Chapter 23: Resolve and Redemption

Even witnessing the dreadful scene, strangely, my mind felt calm.

There was extreme anger boiling inside me, but reason took the lead first.

Ah, yes. This is that feeling.

The state before a battle with a monster.

Sizing up the situation first, and positioning the body to overwhelm the enemy in one strike.

It was a long-dormant sensation revived once more.

“Ah, yes, that bastard from before? Lucky day today. I’ll kill you too, just wait.”

The beastly creature, worse than a monster, still seemed unaware of the situation.

Judging by the way it still flailed its snout carelessly.

I took a few steps and assessed the situation.

Jaeyul looked badly hurt, but fortunately, his life seemed unharmed.

It was a relief it wasn’t too late.

It was even better that he was unconscious.

He shouldn’t know what was about to happen.

The alley was so narrow that even a car couldn’t pass.

I picked up a soju bottle lying on the ground as I approached the man.

Gripping the neck and smashing it against the wall, the base shattered in all directions.

“Kill? You drunken bastard, who do you think you’re killing?”

I put all my strength into my legs and charged forward.

Without slowing down, I thrust the broken bottle into the beast’s thigh.

“Ugh, aaaah…!”

Apparently, it could feel pain, because it released Jaeyul.

Its legs gave out, collapsing to the ground with a ripping groan.

For once, I didn’t hate this miserable neighborhood.

No one would look out just because of its screams.

Without saying anything to Ppoppi, he bit Jaeyul’s clothes and dragged him toward the alley entrance.

Now I could fight freely.

“I’ve been too complacent. No… cowardly, really.”

It seemed so.

I should have dealt with this man sooner.

Beating and abusing his young son… even if not his biological child, why did I let him live?

A child wandering without a home, treated worse than human.

A child forced to buy alcohol with money earned risking his life in gates.

Why did I let this happen?

If I were to offer a cowardly excuse, it would be just in case.

Jaeyul might someday look for his father.

If I acted rashly, the child might truly become an orphan.

But that complacency and cowardice caused this situation.

Jaeyul ended up… in such a mess again… because of me.

“You… crazy bastard…”

“Shut up.”

“Argh… ugh…!”

I went behind him, clamped his mouth, and stomped the neck of the green soju bottle embedded in his thigh.

Crack! Smash!

The bottle, unable to withstand the pressure, shattered deep into his thigh.

Red blood ran down the alley floor.

“Does it hurt?”

“Ugh…!”

The man finally sobered from the alcohol.

Trembling, he extended his hands forward, begging.

Damn. How obnoxious.

“Begging for mercy? Why? Didn’t Jaeyul ever say that to you? ‘Dad, please save me. It hurts.’ You didn’t stop then, did you? But why should I save you?”

Finally, my mind was made up.

I would bear this karma myself.

Even if Jaeyul later resented me for his father’s death… I would endure it.

I could not leave such a person near Jaeyul.

I could heal the physical wounds, but what about the heart?

Another scar carved into a small, already battered heart from abuse and violence…

If such things continue, I would break that cycle here.

“You’ll suffer the same. I don’t know why I risked my life to save trash like you.”

Years of disgust with humanity erupted.

All my anger at humans poured into this trash before me.

I infused mana into him, amplifying his sense of pain.

If possible, I wanted him to experience a hell on earth.

I wanted him to feel every wound he left on a child, dying and painfully realizing his mistakes.

“Ugh! Ugh…!”

I held his convulsing body tightly.

Before awakening, I might not have overpowered him, but now with my awakened state, I could control an ordinary human.

Even if I couldn’t, I couldn’t let Jaeyul hear this disgusting sound, so I blocked his mouth with all my strength.

“Don’t die yet. Compared to what Jaeyul went through, this is nothing.”

Even as his entire body shook and white foam spilled from his mouth, I did not stop.

Soon, his breathing would cease.

And in that moment, I thought… I could create a safer world for Jaeyul.

Bang!

At the alley entrance, a dazzling white flash appeared like a small sun.

Along with it, a strange scene unfolded.

“…Ja…eyul…”

Jaeyul floated limp in the air.

In front of him, a familiar white sphere began to slowly coalesce.

What on earth…?

“No, stop…! Jaeyul!”

It was a sphere I knew very well.

Though now only the size of a finger joint, its destructive power would be immense.

