DB Vol 5 Part 6

A monster farm in the middle of the night is eerie anywhere. The monster trees were called trees but looked more like strange rock formations jutting out of the middle of a desert. Holding monsters that could wake at any moment. Knowing this fact, those who looked at those motionless trees felt goosebumps crawling on their skin like insects.

Of course, Won-woo was used to monsters and wasn’t afraid. When he was at war with the Espers, he had often messed with their farms like this. The Espers, whose monster seeds were their source of funding, always came running breathlessly when accidents happened on the farms. This was bait that would never fail, as much as Alpha seeds.

Later on, the Espers closed down the farms themselves. They seemed to be overconfident. As if warning that without monster seeds, you won’t be able to live properly.

But people found and adapted to other alternative energy sources, and closing the farms turned out to be a bad move that cut off the Espers’ own money supply. So damaging this huge farm now was familiar and easy for Won-woo. But Gye Yoon’s request was something even he had never done before.

“Say that again.”

He had to ask again, unable to believe what he had just heard. Although there were high lighting towers installed throughout the monster farm even in the middle of the night, the sky was already turning bluish-bright, so he could see Gye Yoon’s expression clearly even without the lighting.

Right now, he looked as calm as usual, even though Won-woo was holding his hand and guiding him the whole time. Instead, he was holding Won-woo’s hand tightly.

Won-woo lowered his gaze to their hands for a moment. Actually, when he said he would take him to Hong family territory, he had many worries. His plan wasn’t bad. He thought it was a strategy to catch them off guard since no one knew he could teleport such a long distance.

However, he was concerned about the rampage symptoms Gye Yoon showed when he suddenly brought him north from that far place. He didn’t want to risk his energy becoming so unstable in the middle of enemy territory after moving such a long distance. Gye Yoon reacted nonchalantly to this concern.

‘It’ll be fine.’

Of course, Won-woo didn’t want to proceed with the operation recklessly in an uncertain situation, so he refused. No matter how much he could guide him, that place was enemy territory. A moment of carelessness could lead to a pointless death.

‘We’re going to a farm, so it won’t be difficult.’

Gye Yoon finally added. Farms with many seeds are places where energy is concentrated, so they’re easy to find and easy to move to, he said. Won-woo realized that he had tested it alone. And fortunately, Gye Yoon’s energy didn’t seem particularly unstable. He was relieved then, but he couldn’t help but look at him curiously.

The principle of the teleportation portal was precisely the monster seeds. Monsters had a strong force trying to gather together. Especially in places like monster farms where monster power was concentrated, it was possible to create portals.

That’s why most teleportation portals were near farms. The force was so strong that Gye Yoon might be able to find it like a signpost even from afar. And he easily crossed over and turned several farms into chaos, just like a few days ago.

And now it was the last farm. Perhaps because it was in the most remote location, it was as quiet as a different world compared to the other farms that had turned into pandemonium. But this place was about to become the biggest hell. Gye Yoon repeated his request once more.

“Wake them all up.”

“All the seeds here?”

“Yes. Can’t you do it?”

Rather than feeling hurt pride at the casual reply, Won-woo was more concerned with practical worries.

“Even though this place is quite far from the city, there are still people living nearby.”

Gye Yoon smiled strangely at Won-woo’s words. Won-woo felt like he was laughing at his hypocrisy, but he responded expressionlessly. He knew, if it was for civilians, they shouldn’t touch the farm in the first place.

No matter how much the Espers stopped monsters, civilian casualties were inevitable. He felt he had become numb to this hypocrisy during the war, but apparently some sharp edge remained that could still prick his conscience.

“If we wake up all the seeds, the Hong family absolutely won’t be able to stop them.”

“The damage to civilians won’t be severe. The Hong family may not have done much else, but they built underground shelters obsessively. I’ll also make sure there’s no damage.”

Gye Yoon gave the answer first, as if asking if this was what he was worried about. Won-woo had gone through three farms in the north and four Hong family farms throughout this night. Waking monsters was naturally a tiring task, so honestly, his stamina was a bit overwhelmed right now.

But Gye Yoon, who had brought Won-woo to all these places, still looked fine. Won-woo habitually looked down at the hand he was guiding. Even if teleporting was easy for him, his energy was too stable?

“Or is something else bothering you?”

Won-woo looked up quizzically at the sudden question.

“Something else?”

“Are you worried Hong Seung-wook might die?”

“Ha, I don’t care whether that guy lives or dies.”

“Then why didn’t you kill him?”

