Just as Lee Haru had predicted, Yu Je-hyun inevitably had to separate from Kang Min right before reaching their destination.
After Ji Yeon-woo vanished, Kang Min and Yu Je-hyun immediately pursued him. The problem was, although they didn’t completely lose Ji Yeon-woo, the tracking signal wasn’t coming through properly.
Still, it wasn’t like he had completely disappeared. The two of them gradually made their way closer to the destination.
The closer they got to the place where the signal was strongest, the more confusion gripped both Kang Min and Yu Je-hyun.
“Team Leader, are you sure the signal’s actually coming from this direction?”
“That’s what the signal says.”
Their faces turned grim. Understandably so—because the destination turned out to be the very neighborhood where they lived.
Although the distance between the mansions in the neighborhood was fairly large due to the nature of the area, at their speed, it was a distance they could cover in no time.
It felt like being bewitched. The idea that they’d circled around and returned near their starting point felt bizarre.
Still, they couldn’t just ignore the signal, so they moved in the direction shown on the tracker.
Their steps halted abruptly due to the sound of countless people screaming.
“What the hell is this now?”
Figures dressed entirely in black suddenly appeared before them. Each one held a hostage in their grasp.
“Please… save me!”
“Hrk, Mom…”
“Please, we’re begging you, let us go!”
Their ages and appearances varied, but it was clear that none of the hostages were Ability Users. The desperate cries for help, faces twisted in terror, rang sharply in their ears.
There were far too many enemies to take them all down in one blow. If there had been no hostages, they could’ve simply overpowered them with brute force. But using strength while ensuring the hostages weren’t harmed proved far more difficult than expected.
As Kang Min and Yu Je-hyun found themselves unexpectedly tied down, one man stepped forward. His arm was tightly wrapped around the neck of a woman who looked pale as a sheet.
As if emboldened by the human shield, laughter flickered in his eyes, the only visible part above his mask.
“Long time no see, Yu Je-hyun.”
When the man mentioned his name, Yu Je-hyun’s brow twitched. That voice was familiar. His sharp gaze scanned the man’s silhouette from head to toe.
“So it’s you, that rat bastard from back then.”
The memory had left a deep impression, and it didn’t take long for Yu Je-hyun to recall where he had seen him.
The day they had stormed Black’s headquarters to rescue Lee Haru still haunted his subconscious from time to time.
That was why even the sight of the man fleeing at the last second had remained vivid in his memory.
“Rat bastard? Harsh words. What if the hostages end up getting hurt because of that?”
“Khk—”
Louis, an executive of Black, tightened his grip. The hostage’s face began to turn blue.
The metal band on Yu Je-hyun’s forearm melted like liquid, dripping down to his palm. His fist, wrapped in metal, shone with a dangerously bright light.
Louis swallowed hard. He was reminded of Yu Je-hyun’s overwhelming strength. He loosened his grip cautiously, reading the atmosphere.
His instincts warned him that if the hostage died, his own life would be forfeit as well.
“…The signal on the tracker is weakening.”
At Kang Min’s words, Yu Je-hyun clenched his teeth. If they left these people behind now, they couldn’t guarantee the hostages’ safety.
But there were far too many enemies to take them all down instantly. A classic catch-22.
Yu Je-hyun made the best choice he could in this situation. As much as he wanted to go save Lee Haru himself, Kang Min had greater combat power than he did.
Within the Association, Kang Min might be the only Ability User capable of going one-on-one against Black’s leader.
“Go. I’ll handle things here.”
Yu Je-hyun spoke through gritted teeth. He wanted nothing more than to rush off and confirm that Lee Haru was safe, but the circumstances didn’t allow it.
Kang Min knew Yu Je-hyun was right—this was the best course of action. As Kang Min began to move, Louis’s eyes changed.
Until Black’s leader received proper Guiding, they had to stop them no matter what. If they failed, Black was finished.
From the beginning, they had relied solely on Zero’s strength to survive. If Zero fell, Black had no ability to stand on its own.
Some of the hostages need to die as a warning.
Harboring that sinister thought, Louis flexed his arm and signaled to a few comrades.
