“…let go.”

The arm held me didn’t move at all. I shouted again, trying to shake it off.

“Let me go!”

The person who supported me by hugging my waist as I was about to fall down whispered lowly.

“Wait.”

As expected, it was Cheon Sa-yeon. An unknown feeling of betrayal came over me.

I just made up my mind and moved on. I resented Cheon Sa-yeon for blocking my chance to kill him.

“Why, why… are you blocking me…”

“Maybe there’s another way.”

“Come now?”

Tears kept falling down every time I blinked.

Why was Cheon Sa-yeon blocking me and why was Kwon Se-hyun looking at me with such a face… There were only things I couldn’t understand.

“We don’t have much time left… I must kill him.”

No one knew how long this space, which had already begun to collapse, would last. It was a situation in which the underfoot could disappear immediately.

Even Cheon Sa-yeon knew that. Yet he didn’t back down.

“After you kill him? Do you think you can handle that weight, Han Yi-gyeol?”

“What does that matter now?”

“It’s important.”

Cheon Sa-yeon added strength to the hand holding my wrist. A burning pain swept over me. The body, which was pushed to its limit due to excessive tension, couldn’t withstand the brief pain and lost its strength in an instant.

The jackknife, which left my hand, bounced on the floor several times and fell in front of Kwon Se-hyun. The blade of a jackknife the length of an adult palm shone.

“Edward is checking this space again.”

“……”

“You don’t have to carry this burden. I mean…”

Cheon Sa-yeon who gave me an explanation while holding me couldn’t finish and shut his mouth. It was the first time that Cheon Sa-yeon, who was always thinking about profit, showed this kind of behaviour. It was kind of funny and a dejected smile came out.

“It’s no use.”

The subject of this space was me and no one else. I knew that killing Kwon Se-hyun was the only way out of this place.

If I had to kill him anyway, I wanted to do it myself. It was the last line from which we could never back down, no matter how much Cheon Sa-yeon blocked me.

As I struggled to push Cheon Sa-yeon and pick up the jackknife that fell on the floor, Kwon Se-hyun’s voice was heard.

“Cheon Sa-yeon is right, Han Yi-gyeol.”

Kwon Se-hyun picked up the jackknife before me.

“It would have been an unnecessary burden on you.”

Kwon Se-hyun, who looked down at it with a complicated expression, soon turned to me.

“If I was the cause, it would be right to cut it off with my own hands.”

I had seen that face that looked somewhat relieved just a few hours ago. I remembered Kwon Se-hyun asking me on the rooftop if I still hated him.

“Ah…”

Kwon Se-hyun grabbed the jackknife with both hands and raised his arms. I had an ominous feeling and goosebumps ran down my spine.

“N, no… No, wait a minute… wait…”

I barely stuttered and moved to run to Kwon Se-hyun, but the more I did, the stronger Cheon Sa-yeon held me.

Kwon Se-hyun was me. There was no way I didn’t know where he was just aiming and swinging the jackknife. As I expected, the tip of the jackknife he lifted was pointed exactly at his stomach.

“Wait…”

As I struggled as hard as I could to get out of Cheon Sa-yeon’s arms, even Ha Tae-heon grabbed me. The wind, which was created instinctively, was blocked by Cheon Sa-yeon’s right-hand ability and disappeared without being able to do anything.

“Don’t do it, Kwon Se-hyun. Don’t…”

“Goodbye, Han Yi-gyeol.”

“Kwon Se-hyun…!”

The blade of the jackknife cut quickly through the air. And without a single error, it pierced the stomach accurately. Without hesitation, Kwon Se-hyun, who had put a knife in his stomach, lowered his body and took a deep breath.

“Ah, uh, huuk…!”

I also felt a strong pain radiating from my stomach. Panting for breath, I fixed my gaze on Kwon Se-hyun. I could see the white shirt visible inside the black suit jacket stained red with blood.

Helpless and miserable. In the end, when I realized the reality that I couldn’t protect my precious one again, my breath was suffocating.

It was the moment when I reached out my hand toward Kwon Se-hyun, who was falling. The back of the hall that had been covered by Kwon Se-hyun’s body was revealed and a person I couldn’t have imagined came into view.

“……”

The inside of the store was dark because the lights were off and through the red sunset light coming through the window, platinum blonde hair was visible. Silver-grey eyes looking at Kwon Se-hyun who had collapsed were engraved in my mind.

Kugugung!

“The ceiling is falling!”

“Han Yi-gyeol!”

The surroundings shook violently with a roar. Ha Tae-heon started running while holding me in his arms. But I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

Yoo Shi-hyuk, who was standing in front of the back door, slowly walked towards Kwon Se-hyun. He bowed his head as he looked down at Kwon Se-hyun, blood dripping on the floor. Eventually, the building collapsed.

‘Why…’

Dies went away. Everyone disappeared and the sky was eaten by darkness.

‘Why are you…’

We found the exit we had seen before and flew straight to it without delay. Ha Tae-heon, who was holding me, ran to the exit for the last time and at the same time, the space disappeared.

