# Chapter 17
Iyeon’s pupils shook violently. His urgent hands pulled his bag directly down. But even after rummaging through it for a while, what he wanted didn’t come out.
Only then did he vaguely recall yesterday’s memory. He needed a signature so he had briefly taken it out at the office, but where did he put it? …Did he even put it back?
“You’re dawdling.”
Sano glanced dismissively at Iyeon, who was clutching his bag while nearly collapsing to the ground, and took a step forward. The cement floor rippled like waves, and the large silhouette ran through the spaces between stores as if using some kind of teleportation technique.
“Hey, wait…”
Iyeon urgently raised his head, but he was too late. Sano had already moved so far away that he was no longer visible.
“Huk, make me just one graphite before you go…”
Only his forlorn cry echoed emptily in the air.
To draw a picture, you only need one tool. A pen.
In other words, without that tool, you can’t draw.
In that sense, Iyeon without a pen in his current state could be said to be no different from an ordinary person. Rather than confidently coming up to the 9th floor, he was someone who should be evacuating immediately.
‘No, stay calm.’
Iyeon shook his head to bring back his wandering mind. Sano had gone ahead to find the mutant, so he just needed to somehow get a pen and join Sano. Then Iyeon could become a superhuman again and fight alongside Sano. It would be best to hurry since he didn’t know when Sano would return.
There would probably be pens that employees use at the store counter. He’d borrow one briefly and return it. Iyeon solemnly turned his head toward the nearest store. Tap-tap-tap, his footsteps echoed anxiously on the floor.
And then he came face to face with a mutant sitting at the counter, staring at him intently.
Grrr…
The black beast, whose form crumbled like fog, was slightly larger than Iyeon’s head, and it was looking directly at Iyeon while lowering its posture and emitting a growl. A fierce aura emanated from it, suggesting it would tear into him the moment he moved even slightly.
While holding his breath, Iyeon only rolled his eyeballs and spotted a container holding pens at the beast’s feet. It was the worst situation.
If he reached out to grab a pen, the mutant would immediately attack him, and Iyeon, temporarily an ordinary person, had no means to defend himself. The only equipment he had was his goggles, which had strong communication functions but no attack capabilities.
Even the goggles were meaningless in the current situation. Contacting Hyegang just to say he didn’t have a pen? There’s a limit to embarrassment. If Iyeon couldn’t use his ability, there was a limit to what Hyegang could do as well.
Iyeon, who had been standing like a statue, furtively lowered his gaze to look at both his hands. He could see the red ink (refillable) that his parents had given him flowing beneath his skin.
“…”
If he bit himself to draw blood… it would hurt a lot, right?
Iyeon, who hadn’t yet resolved himself to that extent, desperately racked his brain to come up with another solution. It would be nice if Sano noticed the standoff situation and came to help. But even as he thought about it, it seemed like a far-fetched assumption. There wasn’t even a trace of presence to indicate where Sano might be searching.
Unless Iyeon sent a signal, it would take time for Sano to find traces and reach him. If he had known this would happen, he would have given Je Sano a communicator too. Regrets always come too late.
“There… good boy.”
In the suffocating silence, Iyeon whispered and very carefully lowered his body. As he moved slowly, the mutant, perhaps not sensing a major threat, just growled intermittently as if on guard.
Just a little, just a little more… Iyeon held his breath and focused as he slowly moved sideways. The tense atmosphere was precariously tight. It was around when Iyeon’s body was about half hidden by the wall of the adjacent store.
Kyaak!
The mutant leaped up from the counter and rushed toward Iyeon.
If Iyeon hadn’t quickly withdrawn his body, he would have been seriously injured by the mutant’s claws. After barely avoiding the attack by rolling his body, Iyeon entered the adjacent bedding store and ran behind the counter. Claws landed just a finger joint’s distance away from his staggering body. It was close enough to make the fine hairs on his ears stand on end.
Iyeon instinctively ducked. With a sharp cry, a fierce wind passed above his head. Belatedly, several strands of Iyeon’s hair were cut and scattered as they fluttered.
The beast’s attacks continued without giving him a chance to properly gather his wits. Deep claw marks were carved into the sturdy counters and display stands here and there, and the cozy blankets and soft sheets that had been on display were torn to pieces in disarray. Despite its small size, its destructive power was tremendous.
Bang! Shhhk! Bang!
The sounds of bursting and tearing came one after another. Sweat had formed on his forehead, but there was no time to wipe it. His body heaved with rough breathing. Fortunately, he hadn’t been hit yet, but it was impossible to avoid attacks forever.
It didn’t seem like it attacked other employees like this, so I wonder what made it angry? Complaining about the unfair reality wouldn’t make the mutant show mercy. After narrowly avoiding the mutant’s charge by ducking his head, Iyeon panted and rolled his body. With a crunch, claws landed where he had just moved his feet.
At that moment, something miraculously caught his eye while he was running frantically.
