DB Vol 1 Part 2

Despite his pain, Won-woo gathered his thoughts as best he could and made a few assumptions:

1. He had gone mad.
2. He was hallucinating due to the pain, which still meant he was mad.
3. He was sane, but the world had gone mad.

He immediately dismissed the first two assumptions due to the extreme reality of his pain. Who experiences such intense pain in a hallucination? Won-woo came to this conclusion as he stopped his labored steps. The world had indeed gone mad. There was no other way to explain the situation before his eyes.

Inside the monster tree farm, it wasn’t difficult to find the exit thanks to well-placed signs. Even if he fainted, he wanted to see the face of the fearless person who created this monster farm. He gritted his teeth and moved forward, but his resolve vanished upon seeing the crowd gathered there.

The place was swarming with Espers. He almost charged at them with his weakened body but managed to stop himself at the last moment. He saw their faces clearly.

As he recognized the Espers surrounding the farm entrance, an absurd laugh bubbled up inside him. Most were familiar faces. Won-woo thought again: The world has gone mad. There was no other explanation for seeing Espers he had killed standing in front of him alive and well.

How on earth had Ji Won-woo survived? As if to confirm this to the unbelievable Espers before him, Ji Won-woo stopped walking. He slowly raised his head and looked around at the gathered crowd. When his gaze met theirs, a few of them flinched. An inexplicable chill ran down their spines, akin to the fear felt when surrounded by dozens of monsters. But why were they feeling this way towards Ji Won-woo?

Fortunately, this strange chill only lasted a few brief seconds. Before anyone could figure out why, Ji Won-woo collapsed. At the same time, as if released from a spell, the Espers all came to their senses at once. So no one paid much attention to the eerie feeling they had just experienced.

They were more astonished by the fact that Ji Won-woo had returned alive from the monster-infested area. Though he was bleeding and seemed severely injured, he had still survived. A guide who was little more than an ordinary person. This was newsworthy. While everyone stood in shock, Han Seona, who arrived late, froze for a different reason.

She arrived just seconds before Ji Won-woo collapsed, so he didn’t see her, but she saw him. Unlike the others caught in the chill, she saw clearly. There was a strange smile in Ji Won-woo’s eyes as he looked around at the Espers. It was like a satiated predator eyeing its prey.

Light broke through the darkness of unconsciousness as his awareness returned. The first thing he felt upon regaining his senses was pain. But waking up to pain wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling for Won-woo after his long battles. However, opening his eyes to a still mad world was quite exasperating.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood, but fortunately, the wounds aren’t deep. Still, you won’t be able to move easily for a while, so you should receive inpatient treatment for at least 5 days…”

Won-woo ignored the doctor’s mechanical explanation and kept his eyes on the window. This place was a hospital affiliated with the Center. Perhaps that’s why there were a few Espers among the patients resting in the garden outside. Having fought Espers for so long, his fingers twitched out of habit, feeling like he should fight.

“Mr. Ji Won-woo.”

At the sharp call, he turned his head to see a nurse left alone. He ordered him to roll up his sleeve, presumably to give him an injection. Instead of complying, Won-woo pointed at the syringe with his chin.

“What’s that?”

Do you think you’d know if I told you? A look of disdain flashed in the nurse’s eyes.

“Give me your arm.”

When Won-woo remained still, the nurse roughly grabbed and lifted his arm. He was just a D-rank Guide after all. The nurse had been tense upon hearing this patient was from Ji Family, but soon learned from others about his circumstances. A useless Guide abandoned by the Ji family. No wonder no one had come to see him in the two days he was unconscious.

So the nurse had no intention of accepting Won-woo’s refusal. He was confident he could subdue any resistance. But the moment he grabbed Won-woo’s arm, his irritated expression froze. Huh? What’s this? The nurse was about half a head taller than Won-woo and had a good build. But why did he suddenly feel so powerless…

“You’re an Esper.”

At the flat voice, the nurse flinched and let go. Unconsciously, he clenched and unclenched his fist. His hand moved as he wanted, with proper strength, but he was still confused. Why did it feel like that just now?

“Yeah, I’m an Esper. Give me your arm if you don’t want to get hurt.”

The nurse spoke forcefully, putting strength into his eyes. He was a physical Esper, but his ability was so weak he didn’t even need a Guide. Still, desperately wanting to be part of the Center, he’d joined this hospital. But no one had ever noticed he was an Esper before. How did this D-rank Guide figure it out? Did someone tell him? As he stared suspiciously, Won-woo’s gaze remained fixed on the syringe.