Just like when we first came here, darkness that couldn’t see an inch in front engulfed us. Feeling the sensation of falling down, I closed my eyes quietly.

‘making that face?’

* * *

The darkness that seemed to continue without end disappeared and the ground appeared. I barely came to my senses and the wind wrapped around everyone’s body.

Thanks to the wind slowing it down, the moment when we landed safely on the ground without getting hurt, the energy of hostility sharply stabbed the skin.

“Where is it?”

“A space connected with reality… It’s similar to the space attached to the red market that we used to pass through.”

Edward, who used his ability, answered Kwon Jeong-han’s question.

“Uh…”

“Ha Tae-heon, stay with Han Yi-gyeol.”

When I was exhausted using my ability, I couldn’t get up because my body didn’t have the strength.

Cheon Sa-yeon, noticing my condition, took out Lilith’s sword from his inventory and looked around with a cold expression.

“Healer Min Ah-rin and Producer Edward, stay by Han Yi-gyeol.”

Like Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, Park Geon-ho, who noticed that there was an enemy nearby, stepped forward and said. Woo Seo-hyuk filled the side next to him and Kim Woo-jin took out his clone after a long time.

Piiik, pik!

Fox next to Min Ah-rin flew to me and made a cry filled with anxiety.

The fog that covered our eyes faded and dozens of masked talented people who surrounded us approached.

“Welcome, guests from Korea!”

A harsh voice rang out loudly. It was a voice I had heard before. I lifted my head and immediately found a big man standing in the farthest opposite to me.

Doctor of the Praus Cult. He shouted at us.

“Did you enjoy your time in the world I created?”

Doctor continued with a chuckle and hoarse laughter.

“I didn’t expect it to take this long. How is it, isn’t it pretty good?”

“……”

“Don’t keep your mouth shut and talk to me! You don’t seem to know how precious a single evaluation is to a producer like me.”

Doctor, who had been squeezing his neck and shouting while wearing a clunky gas mask covering his nose and mouth, coughed like vomiting blood as soon as he finished speaking.

After spitting out a rough cough several times that his whole face turned red, he waved his hand in a ruthless way.

“All right, shit. What do you expect from people who don’t even know much about humour? Kill them, kill them.”

Doctor who adjusted the fittings on the gas mask with electricity bouncing around gave orders to the cult. The cult members gathered in all directions and took out their weapons.

“This is a bit of a problem, Master.”

Park Geon-ho, who took out the iron marbles he had kept, muttered playfully with a tired expression on his face at the enormous number. Judging by the fact that there were many energies stronger than me, it was clear that there were quite a few S-rank talented people in the cult.

It was a dangerous situation that no one could deny. But within me, not fear, but anger, boiled.

‘Only because of that bastard…’

I remembered the store employees who disappeared in front of me and Kwon Se-hyun, who put a knife into his body. I felt pathetic for being caught in Doctor’s trap and the reality that there were victims I couldn’t protect was terrifying as a result.

We had to prevent this from happening again. If we missed Doctor this time, another hell might happen.

“Ha…”

I let out a cold breath that rose from the inside of my body. The unfamiliar energy from the heart began to grow without stopping.

It wasn’t Han Yi-gyeol’s energy. It was darker, heavier, and colder than that. That energy engulfed my entire body.

“Han Yi-gyeol?”

Ha Tae-heon, who was by my side, recognized the energy emanating from me. I staggered and stood up. Han Yi-gyeol’s white hands grew bigger and were covered with scars. Everyone looked at me in surprise.

‘My body…’

was changing. My vision became much higher and my bones thickened. It was a very familiar body to me.

Now, I could instinctively know that this was my original energy. An energy so strong that it couldn’t be compared with the energy of A-rank Han Yi-gyeol flowed from the depths of my heart and enveloped me.

Was this what Elohim meant when he said that I would be able to use it naturally when the energy grew? I used my ability without hesitation.

‘That’s…’

Then, dozens of pure white lines running over the heads of the Praus Cult were clearly visible.

The lines started from beyond the darkness and were connected one by one to each member of the cult. Seeing this reminded me of the explanation Edward had given me at the hotel.

“If you take mental ability as an example, it’s like this. If Person A uses his mental ability on Person B, then one line like this is connected. It’s actually a flow of energy… it’s the most similar to expressing it with lines.”

When a person with mental ability used their ability on their opponent, the flow of energy was connected. If it was connected with Samael of that Praus Cult…

As a test, I moved my energy and strongly touched the line of the nearest cult. Then, the line was easily cut and the group of cult members who were released from mental control lost their minds and collapsed.

“Oong? What?”

Doctor frowned at the sudden sight.

Right, that’s how you did it. After checking the result with my own two eyes, I raised the corner of my mouth that was hardened and smiled with difficulty. And I immediately cut all the lines at once.

“Uh…”

“Kkeuk…”

Dozens of members of the cult, whose mental control was forcibly cut by me, fell to the ground at the same time like puppets with broken threads.

This was my ability, intervention.