What if everyone around you turned into monsters and came after you? Some would be paralyzed with fear and submit helplessly, while others would fight back to protect themselves. All without realizing that everything they were seeing was an illusion.
The smoke that had filled the hall gradually gathered into a single spot, soon taking the form of a frail old man. He looked over his handiwork. Wasn’t this the perfect ending for such pathetic weaklings?
He carefully stepped around the scattered pools of blood. When he reached the front of the platform, the young man sitting casually atop it finally spoke. Still wearing Seo Junho’s body—this was Joo Cheong-gyeong.
“There was an Esper among them.”
“…….Yes.”
There were only two kinds of people who could resist the illusion: either Espers ranked higher than the old man, or those who had consumed his blood.
He hadn’t expected someone of the former category to be here. Let alone that such a person would end up taking away someone from the latter.
A completely unforeseen disruption.
“Teleportation, huh…”
Joo Cheong-gyeong murmured, stroking his chin.
It made no sense that he wouldn’t have known about an Esper with that level of power. The only explanation was that this individual had been living in secret, just like he had.
Whoever they were, however they had crossed paths, if they were guarding someone who could guide an S-rank Esper like Cha Eun-hyuk… Especially if they were protecting someone Cha Eun-hyuk cherished as blood kin… Then it made sense that someone of that caliber would be assigned to the role.
But understanding it didn’t make the failure any less aggravating.
Ever since the unexpected windfall from shadowing Cha Eun-hyuk, he’d been in a surprisingly good mood. Now, it was as if all of that had been a lie—his mood was a complete wreck.
Fsshhh.
Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold swept through the air.
The space around the two on the platform began to slowly freeze over, as if tightening around them.
The old man, tense, straightened his spine even more. Joo Cheong-gyeong stared toward the source without changing expression.
A man in a sleek, tightly strapped black harnessed combat suit strode forward. The thin layer of frost beneath his low-heeled boots cracked and shattered with a brittle shriek.
Eyes filled with murderous intent met the dull, dazed gaze of the young man.
“This is my first time seeing you in person.”
The false presence raised a corner of his lips.
“Pleasure to meet you, Cha Eun-hyuk.”
Kagagak!
Fragments of ice burst from thin air, forming into a long weapon. Frost clinging to its razor-sharp edge gleamed menacingly.
Cha Eun-hyuk gripped the spear so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
“Oh dear. I was waiting to have a conversation, but you seem a little too eager to fight, don’t you?”
Joo Cheong-gyeong scratched his cheek, feigning awkwardness.
“Besides… this is just an ordinary person’s body, you know?”
That veiled threat made it clear what kind of ability his opponent possessed, yet Cha Eun-hyuk didn’t show even the slightest hint of disturbance. He simply opened his mouth in a low voice.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, talking like that after turning this place into a hellhole.”
Despite the disgust laced in his words, Joo Cheong-gyeong merely shrugged, unfazed.
“I mean, I don’t mind, but you’re in a different position, aren’t you? What do you plan to do if a state-registered Esper ends up killing a civilian hostage…?”
Ah. He suddenly nodded, as if realizing something.
“Then again, I guess that’s not really what matters to you, is it?”
“You just want to beat the living shit out of the bastard who tried to kidnap your Guide.”
It wasn’t meant as provocation—because it was true. But just uttering Cha Eun-soo’s name was enough to ignite the fury in Cha Eun-hyuk’s eyes.
With a sharp crack, he shifted his grip on the spear and charged at the enemy.
If he could injure or kill him here, it might deal a critical blow to the real body behind the possession. That Seo Junho was a friend of his younger brother didn’t matter—his focus was absolute.
The razor-sharp tip of the spear aimed for the laughing youth’s chest—but just before it struck, Seo Junho’s body collapsed to the ground, eyes closed.
“Calm down.”
At that exact moment, a corpse from quite a distance behind them began to rise.
Cha Eun-hyuk spun around and drove his spear into the ground.
BOOM!
CRACKKKK—
A wave of frost shot out from the weapon, crawling across the floor until it reached the corpse’s toes. In an instant, its lower body was frozen solid.
Joo Cheong-gyeong, anticipating the follow-up attack, stared directly at him. Then he spoke again, still as composed as ever.
“I said calm down… Don’t you want to catch Jang Hee-gang?”
The name of the man who had murdered his adoptive father echoed through the air.
Cha Eun-hyuk froze.
“What?”
“Right.”
“You can hate me for going after your Guide—I get it. I am a pretty damn hungry Esper myself, after all.”
Out came the most brazen bullshit, completely unbothered.
“But aside from that, there’s one thing we’ve got in common.”
“We both want to slit Jang Hee-gang’s throat.”
The smile gradually faded from Joo Cheong-gyeong’s face. Half-covered in dried, clotted blood, his features took on an even more chilling expression.
It was the look of someone showing his genuine intent.
Cha Eun-hyuk glared back, his voice like ice.
“…Why.”
“I don’t really feel like going into all the sappy details.”
“And why the hell should I trust you?”
“Annoying as it is to admit, Jang Hee-gang and I share the same target. Considering I haven’t laid a finger on you, despite the chances I’ve had… hmm. Isn’t that enough?”
More precisely, he hadn’t gone after anything Cha Eun-hyuk needed to protect. Unlike Jang Hee-gang.
“Jang Hee-gang hasn’t shown himself since killing Joo Sang-ho either, has he?”
Joo Cheong-gyeong smiled again.
