Baek Yihyun had originally been a Guide whom Espers treated like a toy.
But over the past few days, the Espers who received his guiding had been carried out one after another, and Lee Juwon, the Ability Bureau’s very own bomber, had started watching his behavior around Baek Yihyun. The Espers on Yihyun’s team had no idea how they were supposed to treat him anymore and kept glancing at him uneasily.
Yihyun ignored their stares and looked at the empty auditorium stage.
A short while later, the Deputy Director appeared onstage, impeccably dressed in uniform.
“We will now begin the counterterrorism drill. Please proceed as though this were a real emergency.”
Wheeeeng―!
No sooner had the Deputy Director finished speaking than the alert sensors mounted on the walls began blaring loudly, followed by an announcement.
[This is a real emergency. Please follow instructions and move to a safe location.]
The moment the alarm sounded, the Guides and Espers began moving in unison. Yihyun also followed the Esper team leader toward the emergency exit.
Since this counterterrorism drill was designed around the abilities of Han Taeyun, the rebel leader, heavy gravity-type mana was released throughout the building as part of the exercise as soon as the announcement began.
In an instant, Yihyun’s limbs became as heavy as though sandbags had been strapped to them.
He had only descended a single floor of the emergency stairwell, yet Yihyun’s frail body, which had nothing but the bare minimum of muscle needed for everyday life, was already screaming in protest. His calves throbbed and tightened, and he was gasping for breath.
‘And they call this training.’
Yihyun grabbed his aching leg and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘That bastard can flatten a tank with a flick of his hand. I’d really like to see the face of the idiot who came up with this pathetic training plan.’
If Han Taeyun actually decided to attack, they would not even have time for a drill like this.
“Stop pushing!”
Looking around, Yihyun realized he was far from the only one suffering.
The other Guides, whose physical abilities were practically no different from those of ordinary people, had gone pale under the intensified gravity. The sight of them panting heavily and barely managing to descend the stairs while clinging to the railings looked less like counterterrorism training and more like some hastily thrown-together physical fitness test.
The gravity grew stronger with each floor they descended, until even keeping their knees straight became difficult.
Crackle, crack-crackle!
Just then, the deafening alarm abruptly cut out amid harsh static.
The simulated scenario was that the continuing gravity-type mana assault had temporarily disabled all mana detection sensors and communication devices.
At the same time as the power outage, the entire Ability Bureau was plunged into darkness.
With everything swallowed by blackness, the stairwell instantly descended into chaos, filled with the screams of Guides and the confused murmuring of Espers.
In the darkness illuminated only by blinking red emergency lights, the corners of Yihyun’s mouth lifted.
Even Espers with heightened senses would have trouble noticing one person moving against the flow now that the gravity-type mana was suppressing and dulling their senses.
And if communications were down and the emergency generators were running, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to raid Baek Seungho’s office?
Keeping himself hidden beneath the red emergency lights, Yihyun began climbing the stairs alone while everyone else continued downward.
His target was the Ability Bureau Director’s office.
“Jesus, ……huff… huff, this is fucking exhausting.”
Baek Yihyun’s legs trembled like those of a newborn calf as he climbed.
Yihyun could neither understand nor accept that moving this little was enough to make his vision spin and leave him dizzy. His old body could have sprinted to the top of a building like this without his breathing even becoming uneven.
The closer he got to his destination, the more desperately Yihyun clung to the stair railing and forced himself forward one step at a time.
His lungs felt constricted, and his legs were gradually going numb as though they were about to stop moving altogether.
He had to raid Baek Seungho’s office before the counterterrorism drill ended.
His mind was racing with urgency, but his body refused to keep up, making Yihyun’s glare grow increasingly vicious.
At last, he managed to push open the fire door on the floor containing the Director’s office and checked for any sign of people.
The corridor, which would ordinarily have been under heavy security, was miraculously deserted because of the drill.
Yihyun concealed himself in the shadows beneath the emergency lights.
His legs had already given out long ago, so he practically crawled toward the door to Baek Seungho’s office. He covered his mouth and nose with both hands to muffle his ragged breathing, and when he finally reached the door, Yihyun stopped short.
‘……Huh?’
The office door, which should obviously have been firmly shut, was slightly ajar.
And through the narrow opening came the low murmur of voices.
One belonged to Jung Yura, the Senior Guide who oversaw all the Guides in the Ability Bureau.
Why was the Senior Guide, who should have been in the evacuation shelter, inside the Director’s office at a time like this?
“Baek Yihyun’s guiding wavelength has changed, and it seems he really has lost his memory. His personality has completely changed from how it was before. Lately, instead of Esper Lee Changhun, he’s been spending a lot of time with Esper Lee Juwon.”
