Goal: Removing the First Obstacle (15)
The strong wind inside the building subsided. Shin Woo-jun stood in front of the window, staring at Sa Hae-geon. That rookie was clearly an Esper who controlled water. Unlike when facing An Jong-hyeok, this meant it would be difficult to overpower him with elemental advantage.
It took more effort to change the direction of water than to control fire movement as he pleased. Water also required more precise handling. In that sense, this rookie might prove to be an even more challenging opponent than An Jong-hyeok. After all, abilities had clear elemental compatibility.
While the difference in rank could compensate somewhat, seeing how precisely he handled water… As his thoughts continued to connect, a whip made of water suddenly flew toward him without warning.
Shin Woo-jun twisted his body to avoid the whip and sneered.
“Shit, looking at your lack of manners, you must have learned from An Jong-hyeok.”
Despite his words, Shin Woo-jun was alarmed by the fact that he had almost been humiliated by that damn whip. Just as he tried to catch his breath after quickly dodging the whip, this time a tightly woven net was thrown over his head. The water-made net looked like it would never release its prey once caught.
He wasn’t some beast or fish to be caught with a net. This rookie was irritating in a completely different way from An Jong-hyeok.
However, he also wondered if the rookie still had energy left after utilizing water so intricately, like weaving. Using water in such a delicate manner required much more energy than simply handling large volumes. It quickly became exhausting as it demanded both ability and mental strength.
It was a technique that even a typical A-rank Esper couldn’t imitate. Contrary to his initial assumption, this rookie probably wasn’t an A-rank. Someone who could handle abilities with such precision couldn’t possibly be merely an A-rank Esper. He must be S-rank. If that rookie was S-rank, the situation was turning extremely unfavorable for him.
It would have been better if his opponent had been An Jong-hyeok instead of this guy. He could at least control fire with some ease. Moreover, he had never considered that his opponent would be an S-rank Esper who controlled water rather than An Jong-hyeok, which made the situation problematic.
An Jong-hyeok was a person with strong pride and sense of responsibility, so he had believed he would never hand over the task of dealing with him to someone else… He had misjudged.
So what should he do now? Using the opponent’s ability against him wouldn’t work with this guy.
While Shin Woo-jun dodged the whips wielded by Sa Hae-geon and tried to think, the Espers who had been on his side exchanged furtive glances. They appeared to be conspiring to escape, which prompted Myeong Woo-seok to speak.
“Why are you looking at each other like that? Are you thinking of running away? You need to face the consequences of your actions.”
“What? Consequences? Give me a break, that’s ridiculous. What exactly did we do to deserve punishment? What nonsense…”
The pupil of the Esper who was snapping back suddenly became hazy. Other Espers who were puzzled by this also abruptly seemed to pause before staring blankly at Myeong Woo-seok. Myeong Woo-seok instructed the Espers looking at him in a kind but firm tone.
“Extend your hands.”
The powerless Espers obediently held out their hands. Thanks to this, Myeong Woo-seok was able to easily place ability control restraints on the criminals’ wrists. The two Guides widened their eyes at the sight of the Espers who had transformed into docile lambs.
“W-what’s going on? Why aren’t they resisting at all…”
“Those men are acting as obedient as if they’re under hypnosis?”
Rather than answering their questions, Myeong Woo-seok gave a slight smile. Soon, he took the restrained Espers to a corner and had them sit huddled together.
Meanwhile, Shin Woo-jun was dodging whips flying from all directions while cursing.
“Shit, really…”
Whatever training he had received from An Jong-hyeok, this rookie Esper’s attack style was quite unique. While it seemed like he was aggressively pushing with his ability like An Jong-hyeok, a closer look revealed that he was handling it quite delicately.
This wouldn’t work. If he continued to engage while buying time, his wavelength would become too chaotic to control. If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to avoid going berserk, and he would once again lose his sanity, rampage, and get caught. It seemed best to contact the person he had sent elsewhere in advance.
