“Let us not resort to unnecessary bloodshed. I mean, I would not mind killing them all myself. But would that not sadden you? They are your comrades, after all.”
Noble words—but Lee Haru had already been disarmed by the stunt the man had pulled.
He wanted to scoff in disbelief, but his body refused to obey. Only his thoughts remained free. To make it worse, the position he was frozen in was utterly pathetic: standing there, holding a pair of tongs.
Hot, it’s hot…!
As if things were not already unbearable, steam billowed up from the ramen, heating the metal tongs and slowly burning his pale skin red.
He could not make a sound. His wide eyes brimmed with tears, silently shimmering. Zero, the leader of Black, tilted his head as he looked at him.
“Ah, it’s hot, is it?”
Finally, the tongs slipped from Haru’s hand.
My ramen…
If he had known it would end like this, he would have at least tasted it—just one bite to check if the noodles were cooked right. Now, smelling the noodles with the perfect chewy texture wafting its mouthwatering aroma into the air, his stomach twisted from hunger—and Zero casually slipped an arm around his waist.
Meanwhile, sensing something wrong, Kim Hyun-seo stepped into the kitchen. Ji Yeon-woo, returning from a quick trip to the bathroom, followed close behind.
“Ah…”
Even from behind, the man’s silhouette and presence were unmistakably familiar. Ji Yeon-woo froze at the threshold, unable to cross into the room.
He had thought he was finally free—free from that man’s grasp.
And yet, here he was again, as if mocking every second he had spent trying to escape.
Their eyes met. The man silently mouthed the word: “Hello.”
Ji Yeon-woo could not breathe. The man had not harmed him—had not even touched him—but his body froze like a herbivore caught in the predator’s gaze.
It was not until the man turned to leave, Lee Haru still in his arms, that Ji Yeon-woo managed to force out his voice.
“Haru hyung!”
Lee Haru was being taken. Ji Yeon-woo owed him everything—Haru had saved him. And now, there was nothing he could do to return the favor.
All he could do was stretch out a hand toward the retreating figure, crying out in desperation.
“Guide Lee Haru!”
Kim Hyun-seo, now fully grasping the situation, surged his power. In one swift motion, he drew the twin swords coiled around his waist and swung them toward Zero’s arm.
The wind-charged blade tore through the air, but it only sliced fabric.
The torn cloth fluttered away, revealing smooth, unblemished skin—without a single scratch.
An S-rank Esper.
Only someone of that caliber could shrug off his attack so easily. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Kim Hyun-seo launched forward with explosive speed.
But even while carrying Haru, Zero moved like lightning.
CRASH—
The moment Zero’s back hit the panoramic window, the entire wall of glass shattered into glittering fragments. With a faint smile in his eyes, Zero released a nearly invisible strand of pheromones toward Kim Hyun-seo.
They were unseen—but Kim Hyun-seo had heard about Zero’s ability.
He instinctively held his breath. But pheromones were not limited to inhalation—they could penetrate through the skin.
The moment the substance touched the exposed skin above his collar, it was absorbed instantly.
Thump, thump—
“Guh…!”
Kim Hyun-seo collapsed, clutching his chest. It felt like an invisible hand had plunged into his ribs, squeezing his heart with cruel precision.
Veins bulged at his temples, glowing an eerie blue. The whites of his eyes turned crimson as the vessels burst.
Blood-tinged tears streaked down his face, a result of the overstimulated tear glands.
He tried to move, tried to resist the pain, but his strength had already abandoned him.
“After them! Do not let them escape!”
In a flash, the Team Leader was down. The Deputy Leader of Alpha Team 2 shouted orders, drawing his dual swords and charging at Zero with fury.
Whiiistle— So full of energy, all of you.
With a cheerful whistle, Zero released a flood of pheromones in every direction toward the incoming Espers.
Just like Kim Hyun-seo, the Espers were overwhelmed. One by one, their faces flushed red as they crumpled to the ground.
What kind of monster is this…?
It was overwhelming—there was no other word for it. Lee Haru realized in that moment that Zero’s combat power rivaled that of any S-rank Esper.
It reminded him of Yu Je-hyun—who had slaughtered the faceless men who were moments away from raping him during his capture by Black.
Back then, that kind of power had felt like salvation. But now that it was pointed at him, it sent a chill through his bones.