Won-woo hesitated but honestly revealed,

“He’s a person worth using. He’s a character who betrayed the Hong family in the world I was in.”

“Why did he betray them?”

Won-woo unknowingly averted his gaze. He felt somehow reluctant to give a detailed explanation. He hadn’t even had a proper conversation with him in the original world, so it was too weak to say they had a connection.

“I’m not sure. Probably personal reasons.”

When Gye Yoon just stared at Won-woo without replying, Won-woo couldn’t stand it and made an excuse.

“There’s no law saying a person will make the same choices in different environments, but Hong Seung-wook here could also be the key to bringing down the Hong family. So I wanted to watch him a bit more. That’s all.”

“That’s all.”

As Gye Yoon mumbled it as if rolling it around in his mouth, Won-woo strangely felt like a cheating lover and put strength in his eyes.

“But when you say you’ll make sure there’s no damage, does that mean you’ll stay after waking the monsters?”

Was there someone among the Espers coming to this farm who needed to be killed? As Won-woo was recalling the information he had seen before coming here, another light reply was heard.

“Yes. I want to watch for a while.”

“…”

“We don’t have time.”

At his urging, Won-woo reluctantly looked around the farm again and swallowed. What would happen if they woke them all up? He hadn’t done this much before, so he didn’t know if it was possible or not right now.

“Then stay out of the way. If I’m going to expand the range to wake the monster fruits, it’ll be hard to avoid just you.”

For the first time, an expression appeared on Gye Yoon’s face. Seeing his displeased look, Won-woo held back a laugh that was about to escape. He could casually ask for something that might become a disaster, but he was this serious about being apart for a moment.

“Didn’t you say we don’t have time?”

“…”

“Hurry and move far away. So I can start.”

As Won-woo tried to let go of the hand he was holding, Gye Yoon instead gripped it tighter and pulled.

“Let’s just wake up half.”

Are you kidding? Won-woo coldly shook off his hand.

“Did you say that without any thought, to change so easily?”

“I didn’t know I’d have to be apart.”

It was an indifferent reply, but strangely, his confession from before came to mind. Maybe it was because his voice then was as plain as it was now. I like you. Won-woo tried hard to erase these words and cut them off coldly.

“We’ll be apart someday. We’re not hermaphrodites or anything.”

It was a reproachful tone, but Gye Yoon smiled instead. He seemed to find the word ‘hermaphrodite’ amusing. But the question of why it was funny didn’t come out right away. Gye Yoon’s gaze was the problem. Won-woo could understand why people use the expression ‘honey dripping from the eyes.’

His eyes were really sweet. Looking at him with those eyes in the middle of an enemy monster farm. Moreover, he lowered his head and whispered in his ear. Words flowed that revealed why he was delighted by the term ‘hermaphrodite.’

“I wonder if a baby would be conceived if I came inside Won-woo thousands of times?”

“Shut up and let’s go.”

When Won-woo pushed his shoulder away, Gye Yoon returned to a displeased expression, but as he said, there was no time. After glancing at the brightening sky once, he turned around without a word. In an instant, his figure disappeared like a mirage. Won-woo was left alone on the farm, but he felt like that gaze that had been on him until the end still remained by his side.

Maybe because it was a gaze that seemed to confess ‘I like you’ with just the eyes. Won-woo pulled himself together and started to concentrate as if squeezing out his last remaining strength. All of them, he said. What exactly would happen then? Suppressing his anxiety and fear, he began to touch the power of countless monster eggs.

*

Seung-wook found this hell, which he was experiencing for the second time, terrifying, but there was one thing he looked forward to. The expectation of meeting Won-woo again, whom he had missed last time. Even though there was no evidence that the unfamiliar ability user was Won-woo and that he was involved in this incident, Seung-wook clung to his suspicion once it started. So he deliberately volunteered for civilian protection near the farm rather than at the farm itself.

If Won-woo appeared again, it would probably be similar to last time. So when Seung-wook, an A-rank Esper, opted for civilian protection instead of the front lines, the situation room expressed dissatisfaction, but Seung-wook ignored them and ran around frantically trying to find Won-woo. But even after combing through three farms all night, he couldn’t find him.

Did he not come this time? Or had he already left? As the day was breaking, he felt more urgent. For someone trying to hide their face and stay out of sight, the bright sky is a signal to retreat. As Seung-wook was constantly checking the status of nearby monsters due to his impatience, an urgent request came through the communicator.

[Esper Hong Seung-wook!! Take the teleportation portal to XXX area immediately!!!!]

