Chapter 32: Lingering Venom and Vanished Truths

Chapter 32

The detailed examination concluded within half a day, yet the diagnosis indicated a need for several more days of inpatient treatment. Consequently, I found myself spending my time in a private hospital room provided by the SAA.

“Hmm… hmph…” After clearing my throat with a few light coughs, I found my voice still wouldn’t come out properly. According to the medical staff, it was a lingering after-effect of ingesting a small amount of Ophedian’s venom.

Though I was slowly improving with the treatment from a healing Esper, it seemed a complete recovery would require more time. Unable to make calls at the moment, my only option was to communicate via messenger.

‘Would it be here?’ The hospital room’s drawer contained essential toiletries and spare disposable underwear, as if Han Seon-ho had organized them in advance. To check on the situation following the incident, I retrieved the dedicated tablet provided by the SAA from among my belongings.

As I operated it with practiced motions, the article I was looking for immediately appeared at the bottom of the screen.

[SAA NEWS] A-Class Demonic Beast Appears at Shooting Range, Three Participating Students in Critical Condition

Around 2 PM on the 2nd, an A-Class demonic beast, an Ophedian, appeared at the shooting range located at SAA’s South Gate. Following the campus-wide alarm, the location of the gate where the demonic beast emerged is currently under review.

While major damage was averted thanks to the initial discoverer, ‘Y,’ an explosion caused by an ability accident resulted in the practice range being half-destroyed. Due to this incident, three students, including ‘Y,’ are in critical condition and have been transferred to the central medical center.

SAA Reporter. Joo Yeo-rye. zooyr@saa.net

Upon reviewing the related article, I found nothing particularly unusual. However, the most crucial information regarding Esper Jung Eui-chan was conspicuously absent. This included the fact that he had manipulated both the Ophedian and Park Hyeon-seo with his psychic abilities.

‘Even so… this might be worth a look.’ I had wondered who would bother with campus news that only covered ability user issues or SAA matters. However, given the sheer magnitude of the incident, it seemed to have garnered significant attention among the students. Even with such superficial information, the campus bulletin board was abuzz with activity.

Upon entering the SAA High School-exclusive bulletin board, I saw that the article had been pulled, sparking various heated debates.

《SAA High School》 Free Bulletin Board

Title: [Anonymous] This Demonic Beast Incident

They’re saying the demonic beast in the campus news is an A-Class Ophedian?

That’s a medium-to-large-sized beast; how did it escape the gate?

Comments (17)

– Seriously… weren’t only small ones supposed to be able to?

– If ‘Y’ hadn’t dealt with the beast, wouldn’t it have been a massacre ending?

– Who’s that?

– You’re asking this? Are you from the Guide class?

– I’m asking because I don’t know;;; What does being from the Guide class have to do with it?

– If it’s an Esper who can hunt an A-Class beast alone, who else could it be, tsk tsk.

– They say it appeared during a practice session for Esper Class 1 and Guide Class 3.

– I was in that class. But I didn’t see the demonic beast.

– ?????

– What’s that supposed to mean?

– I don’t know, we were in a death game, and suddenly the practice range exploded.

– Yeah, right, next delusional person.

– Want me to show my student ID?

– So where did the gate open?

– Probably inside the practice range.

– Who dealt with it?

– Do you really think asking here will tell you?

It was half debate about the demonic beast incident, half pointless bickering. While it was amusing to watch, it didn’t offer any particularly useful information, so I moved on to the next post.

Title: [Anonymous] (Verification) Showing My Student ID

(Image attached)

I’ve covered my face and verified my class.

As you can see, I was involved in this campus demonic beast incident.

It was a cross-class, and the practice session was a bit unusual compared to before. The class time and the instructor changed without a word.

They called it a ‘death game,’ where Espers had to protect their team’s Guides, but since it was a shooting class, they said we had to fight with guns only and couldn’t use abilities.

It was absurd because it was a rule that didn’t matter to physical enhancement-type Espers anyway… but whatever.

Perhaps because it was plastered with expensive-looking artifacts, the class was interesting. But, after about 30 minutes, the practice range started shaking terrifyingly.

Everyone was like, ‘Huh? Huh?’ dodging falling rocks and screaming, and then suddenly the practice range exploded. That was it.

I don’t know where the demonic beast came from, but I saw the fallen corpse after the explosion. It was incredibly huge and grotesque.

It’s truly amazing how ‘Y’ managed to catch such a hideous thing alone.

Comments (13)

– It was a cross-class, right? Weren’t there two teachers?

– Yep.

– Where did everyone go, and ‘Y’ caught the beast alone???

– The teachers were nowhere to be seen after the second period practice started.