“I’ve already heard about the guiding wavelength from the research institute. Whether you want to call it a chain reaction caused by the drugs he took trying to kill himself or something else, his previously unstable mana circuits have stabilized since then. Add that to the database.”
Baek Seungho gave a low chuckle and slowly approached Jung Yura, who stood in front of his desk.
In the Director’s office, submerged in deep darkness, the distance between the two became far too intimate.
Baek Seungho’s thick fingers moved over the neat collar of Jung Yura’s uniform before slowly stroking the nape of her neck in an unmistakably private gesture.
Jung Yura neither moved away nor rejected his touch. She simply accepted it and whispered softly.
“……So he’s finally become the perfect S-Rank Guide you wanted, Director.”
“Yes. All the effort you put into breaking that child down and controlling him over the years has finally paid off, Yura.”
The tip of Baek Seungho’s finger pressed slowly against Jung Yura’s red lips before pulling away.
Watching the revolting display of affection through the crack in the door, Yihyun let out a disbelieving scoff.
Boom―!
At that instant, the presence of an S-Rank Esper began pouring through the gap in the doorway.
Goosebumps rose along the back of Yihyun’s neck.
“……Looks like a rat has snuck in.”
The chilling pressure stabbed into his mind, choking off his breath.
The door flew open, and a dark shadow fell over Yihyun.
Baek Seungho looked down at him with cold eyes.
“Aren’t you supposed to be participating in the counterterrorism drill right now? What are you doing here?”
“……I got scared, so I ran away.”
The corner of Baek Seungho’s mouth slowly rose.
“You’ve gotten better at lying.”
Smack—!
“Ah!”
Without warning, the sound of a blow rang out, and Yihyun’s body crashed onto the marble floor in front of the Director’s office.
Stars burst across his vision, and it felt as though one side of his face had split open.
Then the toe of Baek Seungho’s dress shoe mercilessly slammed into Yihyun’s shin.
Thud, thud!
In his Esper body, kicks like these would not even have tickled.
But the current Baek Yihyun possessed a fragile body that bruised from the slightest impact.
The vicious pain made his vision flash white, and involuntary tears streamed down his cheeks.
Jung Yura, who had been standing nearby, took a startled step backward.
Baek Seungho roughly seized Yihyun by the hair and forced his head up.
“Ugh…….”
The grip felt strong enough to tear his scalp apart.
Yihyun’s gaze locked onto Baek Seungho’s cold eyes.
Baek Seungho growled in a low voice.
“I admit that ever since you lost your memory, I’ve been too busy to pay proper attention to your discipline.”
Even as his body trembled from the pain, Yihyun clenched his teeth.
With his hair still trapped in Baek Seungho’s fist and tears glistening in his eyes, he glared defiantly at him.
“So I suppose I’ll have to start paying attention to your mental conditioning again.”
Veins bulged across the back of Baek Seungho’s hand.
At the same time, something forcibly tore through Yihyun’s mind.
Yihyun’s jaw trembled. His eyes went slack, and his unfocused gaze wandered through empty space.
An ice-cold operating table.
The blinding white glare of surgical lights shining directly down at him.
As Yihyun lost consciousness, fragments of memory surged into his mind like a tidal wave.
***
“The purity is still too low. Inject a higher dose.”
“Director, if we administer any more than this, he could die from shock.”
“Then adjust the dose so it’s just low enough that he doesn’t die.”
Baek Seungho’s merciless voice rang out.
With all four limbs restrained, Baek Yihyun was forced to watch as an unidentified blue drug entered his veins.
“Aaagh! Dad, it hurts! Please stop……!”
Even as the child screamed, Baek Seungho merely looked down at the chart and continued speaking with the researchers.
“……Ghk!”
His veins felt as though they were burning.
His heart hammered as if it were about to burst.
Baek Yihyun’s limbs convulsed, and his eyes rolled back. Blood streamed from his nose, and he coughed up blood from his mouth.
The experiments continued as the child repeatedly lost and regained consciousness.
“Who sent you?”
Baek Seungho’s voice seemed to come from somewhere impossibly far away.
“……I… ……I came here on my own.”
Baek Seungho looked down into Yihyun’s vacant eyes and asked coldly,
“What did you do in the Guide Room?”
“………That….”
Baek Seungho’s mana penetrated every cell of his brain.
It tore through his mind as though forcibly trying to drag out every hidden thought and memory.
The inside of his temples burned unbearably hot.
A violent wave of nausea immediately surged up his throat.