No sooner had Tae-oh finished work than his phone started buzzing. It was the Chief of the Central Bureau.
Tae-oh pulled off his black gloves and hit the call button.
“What?”
– You busy?
“Just wrapped up. Why?”
– Head over to M-Zone.
“M-Zone?”
– A mutant beast showed up in M-07. That area’s managed by a civilian Esper Association branch, mostly C-ranks. They can’t handle it. Looks like there’ve been casualties.
“…And you’re dumping this on me because?”
– Idiot, it’s a mutant not listed in the Beast Codex. I can’t just send anyone. Plus it’s a civilian district, cameras are rolling for a broadcast… all things considered, you’re the best option. Quit whining and get it done. Handle this, and I’ll give you the vacation days you wanted.
A few days ago, Tae-oh had asked the Chief about his year-long paid leave, specifically requesting that both he and Chi-yu get their dates approved. The Chief had brushed it off at the time. Now, he was offering it as a deal.
Tae-oh agreed instantly.
“Fine. But this call’s recorded—don’t you dare go back on your word later.”
– You little shit. What do you take me for? Suspicious bastard…
“Just send the coordinates.”
He cut the call without waiting for more.
“What’s going on?”
Chi-yu asked, watching him. Tae-oh checked the incoming coordinates.
“Mutant beast in M-Zone.”
“…M-Zone? Isn’t that a civilian zone?”
“Yeah. Let’s move. The stationed Espers are holding it back for now, but looks like the damage is serious.”
Tae-oh wrapped an arm tightly around Chi-yu’s waist.
“What about the camera crew…?”
Chi-yu glanced at the cameramen still filming from the safe zone.
“They’ll manage.”
And with that, Tae-oh blinked them away in a flash of teleportation.
***
M-Zone was a residential civilian district. A gate had opened there twice in the past, so the ZK Association’s Western Branch managed it under special watch. But seventeen years had passed since the last incident, and both residents and assigned Espers had grown complacent.
Then a mutant beast appeared out of nowhere, charging straight into the district. No gate opened—it just materialized, shhk, out of thin air.
It had the massive body of a feline, glowing red and swollen like it was seconds from bursting into Rampage.
Panic spread instantly. People trampled each other in their scramble to escape, leaving injuries and deaths in their wake. One beast had nearly reduced the entire district to rubble.
The stationed C-ranks had immediately called for backup. Higher-ranked Espers rushed in, but this branch had no one stronger than B-rank. Even with seven or more B- and C-ranks combined, all they could do was evacuate civilians and throw up defensive barriers.
When Tae-oh and Chi-yu arrived, civilians behind a distant barrier erupted into cheers. Everyone knew Hyun Tae-oh’s name, but thanks to the TV program, now everyone knew his face as well.
Chi-yu looked unsettled by the sudden cheering, but Tae-oh didn’t even seem to hear it. His eyes were locked on the beast thrashing at the edge of Rampage.
He didn’t attack. Something about it felt… off. It wasn’t like any beast he’d fought before. It looked almost like a cat—or a dog—transformed into a beast. Not something that had become one naturally, but something made.
Years of fighting beasts in Gates and habitats had honed Tae-oh’s instincts. This one wasn’t normal.
And he wasn’t the only one who felt it.
“Looks like a cat. Doesn’t feel like the usual kind, though.”
Chi-yu’s comment made him nod.
Tae-oh scanned the area, tallying casualties. His unease only deepened. Not a single body bore wounds from the beast. All the dead had been trampled by fellow humans in the chaos. The beast hadn’t moved at all—it just stood there, writhing in pain.
Almost as if it knew moving would cause destruction.
Tae-oh frowned. Killing beasts was nothing new. And with Rampage seconds away, time was running out. But this gnawing wrongness—the sense he’d never felt before—kept him from striking.
Still, they couldn’t just stand by.
He considered teleporting the creature into a habitat. Or killing it before it lost control. But before he could decide, Chi-yu spoke.
“Tae-oh. Can you take me in front of its chest?”
“What? Why?”
“I’ll use Rampage Recovery.”
