By Zephyria 
“What?””
It was an absurd question.
‘Choose who to save…’
As if he were a god, he was giving me the power of life and death, only allowing me to save one.
Heat flared above my head.
‘Does he think I’m some dog that will heel and do whatever he says?’
Even in this suffocating situation, I was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh burst out.
“…You’re laughing in this situation?”
Conversely, a crack appeared on Ban No-ah’s smooth brow.
I didn’t miss the gap and headbutted him with all my might.
BAM-!
“Argh!”
Serves you right, you bastard.
I was glad that ‘Yeon Yu-jin’s’ body had fully regained its abilities as ‘An Ga-hyeon’.
Thanks to not just being an SSS-Class Guide in name only, my body was quite sturdy, even though I was a Guide.
Due to the unexpected counterattack, Ban No-ah let go of my collar.
Quickly rescuing Ra Ho-yeon as well, I secured a safe distance first.
“Ugh…”
“Hey, are you okay?”
I asked Ra Ho-yeon, but he was unconscious.
‘He almost lost consciousness.’
Understanding the situation, I carefully laid Ra Ho-yeon on the floor.
And I shouted loudly at the guy who was staggering while clutching his head.
“How can you choose something like that, you crazy bastard!”
He spoke as if he would kill the one I didn’t choose.
Ban No-ah bared his teeth at me, his eyes flashing.
“How dare you, someone like you, to me…”
I shouted at him as if I wasn’t afraid at all.
“The Secrety members, and my old colleagues including Jae-ha, are all precious to me!”
“…….”
“I have no intention of giving up on anyone! So don’t ever bring up that kind of dogshit question again. It’s really disgusting.”
After hearing my words, Ban No-ah stared at me for a long time before bursting into a bizarre laugh.
“You’re talking like you’re some kind of hero. With your low-grade Guide status.”
“I’d be higher than you.”
This was just a random shot.
Even if Ban No-ah’s current grade was A, the fact that he was stealing other people’s abilities suggested that his actual grade was very low, so that’s why I said it.
But as if I had hit the nail on the head, Ban No-ah’s face twisted fiercely.
“…You.”
‘W-what.’
A terrifying murderous intent surged from Ban No-ah.
At the same time, the red earring on his ear shook violently, jingling even though there was no wind.
Potato screamed and hid inside my pocket.
[Heeik! I can feel tremendous waves from the cores he stole!]
“What?”
[X’s disposition is completely twisted! If we’re not careful, he might try to kill both of us here!]
Of course, even so, I had no intention of dying as easily as in my past life.
But Ban No-ah tilted his head, hearing me answer Potato without realizing it.
“What is it? Who are you answering?”
Damn it.
Potato should only be visible to me. I should have kept a better watch on this mouth of mine.
‘I didn’t mean to, but the situation was so urgent…’
What should I do?
Ban No-ah glared at me with a chilling gaze as I pressed my lips shut, unable to answer.
“…Could it be that Hyeon Jae-ha came running because you were in danger? Did you send him some kind of signal?”
“…….”
That’s not it.
‘It might be better if he mistakenly thinks Jae-ha is coming.’
Ban No-ah is a madman obsessed with stealing other people’s abilities, so Potato’s existence must never be revealed to him.
Potato, that is, my ability ‘Resurrection’, is the ability he initially targeted and the first and last ability he failed to steal.
Judging by how his eyes change like a hungry beast just by hearing Jae-ha’s name, there was a high probability that he also had a tremendous obsession with Potato.
“Answer me.”
“…Why would I? I don’t feel any value in answering.”
“What?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I was just talking to myself without thinking, but you’re getting overly serious and grilling me. It’s not like we’re on friendly terms. Are you my superior? Who are you to tell me to answer or not, you son of a bitch.”
Oops. I got too emotional while talking.
Just as I was desperately trying to regain my reason, I felt the murderous intent from Ban No-ah, which had been spiking sharply, gradually decreasing.
‘…What?’
Was he trying to end the fight here?
We had more people on our side, but it was practically a one-on-one situation. That’s because Ra Ho-yeon was already incapacitated.
No matter how much of an SSS-Class Guide I was, it was impossible to fight against Ban No-ah, who was armed with all sorts of ability cores like a monster.
