Chapter 131: The World He Chose to Protect

“Wow, so this is what it feels like when you get really drunk! The whole world keeps spinning….”

Looks like he’s properly wasted.

Aside from Jaeyul and me, the rest of the team members all seem pretty deep into their drinks.

Park Bomyeong is stroking Song Jihan’s head endlessly as if he’s seeing things, and Yoo Eden is spouting nonsense that doesn’t suit him at all.

I exchanged a glance with Jaeyul.

If we let them keep drinking, we’d end up handling all the cleanup.

So we should wrap things up soon.

And the sooner we send them off, the sooner Jaeyul and I can be alone.

It’s not like we’re planning to do anything in particular… but still.

Being together just feels better than being in a crowd.

Ahem.

I really want to go home.

“Let’s get up.

It’s getting late.”

“Ah… it’s already time to go….”

No matter how drunk they were, they were still special ability users—none of them were completely out cold.

We hurried them outside to the street to shove them into taxis and send them off.

“…What are they doing…?”

“Who knows.

Maybe they got attached to each other while we weren’t looking.”

Song Jihan, Park Bomyeong, and Yoo Eden.

The three of them were locked together in a tight embrace.

No—looking closer, it was Park Bomyeong and Song Jihan hugging each other, with Yoo Eden wrapping around both of them.

Big guys like them clinging together like that—it was honestly an eyesore.

Still, I liked how quickly they were getting close.

I’d secretly worried that Song Jihan wouldn’t fit in well, but now he was visiting Bomyeong’s group more often than he came looking for me.

“We can send them all off in one car, right?”

“Why bother with a car?

Even if they’re drunk, they’re espers.

They’ll manage on their own.

It’s not even cold, so they won’t freeze to death.”

Cold-hearted bastard.

But now that I thought about it, Jaeyul wasn’t wrong.

With three human weapons grouped together, it wasn’t like something bad was going to happen to them.

There weren’t any taxis in sight either, so it was probably better to just leave them.

“Then should we head home first?”

“Hyung!”

We were heading toward where the car was parked when Jaeyul suddenly grabbed my arm and called out urgently.

At the same time, hundreds of fragments of Jaeyul’s Light Bomb split apart and began circling us.

It was a technique I knew all too well.

A defensive one.

I didn’t even have time to ask what was going on.

“Shit…!”

Song Jihan—who I’d thought was barely conscious from the alcohol—was suddenly by Jaeyul’s side, using his ability as well.

A violent, storm-like wind wrapped around the barrier Jaeyul had deployed.

If my memory was right, this was also a defensive technique.

Ah.

Something serious was about to happen.

I realized it a beat too late.

I didn’t know exactly what kind of being or phenomenon it was, but I could feel that something dangerous was coming.

“Stay close to me.

Don’t leave my side.”

Jaeyul pulled me into his arms, holding me protectively.

I wanted to say okay, and ask what was happening—but there was no need.

Beep.

A shrill sound tore through my ears, slamming into my eardrums, and the world was flooded with white.

To be precise, it was light so bright it felt like it would blind me.

Daylight-bright light filled everything.

Everything except the inside of the protective barrier around us.

It was so bright I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

I squeezed them shut and buried myself deeper into Jaeyul’s arms.

Thinking about it now, I knew this light.

I’d seen it so many times I couldn’t possibly mistake it.

It was a symbol of despair—how could I ever forget it?

And yet, at the same time, I felt that this wasn’t the same ‘thing’ I knew.

If it were, there was no way we’d be safe like this….

“Hyung, are you okay?”

While I was lost in thought, the blinding light piercing through my eyelids vanished.

The ringing that had battered my ears stopped as well.

Only then did Jaeyul loosen his hold on me.

“Uh… I think I’m okay….”

Maybe because the light had been so intense, my eyes couldn’t adjust to the sudden darkness.

My vision was blurry, so I blinked several times.

I rubbed my eyes with my hands too.

Even so, nothing came into view.

All I could see was pitch-black darkness.

“Why can’t I see anything…?”

No matter where I looked, there was nothing.

The noisy crowd, the brightly lit signs, the cars filling the road—none of it was there.

Only an empty wasteland remained.

As if the world itself had evaporated.

“How many light-type special ability users do you think there are?”

“Hmm… at least, I’ve never seen one.

What about you, hyung?”

“Me neither.”

Aside from Jaeyul and ‘X,’ I’d never even heard rumors of someone who wielded light.

If someone like that had existed, we definitely would’ve found them when we were fighting ‘X’ in the past.

There was no way it wouldn’t have reached my ears.

“But that doesn’t mean you’re the only light-type esper in existence.

If you manifested as a light type, that means others could too.”

The reason we were talking about Jaeyul’s abilities now—long after his awakening—was simple.

The mass of light that had swept us up on our way out of the company dinner had been the same light-type power as Jaeyul’s.

