Seo Won quickly moved back and created an ice barrier in front of him as he realized that Woo-chan’s hand was aiming for his neck. The barrier was so hard that it would be impossible to break through unless one had the physical abilities of a muscular man or an exceptional Esper. Seo Won thought this would be more than enough to block the attack.
However, Seo Won’s mind flashed back to the moment when his clone had been shattered. The only thing that had touched it was Woo-chan’s hand, glowing with a red aura. That same hand now touched the clear ice barrier.
Crack!
The ice that had been obscuring his vision shattered into countless pieces the moment Woo-chan’s fingertips touched it. Amidst the flying shards, Woo-chan’s hand seized Seo Won’s neck.
“Ugh!”
There was no time to be surprised by the ice breaking so easily. The grip on his neck was incredibly strong, instantly cutting off his breath.
‘Is this a Guide?’
It was unbelievable.
While physical abilities could be enhanced through individual effort, regardless of being a reinforcement-type Esper, this was not the main cause of Seo Won’s shock. What astonished him was that a Guide could so effortlessly nullify an Esper’s abilities, as if they had no effect on him.
‘No effect at all……?’
The first person who came to mind was Cha Han-gyeom. He possessed the remarkable ability to render Espers powerless by manipulating the ESP pathways they controlled, even physically subduing them for a certain period. Among Guides, he was truly an anomaly.
And there was one more person known to have a similar mutation.
Kang Woo-chan’s ability to nullify ESP through touch closely resembled the innate abilities of that S-rank Guide.
However, this was not the time to leisurely analyze such things. A chilling, tingling sensation crept down Seo Won’s neck where Woo-chan’s hand gripped him.
Seo Won grabbed Woo-chan’s wrist with both hands and forcefully pulled it away from his neck. Although Woo-chan’s grip was strong, Seo Won’s strength was also considerable, allowing him to break free without much difficulty.
With Woo-chan’s wrist still in his grasp, Seo Won yanked him forward and threw him to the ground. Just as Lim Du-hyuk had subdued the bellboy in the hotel corridor, Seo Won pinned Woo-chan face down, twisting his arms behind his back.
Physically, Woo-chan was completely subdued in an instant. Yet, a meaningful smile remained on Kang Woo-chan’s face.
“Are you sure you want to be touching me like that?” Woo-chan chuckled, turning his head slightly to glance up at Seo Won with a sidelong look. His gleaming red eyes seemed to capture Seo Won’s gaze, holding it firmly.
As Seo Won held Woo-chan’s wrist to the ground, a red energy began to flow into his hand. Seo Won’s expression immediately contorted. He had felt a strange sensation briefly when Woo-chan had gripped his neck earlier, and now, that same unsettling tingling was creeping up his arm.
It felt as if a repulsive bug was crawling up his spine, making his hair stand on end. This sensation was familiar—it was the common rejection response an Imprinted person experienced when receiving GP from another Guide.
When Woo-chan had gripped his neck, the sensation had been so fleeting that Seo Won had thought it was some unique ability. But now, feeling it more distinctly, he recognized it for what it was.
It was astonishing that even such minor contact could evoke such a strong rejection response, but what was even more surprising was Woo-chan himself. Despite being completely subdued, he was attempting to guide Seo Won, an Esper.
The absurdity of the situation was clear, but Seo Won knew that Woo-chan would never do something so considerate. The one positive aspect was that the repulsive sensation made Woo-chan seem as disgusting as a bug. Since Seo Won was already contemplating killing him, this feeling of revulsion wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
However, Seo Won had no intention of allowing Woo-chan’s filthy GP to continue invading his body.
‘Only Cha Han-gyeom can guide me!’
The thought of anyone else manipulating his body without permission was intolerable.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull…” Seo Won said, pinning Woo-chan’s arm to the ground and stomping on his wrist with a solid boot. The force was so brutal that even the composed Woo-chan grimaced and stifled a groan.
“Ugh…!”