How could I not recognize it?

The white flash was the signature technique of ‘X,’ the one who had tried to kill me.

The technique was now being cast in front of the unconscious Jaeyul.

“Seon Jaeyul!”

I had no time to grasp what was happening.

The white sphere generated before the fainted Jaeyul slowly approached the chest of the man in front of me.

“Ppoppi, Ppoppi! Block it!”

I had no ability to stop the sphere.

If I still had my past esper powers, I could have.

But now, as a guide with no attack skills, it was impossible.

I called Ppoppi desperately.

In an instant, he returned to his original form, blocking the sphere as if teleporting.

“Kraang!”

He opened his jaws wide and swallowed the approaching flash.

“…You okay?”

“Woof, woof!”

Seeing Ppoppi wag his tail as if nothing had happened, I felt relief.

It had been close.

Jaeyul’s ability was undoubtedly ‘X’s.’

Though clumsy and unformed, the power was unmistakably his.

Had it been at full strength, I wouldn’t have had a chance to stop it; the area around us would have been obliterated.

“Ppoppi, sorry… handle this too. I’ll take Jaeyul upstairs first. Come quickly.”

I handed the man, Jaeyul’s father, to Ppoppi.

I no longer cared what happened to him.

The important thing was Jaeyul.

I ran quickly and scooped up the collapsed Jaeyul.

“…Jaeyul.”

Jaeyul hadn’t regained consciousness.

Though I had healed all his physical wounds, he lay peacefully as if asleep.

Seeing him like this, I felt complete confusion.

The sensations I had felt toward him were not illusions.

I had associated Jaeyul with ‘X.’

His forehead wound, his striking resemblance…

If it had stopped there, it would have remained only as discomfort.

But the ability Jaeyul used earlier was unmistakably X’s technique.

Though unshaped and crude, the fundamentals were identical.

A unique skill no other esper could replicate.

How… could this be?

‘X,’ who brought the world to ruin, is such a child?

Or rather, ‘X’ was such a normal human…

A shocking truth in many ways.

Seeing peaceful Jaeyul, I thought.

Perhaps coming back 15 years in time and meeting Jaeyul was intentional.

As if to tell me… to eliminate the future ‘X’ now.

The current ‘X,’ without full power, could be eliminated easily.

If that happened, the future would change.

The monster that would destroy the world would vanish, and humanity would face no similar crisis.

Perhaps the collective wish of many sent me here.

“Ha, haha.”

Thinking that made me laugh.

Kill this child for everyone’s survival?

Why me?

For those who criticized and blamed me?

Or for those who inflicted hell on Jaeyul without shame?

Now I understood.

‘X’ harbored an almost unimaginable hatred for humanity.

I had thought it instinctual for a beast, but now it made sense.

How could a child like Jaeyul, wounded by humans, ever love others?

Even I, now, am disgusted by people.

Endless wounds nurtured hatred for humanity.

“I’m sorry… I…”

The life that forced ‘X’ to become what he was was pitiful.

No one had reached out to help; the situation was heart-wrenching and tragic.

Why must such a small, innocent child endure such hardship?

What crime did he commit to deserve so much suffering?

Yes… I decided.

I would save no one else.

Only… this child.

Even if it meant becoming a world-destroying monster.

To me, Jaeyul is just Jaeyul.

Full of tears and laughter.

Sometimes irritating, but always looking at me.

I would protect only you.

Whatever you are, whatever you become…

Thinking about it, it’s unavoidable.

Seeing his little face, running to greet me, waving his hand…

How could I ever turn my back on this child?

If I ignored this, how would I be different from the ungrateful others?

As Jaeyul gave me his whole heart, I must give mine.

Even if he becomes ‘X’ in the future, it doesn’t matter.

A world that would drive me to death and hurt this child deserves to vanish.

No, it’s welcomed.

If the rotten world ends and is destroyed, that’s fine too.

After returning to the past, I lacked a proper goal.

Now, I finally see a path.

To help Jaeyul, who could destroy the world.

To use the 15 years granted to me for this child.

To nurture him, so he can fully realize his potential.

“Goodnight, Jaeyul.”

I hugged the sleeping Jaeyul tightly.

I would protect this little child so he would never be hurt again.

But my resolve… would be completely broken five years later.

When Jaeyul turned eighteen, many changes came to us.