DB Vol 3 Part 9

“Whee-eee—”

A long whistle sound flowed from between his lips. And the small sound instantly spread far. Gye Yoon kept moving his lips as if whistling, but no more sound was heard. Instead, the sound waves began to envelop the lodging building, shaking the air. Then Gye Yoon struck the ground with one foot as if kicking off. Instantly, the energy that had enveloped the lodging struck the building walls simultaneously.

BOOM!!!!!

The dormitory shook with a tremendous sound. Even Woo-rim, along with Won-woo who had been watching out the window, staggered and tried to keep their balance. The first thing Won-woo thought of was one thing. An Esper attack? However, a different hypothesis burst from Woo-rim’s mouth.

“Fuck, is it an earthquake?”

Earthquake? No, he felt Esper power. But who would attack a burned-down lodging in the middle of the night? Questions followed one after another, but Won-woo turned his body towards the door first. Park Woo-rim followed behind him, asking roughly.

“Where are you going?”

“Didn’t you say it was an earthquake? If you like my house so much, stay here.”

As Won-woo said only what he had to say and left, Park Woo-rim’s curses and following footsteps were heard from behind. The fact that curses continued to be heard until they were completely out of the building suggested that he was flustered again by his body’s inability to use his power.

Won-woo, who came out of the building first, looked around the lodging, but it was just quiet as if nothing had happened. Instead, commotion arose again as people from nearby buildings rushed out, startled by the sound and vibration. Won-woo turned his gaze from them and stared at one place as if looking for something.

It was where he had felt the Esper’s power earlier, but being outside the streetlight’s range, nothing was visible in the darkness. Even though he couldn’t even confirm if there was a person there, he couldn’t shake off the strange feeling that there would be a familiar face there.

For example, someone with tremendous power. Like Gye Yoon. Won-woo unknowingly tried to take a step towards that darkness, but was stopped by a hand roughly grabbing his arm, preventing him from moving further.

“Ha, where are you going? Delete the recording file and…!”

Park Woo-rim, who had grabbed Won-woo, was applying force to his hand when suddenly his eyes widened. Won-woo’s hand grabbed his arm instead. Why? The moment Woo-rim felt confused, his body was lifted as if being thrown in a judo move. And in the blink of an eye, he was slammed to the ground.

THUD!

A loud sound rang out, enough to make the hard cement floor vibrate. No matter how physically superior Espers are compared to ordinary people, Woo-rim couldn’t help but grimace.

“Fuck… What are you doing?!”

He glared at Won-woo while shouting, but the other showed no particular emotion, just like in the lodging.

Won-woo responded casually, as if familiar with the other’s reaction.

“What else? You attacked me, so I just defended myself.”

“Attack? Just for grabbing your arm a little, what?”

Woo-rim cursed as he stood up angrily.

“Fuck, I went easy on you because you’re a Guide, but…”

“I’m the one who went easy. I just now caught you after you secretly invaded my house for months, doing perverted things.”

“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. You must have liked it too, jerking off alone, right? After breaking up with Hong Seung-wook, you wanted someone else to fuck you, so you must have been writhing in pleasure smelling my cock in your house, don’t think I don’t know!”

Woo-rim shouted loudly as if barking, then suddenly felt something odd and looked around. People who had rushed out of the nearby building were watching them, unable to approach. As the flustered Woo-rim tried to step back, Won-woo took out his phone.

“If you run away now, I’ll immediately release your confession of perversion on the internet.”

Flinch. Woo-rim froze for a moment, then approached Won-woo with venom in his eyes.

“Give it to me.”

“I told you. Try to take it.”

“Are you serious? You think I, an Esper, can’t take that one thing from you, a Guide?”

“Ah, right. You’re an Esper.”

Won-woo let out an exclamation like smoke, then looked at him straight and proposed,

“Then let’s make it fair. Don’t use your abilities and come at me. Just with your strength as an ordinary person, without your ability. If you take it, I’ll hand it over without a word.”

Ability. Woo-rim belatedly remembered his lost ability. He secretly clenched his fist, but still, his power didn’t return. But he couldn’t hesitate for long. His priority was to quickly snatch that evidence from the weak Guide who doesn’t even do practical training and run away.

