Chapter 127: The One Left at the Eye of the Storm

“…Hyung, why is your dog coming out from here?”

At Yoo Heero’s question, Seong Jiwoo replied with a startled expression.

“I don’t know either… But last time too—”

“Last time too? You mean it popped out suddenly then as well?”

Yoo Heero suddenly leaned in, pressing Seong Jiwoo for answers. Seong Jiwoo reflexively leaned back.

“You’ve been keeping something that suspicious with you this whole time? Do you even know what that thing is? Hyung, seriously…!”

“No, I don’t think it’s suspicious enough to—”

“Then you’re saying it’s not suspicious?”

With too many unsettling points to confidently say otherwise, Seong Jiwoo closed his mouth.

Meanwhile, Yoo Heero stepped in front of Pilgrim, who was running toward them with a bright, carefree expression.

Seeing Yoo Heero’s posture—like he might attack at any moment—Seong Jiwoo hurriedly stopped him.

“It’s fine. He showed up last time too and helped!”

“What?”

“He’s not hostile, at least…”

At Seong Jiwoo’s words, Yoo Heero’s expression soured even more. Still, if Seong Jiwoo said so, he couldn’t argue further.

In the middle of this, Pilgrim acted as if Yoo Heero didn’t even exist. He trotted right past him and ran up to Seong Jiwoo, circling him happily and clearly showing his excitement.

Noticing Yoo Heero’s gaze, Seong Jiwoo awkwardly accepted Pilgrim with a hesitant “Yeah, yeah.”

Sure enough, one of Yoo Heero’s eyebrows twitched.

Just then, Jeong Suhan, whom Yoo Heero was holding, stirred slightly and let out a faint groan.

Hearing the sound, Pilgrim whipped around, pressed his nose to Jeong Suhan’s hand sticking out from Yoo Heero’s arms, and sniffed.

Woong!

With his back to Yoo Heero, Pilgrim gently wagged his tail.

“What is he doing?”

“…I think he wants you to let him carry him.”

“Hah.”

Yoo Heero let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded.

“And what makes him so confident?”

As if understanding the words, Pilgrim barked once more—and suddenly grew larger. His size doubled in an instant. Reluctant but with no better option, Yoo Heero placed Jeong Suhan on Pilgrim’s back.

Then Pilgrim grabbed Seong Jiwoo’s clothes with his teeth and tugged insistently. After growing even bigger once more, he seated Seong Jiwoo on the back of his neck and glanced slyly at Yoo Heero.

“……”

A meaningless staring contest followed. Pilgrim’s mouth twitched as if grinning, and then he charged straight toward the hole he’d made.

“Uh…?”

Yoo Heero was left standing there alone.

The helicopter, having been caught in the storm once already, wobbled dangerously at high altitude. Screams rang out at the harrowing sight.

Everyone poured their abilities into stopping Park Jichan, but it wasn’t enough. It couldn’t be. The hunters focused on restraining him—but Park Jichan attacked anything that interfered with him.

The number of injured rose rapidly. Among them, only Shin Yoonjae, who shared the same type of ability as Park Jichan, truly suffered.

This wasn’t just a contest of abilities.

It felt like being completely overwhelmed.

Barely managing to keep the helicopter from slamming into the ground, Shin Yoonjae was repeatedly swallowed by a sense of helplessness.

Give up.

The voice buzzed in his head. Sensing the gap in power, his own ability instinctively wanted to submit to Park Jichan.

The strain on his body was far greater than usual. The wind that had been holding up the helicopter began to falter, its weight tipping toward the trees before surging back at Shin Yoonjae. His body staggered violently.

Half-collapsed on the ground, he struggled to steady his breathing—then suddenly vomited blood from deep within. Seeing his palm soaked red, Shin Yoonjae hurriedly wiped it on his pants.

Wearing black clothes had been a blessing. Lowering his head in case anyone noticed, he roughly wiped at his mouth.

No tears fell, but his eyes burned hot.

Steeling himself, Shin Yoonjae gestured toward the helicopter.

They weren’t doing any better. Tossed around inside, their faces were pale, as if they might pass out at any moment.

Shin Yoonjae stopped pushing the helicopter away and instead pulled it toward himself. Without the opposing force, it was far easier.

Gulping down blood-tinged saliva, he shouted with all he had as the helicopter drew close.

“Jump! I’ll catch you!”

He no longer had the confidence to endure the crushing weight of the steel hulk. Even now, Park Jichan’s power was growing stronger by the second. Shin Yoonjae could feel it in his bones—Park Jichan was on the brink of a full rampage.

Cold sweat ran down his spine. Goosebumps rose, his scalp prickling painfully. His ability was trying to resonate with Park Jichan’s.

If this entanglement continued until Park Jichan lost control, Shin Yoonjae himself might trigger a chain rampage.

There was no time to waste.

Clutching his violently pounding heart, Shin Yoonjae waved frantically. A massive gust rose, and the soldiers jumped—no ropes, only their bodies.

Crash! Boom—kugugung!

