026 – People Standing on the Tracks
“Cough, squirrel? What squirrel, cough, cough. Did a squirrel just push me?”
The coughing was getting worse.
“Are you kidding me? Now even the little rats are ignoring me? I’m Lee Joon-Hun! The world you live in has been different from the start!”
Zuuung-.
The light from the Beam Shavel began to emit brightly.
It was evidence that Lee Joon-Hun was pouring magical power into his weapon.
As far as I knew, the Beam Shavel was a weapon that charged and emitted energy based on the magical power infused into it.
I had dreamed of seeing such a rare weapon in person, but I never expected to see it like this; truly, fate was cruel.
I thought it would be best to execute a pincer attack with Kkungkkungi in order to restrain and overpower Lee Joon-Hun.
What the hell, let’s give it a shot.
If we didn’t, Kkungkkungi and I might end up being torn apart!
“Kkungkkungi! Ahn Ahn! It’s a triangular operation! You go right! I’ll go left! Ahn Ahn, wait for the right moment!”
I recalled how the C-rank party members had tackled the massive Nidhogg lizard.
Even though they had met for the first time that day, they divided the tasks perfectly and worked in harmony.
If we were to do it, we could do it even better.
Of course, Lee Joon-Hun wasn’t going to just sit back and relax.
“You’re definitely making me use my power. 《Invisible Grab》.”
Fwooom-.
I felt something grab my collar.
Invisible Grab.
I remembered that it was Lee Joon-Hun’s specialty, using telekinesis as his main ability. If I remembered correctly, Lee Joon-Hun could even crumple metal plates with his telekinesis, right?
In reality, my arms and legs felt as if they were firmly restrained by something. However, since my lips were free to move, I shouted toward Kkungkkungi.
“Kkungkkungi, go for the squirrel dive!”
━Kkungkkung…!
Fwooom, bang-!
Kkungkkungi jumped toward Lee Joon-Hun at high speed.
The body of Lee Joon-Hun, who was using telekinesis on me, staggered greatly, and maybe due to his concentration breaking, my body also became free.
Sure enough, there were quite a few gaps in Lee Joon-Hun’s ability to be considered S-rank. Compared to the amount of magical power that Seo Ye-rim, another S-rank, had emitted, its density was thin.
To put it simply, it felt down and diminished.
And there was one more flaw in Lee Joon-Hun.
“Lee Joon-Hun, it seems you haven’t had much experience in combat during your rise to S-rank. You look awkward and unfamiliar fighting against a person.”
Well, that was only natural.
Only the first batch had personal combat as a required subject.
For second-batch students like Seo Ye-rim, Yu Ara, and Lee Joon-Hun, time for personal combat was reduced significantly in favor of pounding knowledge about demonic beasts and crack abatement into their heads.
Besides, what reason would someone like him, who lived without lack as the heir of a chaebol, have to fight with others? In that regard, I still had an advantage over Lee Joon-Hun.
I was second to none in that personal combat subject back then.
“Ha-.”
Taking a breath, I spread my magical power throughout my body.
I felt my body temperature rise, and I dove straight into Lee Joon-Hun’s range. I pressed in low like a wrestling takedown-.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Lee Joon-Hun swung the Beam Shavel, but his weakened movements from coughing continued to make him hesitate like rust.
I evaded his attack and struck him in the abdomen with my knee.
Puwak-!
A rather loud sound echoed, and Lee Joon-Hun’s body bent into a ‘G’ shape. Did my attack hit completely? No, not exactly.
The feeling of impact was strange.
“Did you wrap your telekinesis like armor around your body?”
It felt like an almost invisible, thin soap bubble was encasing Lee Joon-Hun’s body. That barrier seemed to repel my knee strike.
The full damage from the knee impact hadn’t transferred due to that same reason.
Surely, Lee Joon-Hun didn’t just rise to S-rank for show.
“You’ve got some sense. 8 points.”
But I had heard that controlling telekinesis was tricky.
I had been told that the personalities of telekinesis users become sensitive and hysterical because of the effects on their brains from using that ability─.
“How long do you think you can keep defending your body like that? Just give up already. If you do, I can make today’s incident a non-issue. You, after all, are somewhat of an idol, right? You’ve got to manage your image.”
“…You bastard, I was trying to take you in peacefully! Are you really thinking you’re winning just because I’m letting you go? I was trying to take you in with all your limbs intact!”
Swoosh-.
Just then, as Lee Joon-Hun shifted his hand to his waist to pull out what looked like a vial, I heard Kkungkkungi making some strange noises like ━bya, bya…!
It was the same sound Kkungkkungi made when he had discovered the glow mushroom earlier.
I knew very well that this sound was made when calling or summoning something.
And I sensed what Kkungkkungi was trying to do.
━Kkungkkungi…!
━Kkungkkungi…!
━Kkungkkungi…!
From somewhere, the sound of barking grew loud, and squirrels with various stripes began to appear in the yard.
Indeed.
Kkungkkungi was summoning the squirrels that lived in this neighborhood! The number had exceeded five and now reached ten, continuing to multiply.