Seung-wook hesitated. It was a new farm, completely different from the places that had been in chaos all night. Hope immediately arose. Won-woo might still be there. But when he agreed to move, he didn’t know yet.

The farms where accidents had occurred so far weren’t hell. The moment he came out of the teleportation portal, he doubted his own eyes. The bluish sky and ground were completely covered in black with massive monsters.

*

Seona was one of the few who knew that the monsters appearing in the north that night were deliberately created accidents. So when she saw the Espers frantically trying to stop the monsters in confusion, she felt a little sorry and swung her wind and sword at the forefront more diligently than usual.

Thanks to this, her evaluation among the North Center Espers skyrocketed in an instant. However, they were all as taciturn as the bitter cold of midwinter, so not a single one of them showed it. Instead, they expressed their trust through their eyes. To think she would fight so dedicatedly despite being from a different land.

Due to her achievements that night, Seona suddenly became closer than family to the North Center people, but she herself couldn’t think of anything because she was so exhausted. It was because she had run to the point of almost going rampage trying to protect two farms until dawn.

I’ll be able to meet Won-woo-nim soon. Just this expectation made her feel a little calmer, so she sat quietly in a corner of the farm, just catching her breath. Then forgotten worries also returned. Is Won-woo doing well? Who’s levitating Won-woo’s body in the air when I’m not there?

Although they had only worked together on an operation once, complaints about Gye Yoon soon erupted as if she were his eternal partner. That damn Gye bastard. He must have deliberately acted up to separate her from Won-woo. As she was thinking various idle thoughts, a welcome voice was heard from the communicator.

[Um… Seona, you need to go into the farm right now?]

Seona frowned at Sang-cheon’s words.

“This farm has been cleared.”

[No, it’s just that the brute is telling Seona-ssi to go right to the middle of the farm?]

Seona replied roughly, displeased.

“Why is that bastard giving orders when he’s not even my superior?”

[Won-woo says he’s going to that farm.]

“I’ll go right away.”

Seona jumped up, forgetting her fatigue, and disappeared into the farm in an instant, riding the wind. And she frantically ran around looking for Won-woo, spreading the wind to collect sounds. Beyond her sensitively raised senses, she heard a distinct sound.

As soon as she went in the direction of the sound, she really saw Won-woo. But he was on his knees on the ground, panting. His discarded mask was rolling beside him.

“Won-woo-nim, are you okay?!”

Is he hurt somewhere? Seona grabbed Won-woo’s arm and examined his body here and there, but fortunately there were no visible wounds. He shook his head too.

“No. It’s just, I was using my power and suddenly got teleported. Haa, shit…”

A rare curse-like sigh came from Won-woo’s mouth. There was something strange about what he said. He was teleported.

“Did you come alone without that brute?”

Won-woo frowned. That must have been why the curse came out.

“He told me to make that mess and then stayed behind alone. I don’t know why he stayed in that hell.”

“Good. Let him die alone.”

“What? Die?”

Die alone? When Won-woo, disoriented from teleportation, blinked and asked again, Seona changed the subject instead of correcting herself.

“As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”

Yes, I’m fine, but. Won-woo started to speak but suddenly grabbed Seona’s hand. Then he looked up seriously.

“I’ll guide you.”

Seona put strength in her lips to suppress the smile that appeared on her face. As soon as he noticed her unstable energy, he worried about guiding first. Won-woo’s face, looking down and concentrating on guiding, looked especially pretty even though it was dirty with dust and sweat. No, he’s always that pretty, but even more so now.

Seona didn’t have a younger sibling, but she now understood why her friend Umji took such good care of her youngest sibling. Although it’s said that Espers can’t help being drawn to their guides, Won-woo would have been lovable even if he wasn’t a guide.

Soon, the uneasy energy drained away and the pain disappeared completely. Though they were sitting on the dirty floor of the farm, to Seona, this place was the most comfortable in the world right now.

“Crazy.”

Gye Min barely managed to clean up the monsters that had broken out in the North before morning and returned to the main house, but a curse came out first. Even though it was a planned operation, it took many people to stop and clean up the farm monsters all night.

It was already a place lacking guides, and the fatigue of those who were called out again without knowing the remaining situation was considerable. They won’t be able to use this operation anymore in the future.

Seeing the Espers struggling with guiding made her feel heavy with responsibility. She also wondered if it was really the right thing to do. So even though she was tired, she had come to the main house to check on the Hong family’s situation.

