Song Jae-woo’s ability is to deploy a ‘barrier with set constraints.’ Depending on how it is used, it can trap someone inside the barrier, as seen now, or allow him to hide himself. By applying this a bit further, he can use one face of the barrier as a solid shield or as a pushing force to repel an opponent. This is not difficult to achieve.
In a sudden situation where someone lunges at him, Song Jae-woo can create a shield in front of him by seemingly detaching one face of the barrier.
Although Ah-young could not read the shape of the barrier or the black flow of ESP that composed it, she had heard Cha Han-gyeom whisper just before, “The shield barrier is not three-dimensional.”
Therefore, assuming there was a flat shield in front of Song Jae-woo protecting him, she could attempt to subdue him.
Ah-young deliberately extended her arm towards Jae-woo’s face. Her small, tightly clenched fist then stopped in mid-air as if it had hit something invisible.
Thud!!
About a hand’s length away from Jae-woo’s face, Ah-young gauged that the barrier shield was there. She quickly moved to his side.
As Ah-young fiercely lunged at Jae-woo, the man who had been grabbed by Cha Han-gyeom gasped and swung his arm. With his other hand, he pushed Cha Han-gyeom’s chest hard, finally freeing himself.
“Ugh, oof….”
The man grimaced, shaking the arm that Cha Han-gyeom had grabbed. Although it was brief, he seemed to have received a significant shock, causing him to stagger.
Cha Han-gyeom, on the other hand, looked surprised and glared at the man.
‘Something’s off’
Normally, blocking the ESP pathway should have caused a reaction close to paralysis, but instead, the man pushed Cha Han-gyeom away with considerable force.
Although the staggering indicated that blocking the pathway had some effect, it was clear that the man was still alert and wary.
“So this is ‘it.’ If I hadn’t been prepared, it would have been a really shitty feeling.”
At these words, Cha Han-gyeom hid his disappointment.
The man knew that Cha Han-gyeom had the special ability to block the ESP pathway and paralyze the body. Since he was affiliated with the terrorists they had encountered before, this was not surprising.
Still, Cha Han-gyeom wondered why the man had willingly extended his hand, and it seemed he had prepared some defense.
That defense was within the man’s body.
‘It was brief but quite unusual’
There were traces of another Guide’s guiding in the man’s ESP pathway. This was a familiar sensation when guiding an Esper who had recently received care from another Guide, but this time it felt both similar and different.
It was not just residual GP. It felt as if the entire surface of the pathway was coated with GP, protecting it.
Over time, this too will gradually seep away and disappear. However, right now, it is as if he had received multiple deep guidings just moments ago, forming a kind of protective shield that thickly envelops the entire pathway.
Because of this, even if the ESP pathway is blocked by a GP barrier, another person’s lingering red energy absorbs the barrier where it touches.
In other words, only the parts of the pathway that have not come into contact with someone else’s GP can function as a barrier.
This is why the man did not experience a complete blockage of his pathway or the choking sensation of paralysis. Instead, he only felt slight discomfort and a mild shock from the disruption of his ESP flow.
Cha Han-gyeom wondered if it was possible for another Guide to protect the pathway so extensively through deep guiding. It seemed more like an excessive residue of guiding rather than intentional protection, but to Cha Han-gyeom, it was clearly a barricade meant to block his attack. Hence, the man must have mentioned being ‘prepared.’
Regardless, the situation was undeniably troublesome.
‘First, I need to disable his ability. If I keep disrupting his ESP through continuous contact….’
“Ugh!”
While Cha Han-gyeom was glaring at the man, a surprised scream escaped from Jae-woo.
Ah-young, who had slipped to his side, bent down and struck him hard in the ribs. Unable to defend with his barrier shield, Jae-woo collapsed to the floor.
Despite the pain, Jae-woo tried to get up quickly, but Ah-young swiftly pinned him down, pressing his arms to the floor with her hands and knees. Lying on his back, Jae-woo struggled to free himself, but Ah-young’s trained grip was unyielding.
Relieved by Ah-young’s swift subjugation, Cha Han-gyeom shouted to her, “Knock him out first. The barrier will break on its own.”
Sleeping and being knocked unconscious are different.
When sleeping, one can unconsciously maintain the will to keep the barrier active, allowing the ESP within the body to sustain the barrier until the set time, even while the caster sleeps.
