“Guiding’s over. Step out—now.”
“…It’s not over yet.”
Pressed by the cold command to leave the moment the session ended, Lee Tae-rim lied without thinking. But the woman simply raised her tablet. The screen displayed a stark 0%.
His heart dropped.
“Wait—you didn’t get surgery or anything, did you?!”
“No, hyung. It’s this bracelet.”
Seon Juho lifted his arm, revealing a thin, transparent band clinging tightly to his wrist like a film. There were no markings—clearly, the data was only visible on their end.
Tae-rim’s throat tightened. Their tech was clearly far more advanced than anything at Central. What if the Center couldn’t even track this place with their current systems? The idea terrified him.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“…Me neither.”
“Really?”
“Come out. Now.”
He shot a glare at the woman who had cut in with her icy tone, but she didn’t even flinch. Unbothered, impassive—like always. With a heavy sigh, Seon Juho got up, his face full of regret. Tae-rim stood with him.
“See you soon, hyung.”
“Be careful.”
“Yeah.”
Lee Tae-rim clutched the bars, watching as Seon Juho disappeared down the long corridor. He turned back several times—just like he always did before heading into the field.
Tae-rim bit down on his lip, anger burning in his chest. He was helpless—and the sheer powerlessness of it all made it unbearable.
***
Seon Juho was sent straight back into the chamber after the Guiding. The massive white space had been completely reset—it was spotless now, unlike before. No time to rest. No reprieve. The moment he returned, he found himself staring at yet another Gate forming before him.
He knew exactly what they wanted from him.
And he had no intention of giving it to them.
A faint scoff escaped his lips.
They were clearly upping the intensity this time—three Gates opened at once. All of them S-rank. Without hesitation, Seon Juho released his power and shot into the air. From above, his expression blank, he looked down at the monsters being torn apart by his ability the instant they emerged from the Gates.
His unique power didn’t register on any wavelength scanners. If it did, Dr. Han—back when he was alive—would’ve figured it out long ago.
That’s why, from the moment they brought him in, they’d drained his blood, hooked him up to every machine they had, and run every test imaginable—but still found nothing. Not a damn thing. Too bad for them.
And when they started asking questions, Seon Juho didn’t give them so much as a glance. He didn’t owe them an answer. Didn’t owe them anything.
He wasn’t some weak, frightened child anymore.
And they knew it. They knew there was nothing they could do to force his hand. Not with an S-rank Esper like him. So in the end, all they could do was lock him up in here.
They were probably hoping that, if they pushed him close enough to death, he’d slip and reveal his power. No chance. Unless he completely lost control and went into Rampage, it wasn’t happening. But just as he’d predicted, before his Danger Level even hit 80%, they sent him to Lee Tae-rim.
Because if he did go into Rampage here, the only ones who’d suffer would be them.
They wanted something from him—so they couldn’t afford to kill him. And it wasn’t like he’d die that easily either. Now that they’d witnessed his power firsthand, they had a rough idea of the scale of destruction he could cause.
Seon Juho had no doubt: if he lost control, he could reduce this entire facility to dust.
And he was far stronger now than he’d been back when he first Awakened. It wasn’t even close. But destruction wasn’t what he wanted.
Not while Lee Tae-rim was still here.
He had to survive—no matter what it took.
The moment Seon Juho saw the room Tae-rim was being held in, he nearly blew out every surveillance camera on sight. The place didn’t have even a shred of privacy. Not even when using the bathroom. Just imagining Tae-rim having to live like that made his vision go red. Even I haven’t seen that yet—and they dare…?!
He was furious. Truly. But he held it in—for now. Charging in blind would only end in failure. So he forced himself to move carefully, to stay calm and calculated.
Still, he couldn’t help worrying. Could Tae-rim even sleep without his pheromones?
This whole situation was making him regret ever making Tae-rim dependent on them.
Now, without Seon Juho’s pheromones, Tae-rim couldn’t fall into a deep sleep. The proof was clear: whenever Juho pulled his pheromones away, Tae-rim’s breathing would change. He’d start sleeping so lightly, the smallest sound could jolt him awake.
