Just a moment ago, they had been floating in the sky—now, they were indoors.
The ceiling was high, with round white lights embedded in a straight line. The floor was covered in hard, square marble tiles, all uniformly black.
The interior of the Center gave the same impression as when they had first seen its outer grounds. Spacious, systematic, and imbued with an almost ideal sense of stability.
Jae-jin looked around, scanning his surroundings. Several closed doors lined the hallway.
“There aren’t any surveillance cameras in the headquarters due to confidentiality. That works in our favor.”
“I see.”
“Only generals have access here. Hold on—I need to concentrate.”
Seo Eui-woo rolled his neck, producing a sharp crack. After flexing his wrists and shoulders, he slowly lowered his eyelids. His distinctively long, fine eyelashes settled gracefully, unmoving.
Even his breathing gradually slowed until, at last, it seemed as if he had stopped exhaling altogether. A still, sculpture-like presence, emanating a silent, formidable energy.
A power submerged in the abyss. Coiled like a serpent, it was immense, potent, and mesmerizing—yet, its equilibrium was still imperfect, laced with an ominous, malevolent aura.
Invisible to the human eye, the force spread out from Eui-woo in silent concentric waves. Like water seeping unnoticed into its surroundings, it expanded, steadily claiming more territory.
He wielded his power with extreme caution, ensuring that none of the generals in the strategy meeting sensed even the slightest disturbance. It was as delicate as peeling a layer of human skin without detection—a task requiring surgical precision. Like an invisible blade slicing away the epidermis above the dermis, removing it painlessly.
If even one of those generals sensed something amiss, it would be over. If an emergency alarm were triggered, the situation would spiral into chaos instantly.
While Eui-woo stood frozen, scattering his power like a paused frame, Jae-jin’s forearm trembled. Worried that he might interfere, he clenched his fists tightly, trapping the vibrations within his palms. His nails dug into his skin, leaving crescent-shaped marks—traces left by the very nails Eui-woo had trimmed for him.
“…It’s done.”
After a while, Eui-woo slowly opened his eyes. His fine, dense eyelashes curled upward, revealing familiar gray irises.
His gaze was dark and cold. Like something sinking deep into a pitch-black swamp.
“I’ve suppressed everything… We should be able to go in now.”
Suppressed?
What exactly had he suppressed?
Seo Eui-woo grabbed Kwon Jae-jin’s hand and pulled him forward. Without hesitation, they strode down the hallway, stopping in front of the massive doors of the headquarters’ main chamber. Without even giving Jae-jin a moment to brace himself, Eui-woo swung both doors open wide with telekinesis.
Inside, the scene resembled a frozen photograph of a meeting room.
Everything in the vast space had come to a complete halt—so much so that Jae-jin found himself unconsciously marveling at it.
The flag of the New Government hung prominently at the front. The emblems of the Army, Navy, and Air Force adorned the ceiling and walls. A massive, U-shaped table was tightly packed with seated generals.
Everything in sight had been frozen under the crushing force of Eui-woo’s invisible power.
Even as they watched Eui-woo and Jae-jin enter the chamber, the generals couldn’t sound an alarm. They couldn’t even blink. Only their eyes barely rolled in their sockets, moving with difficulty.
“…You’ve completely subdued them?”
“Yeah. Making sure they didn’t notice was a bit tricky. Now, I’m going to start working on their minds one by one.”
Eui-woo stepped toward the end of the table. Sitting there was Brigadier General Oh Seong-hwa, the Army’s Operations Commander. His title and name were clearly displayed on the nameplate in front of him.
Nameplates were lined up in front of all the seated generals, identifying them in order.
From the lower seats, the officers ranked as brigadiers included the Army, Navy, and Air Force Operations Commanders, the Defense Commander, the Special Operations Commander, the Aviation Commander, the Logistics Commander, the Training Commander, and the Fleet Commander. The higher-ranking major generals occupied the upper seats: the Army Commander, the Navy Commander, and the Air Force Commander. At the very top sat the lieutenant generals—Central Military Commander and Deputy Central Military Commander.
“…The leader isn’t here.”
Jae-jin muttered under his breath, carefully scanning the headquarters chamber.
The highest-ranking position in the military—the Supreme Commander, a four-star general—was absent.
Only the nameplate remained at the table, while the chair itself sat empty.
Whether it was an absence, a delay, or something else entirely was unclear.
“We’ll figure that out too. I’ll be digging into their brains anyway.”
