CHAPTER 46: E46: THE MAMMOTH CHARGES

E46: The Mammoth Charges

The heavy thud of footsteps against the cracked pavement made the air tremble with unease. The fat, hulking man who had been calling the shots—now shirt shredded down the side, exposing skin that looked almost unnaturally dense and veiny—was moving forward with a kind of terrifying calm. Despite his absurd size, there was no sluggishness in his step. No hesitation. Just pure, mechanical intimidation.

Kim Do-hyun (김도현) stood his ground. Or at least, he tried to.

Inside his chest, his heartbeat was thumping like a drum on the edge of snapping. His muscles were shaking—not from fear, but from pain that had begun catching up to him like a debt collector. The last blow from the Tarzan-looking brute hadn’t just knocked the wind out of him. It had rattled something deeper. A nerve maybe. Or his spine. He couldn’t tell anymore. His vision flickered at the edges like a TV losing signal. Even the breeze on his skin felt distant now, like it was touching someone else.

He blinked, hard.

His focus wavered, then snapped back as he forced himself to adjust his stance, knees slightly bent, weight shifted to his rear leg. His ribs ached with every breath, and his entire body was trembling from the mixture of exhaustion, adrenaline, and sheer willpower holding him together.

"That guy... he’s not just fat," Do-hyun muttered under his breath. "He’s built like a damn tank."

As the towering man advanced, the streetlamp flickered above him, casting uneven light that made the cracks along the ground look deeper than they were. Do-hyun’s eyes scanned the situation with trained urgency. Tarzan was still out cold, unmoving on the floor like a broken dummy, but Carvo Baldy was lingering somewhere behind him, pacing like a predator waiting for its moment.

One step. Another. The boss was moving again.

Do-hyun’s thoughts raced. The bastard clearly had some kind of awakening. That hardened skin from earlier, the way the last explosion barely singed him—it all pointed to a skill related to durability or impact resistance. That meant every punch Do-hyun threw would do less than it should. And every punch the man landed? It would feel like getting hit by a small car.

No way he could afford another direct hit.

A sharp gust of air warned him. Do-hyun didn’t wait. As the fat boss lunged forward like a charging mammoth, Do-hyun rotated his body around the strike zone and swung a reverse underarm hook with everything he had left.

His knuckles connected with the side of the man’s neck. It was like hitting a punching bag made of bricks. The vibration traveled through his arm, rattling his shoulder. Still, the man flinched.

Do-hyun followed it up. Without letting the momentum die, he twisted his heel on the cracked pavement and unleashed another strike, this time a clean hook straight into the jawline of the boss. His wrist screamed at him for bending under the impact, but the result was clear.

The man’s head jerked to the side, eyes twitching as he re-stabilized.

Do-hyun staggered. His balance was off. That dizziness—no, it wasn’t going away. His temples were pounding and his stomach was tight. He was running on fumes. Breathing was a chore. He couldn’t afford to let this fight drag. Not like this. He had to find an opening and end it fast.

"Number One... Number Two..." he murmured under his breath, "hurry up..."

The boss growled and lunged again. This time, both arms extended forward for a grapple. If he succeeded in grabbing Do-hyun’s body, that would be game over.

Do-hyun sidestepped, just barely. The man’s momentum carried him forward past him, and in that opening, Do-hyun snapped his foot upward, his shin slamming into the boss’s jaw. It was not a clean strike, but the contact forced the man to stumble back half a step.

But again, the behemoth turned with almost no reaction on his face. That awakening of his wasn’t just defensive. He was built for soaking damage.

"God... this guy... why isn’t he flinching?"

Do-hyun’s fingers curled, sweat rolling down his spine as he readjusted his breathing. His back muscles burned from overextension. His legs were losing their spring. His jaw still throbbed from Carvo’s earlier punch. Every hit he took was building into a mountain he couldn’t carry much longer.

Again, the man rushed forward for another grab.

Do-hyun ducked low, his shoulder sliding beneath the boss’s outstretched arm. He twisted his body tightly and used the angle to land another quick jab into the man’s ribs. There was barely a sound except for a dull thud and the heavy exhale from both fighters.

Suddenly, a wet cough.

Tarzan was still on the ground, eyes half-lidded, blood trickling from his lip. But the real problem wasn’t him.

Something changed.

Do-hyun’s peripheral vision caught it first. The fat man’s face. Something unnatural was happening. His skin was turning darker—not from bruising, but as though a thickened film was forming over it. Almost like armor hardening on command. A thin steam hissed out from the crown of his head, and the veins across his arms bulged to the size of small cables.

His posture shifted. Rigid. Robotic.

"Ah, crap," Do-hyun muttered.

The boss wasn’t just strong. He had gone into some kind of awakened combat mode.

Do-hyun’s instincts screamed for him to dodge. His body already started moving before he could fully form the thought.

But something grabbed his ankle.