– WTF, shouldn’t that be reported for attendance issues?

– I don’t know, but all the related articles that went up yesterday were taken down.

– SAA manages that kind of thing too?

– The article says three are in critical condition. Isn’t that a serious incident?

– Right, two Guide class students and ‘Y’ still haven’t returned to class.

– Sorry to break the flow, but… who is ‘Y’?

– This kid is doing it again here. Read the room, my friend~

– F***, since when did the free board stop taking questions?

– Good hit, man, lol.

Though the post hadn’t been up for long, comments were pouring in. As if to prove the high interest in the demonic beast incident, replies were swiftly following one after another.

‘The article about Esper Jung Eui-chan was deleted?’ This post, at least, offered some salvageable information. I had already been curious about who blocked the article and for what purpose, as well as what content it contained that led to its deletion.

As I pondered whether there was any more information to glean, the author’s name suddenly caught my eye.

‘Joo Yeo-rye.’ It was the name consistently found at the bottom of campus articles. Just in case, I separately captured the name and email address. As I continued to browse the bulletin board for a while longer, a message arrived from Han Seon-ho.

Han Seon-ho: [Sogum, are you feeling a bit better?]

He had only just left after seeing my face today, yet his immediate concern was so typical of Han Seon-ho. Just as I was thinking it was fortunate, as I had something to ask, two more messages popped up in quick succession while I was typing my reply.

Kang Yun: [Sogum Sogum]

Kang Yun: [(Dancing emoticon)]

Kang Yun: [Hey hey hey, Sogum, your big brothers are here!]

Kang Yun? A belated glance at the chatroom name revealed I had been invited to a group chat that included Kang Yun. With this group, Park Hyeon-seo might also have been present, but it seemed he was excluded due to receiving isolated treatment.

I: [I’m better than before. Did you guys get back okay?]

Han Seon-ho: [We just got to the dorms… Can you talk?]

I: [My voice still isn’t working.]

Kang Yun: [Why??]

I: [They said my vocal cords were damaged by the venom. It’ll probably take some time to recover….]

Kang Yun: [Crazy?? It *is* going to get better, right?]

I: [Probably?]

Since I was receiving separate treatment from the emergency medical staff, I expected to gradually improve. However, my vague reply only elicited a look of dismay from both Kang Yun and Han Seon-ho.

Kang Yun: [(Horrified emoticon)]

Kang Yun: [Excuse me. Why are you talking about your own vocal cords like they’re someone else’s…?]

Han Seon-ho: [Sogum, prioritize your health above all else. I know the situation was unavoidable this time, but how can you always… (View All)]

While Kang Yun, with his incessant use of emoticons, was one thing, Han Seon-ho in full ‘guardian mode’ was truly difficult to handle. Especially if he was typing messages that exceeded the default character limit in the interim…. I deliberately blurred my vision, ignoring the ‘[View All]’ prompt, and changed the subject.

I: [Sorry… I won’t make you worry again. But, can I ask you something?]

Kang Yun: [What is it, what is it? Tell us, Sogum!]

I: [(Photo)]

I: [This person is an SAA reporter, do any of you know them?]

I cropped the bottom section of the article written by reporter Joo Yeo-rye and uploaded it to the chatroom. A reply came instantly.

Han Seon-ho: [Joo Yeo-rye? They’re an Esper in our grade, aren’t they? Class 2, I think….]

I: [A reporter, you said? They were an Esper?]

Han Seon-ho: [They’re probably a special-type. I heard they have a unique personality…. But why are you asking about them?]

I: [No, it’s because of this.]

I: [(Photo) (Photo)]

After sending the photos I had gathered while browsing the bulletin board, I added that I wanted to know about the deleted articles.

Han Seon-ho: [It certainly is strange.]

Kang Yun: [Sogum, I’ll go find them!]

Having confirmed the photos, Han Seon-ho and Kang Yun replied that they would meet Joo Yeo-rye in person. Following some idle chatter, they eventually declared it was time to sleep and put down their phones.

‘Since they’re in the same school, I should hear back soon.’ It felt as though a stifling frustration had been alleviated. With trustworthy friends stepping up, I had no worries.

However, my expectation that things would unfold smoothly proved incorrect. It was several days later when I checked the notifications from the group chat.

Kang Yun: [Sogum, are you asleep?]

Kang Yun: [(Photo)]

Kang Yun: [I found the deleted article.]

Han Seon-ho: [Sogum, something’s definitely wrong.]

Kang Yun: [Hey, that Esper you asked us to find? They haven’t shown up to school since the day after the incident.]

Han Seon-ho: […Joo Yeo-rye seems to have disappeared.]

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