DB Vol 2 Part 6

When Won-woo returned after deliberately staying away for about an hour, he knew his suspicion was correct as soon as he opened the door. There was a faint scent of perfume. He found it both amusing and somewhat gratifying that the stalker couldn’t resist entering his room so soon. Thanks to their diligence, it seemed like setting a trap would easily catch them.

“Is there a problem with your room?”

Turning his head towards the voice from the left, he saw Il-hae, an Esper from his team. The person who had first come to the hospital and handed him documents to sign. His hair was wet, and he had a long towel around his neck, as if he had just finished training and showered. As Won-woo stared at him, Il-hae asked warily,

“What is it? Don’t tell me you don’t remember me again?”

“Do you wear perfume by any chance?”

“What perfume all of a sudden… No, I don’t.”

He frowned and shook his head. Despite his answer, Won-woo continued to observe him for a moment, causing Il-hae to mutter irritably,

“Geez, I asked out of concern, and this is what I get.”

“Do you use the room next door?”

“Yes, I use that room. No other Esper wanted to use the room next to yours, so I was forced to take it.”

“Does an Esper have to use the room next to mine?”

“Ha,” Il-hae let out a laugh.

“You’re saying exactly what I want to say. The Center has set guidelines that Espers must use rooms next to guides in case they need to help in dangerous situations. So we have to help guides we don’t even like. It’s really annoying.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Understand? Il-hae, not comprehending, asked again, and Won-woo answered seriously.

“You’re saying Guides have to forcibly help Espers they don’t like in dangerous situations, right? So annoying.”

Il-hae was taken aback, not just by Won-woo mimicking his words, but by what he had just heard.

“Are you saying you don’t want to Guide? What kind of Guide says such things?”

“So you can say such things, but I can’t?”

“Well, you’re a Guide who exists for the sake of Espers.”

Won-woo’s lips slowly curved upward. Il-hae, who had been raising his voice, unconsciously held his breath at that smile. Clear, transparent eyes like glass beads stared at him intently.

“No one exists for the sake of others. Not me, not you.”

For a moment, Il-hae’s eyes widened slightly. Why did he say “not you” too? While puzzled, he clenched his teeth, trying to calm his startled heart. A psychic type with physical abilities no different from an ordinary person, and only a B-rank Esper at that.

Even other Espers avoided building friendships with him because he was a psychic type, leaving Il-hae on the fringes. Naturally, psychic types couldn’t be the main characters within the Center either. They were supporting actors backing up other Espers with better abilities. He had always thought it natural to live for someone else. Even Guides, who were below him, should live for the sake of great Espers.

It felt like Won-woo had kicked away the standards he had barely accepted after giving up dreams and suppressing desires. He was surprised, ashamed, and his pride was hurt, feeling as if his hidden feelings had been exposed by just that one word.

“Ha, after hitting your head, you’re just spouting nonsense… Shit, come to think of it, you don’t even have the ability to save Espers through guiding, do you?”

“Shit, I’m still much better than you who only spouts bullshit, so shut your trap.”

Both turned their heads at the sudden harsh curse. Han Seona was standing in front of the room to Won-woo’s right. Il-hae frowned, flaring up.

“I wasn’t even talking to you, what’s it to you?”

“Oh, really? You were barking like a dog loud enough for everyone to hear, so I thought you wanted everyone to listen. But now that I’ve heard it and my ears are dirty, what are you going to do about it?”

Il-hae looked at Seona incredulously, then noticed Won-woo smiling slightly and his face hardened. Are they close? Well, who else would be crazy enough to help a D-rank Guide like that.

But still, talking to him like that when they have never even spoken… As Il-hae was about to protest, his eyes caught Seona’s ears. Five suppression piercings. Realizing she was a walking bomb, he frowned and stepped back.

“Why am I wasting time with people like this.”

As he turned and fled down the corridor, Seona immediately spoke in a disapproving voice,

“Why are you listening to such nonsense?”

“I was just checking a scent.”

“What scent?”

Seona sniffed the air.

“Oh? There does seem to be a faint scent. Perfume? No, fabric softener maybe?”

Seeing her seriously trying to catch the scent, Won-woo couldn’t help but smile. Seona, feeling caught, took half a step back.

