# Chapter 106
It was an experiment based on the thought: ‘Couldn’t we create a new human race, that is, artificial Espers, for a more stable future?’ This was the result of research on abilities, previously thought to manifest through chance, finally attempting to manipulate these abilities. It was nothing short of arrogant.
More than fifty-five ordinary people had died through this experiment. Various lives, whose names and very existence were erased because of the unofficial nature of the experiment, were sacrificed under the beautiful excuse of working toward a brilliant future. And yet, after leading such acts, to wear such an aggrieved expression—this was what it meant to be human.
“What do you know? It was for humanity! We can’t stop the increasing dungeon outbreaks with just the small number of ability users. We’ll gradually perish. I was trying to prevent that!”
Though trembling, Dr. Jeong tried to straighten his back, but four hands pressed him down. His gaze, with his pride thoroughly crushed, was sharp. Junseo looked down at those eyes and twisted the corner of his mouth.
“You’re wrong. It was for science, wasn’t it? Would someone who claims to be working for humanity divide people into the weak and strong to weed them out? It’s all just superficial self-satisfaction.”
Dr. Jeong flared up at Junseo’s words.
“Shut up! That bat-like Choi seems to have attached himself to you for now, making you confident? But did you think I completely trusted Dr. Choi? If what you want is Choi Dohyuk, then you shouldn’t be treating me like this!”
“What?”
At that moment, a transmission rang through Junseo’s earpiece. It was Sangjun’s voice, who had gone to rescue Dohyuk from the location Dr. Choi had indicated.
[Yu Junseo! The basement of the research wing is completely empty. Are you sure about the location?]
The place Dr. Choi had mentioned was the gravity room used for Esper training. Since non-ability users and Guides couldn’t enter such a space with their bare bodies, he had quickly sent Sangjun, but…
“I’ll connect you with a support-type Esper, so start scanning immediately.”
[Are you out of your mind? Allowing an Esper from an external affiliation to scan the headquarters? Ha, even setting that aside, there are too many people within the headquarters. It’ll take at least 40 minutes. Is the timing okay? You said it was urgent.]
Junseo’s smile vanished. The composure drained from his snow-white face like an ebbing tide. Only then did Dr. Jeong snicker and mock him.
“Choi Dohyuk is yours? Not at all! He’s my creation, my work from start to finish! Do you think there’s any part of him that my hands haven’t touched? Who’s the thief here, daring to… daring to…! Treat me like a thief? Damn you…! Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?”
Junseo, who had been silent for a while, slowly blinked. His body, which had somehow been sitting on the desk, now stood firmly in front of Dr. Jeong.
“…I told you I didn’t want to do anything rough.”
Something forcefully struck the abdomen, causing Dr. Jeong to start coughing violently. It was a strong impact that should have sent him falling backward, but with his shoulders firmly fixed, he only staggered.
“Huk!”
Junseo’s hands remained in his pockets. This time, Junseo kicked Dr. Jeong’s shin. With a thudding sound, Dr. Jeong trembled in immense pain.
“Why don’t you… help me already?”
“Aaaaargh! Do you think you can treat me this way? I don’t know how great your family is, but if you think you can touch me and bury it… Argh! Even, tually, everything will be exposed…!”
He was kicked again. The impact, which felt like his right kneecap was being shattered, made Dr. Jeong scream once more. Coughing up physiological tears and saliva, Dr. Jeong barely managed to raise his head at Junseo’s voice. The face he met was nothing short of demonic. Even considering he had retired from the field, he was still an Esper, while Yu Junseo was just a Guide, yet all the violence was overwhelming.
“Doctor. Exposed? That’s for you to worry about. I haven’t exposed your human experiments because of insufficient evidence, not out of consideration for you. Besides that, I know several other ways to bury your life in the mud. You should have kept your wrongdoings to a minimum.”
Despite his tone, which was like gently chiding a child, his kicks were merciless. With a crack, as the kneecap dislocated, Dr. Jeong swallowed his screams.
“Tell me. Where is Choi Dohyuk Esper?”
“Just because you hit me, I won’t… talk…! Argh!”
Once again, the sound of bones being crushed was heard. The pain was intense. Yet there was no vitality in Junseo’s face, making Dr. Jeong wonder if all of this might just be a delusion. It was because his face showed no excitement despite the fact that he was beating someone.
