Chapter 20 : Rampage (7)

CRASH!

The man barely defended himself with his arm from a lamppost flying from the sky and rolled on the grass. ‘I think it’s cracked…’ The man grabbed his arm, which was crying out in unusual pain.

“You’re flying around since you got a Guide.”

The man frowned at Hyunwoo floating in the sky. Hyunwoo, who was already strong, had become even stronger since he got an exclusive Guide. The man couldn’t defeat Hyunwoo, but he could buy time while fighting him. But not now. Even the metal he controlled was now in Hyunwoo’s grasp. It was taken away. He had been pushed back in the power struggle of abilities.

“This is why I was worried…”

It wasn’t that Hyunwoo had suddenly become strong. This was his original skill. But without a Guide, the more he used his abilities, the more his body strained, so he couldn’t exert his full power over time. The end for an Esper without a Guide was self-destruction due to rampage. It was only a matter of time.

But Hyunwoo got a Guide. It was the worst possible outcome for the man. The already annoying enemy had become so strong that he couldn’t even touch him.

“Tsk.”

The man clicked his tongue loudly. At this rate, there was only one person who could stop that S-Rank Esper.

“I don’t want to burden someone who already has a lot to worry about.”

“What are you muttering to yourself?”

“It’s just a monologue, as you can see.”

The man instantly threw a dagger strapped to his leg at Hyunwoo’s face. The dagger, flying at high speed, stopped right in front of Hyunwoo’s nose. Hyunwoo, who had glanced at the dagger, grabbed it and said.

“This seems to be the last one.”

“Ha… you’re a real monster.”

The man frowned and raised one corner of his mouth.

“How did you notice the specially made bomb? Our technical team put so much sweat and money into making it to kill you.”

“You made it wrong. I could hear it so well it hurt my ears.”

The bomb the man had hidden certainly made only a faint sound that even S-Rank Espers like Hyunwoo and Yuaan could have easily missed. If he hadn’t been on high alert because of Jisung, it would have been really dangerous.

‘Hyung saved me again.’

Jisung always saved him. Even if it wasn’t an intentional act, he was saved. In Jisung’s single word, a single gesture, he felt life. In a life that had been nothing but emptiness, Jisung was the only reason he lived.

When Jisung smiled at him, his heart warmed. He wanted to protect that smile. To do so, he had to eliminate all dangers.

Hyunwoo raised his hand. A dagger floated above his hand. The dagger, which was spinning like a compass needle, stopped with its tip aimed at the man.

“Die.”

The dagger flew towards the man. A barrage of attacks rained down from the sky on the man who was hastily rolling to dodge.

BOOM! KABOOM! CRASH!

Amidst the countless attacks, the man’s leg was eventually crushed by a solid piece of a building. The man let out a pained groan. The dagger, not missing the opportunity, attacked the man’s heart.

“Gah!”

Droplets of blood fell onto the grass one by one. The man’s hand trembled. His hand, which had barely blocked the attack on his heart, was covered in blood. But the dagger did not stop and slipped out of his hand, trying to attack his heart.

“But, isn’t it strange?”

“If you’re trying to buy time, it won’t work.”

The man smiled, raising the corner of his mouth at Hyunwoo’s words.

“That bomb the Center planted. No matter how you look at it, would the Center have tried to kill all of you Espers?”

“What?”

“If the Espers disappear, it will be our world in the end. They wouldn’t get rid of their means of self-defense.”

“…”

Hyunwoo’s brow furrowed. The speed of the dagger aimed at the man’s heart also slowed down.

“That means that bomb was a decoy. For a diversionary tactic.”

Hyunwoo’s hand twitched. A diversionary tactic. If it was something the Center wanted to do while deceiving the Espers’ eyes… Hyunwoo’s eyes widened. At that, the man’s smile deepened.

“I would have preferred it if you had died, but it seems the Center thought otherwise? To aim for the Guide instead of the Esper.”

‘If there is no Guide, the Esper will self-destruct anyway.’ The man muttered with a low laugh. Hyunwoo’s head turned quickly. At the same time, a voice like a scream was heard.

“Jisung-hyung!”

Sunwoo was hugging Jisung in his arms. A sharp knife was stuck in Jisung’s side. Hyunwoo’s pupils trembled at the red blood staining the green grass. Hyunwoo, who flew in front of Jisung in an instant, checked his condition.

