Seo Won’s face stiffened.
He couldn’t even begin to guess what this “other thing” might be, but that wasn’t the most pressing issue right now.
If the terrorists weren’t aiming to harm them but only to trap them, then it meant their real target was outside. Whether that was an object, a person, or something else entirely—it didn’t matter.
If this entire situation was just a ploy to buy time for something else, then it all started to make sense.
What are they after?
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t come up with a plausible answer.
At most, the only theory he could entertain was that these terrorists might be a group of unregistered espers acting as robbers.
Everyone on board this ship was a vetted individual with clear backgrounds—mostly powerful figures from major corporations or their close relatives. If they were robbers made up of unregistered espers, there was no shortage of high-value targets here.
He still had no idea what their goal was, but one thing was clear: this was no time to sit around and wait.
Min-hyung, who had been watching Seo Won’s darkened expression, lowered his voice and spoke.
“There’s one way… a way to get out of here.”
“What is it?”
If he had a solution, why didn’t he say so sooner?
Urgency flickered across Seo Won’s face. Min-hyung shifted his gaze to the rectangular case held by Seo Won’s bodyguard.
“There’s a spare of that ‘item’ that got disabled during the earlier demonstration because of the barrier, right?”
“Yes, we have it. But as you know, it won’t work if there’s a barrier up like the one surrounding this space.”
“But I can use it.”
Min-hyung replied with confidence, his eyes fixed on the hall’s entrance.
“When I checked earlier, the barrier was cast on the inside of the door. There’s just enough space between the door and the edge of the barrier for me to slip a hand through.”
Seo Won immediately understood what Min-hyung was getting at.
“If I use it from inside that space, aiming outward, I can blow the door off.”
“But if you do that, you’ll be seriously injured, Cha Min-hyung.”
Just as he said, if that device was used, it would obliterate the door—and anything beyond it. The real problem would be the debris scattering in all directions. While others, kept at a distance from the door, might be fine, Cha Min-hyung—who would be closest and aiming directly at the sealed point—would undoubtedly take the brunt of the blast.
“If it means getting out of this suffocating place, what’s a few injuries?”
Despite the risk, Min-hyung’s expression remained indifferent, as if it truly didn’t matter to him.
“Once I’m out, I’ll immediately contact the Esper Association and have them send a device capable of nullifying the barrier. It won’t take long. I’ll teleport a drone to the pier and launch it from there.”
Min-hyung trailed off, his face showing a hint of apology.
“This is something that can only happen with your help, President Seo. We’re basically talking about smashing one of those precious prototypes we barely managed to hold onto.”
Knowing just how much effort had gone into creating that prototype, Min-hyung couldn’t help but feel guilty for even making such a request.
Seo Won went quiet for a moment before extending his hand toward the bodyguard.
“Give it to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Having unintentionally overheard the entire conversation, the bodyguard handed over the case with a tense expression.
“It’s fine if it gets destroyed. I can make another with my eyes closed.”
Seo Won walked over to the table and opened the case. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at the device inside.
“Cha Min-hyung, is it alright if I ask a favor of someone about to get completely wrecked?”
“Of course. Ask anything you need.”
Min-hyung gave him a look that said bring it on.
Seo Won picked up a silver capsule about the length of his hand. Shaped like a long capsule with the circumference of a 500-won coin, it had a transparent glass strip about a centimeter wide running vertically along its surface. Through that strip, a black liquid could be seen sloshing inside.
“Once you use it, this will turn into a transparent fluid. When that happens, a touch-sensitive keypad will appear on the opposite side of the glass.”
Min-hyung’s gaze was fixed intently on the capsule.
“Type in the code I give you on the keypad and channel your GP into it. The altered solution will automatically absorb the GP.”
“You mean my GP?”
Min-hyung asked with a puzzled look as Seo Won gave a subtle nod.
“But earlier, didn’t you say only ESP could be stored in this thing? Then how…?”
“What I said was, ‘ESP can be stored perfectly.’ I never said GP was impossible.”
“Hah…”
Min-hyung let out a faint, disbelieving chuckle before nodding.
“Alright. But what difference does it make if I put my GP into it?”
“We don’t need the GP inside your body. What we need is the GP that’s surrounding your outer layer.”
“Only the GP on the outside, huh…”
Min-hyung’s eyes widened slightly, and then his expression shifted—as if he’d suddenly figured out what Seo Won was planning.
