DB Vol 1 Part 5
Ki-hyun clicked his tongue and took a step forward.
“You still can’t figure it out even after seeing us?”
“Yeah. There’s no way you and I would have been on good terms.”
“You?”
It was Chang-hee who questioned him. He looked at Won-woo with a crooked posture, his lips curling into a sneer.
“This little shit actually dares to call us ‘you’?”
Though tall and lean, Chang-hee was an Esper classified as an offensive type among the physical-types. He was the kind of presence that would terrify an ordinary person, but Ji Won-woo, perhaps having lost his fear along with his memories, met his gaze with calm eyes.
“Why? Is there a problem with the way I address you?”
“Is there a problem? Wow, your tone is fucking obnoxious.”
Chang-hee sneered openly.
“You’re trying hard to act relaxed, but I can see you shaking on the inside, you piece of shit.”
“That sounds like a truly impressive and useless ability.”
The smile vanished from Chang-hee’s face.
“This son of a bitch is acting out because we’ve been too indulgent, huh?”
As Chang-hee raised his hand, Woo-rim, the youngest, quickly stopped him. Raising the hand horizontally was Chang-hee’s activation motion.
“Endure it, Hyung.”
Only then did Chang-hee finally lower his hand, and Ki-hyun asked Won-woo with a puzzled look.
“You really don’t understand why we called you here?”
“Your circumstances aren’t my concern. I only need to confirm the things I want to know.”
Want to know? The fact that he had a purpose made it sound as if he knew they were waiting for him. That was why he wasn’t afraid of them. While the three of them were feeling irritated, Won-woo voiced his curiosity.
“Why are there no women on our team?”
“Ha, that’s what you were curious about?”
Won-woo nodded at the three bewildered men.
“I wondered if there was someone on this team that women avoid.”
The expressions on their faces vanished instantly. Won-woo looked at them one by one, slowly.
“Is there some shameless bastard on the team who lays a hand on the weak, like women, Guides, or ordinary people?”
Among the three, Ki-hyun’s eyes wavered as he glanced slightly to the side. In the stolen content -->stolen contentsilence, Won-woo spoke again.
“Ah, I knew it.”
It was a small mutter, but in the dead silence, it was clear to everyone. Then came the sound of footsteps—tap, tap. The one stepping forward was Chang-hee, radiating a murderous aura.
“So what? What are you going to do if there is?”
“Nothing much. I just wanted to see if people stay the same even when their environment changes.”
What on earth is he talking about? Irritation flared on Chang-hee’s face.
“What kind of bullshit is that, fuck. Ha, how funny. A shameless bastard who picks on the weak? Fine, I’ll let you know. The reason I called you here is similar, so I might as well show you more clearly.”
Chang-hee slowly scanned Won-woo’s body with lowered eyes.
“I heard you gave your ass to Hong Seung-wook every single day?”
“Ah, did I?”
“That amnesia is damn convenient, isn’t it? You remember the shameless bastards, but you don’t remember shaking your ass like a dog. Don’t worry. Once you’re shaking like a dog with a cock in that ass here, you’ll remember everything.”
Won-woo cast an indifferent gaze down toward Chang-hee’s crotch.
“Would that be enough to make me bite?”
“You fucking piece of shit.”
Along with the curse, a rattling sound echoed. A truck behind Won-woo approached threateningly, the sound of it dragging across the floor. As Chang-hee, a telekinesis-type Esper, revealed his power, the two Espers beside him looked at Won-woo with arrogant gazes. This time, neither had any intention of stopping Chang-hee.
They truly thought he was arrogant. To think that Ji Won-woo, who had lived like he was dead, would spout such words. To dare be so fearless before an Esper.
Chang-hee wouldn’t crush him with the car immediately, but he figured it was enough to intimidate him. Look, he’s so frozen he can’t even run away as he looks at the truck. They all waited leisurely for Ji Won-woo to tremble and fall to his knees.
They had to crush the spirit of this brat who had become arrogant as if he were a different person. Only then would he take their cocks without a word of complaint. However, after confirming the massive industrial truck coming toward him, Won-woo’s voice remained consistently calm.
“I believe your usable power limit is slightly over two tons?”