At first, she thought his eyes were wrong. Then she wondered if it was a machine error. The giant screen on the wall showed the monsters spread out in the southeast as dots, and there were an unbelievable number of them.

“At first, we thought it was a computer error.”

The tense voice of Chief Jung was heard beside him. When Gye Min fixed her gaze on the screen without responding, he quickly explained.

“Not only all the Espers of the Hong family, but also the Espers of the East and West Centers have all been called. Although there’s a time lag in the data we receive, the current situation shouldn’t be much different from that.”

“Did Ji Won-woo do this?”

“Yes.”

Only then did Gye Min turn her gaze to Chief Jung. With a face stiff with tension, he added an explanation.

“The Vice Head requested it, they say.”

“This crazy bastard.”

Gye Min cursed first, but Chief Jung couldn’t help but agree. He had also blurted out “crazy bastard” aloud when he first heard it.

“Where’s the location?”

“It’s the farm located at the southernmost point.”

That also meant it was the farthest from the North. In the midst of this, it seemed like he had used his brain not to cause damage to the North, but that didn’t make the crazy guy acceptable at all.

“Why on earth did he do that?”

Gye Min ran her hand through her hair while looking at the screen. Wow, isn’t that a level that even the northern Espers would have to all jump in to barely stop?

“He said it’s because we can use their strategy as it is.”

When Min showed her irritation with her eyes at the incomprehensible words, Chief Jung hurriedly explained.

“They were originally going to send Espers taking the North’s crisis as an opportunity, right? But now it’s become a situation where they need our help.”

“So?”

“So he said to take it as an opportunity for guiding.”

“…”

“He said that now we can easily receive guiding, or at least immediate guiding as payment, under the pretext of helping them.”

Min’s eyes shone sharply. Chief Jung cautiously watched her reaction and offered his opinion.

“I think this operation isn’t bad. Most of the North’s Espers are struggling with guiding right now, aren’t they?”

Of course, they’re struggling. Although it was an operation to deceive the enemies, everyone had stopped the monsters without knowing the circumstances. So it wasn’t just not bad, it was a very good operation. But still, she couldn’t help but click her tongue.

“But to cover it with monsters so brutally?”

Even as Min said this, she immediately ordered a meeting to be convened with the North Center and high-ranking Espers. There would be complaints about helping the Hong family, but if they could receive guiding, they would move.

“So where the hell is this guy?”

“Ah, well…”

When he trailed off, Gye Min turned around again.

“Speak.”

“He’s still there.”

“Shit, what if he gets caught? Why did he stay?”

Chief Jung shook his head seriously.

“I don’t know.”

[Espers at risk of going rampage, please come to the operation headquarters near the teleportation portal. You can receive guiding there. Please check the exact location through the wrist device provided.]

Warnings and guidance for Espers flowed repeatedly from the communicator several times. However, the Espers fighting monsters now couldn’t hear anything.

Risk of going rampage? How could they even tell if they were in a rampage state or not?

They were just moving instinctively. To cut off the breath of these fast, huge, and only cruel monsters, they can’t hesitate even for 0.1 seconds. Hesitation is directly linked to death.

But even without the monsters, the chances of surviving here seemed low. Seung-wook was now standing at the boundary he had set as the last line of defense. If this place collapsed, it was obvious that monsters would pour into the nearby city. No matter how well prepared the underground shelters in the city were, it took time for many people to evacuate at once.

So they had to buy as much time as possible. But he was already out of breath trying to stop the oncoming monsters. Not only that, but the Espers guarding this place with him seemed to have reached their limits too. Seung-wook decided to squeeze out his last bit of strength.

“Get out of the way!”

Seung-wook shouted as if even taking time for polite speech was a waste, and quickly covered the monsters with water drawn from the nearby river. There wasn’t even time to check if his colleagues had moved away. In an instant, water poured down over an enormous area as large as a soccer field. And that water penetrated into the monsters’ mouths, eyes, noses, and all the holes in their bodies.

The monsters all twisted their bodies at once, unable to even scream due to the water. If it weren’t for the fierce battle, it would have been a spectacular sight that would make one’s jaw drop at his tremendous ability, but unfortunately, Seung-wook didn’t have the strength left to cut off the breath of all the monsters.

He sat down on the ground as if collapsing and squeezed out his strength to the very last, but that was it. When Seung-wook unconsciously released his power, the water blocking the monsters’ airways trickled down and wet the ground.

Ah, now it’s really over. The monsters’ cries tore through the air again. The vibrations shaking the ground spread throughout his body through the soil. Despite the instinctive warning that he should get up, he couldn’t do anything.

