Chapter 22 : Rampage (9)

The me who had been waiting for the day I would die was now hoping for tomorrow. I was looking forward to my first vacation. Just imagining the four of us going out to play was fun and happy. So I wished. This time, I wanted to go to the sea we couldn’t go to that day, with everyone. With Jisung-hyung, Yuaan-hyung, and Sunwoo.

But that was a wish that would not come true.

Because of me…

Jisung-hyung is getting stained with more and more blood. I couldn’t protect the person who gave me a reason to live. The smell of Jisung-hyung’s blood filled my nostrils. His warm hands were losing their warmth. His limply hanging head awakened a forgotten fear.

Because I wished for him to be my Guide.

Because of me, he came to know the fear and pain he wouldn’t have had to experience.

Because of me. Because I wished. Because I wanted him. Me, me, me, because of me…!

“Aaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The waves of his ability raged as if to swallow the surroundings.

“Ugh!”

A sharp piece of stone scratched the back of Sunwoo’s hand. He frowned, clutching his bleeding hand.

‘I can’t even get close.’

Hyunwoo was rejecting everything. All he had now was the instinct to destroy. He couldn’t even recognize Sunwoo, a member of his own team.

“Hyung, Hyunwoo-hyung! Calm down. If this goes on…”

Sunwoo bit his lip.

“…You’ll die.”

He would either die from rampaging until his ability was exhausted, or die from being subdued by force. There were only two options. Why should an Esper be sacrificed for the country, for people they don’t even know? Just because they have an ability, should they be suppressed of their freedom, treated like a monster, and used as a tool to be discarded at will? Sunwoo couldn’t accept that.

It was wrong. This country had been wrong from the very beginning. Espers were not tools. They were not beings who had to be sacrificed for the country. They were people with emotions, just like us, who should feel joy and happiness.

“Jisung-hyung…”

Sunwoo thought of Jisung. He had known that the Center would definitely pose a threat to Jisung, but he had let his guard down. He never thought they would commit the atrocity of trying to kill a Guide during a mission.

‘Did they think they could do as they pleased again if Jisung-hyung was gone? How could they…! Why don’t they know that Hyunwoo-hyung can’t live without Jisung-hyung either?’

Sunwoo clenched his fists tightly. His nails dug into his flesh, creating a wound. This was his mistake. So he would take responsibility and stop Hyunwoo.

He took one difficult step, then another. A whirlpool formed around Hyunwoo. Huge objects rotated at a terrifying speed within the wind. The thought that getting hit by that even once would mean instant death made Sunwoo’s heart pound loudly.

“Ugh…”

As he got closer, the wind cut his flesh. He tried to ignore the throbbing pain.

“Hyung, please come to your senses. Hyung…!”

Sunwoo reached out his hand towards Hyunwoo. At that moment, Yuaan wrapped his arm around his waist and quickly pulled him back. Yuaan caught up with the rushing ambulance. As he carefully opened the door, a paramedic looked at them with a surprised face.

“Hyung?! No, Hyunwoo-hyung!”

At that moment, a fighter jet flying with a loud noise came into Sunwoo’s sight. ‘Huh?’ His eyes widened. ‘No way…’ As Sunwoo looked back at Yuaan in a fluster, Yuaan contorted his face and muttered as if chewing his words.

“The government has decided to kill Hyunwoo.”

Sunwoo’s face contorted at Yuaan’s words.

“No, Hyung. We have to stop them.”

Yuaan frowned as if in pain. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut and opened them.

“The only one who can calm a rampaging S-Rank Esper is his Guide…”

“…”

“It might have been possible before, but the current Hyunwoo can’t be stopped by force.”

Yuaan looked at the fighter jets flying in the sky. Several fighter jets were constantly pouring missiles from all directions. But the missiles were powerless in front of the wall of wind. Hollow red eyes stared at the fighter jets. The missiles they had fired turned and returned to the fighter jets.

BOOM! KABOOM! BOOM!

In an instant, all the fighter jets were shattered and scattered.