“Fine. From now on, you’ll move around in a wheelchair. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life. Doctor, you should prepare to lose as much as you’ve taken.”
But Dr. Jeong realized, as Junseo whispered gently in his ear:
“Still, I recommend speaking quickly. Setting aside walking, it’s better to eat with your hands, isn’t it? Rather than burying your head like a dog.”
This was a terrible reality.
***
It seemed quite a while since he had fainted and regained consciousness, but his head was still foggy. He wanted to awaken his mind through pain, but his body, tied to a chair, couldn’t move properly. Dohyuk applied force to his hands bound behind his back, but the restraint, clearly specially made for capturing monsters, still wouldn’t break and only made an unpleasant clanking noise.
Why did it turn out like this?
He stopped twisting his body. His hazy gaze stared ahead. Near a large machine of unknown purpose, dust particles reflected in the dim light were slowly floating in the air.
Beyond that, a bright red light flashed. Staring blankly at the light, it was only after a considerable amount of time that Dohyuk could gauge what that object was.
It was a camera.
The pitch-black lens, like the pupil of a living creature, scrutinized Dohyuk’s entire body without rest. An unpleasant hypothesis formed in his mind. Dohyuk resumed moving, shaking his body back and forth.
After struggling for a while, Dohyuk finally toppled to the floor while still tied to the chair. The drug’s effect, which had not yet disappeared, swept through his entire body even with that short movement. Dizziness approached like a tyrant.
“Ugh…!”
Dohyuk, still tightly bound to the chair, buried his left cheek on the floor and groaned briefly.
Only then did a question arise. What drug had Dr. Jeong injected him with? It seemed strange to consider it the usual nerve sedative. Unlike the usual feeling of sinking and drowsiness after being injected with the drug, now something was boiling from within.
Wooooong.
A strange mechanical sound emerged from somewhere. As Dohyuk strained to look up, the machine, which had been quiet as if it wasn’t operating until just now, was glowing white. The small space, which hadn’t been very bright, was now flashing brilliantly. And the moment his eyes caught the familiar object that the activated machine had released, Dohyuk finally realized where he was.
It was the dungeon core storage facility.
The dungeon core storage facility located within the headquarters is a multi-protection area. Both that machine and this space where Dohyuk was are designed to envelop the dungeon core in layers, minimizing the leakage of nuclear energy.
Dohyuk stared at the dungeon core in confusion, not understanding why the primary protective barrier—that machine—had opened, or why he was imprisoned in the dungeon core storage facility.
And suddenly, Dohyuk felt something strange about the dungeon core. Originally, cores have distinctive colors based on their attributes. The current core was purple, indicating a poison attribute, but that color was fluctuating unstably. It was a reaction he had never seen before. And strangely, Dohyuk couldn’t take his eyes off that color. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he unconsciously twisted and moved his bound body, slowly crawling toward the core.
He was unsure how much he had narrowed the distance. With the core still appearing distant like a shimmering oasis in the far-off distance, Dohyuk, not in his right mind due to the drug, buried his head on the floor and panted. At that moment, the purple energy that had been fluctuating like a poison mist shot toward Dohyuk. Only then did Dohyuk, with his blurred vision, startle. Was it an illusion? He felt like a balloon forcibly filled with air, swollen to its limit. Even looking down at his body, nothing had changed, but feeling disgusted, Dohyuk coughed slightly.
After catching his breath for a while, Dohyuk tilted his neck to raise his head again to check the strange reaction of the core. Suddenly, Dohyuk’s eyes widened.
The core, which had been ordinary until just now, had changed. Its appearance was like the core found in the underground nation—a core that had lost its energy and utility. Unable to hide his bewildered expression, Dohyuk soon twisted his body, feeling as if something boiling inside him was exploding like a volcano.
Poison energy started to surge from Dohyuk’s tightly bound hands. Simultaneously, a sharp headache, like stepping on broken glass shards, tore through his mind. He didn’t have the confidence to control his ability, which was surging like angry waves. Dohyuk writhed, trying hard not to use his ability. In his current state, if he used his ability, he didn’t know when the rampage would progress. But contrary to Dohyuk’s wishes, the ability that had started to leak out relentlessly fell thickly at his feet and began to melt everything it touched. No matter how hard Dohyuk tried, he couldn’t stop it.