His head felt like it was going to split open. It hurt so much that he could barely see properly. Only then did Seung-wook realize that his dangerously fluctuating energy had gone to the brink of going rampage.

Haa, haa, it felt like only his own breathing remained. But does time flow very slowly when it’s the end of life? Even though the sound of breathing continued for a long time, Seung-wook was still alive. And after breathing a bit more, he noticed something strange.

Why am I still alive? Since he couldn’t use his power, he should have been attacked and killed by the monsters. Seung-wook, completely lying face down on the ground, barely opened his eyes. Huh? Questions filled his mind again. The world was terrifyingly quiet. At first, he thought something was wrong with his hearing. So he forcibly squeezed out his strength to lift his head to grasp the situation accurately.

This time, astonishment overwhelmed him. All the monsters were stuck to the ground like him, not moving. All those disgustingly numerous monsters. Why? As he wondered, he heard a sound.

Splash, splash.

It was the sound of someone’s, a person’s footsteps. At the sound approaching him, Seung-wook tried to lift his head more, but his body on the verge of going rampage wouldn’t listen properly. Just as he thought he could see someone’s legs in his blurry vision, he felt a strong pain in his stomach and his body rolled on the ground. He let out a groan like a scream, not even realizing that a black boot had kicked him.

“Ugh!”

But it wasn’t just once. Though he was an Esper with a sturdy body and his internal organs didn’t rupture, blood spurted out of his mouth. However, the cruel kicking only stopped after continuing a few more times. Then, the owner of the black boots looked down at him, who was panting and barely able to breathe, and muttered.

“Finally found you. Shit, can’t even kill this.”

That night was truly, terribly long. However, no one held hope in the morning that had barely arrived. The cloudless blue sky and ground were still filled with the monstrous roars of monsters. The southeastern part of the Hong family’s territory was devastated overnight as if facing the apocalypse.

Like a volcanic eruption, countless monsters awakened all at once.

It was too much for the Hong family and East Center Espers to stop that number. Espers from the allied West family and West Center also rushed in, but they were barely managing to hold the line of defense.

In a situation where they needed to borrow even a cat’s paw for help, the Gye family’s proposal was inevitably tempting. However, within the Hong family, only excited voices that had been arguing for over an hour echoed.

Even retired Espers had all rushed out to stop the monsters, but the main house’s conference room was still occupied by the family head, his young son who was temporarily acting as vice head, and the elder faction supporting him. They were divided into the family head’s side and the elder faction, clashing with each other.

“Look at the Gye family’s demands. Aren’t they openly asking us to send guides? How much effort have we put into trying to bring down the Gye family until now? Are you thinking of making all that effort futile in one go?”

The Hong family head wanted to eliminate the Gye family, especially the S-rank Esper Gye Yoon. So when someone following the family head’s will angrily opposed, one of the elders countered with an even louder voice.

“Are you saying we should die together just to eliminate an enemy? And why is the Gye family our enemy in the first place? If you think about it, it was only Guide One that turned the Gye family into our enemy. Why should we make fellow Espers our enemies?”

“We’re currently receiving guides from Guide One. If we help the Gye family this time, how are we going to deal with Guide One’s anger?”

But his words had the opposite effect. Even the Espers on the family head’s side cooled their gazes. Chief Cheon, who had been watching silently in the conference room throughout this fight, sensed that the debate had ended with these words. The eyes of the elder faction, who had put forward the temporary vice head, were all filled with mockery.

“Deal with their anger? So you’re saying we’ve been following their will all this time because we were afraid of just one Guide, Ji Geun-oh? Are you saying our Hong family is at the beck and call of Guides? If that’s what you want, change your surname to Ji right now!”

Chief Cheon turned his eyes to look at the Hong family head, who was also silent like himself. He had kept his mouth shut throughout the meeting, but his eyes were full of irritation. However, it wasn’t because he was angry at the elder faction opposing him. It was anger directed at his allies who couldn’t lead the meeting according to his wishes.

Usually, the deceased vice head would have sorted out the situation at this point. No matter how much dissatisfaction there was with the family’s decision, the loyalty of those following the vice head was deep, and they would have come forward one after another to persuade the opposition. However, with the vice head gone, the situation had completely changed.

The Hong family head had never stepped into such a degrading war of words before, and if he opened his mouth directly and the conclusion went against him, it would also be a matter of prestige. So it seemed he intended to keep his mouth shut until the end.

