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The people standing by the patient’s bed exchanged quick glances. The military doctor, sensing it wasn’t his moment to intervene, stepped back. He disappeared with a few curious non-combat agents who had been peering in. Only Oh Ki-cheol remained, looking troubled and avoiding his gaze.
“You finally woke up, and the first thing you do is call a girl’s name? Honestly...”
Oh Ki-cheol, trying to sound cheerful, pulled at the crumpled bed sheet, smoothing it out neatly. It was a suspicious gesture.
“Lieutenant Colonel.”
“First, take your medicine. As you know, your body is different now. The Alpha Team leader said that soon, researchers worldwide will be desperate to get even a single strand of Cheon Geon-yeong’s hair. Good grief. Is it that amazing to be both?”
Cheon Geon-yeong silently got out of bed. Oh Ki-cheol’s face immediately hardened in anger.
“You patient, you!”
“I’ll go find her myself.”
There were no patient shoes by the bed. But Cheon Geon-yeong strode barefoot towards the tent entrance. Oh Ki-cheol tried to grab him urgently, but Cheon Geon-yeong shook his arm off effortlessly.
“This bastard suddenly has strength, Geon-yeong!”
Cheon Geon-yeong pushed aside the curtain at the tent’s entrance and stepped outside. The camp, still undergoing repairs, didn’t register in his eyes. Only the face of the girl with the white towel on her head became clearer, piercing through his disorganized memories.
The girl who affectionately called Lee Hae-kyung. Similar in height to his younger self. A pale face with delicate features. A small back that dashed like a deer with a doll strapped to it.
He knew. It was Yoon Tae-ha. He had never seen her childhood photos, but he was certain.
It was you.
There was a moment when they stayed together within a gray fence. There was a boy whose ears turned red upon seeing the girl emerge from the bushes. There was him, who asked every researcher he met if there was a girl his age carrying a doll.
The image of the young girl naturally overlaid Yoon Tae-ha’s retreating figure as she headed into the forest.
It wasn’t even the first and last encounter in the bushes. As memories resurfaced, the girl’s presence grew stronger. He had desperately wanted to meet her, yet he hadn’t recognized her right in front of him. Regret pierced his heart.
Perhaps I could meet you if I went to a school for superpowered individuals? Perhaps we could greet each other face-to-face after these strange and unusual experiments are over? The moments he had longed for...
As Cheon Geon-yeong’s memories rewinded, he finally began to run. She was not someone who would leave his side when he was injured unless it was an extraordinary circumstance. And that extraordinary circumstance was clearly deeply connected to Yoon Tae-ha’s safety.
I have to find her.
Cheon Geon-yeong, heading towards the tent where equipment was stored like a madman, soon had to stop. Baek Sang-ho and the rest of Alpha Team rushed to block his path.
The agents surrounded him, forming a thick perimeter. Baek Sang-ho, with a bruised face, stepped forward from among them and spoke first.
“It’s good to see you’re safe.”
Gloves, the kind used to kill chimeras, were on his hands. It didn’t match a casual greeting.
Meanwhile, Cheon Geon-yeong glanced down at the back of his hand, which was bleeding from the pulled needle.
“What do you mean, the patient is running away like this? Let’s go back to the infirmary. You’re barefoot right now.”
“Could you lend me a pair of shoes? Even the ones you’re wearing would be fine.”
Ahn Jeong-seop, standing next to Baek Sang-ho, sighed shallowly at the perfectly reasonable reply. It was clear to anyone that Cheon Geon-yeong’s gaze was not that of an ordinary person. There was no moment more terrifying than when a deranged Esper managed to maintain a coherent conversation.
“That’s a difficult request. These are shoes I’ve broken in.”
“Is my partner not at the camp right now?”
For a brief moment, Baek Sang-ho hesitated. But he concluded that he couldn’t lie about facts that would be revealed in a few minutes.
“No. She’s missing.”
Even hearing the word “missing,” Cheon Geon-yeong remained calm. Instead, the Espers of the Mobile Command Team surrounding him swallowed silently.
“We’re also searching with all our might. The first search party returned today, and the second search party has finished preparing. They’ll be entering the forest soon.”
Cheon Geon-yeong mostly disregarded his words and took a step forward. Instantly, red laser pointers stuck densely to his chest. Over thirty were visible from the front. Even more, if those targeting his back were included. Armed soldiers and guides aimed their guns at him, trying to control his movement.
“You there, us here. How about we maintain a little distance and talk?”
“How long has she been missing?”
“A week.”
A week. Already a week since she disappeared. She hadn’t returned for such a long time. Yoon Tae-ha, who worried and felt sorry about even being gone for two days.
His world distorted, like a candle flame flickering in a strong wind.
“Cheon Geon-yeong.”
Baek Sang-ho, who sensed intense agitation from the Esper in front of him, urgently called his name.