What is he talking about all of a sudden? While they were wondering, Won-woo turned his head away from the truck. Then, he looked straight at Chang-hee.
“Ah, that was the power to lift things into the air. Seeing as you can move that truck, I guess your simple pushing force can handle heavier things? Well, you’d have to be able to move at least a truck to maintain the dignity of an upper B-rank Esper.”
“……Hey, what the fuck are you babbling about?”
“The weight of a monster is usually around that truck. So, you can push a monster away, but you can’t lift it into the air.”
At some point, the sound of the car moving stopped. Instead, only Won-woo’s voice continued.
“That’s why you always planned your operations based on the terrain. Everyone thinks it’s just because you have a selfish personality, but you just don’t go to places with many obstacles that need to be lifted because you’re afraid your lack of skill will be exposed. Am I right?”
At Won-woo’s question, Ki-hyun and the youngest Esper, Woo-rim, looked at Chang-hee with eyes wondering what this was about. They expected Chang-hee to scoff and call it bullshit, but his face was distorted. He looked like someone whose secret had just been exposed by Won-woo.
The two quickly recalled their past operations. Just as Won-woo said, the operations Chang-hee participated in were always in open terrain or places where monster trees were firmly rooted in the ground. Then was it true? He did that because he couldn’t even lift a single monster into the air? A look of sheer absurdity flashed in their eyes. His skill was only at that level?
“Fuck, no! That piece of shit is lying!”
Chang-hee screamed, his face flushing red.
“You believe the words of that son of a bitch, Ji Won-woo?”
“Then lift that truck and drop it on my head.”
Won-woo’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was heard clearly by everyone. Including Chang-hee, the other two looked back at him in surprise.
“What?”
“If you lift that truck, it’ll be easy to see who’s lying.”
“So you want me to drop it on your head?”
“If my words are a lie, I should be able to handle that much.”
“Fuck, this…”
“Just do it.”
With a single word uttered expressionlessly by Won-woo, the air around them changed instantly. Chang-hee fell for the provocation immediately. Gritting his teeth as if drawing out every bit of his power, he raised his hand, and simultaneously, the truck rose into the air. Seeing this, Ki-hyun shouted as if cheering.
“Oh? It lifted—”
Thump!
Ki-hyun’s shout was drowned out by the immediate sound of the crash. The truck, which had risen about one meter into the air, slammed back into the ground as if an invisible string had been cut. The ground shook, and dust flew in all directions.
Dust spread so thickly it obscured their vision, but they could see the truck resting on the ground. Ki-hyun and Woo-rim frowned through the dust and glanced sideways. Chang-hee was frozen like a doll, his eyes wide open, unable to move. Then, like someone who had suddenly woken up to reality after being splashed with cold water, he looked back at his colleagues.
“No. This… this isn’t it.”
He didn’t explain what he was denying, but anyone could tell. The two didn’t respond, but contempt flickered in their eyes. Flustered, Chang-hee took a step back from them and then began to scream.
“Fuck, I said no! I said it’s not!”
He shouted until his face nearly burst, turning his murderous eyes toward Won-woo. When he met the eyes that were watching him blankly and expressionlessly, Chang-hee’s eyes filled with rage. The power inside him suddenly surged like boiling water, clouding his mind.
Thus, he failed to notice the hint of a smile forming in Won-woo’s eyes. Even if his mind hadn’t been clouded and he had seen the smile, the result would have been the same. He could never have suspected that a mere Guide would arbitrarily ramp up an Esper’s energy. A Guide who could do nothing more than soothe the waves of energy.
However, his dulled mind paralyzed the very reason needed to suppress the power that was suddenly swelling like a balloon. Chang-hee’s pupils began to turn red instantly. He raised both hands upward and spat out words as if crushing them.
“What does a piece of trash like you think he knows?”
Rattle, clang! Screech!
Small objects around Won-woo rose simultaneously with loud noises. And like gun barrels being aimed, the edges of every object pointed toward Won-woo. Only then did Ki-hyun and Woo-rim look at Chang-hee in shock and notice the state of his eyes. Reddening eyes were one of the premonitory symptoms of a rampage.
“Hyung, stop!”
