The people standing on the sand collapsed all at once, like they’d been flattened under a hotteok press.
“This power…!”
Ban Noah’s face went pale.
Mine, on the other hand, lit up with joy.
“Hyun Je-ha!”
The moment I shouted his name, Je-ha appeared over the ridge of the sand dune.
“Ga-hyun.”
Spotting me, he used Telekinesis to zip straight to my side.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay? No signs of brainwashing?”
I quickly scanned him head to toe as I fired off my questions, but he waved it off with a grin.
“I’m fine. Really. Not a scratch on me—and definitely not brainwashed.”
“…Then why the hell did you take so long?”
“Ah… that’s…”
The smile vanished from Je-ha’s face.
His eyes turned sharply toward Ban Noah.
Ban Noah flinched under that blade-like gaze—then screeched like a lunatic.
“Wipe that insolent look off your face!”
“That bastard blasted me across the dungeon,” Je-ha said casually.
“…You weren’t buried alive, right?”
“Nope. Judging from how he used your teammates, it looked like his plan was to hit me with a coordinated strike using his puppets. And he must’ve gotten his hands on some kind of bomb that temporarily nullifies abilities. Wasn’t fun.”
…There was a bomb that could cancel out abilities, even for a few seconds?
My jaw dropped in shock, but Je-ha only chuckled reassuringly.
“Luckily, it only worked on me for a few seconds. That’s probably why it just sent me flying instead of killing me.”
“…Yeah. I’m just glad you’re alive.”
I muttered that as I shot a glare at Ban Noah, who was now gnashing his teeth in frustration.
It was obvious: he’d tried to brainwash Je-ha too. When that failed, he went straight to Plan B—eliminate him.
Even after pulling out some hidden weapon that could suppress abilities, Je-ha still made it out alive and found his way back…
That was all I needed.
Even with ‘Resurrection’, my ability wasn’t infinite. I could’ve died for real, eventually.
Potato let out a loud sigh of relief, practically glowing with happiness.
[Whew… now I can breathe again. I really thought you were gonna die—again.]
Didn’t die, so we’re good.
[“Didn’t die”?! Are you serious…! Hmph!]
Potato’s eyes were brimming with tears.
Wait. Were you crying?
[N-No! I’m not crying!]
It ducked its head down and sank deep into my pocket, hiding its face.
As I reached for the lump in my pocket, Je-ha tilted his head and asked.
“What’s up?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.”
…Still invisible to others, huh.
Potato remained a mystery.
Even after developing a separate ego and splitting off after my death, it resumed functioning normally once I was reborn in Yeon Yu-jin’s body.
Now that I think about it… If I die again, what’ll happen to Potato?
Would it become fully independent and go on living without me?
Or… would it vanish like any other ability, disappearing along with me?
I wouldn’t know until I died.
Either outcome was grim, but if it came to it, I’d rather Potato just run far, far away than fall into Ban Noah’s hands.
Lost in thought, I snapped back when Je-ha called my name softly.
“Ga-hyun.”
“Waagh?!”
I nearly tripped in surprise, and Je-ha immediately caught me around the waist.
“What were you thinking about so hard that you didn’t even hear me?”
“Uh… nothing. Sorry.”
I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, and Je-ha frowned, brushing a finger over the tattered edges of my clothes.
“…These are all injury marks, right?”
“Y-Yeah.”
‘Resurrection’ could repair a wrecked body, but not the clothes or shoes I was wearing.
Since it only applied to my physical self, I now looked like a half-naked hobo in shredded rags.
Guess I’m basically half-naked at this point.
I didn’t mind; I’d been through worse in my past life. Being stark naked wouldn’t even phase me. But Je-ha was… definitely not okay with it.
His eyes swept over my clothes, then his face abruptly turned bright red.
He thrust his jacket at me.
“…Here. Put this on.”
“What? It’s just gonna get torn up again if we get attacked.”
“…I don’t care. I’m not okay. Just—take it.”
Even with his back turned, the tips of Je-ha’s ears were burning red.
…Oh, boy.