So he rushed at Won-woo without looking back. Just overpower that damn Guide with strength, that’s all. He reached out his hand, aiming for the target phone, but Won-woo’s body was much faster.

He twisted his upper body sideways, grabbed the approaching wrist with his right hand, and pulled it. With the force of his advance plus the pulling force, Woo-rim staggered, unable to stop his body. In that moment, Won-woo struck Woo-rim’s face, which had come right in front, with his left elbow.

“Ugh!”

With the impact, Woo-rim’s skull rang and his brain went numb for a moment. Having been hit square in the face, a nosebleed also burst out shortly after. Woo-rim let out a short scream and stumbled back, but he couldn’t retreat any further. This time, a hook-like hand grabbed his collar and pulled him. Woo-rim raised his hands to push Won-woo away, but before that, another strong impact struck his face.

WHACK!

Woo-rim’s face, hit by Won-woo’s fist, twisted sideways. Along with it, blood from his nose arced through the air like a fountain. But this was just the beginning. A one-sided beating began, so shocking that the onlookers couldn’t make a sound. No one could believe this sight. An Esper being beaten like that? And the one beating him is a mere Guide?

The sound of beating, someone’s pain-filled groans. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant sound. Especially for Gye Yoon, whose good hearing usually classified most sounds as noise. Normally, in an unguided state and having used his power, he wouldn’t have been able to bear such sounds without getting irritated.

Yet he was silently laughing, showing his teeth. The Won-woo before his eyes was half-killing an Esper as if he had been beating people all his life. He hadn’t shown any special fighting techniques. He had just overwhelmed from the start and was persistently striking only the face.

Whack, whack, even as the sound of fists echoed eerily, even as Park Woo-rim’s entire face became a bloody mess and he slumped to the ground, this was the most enjoyable spectacle Gye Yoon had ever seen. Of course, it was fun to see the pervert getting beaten, but Gye Yoon’s gaze had been fixed on Won-woo’s face from the start.

One who inflicts violence on others with eyes so cold they lack emotion. He looked more cruel and strong than any Esper Gye Yoon had seen so far. Watching him made Gye Yoon so excited his heart was pounding. Forgetting even his wariness that the other was from the Ji family, Gye Yoon muttered,

“That’s really hot.”

As the groans coming from the opponent’s mouth grew quieter, Won-woo’s punching stopped. Witnesses had gathered, so he couldn’t knock him unconscious if he wanted to use this opportunity. After all, there was no more certain reason to be expelled from the Guide Centre than a Guide killing an Esper. Won-woo threw Woo-rim, whose face was a bloody mess, to the ground and leaned his upper body over him, whispering softly,

“How does it feel to be the weak one?”

For a moment, Woo-rim’s eyes flew open. He could be seen clenching his fist tightly, but he still seemed unable to use his ability. Unlike before, his face was filled with anger instead of confusion. Watching him clench his fists so hard his veins were popping, Won-woo asked expressionlessly,

“What, you really can’t use your power?”

Park Woo-rim’s blood-covered face contorted. Won-woo leaned closer and whispered in his ear,

“Without your ability, all that’s left of you is a pervert. Isn’t that right?”

Kheup, the sound of Woo-rim taking a deep breath along with blood was clearly heard even by Won-woo. It looked like he was summoning all his strength in anger, so Won-woo decided to help. He returned just a tiny bit of energy.

Instantly, Woo-rim’s eyes bulged and he exerted so much force that veins popped all over his face. Won-woo slowly rose and stepped back. That’s right, summon that power. That way, when the core breaks, you’ll draw on that power too. As if responding to Won-woo’s encouragement, Woo-rim let out a scream like a beast’s roar.

“Uugh… Haaak!!”

As the cracked voice filled the air, Woo-rim’s body blurred and disappeared in an instant. Surprised gasps were heard here and there from people, but Won-woo ignored them all and keenly observed his surroundings.

There were streetlights, but they couldn’t illuminate all the darkness, so visibility wasn’t complete. It wasn’t easy to track sounds by ear because of the murmuring crowd. In this situation, he had to use all six senses.

