#53
Once outside the city, it was difficult for non-Espers to survive. There were well-paved roads between cities and cars to drive on them, but people didn’t dare to leave.
Even though the era of chaos had passed and monsters were rarely seen, and cities had developed stably, the area outside the cities was still the monsters’ domain. Only Espers had earned the right to roam that territory freely.
So moving to another city was only possible for those who could secure one of the few application spots available each year, or those in positions who could command Espers at any time.
Why don’t you run away now, while you still have power?
The minister’s face turned red and blue at Oh-yul’s humiliating suggestion. His tightly closed lips trembled.
“You bastard!!!”
Even as he shouted, Kim Dong-cheol couldn’t approach Oh-yul. His legs that tried to move forward hesitated and froze, and confusion spread across his face.
As if he didn’t understand why he was acting this way.
Oh-yul stared intently at the scene.
The man who had enjoyed a sense of superiority through his power and even pushed away his instinctive fear was now no different from others. He had just realized that the person sitting before him could tear out his throat at any moment.
The Esper who had been suppressing him deliberately displayed more intimidation as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs like an arrogant king.
“How long do you think you can stay so haughty! You think you’re the only S-class Esper here!”
All talk and no action, when you can’t even approach me.
Oh-yul rested his chin on his hand indifferently.
At this reaction, the minister, who had been raging, immediately brightened at the whispered words of his bodyguard cum secretary behind him. Of course, Oh-yul heard their whispers very clearly.
‘Joo Si-yeo and Ha Eun-chan have arrived.’
I see, so they called those two.
If their plan was to subdue him by calling other S-class Espers, he could at least compliment them for having a good idea. So you’re not completely brainless after all? Saying that would only make the other party more upset, but Oh-yul was sincere.
However, whether Joo Si-yeo or Ha Eun-chan would act according to their intentions was another matter.
Bang-!
Beyond the roughly kicked door, Joo Si-yeo scanned the room with her hands thrust into her pockets. She pushed back her hair, which was soaked from the rain outside and dripping water, with one hand.
“Phew.”
A sigh mixed with annoyance escaped from between her red lips. Joo Si-yeo slowly walked into the silent laboratory, unfazed by the gazes directed at her.
She had responded to the minister’s call, so they naturally thought she would attack Oh-yul, but contrary to expectations, she entered the lab and spoke her first words:
“Dry me off.”
At this shameless request, people around naturally thought Oh-yul would ignore or refuse, but contrary to their expectations, he dried her body without hesitation. She grumbled that the rain outside was pouring like crazy as her body and hair instantly became fluffy and dry.
“You’re the one making it rain now, right? Tone it down a bit.”
Of course, it would be their miscalculation if they thought the relationship between S-class Espers wasn’t that bad.
At her complaint, the rain outside decreased slightly. He accommodated her opinion to some extent since he owed her a favor. Of course, the problem was that she had already been drenched by the heavy rain on her way in.
“I’ve already been soaked by all the rain I was going to get.”
“Well, you’ll get less wet on your way back.”
“Instead of that, why don’t you make it stop for a bit when I leave? It’s not like using that little power will delay your rampage much anyway.”
“I’ll do that much for you since I received help from you.”
At Oh-yul’s willing response, Joo Si-yeo shrugged her shoulders. She looked more like a spectator who came to see something interesting rather than to stop Oh-yul. She also looked like she had eagerly come when called because she was bored of being stuck in the power plant.
“Things didn’t work out with them? So you hate the world so much that you want to kill everyone and die?”
“No, things worked out well.”
“Then are you trying to explode yourself instead of setting off fireworks of joy?”
Joo Si-yeo, who had been looking utterly confused, moved her lips with a dumbfounded expression.
“Don’t tell me you’re… a masochist…”
“Your imagination is running wild.”
Oh-yul firmly cut off her imagination before hearing the details. At his quick shutdown, she stiffened her face seriously.
“What do you think I was thinking?”
“Whatever it was, I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant.”
Seeing the two chatting amicably rather than fighting, the minister trembled violently. His expression, which had been haughty when Joo Si-yeo first entered, was now marred with bewilderment and denial at this unbelievable situation.