Ki-hyun shouted belatedly and hesitated for a moment. Since his ability was to create a shield to block attacks, he wondered if he should use his power to stop Chang-hee now. Otherwise, Ji Won-woo would truly die. But upon seeing Ji Won-woo’s expression, he forgot his worry.
Despite the numerous weapons floating high above, capable of tearing him apart and crushing him, he remained expressionless. It wasn’t that he had given up on [visit visit our siteour site]everything, but rather that he didn’t care what the Esper did.
So, when he turned his head, it seemed as if he had found another interest. That sight seemed to provoke Chang-hee even further, and his hand moved.
“Die, you piece of shit.”
And the objects floating in the air poured down toward Won-woo all at once. Ki-hyun belatedly drew up his power to protect Won-woo, but before the shield could even form, something else enveloped Won-woo. It was a vortex, like a tornado.
Sang-cheon used to think the only downside to his habit of hoarding things was the lack of space, but today, another one was added.
[Han Seo-na. An Esper from the Eastern Center. Look her up.]
The peace he had regained after handing the communicator to Won-woo ended when another communicator rang. That was right, there was one more communicator. Of course, it was Sang-cheon himself who had asked for it.
Because of his habit of always having two devices—so that if he found a piece of equipment that looked interesting, he could disassemble one—he had mindlessly accepted an extra one this time. And now, the brute wanted to use him as a secretary. No, he wanted him to investigate a Center Esper.
“Ji Won-woo is looking for this person? An Esper from the same Center? Why?”
[I don’t know. So just find her.]
Though there were no curses, Sang-cheon sometimes felt that curses would be better. The low voice lacked human warmth. Ah, is that why he can act like an AI without any awkwardness? Sang-cheon grumbled inwardly and let his dissatisfaction out loud.
“I mean, why didn’t you just ask Ji Won-woo? Why he’s looking for her.”
[…….]
As Sang-cheon moved the mouse, he felt something was off at the brute’s silence.
“Did you ask and he wouldn’t give you an answer?”
[Did you find her?]
“Did you ask and Ji Won-woo really didn’t answer? Why? Can’t he give a detailed explanation to an AI?”
[Ah, fuck.]
At the low curse, Sang-cheon barely managed to stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. Usually, the words and curses the brute spat out were deeply laced with cynicism. While he wasn’t unaware of the man’s circumstances, it felt stifling that someone so young in his early twenties had such [[Read on [Read on Read BL Novels]Read BL Novels]style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]dried-up emotions. But this curse was different. It was a clear expression of irritation that anyone could hear. Now that he finally sounded his age, Sang-cheon spoke up teasingly.
“Oh dear. You must be bursting inside since you can’t even curse while pretending to be an AI. Poor thing. Since you’re just an AI, you can’t even press him for an explanation, right?”
[Mister, you seem excited.]
Of course he was excited. Though the voice had returned to being emotionless, Sang-cheon couldn’t shut his mouth, as it would be a waste to miss this opportunity.
“Ah, it’s just that I feel so sorry for you. You stepped up to do it without even knowing what an AI was, and now you can’t even quit. When I think about how much you must be agonizing, it’s just so funny… that tears are flowing.”
[I’m not agonizing. Even if my family writhes in agony because of guiding, I’m trapped and can only do this kind of shit. So whether it’s shitty or fucked up, I just have to do it.]
Sang-cheon’s laughter vanished instantly, like a faucet being shut off. Since it was the usual rude voice of the brute, a little thought would reveal that the intention was to torment him by inducing guilt. However, the soft-hearted Sang-cheon actually clutched his head in guilt. Well, he is trapped and can’t do anything.
“No, I mean, I don’t think it’s necessarily shitty, ahem.”
[No, it became shitty because of you, mister.]
Curses were better. Sang-cheon silently our site">visit our siteclutched [Read on Read BL Novels]his head again in self-reproach. The brute, having mastered the way to torment him, commanded.
[Find Han Seo-na.]
“Uh, yeah, yeah, I will.”
Sang-cheon quickly focused on the monitor and began searching for Han Seo-na. As he did, he asked casually.
“But they’re people who haven’t met even though they’ve worked at the same Eastern Center. Even if he’s suddenly looking for her, wouldn’t there be no special reason?”
