DB Vol 2 Part 9

Jang-seon had visited many farms as a Guide and seen countless monsters, but he had never encountered one this close.

“Watch out!”

With that shout, someone grabbed Jang-seon’s frozen body from behind and yanked him hard. Jang-seon nearly fell over, but thanks to the strong support of the person who grabbed him, he didn’t roll on the ground. But his legs gave out, and he clung to the other person, kneeling.

That’s because where he had been standing, a monster’s leg had whipped down and disappeared like a lash. The monster’s leg, as thick as a human torso, had one side jagged like a saw. If he hadn’t dodged backward, his whole body would have surely been torn apart by that leg. Fortunately, the farm’s Espers immediately attacked, so the monster had retreated, but Jang-seon’s whole body trembled uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.

“Stay back.”

At the calm voice, Jang-seon finally looked up at the person he was clinging to. It was Ji Won-woo.

When did he get here? Moreover, he calmly surveyed the surroundings even with monsters jumping around right in front of him.

Right now, the farm’s Espers were barely holding the monster back. With their skills, attacking was out of the question; they were just distracting the monster to keep it from going towards the civilians.

“We can’t run away. You know that, right? Monsters target stragglers first and chase them down.”

Jang-seon flinched in surprise and nodded vigorously. In truth, he had been thinking only about running away quickly because he was so scared.

“Just wait a little longer. It seems they’re almost here.”

Won-woo muttered the last part as if talking to himself, looking towards the farm. Almost here? As Jang-seon was wondering, a smile spread across Won-woo’s face.

“They’ve arrived.”

Who? Surely not Esper Hong Seung-wook… Jang-seon thought of the name of the only Esper who could resolve this situation, but the person who appeared with a strong gust of wind was someone he hadn’t expected at all.

“You fucking cockroach, how dare you wave your legs in front of him, you bastard!!”

With Seona’s shout, the monster that had attacked Won-woo and Jang-seon moments ago was enveloped in a whirlwind and shot up into the sky. Then, as quickly as it had risen, it was slammed back down to the ground. Everyone was simultaneously shocked as she lifted the huge monster with wind as if it were a piece of paper. But there were still many surprises to come.

Before the overturned monster could get up, Seona landed on top of its body. She gripped the sword handle with both hands and, without hesitation, found a weak spot and plunged the blade between the scales. At the same time, the monster’s scream rang out.

It wasn’t a pleasant sound by any means, but Jang-seon watched with a dazed expression, mouth agape. His vision was now filled only with this Esper who had suddenly appeared. Perhaps it was because the light was shining on her, but illuminated, she looked like a knight in dazzling armor. The Esper who saved me… To think there was such a strong Esper.

Jang-seon clutched his chest as his heart raced. At that moment, the rampaging Seona’s heart was also beating rapidly.

However, Han Seona’s heart rate had increased due to anger. The sight that greeted her upon arrival was a monster attacking Won-woo. Covered in the monster’s gray blood, Seona repeatedly stabbed her sword into the motionless monster.

“Die, die!! How dare you try to attack him, you fucking worm!!”

***

Chief Jung had faced many hardships while working for the Gye family, but never had he wanted to run away as much as at this moment. However, he couldn’t ignore that continuously ringing sound forever.

Ding, ding, ding.

It sounded like the gates of hell opening. Chief Jung took a deep breath and first warned his staff,

“While I’m on the phone, absolutely do not mention anything about the farm. Hide your expressions too. Anyone who can’t conceal their surprise should leave now.”

Two people abruptly stood up and ran out. Only then did Chief Jung answer the Brute’s call.

“Yes, Vice Head.”

He answered calmly, but there was no sound. Hiding his confusion, Chief Jung quickly scanned his surroundings. The other party was an Esper who could perceive objects without seeing them, using sound and its waves. Depending on how good his ability was, he might be able to understand the situation there as if seeing it with his own eyes just from the sounds coming through the receiver.

For him, sound was as good as a video call. So if there was anything problematic, it needed to be removed. But just as he was about to relax, not finding anything particularly concerning, a slow voice was heard.

[Did you do something wrong?]

“…No. Is there something I’ve done wrong?”

