Chapter 28: When the Villain Kneels

In any case, even if one managed to survive while avoiding the Center’s eyes, it was impossible for a black-eyed esper to blend into society.

Usually, they were said to live and die in back alleys, but among them, if an esper awakened an exceptional ability, the probability of becoming a villain could not be ignored.

Since no one had yet appeared under the name of “villain,” it seemed there was little vigilance toward espers outside the safety net, but…

“What are you thinking about, pretty one?”

Before he realized it, the pink-haired esper had come right up beside Lee Juju and whispered. It wasn’t only her voice that carried noise. To a guide’s eyes, every step the esper took twisted the flow of air, tangling and warping it little by little.

Lee Juju calmly asked,

“How did you know about me and find me?”

“Hmm, I don’t really know myself… The boss said something interesting might’ve shown up and told me to kidnap you.”

The pink-haired esper tilted her head as she spoke.

“Boss?”

Thanks to having dealt with villains in the previous timeline, Lee Juju immediately grasped that this esper wasn’t a lone villain but part of an organized group. Villains banding together into an organization…

In a way, it made sense. In a deranged world without guides, the only options left to espers were becoming villains or becoming soldiers.

That information about Lee Juju would spread was easy to predict. Just looking at Lieutenant Frank, who could skim through a person’s subconscious to extract information, made it clear that Lee Juju’s existence could never be hidden forever.

What was frightening was that the villains’ power was large enough, and their movements bold enough, to carry out a kidnapping the moment they obtained the information.

‘Can I wipe out the villains with my strength alone?’

Villains were truly dangerous beings. The most revolting thing about them was that they enjoyed harming powerless civilians. Worse still, they worked quietly in the shadows and disappeared, so unless one knew in advance, most people were left utterly defenseless.

This time as well, he didn’t know what method she had used, but judging by how quiet Lieutenant Colonel Miles, an elemental ability user, was, it was possible that this esper had already taken him out before coming for Lee Juju.

“I’m getting tired of this. Just be good and fall into my arms.”

When the pink-haired esper spread her arms, the shadows trailing behind her back began to swell in size. This was no time to think leisurely. Lee Juju furrowed his brows and immediately released radiative guiding.

“Kyaaak!”

The shadows that had grown large enough to cover an entire wall vanished in an instant, as if nothing had happened. The crackling noise quickly subsided, and the esper’s body collapsed. ‘

She sprawled out as if struck by an electric shock, then, with a terrified expression, tried desperately to crawl away from Lee Juju.

Lee Juju recalled the sensation from when he first arrived in this world, like holding a rubber hose while firing off radiative guiding. Just as he had then, he compressed the radiative guiding into a powerful single stream and wrapped it around the esper’s body.

It was a method he had used when guiding his squad for the first time. The woman trembled violently, tried to flee with a face that looked like she was terrified out of her mind… and then returned in an instant.

‘Using a cheap trick.’

Guiding was not an attacking energy. It only ever improved an esper’s condition. The radiative guiding just now must have calmed her rampage to some extent, and her instincts, craving more guiding, had dragged her body back on their own.

Even now, just look at her. He could clearly see her eyes darting around, a face that didn’t know what to do. More precisely, a face that didn’t understand why she was acting this way.

Clicking his tongue, Lee Juju released radiative guiding once more. At once, ecstasy flooded the pink-haired esper’s face.

That was when…

“J-Juju-nim…!”

The sound of a master key unlocking the door rang out. Sion was crawling in, blood pouring from his abdomen.

“Are… you… alrigh-”

Sion’s neck lolled to the side as he collapsed. The pink-haired woman, who had been rolling her eyes between Sion and Lee Juju, suddenly looked as though she had realized something. Then, like Sion, she began crawling forward little by little.

“M-Master…”

“…”

No, that’s not it…

Lee Juju let out a deep sigh.

****

The next morning.

“My ability is shadow manipulation.”

“Creating walls with shadows, now that’s an unusual ability.”

Colonel Miles nodded. Lee Juju, who had been looking down at Sion lying in a pristine white hospital room wrapped in bandages, turned his head. The colonel, who had initially been wary of the pink-haired esper, now seemed friendly with her as if nothing had happened.