“You’ve given me more than enough reason to want to kill you.”
The repulsive sensation quickly faded. It felt less like it had naturally dissipated and more like it had been consumed by something else within his body.
Woo-chan’s eyes widened in shock.
“How…?!” he began, but then abruptly stopped, as if realizing something. His face contorted with an inexplicable rage. It wasn’t anger at his GP being dispersed, but rather, fury at a realization that had suddenly dawned on him.
“You, an Esper, dare…!”
All traces of Woo-chan’s earlier composure vanished. Unable to control his anger, he thrashed and struggled, even though he was firmly pinned down. It was as if he found Seo Won’s very touch repugnant.
“Wasn’t it enough that you did that to ‘us’?! How dare you even think of Imprinting…….”
Woo-chan’s wide, bloodshot eyes seemed ready to burst with rage. Every sharp word he uttered felt like a poison-tipped ice pick, filled with venom. His immense fury, as if he hated every Esper in the world, was astonishing even to Seo Won.
Seo Won was also taken aback by Woo-chan’s use of the word “Imprint.” After receiving a heart transplant, Seo Won had encountered many Guides, but none had realized he was an Imprinted person. Only one person, S-rank Guide Cha Min-hyung, had suspected it after extensive guiding. Yet, Woo-chan had figured it out instantly, reinforcing Seo Won’s realization that the GP Woo-chan had sent him was not merely for guiding.
Moreover, Woo-chan had said “us.” Seo Won wondered if this referred to the terrorist group Woo-chan belonged to, but he had a strange feeling that Cha Han-gyeom was also included in this “us.”
Just as Seo Won was about to interrogate Woo-chan further, a sharp female voice called out, “Woo-chan!” Seo Won recognized the voice as belonging to the woman he had encountered on the cruise ship deck.
The woman rushed in and threw something into the air. Seo Won immediately sent a stream of ice shards towards her without hesitation. A small explosion and the woman’s scream rang out simultaneously. The object she had thrown was a flashbang grenade, and the intense light forced Seo Won to shut his eyes tightly. A thin layer of ice formed over his eyes to protect them from the blinding light and potential burns.
As this happened, Seo Won felt a strange sensation in his eyes, as if something was trying to invade them. He quickly used his ESP to forcefully expel whatever it was. During this distraction, Woo-chan, who had been pinned beneath him, suddenly vanished, much like how Yoon Jeong-ho would teleport.
With his vision slightly blurred, Seo Won saw the woman, now bleeding from her arm, throw a small cube towards a young man surrounded by blue flames and a muscular man. Just like before on the cruise, the ground rippled, and the two men were pulled down and disappeared.
The short-haired woman glared at Seo Won with the same unpredictable fury he had seen in Woo-chan’s eyes. She then used another cube to escape, and the light from the flashbang finally faded.
Left alone, Seo Won rubbed his still-tingling eyes. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Woo-chan and his group were more than just terrorists. Their repeated interest in Cha Han-gyeom and their intense hostility were suspicious.
‘First, I need to sort out the hotel situation and then do some investigating.
I had to eliminate the Cha Han-gyeom at the hotel to create a clone and threaten Kang Woo-chan, which might have caused some chaos.
The problem is that I was suddenly kidnapped in a strange way, and I don’t even have my phone.
I’ll have to find another way to contact someone.’
Just as Seo Won was thinking this, a man’s hand suddenly appeared from behind him, holding out a phone. Despite the surprise, Seo Won calmly took the phone.
“Your timing is impeccable, as always,” Seo Won remarked.
“I thought you’d be mad at me for being late,” Yoon Jeong-ho replied, pouting as he stepped into view. It was indeed Yoon Jeong-ho. Seo Won dialed Lim Du-hyuk’s number on the phone while giving Yoon Jeong-ho a stern look.
“So, how long have you been watching?” Seo Won asked.
A mischievous smile played at the corners of Yoon Jeong-ho’s mouth.