As soon as he identified it, Iyeon charged without hesitation. The sound of wind rushing from behind grew closer and closer. Iyeon reached out, grabbed it, and rolled his body to the side. Due to the sudden change in direction, the beast couldn’t dodge in time and crashed its body straight into the counter.
Bang!
Dust and torn cloth fragments fluttered over the body that had been mercilessly slammed. The impact must have been significant as the beast momentarily lost its bearings, during which small iron bars rose up. The iron bars, connected in a round arch shape, were smooth but somewhat askew. A small sigh flowed through the dust.
“I really almost died…”
The white hand was holding a long marker. The black cap that had been partially closed was faintly visible between the fingers, which were gripping so tightly that the knuckles had turned white.
Kyaak!
The mutant clung to the iron bars and tried to attack Iyeon, but it couldn’t easily break the prison created by superhuman power.
“What to do with this.”
Iyeon, who barely managed to take care of his joints that were screaming from the intense exercise, muttered as he stood up. First, he needed to bring Je Sano. Then they would go together to the Superpower Management Office to return this guy…
“…”
Suddenly, his fingertips felt chilly. He felt something was missing.
Wait a second.
This mutant, it changes into stains and climbs walls…
“Jung Iyeon!”
The moment he heard the loud shout, Iyeon realized that the mutant’s cries had not been heard for some time. Kyaak, an eerie cry sounded right next to him.
It definitely wasn’t from the direction of the iron bars. Iyeon closed his eyes, bracing for the impact that was about to come.
Grrrung… Kheung!
At that moment, a huge roaring sound was heard. It was a monstrous sound that shook the entire 9th floor. As if emitted by a very large and heavy presence.
A familiar cry.
“Huh?”
Iyeon, his eyes suddenly wide open, looked around. The beast that had seemed ready to split Iyeon in half was surprisingly standing quietly and looking outside the store. Not only had the savage aura from earlier completely disappeared, but it also seemed somewhat intimidated.
Seeing that the area around the beast was fine, it wasn’t that Sano had quietly subdued it with his ability. An iron shield that had started to rise at Iyeon’s feet was faintly visible. Then how exactly… His confused gaze followed the beast’s line of sight toward the outside of the store. Familiar faces were standing firm. Je Sano and…
“Fur ball?”
The fur ball standing majestically next to Sano in the corridor in front of the store was barely reaching Sano’s knee in size, yet its energy was remarkable. Only yellow eyes gleamed brightly amidst the pitch-black fur.
“Just now…”
What broke the atmosphere filled with strange tension was the loud sound of a phone. When the resonant sound filled the space, Iyeon swallowed what he was about to say and checked his phone screen. It was Hyegang.
The situation had settled down, and it didn’t seem like the beast would suddenly attempt an attack now. When he connected the call, Hyegang’s rarely excited voice burst out of the device.
“Yeah, what?”
[Hyung! I was right!]
“About what?”
[The dog I left with you yesterday, I think it really is a mutant.]
“Huh?”
Iyeon’s gaze turned toward the fur ball. The black fur, which had been raised and baring its teeth toward the beast, could be seen gradually subsiding.
[After bringing that guy home, it’s been strangely difficult to use my ability. Whenever I try to do something, the internet keeps disconnecting, and I’ve been struggling a lot to fix it. But the more I think about it, it doesn’t seem to be a machine problem, so I formed a hypothesis, and it seems to be correct.]
“…Huuuh?”
Even as he answered with a dumbfounded face, the puzzle pieces were slowly coming together in Iyeon’s mind. The puppy that didn’t care about Je Sano’s killing intent. The puppy that strangely seemed to understand words. The puppy that looked more like a feline than a dog. The puppy that subdued a beast-type mutant with just one cry.
‘There’s a recent mutant hypothesis spreading on the internet that even among mutants, there are factions or forces led by top-tier mutants.’
‘According to the paper, factions are divided based on the basic form of the mutant. Mammals stick with mammals, you know what I mean?’
A neuro-electric mutant that could interfere with transmission interference superpowers.
“…Is it real?”
The answer to his dumbfounded self-mutter came from Sano.
“You’re painfully slow.”
If you knew, you should have said something…
His unorganized thoughts were expressed in a jumble. No, how, why, when, what, huh? All sorts of question words swirled on the tip of his tongue. Why is this one here? Unable to believe the reality, Iyeon just stared endlessly at the fur ball.
Not knowing his troubled mind, the fur ball approached gracefully and pushed its head forward as if asking for praise. Even when he backed away with discomfort, it kept rubbing its body against his legs acting cute, so he ended up absent-mindedly stroking the soft skin plenty. The cloth pieces that the beast had torn and scattered on the floor made rustling sounds as they touched the twitching body of the Blue Tiger.
After a while, all that came out of Iyeon was this:
“Should we… buy a few sets of bedding too?”
This place seems to have good texture… Sano raised the corner of his mouth crookedly at the unexpected suggestion.
“Do as you please.”