“Asking someone who’s about to get mangled to precisely extract only their external GP… That’s a tall order. But you’re right, this is probably the only way we’re getting out of here right now.”
“You were the one who said I could ask anything.”
“Yeah, so I’ll do it—no complaints.”
Taking the capsule from Seo Won, Min-hyung turned toward the door—then suddenly paused.
“…Is there someone important out there?”
The case, now completely empty after losing its last two prototypes, closed with a light click.
“Does it look that way to you?”
“You’ve looked tense this whole time. For you to offer something like this… You must be really desperate.”
If they went with using a drone to deliver the device capable of disabling the nullification barrier, then they wouldn’t have to reveal the second function of this device—something the Association hadn’t been informed of yet.
Still, it was clear Seo Won couldn’t even afford to wait the short time it would take for the drone to arrive. That’s how urgent this situation was.
“…You should get ready.”
“Understood.”
Watching Seo Won draw a clear boundary—as if telling him not to press any further—Min-hyung gave a faint smile. Clutching the capsule tightly in one hand, he made his way toward the door.
“Everyone, step back.”
Min-hyung motioned for the people lingering near the entrance to move away. Seo Won’s bodyguards stepped in to assist, guiding the others away from the doorway.
Knowing the door would be completely obliterated by the blast, Min-hyung removed his suit jacket and tossed it aside to keep it from getting damaged. After taking a deep breath, he reached his hand—capsule in hand—through the narrow gap between the barrier and the door. Pressing firmly on the capsule’s head, the black liquid inside began to violently churn.
A split second later—
BOOM!
An eruption of transparent ice pillars exploded from the capsule in Min-hyung’s hand, instantly shattering the door.
***
BOOM!
The loud crash from the cabin made both the woman on the deck and Cha Han-gyeom flinch in surprise.
“W-What was that?”
The woman blurted out in alarm.
Fortunately, the blast had gone off far away and deep within the ship, so the sound wasn’t overpowering. Han-gyeom only gave a small shudder, not particularly shaken.
Was that from Seo Won’s side?
He immediately sensed that the explosion hadn’t been anything ordinary. Someone—either Seo Won or one of the Association’s agents over there—must have used an ability.
Just then, the woman’s phone began to vibrate softly.
—Hey, get ready to move.
Because he was standing close to her, Han-gyeom could clearly hear the man’s voice on the other end of the call.
“What was that just now? What happened?”
—Fuck, those bastards broke out!
The woman’s eyes widened at the panicked tone in the man’s voice.
“What? No way—how the hell did they get out?! We even stacked barrels in front of the door because of Cha Min-hyung!”
—I don’t know! All of a sudden, this ice pillar just blasted through and blew the damn door apart!
“No fucking way! Even with the nullification barrier still active?!”
Hearing their increasingly frantic exchange, Han-gyeom froze at the mention of an “ice pillar.”
“They all got out?”
—No, just Cha Min-hyung made it outside. The rest are still in there. But it looks like he’s about to do something.
“What the hell could he possibly do, just another lapdog of the Association.”
The woman scoffed, her voice thick with contempt. Her seething rage practically radiated off her, hitting Han-gyeom like a wave.
—What about Cha Han-gyeom?
“We’ve secured him.”
Han-gyeom was startled to hear his name from their lips—they knew who he was.
—Then it’s over. I’ll send everyone toward the main hall.
“Yeah, when they get there, stir up some chaos. I’ll give you the signal if we manage to break out.”
—OK.
Han-gyeom, who had been listening silently to the entire conversation, gave a faint shudder as he forced his eyes open. There was still a lingering sting in them, and his vision remained blurry, but it was better than before—he could at least make out shapes now. It seemed the flashbang had been meant to disrupt abilities, not cause serious injury; it wasn’t a particularly strong type.
Just as the woman ended the call and lowered her phone, Han-gyeom’s body suddenly swayed violently. Alarmed, the woman rushed to support him, her face tense with concern.
“Are you okay? Something wrong? Huh?”
“Fever…”
“Fever? Let me see.”
As Han-gyeom panted, struggling to breathe, the woman reached out and pressed a hand to his forehead.
And in that instant—
“Ah—uh…?!”
The woman flinched hard and froze in place.
Through Han-gyeom’s barely opened, unfocused eyes, a faint red glow had begun to seep out, glimmering from deep within his pupils.