No wonder he was flustered. Looking down at myself, I realized how much skin was showing—teasingly so.
Yeon Yu-jin’s skin was pale, and the dark, ripped clothes I had on made the contrast way too obvious.
I flushed red all over.
Goddamn it. What even is this…
I could’ve handled this without getting embarrassed. But Je-ha’s embarrassment made me feel weirdly self-conscious too.
So this was why he always threw clothes at me after battles in my past life.
Now it made sense.
Because… he liked me.
That thought hit me like a fireball.
My face burned hot as I struggled to even look Je-ha in the eyes.
Meanwhile, Ban Noah was trembling with rage.
“Hyun Je-ha, Hyun Je-ha, HYUN JE-HA…!”
He yanked hard on his glowing puppet strings, trying to force the others to rise. But they were useless under Je-ha’s Telekinesis.
Snap. Crackle. CRACK.
“…No!”
The puppet threads he’d wielded like weapons couldn’t withstand the crushing pressure of Je-ha’s power.
One by one, they snapped.
And just like that, the brainwashed teammates collapsed like marionettes with cut strings, their bodies limp on the sand.
No one was left standing.
At that moment, Je-ha turned his cold gaze on Ban Noah.
“You should’ve known cheap parlor tricks like that don’t work on me.”
His voice was cold, flat, and merciless.
Ban Noah instinctively stepped back.
Ever since Je-ha had appeared, the bastard hadn’t been able to relax.
“Parlor tricks? Are you serious? Do you have any idea what I went through to get this brainwashing ability?”
“And why should I care?” Je-ha said, voice even colder now.
“You probably tricked someone with your sweet little ‘helpful’ act, waited till they let their guard down, and then stole their core with some cheap shot. That’s all this power is.”
“Ghh—! You—!”
Ah. He’s not even denying it. Guess that’s the truth.
I figured.
A guy who steals other people’s abilities as his own was never going to get them in a fair fight.
If those earring beads really are ability cores like I suspect, then he must’ve killed the ability users in secret and buried the evidence too.
After all, the victims would need to be unconscious or incapacitated for him to succeed.
If they were alert, they’d fight back—and that would draw attention.
As Ban Noah stood trembling, completely speechless, Je-ha delivered the final blow with a chilling voice.
“This is your loss, Ban Noah.”
“……”
“Surrender. Now.”
“…Surrender? Me?”
“Yeah. You’ll never beat me.”
No matter how many stolen abilities he’d strapped on, he wasn’t going to defeat Je-ha—a Second Awakening Esper and one of the strongest there ever was.
He’d just proven it by using wide-range Telekinesis to free all the brainwashed teammates.
He’s not just powerful—he’s an ally I can fully trust.
Je-ha’s Telekinesis had no limits. No weight restrictions. He could use it freely and precisely however he wanted—his control was unbeatable.
On top of that, I’d lowered his corrosion level beforehand with proper Guiding, so his condition right now was at its absolute peak.
No one alive could beat Je-ha right now.
Which meant Ban Noah had only one option left: surrender.
But instead of conceding, he screamed in denial, eyes bloodshot with fury.
“Surrender?! If I was gonna bow out like some pathetic loser, I wouldn’t have dragged you both into this in the first place!”
“What—”
“The Bureau will be here soon too, Ban Noah. No matter how long you stall, this won’t end in your favor. There are people back at the Bureau determined to find you for digging through the restricted sector.”
I was thinking of Director Shin Yoon-hee when I said that. But it didn’t get through to him.
Instead, Ban Noah grinned—an awful, greasy smile.
“Then I’ll just leave you two behind. Stay trapped in this dungeon forever while I escape.”
“What?”
“Sealed off from both inside and out—left to rot away in this dead dungeon. Slowly. Pathetically. Hyun Je-ha. Ahn Ga-hyun.”
Ban Noah pulled out a red orb from his pocket.
Unlike the other ability beads, this one was massive—its core pulsing ominously.
And the moment it glinted with a foreboding violet light, a monster burst up from beneath the sand.