The moment Shin Yoonjae released his power, the helicopter was flung far away, smashing into the ground with a thunderous roar. Explosions followed—bang, bang—and scorching wind swept outward.

Shin Yoonjae carried the falling soldiers on the wind. Clinging desperately to consciousness, he focused. His vision flickered savagely.

People rushed toward the rising flames. Seeing Shin Yoonjae faltering, Lee Hyerin hesitated. He waved her away, telling her he was fine and to go. Glancing back repeatedly, she nevertheless ran toward the crash site.

“Move, move! Clear the area before the fire spreads!”

“Water! We need water!”

“It might explode again—stop the blast!”

Preventing further explosions fell to Lee Hyerin. She’d once said that stopping an explosion was far harder than creating one.

That it felt like swallowing a fireball.

She would never show how hard it was—just like him.

Shin Yoonjae watched her retreating figure with worry. As his body cooled against the cold ground, harsh coughing wracked him.

Park Jichan approached him.

Faced with that killing intent, Shin Yoonjae couldn’t move a single finger.

“…Pathetic.”

At those words, Shin Yoonjae couldn’t help but laugh.

Compared to him, it really was true.

He’d thought he was growing stronger. Thought his ability was decent. Park Jichan made him realize how wrong he was.

Park Jichan crushed Shin Yoonjae’s ability field. His hostility surged, strangling Shin Yoonjae’s breath away. Unable to breathe, Shin Yoonjae stared at him without flinching.

That unyielding gaze made Park Jichan scowl. Twisting with irritation, he kicked Shin Yoonjae hard in the side. Shin Yoonjae flipped over helplessly, coughing up blood onto the ground.

“In the end, we’re all the same.”

“…Cough—hack.”

“Pretend you’re different all you want. You and I—we end up the same.”

The moment those words fell, Shin Yoonjae’s ability began to rampage.

As if he’d expected it, Park Jichan stepped back lightly. If Shin Yoonjae—who shared his ability—hadn’t been here, this rampage would’ve been Park Jichan’s.

But fate was cruel, twisted—and strangely merciful.

A violent gale exploded outward from Shin Yoonjae. The area was devastated. Nearby soldiers were blown away like fallen leaves.

As if it would make any difference, Shin Yoonjae curled himself as tightly as possible, trying to suppress his own power. It felt like his body and head would burst under the pressure.

His ragged breathing clouded his thoughts. The instinct to survive urged him to pour out every last drop of unstable power.

Even knowing it was like trying to plug a broken dam, Shin Yoonjae instinctively clutched his chest.

“Shin Yoonjae…!”

Sensing the ominous wind, Lee Hyerin whirled around. Her sweat-soaked body could barely muster strength, but she ran back the way she came.

“Shin Yoon—Shin Yoonjae!”

At her scream, everyone turned.

He was there—alone, enduring the rampage.

“We—we’ll go. Just hold this place first.”

But Lee Hyerin had to stay here. There was no one else who could contain the explosions. Even now, her body jerked repeatedly as she absorbed shock after shock.

When someone drew close, Shin Yoonjae’s ability lashed out violently, forcing them back. For now, it only pushed—but no one knew what would happen if they came closer.

“Has there ever been a case of a rampage outside a gate?”

Someone asked, but no one answered right away.

Biting her lower lip until it nearly bled, Park Sujin finally spoke.

“There hasn’t. There’s no manual.”

In other words, there was no countermeasure.

It was cruel, but there was no way to stop a rampaging ability user. Miracles did happen—but most cases ended in self-destruction.

Bodies unable to endure their own power bursting apart was not uncommon.

Rampage meant death.

And just as frighteningly, almost nothing was known about it.

A rampaging ability user was said to be trapped in a gate.

And when a rampaging user died within a gate, they vanished without a trace when the next gate opened.

“……”

Even as Shin Yoonjae writhed in agony, there was no one who could help him.

“So we just let him die like that? No—can you even contain him?”

He was an A-rank hunter. Even now, his power was enormous. If he completely lost control, this entire area would be annihilated in moments.

“…For now, secure the site and evacuate.”

In the end, Im Changwon made the call.

Shin Yoonjae was an important guild member—but protecting the many took priority over clinging to a slim hope.

The moment the order was given, the Helios guild members moved in perfect unison. Some looked back at Shin Yoonjae—but none hesitated.

The problem was Lee Hyerin.

No one could bring themselves to tell her—who was still working with Lee Wonjae to secure the site—that they were evacuating without Shin Yoonjae.

Seeing a guild member approach, Lee Hyerin pushed herself up and asked urgently,

“What about Shin Yoonjae? Is he okay? Did he come to his senses?”

“……”

She pressed again, but there was still no answer. From behind, someone shouted, “Finish up and evacuate, now!”

Lee Hyerin asked with a hollow expression,

“…No, right? Shin Yoonjae… no, right?”

Shoving the guild member aside, Lee Hyerin broke into a run toward where Shin Yoonjae was, tears spilling over. The guild members hurriedly tried to stop her, but she shook them off in a daze.

At that moment—

An overwhelming surge of ability energy crashed down on them all.

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