* * *
As the boulders repeatedly struck the ground, it felt like the earth itself was trembling.
The monsters, which had stubbornly stayed close to the sinkhole, now charged at Seo Munhyuk with full force.
“Se…omuh… Esper… ap…prov…”
The poor connection made it impossible to understand anything through the earpiece.
Seo Munhyuk raised both arms and summoned another boulder.
Though his movements were graceful like a conductor’s, his attacks were merciless, crushing the monsters.
“Se… om…fire fl… are…”
Pop, pop!
The surroundings brightened once again as another monster lunged at Seo Munhyuk.
In the midst of dealing with the nearby creatures, one of the monster’s claws grazed his face.
At the same time, the band on Seo Munhyuk’s left wrist vibrated.
[Rampage Level Check Required]
“Damn it… Annoying.”
Muttering to himself, Seo Munhyuk lifted the monster that had attacked him with one arm.
After briefly contemplating how to deal with it, he threw it to the ground.
He could have torn out its guts, but smashing it with a boulder was quicker and more efficient.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The remaining monsters, realizing they were losing, started retreating into the sinkhole one by one.
“Damn it…”
As the mist cleared, the sinkhole began to shrink.
Seo Munhyuk let out a long sigh from deep within his chest.
Not a single esper had shown up so far, which was surprising given how dire the situation had become.
He’d used his abilities non-stop.
Even without checking the band, he could tell his rampage level had spiked. His fingertips had gone numb.
Selecting some sharp, slender rocks, he hurled them at the few remaining monsters, aiming for their vital spots.
The sound of the rocks flying through the air was like arrows slicing through the wind.
Screeech—!
The monsters, pierced through their heads and hearts, let out a hissing scream.
As soon as Seo Munhyuk used his abilities, his band vibrated again, this time with a yellow triangle flashing on the screen.
[Rampage Level Critical!]
“Not that way, over here.”
Seo Munhyuk lifted a monster trying to leap into the sinkhole and shook it violently left and right.
[Rampage Level Critical!]
Screeech—! Screeech—!
The monsters’ screams pounded against Seo Munhyuk’s ears, and the vibrations from the band on his left wrist grew more intense.
[Rampage Level Critical!]
Frowning, Seo Munhyuk tapped the band’s screen irritably.
None of his senses were free from torment.
When he summoned his abilities once more, the band on his left wrist began blaring alarms.
[Rampage Level Extreme!]
“Ugh, enough already… Let’s wrap this up.”
He didn’t need such an obnoxious warning to know what was happening.
His body, numb and exhausted, was screaming at him.
Please.
Please, guide me.
After dealing with the last fleeing monster and double-checking the ones lying nearby, Seo Munhyuk moved forward.
As the clouds parted, revealing the brightening sky, everyone rushed towards him, shocked at the sight of Seo Munhyuk covered in dark red blood.
“Esper Seo Munhyuk, are you alright?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
Despite the security personnel’s wide-eyed fuss, Seo Munhyuk, fresh from battle, remained composed.
“Are you injured? Should we call an ambulance?”
“I’m fine.”
Seo Munhyuk rotated his neck and wrists in a stretch before shaking his head.
Though his senses were dulled and he couldn’t be sure, he wasn’t seriously injured enough to need immediate treatment.
He felt sticky from the sweat.
With the cool air gone, he sensed the heat when Haegum approached him.
“You have blood on your face…”
“Don’t come near.”
When Haegum reached out to touch his face, Seo Munhyuk quickly turned his head away, distancing himself. Haegum sighed in surprise.
“Does it hurt?”
“No, it’s just monster blood. If it gets on you, it won’t come off.”
Seo Munhyuk shrugged as he spoke lightly, but Haegum’s worried expression remained. Just as he was about to say something, a paramedic approached abruptly.
“Esper Seo Munhyuk, are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve requested a guide, but there’s a shortage, so no approval has been given.”
A security officer standing next to the paramedic spoke awkwardly.
With not a single esper showing up, they hadn’t expected a guide, who were even rarer than espers, to come.
“That’s fine. Just prepare a change of clothes for me.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Esper Seo Munhyuk.”
Listening to the conversation, Haegum called out to Seo Munhyuk.
“Yes.”
Seo Munhyuk, who had just emptied a water bottle in one gulp, nodded in response.
Haegum, pulling his hat down low to avoid being recognized, tapped his left cheek with his hand and said, “There’s a cut on your face. It’s not monster blood.”
Seo Munhyuk touched his cheek with his left hand, wiping away the black monster blood to reveal a streak of red underneath.
