There was no response from the radio. With an increasingly anxious heart, I continued reading the novel. There was just a tiny bit of scrolling left. I wanted to confirm it was Suo Weiqian. I wanted to help Kim Haewon. Feeling sweat forming in my palms, I quickly scrolled down.
「At that moment, the Chinese Esper Association Research Institute was turned completely upside down. It was because Suo Weiqian’s corpse had disappeared.
{What do you mean! Wasn’t it autopsied right away?}
{We thought so, but it was an ordinary person with a similar appearance. It seems to have been switched with a homeless person!}
{When was it switched?}
{W-we don’t know!}
The director of the Chinese Management Bureau struck the senior researcher’s cheek. The senior researcher bowed his head with his cheek flushed red. Numerous researchers following behind him also bowed their heads in unison. The furious Management Bureau director huffed and said.
{Other countries must not find out about this! Absolutely not! China is already suffering various disadvantages due to this incident!}
{Yes!}
{Find it immediately! We must find Suo Weiqian’s corpse before it becomes known to the outside!}
{Yes!}
As soon as the director’s order fell, everyone moved in perfect unison.」
The novel ended there. But what this content meant was clear.
Suo Weiqian became a gate in a dead state. Just like Heo Juan had become a gate while in a zombie state. I couldn’t know how it was possible. But they were making it happen. I shouted into the radio.
“Kim Haewon Esper! They say Suo Weiqian’s corpse disappeared! That gate is Suo Weiqian! It’s definitely Suo Weiqian!”
I shouted several times in case he couldn’t hear. But there was no sound coming from the radio. I shouted once more.
Suo Weiqian, Suo Weiqian, Suo Weiqian.
I shouted to add just one step of trust to Kim Haewon’s suspicion.
“Ugh.”
Suddenly, pain surged from the ring. I clutched my finger. My hand trembled. Should I take off the ring? But it didn’t seem like it would come off. My entire hand was hot. It was a temperature so hot it felt like I’d be burned by something. I’m out of breath. I felt like my heart would burst. I clutched my chest tightly.
“Huk, haaak.”
It felt like someone was going to burst my heart. I became so breathless I couldn’t even say “save me.” I couldn’t speak. I rested my cheek on the floor and exhaled several times.
I dry heaved, and tears welled up.
Please save me. Save me.
But instead, the hand wearing the ring clenched even tighter. Even while trembling violently. It was strange. I wanted to throw the ring away right now, but my hand gripped it even tighter. Like in “The Lord of the Rings,” was I developing greed for the absolute ring? I didn’t want to believe it, but it was actually happening.
I barely managed to open my fingers. But my fist clenched again immediately. The ring was tightly constricting my finger. Only the part wearing the ring hurt more, as if burning up. Tears streamed down.
“Uaah… ahhh!”
I twisted my body while screaming in pain. I wanted to blow off my entire hand, forget about the ring of the alliance leader or whatever. The moment I rolled over in agony, suddenly my breath cleared. My suffocating chest became cool in an instant. The hot temperature of my hand also cooled down instantly, seeming to find its proper temperature. With tears hanging from my eyes, I stared at the ceiling with blank pupils. There was writing on the ceiling.
「The one who possesses the ring of the alliance leader shall have all of Pamundong. All those of Pamundong shall follow his words. Those who are awake, and those who sleep. Those who are alive, and even those who are dead.」
I squinted my eyes and barely read those letters. The one who possesses the ring of the alliance leader gets all of Pamundong. All those of Pamundong follow his words. I opened my eyes wide and read the last line with emphasis.
“Those who are alive, and those who are dead?”
The first one I thought of was Suo Weiqian. I looked at the gate that still hadn’t disappeared and parted my already dry lips.
“Suo Weiqian, Suo Weiqian reveals himself before Kim Haewon. Suo Weiqian gathers all the power of the gate. Let it be so.”
I said while tightly gripping the ring. If what was written on the ceiling was true, then dead Suo Weiqian should have to follow my words. But there was no change. I no longer felt pain. A drop of sweat rolled down from my forehead.
‘Is there some special incantation? Or did I see an illusion?’
The letters that had been written on the ceiling were gone. What on earth is happening? I still organized my breath that hadn’t returned to its normal pace. I wanted to at least sit up, but I really couldn’t move even a finger.
I closed my eyes and waited for my breathing to return when I heard a thudding sound. I opened my eyes at that sound and turned my head. On the floor, I saw Emily’s unconscious face.
“Are you alright? What happened?”
Kim Haewon, drenched in water, approached me and offered his hand. Grasping his hand, I asked.
“What about the gate?”