“I’m speaking to you now not as a member of Alpha Team, but as a fellow Esper... Your body isn’t in a normal state. You haven’t stabilized at all.”
“A week, without any communication?”
“Yes.”
As soon as he heard the answer, Cheon Geon-yeong walked forward. Red dots pierced his arms and legs densely. He didn’t care.
The encirclement slowly broke apart and retreated. The Espers’ muscles tensed like racehorses waiting for the whistle. Just then, Eom Byeong-wook, who had been observing the situation, stepped forward.
“I do not authorize you to leave the camp.”
He swept his narrowed eyes over Cheon Geon-yeong, who was still dressed in thin patient clothing.
“Leave the search to us and return to the infirmary.”
Baek Sang-ho added, “The Special Activities Department has sent a detachment. He’s the head of Mobile Command Team 1. They’ll search with all their might, so for now, just go back to the infirmary.”
However, Baek Sang-ho’s consideration was of no help. The Special Activities Department meant the same group as the woman who killed his parents. Cheon Geon-yeong noticed unfamiliar agents mixed among the familiar faces.
As he slowly met their gaze, the least experienced Esper from the Mobile Command Team abruptly used his ability. It was because he was swept away by the desire to protect himself, unable to bear the pressure given off by his opponent.
“Gasp!”
An ether shield, shaped like a full-length mirror, surrounded Cheon Geon-yeong. Baek Sang-ho shouted at the unauthorized use of an ability.
“What are you doing without authorization!”
“Drop the shield immediately. It could provoke him.”
“But! He, he tried to attack me...”
A commotion erupted around the perimeter. Soon, flames rose from the shield generated by the Mobile Command Team’s Esper. Cheon Geon-yeong disappeared behind the wall of fire he had created.
“It’s fire!”
The dense shield, made of instantly condensed ether, melted away. Eom Byeong-wook stared at the greedily surging traces of fire, then gave orders to his subordinates.
“Force him down. Just don’t kill him.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Espers’ attacks fiercely flew towards where Cheon Geon-yeong had stood. The suddenness of it prevented Baek Sang-ho from reacting in time.
A roar echoed as various forces collided. Hazy dust rose like a cloud from the spot where Cheon Geon-yeong had stood.
“Damn it! Who could survive being bombarded like that! Are you people crazy?”
An Alpha Team Esper shouted loudly.
“Call the medics! Gather all guides capable of wound closure!”
Chaos spread outwards in concentric circles. A rumbling sound came from beyond the dark night sky. It was a sign of gathering storm clouds.
Then, seven Espers from the Mobile Command Team suddenly buckled at the knees and fell forward. They were the agents who had attacked Cheon Geon-yeong.
They made choking sounds and began scratching the ground with their fingernails. Some agents screamed that their insides felt like they were burning up. The line was broken by those who rolled their eyes back, showing only the whites.
Alpha Team agents grabbed their shoulders and dragged them away. After a moment, as the dust settled, a man with not a single scratch on his body appeared.
“...Looks like we’re going to die here.”
Ahn Jeong-seop, who had been trying to pull away the counterattacked agent, muttered. Baek Sang-ho’s thoughts weren’t much different from Ahn Jeong-seop’s. Harsh curses erupted from everywhere.
“Being a fire-type is terrifying enough, but a newly manifested Esper too.”
“Aren’t Espers with guiding abilities stronger than us? If that man can use his powers so freely without guiding, then there’s no hope...”
In Cheon Geon-yeong’s eyes, where reason had vanished, raged a white-hot fury. The fire surging at his feet then began to spread in a net-like pattern in all directions.
Just then, thunder crashed from the sky. Agents who manipulated water tried to extinguish the flames with concentrated effort, but it was useless. The surging flames climbed like vines up the arms and legs of the agents who had attacked clumsily.
Are we going to be wiped out by a single Esper? As people agonized with despairing premonitions, a dense cold blast rushed in from Cheon Geon-yeong’s opposite side.
“Director!”
A cry of relief, expressing that they were finally saved, burst from a corner.
Lee Hae-kyung, who had rushed over, built an ice fortress around the area where people had evacuated. The camp was divided into two sections, like the meeting point of a river and the sea.
In the uncompromising tug-of-war between ice and fire, other Espers had no choice but to retreat. In the midst of this, Eom Byeong-wook gave a dangerous order to his subordinates.
“Go into our tent immediately and retrieve the evidence. There’s evidence we haven’t given to the Director.”
His subordinates mechanically stood up. But Baek Sang-ho blocked them.
“Didn’t you hear the explosion from your side just now?”
“The Mobile Command Team’s authority is mine.”
“You know that this side is responsible for any casualties in the camp. Don’t increase the area the Director has to defend; gather your subordinates neatly on one side.”
Baek Sang-ho prevented the Mobile Command Team’s agents from taking even a single step outside the ice fortress. Eom Byeong-wook showed a bewildered expression for the first time. Raindrops began to fall one by one onto their heads as they stood in confrontation.
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