Tensed to his fingertips, he sharply felt the flow of air. Soon, soon. As soon as the warning from experience echoed inside, his hair stood on end and the Esper’s energy crashed over him like a wave from the left. Before he could turn his body, with a whoosh of wind, Woo-rim’s body that had disappeared appeared in mid-air.

“You fucking guide bastard!”

The shout and fist came simultaneously. Won-woo twisted his upper body sideways, avoiding the fist by a hair’s breadth. But the opponent’s other hand shot out towards where he had dodged. It looked like Won-woo’s hair would be caught by that hand, but it grasped at empty air.

As soon as the two attacks failed, for a very brief moment, Woo-rim’s body paused, and in that gap, Won-woo launched his attack. A punch, incomparably faster than Woo-rim’s movements, struck Woo-rim’s side.

WHACK!

But as soon as the sound was heard, Woo-rim disappeared again. Before Won-woo could fully straighten up, he suddenly bent his legs sharply and rolled on the ground. Woo-rim’s leg, which had appeared on the opposite side, slashed through the air like a kick in the place where Won-woo’s head had been.

“Shit.”

As this attack failed too, a curse burst from Woo-rim’s mouth, and before Won-woo could get up, his body disappeared again. Then from the east, then from the north, he suddenly appeared randomly and kicked from all directions to prevent Won-woo from standing up properly.

At a glance, it looked like Won-woo was being mercilessly trampled by his feet as he rolled on the ground, but in reality, he was hit only once or twice. Won-woo was keenly focusing his senses to detect Woo-rim’s energy from all directions, narrowly avoiding his attacks each time. And he waited. Waiting for Woo-rim to make the stupid mistake of appearing in a direction favorable to him.

If he endured like this without being caught, the opponent would become impatient. Eventually, he appeared in the air about 2m above to completely overwhelm Won-woo. But the fact that he could completely get his hands on the opponent meant that he himself was just as easily exposed to the opponent.

“You’re dead…!”

Park Woo-rim, suddenly appearing in mid-air, shouted predicting victory, but soon disappeared with a bewildered look. The target wasn’t on the ground. The time it took to fall to the floor was less than a second, but to the onlookers, Won-woo’s figure rising from behind Woo-rim was clearly visible in slow motion.

He was accurately raising his body from behind him as if he knew in advance that Woo-rim would fall from the sky. He had relied on instinct rather than visual confirmation to figure out the direction and his gamble had paid off. And Won-woo didn’t miss this opportunity. The moment Woo-rim’s body lowered as he landed on the ground, Won-woo raised his leg towards him.

“Keugh!”

Won-woo’s instep glanced off the round head, slicing through the air. Even though it wasn’t a direct hit, Woo-rim fell forward. For the first time during the fight, Won-woo showed emotion on his face. He looked down at his own leg with dissatisfaction.

Have I been living too comfortably? Why couldn’t I hit properly? Even as he found it ridiculous, his body quickly approached Woo-rim, grabbed his collar to pull him up, and swung his fist.

There was a reason Won-woo was targeting only the head. When one is disoriented, they can’t use their power properly. But he deliberately avoided vital points. Just enough to make him dizzy. As Won-woo hoped, Woo-rim clenched his fist again as if trying to escape.

“Uuugh… ugh… uaak!”

Woo-rim’s effort to squeeze out power finally paid off. Won-woo sensed energy suddenly swirling inside Woo-rim’s body in his grip, as if an explosion had occurred. Only then did he let go and step back. Woo-rim stood up, staggering.

The only light here was from streetlamps, but everyone could clearly see Woo-rim’s condition. The veins all over his body were bulging as if about to burst through his skin. His face was swollen like a balloon, and his eyes had already turned red from burst blood vessels.

“He, he’s going to rampage!!”

Someone shouted, and people’s screams began. In an instant, chaos engulfed the surroundings. This place was originally a Center dormitory, so there were Espers and Guides among the onlookers. In fact, there were quite a few Guides. So the first voices heard were urgently calling for Guides.

“Guide… hey, you’re a Guide! Quickly guide this person!”

But none of the pale-faced people stepped forward.

“How can we guide in that state?”

“I, I can’t do it, I’ll get caught up in the rampage!”

