TTOA Chapter 148

#148

“Seo Eui-woo! What’s going on?”

Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san, having finished confirming the kills on the β-creatures and ending the battle, approached the two. Seo Eui-woo shook his head at him. Then, he whispered to Kwon Jae-jin.

“Jae-jin, you saw it too, right?”

It was a strained voice, unlike Seo Eui-woo, which was painful to hear.

“…Saw what?”

“Those bastards, they were targeting me.”

“…I see.”

“Right now, haah… I can’t trust anyone. I’m going to dig through their heads and read their memories to see who gave them what orders. That’s why I kept them alive in the first place.”

“…”

“See? As soon as I recover enough to use my Mental-type Ability, I’m going straight to those five…”

Five people.

The moment Seo Eui-woo uttered those words, one of the bodyguards who had been hiding in the rear until the very end jumped out. He was the most cautious and meticulous of the six who had received the top-secret mission from Brigadier General Oh.

The man simultaneously detonated his ability towards Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin, unleashing it while firing warning shots with his rifle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Along with the bullets that flew without any time difference, intense telekinetic power poured out. Unfortunately, it was an A-rank Esper who used the same telekinetic power as Seo Eui-woo.

Seo Eui-woo tried to raise a shield to block it, but his ability hadn’t recovered yet. If he used his ability again in this situation, he was in danger of running away for good this time.

Blood gushed from Seo Eui-woo’s eyes and nose. His malfunctioning heart beat erratically. Black stains spread down his neck again.

Exhaling a heavy breath as if about to collapse, Seo Eui-woo squeezed out impossible strength and blocked the telekinetic power.

No, he tried to block it.

Seo Eui-woo was a step too late.

Because Kwon Jae-jin had moved before him.

Honed instinct declared it. The result of passing through endless incidents and battles. Kwon Jae-jin’s heightened senses clearly read the impending disaster.

Seo Eui-woo would runaway.

He’s going to runaway.

Now is the last chance.

For some reason, Kwon Jae-jin was certain at that moment.

It wasn’t just a guess. It was a clear realization, a revelation, and reality. Perhaps this was what Seo Eui-woo called Resonance.

“Cough…!”

Kwon Jae-jin blocked Seo Eui-woo and took the incoming attack with his body.

Telekinetic power tore through his chest, followed by bullets piercing him.

If Seo Eui-woo runaway, it would lead to a great disaster.

A small city could be destroyed by just an A-rank Esper runaway, so how terrible would an S-rank Esper runaway be? It would be an unprecedented catastrophe, not recorded in history.

However, Kwon Jae-jin was a Guide who had no risk of runaway.

The damage Kwon Jae-jin suffered would end with him.

Even if he gets hurt, he has the Healing Factor,

And,

Even if he dies…

“…Jae-jin?”

Seo Eui-woo saw Kwon Jae-jin’s back.

The black combat uniform was torn, and the wet liquid flowing through the gaps was noticeable.

Bright red blood flowed down Kwon Jae-jin’s upper body to his waist. His chest was pierced by telekinetic power and bullets, so the injuries were not minor.

Seo Eui-woo’s gray eyes rolled back.

“Jae-jin!”

He pulled out the handgun he had tucked into his waist, blew the bodyguard’s head off, and took out a Healing Factor without considering the consequences, injecting it.

Kwon Jae-jin fell backward, weakly collapsing into Seo Eui-woo’s arms.

The injuries were severe.

The front of his body was almost shredded, and his combat uniform was completely torn, revealing only red flesh. The white things visible in between were ribs.

“Wh, what, Jae-jin, Jae-jin, are, are, are you crazy?”

Seo Eui-woo tore open another Healing Factor and shoved it into Kwon Jae-jin. His hands shook uncontrollably, unable to hold it properly.

Seo Eui-woo’s face turned pale, and his eyes were shaking with confusion. Tears welled up in his eyes, mixed with blood, and flowed like blood tears.

“A, are you hurt, hurt? Ugh, j, just a moment. Soon, recovery, recovery is…”

“It’s alrigh…”

“It’s not alright! Does this look alright to you?!”

Seo Eui-woo burst out in anger.

He was in a state where he couldn’t control his rising rage.

Lieutenant Colonel Jang and the other Special Task Force members who had fought with them gathered around, but Seo Eui-woo could only see Kwon Jae-jin’s wounds.

“Don’t, don’t ever do, do this again. Please. Please, I beg you…”

“…”

“Damn it, why is recovery, so, slow… Ugh.”

