Chapter 67
Han Sejun was a man with exceptionally good intuition. No, could this be dismissed as mere intuition?
Among those who received S-grade, multi-ability users appeared quite frequently. Han Sejun also considered himself such a case.
‘Otherwise, I wouldn’t see things this clearly.’
Today too, he got up from his bed recalling the future he had seen in his dream.
One of his other abilities was precognition, the power to see the future.
Knowing the future was very useful, and when combined with his barrier ability that could block everything, it created great synergy.
Thanks to that, he, who was once merely an errand boy for the organization, rapidly took control of it and rose to his current position.
Around the time when no one remained above him, he once again saw his future.
It was a future where he was dying miserably.
‘I can’t end like this.’
How hard had he climbed to this position?
How hard had he protected this position?
Han Sejun clenched his fists and rose from his seat.
Fortunately, even if he saw a future where he died, not all futures were 100% certain. The future could be changed in any number of ways.
‘But this time might be difficult.’
His intuition was telling him so. This kind of intuition was quite accurate, so it troubled him. Moreover, the opponent he saw in his dream was quite famous, which troubled him even more.
Cha Dowoon, the S-grade Esper known as the troublemaker of the Association.
There was no one in this field who didn’t know that he had no matching Guide. Nevertheless, it was Cha Dowoon who swept through the field with his tremendous combat abilities.
But that was as far as it went. Cha Dowoon’s imperfect abilities couldn’t reach him.
Yet, such a person would kill him?
‘A Guide must have appeared.’
It couldn’t be possible otherwise. He had escaped from their hands numerous times before.
But it might be difficult to deal with Cha Dowoon who had recovered to his full state with a Guide’s appearance.
After all, Dowoon wasn’t the only one in the Association.
‘In that case…’
Wouldn’t it all end if he just killed the Guide?
If there was no Guide, Dowoon wouldn’t be a match for him. But it wouldn’t be easy.
This was the Guide of an S-grade Esper, after all. They would surely be thoroughly protected. But it seemed the goddess of fortune would follow him this time too, as he heard a tempting piece of information.
‘Some individuals have appeared who want to trade a Guide who is at least A-grade, possibly S-grade.’
Beyond A-grade to S-grade?
Han Sejun immediately began investigating who this person might be. And he was able to find out that the person they were talking about was none other than Cha Dowoon’s Guide.
‘Ha! To think they would walk right into my hands like this.’
According to his investigation, the Guide was registered as C-grade, but this was Cha Dowoon’s Guide. There was a high possibility that the information had been manipulated.
If not, the future he had seen wouldn’t make sense.
In his dream, Cha Dowoon’s power was strong and eerily terrifying, enough to make one naturally say it was formidable.
A different dimension of energy and killing intent even among S-grade ability users. Fortunately, they had good compatibility, so if he could just get his hands on the Guide, it seemed like he could easily change the future.
And that prediction was exactly right.
On the night Han Sejun promised the trade, he saw a future where he killed Cha Dowoon.
“Haha… hahaha!!”
He burst into exultant laughter. To think the future would change as soon as he agreed to the trade.
“I might not even need to kill him.”
Han Sejun developed his plan with a cold smile on his lips. Knowing the future was very useful, and his ability had once again led him to victory.
The trade was successful, and the Guide fell into his hands. So he thought it was over now.
But it wasn’t.
“This… isn’t the end?”
Han Sejun, who had woken from his dream, irritably brushed his hair up. This time, he had dreamed of meeting his death at Dowoon’s hands in a different form.
“Haha. Right. It couldn’t end this easily.”
Han Sejun gritted his teeth. But that night, he had another dream.
This time, it was a future where he killed Cha Dowoon and lived a long, peaceful life.
He realized it. Two futures. What that meant was…
“One of us has to die for it to end.”
This was probably the last crisis that would come to him.
Having overcome numerous life-threatening crises, rather than anxiety, his blood began to boil hotly.
The final gamble.
The final struggle.
He believed without a doubt that he would be the victor this time as well.
* * *
“Ugh…”
Seoyul opened his eyes while clutching his head that felt like it was about to split. It took quite a while to steady his buzzing head and shaking vision.
As the pain gradually began to disappear, Seoyul abruptly sat up and shouted.
“Esper!”
Dowoon, who had come to save him, flashed through his mind.
‘Is he, is he safe?’
He remembered losing consciousness with the thought that Dowoon might be in danger. Seoyul began to tremble slightly as fear suddenly came upon him.
What if he was hurt? What if something had gone terribly wrong…
‘No, that can’t be.’
Shaking off the dark thoughts flooding in, Seoyul quickly raised his head. And slowly looked around.