A short laugh was heard. Chief Jung tried not to swallow. The other party was a human lie detector who could even read tension. But efforts to act calm were useless.

[Your pulse has quickened.]

Chief Jung unconsciously closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. Normally, he would have insisted to the end that he had an arrhythmia, but right now the other’s voice was too calm. The time not to provoke the Brute wasn’t when he was angry or sarcastic. It was when he was this quiet, not showing any emotion.

“…There’s been a bit of a problem at the East Center.”

[Speak properly and accurately.]

“A red alert has been issued at the farm. It’s an unexpected situation, so the East Center is hurriedly gathering Espers to send…”

[Which farm?]

“…The one where Ji Won-woo is.”

Silence fell again. But this time it wasn’t long. A short, strong command was heard.

[Open it.]

The question ‘What?’ popped into Chief Jung’s head simultaneously with the answer. Surely not the prison door?!

“Vice Head, it’s dangerous for you to come out now. We’re doing our best to find out about Ji Won-woo’s survival. Soon, the Center’s information network will have accurate news about the farm…”

[Looks like I’ll have to open it myself.]

Chief Jung closed his eyes tightly and thought of the place where he was confined. The only way for him to open it from the inside was to destroy everything. Then the enemies, the Ji family, would know he had come out into the world.

“Vice Head, you can’t open it and come out yourself. If you just give us a little more time…”

“Chief Jung, open it.”

The voice that suddenly interrupted came from the doorway. Chief Jung turned in surprise to see Jae-hak, his shoulders heaving as if he had run here. He approached Chief Jung, catching his breath. Then he smiled, patting Chief Jung’s arm as if to say it was okay.

“I heard the gist of it. Open it.”

“But if they find out the door has been opened, the young miss will be in danger.”

Jae-hak’s eyes wavered at the mention of his daughter, but he soon shook his head.

“That’s why we need to keep it a secret, hiding the fact that the door was opened.”

“There might be a spy among us.”

“Then this is a chance to catch them.”

Jae-hak’s words sounded like baseless optimism, but there was no other way to object. Jae-hak spoke in a calm voice, having caught his breath:

“Our youngest has never asked to be let out until now, right? So trust him. He’s the guy with the guts to eat a meal in the middle of enemy territory without getting caught. If he quietly goes out and comes back, no one will know. There won’t be any problems. Right?”

Jae-hak’s last question was directed at the Brute, but only Chief Jung heard the Brute’s answer. A short laugh of derision sounded in his ear. See? It’s useless to try and persuade him with nice words not to cause trouble. If he were the type to listen to others in the first place, we wouldn’t be worrying like this. And if the Head finds out… As Chief Jung hesitated, a cold voice cut off his worries.

[If you understand, open it, you fucking bastard.]

There were only three monsters that attacked the people gathered outside the fence, but since one of them was a Mega Monster, everyone thought some casualties were inevitable. However, even now as the last Mega Monster fell, there were no fatalities. But there was no great cheer or joy either. The situation was too unbelievable for that.

Everyone was just staring at the person standing in front of the fallen monsters. Most people’s minds were filled with one question. How could a B-rank Esper be so strong? Well, even for a B-rank, as a high-ranking natural Esper, it might not be impossible if she released all her power.

But she was an irregular wavelength with five suppressor piercings. How could she do this when her power was always unstable due to not receiving proper guiding? People sent questioning glances, but Seona in front of the monster felt nothing.

Now that everything was over, she had to confront her fluctuating power head-on. She was barely, just barely controlling her power that was surging like a storm. Ah, am I going to go rampage at this rate? This thought occurred to her in the midst of pain, but she wasn’t anxious or scared.

Rather, it felt refreshing to have rampaged and released her power to her heart’s content for the first time in her life. It felt so good that she had no regrets even if she were to die now. She even felt a slight regret that she hadn’t done this sooner.

All her life, she had lived as if walking on thin ice, always worried about going rampage. But today, she ran, sprinted, and flew to her heart’s content. Like a horse released from its pen, she had galloped excitedly, feeling that this was what it meant to be alive.