“Oh, I guess I got scratched.”
He brushed the wound lightly with the back of his hand, and the band on his wrist began to flash a red exclamation mark in warning.
As a guide, Haegum quickly understood the signal.
“Hey.”
Haegum grabbed the cuff of Seo Munhyuk’s sleeve.
“Hm?”
“I’ll treat it.”
“What treatment? It’s fine.”
Seo Munhyuk shook his head, annoyed, but Haegum, now more determined, raised his voice.
“You have a cut on your face. You need to apply some ointment.”
One of the nearby security personnel overheard and pointed to an ambulance. “Ah, we have basic first-aid supplies in that vehicle. Would you like to go there?”
“I’m really—”
“Yes.”
It was just a small scratch from a monster’s claw, but before Seo Munhyuk could refuse, Haegum answered first.
After all, to someone who had never seen something like this before, it might seem shocking.
But for Seo Munhyuk, such wounds were part of everyday life. He actually found the idea of applying ointment and walking around with a dangling bandage more bothersome.
Seo Munhyuk was about to politely decline.
“It’s fine. A small wound like this will heal in a few—”
“I’ll guide you.”
Seo Munhyuk was left speechless by Haegum’s unexpected offer. As he stared at his intently, his brows furrowed.
“I won’t do the mucous membrane guidance. Just physical contact,” he whispered softly.
“…I know I should turn it down to look cool, but it’s tempting.”
His mouth felt dry. He licked his lips before speaking.
“How is refusing guidance during a rampage risk cool? That’s just stupid.”
Seo Munhyuk nodded in agreement with Haegum’s blunt words.
As he said, rejecting an offer in this situation would be foolish.
Inside the van they were led to, there was a simple first-aid kit and a cot.
At Haegum’s insistence, Seo Munhyuk laid down on the cot.
Although he had hastily wiped his face and body, he still looked like a soldier fresh from battle. Haegum gazed at him quietly.
“Why are you staring?”
Seo Munhyuk squinted with one eye open.
“Because you look identical.”
“Well, we are twins.”
“It’s… fascinating.”
Haegum murmured. He wasn’t just amazed by how similar Seo Munhyuk and Seo Munhyun looked, but also by the fact that such close family ties even existed.
They didn’t seem like affectionate brothers, but they were clearly close.
For Haegum, who had no memory of family and had only learned about the concept of ‘family’ in theory, the sight was strange.
“Let’s start the guiding.”
“Yeah—.”
Seo Munhyuk waved one hand lazily in response.
It was playful, but he seemed more drained than usual.
“Current time, 3:48 PM. Beginning stage-one physical contact guidance.”
“…”
“Injury level, minor. No auditory or visual hallucinations. Rampage level 256. Status… very dangerous.”
Haegum frowned as he read Seo Munhyuk’s bio-data.
For a typical esper, this level was a serious risk for a rampage.
Yet Seo Munhyuk only seemed a bit tired, showing no signs of an impending rampage.
“I’ll begin.”
After checking the time again, Haegum took Seo Munhyuk’s hand and slowly started guiding.
The guiding energy flowed through their touch. Seo Munhyuk let out a deep breath.
“Haaa…”
If guiding had a color, Seo Munhyuk thought it would be blue.
The heat that had begun in his solar plexus, threatening to engulf his heart in flames, slowly subsided.
Just this basic physical contact guiding that even kids could do…
“Sh*t…”
Seo Munhyuk muttered a low curse.
The rampage level was so high that it must have been painful.
Haegum noticed but refrained from scolding him, even though he usually would have corrected such behavior by quoting guiding regulations.
Seo Munhyuk’s breathing gradually became steadier as he absorbed the life-giving energy from Haegum’s guiding.
“1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2.”
Seo Munhyuk suddenly spoke as he caught his breath.
Confused by the string of numbers, Haegum asked, “What’s that?”
“The targets for the shooting test will appear in this order. The first target is always followed by the last one. The last target will rise again, followed by the second one.”
“Huh?”
“No one’s requested to change the programming so far.”
Seo Munhyuk’s cryptic words were the ‘shooting test trick’ he had promised to teach him. He had thought it was just a joke, but apparently, he really knew a trick.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“My final words.”
“…But you’re fine.”
Though his tone was playful, the mention of final words made Haegum’s breath catch in his throat. Despite being born with powers, it was his first time experiencing injuries and death so closely.
“I’m only breathing thanks to your guiding.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Seo Munhyuk’s rampage level dropped from “Very Dangerous” to “Dangerous.”
* * *
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no way