‘This is…’
He was in a rather decent room. Unlike the moldy room where he had been held captive, this was a very clean room.
But this place also had no windows.
‘So… I’ve been kidnapped again.’
The small hope that he might be by Dowoon’s side when he opened his eyes was completely shattered. Now he really wouldn’t be able to meet Dowoon.
It was clear that rescue would be difficult, since this was a person that even the most skilled people in the country couldn’t catch.
‘I’ve really… gone back.’
Beyond going back, he had now fallen into a place without even dreams or hope. In the past, at least there was a small thread that he would be free after paying off all his debt.
But now he had fallen into a place where even that small thread, that hope, had all disappeared. In the worst case, he could even lose his life.
‘No, the possibility of that happening is high.’
Seoyul lay down on the bed again and curled up small. What they wanted was S-grade energy. But Seoyul couldn’t give them that.
That’s what being a Hidden Guide meant. Especially in Seoyul’s case, since his condition was emotion-based, he was greatly influenced by his surroundings, making it difficult to control even if he wanted to.
Even if he tried to summon energy with the thought of wanting to survive, since he wasn’t in a happy state, there was a high possibility that energy wouldn’t come out.
‘Esper…’
How nice it would have been if he could have seen Dowoon one last time.
With such thoughts, Seoyul gradually sank into the abyss. A Guide who had lost the will to live began to just lie still on the bed, waiting for death.
His resignation came quickly, as he knew that whether soon or later, his fate of death would not change.
How much time had passed like that? A voice waking up Seoyul, who had fallen into deep sleep, was heard.
“Are you planning to die just like that?”
It was Han Sejun’s voice.
“I heard you just sleep without eating anything. Are you protesting or something?”
What did it matter? Having lost his last hope before his eyes, Seoyul firmly closed the door to his heart.
He blocked his sight and closed his ears, completely cutting off communication with the outside world. But noticing his intention, Han Sejun opened his mouth with a cold smile.
“It seems there’s news you don’t want to hear.”
Flinch.
Seoyul’s body stiffened.
Yes, he didn’t want to hear it. He wanted to run away from those words that would spring from his mouth.
So he covered his ears again and curled up. But he relentlessly threw those words Seoyul didn’t want to hear, didn’t want to know, tormenting his heart.
“Cha Dowoon. It seems you’re not curious about his life or death.”
Esper…
The hands covering his ears gradually fell away. Seoyul quietly raised his closed eyelids.
One reason he had tried to escape by closing all his senses was because he was afraid to hear about Dowoon’s fate.
Was he alive?
What if he was dead?
Seoyul had been afraid. Because of that uncertainty, he had tried to escape reality by closing all his senses.
‘Like that time…’
Slowly sitting up, Seoyul looked up at Han Sejun with clouded eyes. In response, he smiled and opened his mouth.
“It seems you’re ready to listen.”
Sitting on the bed, he slowly began to unfold his story.
But it wasn’t about Dowoon. It was about Han Sejun himself.
Stories about how he had lived until now, how he had risen to this position.
And there were also unbelievable pieces of information mixed in.
“So I thought I had to have you. But I was really lucky. I didn’t know you would walk in on your own feet.”
He said he had the ability to see the future. With that ability, he had been able to avoid surveillance and remain uncaught, and had been able to grow this much, he explained.
And at the end of the path of glory he would enjoy was…
‘Me?’
Seoyul couldn’t fully believe those words. But since he couldn’t understand why he was laying out such words, it was also difficult to completely ignore them.
“Why…”
Why would he say such things? If all those words were true, why would he reveal information that could become his weakness?
But he explained casually, as if he had heard a very obvious question.
“Obviously because I want you to move according to my wishes.”
Move according to his wishes?
“…That won’t happen.”
Seoyul declared firmly. That was the best he could do right now. It wasn’t even much of a choice, but they weren’t on terms where he would grant his wishes either.
Above all…
‘I don’t want to hold back Esper.’
In the past, he wouldn’t have been able to make a choice like this. But Seoyul knew.
‘I’ve changed. I won’t live like before.’
A being who is only used and then discarded.
A miserable death.
He vowed that at least he wouldn’t die after being used like that time. At the very least, he wanted to face his end while asserting his own will.
“Hmm… I wonder if you’ll still be able to say such things after hearing this.”
He laughed confidently. In his voice was a strong conviction about the path he had walked so far.
Confidence that he would never fail and certainty that he would get what he wanted.
Seoyul didn’t really want to hear it. But it wasn’t like he could stop him from speaking either.
Han Sejun approached closer to Seoyul and whispered in his ear.
“Cha Dowoon… will die by my hands.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
