We were flying low over the river surface, heading upstream.
As I kept watch below the water, Cho’s antenna brushed against my cheek, prompting a sudden concern.
“Come to think of it, Cho, are you okay? You haven’t had much sleep.”
—Tzrrr. 『I’m fine, Dad. That nap earlier was enough. Cho’s strong, you know.』
“What about Yeondu?”
—Shaaa. 『I’m fine too, So-ryong.』
Both Cho and Yeondu had been flying non-stop for over two days, with only a short four-hour rest on Hwanji and Hwana’s heads.
I was worried about their condition. Then again, Seomi and Byeogi had also been constantly emitting electricity without rest.
They’d been outputting high-voltage charges continuously, so I called out below.
“Oh—hey, are you two okay? Don’t you need a break?”
Even if they were spirit beasts, it was likely that their electricity generation mechanism was similar to electric eels or catfish—using sodium-potassium ion exchange inside their bodies.
If so, then there had to be a limit.
Even electric eels couldn’t discharge high-voltage bursts endlessly.
That’s why Amazon tribes would catch them by repeatedly poking them with sticks to drain their charge before safely grabbing them, right?
Fatigue was inevitable alongside any limit, so I had to ask. But just as I called down, the two popped their heads up, shook them, and let out a soft cry.
—Waeae.
—Waeaeae.
—Tzrrr. 『They said they’re okay, Dad. They’ve been taking turns.』
Smart little guys.
The river had narrowed to the point that one could cover it alone. I’d just been thinking it’d be good for them to alternate—and they already were.
As long as the Five Venoms Sect didn’t show up, everything should be fine.
‘Please, let nothing happen.’
We continued upriver, and after about one da-kyung’s worth of time had passed—
Hwa-eun suddenly pointed toward a dark cliffside.
“So-ryong, there’s a cave.”
Her fingertip indicated a barely visible opening beneath a shadowy cliff.
I recognized it.
It was where the mother Stickyworms had spawned.
Last time we came for reconnaissance, the inside had been packed with writhing larvae that gave us chills.
Since it was the spawning site, I decided we had to check it again—there might still be some left inside.
“Guys, this way!”
We approached and entered the cave. No more larvae were inside...
But at the deepest part of the cave’s pool, something the size of a thumb’s first joint was scattered across the bottom like gravel.
Despite the darkness, the objects emitted a faint glow.
We hadn’t seen them last time because the larvae had been swarming thick, but now I approached for a closer look.
“What’s that?”
“What is that? It’s glittering.”
“It’s... kinda beautiful. Are they gems?”
I hadn’t expected Gun Hye-rin to like gemstone-like things—given her love of fighting—but she seemed intrigued.
I asked Seomi and Byeogi to bring a few up.
“Cave pearls, maybe? Hey, can you guys fetch a few?”
—Waeae. Waeaeae.
“Cave pearls?”
“Yeah, they’re stones found in old caves... Wait—ugh!”
At first, I assumed they were cave pearls—formed by thousands of years of dripping water building up calcified spheres, like stalactites or stalagmites.
But as soon as I placed one of the round orbs Seomi brought on my palm—
Inside it, a tiny Stickyworm squirmed.
Like a frog or newt egg.
A chill ran down my spine.
“They’re eggs?!”
“Wait... didn’t they already lay eggs not long ago!?”
At the word "eggs" from Gun Hye-rin, Hwa-eun’s eyes widened.
“I told you, right? In the worst case, the male and female could be one and the same. It looks like that’s the case here.”
There are some lower organisms where the male and female are a single body.
The female had laid eggs not long ago, so she wouldn’t have again so soon.
Which meant... this batch must’ve come from the severed half.
Most likely, the first clutch had been laid by the tail-half—already mature and laid immediately after fertilization.
These new ones were laid by the head-half, after it had differentiated and matured.
“That settles it. We have to destroy them all.”
“Guys, go ahead.”
I tossed the egg in my hand into the water.
Suddenly, the glowing eggs at the bottom began to flicker—like faulty light bulbs.
One by one, their light dimmed and went out.
As the last egg’s glow faded, darkness engulfed the cave.
If the glow came from bioluminescence or luminescent bacteria/viruses, then they had likely all died.
“Greed of man... I’m sorry to you, too.”
They were our enemies, but I doubt they wanted to cause such harm either.
I pressed my palms together and silently prayed for them.
‘May you find peace in the afterlife.’