“Completely cleared. While Emily fainted, we had difficulty finding where Suo Weiqian’s main body was, but Suo Weiqian appeared on his own.”
“…!”
I stood up from my spot holding his hand. Gabriel Esper’s combat uniform had the arm portion burned away. She brushed it off and organized Suo Weiqian’s corpse, which had shrunk like a very small child.
“Did you hear my voice?”
“No. I didn’t hear anything.”
“I see…”
“Are you alright?”
When I staggered briefly, Kim Haewon caught me. Inside the gate, Kim Haewon couldn’t hear my voice and struggled. Then he quickly eliminated Suo Weiqian who had suddenly appeared, and brought Emily out of the gate together with Gabriel.
“At some point, he gathered all his power as if receiving some revelation. Do you know anything related to this?”
I showed him the ring on my hand.
“What is it?”
“They said the one who possesses the ring of the alliance leader can control all the people of Pamundong.”
“Who said that?”
“I don’t know.”
“What does that mean?”
Kim Haewon looked at me with a somewhat more serious expression. I couldn’t bear the nausea. Leaning on him from dizziness, I said.
“My head hurt, and my chest tightened terribly… suddenly I saw letters on the ceiling. It said those who possess the ring of the alliance leader must be unconditionally obeyed, even by dead people. So I just blurted it out.”
“What did you say?”
“I told Suo Weiqian to gather his power and reveal himself.”
Once it was confirmed that the gate had completely lifted, Chinese soldiers and Management Bureau people entered. They first secured the rings rolling on the floor. In that moment, Kim Haewon tightly gripped my hand. So that the ring on my hand wouldn’t be visible.
“Kim Haewon Esper…”
“Stay still.”
When Kim Haewon signaled to Gabriel with his eyes, Gabriel nodded and approached the ring that had fallen on the floor. In the place where the obsidian had disappeared, a transparent mineral had taken its place. As if all the black inside had completely drained out.
{Everyone stand back. The ring is dangerous.}
I could feel everyone eyeing the ring. Gabriel picked up the ring with deliberately exaggerated movements. Kim Haewon wrapped around me as if supporting my unwell body and escaped that way. The ring of the alliance leader was still on my hand.
My body became heavy as if all my strength had drained out. But thanks to the hand firmly supporting me, I could escape that place safely.
“Just hold on a bit. Just a bit.”
As we boarded the plane, Kim Haewon whispered softly in my ear. That voice led me. So that I could move forward without losing consciousness until the end. As soon as I sat in the airplane seat, Kim Haewon held my hand and removed the ring. The ring came off more easily than expected. As soon as the ring was removed, I felt all my strength draining. As if it was miraculous I’d held on until now. I muttered while closing my eyes.
“I think… I need to sleep.”
“Yes, rest.”
“Don’t put it on, Kim Haewon Esper. That thing…”
“…”
“It hurts. A lot.”
After muttering those words, I closed my eyes. Darkness came in an instant.
* * *
“Wok!”
When I woke up startled, I was still on the plane. Kim Haewon beside me checked on me asking if I was alright.
“How long did I sleep?”
“About 3 hours and 50 minutes.”
Kim Haewon answered while looking at his watch. I continued speaking while looking out the window full of clouds.
“But we still haven’t arrived in Korea?”
“No, because we’re not going back to Korea.”
“Then where are we going?”
“We’re going to San Francisco.”
“What?”
“An SS-class esper meeting is being held and I plan to attend. With this ring.”
Kim Haewon showed me the ring contained in a transparent case. It looked safe as if sealed. Kim Haewon explained about the case.
“This case contains a kind of device that blocks esper abilities.”
“There’s such a thing?”
“It’s an item developed during an unstable period for the Association. Though it hasn’t been used in recent times, back then there were cases of sealing powerful abilities in objects like this and using them like curses.”
Kim Haewon’s words were right. It was closer to a curse than control. A curse that could freely manipulate even dead bodies. Yes. This object wasn’t the ring of the alliance leader, it was a ring that summoned curses. When I withdrew my gaze from the headache-inducing feeling just from looking at it, Kim Haewon put it in a hard case and closed it.
“Oh right, what happened to the ring Gabriel Esper took?”
“As expected, there was someone who intercepted it midway. Gabriel’s side is tracking who it is.”
The ring Gabriel had was the fake ring of the alliance leader. But since it had also moved as a gate, it was certainly an item that needed to be handled carefully. Kim Haewon told me not to worry too much. I just nodded while leaning back deeply into the seat. I had no energy at all. Kim Haewon looked at me quietly then spoke with difficulty.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
His voice full of concern was awkward but sincere. I couldn’t answer his question right away and smacked my lips. His blue pupils held me without wavering. Completely.