“What? Was I too dog-like?”

“Yes.”

“…I just said the scent was faint.”

“That too, but I was thinking it’s still the same, how you diligently and earnestly do even small things.”

Seona’s face gradually hardened. Won-woo then realized he had made a mistake. With an expressionless face, Seona asked in a low voice,

“As far as I know, we’ve never met before. But you speak as if you know me well, Mr. Ji Won-woo.”

“I did know you well. The Han Seona that Han Seona doesn’t know.”

What’s he talking about? Seona suspected him again. Does he sometimes become mentally unstable? Of course, being a super ultra mega S-rank Guide, anything was believable. With super ultra mega abilities, it’s possible his mind could be a little shaken.

“Well, let’s say that’s true.”

Won-woo looked at her curiously, surprised by her cool response. She’s just going to let it go like that?

“But don’t just let it slide when someone curses at you. At least curse back.”

“I made a promise with someone not to curse.”

What a useless promise. Seona looked at him with pitying eyes. Won-woo strained his mouth to hold back a laugh and requested,

“Please curse on my behalf, Ms. Han Seona.”

“Is that what you want in return?”

“No.”

Seona hesitated, not answering easily. If it were a favor, it would be straightforward, but since it wasn’t, it sounded like he wanted to get closer to her. However, she wasn’t the type to easily become friends with anyone. That’s why she intentionally spoke bluntly,

“Well, we’ll see.”

After answering, Seona felt somewhat embarrassed and tried to quickly enter her room. But Won-woo called out to her,

“Aren’t you curious about what I’m going to do tonight?”

Of course she was curious. That’s why she had volunteered to come to this dormitory.

“It’s not like you’re going to tell me anyway.”

Won-woo shook his head, looking puzzled.

“No, I was going to explain.”

Oh, it wasn’t a secret? Feeling awkward, Seona received a smile from Won-woo.

“You’re going straight into the farm for the operation, right? I’ll tell you briefly.”

Il-hae left the dormitory and, having nowhere else to go, headed back to the operation camp. The camp was set up at the farm’s entrance, and from the dormitory to the entrance, the farm’s boundary line of long, high fences came into view. Human efforts to obtain seeds led to the creation of farms growing these dangerous monster trees, but there was no way to predict when the eggs would hatch.

An egg the size of a fist could grow enormously and burst in just a few dozen minutes. Since humans couldn’t control the growth rate, they could only predict using data collected from sensors attached to the trees, gathering all kinds of signs. With an alert sounding, it’s possible that one of the eggs was growing at an abnormal rate.

That’s why an advance team goes in to remove problematic eggs beforehand, and if the danger level seems high, the main team is deployed. It’s possible they might not even see a single monster leg in this operation. While others grumbled that it would be boring, Il-hae felt differently.

Il-hae, not being physically exceptional, always found monster elimination operations burdensome. However, his family had worked for the center for a long time, and Il-hae had accepted working for the center as a matter of course since childhood.

‘No one exists for the sake of others.’

Won-woo’s monotone voice wouldn’t easily leave his mind. For a Guide to dare say such a thing to me, an Esper. He was angry, but not enough to cover other emotions.

It was something anyone could say or think. But when those words were directed at him, they became special.

Il-hae shook his head, trying hard not to assign meaning to it. It’s just Won-woo, after all. There’s no need to pay attention to the words of someone whose mind has gone strange…

“Weren’t you going to the dormitory?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Il-hae stopped and recognized his colleague.

“I just came back out.”

“Why? Did something happen at the dormitory?”

Il-hae hesitated but then shook his head.

“Nothing happened. I just felt uncomfortable because Ji Won-woo is in the room next to mine.”

“Ah, Won-woo. Did he say something strange?”

Il-hae averted his gaze and then blurted out as if making an excuse:

“No. It’s just that he seemed close with Deputy Team Leader Han Seona from the support team, and it was a bit unpleasant to see.”

“…With that woman, Han Seona?”

The expression disappeared from his colleague’s face, but Il-hae didn’t notice as he was about to head to the camp. Then, as if remembering something, he held up the towel around his neck.

“Oh, thanks for lending me the towel.”