I’m not Buddhist or anything, but given that people keep mistaking me for the Heavenly Master—maybe this prayer would release some lingering resentment?
That was the thought in my head... when it happened.
—Vwoooom! Vwoooo!
The sound of wings flapping from afar.
“Did Ranghu and the others follow us?”
It was an awfully familiar sound.
Something like the wings of a bee. I figured maybe, now that the rain had stopped, the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings had come to join us.
But as I looked in the direction of the sound, it grew louder—and sharper—until it stung my ears.
“Urgh.”
“My ears?”
Sharper than any sound the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings made.
As soon as the pain began, I remembered something buried deep in my memory.
Hwa-eun and I turned to each other, eyes wide, and shouted in unison through group voice-chat.
『“T-This sound!? Gun Hye-rin, shield your ears with internal force!”』
“Gun Hye-rin! Use your inner energy to protect your ears!”
“What!?”
Just as Hwa-eun and I urgently called out—
A gleaming black body appeared at the cave entrance.
A massive wasp.
It was Hoja, one of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts.
“Hoja!”
Its appearance could only mean one thing: the Five Venoms Sect had decided to go all-in.
As the wingbeats faded, a middle-aged man stepped down from the wasp’s back—a face I didn’t recognize.
“Who the hell are you!?”
He was clearly someone high-ranking within the Five Venoms Sect, but without Cheong-yu Sojeo here, we couldn’t confirm his identity.
When I shouted at him, he grinned—greasy and smug.
“Is that how you talk to your father-in-law when his daughter’s dead? Once a father-in-law, always a father-in-law, no?”
“Father-in-law?”
“Wait... don’t tell me—the Sect Master of the Five Venoms Sect!?”
At those words, Hwa-eun’s eyes blazed wide open.
If he was calling himself my father-in-law, he must have been referring to Cheong-yu Sojeo’s obsession with me when she was brainwashed.
Which meant... Hwa-eun was right. This man was the Sect Master.
He spread his arms wide, as if to present himself.
“That’s right. I am the Sect Master of the Five Venoms Sect. Oh Cheon-ryung!”
Then he smiled at us.
A grin like a jackal.
“My son-in-law’s come to visit, bearing all sorts of goodies for his in-laws. Shall we begin the hunt?”
“Oh, and don’t bother resisting. It’s useless. Hoja is second only to Zimjo among the Ten Great Venoms.”
A violent wave of sound burst from Hoja’s wings, roaring toward us.
And beyond the cave entrance, across the riverbank, the Five Venoms Sect’s warriors began to emerge in droves.
—Vwooooom. Vwoooom!
***
Hoja’s soundwaves were different from before—either because the creature had grown stronger, or because the acoustics of the cave walls amplified the waves.
Even with our internal energy protecting our ears, Hoja’s wingbeats were shaking our entire nervous systems.
Unlike the previous sonic attacks that targeted only our hearing, this time the waves resonated deep inside our ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ bodies.
Because sound doesn’t just affect the ears—it’s vibration.
I heard pained groans from Cho and Hyang.
Just as I panicked, the sonic barrage suddenly softened—thanks to Gun Hye-rin’s voice ringing through the group channel.
『“I’ve reversed the flow of my inner energy to block the sound!”』
Her reversal technique worked. The shockwaves were significantly dulled, and the kids stopped writhing in pain.
If Gun Hye-rin hadn’t done that in time, we might’ve suffered serious damage.
『“Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me—break through! I’ll clear a path. Stick close! Hwa-eun, I’m handing the energy barrier to you!”
“Got it!”』
Even as I thanked her, Gun Hye-rin shouted at Hwa-eun.
Though Hoja was still blocking the entrance and Five Venoms Sect warriors were packed in on both banks of the waterway, she planned to charge straight through.
It must’ve been coordinated—Hwa-eun braced her hand, and Gun Hye-rin launched herself off of it toward Hoja.
The moment Gun Hye-rin soared in, Oh Cheon-ryung gave a sly, toothy smile.
His lips moved: “A frontal assault? Bold little girl. I like it.”
Gun Hye-rin’s strike collided head-on with Oh Cheon-ryung atop Hoja.
A massive explosion echoed through the cave.
The wasp’s wingbeats formed a screeching backdrop as the walls trembled. Gun Hye-rin rebounded toward Hwa-eun, while Oh Cheon-ryung was pushed slightly back in midair.
His face showed open shock.