[When Ji Won-woo’s heart reacted to finding Han Seo-na, it was similar to when he looked for you.]
Sang-cheon’s hand, which had been moving the mouse, stopped. He recalled the image of Won-woo clinging to him and crying endlessly, almost to the point of screaming. Later, he had said he mistook him for someone else, but the doubt still hadn’t vanished. And the reaction was the same as when he treated me?
“Then why didn’t they meet before?”
[Before, there was no reason to look, but now there is.]
What on earth is that reason?
[See if there are any points of contact with Ji Won-woo.]
Sang-cheon frowned and shook his head while scanning the screen.
“The only overlap is the Eastern Center where they currently work. Even then, Han Seo-na only came to the Eastern Center a year ago. I looked into Ji Won-woo beforehand, and he’s never left this region in his entire life. Until then, Han Seo-na was in the security force of a distant outer Center branch… and her ability is an upper B-rank Esper… wow.”
[Why?]
“She’s a nature-type.”
But why did she work in a place that was practically the middle of nowhere?
“Even if she was born into an ordinary family, with a nature-type ability, the Center would have scouted her with a high salary.”
[Maybe it’s a unique wave. Check it.]
“Listen, I always tell you, no matter how good my skills are, I can’t [visit our site]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[visit [visit our site]our site]find everything. Especially Esper waves, which can become a weakness, are top secret even within the Center… it is a unique wave.”
On the monitor was a photo of Han Seo-na from a local newspaper.
“She’s wearing five suppression piercings in her ear. At this rate, there must be very few matching Guides.”
Sang-cheon clicked his tongue in pity, but then remembered the person he was communicating with and gasped. At least Han Seo-na is supplied with a somewhat matching Guide from the Center, but for the brute’s family, even that is difficult. Sang-cheon cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.
“Uh, um, anyway, for now, there are no special points of contact between Han Seo-na and Ji Won-woo. Could it be that Han Seo-na doesn’t know Ji Won-woo at all, just like me?”
[No. She’ll know. If it’s a unique wave, she would have seen Ji Won-woo’s name when looking for a matching Guide.]
Ah, Ji Won-woo’s wave is broad. But even so, he’s only D-rank…….
[Is Ji Won-woo really D-rank?]
The low voice flowed into Sang-cheon’s ear like a monologue.
“He’s D-rank, that’s why he’s ignored like that. They say his family administered an Esper enhancer made from an Alpha seed, but I don’t know. Looking into it, that was already five years ago. At the time, his family called [unauthorized copy]the press and made a huge [unauthorized copy]deal out of experimenting with a precious Alpha seed on a Guide. Anyway, it’s certain that it had no effect on Ji Won-woo. Do you believe the effect suddenly appeared after five years?”
[No. The effect of an Alpha seed disappears after three years.]
“Really? It only lasts three years……. What, is that true?!”
Sang-cheon jumped up from his seat in surprise. Alpha seeds were regarded as almost a gift from God among Espers, but they were incredibly hard to obtain. Literally, the price was whatever the seller called it. However, because they were so rare, nothing was known about their duration or side effects. And yet, the effect only lasts three years.
“How did you know that?”
[Ji Won-woo told me.]
“How did Ji Won-woo know that……. Ah, his family. Even if he was abandoned by his family, I guess he saw and heard a lot. He might actually know information that would be helpful to you?”
[He’ll be helpful if he stays alive.]
At the cold voice, Sang-cheon frowned.
“He’s doing fine. What, are you saying that because he was called out by an Esper? Surely, no matter how foul an Esper’s temper [Read on Read BL Novels]is, they wouldn’t stolen contentdare kill someone from their own family?”
[You don’t know. If a Guide loses their fear, an Esper might not be able to tolerate their foul temper.]
“Are you talking about Ji Won-woo?”
Sang-cheon shook his head in wonder, recalling the information he had searched for.
“He seemed like someone who lived very quietly. Fearless?”
[An A-rank Esper was trying to kill him right in front of him, yet his heartbeat remained steady. I even warned him to dodge, but he ignored me and instead talked back to the team leader even more.]