He expected to argue, to tell him it was too dangerous. But before Chi-yu could explain further, Tae-oh had already grabbed his waist and blinked them in front of the beast’s chest.
He raised a water-attribute barrier, shielding Chi-yu from any sudden strike.
“Do it.”
Chi-yu pressed a hand to its fur, sending recovery energy flooding into its body.
The beast thrashed wildly, nearly breaking through several times, but Tae-oh held him steady, protecting him with each surge. Chi-yu focused everything on stabilizing it.
The size of the beast demanded immense energy, and it took five long minutes. Every second stretched out, the beast roaring and bucking, Tae-oh shielding him again and again, until finally—
The Rampage broke. The beast vanished. A roar of cheers rose from the civilians.
Tae-oh frowned, reporting into his earpiece.
“Once Chi-yu used Rampage Recovery, it disappeared.”
While Tae-oh was busy with the Chief, Chi-yu—back on the ground thanks to Tae-oh—noticed something small wriggling where the beast had stood. His eyes widened.
It was a cat. White fur, with black stripes across its cheeks and forehead. The same markings as the beast from moments ago.
Chi-yu tugged lightly at Tae-oh’s arm.
“Tae-oh… look.”
Tae-oh broke off mid-argument, following Chi-yu’s finger. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“Wait. Maybe it didn’t vanish—it shrank.”
– What?! Shrunk?! What kind of crap—
“Hold on. I’ll confirm and call you back.”
– Hey! Hyun Tae—!
Tae-oh cut the line and moved toward the white fluff. A mobile water-barrier formed around Chi-yu as they walked.
“Cat.”
“Dog?”
They spoke at the same time. It looked like a cat, but panted with its tongue out like a dog. And sprouting from its back were wings.
Chi-yu remembered the wings on the Rampaging beast. That confirmed it—this was the same creature.
“So Rampage Recovery… turned it into this?”
Tae-oh muttered, baffled.
Chi-yu just stared at the little fluff ball, panting heavily in his arms.
Tae-oh reported the strange state. The Chief sounded stunned. While Tae-oh spoke, Chi-yu reached out toward the creature. Tae-oh grabbed his arm to stop him—but it leapt into Chi-yu’s embrace on its own.
“…So what do we do with it?”
– Send it to the Research Institute. Let the Director check it out.
Tae-oh agreed and ended the call.
Watching the bizarre doglike-cat-with-wings panting in Chi-yu’s arms, he said,
“They want it at the Institute.”
“Okay. But it really does just look like a cat.”
“Looks more like a dog to me. Anyway—teleporting.”
He wrapped his arm around Chi-yu’s waist. The cameramen waved from afar, signaling they’d return to the lodgings. Tae-oh gave a short nod and teleported away.
***
After leaving the creature at the Research Institute, they returned to their lodgings.
Tae-oh washed up quickly, then went straight to Chi-yu’s room. Empty. Water running in the bathroom told him Chi-yu was still showering.
He sprawled out across the bed. Now that they were officially a couple, lying around in Chi-yu’s room felt perfectly natural.
He lay there listening to the water for a while… then froze. Something was wrong.
He shot upright, expanding his energy waves—the simplest way to detect nearby beasts.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
A curse slipped out. There it was—the same white fluff ball, clinging to the bathroom door.
Tae-oh snapped his shadows around it, yanking it into the air.
[Kkyaaaeng!]
It squealed bizarrely. He bound it tight and pulled it close, brows rising.
“Why the hell are you here?”
[Kkuueeeng—kkuueeeng—]
It looked like a cat, panted like a dog, had wings on its back, and squealed like a pig.
Tae-oh glared at the ridiculous hybrid.
“Answer me. Why the fuck are you here?”
Of course, he didn’t expect it to answer. But he was genuinely curious.
He had handed it over directly to the Research Director. The man hadn’t even blinked, which had unsettled him. Still, since it hadn’t attacked anyone, Tae-oh had let it go and returned home.
But now here it was—
Not just here, but stuck to Chi-yu’s bathroom door like some perverted stalker.
Tae-oh’s scowl deepened.