No weapon could subdue Hyunwoo. At this rate, they had no choice but to abandon this region or ask for help from an S-Rank Esper. There were only two S-Rank Espers in the Korean Center, Hyunwoo and Yuaan. Besides, Hyunwoo was the only one with combat abilities, and Yuaan was in charge of information. So the only means the government could use was to request a mercenary from a foreign country.

An S-Rank Esper who could kill Hyunwoo…

But in this case, there were many problems such as negotiations between countries, so it took a long time. It was faster for this area to be blown away by Hyunwoo’s rampage before the negotiations were concluded.

“What should we do…”
“What do you mean, we have to run away.”

At the sudden interruption, Sunwoo’s head turned. In the direction where the voice came from, the man who had been fighting with Hyunwoo was sitting in a chair. Yuaan’s sword, which had already sensed his presence, was aimed at the man’s neck. The man’s left leg was crushed and bleeding.

“You didn’t come here to be killed.”
“It looked like I would die if I stayed there. So I ran away to this safe-looking place.”

Sunwoo’s eyes narrowed at the man’s words. The man shrugged and smiled at his cold gaze.

“Let’s have a truce. If we fight here now, we’ll just die, right?”
“So, you want us to take you with us and run away?”
“Honestly, if Park Hyunwoo dies, it couldn’t be better for us.”

The man’s gaze turned to Jisung. He was breathing with difficulty with an oxygen mask on. It was quite a distance from here to the hospital. There was a risk that he might die from excessive bleeding on the way.

“If we can just kill Park Hyunwoo, I don’t mind dying together, but…”

The man reached out his hand towards Jisung. At that, Yuaan put more force into the sword aimed at his neck. A red droplet of blood formed on the skin where the tip of the sword touched.

“Personally, I’d like Lee Jisung to live.”
“…Why do you guys care about Jisung-hyung?”

The man smiled and said at Sunwoo’s question.

“It’s a personal liking.”

Sunwoo’s brow furrowed. The man chuckled at his expression.

“Well, don’t be so guarded. And this.”

The man took something out of his pocket and threw it to Sunwoo. Sunwoo, who had caught it reflexively, checked the object in his hand. A small transparent glass bottle contained a purple liquid. As Sunwoo looked at him with an expression asking for an answer, the man smiled, his lips curving into a crescent.

“It’s a medicine. And a very effective one at that. It’s a potion that promotes metabolism, strengthens cells, and maximizes wound healing. It’s the pride of our development team.”

Sunwoo’s expression contorted. It was a face that said, ‘Don’t lie to me.’ At that, the man shrugged and shook his head.

“Just because you guys couldn’t develop it, don’t treat it like a fraud, will you?”
“What makes you think I’ll use this on Jisung-hyung?”
“I’m giving you something I’ve been saving, so just trust me and use it, will you?”
“Isn’t it strange in the first place for trust to exist between us?”
“Well, that’s true too. But are you sure it’s okay? Your Jisung-hyung is dying at this very moment?”
“…”

Sunwoo squeezed the bottle in his hand. He looked back and forth between Jisung and Hyunwoo. If this was a real medicine, it was the last hope in this situation.

“The downside is that it hurts a lot.”
“Pardon?”
“It forcibly promotes cell growth. It would be strange if it didn’t hurt. So the flaw is that you can’t use it during a fight. Of course, it also costs a lot of money.”
“…”
“Ah, it’s really not a fraud. If you’re not going to use it, give it back! I’ll drink it.”

Sunwoo dodged the hand reaching for the medicine bottle and stared at the purple liquid. It was no different from a gamble. He didn’t even know if the man’s words were true or not.

“His heartbeat was calm.”

Sunwoo nodded at Yuaan’s words. That man could be a liar who could calmly control even his heartbeat. But Sunwoo decided to believe the man’s words.

“If you’re lying, don’t even think about dying easily.”

The man smiled sweetly at Sunwoo’s threat.

“How do I use it?”
“Open the lid and feed it to him. Simple, right?”

Sunwoo opened the lid of the medicine bottle. He carefully removed Jisung’s oxygen mask. Hesitation remained in Sunwoo’s hand until the very end. ‘Hyung, please…’ With a desperate wish, the purple liquid flowed into Jisung’s mouth.