Kim Hyun-seo had said there were others stationed around the mansion—but all Haru could see were bodies, scattered and unmoving.
Zero kicked off the ground and soared effortlessly over the compound walls.
Ji Yeon-woo, trembling, forced his frozen body into motion and burst out into the garden. But there was nothing he could do.
“No…”
His legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed, helpless, watching as Zero and Haru vanished into the distance. His vision blurred—everything washed out in a haze of tears and despair.
***
“You are not allowed to see where we are going, so just keep this over your head.”
Should he be grateful Zero had not knocked him out? Or pissed that he had instead shoved a suffocating black cloth over his head?
Still robbed of control over his body, Lee Haru could not say a word, even as Zero threw what felt like a rag across his face.
The smell…
The stench was so rancid he wanted to ask when the hell this thing had last been washed.
That alone was enough to make his stomach turn, but being dragged around at blistering speed—like Zero was pulling aerial stunts—left his body tossed and jerked about in every direction.
I feel like I am going to hurl…
He had not even eaten the ramen, but it felt like the soggy, bloated noodles were already churning in his gut, ready to come right back up.
Underneath the cloth, Haru’s face turned deathly pale. Even in a kidnapping, the idea of vomiting all over this bastard’s chest was too much for his pride to bear. Cold sweat soaked his back as he fought to keep his nausea down.
“Without any S-ranks chasing us, this is a breeze.”
By the time Haru’s complexion had gone from pale to ghastly, Zero finally began to slow.
He was still moving, but it was no longer at a breakneck pace that could put a rollercoaster to shame.
I can’t take this anymore…
The moment the momentum eased, the nausea hit even harder.
Whether Zero’s ability was wearing off or not, Haru’s fingers twitched faintly for the first time.
With trembling hands, Haru reached out and grabbed a fistful of Zero’s shirt. The coarse black fabric crumpled helplessly between his pale, quivering fingers.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Feeling sick?”
Zero’s voice was disgustingly casual—so relaxed it bordered on theatrical, like he might break into song.
Still holding Haru, he casually pressed his thumb to a security panel.
A ripple of red light spread across the pitch-black screen, and the locked door slid open with a soft hiss.
“B–bathroom…”
Finally, his lips moved. As soon as he could speak, Haru forced out the word with desperate urgency.
“Ugh… Nngh…”
He slapped a hand over his mouth, gagging violently.
Surprisingly, Zero complied without argument and brought him straight to the toilet.
Thud—
With all the grace of dropping a sack of potatoes, Zero unceremoniously dumped him onto the bathroom floor. Only then did he pull off the filthy cloth covering Haru’s head.
Light stabbed at his eyes like knives, and even as tears streamed down his face, Haru fumbled to lift the toilet lid.
“Bleeeuurgh—!”
He managed to miss Zero’s chest by a hair. Each heave came with a grotesque retching sound, the toilet water turning murky with bile and stomach acid.
Arms crossed, Zero stood off to the side, completely unmoved, waiting in silence as Haru emptied the contents of his stomach.
When Haru was finally done, hunched over and panting raggedly against the toilet, Zero grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him upright.
“I cannot stand filth.”
Using his foot, he slammed the toilet lid shut and flushed before walking over to the shower.
“Urgh…”
Like he was handling luggage, Zero hurled Haru into the stall and spun the faucet.
Water crashed down on him from above. Haru curled in on himself under the cold spray, groaning softly as it hit his body.
“Scrub yourself clean. If you still stink, next time I will dunk you in ice water.”
Unbelievable… This is beyond humiliating.
He had just puked up a perfectly good meal—because of him—and this was how he was treated?
Zero’s voice was so devoid of empathy, so lacking in human decency, that it went past rude and into outright deranged. Haru’s clenched fists trembled. Once Zero exited the bathroom, he slammed one of them against the floor.
Forget the S-rank Guide—can someone just make me an S-rank Esper instead? Please? I am begging you.
Clutching his now-red knuckles, Haru screamed silently into the void.
He had no idea why he had been taken instead of Ji Yeon-woo. Not that he wanted Ji Yeon-woo to suffer in his place, but none of this made any goddamn sense.
Or at the very least, could someone explain what the plot of this novel is supposed to be?
What happened to the perks of being transmigrated, huh? Where the hell did those go?