Seo Eui-woo shed tears.

Kwon Jae-jin’s body went limp. He couldn’t control his arms and legs, and he kept falling to the ground. Seo Eui-woo steadied Kwon Jae-jin in his arms, but then gently laid him down because he thought the embrace would hurt his wounds.

The shredded upper body of Kwon Jae-jin was healing quickly due to the effects of the Healing Factor, but slowly according to Seo Eui-woo’s standards.

New flesh sprouted, and the torn skin rejoined. As if nothing had happened. Safely.

But strangely, Kwon Jae-jin’s complexion only worsened. It was blueish a moment ago, but now it was earthy.

“What…”

“…”

“Jae-jin, why… No…”

Even though his wounds were healing, Kwon Jae-jin showed no signs of regaining consciousness.

His pale face was stiff, and his eyes stared blankly into the air. Even his fingertips trembled like those of a seriously ill person.

His body was getting cold.

Like a hard sculpture.

Stiffly.

Seo Eui-woo, as if it couldn’t be true, threw away his gloves and placed his hand on Kwon Jae-jin’s bare chest, which was almost healed.

Deep in his heart, to reach his Core.

A faint pulse flickered.

It sporadically stopped, split, and gradually faded away.

Kwon Jae-jin’s Core had cracked and was about to break soon. Even at this moment, the Core was breaking.

Seo Eui-woo looked down at Kwon Jae-jin as if he couldn’t believe it. Seeing his expression, Jae-jin understood everything without explanation. What was happening to him, what would happen.

Another end had come.

The clear sky was far away. The blue light brightened and turned white. His heavy body was plummeting underground, and only his light spirit seemed to be rising into the sky.

The fast and dense old days, called a dying person’s memories, flashed by, and in those memories, only one person was significant. Seo Eui-woo’s appearance was constantly, endlessly, sickeningly thought of.

Seo Eui-woo laughing. Seo Eui-woo crying. Seo Eui-woo sleeping. Seo Eui-woo getting angry. When he was tired, when he was annoyed, when he was speechless, and when he was cute…

How close that delicate and youthful face was to Kwon Jae-jin. How blatant the pouring affection was. Colliding, breaking, and then mixing. They hurt each other, but they resonated like fire. Since when, it became difficult to look back on the days when they were not together.

There was too much Seo Eui-woo.

In the living room, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, and next to Kwon Jae-jin. The voices calling him with arms around his waist were varied. Jae-jin, Jae-jin, I like you, Jae-jin, I like you so much… He thought that it would be natural. That for a long time to come, endlessly, frantically, his life would be filled with only Seo Eui-woo and end. He wanted to do a lot of things, wanted to do them for him, and wanted to achieve them together with him.

Driving, drinking, camping, traveling, anniversaries… 100 days, 200 days, 1 year. Something like that, a little… Even if it was childish. Because it was all Seo Eui-woo’s first time. He wanted to humor him. Make a cake, light candles, blow them out, set off fireworks, do something extravagant… If he did such a ridiculous event, he would be very happy, he thought inwardly.

“…Eui-woo.”

Kwon Jae-jin faintly called him.

Seo Eui-woo didn’t seem to be in his right mind to hear it.

“No. This can’t be happening. I’ll inject more Healing Factors, I’ll inject more Healing Factors.”

“Seo Eui-woo.”

“I’ll heal you. That’s all I have to do. I’ll take you to the infirmary. Just a moment, coordinate transfer…”

Kwon Jae-jin grabbed and pulled Seo Eui-woo’s arm tightly.

He pulled so strongly that it didn’t seem like the strength of a dying person.

“Stop it.”

It was a surprisingly firm voice.

Just a moment ago, he had been calling Seo Eui-woo in a voice so faint that it seemed like it would die out, but now it was clearer than ever.

Kwon Jae-jin lifted his head and brought his face close to Seo Eui-woo’s.

Like the distance between the two of them, which had always been close. He went close enough to touch.

“Because I’m, going to die soon. Because I’ve experienced it, because I know.”

“…”

“Listen to me. We don’t have time.”

Seo Eui-woo had said this once before.

That time, that statement, if not all, was somewhat correct.

Kwon Jae-jin had always been close to death.

He had actually died, and he had attempted or resolved to commit suicide countless times. It wasn’t just once or twice, and it wasn’t an impulse committed with a naive heart.

Kwon Jae-jin, that cautious and picky Kwon Jae-jin, had acted after agonizing and contemplating.