# Chapter 39
Not knowing how Sangjun’s cold statement and the dejected expression Junseo had created were coming across to Dohyuk as a collaboration, Sangjun clapped his hands and began speaking.
“All seven of us are here, so I’ll explain. As everyone has confirmed from the report, this place is an A-class Hoechang Forest. The Changgwi monsters—Gulkak, Iol, and Yukhon—have already been hunted by the attack team, but they couldn’t remove the core, so we need to conduct an additional search.”
After smoothly summarizing the report they had all reviewed earlier, Sangjun looked at the six gathered before him and continued.
“The three Guides and Hansol, the support Esper, will remain at the base. The three remaining Espers, including myself, will take turns protecting the base. Whoever is protecting the base that day will also stand guard at night. The other two will form a team to search the surrounding area.”
Sangjun began distributing individual tasks appropriate for their small number.
“Today, we’ll search for the core for two hours, then have ten hours of rest and sleep time to prepare for the next day.”
The core was condensed energy that governed all life force inside a dungeon.
Even as monsters, they seemed to possess survival instincts, coiling themselves near the core. They absorbed and protected this energy. But here in the Hoechang Forest, the previous attack team had thoroughly searched around the Changgwi nests but failed to discover the core.
The core couldn’t be located through an ability user’s scanning powers. Besides guessing its position through monster nests, there was only one way to find the core: waiting for monsters to receive energy and reconstitute themselves. Monsters reconstitute near the core, which is a concentration of energy. By scanning the position of a reconstituted monster, one could also infer the location of the core.
The search team’s mission was to hunt reconstituted monsters and extract the located core from the dungeon.
“Today, I’ll stay at the base. Esper Choi Dohyuk and Esper Seo Jaesik will handle today’s search.”
Just as Dohyuk was about to give a concise confirmation to the precise instructions, a voice filled with malice spoke up before anyone else.
“I apologize, Esper Ji Sangjun, but I believe it’s dangerous to form a team with just Esper Choi Dohyuk, who has a record of killing an Esper.”
The voice belonged to Esper Seo Jaesik.
The atmosphere instantly sank.
Even Hansol, who was standing close to Jaesik, had an unfriendly gaze as if he’d heard this story before. Sangjun slowly opened his mouth, surveying the surroundings that had plunged into sudden silence.
Brief information about the individuals that Sangjun had received as the search team leader was being listed in his head. His voice flowed as smoothly as when he was giving instructions earlier.
“That was an accident that occurred while trying to subdue an Esper on the verge of going berserk, and Esper Choi Dohyuk was subsequently dispatched to high-risk areas where he carried out missions without incident for a considerable period before returning to headquarters.”
This was the official account of the incident as summarized by headquarters.
The choker-type control device of an S-class Esper is programmed to make them explode on the spot instead of issuing an execution order when they go berserk. Rather than dispatching the few S-class Espers and risking danger to subdue a berserk S-class Esper, blowing up their head was the simpler solution.
It was a cruel policy, but all S-class Espers in South Korea had signed consent forms. It was to prevent situations where multiple people, including family members, could be sacrificed the moment they went berserk. In return, headquarters devoted all efforts to guiding S-class Espers, and incidents of S-class Espers going berserk—who were few but received substantial care—had never occurred in Korea until now.
Berserk incidents became more frequent with A-class and below.
Moreover, the control devices for A-class and below Espers only had an anesthetic function, not an explosive one. This was because they were relatively easier to subdue even when they went berserk compared to S-class. Naturally, causing valuable Espers to explode was something to be avoided as much as possible, except for unmanageable S-class berserks.
Of course, there were very rare cases where an Esper forcefully subduing a berserk Esper resulted in death. Sangjun thought that incident was one of those cases.
Sangjun looked at Dohyuk’s impassive face after hearing all of Jaesik’s words. The man with a strikingly impressive physique that would catch anyone’s eye even on the street stood quietly without showing any surprise. Just as Sangjun was about to take a breath and sink into thought because Dohyuk seemed to have no intention of defending himself about the incident, Jaesik countered Sangjun’s words.