However, in a situation where there is no time to establish such will, or if the mind is not at peace, the ESP maintaining the barrier will also abruptly cease.
“Hyung! Do we have to do this?!” Jae-woo cried out in frustration and anger. But Ah-young mercilessly struck his solar plexus, causing his eyes to roll back. Even Cha Han-gyeom flinched at the ferocity of the attack.
As Cha Han-gyeom predicted, the moment Jae-woo lost consciousness, the barrier surrounding them began to fade. The black smoke dissipated rapidly, revealing the corridor clearly.
With the barrier gone, it became apparent that the hallway was not empty. The guards who had been defending the area were lying unconscious. The barrier had been concealing the view of those trapped inside, preventing them from seeing anyone outside.
As the barrier disappeared, faint sounds of multiple people rushing around could be heard. It seemed that guards from other floors were frantically searching the area.
This puts them in a very advantageous position. In fact, it’s more than just advantageous; the man is cornered. It was foolish for just the two of them to infiltrate this mansion in the first place.
The problem is that the man is an ‘Esper.’
Espers can often render numbers meaningless, whether in one-on-one or one-against-many situations, depending on their abilities.
Perhaps because of this, the man shook his tingling hand in the air and sighed calmly, as if nothing was wrong.
“I’ll say it again. Come with us.”
“If you were in my shoes, would you want to go with people who brainwash and control my brother with ESP? Remove whatever you’ve done to him, now.”
The man chuckled, feigning innocence.
“Brainwash with ESP? We didn’t do that.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying. If you’re suspicious, investigate it yourself.”
The man glanced down at the unconscious Jae-woo.
“We came to hand him over to you. Investigate all you want. Thoroughly, if possible.”
“…What are you planning?”
Cha Han-gyeom’s suspicion grew at the man’s dubious offer.
Although the man spoke casually, he had clearly said he came to ‘hand over’ Jae-woo. It seemed they had intended to use Jae-woo as bait. If Cha Han-gyeom had taken the bait, they would have taken him too. If not, they planned to leave Jae-woo behind.
‘Why?’
Cha Han-gyeom thought that Song Jae-woo was indeed the perfect bait to lure him out. With no other close relationships, Jae-woo was the only one who could be used as bait.
However, it was strange that they were willing to give up Jae-woo so easily and even stranger that they offered to return him voluntarily.
Cha Han-gyeom glared at the man, his eyes filled with suspicion. The man, unfazed, smiled gently and extended his hand.
“Give me your hand.”
“What?”
“I have something good for you.”
The man spoke as if offering a treat to a child, his demeanor calm and unguarded.
Cha Han-gyeom was puzzled by the man’s strange offer and his lack of fear. Despite the unpleasant sensation the man must have felt when they touched earlier, he showed no sign of caution.
‘What is he thinking?’
Cha Han-gyeom slowly extended his hand, keeping a wary eye on the man. He also glanced at Ah-young, who was silently rising to her feet behind the man. If things went well, Ah-young could surprise the man and easily subdue him.
Whether he knew it or not, the man gently supported Cha Han-gyeom’s outstretched hand and placed his own hand over Han-gyeom’s palm. A faint black energy flowed from the man’s eyes and body. The same black energy seemed to pool between their overlapping hands, and when the man removed his hand, a small black cube remained.
“If you think of wanting to come to us and drop this, you can easily move. Conversely, if you don’t genuinely have that thought, it’s just a useless rock.”
Cha Han-gyeom immediately recognized that the cube was made of highly concentrated ESP. The weightless cube in his palm felt solid, ready to unleash its power at any moment.
Meanwhile, Ah-young lunged at the man, who was still emitting the black energy.
“My role ends here. I had to meet you in person to create your exclusive passage.”
“Exclusive passage…?”
As Cha Han-gyeom puzzled over the man’s cryptic words, Ah-young attempted to put the man in a headlock. Suddenly, the man’s body transformed into a black ink-like substance and sank into the floor. Looking down, Cha Han-gyeom saw the ink-like substance disappearing into a shimmering ripple that seemed to have always been there.
“See you soon, Han-gyeom.”
The man’s faint voice lingered as the ink was completely absorbed by the ripple, which then returned to being a flat corridor floor. Left in the corridor were Ah-young, looking bewildered, Cha Han-gyeom with a perplexed expression, and the unconscious Song Jae-woo, his eyes rolled back.