Her name was Sierra. After being hit with a round of radiative guiding, she called Lee Juju “Master” and looked ready to worship him outright. (Even when he told her his name, she insisted that “Juju” was still the “Ju” from “Master,” and spouted nonsense.)

When pressed about who her boss was, she claimed she didn’t know, saying she’d been rambling nonsense while rampaging.

But the moment they moved on to contact guiding, she spilled everything, that her boss was a powerful mental-type esper and hypnotist who dreamed of conquering the world.

Sierra firmly believed that Lee Juju could not only wipe out the villains, but even save their lives. After all, he had already saved her so clearly.

To be honest, saving them too wasn’t strictly necessary. Sierra simply never wanted to live a life without guiding ever again, and she intended to seal up Lee Juju’s information tightly so it wouldn’t leak elsewhere.

“We have to make sure other espers don’t find out about you, Master.”

“I already have a company I’m exclusively guiding.”

“I mean espers other than the ones who already know you.”

“She’s right, Juju-nim. We have to protect you no matter what, and hide you. You can’t possibly guide every esper in this world, can you?”

“…”

It wasn’t wrong. No one could guide all espers alone. Not even an S-class guide, no, not even some SSS-class guide grandpa, could pull that off. Lee Juju pursed his lips.

“Master, you’re truly amazing. At first, I thought an even stronger hypnotist than that bastard had appeared. Guiding, who would’ve thought something like that even existed…”

With a sigh, Lee Juju asked,

“Why did you hide the fact that there was a villain, no, a boss, at first?”

“Well, Sierra wanted to become Master’s good subordinate.”

Sierra said, twisting her body coquettishly. Lee Juju let out another light sigh. He had no idea what she was talking about. He assumed she had just been putting on an act.

Lady Gorrella Rwendel, who had rushed over in shock after hearing about the attack, halted in her tracks when she saw the espers clustered together in the hospital room.

The gazes of all the espers except Lee Juju subtly turned toward her. The moment Lady Lwendel saw Sierra, whose eyes were still tinged with black, her body stiffened.

‘Ah…’

She recalled Shan Pei at the age of seven, crying and refusing to part from his mother, then folding space in half and running to her, arms outstretched, begging to be held.

It was an idea only a child could have.

The people caught inside the folded space couldn’t escape and were crushed to death. Upon witnessing the blood-soaked carnage, Lady Rwendel collapsed unconscious.

More than a hundred people had died, and Rwendel, then the President, was forced to step down because of the incident.

And they had to watch young Shan tremble violently, his breath fading away, praying desperately that their son might miraculously survive the drugs.

Without ever being held in his mother’s arms, treated like a bomb and locked in prison, Shan Pei convulsed on the cold floor as TCA-Induce was injected into him.

No one believed the child would live. Some researchers even spat, saying the demon should die. At the time, it didn’t feel pitiful, it felt only natural.

But in her heart…

She knew this would remain a regret forever. Lady Rwendel longed to see her son again, but it was impossible. Grown Shan sent a letter saying he understood the feelings of Mr. and Mrs. Rwendel back then, and that letter became his first, and last.

From time to time, she would come and stay in Shankriti near Shan’s post of service before returning. That was the only way she could ease her longing for her son.

When the pink-haired esper whispered something into Lee Juju’s ear, he flinched and turned around.

“Madam. You’re here? I’m sorry- because of me, Mr. Sion…”

Lady Rwendel swallowed hard. And this child was hope. The only hope that her son, whom she had once prayed would die, might live happily. A light and salvation that allowed espers to live as people.

“It’s all right, Juju-nim.”

Seeing her smile, the apologetic look on his face softened into a smile of his own. Only then did something heavy pressing down somewhere in her chest seem to lift, just a little.

****

Because of Sierra’s appearance, they decided to return to the company a day earlier than planned.

“I’ll go check if the auditor’s still around. If that lazy bastard is, I’ll kick him straight out.”

With that, Lieutenant Colonel Miles flew off ahead of them, leaving Lee Juju with no choice but to get into the car alone with Sierra.