He had sent him far from the building as a precaution, but if he had known things would turn out like this, it would have been better to bring him along. However, it was difficult to boldly take out a phone or radio to make contact in front of An Jong-hyeok and his underlings.
Those who noticed his plan might interfere in strange ways. But he couldn’t afford to waste more time either. The only other option was to order someone else to do it, but pathetically, those guys were already caught by Myeong Woo-seok and wearing restraints.
Even though they weren’t particularly useful to have around, he couldn’t even utilize them in moments like this. They were useless in every way. Shin Woo-jun organized his thoughts while running around dodging the persistent whips flying toward him.
Should he just go all-in now that things had come to this? Could his body endure without going berserk? He wasn’t sure. Since his wavelength wasn’t stable, he could only vaguely guess.
Still, it would be better to try something than to be humiliated by that rookie.
Finally, after securing enough distance from Sa Hae-geon, Shin Woo-jun created wind centered around his body in the direction of An Jong-hyeok and his team members. Fierce winds whirled inside the building. While the wind was strong enough to make the building vibrate, the spot where Shin Woo-jun stood was as calm as the eye of a typhoon.
The powerful wind, almost like a typhoon, was gradually pushing back An Jong-hyeok, Sa Hae-geon, and the other team members. Shin Woo-jun wanted to mock their pathetic appearances but ended up coughing up from inside instead.
Taking advantage of the raid team’s distraction as they struggled against the wind, Shin Woo-jun quickly took out his mobile phone from his pocket. Then he dialed a familiar number from recent calls and waited for the other party to answer. However, the call wasn’t connecting even after a long wait.
Instead, a friendly automated voice was heard.
— The call cannot be connected, after the beep…
“Fuck, what? It’s not connecting? What the hell is this bastard doing instead of answering the phone?”
He had brought this guy along precisely for times like this. That’s why he had kept someone near him who was unremarkable except for his ability, someone he wouldn’t normally associate with. If it weren’t for that ability, he would never have exchanged words with him.
And now, at this crucial and urgent moment, he was ignoring his call? This wasn’t in any of the numerous scenarios he had anticipated.
Shin Woo-jun nervously tapped the screen repeatedly. Again, several ring tones were heard. At the end of the long rings, what he heard was once again the automated voice.
— The call cannot be connected…
“Shit, this fucking bastard… Answer. Answer the phone!”
Shin Woo-jun roughly pressed his throbbing temple while gripping the phone tightly. Even as rage filled him to the brim, only the stupid sound continued to flow from the phone speaker.
— The call…
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
He had finally reached the point of almost exploding. Useless fucking bastard. Probably sleeping like the dead somewhere again. Fucking asshole. Shin Woo-jun muttered curses in an ominous voice and threw his mobile phone onto the hard building floor.
The violent wind that had been raging through the building as if to blow everything away had stopped at some point. And then came the sound of An Jong-hyeok’s sneer. Shin Woo-jun’s head, which had been facing the floor, slowly moved. The blood vessels on both sides of Shin Woo-jun’s eyes had burst, turning the whites of his eyes red as he stared at An Jong-hyeok.
It was a precursor to going berserk. The moment An Jong-hyeok had been waiting for had arrived. An Jong-hyeok shrugged at Shin Woo-jun who was glaring at him.
“I noticed earlier that someone seemed to be missing.”
Shin Woo-jun, who had been violently shaking his head to get rid of the pounding headache, stopped moving. Like a wooden puppet moving awkwardly to the puppeteer’s gestures, he tilted his head and asked in a cracked voice.
“…What did you say?”
“That Esper you secretly placed elsewhere—I took care of him without you knowing.”
At An Jong-hyeok’s kind answer, the corners of Shin Woo-jun’s mouth trembled as if in a seizure. Shin Woo-jun burst into laughter like a madman, then suddenly stopped. Soon, the light disappeared from Shin Woo-jun’s eyes as he stared at An Jong-hyeok.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