I wondered how many squirrels lived in this neighborhood when I saw Lee Joon-Hun clutching his neck, looking extremely distressed.
“Shit, what the hell. Cough, I can’t breathe─. No way…what is this… allergy medication─. Allergies….”
After stuffing the vial he held into his pocket, Lee Joon-Hun rummaged around his waist and pulled out something resembling a syringe.
Drawing on ten years of experience as an Awakened, I realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take down a giant foe.
Swoosh-.
I took out a laser pointer from my pocket.
It was a toy I bought to play with Kkungkkungi and Ahn Ahn.
Squirrels liked to chase laser dots like cats, after all.
Ziiing-.
I illuminated Lee Joon-Hun with the red light.
As if receiving a signal, the squirrels turned into a brown wave and started rushing toward him in unison.
“Go, Squirrel Nuclear!”
“Shit, shit…! Just wait until next time!”
Lee Joon-Hun seemed to be taken aback by the sheer volume of squirrels and began to retreat.
I immediately turned to Ahn Ahn.
“Ahn Ahn! Block Lee Joon-Hun’s body! Don’t let him run away!”
The Emperor Ant Ahn Ahn quickly approached Lee Joon-Hun and firmly grabbed his pant leg to hold him in place.
━Zzzi…!
I also leapt toward Lee Joon-Hun, wrapping my arms around his body. Having to embrace a man like this─, just earlier, when I was riding the motorcycle, it felt like heaven.
“Let go! Let go, you bastard! Let go! I’ll give you 3,000! No! 100 million!”
100 million? I was a bit tempted, but I pressed down on his struggling body with all my strength.
In the process, he fell to the ground, and the brown wave of squirrels began to cover him.
“Gah! Get away! You devilish bastards! Get lost!”
Swoosh-.
With Lee Joon-Hun’s gas mask torn off by the squirrels, he started making choking sounds like he was about to suffocate.
He clutched his neck, unable to breathe, shaking his body violently before finally rolling over with his eyes turned completely white.
“I won! I beat an S-rank Awakened!”
I shouted in joy, raising my fist high.
Kkungkkungi and Ahn Ahn responded with sounds like ━Kkungkkung…! and ━Zzzi…!
“Yeah, we won together! But…he’s not dead, right?”
I checked Lee Joon-Hun’s pulse.
It was great to have won, but I felt a twinge of fear.
I thought my life was finally about to bloom, but taking the life of a chaebol heir?
Even if it was self-defense under our country’s laws, it was clear I wouldn’t escape a prison sentence.
“He’s alive. He’s still alive!”
Fortunately, Lee Joon-Hun was indeed alive.
He had merely lost consciousness.
It was then.
Thud-.
The door swung open, and Nymph Inoi stepped outside.
“This man is a very wicked man…! Nymphs, including me, enjoy punishing wicked people…! It’s a Nymph technique called Smackdown…!”
Thud, Puwak, Thud-!
Inoi began to kick the unconscious Lee Joon-Hun mercilessly.
“This was what Inoi was supposed to do, hidden inside the house…! And this is…for destroying the garden wall that Ahn Ahn has been growing so diligently…!”
Even in his unconscious state, Lee Joon-Hun murmured, “Ugh… I’m sorry…. Mom, I won’t play computer games anymore….” in a strange sleep talk.
I watched this bizarre situation unfold and opened my phone, hesitating for a moment after typing 11.
112.
119.
Which one should I choose?
Could this even be called a dilemma?
Of course, the answer was already predetermined.
An ambulance sent from 119 arrived about five minutes later.
It was fortunate that they came quickly, considering we were in the countryside.
“Though he seems this way, he’s the heir of a chaebol. Please take good care of him.”
I spoke to the emergency responders.
They nodded and replied, “Understood,” before loading Lee Joon-Hun onto the stretcher.
Now, in the yard, it was just me left all alone.
Just then, Ahn Ahn brought something that was stuck to its horn.
━Zzzi-.
What it had was a mechanical device that looked like a flashlight.
The Beam Shavel.
“Oh, I almost forgot to give this back. I should have sent it along with the ambulance.”
Beep, beep-.
At that moment, I saw the ambulance gliding smoothly into the village entrance from a distance. I thought they were coming back for this precious Beam Shavel when the emergency responders got out and asked me.
“Are you the caller? Where’s the critical patient?”
“Pardon?”
# # #
Lee Joon-Hun dreamed of his childhood.
It was during his elementary school days when he had studied rigorously while living with his mother.
He had desperately wanted to play the game “Autumn Story,” but his mother hated the very idea of him playing games more than anything.
Whenever he was caught playing games secretly, he was beaten until the switch broke.
“Lee Joon-Hun! Look at your brother and sisters! If you’re going to inherit Osa Group, you don’t have time for games!”
His mother came with scissors and cut all the wires connecting the keyboard and monitor of the computer.
It was a most dreadful memory─ as he thought that, suddenly, his consciousness was drifting upward, and he was able to open his eyes.
Upon opening them, he saw the interior of the ambulance.
And a woman and a man in white gowns were looking down at him.
