The Mist Vol 2 Chapter 22

Vol 2 Chapter 22

Kapros had naturally assumed it would fall and die while burning, but the Kalap Titan was still alive, albeit charred black. As it escaped, the fire wind slowly lost its power and dissipated. Only black ash and desolate empty ground remained where the magic had swept through.

This was troublesome. Kapros had no strength left, and there was hardly anywhere to hide.

"Tsuaaaa!"

"Blink!"

What a persistently stubborn creature. How could it survive that fire?

Kapros gritted his teeth and gathered his remaining mana to keep using Blink. He knew it was only a desperate measure to circle around the Kalap Titan and avoid it, but he had no leeway to use other magic. At this rate, Kran's worried words were about to become reality.

As time passed, whether due to overusing Blink with low proficiency, his movements became erratic and his injuries increased. Kapros rolled his body desperately, avoiding the Kalap Titan's long swinging legs and randomly flying stones.

His arm stung from colliding while dodging an incoming attack, but he clenched his teeth and used Blink again. Not knowing how far Yu-wan and Kran had fled, going round and round like this game of tag was the best option. Fortunately, Blink required less mana than other spells.

'Even so, it'll be over once all the mana is used up.'

That end approached faster than expected.

"Tsuaaa!"

'Oh no!'

Seeing another leg flying towards him at the spot he had Blinked to, Kapros hurriedly tried to escape again, but the monster's attack was faster than his slowed movements. There was no space visible to flee from the massive monster that had come so close.

'Damn it.'

Just as he was widening his eyes, determined to at least throw one last bomb by scraping together his remaining mana even if he died...

Bang!

Suddenly, a ball of light flying at tremendous speed came from somewhere and hit the Kalap Titan's head. As the Kalap Titan staggered greatly from the impact, second and third identical attacks began to strike it.

Crash! Bang!

As the number of those light balls, whose origin was unknown, increased, the Kalap Titan struggled and finally collapsed. Black, burnt earth dust rose.

Only then did the tension leave Kapros's body. As he lay sprawled, catching his breath next to the fallen Kalap Titan that was still struggling and screaming, he soon saw two figures running towards him from afar.

At first, he thought it might be Yu-wan and Kran, but it wasn't. They were coming from a completely different direction from where those two had gone. Squinting his eyes, wondering who they could be, one of them seemed strangely familiar. The other was wrapped in something that could be a cloak or cloth, making them unrecognizable.

Finally, the two arrived close enough to make out their features. Seeing the man with an exceptionally tall stature compared to his companion, carrying a huge greatsword on his back, Kapros finally realized the reason for his sense of familiarity.

'It's that pervert-like guy I encountered in Tolang.'

While Kapros was doubting, not expecting to see him again here, they stopped in front of the Kalap Titan, which hadn't yet fully died. The tall man began examining the monster, but the shorter one ran straight to Kapros and hugged him tightly as if about to knock him over.

"Kar!"

Kapros's eyes widened at the unexpected voice. The man tore off the cloth covering his face. Unbelievably, the face revealed underneath was Kion-hyung's. The faded blonde hair and black eyes he saw again were shining with joy.

"I thought it might be, but it really is you! You... How long has it been? Don't you recognize your hyung?"

As Kapros just gaped blankly, Kion-hyung messed up his hair vigorously with hands full of joy.

"Have you been well? How do we meet in a place like this? But why do you look even more... No, more importantly, that magic from earlier, it was you who used it, right?"

"Uh..."

Kapros opened his mouth to answer, but wasn't given the chance. Seeing his battered body, Kion-hyung jumped up with a shout.

"No, what's all this blood? I should have healed you first, I'm sorry. I'm such a birdbrain, focusing on only one thing when I get fixated."

"...No."

Kapros was completely bewildered. Kion-hyung rolled up his sleeves, then pulled on and wore white gloves he took out from his chest.

"Goddess, your rest for tomorrow's battle. Heal Breath!"

Whoosh. A fine, powder-like light flowed down over Kapros's head. Soon, with a feeling as comfortable as lying in bed, all the wounds on his body began to heal.

"Uh..."

Having only experienced party hunting once, and never having been healed even then, this first experience of holy magic felt very unfamiliar to Kapros. As he was staring in wonder at his now-intact body, Kion-hyung sat down again with a grin.

"In the past, this kind of skill..."

Kapros was about to ask, 'Weren't you not very good at it?' but Kion-hyung beat him to it.

"Hahaha! I've done a lot of training in the meantime. Are you okay now?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Feeling a warmth in his chest, Kapros smiled back, and Kion-hyung messed up his hair again.

"Ugh. Seeing you again and you're still using formal speech? Please, just speak comfortably."

"...Okay."

The answer flowed out surprisingly easily, even to Kapros himself. Kion-hyung, seemingly surprised by his own suggestion, opened his eyes wide before his expression changed to one of pleasure.

"What have you been up to all this time to end up playing dangerously with fire here? If I hadn't recognized you, it could have been a disaster."

At those words, Kapros's expression hardened slightly as he remembered Yu-wan and Kran, whom he had momentarily forgotten.

"Well..."

"Someone's coming over there."

At that moment, the huge man who had been poking around the Kalap Titan shouted, pointing behind them. Following his hand, Kapros saw Yu-wan and Kran running towards them at a fierce pace.

"Kap!"

Good heavens.

For a moment, Kapros felt so drained that he couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Who are those guys?"

Kapros shook his head, grabbing the arm of Kion-hyung, who was trying to stand up with a wary look.

"They're my companions."