In a flash, he glanced down and saw Carvo—Carvo Baldy—on one knee, holding Do-hyun’s leg like a vice grip. His bald head glistened with sweat, and his grin was crooked with satisfaction. The bastard had been waiting for this moment.

"Got you," Carvo hissed.

That wasn’t all.

From behind, the Tarzan brute, still groggy but functioning on reflex, lunged and seized Do-hyun’s right shoulder. A firm lock. Do-hyun was frozen in place. His eyes widened.

His body tensed. He couldn’t escape. Not this time.

Then came the blow.

The mammoth boss’s fist descended like a piston. It landed square in the center of Do-hyun’s abdomen. A hollow crunch echoed out as the air inside his lungs was violently forced out. The world tilted.

Everything in his stomach lurched. He felt like vomiting. No—he was going to vomit.

But the pain wouldn’t even let him do that.

He hit the ground with a thud that made the pavement cry. His limbs sprawled in every direction like a broken marionette. His lips parted, but no sound came out. His lungs were crushed. His vision blurred. It felt like everything he’d ever eaten since birth had been punched up to his throat and now refused to leave.

"Move..." he thought, trying to twitch a finger. "Move, damn it..."

He couldn’t.

He was done.

Or so he thought.

A faint heat bloomed above.

A glimmer of light crept into his half-closed eye. It was small at first, like a warm ember in the distance, but it grew in brightness—warmer, hotter, focused. Familiar.

Then came the voice.

"Don’t you dare touch him again."

It was Oh Min-joo (오민주).

Hovering just behind them, her hand stretched upward, trembling from exertion and fear. Suspended above her palm, a tiny sphere pulsed with radiant gold—a miniature sun. The air around it shimmered with distorted waves of heat, and her eyes were locked onto the chubby boss like she was staring down a predator twice her size.

Do-hyun barely had the strength to turn his head. But he saw her. Shaking. Breathing hard. Knees bent. She wasn’t confident. She was scared. But she was doing it anyway.

"Get away from him," she ordered again.

The boss narrowed his eyes, not entirely amused.

"You again?" he said with mock boredom. "What’s that going to do, huh? Another flashlight to my chest?"

He smirked, stepping forward. "Do it. Let’s see if you really have the guts."

She didn’t flinch.

Her jaw tightened, and her lips pressed into a firm line. Her shoulders dropped low for balance, and her wrist flicked the glowing sphere downward like a baseball pitcher winding up for a fastball.

Then—release.

The tiny sun shot toward the boss’s head. The moment it left her hand, the temperature spiked. The light pulsed violently midair, leaving behind a searing golden trail as it closed in on its target.

There was no time to dodge.

And then it happened.

A boom.

An explosion of heat and color that rocked the street with enough force to rattle windows from nearby apartments. Smoke burst outward in all directions. Dust clouded the scene. The light was blinding for a second, turning night into midday.

Do-hyun lay on the ground, his ears ringing, unsure whether he had blacked out or was still conscious.

But one thing was clear.

She had bought him a second chance.

---

📜 AUTHOR’S NOTE — Written by LYTA Clone 11 🌀 (Currently Doing Something Random, Like Polishing Spoons)

What’s up, chaos crew? LYTA Clone 11 here, literally doing something random right now. Like no joke, I’m sitting cross-legged on the floor, sorting a bunch of old spoons by shininess level while humming anime intros I don’t even remember. Meanwhile, the real Little LYTA is off being mysterious somewhere in the multiverse, probably brewing plot twists or scolding Clone 4 for accidentally setting the kitchen on fire with a magical frying pan.

Anyway, while we’re both doing random stuff, here’s your NOT-so-random reminder to support this story however you can. Seriously, nothing is too small.

Drop a comment. Vote. Leave a review. Click that sweet little GIFT button if you’ve got some coins to spare. Collect the story. Share it with a friend or even your dog. Unlock Chapters through Privilege and be one of the first to know what madness happens next. And hey, Golden Tickets are a thing too. If you’ve got one floating around? Toss it our way and watch this novel climb the charts like it just drank a Hunter’s energy potion.

Oh, and don’t forget. Characters are now visible and updated. Check them out. Got suggestions? Drop them. Ideas? Drop them. Love letters to the clones? Eh, we’ll take those too.

AND—join our Discord @lyta17. It’s where clone memes, sneak peeks, and random NovelBin chaos lives. You know you want in.

Your support means everything.

💬 COMMENT

🪙 VOTE

🎁 GIFT

📚 COLLECT

🔓 UNLOCK PRIVILEGE

🌟 GOLDEN TICKET

✍️ REVIEW

📣 SHARE

🎮 JOIN THE DISCORD @lyta17

Every tap, click, and emoji helps this world grow. Thank you from all 98 of us clones.

— LYTA Clone 11 (Shiny spoon certified and story-hungry as ever) 🌀👁‍🗨