“What the hell are you doing? Are you saying it’s fine if the hostages die—”
Before he could finish, his vision flipped.
The last thing Louis saw was the cross-section of his own body, with blood gushing out like a fountain.
***
KWAANG—!
“Guh…!”
Kang Min’s body skidded across the ground, sent flying by Zero’s punch, landing right near where Lee Haru and Ji Yeon-woo were.
“Kuhak…”
Kang Min coughed up a thick, dark clump of blood. The fact that he only suffered this much was purely because of who he was. If it had been just an A-rank Esper, their stomach would have ruptured from that hit.
His strength has increased. Unbelievably so.
He had clashed with the leader of Black before. Although he had sustained serious injuries then too, the power gap had never been this wide.
Kang Min narrowed his eyes, scanning Zero’s body—throbbing veins bulged grotesquely across his skin. And those eyes… eyes completely devoid of whites, a sight truly monstrous.
But it wasn’t just his appearance that had changed.
Back in their previous encounter, even mid-battle, the man would toss out snide jokes that grated on the nerves. But now, he only muttered fragmented words, groaning in agony.
Veins surfacing on the skin—classic sign of an Esper on the brink of Rampage. But those eyes… there’s no explanation for that.
Kang Min had faced Espers nearing Rampage several times before. All of them had been lower ranked than him, but even so, they were exponentially harder to handle than usual. Let alone Zero, who was an S-rank just like him. That was why Kang Min was being completely overpowered.
If this drags out, we’re all in danger. If he fully goes on a Rampage, it’s over.
There had never been a case of an S-rank Esper going into Rampage. But even just an A-rank losing control could wipe out an entire district of Seoul.
An S-rank’s destructive potential was beyond comparison. It wouldn’t be surprising if half of Seoul was reduced to rubble.
“Kang Min-ssi…”
A voice called out from behind. Kang Min turned his head.
Zero was clutching his face and screaming in anguish after hurling him away—giving them a brief opportunity.
“It’s dangerous here. You should get to safety. You can get out through the front entrance.”
Lee Haru gave a heavy nod. Staying here wouldn’t help Kang Min at all; at best, they’d only get in the way.
He took Ji Yeon-woo’s hand and got up. The air was so thick with killing intent that just moving was a struggle. Even after drinking a recovery potion, his body still vividly remembered the violence.
Just being in the same space as someone who had tried to kill him multiple times made cold sweat pour down his back like rain.
“Grrk, AAAAAHH…!”
Even as he and Ji Yeon-woo took a single step, Zero howled in torment. The turning point came when the man’s gaze began searching for an energy source to save him.
“…Guide.”
The moment he felt their eyes meet, Kang Min forced himself upright.
Relief settled briefly as a broad back blocked his view—
“Guhh…”
—until a sound like a sack of flour bursting echoed right beside them.
Lee Haru’s eyes wavered uncontrollably.
The scene before him was just too surreal.
A blood-red hand had pierced straight through Kang Min’s back.
The blood-soaked hand reached toward Lee Haru’s face. The stench of iron invaded his nose, and he instinctively stopped breathing.
“We… we have to run…”
Ji Yeon-woo tightened his grip on Lee Haru’s hand and stepped backward.
Kang Min was down. That meant their lives were now like candles flickering in the wind—on the verge of being snuffed out.
Even if they tried to run, they would likely be caught. But they had to do something.
They couldn’t just sit here and die a pointless death.
“Ha… seriously…”
Kang Min pulled up the corners of his bloodied lips.
The sensation of another person’s arm skewering through his torso couldn’t simply be described as “painful.”
Even after inflicting such a lethal blow, Zero’s gaze bypassed him.
Kang Min had never come close to Rampage like that man had. Still, he knew well the feeling when the Rampage Risk Index reached critical levels.
That strange sensation during Guiding was close to pleasant—but the thought of being drawn to a Guide against his will was something he loathed.
That was why he always held off Guiding until it was absolutely necessary.
Even when he looked fine on the outside, it was only after he’d been internally wrecked that he would go to Lee Haru for Guiding.
He hated Lee Haru—yet the Guiding he provided was something his instincts desperately craved.
