Gu-young’s eyes instantly turned red. Ah. Only then did Ju-eon remembered that Gu-young had been with him right before his kidnapping. This wasn’t something trivial he could just brush off. But explaining everything now would take too long, so all he could do was apologize.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing, hyung? Are you okay? You can explain what happened later.”

“Yeah.”

Ju-eon couldn’t bring himself to say that he hadn’t considered how worried Gu-young must have been, so he kept quiet. Just then, another person failed to dodge an attack and fell to the ground.

“Is that Su-hui over there?”

“Yes.”

“Why is Su-hui here too?”

“She came to volunteer…”

Ju-eon’s gaze swept through the people fighting without pause. Soon, he easily spotted Myung-hwon. And next to him were Seo Yun-jin and someone protecting Myung-hwon’s back.

“Yeo Han-ol?”

It was Yeo Han-ol. Han-ol, who had arrived before him, wasn’t confronting Myung-hwon. Though Ju-eon knew Han-ol had been betrayed twice, that wasn’t reason enough for him to join forces with Myung-hwon.

Han-ol had expressed strong resentment toward Myung-hwon. Enough to kidnap him.

‘Are they fighting together for now? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.’

But even so, Myung-hwon fought inefficiently. As someone who knew Myung-hwon’s skills, Ju-eon couldn’t understand it. Though he used excessive force, there was no sign that he intended to kill his opponents with a single blow.

Even from a distance, Ju-eon clearly saw that the people who had taken the rampage drug were not in a normal state. Despite broken arms, they couldn’t perceive pain and continued attacking with their dangling limbs. Ju-eon frowned as he unconsciously touched his own arm.

Whether taken voluntarily or forcibly, there was a reason the rampage drug hadn’t been developed.

Because it made people attack relentlessly, completely consumed by their power, ignoring their deteriorating physical condition until they died.

There had been many espers who went on rampages without the drug.

“Grrrr.”

“How did these people end up taking the rampage drug?”

And the survival rate for espers who went on rampages was less than 10%. Ju-eon had heard about illegal drugs that could induce rampages, but that was only mentioned as educational reference. Even those drugs supposedly took days for the rampage to progress, but this was different.

Having many people to protect was not a good thing. He couldn’t guide everyone here.

Though they weren’t people with poor guiding efficiency, his ability had its limits.

Tap, tap.

Thud!

“Yun-jin, block that side!”

“This is so annoying.”

Thud.

“Don’t kill them under any circumstances.”

“Don’t you know we’ll all die if you’re this soft?”

Seo Yun-jin snapped irritably at Han-ol, but he didn’t respond and focused on blocking attacks.

Though they acted like a team against the attacking espers, there was no sense of loyalty between them to help each other.

‘What is Myung-hwon thinking?’

But Ju-eon couldn’t just stand by while Myung-hwon helped silently.

Clang.

The front of Myung-hwon’s gun met an attacking spear head-on. Distributing his strength perfectly without giving an inch, Myung-hwon stopped the rampaging esper’s movement, then looked toward Gu-young and spotted Ju-eon, his eyes widening.

Swoosh!

Seo Yun-jin channeled her power into her legs, moving several times faster to stand in front of Myung-hwon. Concentrating power in just one part of the body consumed a lot of energy.

“Where are you putting your attention!”

Though Yun-jin sharply pointed out as she deflected a sword aimed at Myung-hwon’s side, he couldn’t immediately look away. Only then did Yun-jin’s gaze follow his to Ju-eon. When Ju-eon awkwardly nodded first, Yun-jin’s expression immediately brightened.

“Ju-eon! You’re safe!”

Thud.

“Is this the time for greetings? Be careful!”

Han-ol shouted without even glancing at Ju-eon. Despite his gruff voice, he stood at the forefront, seemingly protecting Myung-hwon and Yun-jin, knowing they were helping him.

“Ugh…”

That’s why Han-ol reached his limit first. He let out a low groan.

Spit.

Han-ol spat out saliva mixed with blood onto the floor. This was his limit, as the journey here hadn’t been smooth either. The air density around Han-ol increased. It signaled an impending rampage. The moment his own breath was consumed by the high-density air, he would go on a rampage.

“Is there any meaning to this?”

An esper who continued attacking despite a broken arm could no longer be considered human. Losing all reason and desiring only destruction—wasn’t that no different from a monster?

