Chapter 158: GUIDE ME.

Chapter 158: 158: GUIDE ME.

"Guide me."

"No."

"Come on, it’s an emergency. Do something!"

"No, thanks."

"We’ll die if we don’t! Let’s do something. Kiss me or something!"

"I’d rather die. Thanks."

Ryan and Kael were running for their dear lives across the thick sand, pursued by seven massive crabs snapping their claws aggressively behind them.

Kael was persistent in trying to convince Ryan to synchronize with him, but Ryan remained reluctant.

Kael looked back at the massive crabs coming after them before staring at Ryan. "Come on! Let’s just do it so I can defend us! We can’t keep running forever!"

"Don’t worry about me. I love running. I ran so much that my parents considered enrolling me in the Olympics alongside Usain Bolt."

"..."

Kael shook his head. "So stubborn..."

He kept running while trying to come up with every excuse he could to convince Ryan, but Ryan wasn’t buying any of it.

"You... How can you not do anything when—"

Kael instantly tripped and fell onto the sand, rolling backward.

The unstable sand had shifted upward, causing Kael to fall and roll back while Ryan actively jumped across it.

"Kael...!"

Ryan called out as he turned, panicking when he watched Kael roll straight toward the crabs.

"Hold onto the sand!" Ryan suggested.

But it wasn’t working. As Kael tried, the sand became soft and elusive beneath his hands.

"It’s not... Ah!"

He slipped further and fell straight into the midst of the crabs, which immediately fought to capture him.

Kael only had his physical strength and wits to rely on as he dodged them while fighting against the unstable sand.

Ryan bit his lower lip. He couldn’t come up with his "brilliant" idea to maneuver through this atmosphere. He couldn’t read through anything for some suggestions.

"This damn anomaly dungeon," he cursed as he jumped into the scene. "I’m coming!"

Ryan slid through the sand and rolled while heading toward Kael. When he finally reached him, he stretched out his hand.

"Now!"

He reached out for Kael, who instantly grabbed it and pulled him closer.

Ryan lost his balance and found himself falling straight onto Kael, his chest pressed against Kael’s. They were pulled so close that Ryan ended up lying on top of Kael, who was on his back on the floor, their fingers locked together and Ryan’s face dangerously close to his.

Their lips were close.

Extremely close.

Their breaths washed over each other as silence settled between them. Ryan stared into Kael’s eyes, then down at his nose and finally his lips. He swallowed hard as his heart fluttered beyond control.

He hated that.

Kael stared from Ryan’s lips up to his eyes before letting out a breathy smile.

"If you want to kiss, you can go ahead..."

"Shut up..."

Ryan wanted to snap, but Kael suddenly held him firmly and turned, rolling them away from the scene as the crabs proceeded to attack.

Now Ryan had his back against the floor, with Kael above him, staring down into his flushed face and admiring his lips.

"Can I...?"

Ryan swallowed hard. He wanted to say no. That should have been the only right answer at that moment.

But instead, he found himself pulling Kael by the collar, bringing his face down until their lips met.

The kiss was deep, their lips locked together in the heat of the passionate moment. Their breaths grew heavier as they lingered against each other, both feeling the intense spark of something different from their usual professional need to synchronize and guide.

And just then, a crab struck its claws straight at them.

Ryan immediately pulled Kael away, and they rolled again, with Ryan ending up above Kael once more as he stared straight into his face.

Their eyes locked.

Kael stared at his lips, looking far from satisfied with what he had gotten.

Ryan smiled as he said, "Your energy is stable. Now let’s work."

---

Simon was blasting the crabs away with all the tornadoes he could come up with, winding up the sand and sweeping it toward the crabs. It was enough to distract and push them back, but it never actually hurt them because the crabs always came back almost immediately.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" June asked, still on his back.

Simon carried him firmly while moving between the air and the ground, continuing to fight off the monsters.

"I’m okay. So stay put there," he said firmly as he continued controlling the flow of sand with his energy and sending it toward the crabs.

Soon enough, the crabs caught onto the pattern and devised a new method.

One of them crawled into the ground while Simon stood at a distance, distracting the others by winding up more powerful gusts of wind.

The crab moved hastily beneath the ground and soon broke out directly beneath where Simon stood.

It erupted from the ground with tremendous force, sending Simon and June flying through the air.

The two of them were thrown apart, flying across the air before landing hard on the floor.

"Ouch..."

June held a hand over his waist after landing on the sand.

"Those rude crabs..." he muttered as he looked around. "Where the hell is my phone? I can’t be buying a new phone every second..."

He found it at his side and quickly picked it up.

"I hope it’s not broken. Jeez..."

He wiped the sand off it before turning it on.

"Thank heavens..."

June was about to turn it off to check the scene when his phone suddenly beeped.

The sound immediately caught the attention of a crab nearby.

The crab turned toward his direction and slowly began crawling toward June.

June gasped as he stared at the massive crab.

"What the fuck... What do you want...?"

He slowly moved backward as the crab approached, aggressively snapping its claws.

June shook his head.

"No... Stay back. Stay away from me, you ugly thing! Nyx is going to have your head if he sees you coming at me like that. Stay back!"

He continued moving backward, clutching tightly onto his phone as the aggressive-looking crab moved closer and faster.