A blinding light that arrived without a sound, leaving nothing behind in its wake.

It erased all traces that people had ever lived there.

It was an ability I knew all too well.

Light Bomb—the most terrifying technique wielded by ‘X.’

“But would there really be an esper with that level of power?

It looked like it wiped out a radius of at least two kilometers.”

I agreed.

At a point when Jaeyul hadn’t become ‘X,’ there was no way someone else could use Light Bomb.

And even thinking back on my past life, there hadn’t been anyone with a remotely similar ability.

Someone who could erase an entire city in an instant without a single sound would be a disaster incarnate.

Power on par with ‘X.’

“And the real problem is that.”

Jaeyul’s gaze turned to the television screen, where a breaking news report was playing.

[Countless cities across Europe, North America, Africa, and the Middle East have vanished overnight without a trace.

The number of missing persons cannot even be estimated, and abnormal monster breaks are occurring simultaneously, leading to further casualties…….]

It was news I knew all too well.

Almost identical to the events that had unfolded after ‘X’ stepped out of the gate in the past.

Overnight, countless cities had vanished, and simultaneous monster breaks had dealt devastating blows.

This time, the pattern was similar, but the power was weaker.

In Seoul alone, more than half the city had been lost in the past, but this time, the damage was limited to a radius of just two kilometers.

Of course, that was still far from minor damage—but compared to ‘X’s attacks, it was relatively small.

“Who on earth could it be….”

I really wanted to know.

How had a villain other than Jaeyul appeared?

With no answers in sight, only frustration piled up.

“Don’t worry, hyung.

No matter who it is, I’ll protect you.”

Jaeyul gently took my hand.

There were other team members right in front of us—he really had no fear.

Still, his words alone gave me strength.

It wasn’t baseless confidence.

He had the actual skill to back it up.

Hadn’t he blocked the Light Bomb attack and saved us?

That bastard… honestly, he’s just too precious.

“W-who asked you to protect me….”

I squeezed Jaeyul’s hand in return.

My heart itched again, right near my chest.

“Special Team One!

Prepare for immediate deployment!”

Ah, shit—startled the hell out of me!

Na Dongchan barged into the office shouting, nearly making my heart drop.

That guy must’ve been born with ridiculous luck.

An area pretty close to the center had been wiped out, yet somehow he was completely fine.

Maybe even ghosts avoided dragging him away.

“Where are we heading?”

After the Light Bomb attack, our team had already finished preparing to deploy.

There was no way they wouldn’t call us in a situation like this.

If anything, they’d come to us later than expected.

Gate breaks had probably already erupted all over the place.

“Ahem… we’re heading to the Blue House.”

Huh…?

Did I hear that right?

“Where did you say?”

“The Blue House.”

I wasn’t the only one stunned.

Jaeyul and the other team members looked like they were about to collectively beat Na Dongchan senseless.

Ah right—those bastards at the support office and the center were always like this.

Whether the country collapsed or not didn’t matter, as long as they were safe.

I must’ve forgotten for a moment.

“Did a gate break out there?

Or has an unidentified enemy appeared?”

“No, but the head of state is a top-priority protection target.

The president needs to show that he’s safe so the citizens can feel reassured.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to show that the nation’s elite agents are protecting him?”

How did he manage to wrap such bullshit in such nice words?

The S-rank agents from Seoul’s First Center were probably being summoned to the National Assembly.

The villain didn’t know a damn thing.

If only he’d wipe those people out first.

“All units, deploy.”

Jaeyul looked angry too, but it seemed there was no helping it.

After all, Na Dongchan was still his superior—ignoring a direct order wasn’t easy.

I knew that feeling well.

In my past life, I’d been dragged around like this countless times.

At Jaeyul’s command, the team members prepared without a single complaint.

“When we arrive at the Blue House, there’ll be a lot of reporters—”

“We’re going to Gangnam.

It’s our original defense zone, and it’s the area with the heaviest damage right now.”

Huh…?

The Blue House wasn’t that way…?

“I’ll be back soon.

Just in case, don’t go home tonight—stay here.

Bbobbi’s nearby too.”

“Uh, o-okay….”

Jaeyul and the team turned away, ignoring Na Dongchan’s order.

“What do you think you’re doing—!

Team Leader Seon!

Seon Jaeyul, stop!

This is insubordination, do you hear me?!”

Na Dongchan’s furious screams couldn’t stop Jaeyul.

“Have they all lost their minds?!”

Na Dongchan spat out his rage, his face red with fury.

But I understood why Jaeyul was doing this.

He’d told me before.

‘I’ll protect the world you live in with my own hands.

Everything is for you.’

Those weren’t his exact words, but the meaning was close enough.

Instead of protecting greedy men in power,

Jaeyul chose to protect the world I live in.

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