“It happened because of Esper Choi Dohyuk’s excessive use of force. At the time, Esper Lee Seoyeon was only in a red-light state, no execution order had been issued. But Esper Choi Dohyuk killed Esper Lee Seoyeon, who didn’t even have the strength to move properly due to the drugs. The body was so severely damaged that there was a lot of talk. Was that suppression out of necessity?”
“That was unavoidable because Esper Choi Dohyuk is a poison ability user.”
“Are you suggesting that an A-class Esper can’t properly control his own ability?”
“So, Esper Seo Jaesik, you are certain that Esper Choi Dohyuk deliberately killed Esper Lee Seoyeon?”
“Yes. Everyone who knows about the incident thinks so. Honestly, is there any case where an A-class Esper needs to kill a drugged B-class Esper because they can’t subdue them?”
It was a circumstance that could lead to rumors. Sangjun, who didn’t know much about the incident, just sighed.
“But headquarters deemed Esper Choi Dohyuk safe and dispatched him to the dungeon. If you disagree with this decision, it might be better to file a separate complaint. Esper Choi Dohyuk, do you have anything to say to Esper Seo Jaesik?”
Dohyuk, who had been standing with his characteristically cold expressionlessness, responded.
“No, I don’t. Everything is as headquarters announced. I cannot answer anything additional due to security orders.”
His voice was calm to the point of detachment, as if he were discussing someone else’s affair rather than his own.
“Wasn’t it true that someone who could have been saved died because of Esper Choi Dohyuk?”
“That differs from what I heard from another witness. Let’s not state unverified claims as facts in front of the person involved.”
Unable to bear Dohyuk just facing Jaesik with an indifferent expression, Jihun jumped in abruptly.
“The person involved is keeping his mouth shut right now. Yes, Guide Kwon Jihun here. Let’s hear it. What did the other witness say?”
“Esper Lee Seoyeon…!”
Just as Jihun was about to snap at Jaesik, Dohyuk grabbed Jihun’s arm. Though Jihun fidgeted, he closed his mouth.
“I understand why Esper Seo Jaesik is cautious about my dangerousness. I will follow Esper Ji Sangjun’s instructions.”
Jihun finally noticed the same kind of gloomy color that had appeared on Dohyuk’s lips in the Chwiak cave.
“If you were truly wronged, you would have defended yourself at least a little, regardless of security orders. But Esper Choi Dohyuk is no different now than before.”
“……”
Dohyuk, standing with a rigid face without even frowning at that mocking tone, looked at Sangjun. It was his usual expression, waiting for instructions.
Sangjun, swallowing back another rising sigh at the atmosphere that had hardened beyond recovery, modified his previous instructions. He thought that since he was a higher-ranked Esper than Dohyuk, he could search together with him while keeping an eye on him.
“Since Esper Choi Dohyuk says so… Then Esper Choi Dohyuk and I will search, and Esper Seo Jaesik will guard the base.”
“Esper Choi Dohyuk is dangerous. It would be much safer if he searched alone and you, Esper Ji Sangjun, stayed at the base with me—”
A cold wind blew as Jaesik quickly proposed. Sangjun’s eyes, which usually just smiled gently, flashed sharply.
“Esper Seo Jaesik.”
“Yes! Esper Ji Sangjun!”
“Are you suggesting that I won’t be able to properly subdue one A-class Esper?”
“I apologize! I’ll correct myself!”
As Sangjun nodded and exhaled, reorganizing his orders, a languid voice followed Sangjun’s words, making him inwardly scream, “Ah! What now!”
“It seems like everyone’s filing complaints, so can I voice my grievance too?”
The voice belonged to Junseo, who had been quietly observing the situation beside Dohyuk.
Before Dohyuk could stop him, Junseo approached Jaesik closely and opened his mouth with a pale face. Each pronunciation was as elegant as if reciting poetry, with a gentle tone. To an outsider unaware of this twisted situation, it might have seemed like a poetry recital. But Junseo’s words were far from beautiful poetry.
“I’d be too scared if Esper Seo Jaesik stays at the base alone. He might do bad things to me, and weak as I am, I wouldn’t be able to resist. And there would be no one to call for help.”
“What? What are you saying?”
The atmosphere turned chilly in a different way at Junseo’s unexpected words.
