“The wound’s too deep!” Jang Hae-Won cried out with her hands placed on Gasman. She sounded like she was about to cry. That was how bad the wound was and how dangerous the situation was.

“Cough! Gah!” Every time his chest heaved up and down, Gasman choked and coughed out blood.

“...Mr. Jun-Ho.” Gong Ju-Ha said. The look in her eyes had changed as she watched them. She spoke in a low voice with her eyes still on Cheetey, “Did you see that?”

“I didn’t...”

Cheetey the Cheetah was one of Forever Land’s mascots—but this wasn't some cute animal costume.

‘This is the original Cheetey.’ 

It was a humanoid cheetah that was so fast that Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes hadn’t been able to register how it moved. It didn’t seem unnatural for Cheetey to be standing on two legs, and they fit right in at Serengeti.

They lazily licked their blood-stained claws. “Gas and fire are an annoying match-up,” they muttered, voice full of mischief.

Cheetey looked at Gong Ju-Ha. They had been aiming for her from the very beginning. After all, no matter how much gas there was, it was pointless if there was nothing to spark it.

‘...The human has better eyes than I thought.’ 

Their attack had failed because Seo Jun-Ho had tackled Gong Ju-Ha away. So, Cheetey had decided that Gasman would be the second-best target.

“I didn’t see it,” Gong Ju-Ha said honestly. “Let’s move for now. So Hae-Won can focus on healing him,” she added. She calmly made the best decision she could in the situation.

“But that guy won’t just follow along,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“I know.” Gong Ju-Ha summoned her magic and placed her hand on the ground. “So, let’s push them away.”

Fwoosh! 

As a great amount of magic energy was released, a wall of fire shot up from the ground. With nowhere else to go, Cheetey retreated away.

“Huff, huff… Good.” Gong Ju-Ha looked back and met Jang Hae-Won’s eyes.

“Princess…”

“Don’t worry about us and focus on healing him. I’m gonna win no matter what.”

Fwoosh. 

A multi-layered wall of fire appeared around Jang Hae-Won.

“Isn’t it dangerous for them?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“It’s alright. It’s a type of fire that doesn’t spread or go out.” Serengeti was much hotter now that it had become a sea of fire. Despite Gong Ju-Ha’s usual complaints about the heat, her lips were pursed. She pulled her messy hair in a tight ponytail. “Let’s go.”

She extinguished the wall of fire as they went forward. It was obvious just how much magic the technique was using, so she wouldn’t be able to maintain it for a prolonged period of time.

“Do you have a plan?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

She shook her head. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to hit someone that fast.” Gong Ju-Ha flicked her finger, creating a fireball. It floated near her head like the sun. “But I’ll try…”

“...!”

One, two, three… She kept creating fireballs until there were a hundred of them in no time. The sight was majestic enough to make even Seo Jun-Ho swallow nervously even though he was her ally.

“That’s… amazing.” The Frost Queen usually disliked Ju-Ha, but her face was full of shock.

“Hmph, it’s still a slow attack.” Cheetey snorted, but the mischief had left their voice. There was no way they would be hit, but they would die even if they received just a scratch.

“Here I go.”

The moment Gong Ju-Ha’s hand fell, a hundred fireballs flew into the savanna, each with their own time delay.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of explosions came from everywhere around them, turning the place they were in akin to a battlefield.

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes flitted around.

‘...No. She’s too slow.’ 

The explosions were powerful, but Cheetey was still too fast.

“Keke, are you trying to catch me with these slow attacks? How ridiculousy.”[1]

Fwoosh. 

All hundred fireballs had been launched, but Cheetey remained completely uninjured.

“...What should I do? They’re too fast. My skill can’t keep up.” Ruler of Flames was a great skill, but it had one weakness. Actually, all elemental abilities had a shared weakness, except for lightning-affiliated ones. “It’s impossible for me to hit something that fast.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho slowly nodded. He wasn’t sure if his own skill, Watchguard of Darkness, would be able to do that either.

‘In this situation, it’s nice to have a mage like Skaya to restrain the enemy for a moment…;

But unfortunately, no one here had such a convenient skill. Seo Jun-Ho thought for a moment, then spoke with a grave voice, “Take care of the zookeepers first. Leave this guy to me.”

“....You? It’s too dangerous. That guy’s insanely fast,” she said, eyes wide.

“But we still need to do something about the zookeepers.” They had passed by the pair and were heading toward the place where Gong Ju-Ha had left Jang Hae-Won. If this continued, Gasman and Jang Hae-Won would be in danger.

“Keke.” Cheetey laughed as they slowly approached the two. “You’re chattering again? No matter what you try, you won’t even be able to graze me.”

“Mr. Jun-Ho…”

“There’s no time. Go.”

Gong Ju-Ha looked at him with worried eyes. “...Alright. I’ll be right back, so don’t lose.”

“Of course...”

Realizing that she wouldn’t be of any help here, Gong Ju-Ha bit her lip and turned around to leave. As she left, Seo Jun-Ho looked at Cheetey coolly. “It’s time for you to play with me now.”