It had started under the guise of helping him rest better—though, to be honest, there had been ulterior motives. Still, part of him had genuinely wanted Tae-rim to sleep well. And once Tae-rim began to grow accustomed to him, it became impossible to stop.
But another part of him couldn’t wait for Tae-rim to realize: I can’t sleep unless I’m in Seon Juho’s arms.
He wondered how Tae-rim would react when that realization hit. Would he start to see him differently?
He hoped so. He wanted Tae-rim’s attitude to shift. He wanted him to get even a little flustered around him. To feel a bit shy—no, especially shy. That would be perfect.
But at the same time, he didn’t want Tae-rim to avoid him because of it. That was the part he’d been struggling with all along. He didn’t want to lose what they already had—the closeness, the comfort, the ease. But he also wanted Tae-rim to start seeing him as a man.
He knew it was selfish.
But when it came to Tae-rim, he didn’t want to give up anything.
While Seon Juho was lost in his thoughts, the monsters were completely obliterated—every last one of them. Even with three S-rank Gates open, his strength overwhelmed them effortlessly. The display alone was enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.
“They really created a monster in Sector 1-8.”
“Yeah… He’s far beyond what we were told.”
Any other Esper would’ve already hit Rampage by now—but Seon Juho was still calm. That blank expression as he stared down from above—it was terrifying. If the Guide weren’t being used as leverage, he probably would’ve blown up the entire lab already.
“And that Guide… he’s something else, too. To calm down a force that powerful in such a short time? It makes sense that the Esper’s obsessed.”
Dr. Kwak thought back to how the test subject—K—had held the Guide so protectively. His voice had been almost sickeningly sweet, but the look in his eyes while checking the surveillance feeds… murderous. Like he was ready to wipe out everything in front of him. The reports mentioned a powerful Exclusive Bond, but seeing it in action made the records look tame.
The same was true for his strength.
Back in Sector 1, when they triggered seven S-rank Gates simultaneously, K had taken them down one by one. But seeing this now—it made them wonder if he’d been holding back the entire time. Doubt started to creep in.
“Dr. Han couldn’t have been wrong…”
It was normal for newly Awakened Espers to grow stronger over time. But this wasn’t just normal growth. Back then, K had been able to handle one S-rank Gate with a bit of leeway. But now? His power had grown enormously.
According to Dr. Han’s records, the K from back then had shown power consistent with his wavelength. And Dr. Han had been one of Molt’s brightest minds. If he said it, it had to be accurate.
“…Could he be evolving?”
“Is that even possible?”
“…Hard to say.”
Dr. Kwak kept her eyes on K until the last of the three Gates fully closed. The current Danger Level: 42%.
If K had a special ability on top of everything else, then invincible might not be an exaggeration. There probably wasn’t a single Esper in the world who could match him.
And if he really was evolving—if he was still getting stronger—then there was no telling how powerful he might become.
Dr. Kwak reviewed the most recent records from Sector 1-8 again.
The last thing K had been injected with was EJL-5—a drug developed at one of the overseas branches. A highly effective formula. Every subject who received it awakened with Erasure-type abilities, regardless of class.
So K had to have Erasure as well. But he hadn’t said a word about it.
If someone with this much raw power also had an Erasure-type ability…
They tried to force his hand by threatening the Guide—but K didn’t even hesitate. The moment they did, he raised his wavelength. His face remained unreadable, but the air around him turned deadly. It was a silent warning: Touch him, and this whole place goes down.
The Danger Level spiked to 50% in seconds, and Dr. Kwak had no choice but to back off. She had to promise they wouldn’t lay a hand on the Guide.
They’d brought him here based on Dr. Han’s notes that he was worth studying—but now, it was clear.
They had brought in something they couldn’t contain.
Their plan was to brainwash the two of them—just like they did with other Awakened.
But none of their S-rank mental-type Espers could penetrate K’s mind. And instead of being broken, K had been the one to deliver threats.
Touch the Guide, and I’ll obliterate everything.
K wasn’t some dog they could train.
He was a wild beast—a predator that only knew how to tear everything apart.
Good