“That shot is something that makes you feel drowsy.”

The nurse frowned and glanced at the syringe.

The nurse frowned and glanced down at the syringe. He didn’t know its contents either. He just followed orders from above without paying much attention. When he’d asked the doctor what it was, he’d just replied irritably:

‘It’s medication the patient was already taking.’

“It’s the injection you normally get.”

Won-woo raised his eyes. His movements were slow, but not like a patient’s – it seemed to be his natural habit. The quiet, soundless way he moved made even the watching nurse fall silent. But he soon came to his senses and hardened his gaze.

“Roll up your sleeve.”

“You say I’ve had this injection often?”

“Yes, you have. So give me your arm…”

“Ah, so that’s why he was a bit out of it. Not because he was dying.”

Muttering to himself, Won-woo stood up and started walking toward the door.

“Where are you going? You need your injection!”

“The injection isn’t the problem right now.”

“Then what is?”

“Everything except me. Why are there so many Espers in this world?”

What nonsense. The nurse frowned deeply.

“There aren’t that many. There are fewer than ten thousand Espers affiliated with the Center.”

“Are all ten thousand still alive?”

“…”

“Wow, looks like they are.”

“Hey, what kind of talk is that?”

As Won-woo muttered in disbelief, the nurse looked at him with even more disbelief. Did escaping the monster’s lair mess with his mind?

“So all the Purifiers are dead?”

“What’s that?”

Won-woo wasn’t unfamiliar with this reaction. The one dying in his form had asked the same way. Won-woo didn’t understand this strange situation, but one thing seemed clear. Purifiers didn’t exist at all in this world. Otherwise, there would not be so many Espers.

As if that one difference made this a parallel world where Espers still ruled. …Parallel world? A light flashed before his eyes as if he’d been hit hard on the head. Suddenly, it felt like all problems were solved at once. And he recalled someone with the same face and name as himself.

Ji Won-woo.

He needed to find out.

If everything else about Ji Won-woo is the same as him, except for the fact that he’s really a Purifier. No, if Ji Won-woo was another him.

“Stop talking nonsense and give me your arm.”

The nurse tried to grab his arm again, but Won-woo caught his wrist first.

“Let’s say I did.”

It was nonsense, but the nurse couldn’t voice his complaints. He didn’t have the chance. He couldn’t move the arm Won-woo had grabbed. Despite straining his face with effort to pull his arm free, it didn’t budge at all. What is this? Is he being overpowered by a mere Guide?

“Hey, how on earth…”

“You’re really weak.”

The nurse’s eyes widened at his muttering. Won-woo soon let him go and disappeared, but shock and shame left him frozen, unable to give chase. By the time he came to his senses moments later, the patient was already gone.

How could he find out about Ji Won-woo? Surprisingly, there weren’t many options, especially since he had no personal belongings. Fortunately, this was a large hospital affiliated with the Center. Thanks to all the amenities for sick Espers, there was even a computer room. But Won-woo stood for a long time in front of the computer the hospital staff had directed him to use.

“You can use that one.”

The staff member repeated, but Won-woo kept staring at the monitor in disbelief. It was thick. Like an old model from over 10 years ago, from the Esper era before the war.

“Does the hospital lack funds?”

“What? This is the latest model. We just upgraded our equipment recently.”

“Oh… the latest model.”

The staff member turned away with a bewildered look.

“What’s he trying to do that’s so special?”

Won-woo heard the muttering but was too absorbed in the so-called latest model to pay much attention. After a tedious boot-up time, the screen came on. With many things to search for, he connected to the internet. He planned to look up the Ji family first.

If this really was a parallel world, they should exist here too, and their status would give him an idea of how this world operated. But he didn’t even need to search. Seeing an article on the portal site’s main page, he lowered his hands.

‘Guide Representative Won Jigeun-oh Makes Bold Statement During Invited Speech at The National Assembly.’

The photo in the article showed a man in a suit shouting something while standing in what looked like the National Assembly. Jigeun-oh, Won-woo’s biological father. So this person is alive too. Even in this absurd situation, Won-woo almost burst out laughing at the well-taken photo that looked like a movie poster.

The Jigeun-oh he knew would probably have taken thousands of photos to get a good one, then personally selected and distributed it to the press. So despite being in his early 60s, his handsome appearance stood out first. But to Won-woo’s eyes, it looked like a well-groomed pet dog fresh from the groomer’s. Only after searching for a lot of information until the high sun began to set did Won-woo reach a conclusion. The whole world had gone mad, except for him.