Sang-cheon tilted his head again. According to what he found in the Center community, he was so introverted that he was called gloomy. He was said to find it difficult to talk to people. Now that he’s come back from the brink of death, does he no longer see anything in his way?
[And yet, his tone with me is like that, fuck.]
A low, menacing voice was heard. Oh, he’s annoyed again? It was strangely fascinating to see the brute actually express an emotion, even if it was just irritation. Just what kind of tone could possibly provoke the brute like this?
“What did they sound like?”
[Why do you want to know?]
Why? Because I want to record it and practice saying it exactly the same way, of course. But since he couldn’t let his true intentions be known, he replied lightly, as if in passing.
“I was just wondering if they suspected you were human.”
[It wasn’t that kind of tone.]
“Then what was it?”
A single word popped out slowly.
[Sweet.]
It was a completely unexpected answer. Sang-cheon immediately furrowed his brows. He had only seen him once, but from what he remembered, Won-woo had a very calm impression, except when he was crying. He smiled often, but it felt as if he had spent all his emotions, leaving him feeling empty. On the other hand, the brute didn’t smile; instead, he was filled with cold rage. It was as if every other emotion had been frozen solid in that chill.
“How so? Do they act cute? [stolen content]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]Haha, maybe they call you ‘Mak-naning’—like that? Hahaha—”
[…….]
“……Ahem, I laughed too much.”
[Indeed. I was thinking of ripping your mouth open because you laughed too much.]
The last remnants of the smile vanished from Sang-cheon’s face. He took a deep breath and quickly changed the subject.
“But if Ji Won-woo is talking back to an Esper, won’t that cause immediate problems? You said it seemed like he was taken away by Espers?”
[Probably.]
“Should I report it anonymously to the Center’s Security Department?”
[Leave it. I don’t care if one Ji dies. But if he’s fine…]
The brute added slowly, as if thinking.
[I have to make good use of Ji Won-woo somehow. To do that, Han Seo-na might be important.]
“Why Han Seo-na?”
[She made Ji Won-woo’s heart beat like that. If she’s someone precious to him, she’ll be a weakness.]
“I’m Han Seo-na, and I’ll be working with you starting today. Yes, that’s my real name. I know everyone here hides their identity, but I don’t care. And let me tell you in advance: first, I have no desire to build personal relationships with colleagues. I hate talking about personal matters outside of work, and I hate listening to them. Especially, don’t even ask why I fight Espers when I am one myself. I have absolutely no intention of revealing why I joined. Second, once work is over, please do not contact me unless it’s an emergency—like monsters raining down on my head.”
Seo-na’s first impression was quite prickly, but Won-woo didn’t have the luxury to care about that. He simply blinked his eyes, his mouth clamped shut in bewilderment.
“So… you’re saying you’ve joined our team?”
“Yes. Third, don’t ask me to repeat things because you didn’t understand. I don’t want to explain myself again.”
“It’s not that, but I was under the impression that there were no new recruits for our team.”
“Fourth, I also hate it when people play pranks on newcomers in the name of an R[unauthorized copy]style="position:relative;display:inline;">[Read on Read BL Novels]16;initiation rite.’”
No, that’s not it. Won-woo mumbled inside his mouth and blinked rapidly again. Seo-na looked at him with a hint of pity and asked quickly.
“More importantly, I heard I’m to be deployed starting with today’s operation. I was told to get the details at the team site; where are the other team members?”
“The other members… there’s an uncle who handles information and equipment, but he usually helps out before the operation.”
“Not rear support. I mean the colleagues who go out into the field.”
“There are none.”
Seo-na’s eyebrow twitched for a moment.
“None?”
“Yes. I’m enough on my own. But you just asked me again, didn’t you?”
Seo-na now openly frowned and whipped Read [visit our site]on Read BL Novelsher head away. He caught a glimpse of her muttering under her breath.
“Damn it, I told them not to put me in some mediocre spot.”
Won-woo felt awkwardly out of place and tried to quietly slip away, but Seo-na called out to him.
“Where are you going?”
“……To work?”
“Fine.”
Then, she packed her gear on her own and followed behind Won-woo. This time, Won-woo asked her.
“Where are you going?”
“You said you’re going to work, right? I don’t plan on skipping the first day just because I’m a rookie.”