“I can tell you why.”
The lifeless eyes of the corpse turned toward the old man, who had stood by passively this entire time. At that, the old man gave a polite bow—and his body dissolved into smoke, flying out the window.
A contingency for when negotiations fell through.
Cha Eun-hyuk lowered his gaze, steadying himself.
If he followed his instincts, he would’ve frozen the bastard solid and shattered him into a thousand pieces on the spot… But habit made his mind start calculating—risk versus reward.
The man’s real body was somewhere else. He couldn’t be captured here. And there was no telling how long it would take to track him down.
They didn’t know the enemy’s true form, but the enemy clearly knew them.
He wasn’t someone that could be trusted. But he had offered to share information on Jang Hee-gang.
And people like him didn’t usually repeat offers.
If he refused this deal, the only guaranteed result would be adding yet another enemy to the list—an enemy fixated on Cha Eun-soo.
“In situations where our interests align, there’s nothing wrong with cooperating, right? You’ve already partnered with another Esper when it comes to protecting your Guide, haven’t you?”
Joo Cheong-gyeong tilted his head as he spoke.
“Or… don’t tell me—you’re actually worried I might do something to Cha Eun-soo?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Haha. At the very least, I won’t be targeting him again until Jang Hee-gang is—”
Thud.
The corpse’s face was suddenly impaled by the icy spear.
There was no hesitation in the movement—but the attack was so slow, it could have been dodged with ease.
Which meant Joo Cheong-gyeong was satisfied with the answer he’d received.
“Then, until next time.”
Another corpse let out a short laugh, then collapsed lifelessly to the floor.
Cha Eun-hyuk furrowed his brows as he sensed the approaching presence of his team members outside.
***
—I’m currently standing near the main entrance of the Arteale Hotel, located in Jamsil. Last night, a terrorist attack occurred in the grand banquet hall on the 72nd floor. As of now, the area is still under strict lockdown and access control.
—The confirmed number of casualties from the incident so far is…
Once they got home, all hell broke loose.
Everyone who knew I’d been at the scene of the attack called me, one after another. And the family that came rushing to see me in person… well, what else is there to say? I spent ages holding my mother, who’d gone pale as a ghost, and calming down my sister, who sobbed uncontrollably.
The official story was that I had left the hotel after giving Seo Junho his birthday gift due to an urgent matter—and that’s how I managed to survive. Apparently, it was my brother who handled the fact that there was no CCTV footage of me leaving the hotel, and the car I had taken remained exactly where it was.
There were no eyewitnesses to contradict the lie. Because everyone but Seo Junho had died.
And Seo Junho…
“I don’t remember anything from that morning…! How the hell does that make sense?!”
He clung to me, crying, from his hospital bed. I spent the whole day trying to console him. He didn’t remember a thing, and now he was being told that everyone who came to his birthday party had died. Of course he’d be plunged into chaos.
That’s when I realized—Joo Cheong-gyeong’s power wasn’t just possession. He could erase memories too. And it wasn’t limited to memories from when he had control of the body, either.
I started to wonder—maybe there were limitations to his possession. The fact that he hadn’t taken over my body might mean he could only control ordinary people, like Seo Junho or our attending physician.
I stared out the window, watching the world blur past as the car sped down the road. Shim Tae-seong was driving, as usual. But today, I too was dressed in a black suit.
We were on our way back from a funeral.
It was an unprecedented incident, one that had taken the lives of several heirs to prominent political and financial families. The funeral hall was overflowing, jam-packed with press trying to push their way in, and grieving relatives wailing so loudly there wasn’t a single moment of silence. Even now, I felt like the cries of anguish were still echoing in my ears.
Why?
Why did I feel so numb? So eerily fine?
I’d been around death before—but to feel this indifferent about the deaths of people I actually knew? That couldn’t be normal.
And it’s not like I had no part in what happened. Sure, I wasn’t the target, but if they were going to carry out the attack regardless, then…
Still.
Would it really have happened there, on that day, in that place, if it hadn’t been for me?
“Young Master.”
My biggest mistake was underestimating the fact that even among S-ranks, terrorists could exist. And underestimating the world we lived in.
A world where Espers, with just a flick of a finger, could end a civilian’s life—where those very Espers were constantly at war with one another in a perilous balance of power.
Fuck.
Experiencing it firsthand really woke me the hell up.
…Wait. Hold on.
Can I cancel the quest?
Ding!
[Quest cancellation is not allowed.]
Damn, the system responded fast as hell. I only tapped it on a whim.
Even if it had allowed cancellation, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go through with it. They say when S-ranks go berserk, it’s enough to wipe a country off the map— how could anyone make that kind of decision so easily?
Ding!
[Would you like to cancel the quest?]
…Huh?
Ding!
[Quest cancellation is not allowed.]
Ding!
[Would you like to cancel the quest?]
Ding!
[Quest cancellation is not allowed.]
What the hell is this?
The sudden flood of windows filled my vision, competing with the incessant beeping sounds pounding in my ears. My mind froze.
Did the system just lose its mind?
Ding!
[■ike■cel■he■uest?]
“Young Master?”
A large hand gripped my shoulder and gently turned me around.
It was Shim Tae-seong, brow furrowed with concern.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
At some point, the car had pulled over to the side of the road.
“Ah…”
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, chilled by the overwhelming unease. Then, with a mouth that felt bone-dry, I gave my answer.
“No, I’m fine.”
And just like that, all the windows vanished.