“Mm, about that… Why should I?” They stroked their chin and grinned. Gong Ju-Ha already had her back turned to them. “That woman trusted you and left her back open. Don’t she look like she’ll just die if I attack her right now?”

It was a rhetorical question. As soon as they finished speaking, however, Cheetey kicked off the ground and their figure blurred.

‘Kek. Stupid human.’ 

Did he think they would play fair?

Just as Cheetey was laughing and was about to pass by Seo Jun-Ho, the latter spoke, “Didn’t you hear me? I said it’s time to play with me now.”

“...!”

His voice had come from right next to them.

‘Impossible I…I’m running right now!’ 

This meant their opponent was keeping up with their speed. Cheetey slowly looked up to the left.

Crack! 

Something struck their head, and searing pain blossomed on their face.

“...”

They were now at a complete stop. Cheetey blinked, unable to believe what had just happened.

‘Did I…Did I fall over? Because he attacked me?’ 

Cheetey stood carefully, grabbing the ground. There was something hot on their face, and they touched their nose.

“Blood…”

There was blood on their hand. How long had it been since they had last bled?

“How?” They turned and stared at the human, unpanicked. “You… Were you hiding your power?” Up until a moment ago, the girl’s aura had been the overwhelmingly powerful one. But now, they weren’t so sure anymore. They didn’t know how to explain it, but something had changed.

“I dunno, I just increased my output,” Seo Jun-Ho replied with a shrug.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” Cheetey’s eyes narrowed and they lowered their stance. They looked at Seo Jun-Ho for a moment before disappearing again. This time, they were much faster.

‘He caught up to me before because I let my guard down.’ 

Now, they were running at their maximum speed. They were going so fast that they couldn’t even control it properly.

Cheetey nodded as they ran.

‘He can’t catch up to this. A mere human could never go as fast as a cheetah.’ 

It was their nature. Cheetahs were born fast, while tigers and bears were born with strong muscles.

‘Humans are slower than cheetahs and weaker than bears and tigers.’ 

That was the natural order of things, and it couldn’t be changed.

Or so they thought…

“...!”

Something was blocking the way. By the time they realized that they had to dodge, it was too late.

Crack! 

Seo Jun-Ho’s knee buried itself into the cheetah’s chin. The pain made their head spin, and Cheetey’s eyes rolled back as they collapsed.

“You really aren’t a normal monster. Usually, it would end here,” Seo Jun-Ho remarked.

Cheetey managed to pull themselves together and flipped their body in midair. Using their tail for balance, they landed safely.

But their face was hideous. “Haak, haak…!” 

Their jaw had been completely shattered, making it impossible for them to speak. Their lips wouldn’t close; and teeth, blood, and saliva dripped out of it.

‘How dare he!’ 

Their fur stood on end in fury. All the original Forever Land mascots, including them, were superior to humans.

‘But how dare a mere human…!’

They were so enraged that their body was trembling. If they didn’t rip apart the human with their claws, their head just might explode.

‘Right this instant!’ 

But what could they do in this situation?

The question actually calmed Cheetey down.

‘This human is fast.’ 

They didn’t want to admit it, they would rather die than admit it, but the human in front of them was faster than them—a cheetah.

The gears quickly started turning in their head.

‘What if I just ignore him and kill the girl first?’ 

No. He would catch up.

‘I can’t fight him face-on either…’ 

‘Even if I order the other animals… Dammit, it’s impossible to catch this human.’ 

They flipped through dozens of possible solutions, but each one was rejected.

‘No, no, no, no, no…’ 

Still crouching like an angered cat, Cheetey absentmindedly tapped their paws on the ground, but they couldn’t muster the courage to pour strength into them and just run forward.

And then, Cheetey met the human’s eyes.

‘...What’s with him?’ 

Why did he look unhappy? His eyes were eerily calm. There was no joy, no interest, or a sense of superiority.

He looked as if he already knew the outcome—as if he had already been through this hundreds; no, thousands of times.

“...” The moment they realized this, Cheetey became filled with a newfound fear for the man in front of them.

“...It’s over.”

With that one word, the man leisurely walked away and disappeared from sight.

‘Is he just letting me go?’ 

Why wasn’t he attacking? Should they take this chance to ambush him? Or just run away?

Cheetey was pulled from their thoughts as they suddenly went stiff.

‘Why is it hot?’ 

Their whole body felt as hot as a volcano—as if they had caught on fire.

“Haak, haak!” Cheetey drooled as they watched the man disappear with red eyes.

Gong Ju-Ha’s flames didn’t go out no matter how much they rolled on the ground. And the flames didn’t stop until they had stopped breathing and their bones had turned to ashes.

“...Wait, why’s the cheetah suddenly acting like that? It doesn’t look like they're dodging.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just attack them with perfect timing?”

“O-Of course I did… I’m pretty good at that.”

Gong Ju-Ha laughed bashfully; she felt proud of herself despite not knowing anything.

Seo Jun-Ho went with the flow and laughed along with her.

1. Cheetey ends their sentences with “-tah”, as in chee-tah ☜