***

The fence in front of Won-woo was so high that most people couldn’t climb it. He had to tilt his head back to see the top, but monsters could jump over it in one leap. There was probably a strong electric current flowing through it to stop monsters. However, if they were fully grown, they would push through even if they were burned black by the current.

They were like swarms of insects, moving in groups like locusts. With their enormous, rock-hard bodies and unbelievable agility, ordinary people could never face them. Won-woo had seen countless times how monsters could disappear in an instant, killing humans far away as if teleporting.

That’s why monsters are the embodiment of fear for ordinary people. Espers who can face monsters trivialize the dangers to the weak, citing the benefits of the seeds.

But in the face of death, weighing losses and gains means nothing. No matter how excellent an energy source the seeds are, what use is it if you die before using them? In Won-woo’s world, this point was considered more important, so the standard of life was set according to the weak. That’s why monster trees became targets for elimination.

However, in the beginning, many defended the Espers, saying that life would fall apart without the seeds. Ironically, they changed when they realized life was manageable even without monster seeds.

The sacrifice the Espers claimed wasn’t that great. It just meant enduring a little inconvenience and getting used to it. Won-woo thought life might be the same. One has to let go of what they’re holding to encounter something new, and possibly grasp something bigger. Just as all purifiers do, Won-woo awakened a completely different power when he let go of everything in the face of death.

“Deputy Team Leader Han!”

Seona heard someone calling her name loudly, but her mind was still confused, and she didn’t respond immediately.

“Deputy Team Leader Han Seona!”

Only when her name was called again did Seona look up and heard her superior shouting as if yelling,

“I said Block 22 is cleared, so take two of the kids and go finish up.”

She answered “Yes” and turned, but even as she moved, she couldn’t shake off what Won-woo had told her earlier. It was truly an impossible, unbelievable story, but she couldn’t understand why her heart was racing like this. As if her intuition recognized it as truth.

‘I’m a purifier. Guides have different abilities according to their rank, but purifiers have no limits. We handle energy differently. So we can not only stabilize energy but also affect it more directly.’

‘How?’

‘By extracting power from the body, or amplifying it.’

‘…’

‘It’s possible regardless of the target’s rank. Whether human or not.’

Seona, who had been recalling this unbelievable conversation, suddenly stopped walking. There was something she hadn’t noticed at the time. There was a word in that unbelievable statement that she should have paid attention to.

Whether human ‘or not’. What did he mean by ‘not human’? Seona’s eyes slowly moved upward. She could see the fruit hanging on the monster tree above. …Monsters?!

Bang!

An explosion sound like firecrackers rang out from the farm, bursting a monster egg. The sun had almost set, and a dark red darkness was falling, so today’s operation was probably about to end. But Won-woo had no intention of letting them rest yet. So he closed his eyes and, as if inhaling a held breath, detected the energy around him. Dozens, hundreds of monster eggs with strong energy were caught. The closest was just inside the fence.

Whether Esper or monster, individuals born with strong power have a core that generates energy like an engine inside them. Awakening that power is incredibly easy. It was so easy, even after a long time, that it made him want to laugh. But since it’s the first time, he should do it weakly. Very weakly. After all, Seona is today’s main character.

And after a few seconds passed. The moment Won-woo opened his eyes, a tremendous alarm began to sound simultaneously, loud enough to shake the entire farm. It was dozens of alarms indicating that monster eggs had awakened.

‘Weeeeee―’

The alarm sounding outside the farm was loud, but in the center of the farm, it sounded faint like a distant bell. However, even that sound wasn’t audible to the Head Team 3 members who were holding their breath. They were using all their senses to locate the monsters.

Usually, they wear monster trackers on their wrists given by the center, but unfortunately, these were useless on the farm. The tracker’s sensors recognized all the monster trees as monsters. So they had to rely on their instincts.

With all their nerves on edge, they tried to find the direction of the monsters. At first, everyone focused on sounds. But that wasn’t necessary. The monsters made their presence known through the ground. Woong, the ground surface vibrated as if the earth itself was groaning.

“…3 o’clock direction, at least five or more.”

Yoo Geon-young muttered, looking down at the ground. The blood drained from the faces of the remaining team members. They were already one member short, and now five or more monsters? Impossible.