“Hy-hyung.”

“Cough!”

A gush of blood poured out of Jisung’s mouth.

“Uh…?”

Hyunwoo’s head turned slowly. Blood trickled down Jisung’s chin. He raised his hand and wiped the blood from Jisung’s mouth. Then blood stained his hand. His hand, seeing the bright red blood, trembled.

“Hyung, Jisung-hyung…”

“Hyunwoo, hey…”

At Hyunwoo’s voice, Jisung’s eyes opened with difficulty. At the sight of Jisung looking at him, he grabbed the handle of the knife with a trembling hand. ‘I have to remove the knife first…’ He tried to pull out the knife that was causing Jisung so much pain.

“Don’t, Hyung!”

Sunwoo stopped him.

“If you pull out the knife, it could be dangerous due to bleeding.”

Hyunwoo quickly took his hand off the handle. He could hear Jisung’s difficult breathing. His heartbeat was also getting weaker.

“No, no. Why, this…”

“…I was treating the other Espers…”

Sunwoo raised his head. Hyunwoo turned his head in the direction of his gaze and found a Guide smiling brightly at him. Yuaan stood with a dark expression, blocking the Guide from escaping. The Guide’s hands were stained with Jisung’s blood.

“…I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”

Sunwoo clenched his fists tightly. A white hand overlapped his trembling one. Sunwoo, startled, saw Jisung slowly open his mouth.

“It’s, okay.”

“Hyung, don’t talk! The ambulance, the ambulance is on its way, so… just hold on a little longer.”

“Okay.”

Jisung replied with a faint smile on his lips. It hurt. It hurt a hundred times more than he had imagined while watching dramas. He wanted to cry from the pain he had never felt before in his life. But there was something more important than that right now.

Jisung raised his hand with difficulty. Then Hyunwoo grabbed his hand with both of his. Jisung squeezed his hand at the sight of the again-battered Hyunwoo.

“I’m sorry. I want to guide you, but…”

He couldn’t muster any strength in his body. His eyelids were heavy. He tried to hold onto his fading consciousness and squeezed the clasped hands.

Hyunwoo’s face contorted as if he was about to burst into tears. Even when they first met, Hyunwoo had a face like he was about to cry. That image continued to bother him. ‘Hyung…’ At the watery voice, Jisung wanted to comfort him. But his lips, which were losing strength against his will, couldn’t produce any sound.

‘It’s okay. I’m a person with a strong will to live, you know. So, don’t cry.’

The words he wanted to convey never left his mouth, and Jisung lost consciousness. Hyunwoo’s pupils trembled at his helplessly lolling head. ‘Hyung?’ His voice, calling him in a panic, trembled anxiously.

“Jisung-hyung!”

Sunwoo quickly grabbed Hyunwoo at the approaching sound of sirens.

“Hyung, the ambulance is here! So… Hyung?”

Sunwoo, who had checked Hyunwoo’s face, let go of his hand. Hyunwoo’s black eyes were dyed with a red light. At the sight of them becoming clearer with a blood-red color, Sunwoo bit his lip hard.

“This is…”

He quickly looked back at Yuaan. Yuaan, who had read Sunwoo’s expression, came to his side in one step. Yuaan, holding both Sunwoo and Jisung, who was in his arms, in one go, then moved away from Hyunwoo as far as possible.

Hyunwoo checked the blood on his hand. His hand trembled. He had sworn to protect him, but he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t protect his precious person. His blood-stained hand covered his face.

“Ah, AAAAAAAAAAAH!”

A cry of despair burst from Hyunwoo’s mouth. The regret of not being able to protect what was precious finally broke his mind. The ground cracked, and objects around him flew in all directions and fell repeatedly.

It was an Esper’s rampage.

“Damn it.”

Sunwoo let out a groan. He looked at the unconscious Jisung. He could see the ambulance that was heading towards them had stopped. The paramedics, flustered by the situation in front of them, were trying to turn the car around.

“Hyung, please take care of Jisung-hyung.”

“What, what are you trying to do…?”

“We can’t just let him rampage like that.”

Yuaan shook his head and stopped him at Sunwoo’s words.

“No. It’s too dangerous! You can’t stop Hyunwoo’s rampage even if you go.”

“Still, I have to try. I’m the only one here who has a chance, right?”

He couldn’t just let Hyunwoo die like that.