So even though Seona felt as if her insides were being torn by sharp blades, even as her legs gave out and she collapsed, she let out a small laugh. Her hair, loosened from all the running around, fell like a curtain, almost covering her ears and face. With her vision blocked, the pain surged up even more intensely. Her smile didn’t last long, but it was okay. Just as a shadow fell over her head, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It might be best if you rest sitting like this for a while, Esper Han Seona.”

Following Won-woo’s comfortable voice, Seona felt the raging energy inside her suddenly drain away. Perhaps because it was the third time, she didn’t panic. So even though dizziness overwhelmed her, she actually felt better. She knew that soon, the power that had drained would steadily, firmly, and unwaveringly fill her again.

Before closing her eyes due to the dizziness, Seona lifted her head and saw Won-woo’s eyes looking down at her. His warm gaze felt like the touch of a saving god.

Halfway up a mountain of stone, there was a space carved deep into the interior. The vast interior, resembling an underground plaza, was lit only by dim electric lights, but this wasn’t a problem for someone who had lived there for over a year. In fact, he didn’t need light, but a minimal amount was kept on to prevent losing eyesight from staying in darkness.

There was only one way out from this place, and it was designed so that if the door was forcibly opened from the inside, the entire interior would collapse. It meant that attempting to escape could turn this place into one’s tomb. This place had actually been used as a prison for Espers long ago.

The reason was that some mineral composing this stone mountain suppressed Espers’ powers. Conversely, being inside also prevented Espers from going rampage. So he was the first Esper to voluntarily enter this prison. But now, for the first time since he entered, the outer door was fully opened.

Creeeeak!

The sound of metal echoed through the cave like a long reverberation. Long legs exiting the prison slowly approached the opening door. As he moved towards the outside, the mountain’s power that had oppressively suppressed his ability gradually disappeared, and his walking speed returned to normal. As he fully emerged outside, the vast open sky greeted him first.

It was his first encounter with the outside world in a long time, but he showed no particular emotion. He merely lifted his head briefly to look at the sky. His face was barely visible, due to the black mask that covered more than half of it and the long bangs that obscured his eyes.

It didn’t matter to him whether he could see ahead or not anyway. That’s why he raised his hand and pulled the hood of his black jumper down low.

But before he put on the hood, the numerous suppressor piercings in his ears glinted like stars in the moonlight. As soon as he took a step after deciding on a direction, his body became blurry. A small wind arose at the same time, but he had already disappeared as fast as ‘sound’. Silence took over the place as if nothing had ever been there.

When Seung-wook arrived, the situation had already ended. And at the hands of a B-rank Esper, no less. Although he hadn’t witnessed her performance directly, there were too many witnesses this time to disbelieve it. Moreover, she hadn’t even gone on a rampage. Seona was sitting cross-legged in the center of the chaos, but no one approached her, as if not wanting to disturb her.

“Team Leader Hong.”

A veteran member of the security team approached and asked urgently.

“The captain just got communication back and went to report the situation to the East Center. What happened with the farm monsters?”

“They’ve all been taken care of. My team members are searching for any monsters that might be left, but since no major movements are detected, we should assume there are no monsters left. But what happened here?”

As Seung-wook nodded slightly towards Seona, the veteran member broke into a broad smile.

“My goodness, you should have seen Deputy Team Leader Han Seona in action! She suddenly flew in like lightning from the sky, then whoosh― sent the monster flying to the stratosphere in one breath, then kicked the falling monster into the ground, mounted it, and cut off its breath with one slash of her sword.”

The veteran member reported her exploits without taking a breath, then concluded,

“She looked no different from a fairy.”

That fairy was also a gym addict who was particularly serious about strength training, especially upper body. Seung-wook let the veteran member’s words go in one ear and out the other as he observed Seona, sitting as if in meditation. Her disheveled hair covered her ears, making it difficult to see the suppressor piercings.

“What about guiding? With this much power expended, she should need guiding, right?”

“Ah, about that. She said she doesn’t need it right away.”

“Why?”

Seung-wook sharply cut off his words and turned towards Seona.

“Uh, Team Leader Hong. Han Seona asked not to disturb her meditation…”

Ignoring his words, Seung-wook approached Seona. She was focusing only on her breathing, eyes closed as if in deep meditation.