#52
In the tense atmosphere, the man held out his hand leisurely, wearing a languid smile. Amidst the murmurs mixed with anxiety, impatience, and fear, only the person in question seemed calm.
“The Guiding isn’t working!”
It was a cry like a scream. It was like a wail mixed with fear.
The female Guide who had been struggling with his hand for a long time burst into tears and pulled away. Like her, more than ten Guides had already pulled away in despair or fear.
In the few days of pouring rain, the number of Guides who failed to Guide him was much higher.
“The energy won’t budge at all. I, I can’t do it.”
In a sobbing voice, she emphasized that she couldn’t do any Guiding, that it was beyond her abilities. Oh-yul, starting to feel bored, tilted his head slightly and wiggled his fingertips.
Next.
Despite his compliant attitude of willingly participating in the experiments, the expressions of the researchers and Guides were not good.
Beings that deviated from the researchers’ expected values. S-class, a modifier used for beings that aren’t controlled, or rather, pretend to be controlled. That word fit the man who first claimed that modifier terribly well.
Around the man with immeasurable power, round water droplets innocently floated. The scene was ethereally beautiful, sparkling in the fluorescent light of the laboratory.
Yet, at the same time, it was chilling. Everyone gathered in this space knew terribly well how merciless a tool of massacre these seemingly harmless water droplets could become.
“Esper Oh-yul. Do you perhaps know why you can’t be Guided right now?”
The reason why the Guiding, which had been working well albeit dangerously until now, suddenly stopped working in a week must lie with the person himself. The doctor’s eyes, thinking this, were full of fatigue.
Having received all the stress he would normally get in a week in just a few days, he frowned at the Esper who remained calm even in this dangerous situation.
“You’ve been trying hard to figure it out all this time, shouldn’t you know that much by yourself?”
It was like chiding them for not knowing how to repair a well-made machine until now.
“……”
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter since you’ll get paid anyway.”
Repeating the words the minister had said, Oh-yul stood up as if there was nothing more to see. His well-shaped lips drew a gentle curve, but his eyes were frozen cold. The blue tint that spread like paint in his black pupils scanned the surroundings.
“A rampage. It’s been 21 years.”
I’m looking forward to it.
The man’s voice, muttering as if he felt no expectation at all, was neither too loud nor too soft. The doctor’s face turned as pale as it could possibly be.
“Back then, were you the one who came to get me, Doctor? You were the youngest on the research team then, time really flies.”
The eyes of the doctor, now in middle age, stiffened. His eyes, tracing back to a long-gone time, shook violently.
“Sit down.”
“……”
“Oh-yul! Sit down! Sit down and receive Guiding!”
The doctor, who hadn’t flinched even when his pride was hurt by being slapped by the minister, shouted with his whole body trembling. He wasn’t angry. He was filled with fear.
The scene he had forgotten for a long time filled his eyes. The anxiety that this horrific scene might be recreated on a city-wide scale shook the doctor.
“If that’s what you want.”
As if graciously complying with the request, Oh-yul sat down again and extended his hand. Though it was a hand that had fought for a long time and was stained with monster’s blood, it was straight and beautiful without a single callus. However, there was no one in this place who didn’t know how cruel those hands could be.
“Well then, is there anyone who wants to try?”
When no one approached him, Oh-yul looked at the doctor indifferently. His expression, as if asking “What are you trying to do?”, even showed boredom.
“First, we’ll redo the matching rate test, so go sit at the machine.”
At these words that sounded like an order, Oh-yul moved to sit. The tedious matching rate tests with all the Guides who had attempted to Guide him began.
Even though they had gathered Guides whose matching rates with him were at least 20%, as each result came out, the faces of the research team gradually became more miserable. There was nothing wrong with the matching rates. The numbers were the same, and the machine was producing the exact same figures as before.
“It seems there might be a problem.”
The low laughing voice, clearly mocking, wrapped around the large space like a wave. Meanwhile, Oh-yul’s pupils were steadily turning blue.