“The work won’t be easy. It’s a quite difficult operation for beginners. No, that’s aria-label="stolen content">stolen contentnot the important part…”
“I’ll do my part, so don’t worry.”
Her decisiveness left him with nothing more to say. Thus, Won-woo set out on an Esper hunt with an unplanned colleague. Meanwhile, the team that had played a prank by sending Seo-na here as an initiation rite was unlucky that day. Because they failed to spot a lurking enemy, the entire team was wiped out.
“Sorry for speaking so rudely this morning.”
Seo-na apologized immediately as soon as she realized the full situation. Won-woo shook his head dismissively.
“I didn’t think you were being particularly rude.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I was just wondering how many colleagues you must have lost to speak that way.”
“Do you understand that because you’ve had a similar experience?”
Won-woo merely gave a small smirk, but the smile vanished at Seo-na’s following question.
“Is that why you work alone without making any colleagues?”
“No. It’s just a hassle. Everyone who comes along doesn’t last more than a week. Explaining things to rookies over and over, and burying their bodies… it’s just tedious now.”
“…….”
“Go to the Administration Bureau. They’ll send you to a decent, lucky team this time.”
“This place is decent enough.”
Won-woo looked at her with curious eyes.
“You saw what my work was like today.”
“Yes. It certainly wasn’t mediocre.”
“Today was on the easier side.”
“…….”
Won-woo turned to leave, thinking the conversation was over, but Seo-na called him.
“I’ll stay. Let’s work together.”
“This might sound offensive, but I don’t want to clean up any more corpses.”
“I might end up cleaning up yours.”
“That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard so far.”
Seo-na looked at him with an incredulous expression before reaching a compromise.
“If we work together for a year, I’ll tell you why I made the Espers my enemy and came here.”
“Uh… I’m not really curious.”
“I’m not curious about what you think, either. I’m just saying I want to tell you once a year has passed.”
“……Okay.”
And so, they became a team, and although not perfectly, Seo-na kept her promise.
“I know what everyone’s saying about an Esper like me joining the Anti-Esper camp. They’re blabbing that I have a unique wave and couldn’t find a matching Guide, so I crossed over, right?”
Seo-na spoke first after the operation ended that day. Then, she vented her frustration.
“What absolute bullshit. I only do what my heart tells me. If I had chosen to stay with the Espers, I would have chosen to die in a rampage. Who the fuck do they take me for?”
She huffed for a moment, then glanced at Won-woo and explained why she had come to the Anti-Esper camp.
“I had a friend. A friend who shared the same hobbies as me… you know, right? What I like? I’d talk about the things we loved every day, and if I found some amazing fanwork, I’d get all excited and tell them, and we’d go to doujin events together and collect every piece of merch there was. But after the war broke out, this friend told me something. They said they were going to help the Anti-Esper camp.”
The absurdity of that moment was etched into Seo-na’s voice. She continued.
“At first, I thought they were crazy. I mean, this person was really simple. They were the type to ask if politics or ideologies were something you could eat. Setting that aside, their family was a prestigious Esper lineage. So when I asked why they were jumping into the war, they said—fuck—the person who drew the work we loved posted an announcement. They said because they belonged to the Anti-Esper camp, they couldn’t draw until the war ended.
So, to see the ending quickly, the war had to end, right? And since they couldn’t kill the author as an enemy, they had to do it from within the Anti-Esper camp. Isn’t that just so simple?”
Seo-na let out a hollow laugh, as if it was still absurd to think about, then closed her eyes for a moment. Then, in a lowered voice, she told him the friend’s end.
“But before they could cross over to the Anti-Esper camp, they were caught by the Espers. The funny thing is, the one who reported them was their own family. Fuck, it was the younger brother they adored most who snitched. My friend wasn’t the type to lose to anyone in terms of power, but they were killed so brutally that their limbs were torn apart and they were unrecognizable. And their family just watched it happen.
I was the one who picked up the bone fragments and pieces of flesh one by one. After barely managing to bury them in the ground, I immediately crossed over here. That’s my reason. I just… lost all affection for Espers and didn’t even want to breathe the same air as them.”