That’s why I was considering that I might die here again and was spinning my brain, which wasn’t working well, at full speed. But his demeanor was strange.
As if my guess was correct, Ban No-ah completely suppressed his murderous intent and stroked the earring with the ability core embedded in it, which had been shaking unstably, calming it down, and then smiled.
“Son of a bitch, that’s a bit harsh, ‘An Ga-hyeon’.”
Chills.
Goosebumps rose.
“You… don’t tell me you stirred up this commotion from the beginning to confirm my identity, ‘Yeon Yu-jin’?”
“What else would it be?”
“Ha….”
I was completely played by X’s prank.
Ban No-ah just wanted to get confirmation.
That ‘Yeon Yu-jin’ was indeed ‘An Ga-hyeon’.
That his hypothesis was correct.
If so… the ‘Resurrection’ ability that he once missed must also exist with ‘An Ga-hyeon’.
As I realized this and gritted my teeth, Ban No-ah mocked me with an obnoxious face while laughing.
“Don’t make such a serious face. Thanks to you, I was able to confirm it. You, Hyeon Jae-ha’s only weakness.”
“What?”
“What. You still don’t know? Even I noticed the fact that Hyeon Jae-ha cherishes and loves you, his partner, to the point of obsession. Poor Hyeon Jae-ha. He’s still restless without even confessing his love to you.”
It was strange.
A rougher storm raged in my heart when he insulted Jae-ha than when he insulted me.
Was that why?
I ended up blurting out a stupid thing.
“That’s not true, you idiot? Jae-ha confessed to me.”
“What?”
“He clearly said he liked me. I, I didn’t know at all. Jae-ha told me his feelings. You and Jae-ha are on different levels. The very act of trying to compare you and Jae-ha on the same level is unpleasant for Jae-ha!”
“…….”
Ban No-ah was speechless for a moment, as if he was dumbfounded by my words.
And Potato whistled.
[Wow. A hot confession.]
‘Shut up!’
Ugh. How fortunate that Jae-ha wasn’t here.
Feeling my head heating up like a dumpling steamer, I hastily finished what I was saying in a vague manner.
“S-so! Anyway, what I want to say is! If you’re going to insult someone, insult me! Don’t bother Jae-ha for no reason!”
“…You’re putting on quite a show.”
Ban No-ah retreated, throwing a sneer at me like someone who had eaten rotten vegetables.
An unidentified purplish mist gathered around him.
Potato shouted.
[He’s trying to escape! That’s another ability embedded in the earring!]
“What? You’re trying to run away like this?”
It was advantageous for me if Ban No-ah retreated here, but I pretended to provoke him because I couldn’t understand why he was running away from a favorable situation.
Then Ban No-ah looked at me pitifully, with a sneer on his face until the end.
“Don’t provoke me too much. I’ve finished my business with you today, so let’s meet again next time.”
“What? When is next time?”
“Why would I tell you that. You stupid An Ga-hyeon. Let’s meet again later. With Hyeon Jae-ha and the other White Tiger Unit members as well. Let’s have a real showdown then.”
“What kind of scheme are you plotting… Ugh!”
As the purplish mist completely covered Ban No-ah, a tremendous gale blew around.
I was once again sent rolling into the corner of the set, hitting various parts of my body.
“That bastard…”
When I picked myself up, nursing my wounded body, Ban No-ah was gone without a trace.
The filming was temporarily suspended after Ban No-ah disappeared.
That was because I had run out of the set carrying Ra Ho-yeon on my back.
“Please stop the filming! There’s an injured person here!”
When I came out with the unconscious Ra Ho-yeon, the other cast members and the PD were startled.
“Oh, what’s wrong with Ra Ho-yeon?”
“A person named Ban No-ah did this. He might have done this to the other Secrety members too…”
“Um? Mr. Ban No-ah? We didn’t invite anyone like that as a guest this time.”
“…Excuse me?”
Mr. Seol Yu-rang, who was said to be Ban No-ah’s friend, replied with a bright face.
“Mr. Ban No-ah was never here from the beginning. Mr. Yeon Yu-jin, aren’t you mistaken about something?”