y0-

  She was right. There were too many sin wraiths too close to them. Even at a relatively short distance, he struggled to understand Willow’s clan chat.

  Eventually, he realized that Willow wasn’t looking at him but past him. Jinyoung turned around to see the armored figure tearing through two hapless sin wraiths.

  In a stunning display of strength and speed, it reached out an armored hand and simply grabbed one of the monsters by its throat. Another wraith rushed in, taking advantage of a perceived opening. Instead of turning to defend, it threw the wraith it was holding into the other. Together, the monsters went crashing into the wall. And while Willow and Jinyoung watched in amazement, it ran them both through with its spear.

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  Two more wraiths watched and, without hesitation, moved straight in to engage their chosen foe.

  “Head’s up, Jinyoung. Looks like you’ve got an admirer.”

  Another wraith turned towards Jinyoung slowly closed the gap.

  Jinyoung sighed. “Goddamn it.”

  He took one last look at Willow and Youngho. The old man was still motionless on the floor. He’d passed out, presumably from the pain. It looked like the cold [frost] was enough to slow the spread of the infection, but not enough to stop it. The black had spread past his elbow and directly onto his biceps. Any further and it would start invading the organs in his chest which could only mean more trouble.

  Screeaaahhh!

  The wraith let out a cry and rushed him. It dragged a claw along the floor leaving notches in the tiling and kicking up small chunks of ceramic and cement. By the time it reached him, Jinyoung had already activated [scan] and could see the attack coming.

  The wraiths weren’t easy, but they didn’t feel nearly as deadly as they had been. Using [charge] imbued his muscles with more energy and, at least while the skill was active, the ache and pains faded from his body. He easily stepped sideways to avoid the initial attack and hopped back to move out of range of a wicked uppercut that followed.

  It was an awkward angle, but Jinyoung moved in and thrust at an opening, the monster’s ribs under its overextended arm.

  The explosive force knocked the wraith back towards the gate.

  I wonder…

  Jinyoung didn’t wait for his opponent to get back up. He [dashed] in and immediately [charged]. By the time the wraith had gotten back up, Jinyoung was already delivering a well-aimed blow to its midsection.

  His aim couldn’t have been more perfect. The wraith rocketed backwards through the air and made direct contact with the gate. For a second, the monster hung in the hair before it simply blinked out of existence.

  A voice shouted out from across the room. “Not one! Two! Erast!”

  Before he could respond, the gate sizzled and popped. Two arcs of energy shot out, hitting the ground and sending up a shower of debris.

  “That was a bad idea,” Willow called out.

  No shit, Jinyoung thought.

  Jinyoung lifted his sword and [charged]. And a heartbeat later, the two wraiths charged.

  ***

  A bead of sweat gathered on her brow and then trickled down past her eye.

  Casting [frost] at just the right amount while also keeping an eye on the chaotic battle in front of her was taking its toll. The strain of it would’ve been impossible just a month ago, but even now it was just bearable.

  She wanted nothing more than to reach up and wipe the sweat from her face, but she couldn’t move. With one hand, she was cooling Youngho’s forehead and attempting to keep his fever at bay. With her others, she was using [frost] to slow the spread of the sin infection. And while he hated to admit it, she was losing both battles.

  At first, Youngho had been blessedly quiet. But now, his breathing was getting heavier and she could see small shocks run through his body. Twice now, she had increased the intensity of the spell. Any more and she risked doing more damage than the infection. Even now, the skin around his arm was starting to blister from the intense cold.

  “Mr. Ko, you need to stay still,” she whispered.

  A sudden jerk ran through his arm and Youngho’s eyes flickered. A low grown made it out of his mouth.

  “This isn’t working,” Willow whispered to himself.

  She started to whisper a prayer and then thought better of it.

  Sunbae? We need you.