Seo-na squeezed her closed eyes and breathed heavily before finally opening them. Then, looking at Won-woo who was gazing down at her, she spat out another curse.
“Fuck, I was going to tell you exactly on our one-year anniversary. There are only fifteen days left until it’s been a year since I worked with you… fuck, because I let my guard down today. Ah, fuck, it hurts like hell.”
Following the harsh curse, Seo-na coughed up a mouthful of blood. After hacking a few times to clear the blood blocking her airway, she finally lay back down. However, her voice grew faint, as if all her strength had vanished.
“Just kidding. It doesn’t hurt enough to kill me.”
She spoke as if it were a joke, but the color had already drained from her entire body. Even if it wasn’t the blood she vomited, the bleeding elsewhere was severe. Seo-na sighed as she looked at Won-woo. He couldn’t say a word and only held onto her.
“Won-woo, stop crying. I’m not dying. Hey, if I die, who’s… going to curse in your stead? You can’t even curse… Fuck, how could I leave you and die…”
Seo-na’s mumbling voice cut off. As if she had tried her best not to die until the very end, her eyes remained wide open. Because of that, Won-woo couldn’t close them. Even though he knew that as time passed, the body would stiffen and it would be difficult to close the eyes, and even though the unfocused eyes no longer held any life, he couldn’t touch them. 350 days. Seo-na was the second longest-lasting colleague by Won-woo’s side.
Swoosh!
The pillar of whirlwind enveloping Won-woo instantly soared to the sky. The objects attacking Won-woo were trapped within the rapidly spinning wind and began to rotate with it. Then, like a flower blooming, the whirlwind suddenly split, and the wind scattered in all directions. The objects trapped in that force also rained down onto the ground.
Thump! Crash!
Heavy tools and steel objects fell onto the building and parked cars, creating a deafening roar that felt like it would tear eardrums. However, even in the chaotic situation, Seo-na’s sharp voice pierced clearly into everyone’s ears.
“Fuck, that bastard is on the verge of a rampage! What the hell are you people doing?!”
The one Seo-na pointed to was Chang-hee, whose eyes had turned completely red. No, it wasn’t just his eyes. His entire body had turned red, and his muscles bulged to the point where veins [stolen [stolen content]content]popped out. He literally looked like he was about to burst. However, Ki-hyun, who was beside him, did nothing but step back in panic, and Woo-rim, the space-shifter, had vanished, though no one knew when he had bolted. Chang-hee, now seemingly unable to control his power, fell to his knees and let out a monstrous groan.
“Kugh…!”
The problem was that every object around him began to rattle and writhe. Even the building behind them shook.
“Gasp, Hyung… Hyung, how…”
As Ki-hyun let out a foolish sound in shock, Seo-na shouted again.
“Fuck, why are you just watching?! Put a suppression piercing in that bastard!”
“M-mine?”
Ki-hyun stepped back and covered his own ears with his hands. Seo-na cursed again and ripped out one of the suppressors hanging from her own ear. She hesitated for a moment with it in her hand, but soon, as if decided, she flung it straight at Chang-hee. Shook—the suppressor flew rapidly through the wind like a bullet and embedded itself deep into Chang-hee’s face.
Chang-hee had lost so much reason that he didn’t even seem to notice the suppressor piercing his skin, continuing to gasp with monstrous breaths. The sight made one’s skin crawl. Too late. Only that one phrase echoed in her mind.
The suppressor embedded in his face reacted immediately, turning blood-red, but it seemed Chang-hee’s [Read on Read BL Novels[Read on Read BL Novels]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]rampage would happen before it could blow his head off. Dammit, it’s too late. It was then that Won-woo’s voice spread, breaking the taut tension.
“Cast a shield.”
A shield? Seo-na turned around in surprise to find Won-woo’s gaze fixed on Ki-hyun. When Ki-hyun also looked over in shock, Won-woo repeated himself.
“I said, cast a shield.”
“What? But…”
“It’s going to explode soon. Hurry.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but strangely, Ki-hyun found it difficult to disobey. Nevertheless, the act of reaching his hand forward wasn’t easy, and Ki-hyun’s body trembled. Won-woo’s voice was heard again.
“It’s okay. Do it.”