“Joo Si-yeo! Subdue that bastard right now! Make him receive Guiding! Or kill him!”
Despite the minister’s shouting, Joo Si-yeo just picked her ear with her pinky finger. No one dared to add to her brazen act of pretending not to hear.
“Oh, noona. You were called here too, noona. I thought so.”
Ha Eun-chan entered through the wide-open door, soaking wet, peeling off his clinging shirt with his hand.
“Oh, you came?”
Joo Si-yeo responded indifferently and stepped away a few steps as Ha Eun-chan approached, dripping water.
“Noona, are you avoiding me right now?”
“You’re all wet.”
Joo Si-yeo, emphasizing her own dry state, looked quite displeased at the water Ha Eun-chan was flicking as he shook his head beside her.
“Oh-yul dried me off completely.”
At her words, Ha Eun-chan briefly gave Oh-yul a hopeful look, but Oh-yul returned an indifferent gaze instead.
Reading that he had no intention of drying him off, Ha Eun-chan pouted his lips.
“Ah, what’s this? Why are you leaving just me out again?”
“Are you and I the same?”
At Joo Si-yeo’s boastful attitude, Ha Eun-chan felt there must be something, but unable to guess what it was, he let out a short exclamation.
“Ah.”
The young man, who seemed to have realized something momentarily and closed his mouth tightly, grumbled to the Esper sitting with his legs crossed like a king.
“I contacted you with my phone when noona was cut off midway.”
“Hey!”
“So I claim I have a stake in that help too.”
“That sounds plausible.”
At Ha Eun-chan’s strong assertion, Oh-yul dried the water off his body as well. Well, it wasn’t such a difficult task, and he was already pouring energy into the air abundantly to go on a rampage anyway, so he could easily show this much kindness.
His blue eyes glinted dangerously.
There was no one left here who could resist Oh-yul. If they wanted to live, they had to flee outside the city.
However, that area outside the city was an unknown territory that only the Espers they had so despised could traverse. Die from an Esper’s rampage inside the city, or flee outside and be torn apart by monsters.
Only the option of death remained for them. They couldn’t even assume they would be lucky enough not to encounter monsters.
The countdown of a time bomb was ticking. As the sound of rain hitting the ground grew fiercer, their faces turned pale as their breathing was choked by the fear gripping their throats.
“I, I need to go!”
Realizing that neither threats nor dialogue were possible with the Esper before him anymore, Kim Dong-cheol hastily left his seat. The monster clicked his tongue as he watched the back of the man fleeing, almost running.
As expected, that vile man would abandon this city and leave. He would drive the enormous number of people left behind here to their deaths without an ounce of guilt.
Oh-yul unconsciously fingered his nape.
It felt refreshing to have the collar removed after 21 long years. And at the thought of putting a new tag named Lee Ho-woo on his neck, his lips curved into a gentle arc.
“Those who want to flee should do so. I’ll give you plenty of time.”
His low voice gently shook the wide space. The people here were of a status that had enough power to flee this city. As they stirred, agitation swept through them like a storm.
Oh-yul’s ambiguous smile, his eyes noticeably turning bluer, swept over them.
The first to take a step was the doctor. He quietly left the laboratory. Following him, the researchers who had been eyeing each other also hurriedly left their seats as if fleeing.
Watching them, Joo Si-yeo let out a light laugh as if mocking.
“How many do you think will stay behind?”
“Probably not many.”
“From what I see, I think they’ll all run away.”
If the privileged class that held power fled and abandoned the city, it would actually be beneficial. Killing them couldn’t be a punishment, so socially dropping them to rock bottom would be the stepping stone for Oh-yul to climb higher.
It might also be a good method to make them live in fear for the rest of their lives, wondering when their turn would come as he systematically eliminated them one by one after taking the top position.
“But why are you trying so hard to die? You’re not the type to stand up for other Espers.”
Joo Si-yeo saw right through Oh-yul as a person. Her yellow eyes narrowed as if trying to grasp Oh-yul’s intentions. Ha Eun-chan beside her nodded his head as if agreeing with her opinion.
