Goal: Removing the First Obstacle (17)
Sa Hae-geon also wanted to handle Shin Woo-jun with just the current personnel, without the backup team’s help, just as An Jong-hyeok had initially suggested. It would take less time that way, and they wouldn’t have to deal with unfamiliar people.
Shin Woo-jun’s attack, which had momentarily faltered, came crashing down again. Although Shin Woo-jun had lost his grip on sanity, he didn’t seem to have completely gone berserk yet. Meanwhile, An Jong-hyeok’s concerns deepened. He too wanted to subdue Shin Woo-jun with force as an Esper rather than relying on the artifact’s help.
But it wasn’t easy to find an opening. Shin Woo-jun attacked relentlessly without giving them a moment’s rest. If they continued to drag things out like this, other team members might get injured, so a quick decision was needed. The fastest method was to use the artifact.
Yes. Even if he didn’t like it, that was the right choice. What was the point of saving this artifact? An Jong-hyeok firmly gripped the artifact in his pocket. He rolled the bracelet-shaped artifact in his palm while monitoring Shin Woo-jun’s movements. Just then, Sa Hae-geon came to his side and whispered softly.
“I’ll cover you.”
Sa Hae-geon created a curtain of water to protect An Jong-hyeok from the fierce wind that made it difficult to take even a single step. The two advanced toward Shin Woo-jun inside a sphere-shaped shield.
The artifact’s range was short. Given its bracelet form, it had to be used at a fairly close distance. Therefore, they needed to get as close as possible to Shin Woo-jun. However, even if they got closer, Shin Woo-jun wouldn’t willingly extend his wrist to let them put the bracelet on.
“You’re even less impressive than I expected.”
So An Jong-hyeok planned to divert Shin Woo-jun’s attention with provocative words. Of course, he also intended to push him to go completely berserk.
“…What?”
Sure enough, Shin Woo-jun crumpled his face and asked in an ominous voice. He seemed more deeply provoked than expected, clenching his fist tightly as if he wanted to rush in and land a punch right away.
“Am I wrong? I came expecting a fairly intense fight, but it’s boring because you’re so pathetic. Even the Espers you worked so hard to gather were nothing special.”
“You crazy bastard, what are you saying… Ha, haha. Hahaha!”
Shin Woo-jun burst into laughter as if he had lost his mind. As soon as the angry Shin Woo-jun’s attention wavered, An Jong-hyeok quickly approached him. The artifact, in exchange for requiring close proximity to the target, had the effect of completely nullifying the abilities the opponent emitted.
Although it was difficult to attach due to its wrist-wearing form, once attached, it would free them from the opponent’s ability attacks. That’s why they needed to push the opponent to the limits of their physical strength to prevent resistance through physical combat.
Despite being single-use, it was so excessively expensive that there were few occasions worth using it. If the opponent wasn’t an S-rank Esper like Shin Woo-jun, they wouldn’t even have considered using such an item.
When they were about 4 meters away from Shin Woo-jun, a large vortex suddenly formed behind An Jong-hyeok and Sa Hae-geon. Shin Woo-jun had deliberately attacked the team members behind them to stop An Jong-hyeok and Sa Hae-geon from approaching.
It was a cunning tactic. Though they had anticipated this situation, Shin Woo-jun’s despicable choice was undeniably unpleasant. These were once comrades who had shared life and death experiences. Of course, if Shin Woo-jun had cared about such things, matters wouldn’t have come to this point. Swallowing the curses rising to his throat, An Jong-hyeok said in a low voice to Sa Hae-geon.
“I’ll be fine, so please take care of the team members, Hae-geon.”
“No.”
Sa Hae-geon shook his head and turned to look at Lee Cheol-min, who was struggling to block the vortex. Lee Cheol-min was shouting something toward Sa Hae-geon, but with the wind sound filling the building, his voice couldn’t be heard. However, Sa Hae-geon could vaguely guess. It was probably the obvious message that he was fine and that Sa Hae-geon should help An Jong-hyeok instead.
But protecting the team members was as good as helping An Jong-hyeok. Sa Hae-geon created a large, transparent curtain of water. He placed it over the floor where the team members were standing. Lee Cheol-min’s translucent shield, which was about to break under Shin Woo-jun’s attack, barely maintained its form with Sa Hae-geon’s help.
Discovering the curtain Sa Hae-geon had created, Lee Cheol-min shouted at him.
“Don’t worry about us here and help the team leader!”