A lower but kinder tone. He didn’t know why he gained courage upon hearing Won-woo’s voice. No, he wasn’t sure if it was courage. It was just that the energy inside his body suddenly gathered firmly, as if it were a ball held in his hand. Ki-hyun usually released power through his hands, but in his entire life, such a stable and large amount of power had never gathered in his hand.
However, he couldn’t just marvel at this wondrous experience. Chang-hee in front of him looked like he was truly about to explode at any second. Without thinking further, Ki-hyun concentrated Read on Read BL Novelshis power around Chang-hee. Soon, a shield of power, like a shimmering haze, formed around the collapsed man.
“A defense user?”
At the same moment Seo-na murmured, an explosion roared. It was a sound far greater than the noise from before.
BOOM!!
Seo-na instinctively used her ability to steady her shaking body, but it was an explosion that would have sent ordinary people flying backward. Sure enough, Won-woo had rolled across the ground several times and was sitting slumped against a truck, covered in dust. As she tried to go toward him, she turned her head at a groan coming from the front.
“Kugh.”
Ki-hyun collapsed, clutching his chest. It seemed he had suffered internal injuries from pouring out so much power. Well, it was to stop a rampage. Since Head Team 3 consisted of B-rank users or higher, if he hadn’t blocked it with a shield, not only the Contamination Removal Room but the entire 2nd Tower would have turned to dust. That’s why she was puzzled. No matter how good a shield user he was, he blocked a rampage to this extent? Seo-na approached Ki-hyun, wondering. Is he an A-rank user?
“Hey, are you o—”
The question wasn’t finished. Ki-hyun looked somewhere, and his face suddenly turned pale as he began to vomit.
“Blegh, ugh!”
Seo-na stopped and glanced back at where he had been looking. Where Ki-hyun had blocked with the shield, the remains of the rampaged Chang-hee were scattered like a burst tomato. And then, the emergency alarm began to wail loudly.
Along with the alarm signaling an Esper’s rampage, people flooded into the Contamination Removal Room. At first, everyone mistook Ki-hyun, who had suddenly used power, for the rampaged Esper, but upon seeing the remains of the exploded Esper, they roughly figured out what had happened.
Ki-hyun, who needed guiding most urgently, was carried out first, and Seo-na stayed behind for a moment to explain the situation. However, because she had also used her power, she needed immediate guiding and couldn’t give a long explanation. Knowing her energy was unstable, the person in charge quickly pushed her toward the Guide Room.
At that moment, a person entered her field of vision. A man leaning against a truck, looking straight at her. It was Won-woo. Despite looking like a beggar covered in dust, his handsome features stood out. It might have been because of the way he was staring intently at her.
He looked like someone who had been waiting for her to finish her business. In truth, Seo-na hadn’t intended to come here. Even if the bastards of Head Team 3 were mistreating a Guide, it wasn’t her business, so she hadn’t planned to interfere. But something Umji had said bothered her.
‘Head Team 3? Ah, there’s a bug there famous for messing around with the wrong people.’
So she just, really just, came to check on the off chance. And then, suddenly, some guy—whether a bug or a rat—was about to launch an attack on a Guide? In the end, she stepped in without thinking twice. She didn’t regret it now, but she was a bit angry. Seo-na walked briskly toward Won-woo, who was staring at her, and spat out a curse.
“Fuck, if it was dangerous, you should have run away! What do you think you’re doing facing an Esper? Do you know how dangerous Espers are? Look at this, you saw him rampage because he couldn’t control himself, right? If it weren’t for me, you would have di… ed.”
As she spoke, her voice rose in anger, but upon seeing the other’s face, it shrank like a radio with the volume suddenly turned down. No, why is he smiling? Is this person crazy? Seo-na’s expression froze in horror, but the man couldn’t hide his smile. Moreover, he suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Hello. I’m Won-woo.”
“No, this is not the time for hellos…!”
Feeling overwhelmed, Seo-na tried to pull her hand away, but she suddenly gasped in surprise. She felt dizzy, as if all the strength had suddenly drained from her body. She staggered for a moment, but fortunately, Won-woo was holding her hand firmly. Because of that, she couldn’t attempt to pull her hand away any further.
Enjoying the story? Support me on Ko-fi
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!