In the end, it will go according to the elder faction’s will. Chief Cheon predicted this, but he knew that they were not accepting the Gye family’s Espers for the sake of the Hong family at all.

Until now, they had been excluded from matters that could become money lines within the family due to the checks and balances of the family head and vice head. So many of them were in financial trouble. That meant they were now on a leash held by the Gye family, who currently held the money lines of the continent.

Chief Cheon couldn’t suppress his frustration even as he quickly jotted down in his notebook what needed to be done in preparation for the Gye family’s Espers coming.

Everyone was saying with their mouths that they needed to stop the monsters immediately to save the Hong family, but none of them thought about rushing to the scene.

If the vice head were alive, such a meeting wouldn’t have even been held. He hadn’t thought her death would be this painful. He also couldn’t easily quell the anxiety that felt like someone was pushing out the last piece of Jenga, collapsing a skyscraper in an instant.

*

Hong Seung-wook regained consciousness due to the noisy sounds around him. As he came to his senses, extreme pain then enveloped his entire body. As an A-rank nature Esper with excellent abilities, he wasn’t used to getting seriously injured like this. Seung-wook kept his eyes closed for a while, trying to endure the intense pain. But someone noticed he was awake just from his frowning face.

“Seung-wook hyung!”

It was the familiar voice of Idan. When Seung-wook barely opened his eyes, Idan, who had been looking down at him with teary eyes, hugged Seung-wook’s body tightly.

“I thought, I thought you were going to die. How could you throw your body to the brink of going rampage like that?”

His scolding voice was mixed with sobs, and Seung-wook unknowingly raised his hand to pat his back.

“How did I survive?”

“You don’t remember? Well, the Guide went urgently, and they said you seemed unconscious because you were on the verge of a rampage. Fortunately, there was a Guide nearby who matched you,  Hyung.”

No, not about going rampage. Seung-wook pushed Idan away and forcibly raised his upper body.

“Hyung, lie down.”

“This isn’t the time. Someone attacked me at the end.”

At Seung-wook’s words, Idan’s eyes widened and he stiffened. Who would attack an ally in a situation where monsters were causing chaos? Unable to believe it, Idan asked again for confirmation.

“Really? Are you sure you’re not mistaken? You… used up all your strength trying to stop those many monsters.”

Idan’s voice became tearful again as he continued.

“Thanks to you stopping all those monsters, tens of thousands of people in the nearby city were able to evacuate safely. Because you bought time.”

“No. It wasn’t me who stopped them.”

Seung-wook shook his head with serious eyes.

“I ran out of strength and couldn’t cut off the breath of the last monsters. I clearly saw the monsters jumping up again.”

It was something he couldn’t have accomplished even if he had been in good condition from the start. He just tried because he thought it was the end. He didn’t expect to succeed himself. But Idan’s words were different.

“No, didn’t you tell all the Espers to run away and then pour water on the monsters? Several people saw columns of water pouring down like rain from afar.”

“That part is true, but I ultimately failed.”

Idan cast a pitying look at Seung-wook’s insistence.

“It must have been such a difficult moment that you can’t remember.”

“Ha, that’s not it, I’m telling you!”

When Seung-wook finally got angry, people nearby turned to look. Idan, noticing their gazes, tried to soothe Seung-wook.

“Hyung, think about it after resting more. Even if what you’re saying is true, there was no Esper who could have cleaned up all those monsters at once in your place.”

Seung-wook couldn’t refute this. Right, all those monsters at once… What he couldn’t do even after using all his strength to draw water was finished in just a few breaths. How many ability users could do that? As far as Seung-wook knew, they could be counted on one hand.

So was it really all my imagination? But it felt like someone had definitely kicked him. Seung-wook’s confused ears caught Idan’s hesitant words.

“The Hong family head also didn’t come to the scene, saying he was guarding the rear.”

Seung-wook almost let out a hollow laugh, forgetting his confusion.

“What about the temporary vice head?”

Perhaps because Seung-wook’s voice was sharp, Idan lowered his voice, glancing around.

“He did come. But he just gave encouragement from the rear, um…”

“Haha, shit.”

Seung-wook openly laughed and cursed, regardless of the gazes around him. With all this chaos, they just stood back and watched? He hurriedly tried to get up. But Idan stopped him and delivered news.

“Hyung, rest a bit more. A large scale reinforcement has come and the situation is being sorted out a lot.”

“Reinforcements? The Yang family?”

No. Idan shook his head.

“The Gye family. Not just Espers. They’re also releasing a tremendous amount of support supplies from the North.”