Chapter 121 The Fiery Basement

Together, they traveled down the many steps in an effort to regroup with Korain and Eunji as it seemed like there were countless things needed to be done on this sleepless night.

"The more we get together, together, together. The more we get together, the happier I'll be…You smile at me. I smile at you. The more we get together, the happier we'll be," Xiaodan sang quietly in a singsong voice.

He looked back at the silver-haired adolescent who walked down the steps in a playful manner, though Xiaodan wasn't smiling.

"Xiaodan?" He called his name.

The tune stopped as Xiaodan looked up with a small frown, "Sorry…I just like to sing nursery rhymes to myself when I'm in a tough spot…"

"Oh," he said, looking forward again, "I don't mind."

Once they reached the second floor, he peeked in to see that Korain and Eunji did indeed already move down, prompting him to turn back into the stairwell with Xiaodan.

"I know I keep saying this, but…be on guard," he warned them.

"I've got it," Xiaodan assured him.

"Good…"

As they rushed down to the first floor, they were stopped as a harsh tremor shook the entirety of the building, causing it to momentarily rumble.

"Woah, woah, woah…!" Xiaodan held onto the stairside railing, "Are those centipedes doing this?"

"...I doubt it!" He replied.

The rumbling stopped just as quickly as it came, leaving them momentarily still before they pushed onto the first floor.

Immediately, it was dark–the space just beyond the dust stairwell had its candle snuffed out, for some reason unknown to him. Beyond that, it was quiet.

"What's the deal, Mr–I mean, Jeong-Hui? It's pretty spooky…" Xiaodan whispered.

"I don't know…" He replied quietly.

The lobby floor was large and far-expanding, but even so, it shouldn't be this quiet in the staff section they were near.

As they slowly moved forward in the complete darkness, a hand suddenly placed onto his shoulder, causing him to immediately grab his daggers before being stopped–

"It's just me."

"--?!"

It was a familiar head of snow-white hair, belonging to a man of a large, towering physique who looked down at him.

"Baek-Hyeon…?"

Xiaodan was even more confused than he was, staying behind him as the presence of the large, golden-eyed man wasn't one he knew.

"...Who is this?" Baek-Hyeon asked, looking past him, directly at Xiaodan.

"A new recruit," he answered quickly, keeping Xiaodan behind him.

There was something odd about the angelic-powered man; he was still smiling despite the dreadful situation, and beyond that, something more important stuck to his mind.

Where are the others? They should be here–why is it just him? He thought.

"Hey," he looked up at Baek-Hyeon, "Where are Korain, Eunji, and Chang-Ho?"

"Hm?" Baek-Hyeon looked down at him.

"They're supposed to be down here," he exemplified, "Where are they?"

There was a silent moment in the dark lobby floor as Baek-Hyeon's divine, golden eyes glowed in the shadow-crept area.

"Oh, that's right," Baek-Hyeon broke the silence, "They're in the basement. It's the safest place to be. You two should be going down there, as well–perfect timing."

"Huh…? Why?!" He asked in surprise.

Baek-Hyeon smiled, "I've been tasked with evacuating all members of Gangcheori to the basement. After which, I'll dispose of the enemy."

"But…"

"Direct orders from Dae-Seong," Baek-Hyeon told him sternly this time.

As much as he wanted to go against it, he couldn't find a rational reason to reject the man's words, nor did he have the strength to against the level fifty-five member.

"Alright…Let's go, Xiaodan," he said quietly, glancing back at his silver-haired companion.

Xiaodan hardly looked ready to follow the words of the towering, enigmatic man, but he trusted the red-haired young man, at least.

"Good," Baek-Hyeon said, "Right this way–I had to barricade it so those insects wouldn't get in."

Baek-Hyeon moved in front of him, guiding them towards the entrance to the hotel basement as he used his superhuman strength to remove the heavy-duty shelf from in front of the door, opening it.

The snow-haired man held it open, waiting for them to enter.

I don't have a good feeling about this, but…I'm just tired. It's probably fine, he thought.

To his surprise, Xiaodan grabbed onto his hand as they moved into the basement, beginning to descend the clammy, dark steps.

SLAM.

The basement door was shut behind them as the screeching of the shelf was heard, once again blocking off the door.

"Is this right…?" Xiaodan asked quietly.

"...I don't know, but…Baek-Hyeon is powerful. I'd rather be on his good side," he said.

There was no light present to shine down on the grimy basement stairs as they slowly stepped down, sticking close to one another as the sound of water dripping down was the only real noise until–

FWOOSH.

"RAAAGH–! It just never stops, does it?!"

–An unmistakable, boisterous voice shouted out as the sounds of flames building was also followed by an inhuman screech.

Korain?! He thought.

He didn't waste a moment rushing down the stairs, as Xiaodan, confused and bewildered, was forced to follow him down into the depths of the basement.

The clammy, uncleaned bottom floor of the hotel was lit by a verdant flame, though it wasn't by a candle or lantern, but a humanoid entity.

Korain and Eunji were pressed against a wall, with the warrior-class man swinging his claymore with his singular arm to dissuade the flaming humanoid from approaching closer.

"Get back! Dammit–! That Baek-Hyeon…!" Korain yelled out.

Eunji was on the ground, huffing and puffing heavily as her left arm looked to be burned while the one-armed executive stood between her and the flaming entity.

"Let's go! They need our help!" He told Xiaodan, unsheathing his dagger as he rushed across the basement.

"...Right!" Xiaodan nodded.

They moved swiftly, using the fact that the flaming entity wasn't aware of their presence to unleash a swift, sharp assault.

[Enemy Identified: "Infernal" | Level 26]

He manifested [Dark Edge] around his daggers, using a [Blink Step] combination for a pseudo [Ripper] of his own as he repeatedly struck the charcoal-skinned, skeleton-like entity bathed in flames.

"Hot, hot, hot…!" He said to himself, jumping back as he shook his hands after unleashing the attack.

"Lad–!" Korain called out in surprise.

Though Korain's look of delighted shock at his reappearance quickly turned urgent as he shouted out, "Look out, lad!"

The flaming, lanky humanoid was lunging towards him, howling out, but was stopped–

"Punisher Comet," Xiaodan invoked.

It was a dropkick that was shrouded in a flash of light, launching against the side of the burning entity with a harsh impact that sent it flying back before it crumbled away into ash.

"...Not so strong," Xiaodan landed on his feet, wiping the sweat from his chin.

"Only because I softened it up for you," he said.

After the unknown enemy was defeated, he set his sights on Korain and Eunji, though he was more pressed about the state of Eunji herself as she was sweating and breathing heavily, bearing a burn mark on her left arm.

"Eunji! Is she…?" He rushed over to the girl's side, looking up at Korain.

Korain huffed, "That damned thing came out of nowhere…Honestly, you…two showed up right as it appeared."

After explaining that, the Gangcheori executive looked a bit confused at the new face present in the basement.

"Yo, I'm Xiaodan," the silver-haired, feminine male introduced himself.

"...Korain," the executive returned the greeting.

It seemed that there were more important matters than formal greetings as Eunji's burnmark seemed to continue burning for some reason, exuding steam from the handprint-shaped burn.

"What do we do…?" He said.