A dormitory security guard who looked like an Esper cursed, then noticed Won-woo still standing still and asked loudly,

“You’re a Guide too, right?! Quickly guide that person. You don’t want him to die either, do you? Hurry!”

“I refuse.”

As Won-woo answered and stepped back, the security guard’s face contorted. Then he turned and shouted to others,

“Any Guide who runs away will be reported to the Center and Guide Centre for punishment. Come here right now!”

At the word ‘punishment’, a few hesitated. The security guard seized the opportunity and signaled another staff member to forcibly bring Guides and made them hold Woo-rim’s hands on both sides. The Guides trying to guide groaned in pain from Woo-rim’s energy, but the security guard prevented them from letting go by blocking them from behind.

Watching this, Won-woo tried to make Woo-rim’s internal energy boil more to cause a rampage. But he couldn’t because of a certain smell that flowed into his nose on the wind. It was the fishy smell of blood. Although he had smelled it throughout beating Woo-rim, it suddenly felt so nauseating that it turned his stomach.

Won-woo knew he shouldn’t back down here and should deal with Woo-rim decisively. Nevertheless, he couldn’t concentrate due to the nausea rising inside. He bent over, pressing his chest with his hand. That’s when someone grabbed his arm.

The moment he raised his eyes at the firm grip, the air vibrated and a strange wooing sound spread. It was an unfamiliar sound he had never heard before, but his senses screamed. This is dangerous. And it seemed everyone listening to the sound realized it too. The security guard shouted towards the Guides,

“Gasp! R-Run away! It’s a rampage!!”

Like pandemonium, people started running while screaming. Won-woo bowed his head, unable to move due to the nausea rising again. And his ears became muffled. Dizziness overwhelmed him for a moment. When he closed his eyes and opened them after a while, surprisingly, everything was enveloped in quiet darkness without a single light.

The smell, sound, and even the wind on his skin told him this was a completely different place. Won-woo realized someone had moved him somewhere else, but he didn’t have time to check who it was. He bent over and started dry heaving.

“Uwegh. Uugh.”

He tried to vomit what was coming up, holding onto something nearby for support and heaving his body. But having skipped dinner, all that came out was stomach acid. After several futile attempts at vomiting, he finally took a breath. Damn it, what is this?

Even in this disoriented state, he couldn’t help but find it absurd. His habit of vomiting at the sight of blood had clearly disappeared. In the previous world, after Hwang Sang-cheon left and he was completely alone, he was fine even seeing a lot of blood. But suddenly this symptom returned. He almost broke his rule of not swearing and cursed out loud.

Fortunately, his heaving chest prevented the curse. Won-woo held his breath to suppress the nausea and instead raised his eyes. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up at the person standing right in front of him. What he thought was a solid tree and grabbed was actually his arm.

When their eyes met, he lowered his black hood as if confirming his presence, revealing his face. Even without the weak moonlight, just seeing the large build was enough to know it was Gye Yoon. He looked at Won-woo’s face curiously and asked,

“Did you eat something bad?”

Is that all you ask when I almost killed an Esper just now? Won-woo blinked, unsure whether to laugh or not, and shook his head.

“No.”

“Then are you hungry?”

What’s that supposed to mean? To Won-woo’s ears, who thought he was mocking someone vomiting, a serious conjecture was heard.

“The dog I used to raise would vomit when its stomach was empty.”

“I’m not a dog.”

Won-woo looked around incredulously.

“Wasn’t your ability sound? I didn’t hear you had teleportation ability.”

“It’s not teleportation.”

Then why did the place suddenly change?

“I just moved quickly. Like sound.”

Won-woo had seen many Espers and marveled at their abilities, but he had never seen anyone use their ability like Gye Yoon. Moved as fast as sound? Holding back an incredulous sigh, he looked around again.

“Where is this?”

“Don’t know.”

He doesn’t know?

“I haven’t fully grasped the eastern geography yet.”

So where is it? As if reading Won-woo’s irritation, he explained,

“It’s probably somewhere in the mountain behind the dormitory.”

Just then, a loud explosion was heard from far away. If that was the direction of the dormitory, there could only be one reason for the explosion sound. Park Woo-rim’s rampage. But Won-woo didn’t understand.