# Chapter 140
Taejin’s methods hadn’t changed at all in ten years. The only difference was that the bait, which ten years ago had been his parents, was now Mirae. And he seemed to believe that Iyeon would naturally fall for it.
To some extent, it was true. Iyeon had no intention of abandoning Mirae.
“Who would reveal their cards so early?”
“If you don’t show them, we can’t move forward with our conversation.”
As those words left his mouth, white sand rose into the air. Rushing straight toward Taejin, the sand compacted firmly and targeted him. A savage sound—shwik—cut through the air as the attack flew directly at Taejin’s face.
Instead, it was Semi who moved.
Standing nearby, Semi stretched out her arm and grabbed Taejin. In an instant, both of them teleported outside the attack’s range.
This was an expected pattern. The attack was merely a warning; Iyeon hadn’t actually intended to hurt him. Iyeon made a dry joke.
“Uncle, you can’t keep using the same methods you used on a middle schooler. I’ve grown up, you know.”
The fourteen-year-old Jeongyeon and the twenty-four-year-old Iyeon were different. Taejin wasn’t a superhuman, and what Semi possessed was teleportation ability. Since Taejin needed Iyeon’s gi-ryeok, he wouldn’t back down easily. Semi’s short-distance teleportation had its limitations.
To face Iyeon, Taejin would have to reveal all his cards, even the hidden ones. Despite understanding the exact meaning, Taejin responded leisurely.
“But if you don’t cooperate, the cards will surely be destroyed.”
Iyeon laughed. He was past the age of falling for such feeble bluffs.
“You can’t destroy anything in front of me.”
White sand attacked again. The particles gathered and surged like a wave. It was massive enough to cover the entire room.
It sounded like the ocean—swoosh. The wave instantly engulfed the two figures who looked tiny compared to its size.
Even if Semi evaded with short-distance teleportation like before, the wave didn’t stop. The result was the same no matter how many times they tried. Following Iyeon’s eye signals, the waves poured endlessly. Semi’s face gradually contorted.
She jumped here and there, but the attacks followed like leeches. Even if she wanted to leave the room entirely, if Taejin didn’t want to, Semi couldn’t leave either. What is he doing…? In a moment of irritation, she hesitated briefly.
Behind her, the wave opened its jaws wide.
“Huk…!”
The small body that had urgently drawn breath was swept away in one go. A strong force pushed Semi away. Not only her vision but even her sense of balance distorted. The storm shook her relentlessly. Her hand that had been holding Taejin had long since let go.
Teleportation isn’t suitable for combat against people. Especially for someone like Semi who doesn’t use weapons.
Small grains of sand poured into her mouth. Semi’s breathing became increasingly rapid. Her lungs, with their blocked airways, gradually shrank. After thrashing her limbs and struggling in the sand wave, Semi eventually went limp. She had passed out.
“I’m sorry. It would have been troublesome if you escaped with teleportation.”
It was the most peaceful method among Iyeon’s available options. After apologizing belatedly to the unconscious Semi, Iyeon looked toward Taejin. His face was now serious, unlike earlier.
Since Semi had been separated, Taejin should have been swept by the wave and passed out long ago.
However, once Taejin was left alone, a white circular barrier appeared around him. No matter how much Iyeon pounded with the waves, it wouldn’t break. At first, he thought it was an engineer’s equipment, but soon Iyeon recognized it as a very familiar type.
“That must consume a lot of gi-ryeok.”
Iyeon muttered as he dispelled the waves. It was just like Taejin to only reveal this after Semi had passed out. The sight of the white particles that had been clumped and surging now floating away into the air was magnificent. Through them, Taejin could be seen standing.
The white particle barrier soon dispersed and vanished as well.
“Even if the gi-ryeok wavelength can’t be exactly the same, there are people who are similar.”
The man who had stolen someone else’s ability remained calm even in front of its original owner.
“Those people can use it much more efficiently.”
Under Taejin’s lab coat, Iyeon saw something familiar on his inner arm. A rose-gold accessory shaped like growing vines. A jewel embedded in the center.
The only difference was that the jewels were much larger than what he’d seen before, and there were multiple ones.
“I’m a bit lucky.”
Taejin pulled up his lips into a long smile. Soon, white sand gathered around him. A wave identical to what Iyeon had created earlier filled the entire room.
The white glowing waves rippled softly toward Iyeon.
*
BANG!
With a huge explosion, Seeun crashed into the wall. Debris fell loosely from the wall that had already been turned to rags with holes everywhere.
Groaning at the pain in her back, Seeun staggered to her feet. The monstrous man was approaching with heavy steps. If she stopped here, she would really die. Her instinct was telling her so.
When Semi disappeared with Iyeon, Sano had just stared blankly at the space where Iyeon had been. Even when Seeun shot suspicious glances at the back of his head, his back, completely turned toward her, remained still.
Taejin had said to hold Sano, not to kill him. But now… Seeun took a deep breath inwardly and quietly raised her gi-ryeok. Even against the #1 ranked superhuman, if she launched a surprise attack, she might have a chance.
That’s when a low voice flowed out.
“Where is he?”
The voice with its downturned end, despite being in the form of a question, didn’t sound like a question at all, causing Seeun to miss her timing to respond. The silence continued, but Sano still didn’t move an inch. Seeun looked for another opportunity.
But Sano was faster.
CRACK! Huge spikes burst through the floor. The sharply honed metal was similar in size to Seeun’s body. The gleaming spikes reached from Sano to Seeun in an instant. Seeun, who had hurriedly inhaled, frantically used her ability. THUD! A rock she urgently summoned narrowly blocked the spike in front of her nose. Fragments flew as the surface of the rock was scratched by the spike.
And the next moment, the rock was completely shattered.
It happened so quickly that she couldn’t even see what had broken it. The pulverized rock fell to the floor with a thud, leaving Seeun completely exposed. Hunching her body and looking ahead, Seeun’s eyes widened.
Sano was gone.
The man who had been standing like a pillar of salt until just moments ago was nowhere to be seen. No, I was told to hold him. Seeun panicked and looked around. If he had abandoned her to go look for Iyeon…
At that moment, she felt an eerie sensation on the back of her neck. It was a sensation close to instinct.
Seeun twisted her body without even knowing what it was. The sound of another hastily summoned rock breaking was particularly loud. With the lingering sound of cracking, Seeun’s body was struck by an impact. She flew without even being able to scream.
“…!”
It was a truly excruciating pain she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Seeun, collapsed on the floor, barely held up her trembling neck and raised her head. A large figure, whose expression was invisible due to the backlight, stood in the place where Seeun had just been.
The man was standing still like a wax figure. But Seeun knew this wasn’t the end. She gathered her legs, which were staggering from the loss of strength, solely through willpower. Her fingers pressed against the floor with force. Rocks extended from Seeun’s hands, protruding unevenly along the floor and walls as if creating a path.
The attack, which split into three directions, rushed toward Sano at a terrifying speed, but crumbled before even touching his body. The finely minced rocks flowed down as sand.
That sand joined together again to become spikes. Seeun grimaced as the byproduct of her own ability was completely taken from her. Strictly speaking, Seeun’s ability to control rocks was a lower version of Sano’s. Even though she already knew this fact, it wasn’t pleasant to have it confirmed in this way.
Without even giving her the leisure to feel properly upset, the attack began again. Seeun was already overwhelmed just defending against the relentless attacks. Small cuts appeared all over her body. Drip. Drops of blood fell one by one.
Throughout the fight, Sano didn’t open his mouth except for the first utterance. That’s when Seeun realized that the reason Sano had said even a word or two before was because Iyeon had been present.