Just in case Ju-eon might be captured by Han-ol again, Myung-hwon had silently gone along with what he wanted, but now there was no need for that.

“Just because they weren’t serious doesn’t mean I wasn’t serious.”

“…”

Han-ol’s voice was bitter. It expressed regret and stubbornness. He knew it. The most ideal solution would be to eliminate them all and leave just one alive.

“I know I’m shameless… but these people were all I had.”

That’s why he wanted to hear an explanation, or at least an apology. Even knowing it was meaningless, he didn’t want to be abandoned again.

“If I judge that Ju-eon is in danger, I’ll do as I please.”

“Fine.”

He couldn’t ask for more than that. After all, Myung-hwon’s top priority was always Ju-eon.

The three resumed their battle stance. Though the difference in skill was obvious, everyone knew it was nearly impossible to subdue an esper who didn’t care about their body being destroyed without k*lling them.

“Is this why you joined Yeo Ji-woong?”

Thud.

A rampaging esper dropped their weapon and crashed to the ground from Han-ol’s attack. Despite being hit hard, the esper felt no pain and got up again, throwing a punch.

“Urgh…”

Though someone who had lost their reason couldn’t possibly answer, Han-ol couldn’t let go of his attachment.

‘Was it wrong to just try to make a place for myself?’

Han-ol had always been the one not chosen. Not chosen by his mother, not chosen by Yeo Ji-woong, not chosen by Myung-hwon. And after that, not even chosen by the team he had considered complete.

A life of always being pushed aside. If he had lived like a jellyfish, going with the flow and following the waves, perhaps he would have seen a better situation than the one before him now.

It felt like the final flame burning in emptiness. What would happen when this fire went out? There was no way to know.

‘Now that private guilds can be formed, maybe fewer people will join terrorist organizations.’

Bringing in new people, opposing Yeo Ji-woong again, giving espers freedom of choice…

His thoughts trailed off. The purpose of creating AGT was to give freedom to oppressed espers like himself. He thought he had been running straight toward that goal, but looking back, he had been walking a winding path.

Crackle… sizzle…

The power flowing inside his body became uncontrollable, leaking out little by little. With each breath, the increasingly heavy air tightened around his throat.

Slash.

In a moment of carelessness, a heavy attack aimed at Han-ol’s neck. He quickly blocked it, protecting his neck, but felt severe pain in the arm that took the blow.

“Ugh…”

His skin tore like paper, and red blood gushed from the wound. Su-hui, who was closest, pushed the staggering Han-ol aside and blocked the attack.

Watching the battle, Ju-eon took a step toward Myung-hwon, but Gu-young, who was beside him, grabbed his wrist firmly.

“What are you doing?”

“Get inside.”

Gu-young forcibly pushed Ju-eon into the building.

“Gu-young, what are you doing?”

“What?”

“Ju-eon?”

Kwak Seong-gwan approached with a puzzled expression, but soon returned to his original position after sensing the serious atmosphere.

“What are you trying to do out there, hyung?”

“Everyone’s overusing their abilities right now.”

“So?”

“I have a suppressant. I need to try to defuse the situation with this.”

“You’ll just get in the way if you go out there.”

It wasn’t meant to hurt, but the most necessary thing in this situation was an objective judgment. Gu-young glanced at the pill case and frowned.

“Besides, this isn’t the medication provided by the agency.”

“…”

“Where did you get this?”

“…”

Ju-eon bit his lower lip, unable to say it was from the person who probably developed this rampage drug.

“Is this really a suppressant?”

“…”

He should have immediately confirmed that it was, but his lips wouldn’t part.

“Yeo Ji-woong forced them to take that rampage drug.”

“…”

“I saw Yeo Ji-woong on the news when your boyfriend received an award.”

“…”

“Am I wrong?”

Ju-eon couldn’t say anything in response to Gu-young’s words. Faces flushed red with burst blood vessels, drool dripping between jaws and chins, speed that disregarded bodily limits. Ju-eon had also wondered if Yun-jae might have created the rampage drug.

But the situation didn’t give Ju-eon time to think.

“Urgh…”

He needed to guide them quickly and give them this medication. Just as he was about to approach Myung-hwon, a rampaging esper’s gaze fell on Ju-eon.

“Myung-hwon!”

The moment Ju-eon called out, the esper changed course and headed toward him.

Thud!

With a dull sound, Ju-eon’s vision was suddenly shadowed.