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Seojun suppressed the rising flames with ice. He froze the long snout of the wolf beastkin, preventing it from breathing fire. Simultaneously, he tried to strike its neck to knock it unconscious, but failed due to the wolf’s fierce struggle.
“Ugh.”
Seojun winced as the wolf’s claws tore into his side. It wasn’t easy to subdue the opponent since it wasn’t a monster but a person. If it had been a fire-breathing monster, he would have already cut off its breath and disposed of it.
“Esper, snap out of it!”
However, this was a person like himself. Although now in the form of a wolf, human blood flowed inside. Seojun tried to remind him of this fact while binding the escaped wolf beastkin with ice.
Kyaaark!
The wolf howled painfully after breaking Seojun’s ice with sheer force. No matter how hard Seojun tried, communication was impossible in this state. The wolf spat out clots of blood and breathed fire in all directions.
Expected grade minimum B+. Is fire the only ability?
Seojun assessed the man while blocking the flames with ice shards floating in the air like shields. Just as he was about to approach him again, screams erupted from the tent behind him.
“H-help us!”
“Kyaak!”
The group of guides sheltering in the tent began to float in the air. The wolf beastkin had pulled them with telekinesis. Unfortunately, he was a multi-ability user.
Using both fire and telekinesis. Seojun closed his eyes tightly at the troublesome situation before opening them and shouting loudly.
“Evacuate the guides first!”
The barrier maker who was helping Seojun contain the wolf beastkin immediately protected the guide group. Being a low-risk A7 area, only low-level Espers were on site as barrier makers. There were no barrier makers capable of supporting Seojun.
Kyak! Kiaak!
“Hah…”
To make matters worse, a swarm of creatures burst out from a newly formed gate. The few Espers present had to rush to deal with the creatures.
Seojun repeatedly pressed his pager again. He pressed the button to send signals to the leader and Jihan hyung while dodging the wolf beastkin’s attacks.
“Calm down! Esper!”
He continued trying to communicate with the wolf who had lost his reason while raising ice pillars again. However, due to the heat of the rampage, the ice didn’t last long.
Seojun subdued the wolf with force as it breathed fire, its black fur fluttering. He climbed on top of its body, tied its legs, and pinned down its nape.
Seojun was far superior in grade and physique. However, all of Seojun’s attacks were accompanied by hesitation. It was because he had never used force against a person before.
The wolf beastkin’s telekinesis, exploiting this gap, pushed Seojun away. Seojun continued to pin down the struggling body, hoping that the leader and his hyungs would arrive soon.
“It… It’ll be alright.”
A clear bead of sweat formed on Seojun’s chin, which had instantly become drenched in sweat. Seojun repeated that everything would be alright while making eye contact with the wolf.
Grrrr!
The wolf, unable to understand, made a strange howling sound. White foam bubbled between its bared, sharp fangs.
Seojun applied pressure to the wolf’s neck, carefully controlling his strength to avoid breaking it. He needed to knock it unconscious before its body burst. Quickly, before it turned into black ash without a single piece of flesh left.
However, it wasn’t easy to knock out a beastkin in the midst of a seizure. Being a telekinesis user, it was strongly pushing back against Seojun’s force.
“It’ll be… alright.”
Seojun’s voice gradually faded as he repeated the same words. Blood began to flow copiously from the wolf’s snout, which Seojun held tightly. Even parts of its melted internal organs, due to the rampage, mixed in.
Kuuuk…! Krrrk!
The wolf’s eyes, which had been shining blue, filled with dark red blood. A pitiful whimper of a beast struggling to breathe came from its thick neck.
The wolf’s gaze fell on the tent where the guide group had been. In the distance, the sound of a guide crying out loud could be heard. As if responding to the crying sound, the wolf’s body convulsed violently. At the same time, more blood flowed from its eyes.
The wolf was crying. While hearing the voice of the guide calling its name.
“Kill… me…”
At that moment, an unfamiliar auditory hallucination reached Seojun’s ears. Seojun’s golden pupils shook greatly as he looked at the suffering wolf.
“Please.”
The voice of a child echoed in Seojun’s mind, which was beaded with cold sweat. It was an auditory hallucination from an unknown source.
Seojun, with a dazed expression, searched for the owner of the voice. A sound of bones breaking came from the hand gripping the wolf’s neck.
The wolf’s body, which had stopped struggling, went limp in an instant. The heat of the rampage subsided simultaneously.
“Esper Ha Seojun…?”
A telekinetic Esper who had been floating in the sky dealing with creatures gaped at the scene below. After being momentarily confused by the sight of the limp wolf, his eyes shifted to Seojun and his mouth fell open wide.
