The Earth was ruined.
No, to be precise, it was more like it barely stopped right on the brink of complete destruction.
It all started one day when a massive gate of unknown origin appeared.
A fictional phenomenon that anyone would only ever see in movies or novels had shockingly become reality.
Monsters poured out endlessly from the very first gate.
They greedily devoured and killed humans, destroying everything in their path.
As the entire country was devastated in an instant, Earth began its march toward ruin.
Everyone thought the world was completely finished.
That is, until awakened superhumans appeared.
People who suddenly possessed superhuman powers that ordinary citizens could never have began to clear out the monsters.
Just as there is light where there is darkness, a single ray of hope had emerged.
People called these individuals ‘Espers.’
With that, the Earth transformed into a world where monsters and Espers coexisted.
Gates kept appearing and throwing up monsters, but it was fine.
Espers were being born at just as steady a rate to match them.
Yes, everyone definitely thought it was going to be fine, but a problem arose.
And it was a deeply fatal problem.
The more the Espers used their powers, the more they suffered from severe side effects.
The side effects appeared in countless ways.
Headaches, chest pains so intense it felt like their hearts would burst, or vomiting blood.
And the ultimate end of those side effects was none other than a rampage.
Those who could no longer contain the superhuman energy in their bodies exploded in all directions like a bomb and died.
It was just like a massive missile detonating and wiping out everything around it.
Every Esper had a different level of power.
An insurmountable rank existed between them.
The ranks were marked by letters of the alphabet, and the higher the rank, the more terrifyingly dangerous they were during a rampage.
It wouldn’t just end with a single city being destroyed; the power was enough to wipe out an entire nation.
This was a known fact because a few countries had already vanished from the face of the Earth.
The Espers, who were once thought to be the saviors of the world, became literal walking time bombs.
They became extremely dangerous entities that everyone avoided.
Espers were absolutely necessary to eliminate the monsters.
However, once they outlived their usefulness, they were ruthlessly disposed of or imprisoned in distant locations to keep them under control.
Under the government’s control, Espers began to be worked like slaves.
But the backlash was equally fierce.
Following such extreme control, anti-government forces began to emerge.
Unregistered superhumans who did not belong to the government formed their own groups and grew their power.
The war between the government and the anti-government forces had begun.
The world maintained a precarious balance in a state of chaos, split between the monsters, the government, and the anti-government forces.
It was a cliff-edge situation where no one knew when destruction would strike.
In the midst of all this, there was one person who had awakened mental abilities.
Yoon Seoho, a high-ranking Esper who belonged to the S-rank—the absolute apex predators.
Yoon Seoho was an unregistered Esper who was not officially listed with the government.
Even before the gates broke open, he was a rich kid from a wealthy family who spent his days doing nothing but playing and eating.
He had so much money that he could spend it lavishly for the rest of his life and never run out.
He had an older brother above him, but since his brother was already set as the family successor, Yoon Seoho lived a free life under his parents’ neglect.
Eventually, getting tired of it all and unable to bear the boredom, Yoon Seoho was wandering around outside when he got caught up in the very first gate incident.
And he was right next to the gate when it happened.
Perhaps because of that, Yoon Seoho ended up awakening as an S-rank Esper.
He gained a mental ability that allowed him to control the human brain.
Generally, mental abilities were more heavily controlled by the government than any other power.
Because they could control people at will, the government classified Espers with mental abilities as high-risk management Espers.
For that reason, if mental Espers were officially registered with the government, they had to live their lives being watched as constantly as they breathed.
The risk was simply too high.
Ordinary awakened individuals couldn’t escape the government’s eyes, but it was different for the children of high-ranking figures.
They used their family’s power to hide their awakening and avoided government surveillance by remaining unregistered Espers.
Yoon Seoho was one of those children.
He used his family background to hide his power and maintained his leisurely, jobless lifestyle just like before.
However, if there was one thing that changed, it was…
“Leader! Please take this life of mine and live forever!”
“You are the only one who can save us in this chaotic world!”
“Praise the Leader!”
He was using his brainwashing ability to create a certain group and act as their leader. Like the leader of a cult.
His power ranked at the very top even among mental Espers.
It wasn’t just because his rank was high; Yoon Seoho’s actual talent itself was vastly superior.
Yoon Seoho’s brain, which had been abnormally brilliant from the start, shone even brighter when he wielded his superhuman power.
He controlled people by causing a far more detailed and powerful brainwashing than anyone else.
It wasn’t a simple hypnosis; he placed dozens of restraints on his targets so they couldn’t easily break free from his spell.
It was as persistent and thick as a swamp that one could never escape from on their own.
The name of the religious organization Yoon Seoho established was ‘Exalted,’ which meant the world where souls go after death.
In other words, it was a name filled with the grand ambition of becoming a savior even in the afterlife.
He sat on the high seat of the cult, looking down with bored eyes at the people who were kneeling and face-down on the floor, chanting prayers toward him.
In fact, to Yoon Seoho, all of this was nothing more than a way to kill time and a playful game with fire.
The religion he founded and the name he gave it were nothing but a mere game.
Even the religion he made because he couldn’t stand the boredom was something he was now tired of.
Perhaps because he was born with too good of a brain, Yoon Seoho got bored of everything easily.
Money, or whatever else it was.
His parents knew about his flaw, but they stood by and watched.
It was because they judged that it wouldn’t really cause any problems.
It also meant they didn’t care as long as he kept it within a reasonable limit and didn’t cause a massive accident.
‘Ah, I’m so fucking bored. Should I start clearing all of these guys out now? Should I completely ruin their brains this time too?’