Sa Hae-geon shrugged at Lee Cheol-min and looked forward again. If he hadn’t helped, Lee Cheol-min wouldn’t have lasted much longer and would have fallen victim to Shin Woo-jun’s attack. Sa Hae-geon had helped Lee Cheol-min not just because of An Jong-hyeok’s instructions, but because he didn’t want anything to happen that would make Chae Do-min sad.
And that included An Jong-hyeok too. Sa Hae-geon created a transparent shield for himself and An Jong-hyeok as well. An Jong-hyeok probably intended to send him to the team members and face Shin Woo-jun alone, but Sa Hae-geon couldn’t allow that. Besides, An Jong-hyeok had said during yesterday’s meeting:
‘Although following a superior’s instructions is the top priority in the field, our team is different. If there’s a wiser approach, it’s always welcome.’
Seeing the shield placed over his head, An Jong-hyeok let out a hollow laugh and then said with a resigned expression.
“I’d like to tell you not to overdo it because Do-min is worried, but… the situation doesn’t even allow me such courtesy. Still, if you feel like you’re going to collapse, say so. I can at least take care of that much.”
At An Jong-hyeok’s words, Sa Hae-geon frowned and grumbled.
“I don’t plan on making anyone other than Do-min hyung worry about me.”
After finishing his words, Sa Hae-geon immediately tried to wrap Shin Woo-jun’s body using water streams. However, it wasn’t easy as the wind was blowing so strongly around Shin Woo-jun, as if protecting him. Far from subduing his body, the water was scattered in various places.
Sa Hae-geon twitched his eyebrows and tried to adjust the water so it wouldn’t be pushed away by the wind, but it didn’t work as intended. He tried to make the water more cohesive and adjust its viscosity, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. All the while, Sa Hae-geon was maintaining a total of three shields.
Watching this, An Jong-hyeok was quite worried about Sa Hae-geon. He wondered if it was okay to use abilities to that extent. Nevertheless, the two moved step by step toward Shin Woo-jun. Finally reaching close to Shin Woo-jun, they exchanged tense glances.
“You bastards, worse than vermin…”
Shin Woo-jun, enraged to the extreme, shouted and extended his hand. Following his gesture, a whirlwind blew in momentarily. Sa Hae-geon, who was inadvertently pushed back a couple of steps, glanced at An Jong-hyeok. They needed a way to hold down Shin Woo-jun’s body. While contemplating the method as he met An Jong-hyeok’s gaze, Sa Hae-geon tightly clenched his fist.
Then he stared intently at the ground beneath Shin Woo-jun’s feet. The dry gray cement floor gradually turned a deeper color, then became damp as water pooled. By the time Shin Woo-jun noticed something was wrong and looked down, it was already too late. Water that had risen in an instant began climbing up Shin Woo-jun’s body.
“You shi—!”
The water, as if possessing a will of its own, wrapped around Shin Woo-jun’s body and slowly began to freeze.
“What the fuck is this…!”
Shin Woo-jun twisted his body around, struggling to shake off the water, but he eventually ended up trapped in ice that constricted his body, with only his face and wrists exposed.
An Jong-hyeok, who had been frozen in surprise at Sa Hae-geon’s ingenuity, belatedly attached the artifact to Shin Woo-jun’s wrist. The loosely hanging artifact vibrated as if measuring Shin Woo-jun’s body, then soon contracted to fit the size of his wrist.
“You cowardly, petty bastard…! What did you do to me? Damn it, what the hell did you put on me… Ah, you shit!”
Shin Woo-jun grimaced and frantically shook his wrist trying to remove the artifact, but it was useless. Moreover, when he tried to use his ability to cut off the artifact, a pain of a completely different dimension from going berserk came over him, making him gasp and hesitate.
Shin Woo-jun looked at An Jong-hyeok, Sa Hae-geon, and then his wrist in disbelief, then closed his eyes and slumped. Watching this, An Jong-hyeok gestured to Myeong Woo-seok to put ability control restraints on Shin Woo-jun’s wrist.
Although the situation ended with Shin Woo-jun fainting with the artifact attached, An Jong-hyeok didn’t feel at ease. He felt uncomfortable due to an inexplicable bitterness. An Jong-hyeok looked at Shin Woo-jun’s unconscious face for a long time with a contorted expression, then turned away.
Thus, Shin Woo-jun and the illegal organization he had formed were completely apprehended by the raid team.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