All the surrounding Espers and guide groups were also shocked as they looked at Seojun. Their reactions were as if they had seen a ghost.
Seojun, looking around, tilted his head sideways as he saw people’s expressions directed at him. What’s wrong with everyone?
“Why…”
Seojun’s throat tightened at the unpleasant gazes fixed on him. He briefly beat his chest at the suffocating feeling of his airway constricting.
Looking down at his hands, Seojun let out a silent sigh. The moment he saw hands covered in silver scales instead of smooth human skin, his heart churned like mud.
Following the pulsating heartbeat, pain spread rapidly, and his fingertips split as sharp claws protruded. They were much larger than the wolf’s claws that had torn his side and were curved like hooks at the ends.
“Ugh.”
Seojun’s body staggered and fell to the ground from the pain of flesh being pierced. Only then did the wolf with its broken neck enter his field of vision. Seojun shook his head and mumbled incomprehensible words.
Dozens of eyes at the scene were fixed on him. Among them, not a single person came to help Seojun.
The Esper closest to Seojun covered his lower jaw. He retched, unable to bear the pungent odor. A terrible smell emanated from Seojun. It was the kind of stench that might come from a rotting monster carcass.
The retching Esper’s eyes met Seojun’s. He was one of those who had been loitering around Seojun’s tent, looking for an opportunity to greet him.
Seojun, clutching his left chest, reached out towards him. It was a bizarre appearance that could hardly be called a hand. A hand with fish-like scales and predatory bird-like claws. This was closer to a monster than an animal.
His golden pupils, which had been shining, darkened as the light in his eyes disappeared. His face, drenched in sweat, was clearly that of Esper Ha Seojun, but his body was becoming more like a monster’s.
“Wh-what is that…”
As wings as large as his body burst through the flesh on Seojun’s back, the onlookers’ faces filled with shock. Loud shouts from Espers rang out from all directions.
“Everyone evacuate!”
“Request support from Baekya Guild! All the high-level guilds!”
They left the scene, leaving Seojun behind. They even raised rock walls to prevent him from approaching, fearing he might follow them.
Seojun, his vision turned black, just reached out his hand while gasping for breath. Even the monsters kept their distance due to the terrible stench emanating from him. Silver scales began to grow on Seojun’s neck as well.
“Kugh. Heurk…”
The transformation process was as abnormal as his form. While beastkins quickly transformed into animals when they exerted force, Seojun’s skin tore as hidden scales and claws grew. The stench came from the pus flowing from his burst flesh.
“Please…”
Unaware that there was no one around him, Seojun flailed his arms. His gesture seeking help was pitiful. Sweat poured down his contorted face like rain.
His paralyzed thoughts didn’t process at all. He didn’t even feel the despair and fear of having his appearance, which he had vowed to hide until his dying day, exposed.
“Please, someone.”
Only one thought filled Seojun’s mind. Nothing else came to him. He just kept muttering, hoping for this terrible pain to stop.
“Kill me… please…”
Thin blood suddenly burst from between Seojun’s trembling lips. It was a signal indicating the beginning of rampage symptoms.
Even as his consciousness faded, Seojun instinctively sensed his own rampage. His heart, beating as if it would burst through his chest, foretold the approaching death.
I’m going to burst like this. The moment his thoughts reached the rampage, his mind snapped awake.
Seojun reflexively began to crawl on the ground. While alerting people who might be around to run away.
Estimating the range of his rampage, he headed towards a place as far from the tents as possible. Although his limbs had no strength and his chin scraped the ground, he crawled forward with all his might.
“R-run away…!”
Even while coughing up blood, Seojun continuously warned of the danger to his surroundings.
“Quickly…”
Not knowing that all the Espers and guides had already fled from him. He tried his best to evacuate the people around him, waving his rejected hand.
“Run away… It’s dangerous.”
“Ha Seojun.”
Seojun caught his breath at the sound of his name being called. A warm palm touched his face, which had calmly accepted death.
“It’s okay.”
Nothing was visible in his pitch-black vision. However, through the guiding flowing from the hands embracing his cheeks and shoulders, he recognized the owner of the voice.
“It’s okay now.”
Along with a weak grip tugging at his earlobe, the guiding enveloped Seojun’s heart. His heart, which had been on the brink of rampage, desperately absorbed the guiding.
Seojun closed his eyes, feeling the cozy embrace of the guide hugging his grotesque body with all their might. The moment he rested his face on Siwoo’s shoulder, the tears he had been holding back burst forth.