“Yu Ara…!?”
“Lee Joon-Hun, you’re awake. Your allergy symptoms were severe. If you were an ordinary person, it would have been strange for you not to die, but I guess since you’re an S-rank Awakened, your body is strong; it’s fortunate. A thank you would be in order.”
Lee Joon-Hun felt angry.
It was because Yu Ara had not kept her promise with him.
“You…!”
As he tried to lift his body, Lee Joon-Hun realized something was wrong.
His body would not move.
It was as if he had no sensation below his neck.
Watching him, a man with his arms crossed spoke admiringly.
“I thought it would be better to wait in the police car. Yu Ara, just as you said, Haildo indeed reported to 119 instead of the police station. That guy is more impressive than I expected.”
“Really, it’s true. Senior, that person is just like that. Isn’t it foolish?”
“Still, to beat Lee Joon-Hun, who was from S-rank. Haildo is still quite impressive. Shouldn’t we mark him?”
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary. Lee Joon-Hun had a squirrel allergy. It’s more lethal than expected. Perhaps it’s because it was an otherworldly allergy.”
“Is that so? If the ‘Doctor’ says so, then it must be. So what? Don’t you have any thoughts of returning to the field? You wouldn’t have called us if you didn’t want to. Now you don’t even need to mark Lee Joon-Hun.”
“Uh, returning might be a bit difficult.”
“Oh? That’s disappointing. I still haven’t cleaned your desk. Just let me know anytime you feel like it.”
Clang-. Clang-.
Lee Joon-Hun noticed that the right arm of the man chatting with Yu Ara had a mechanical apparatus attached to it. He could also recognize his scarred, burnt skin and face immediately.
“You’re ‘Iron Arm’ Kang Cheol-Min! You weren’t supposed to be dead from the T-rank crack!?”
“Yeah. Nice to see you, Joon-Hun. Just like you said, Iron Arm Kang Cheol-Min is dead. So, aren’t you happy? The bastard who gave you a hard time is gone. I saw you at my funeral, and you didn’t look the least bit sad. I felt really hurt. But surprise, I’m alive.”
“Damn, what is going on! Yu Ara! Explain!”
Lee Joon-Hun wasn’t foolish.
He had realized that something beyond his understanding was happening right now.
The information about first-batch student Iron Arm Kang Cheol-Min having died in the crack was something he had verified multiple times.
But now that he was alive, something was seriously wrong.
“Damn!”
Lee Joon-Hun unleashed all of his magical power.
Boom-!
As a gigantic telekinetic wave exploded, the ambulance was flipped over.
His body wouldn’t move due to the tranquilizers, but that didn’t matter.
Lee Joon-Hun was a telekinetic.
Manipulating his body like a puppet with telekinesis was easy for him.
As he desperately crawled out of the overturned ambulance, Yu Ara in a white gown and Kang Cheol-Min with the mechanical arm stepped out calmly from the steel barriers of the ambulance.
“Wow, you can still move even after taking tranquilizers? Or maybe, since you didn’t have Ara around, your skills have deteriorated a bit?”
“The composition was perfect. It’s just that Lee Joon-Hun’s mental strength was stronger than we expected. I guess it’s worthy of the S-rank title.”
“Get lost!”
Lee Joon-Hun took out a potion made from ‘glow mushrooms’ from his pocket. Though it was a new medicine still undergoing testing, it had been proven to maximize power consumption.
He stuffed all the pills into his mouth and forced himself to chew and swallow.
His body now regained the output of his S-rank days, and he unleashed all his telekinesis at his opponents.
Boom-!
The telekinetic wave gouged the asphalt surface of the vacant lot.
This was a technique that should never be used on people, but Iron Arm Kang Cheol-Min was stepping forward step by step, blocking it with his mechanical arm.
“This technique merely overpowers through an overwhelming amount of mana. I’m not sure it can even be called a technique. Isn’t it a bit too simplistic?”
“W-What the hell! I’m S-rank! Kang Cheol-Min, you were only B-rank! How are you withstanding the projection of S-rank magical power! Your body shouldn’t be able to handle it! Die! Just die!”
“Body burst? Die? Ha, this little bastard, speaking so poorly to your senior after so long. You know why there are only three S-rank Awakened in Korea, right?”
Whoooooosh, clang-. Snap-!
Kang Cheol-Min’s mechanical arm made a strange sound and seemed to operate as wires shot out, grabbing Lee Joon-Hun by the collar and pulling him forward.
Lee Joon-Hun felt the knee strike his abdomen and suddenly became dizzy.
He collapsed to the ground and couldn’t even scream in that construction site.
With fading consciousness, he gazed at Yu Ara’s white gown.
“Yu Ara, what the hell are you… Have you been deceiving me this whole time…?”
As he spoke, his vision darkened.
It might have been better not to hear the truth of their identities.
At that moment, Kang Cheol-Min, whose mechanical arm had been reloaded with ammunition, asked him.
“We’ll ask the questions. You’d better try to recall everything, from your preschool days to memories you can’t share with others. Have you ever come in contact with a ‘witch’?”