The rain that started falling again hit the windows of the research building with a thud. Not a pleasantly refreshing noise, but an ominous warning that chillingly covered the city.
“You must be glad to have less hassle now that you’ve said you won’t allow Guiding for everything. You quite disliked seeing fools who had to entrust their lives to others showing off just because of their power, didn’t you?”
“……”
The Esper calmly recited the words circulating among the researchers. Everyone knew about the human rights and treatment of Espers anyway, so it would be embarrassing to say more.
“Still, it’s fortunate for those of you here. At least you’ve earned some time to say goodbye.”
“Get out of the city right now. Go far away.”
At the doctor’s demand, Oh-yul blinked slowly. It was a clear rejection even without an answer. They had no way to move the man before them. Just as there’s no being that can forcibly move the sea just because they dislike or fear it.
“Get out, I said!”
A scream-like shout echoed through the lab.
“Are you scared?”
“…!”
“Well, I suppose you would be. If you know your life is precious, of course you should be scared.”
Although the words were spoken lightly, their content was far from light.
“I thought until now that you people weren’t afraid of anything.”
Oh-yul’s power fluctuated greatly. The faces of the Guides who felt the wave of energy surging like a massive wave turned pale.
The man was pouring energy over the entire city. Water like an endless sea no matter how much was drawn up covered the sky and fell to the ground as rain.
“So, are you saying we should all die together?!”
The murmurs gradually grew louder. From practical methods like fleeing to other cities to somewhat difficult methods like killing Oh-yul before he went on a rampage, various ideas burst from the lips of those gathered.
“Who knows.”
As was his habit of speaking ambiguously, the Esper narrowed his eyes slightly without giving a clear answer. Meanwhile, the rain outside had grown even stronger.
“If I feel like it, I might receive Guiding.”
“The fact that Guiding isn’t working now…”
“It’s quite nauseating, you see. And it’s boring to see someone barking without even knowing who they’re dealing with.”
The ferocious king who had been holding his breath for a long time raised his head. The beast that had choked the foxes wielding their meager power cruelly twisted his lips upward.
Meanwhile, the minister, who seemed to have just received the news that Oh-yul couldn’t be Guided, ran into the research building, his face pale blue. The number of bodyguards he brought with him was pitiful.
Kim Seon-young wasn’t by his side. With a matching rate of just 13%, she was just a child who wouldn’t have been much help even if she came. There was no need to take out his frustrations on the young girl who had been caught up in adult affairs. If anyone deserved his anger, it would be Kim Dong-cheol who had instilled vain desires in her.
Oh-yul scanned the minister’s appearance.
He must have come in quite a hurry.
The fox who had been playing king in front of the tiger met Oh-yul’s gaze, his face ashen. Even in this situation, his face was still full of the meager pride he hadn’t let go of.
“After a week, the busy person has finally graced us with his presence.”
At Oh-yul’s sarcastic words, he twisted his face as if his pride had been hurt. He still didn’t seem to grasp the situation properly. Even if he got on his knees and begged now, it wouldn’t be enough.
Oh-yul looked at him leisurely, feeling no need to hurry. He was quite curious about when the man would prostrate himself and beg at his feet. Or perhaps he would try to escape to another city to save himself.
“You’ll end up receiving Guiding anyway if you don’t want to die! How dare a beast like you threaten people!”
At Kim Dong-cheol’s shout, the faces of the researchers and Guides turned even paler. It seems he came to escalate the problem, not solve it. The whispered voices tickled the sensitive Esper’s ears.
I don’t want to die.
It was a natural statement, the basic desire of living beings. He didn’t want to die either. He wanted to do this and that with Ho-woo and complete their incomplete imprinting.
As the minister said, this was just a threat. However, while posing a threat that couldn’t be ignored, Oh-yul smiled, showing his even teeth.
“Moving to another city might be a good option, don’t you think?”
His tone, speaking candidly to the minister, was quite serious in its suggestion.