I could read his lips: “Huagyeong...?”
He’d realized Gun Hye-rin was in the Huagyeong realm and was startled.
But the surprise was mutual.
『“Damn it. I’m at the edge of Huagyeong. Even on a good day this would be tough—but with a third of my inner energy used to block that sound, I won’t be able to break through.”
“He’s on the edge of Huagyeong?”
“That’s right!”』
Oh Cheon-ryung being at Huagyeong’s threshold meant Gun Hye-rin couldn’t handle him alone.
『“Then I’ll join you!”』
Hwa-eun offered to fight with her, but Gun Hye-rin glanced toward me and the children.
『“And what happens to So-ryong and the kids?”
“...Ah.”』
If Hwa-eun left, we’d be exposed to Hoja’s sonic waves again.
Everyone wore uneasy expressions—until I saw Seomi and Byeogi beneath the surface.
Then I remembered: soundwaves lose power in water.
『“Hwa-eun, Gun Hye-rin—listen carefully. Underwater, the sonic waves are nearly harmless. I’ll go with Seomi and Byeogi and escape through the water. You two keep him occupied. We’ll meet outside!”』
Airborne sound loses most of its strength when transmitted into water—that’s why Seomi and Byeogi weren’t reacting much to Hoja’s attacks.
『“Got it!”
“Got it, So-ryong!”
“Hyang, Hongdan—protect your mother! Baekhwa, Heukhwa—stay with Gun Hye-rin!”
Tsrurur. (Got it, Dad!)
Kishaa. (Understood!)
Shakii. (We will, So-ryong-nim!)』
To reinforce their battle strength, I paired Hyang and Hongdan with Hwa-eun, and Baekhwa and Heukhwa with Gun Hye-rin.
Then I dove into the water.
As I slipped below the surface, I saw Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin launch forward, wrapped in Cho and Yeondu.
Seomi and Byeogi swam up to me in surprise.
I gestured—“To the outside.”
They grabbed hold and began swimming fast.
The underwater sound was faint—barely noticeable.
We timed it just right—while Gun Hye-rin and Hwa-eun clashed above, we slipped out of the cave.
But on the riverbanks, Five Venoms warriors clad in leather were already plunging into the water with spears and forked river weapons.
‘They must not know what Seomi and Byeogi can do. Or maybe they think I can’t use lightning when I’m with them.’
Just then—
Seomi bit my collar and yanked me upward.
We burst above the waterline.
And just like that—everyone in the water, or touching the water, began convulsing violently.
‘Damn, that works?’
Seomi and Byeogi—brilliant spirit beasts as expected—had used the launch to insulate me, then blasted the invaders with current.
The Five Venoms warriors flailed in disarray.
Well, serves them right.
As I celebrated, holding Seomi and diving back into the river—
A voice rang through the group chat, urgent.
『“Hwa-eun, are you okay!?”
“Nngh...”』
Gun Hye-rin’s alarmed shout—Hwa-eun’s strained groan.
I looked back and saw Hwa-eun, bleeding from her shoulder, wrapped in Cho and flying toward me.
Gun Hye-rin was pulling back while keeping Oh Cheon-ryung in check.
Tsrurut. (That coward struck the gap...)
When Hyang is used as armor, one leg and one arm remain exposed—he must have hit that spot during the clash.
『“Are you alright, Hwa-eun!?”
“I’m okay. Just grazed. I can’t fight properly in midair like this...”
“Damn it. If only we could bring down that damn wasp...”』
Seeing Hwa-eun wounded, Gun Hye-rin gritted her teeth in rage.
『“If you can take down Hoja, you can handle the rest?”
“Yes! If I can unleash my full energy, I’ll smash him with a Heavenly Demon Fist strike!”』
That gave me an idea.
Hwa-eun was injured, and Gun Hye-rin couldn’t use her full power.
So our enemies probably thought this was the perfect chance to capture us.
But that logic worked both ways.
We had three fighters at or near Huagyeong level. If we could silence Hoja, the kids could mop up the regular soldiers—and we’d have a real shot at killing Oh Cheon-ryung.
And if we took his head, the rest might crumble.
Five Venoms was a sect ruled absolutely by its master—kill the brain, and the body would collapse.
I smiled and said through the group chat:
『“Gun Hye-rin, have you heard the story of the mouse that kills the elephant?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I’m about to show you.”』
They said Hoja was second only to Jimjo?
Time to shatter that belief.