That meant he would read their memories.
Eui-woo raised a hand and placed it in front of Brigadier General Oh’s head. Now that he no longer had to be subtle, his power erupted at once, swirling like a storm around his palm.
As his energy gathered, his clothes fluttered, the table hummed with vibrations, and the medals dangling from the generals’ chests clinked together from the tremors.
Amidst the dignified, middle-aged men clad in their precisely tailored combat uniforms, twenty-year-old Seo Eui-woo stood out starkly, dressed in a black turtleneck. His turtleneck, no less, was stained with dirt from being dragged across the ground, crumpled with wrinkles where Jae-jin had accidentally stepped on it.
Then, finally, as Eui-woo’s fingertips made contact with the center of Brigadier General Oh’s forehead, the expressions of the gathered generals changed all at once.
Pairs of eyes, staring in different directions, flashed with an array of emotions—shock, indignation, fear, or something else entirely.
Unable to resist, the generals watched Eui-woo with the expression of men witnessing a death god that should not exist.
By now, everyone in this room had grasped the situation.
There wasn’t a single person here who didn’t recognize Seo Eui-woo, the first-ever S-Class Esper.
Nor was there anyone unfamiliar with Kwon Jae-jin, the S-Class mutant Guide—classified as a hazardous entity and contaminant, locked away in a special residential zone.
And now, the two of them had appeared side by side, launching an unthinkable coup.
These were men who had clawed their way through the chaos of war, ascending to the nation’s highest positions of power. There was no way their minds were empty at this moment.
These were men who had overcome countless crises to reach this position.
Each of them was a hardened veteran, wily old monsters who had survived through sheer cunning and strength. Even Brigadier General Oh—whose head was currently being pried open—was no fool, despite his tendency for flippant remarks and his harsh treatment of subordinates.
Oh Seong-hwa was sharp with numbers, highly attuned to power struggles, and, most importantly, ruthless enough to send his men to certain death without hesitation if the situation demanded it. In times of war, such cold efficiency was a necessary trait for a commander.
“……!”
And then—
The instant Seo Eui-woo activated his psychic abilities on Oh Seong-hwa’s brain, the highest-ranking seat in the chamber was suddenly filled.
A man, appearing to be in his fifties, was now seated in the once-empty chair.
He hadn’t teleported in like Eui-woo had.
The imposing chair at the head of the table was now occupied by a glowing blue hologram. A projector mounted on the ceiling emitted a beam of light, precisely replicating the figure of a man.
The supreme authority of the Center. The leader of all Awakened beings. A four-star general.
Supreme Commander Choi Yul.
“Cease.”
His solemn voice resonated through the headquarters chamber, broadcasted from speakers installed next to the projector’s transmission system.
“You intend to use psychic abilities. Your goal is to protect that mutant, isn’t it?”
“……”
“You understand what will happen if I trigger the emergency alarm, don’t you, Captain Seo?”
They had been found out.
And in the worst possible way.
Kwon Jae-jin clenched his jaw tightly, his expression darkening as he stared at Choi Yul’s hologram. Beside him, Seo Eui-woo slowly withdrew from Oh Seong-hwa’s mind, fixing his glare onto the Supreme Commander.
Choi Yul had neither been absent from the strategy meeting nor late.
He had been attending remotely from the beginning—through a holographic transmission.
Since he wasn’t physically present, he couldn’t be subdued with abilities.
Nor could his mind be tampered with.
It was impossible to restrain him unless they located his actual position and teleported there to seize him.
Meanwhile, Choi Yul had full authority at his disposal. At any moment, he could issue an emergency alert, summon security forces and special operations units, and mobilize the entire Center against them.
If that happened, Eui-woo and Jae-jin would have no choice but to flee.
Forced back into the life of fugitives.
And this time, Eui-woo’s true abilities—long concealed—would be fully exposed to the world.
“Now then, let’s begin with proper introductions. I am Supreme Commander Choi Yul.”
Choi Yul raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His demeanor was almost casual, completely unfitting for the gravity of the situation. He looked less like the head of the Center and more like some easygoing next-door neighbor.
“Jae-jin, step back.”
Eui-woo dissolved his psychic hold over the room, instead strengthening the protective barrier around Jae-jin. His jet-black eyes gleamed with a dangerous intensity, sharper and more menacing than ever before.
His power filled the space, pulsating ominously.
It felt as if the very air might explode at any moment.
Like walking on a sheet of thin ice, ready to crack beneath them.
