# Chapter 141
“Duck!”
Following the loudly shouted voice, Lee Hwan quickly bent at the waist. Explosive skills roared fiercely overhead, detonating one after another.
The intense air pressure and sizzling heat made his body feel like it was screaming in protest. Fortunately, Taesung, who had immediately covered him, managed to block most of it.
Though his head was spinning, he maintained his balance with uncanny precision. Lee Hwan, grateful that his ears remained unaffected by the deafening noise, assessed their pursuers who had them targeted from all directions.
‘At least five or more.’
Unlike before, they were now completely surrounded. Destroying this place entirely and setting it on fire wasn’t an option since they didn’t know where Jade was being held.
“…We’re screwed.”
Lee Hwan muttered as he took a step backward. As if coordinated, Taesung, who had been watching in the opposite direction, pressed his back against Lee Hwan’s.
The priority was for one of them to escape. If at least one succeeded in escaping, the one left behind would likely be kept alive as a captive.
Looking back at how they’d been pursued so far, it seemed their pursuers’ strategy was to use captives as bait. If that was the case, Jade was probably still alive.
One person should escape to assess the situation, then rescue the remaining person or Jade to bolster their strength. As Lee Hwan came to this conclusion and was about to speak, Taesung, apparently thinking the same thing, spoke first.
“I’ll draw their attention first with flames and whirlwinds. During that time, escape from here and find Jade.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll find my own way out afterward.”
Ridiculous. Lee Hwan clicked his tongue while watching their pursuers who were ready to attack again at any moment.
“I don’t think so. As for escaping on your own, didn’t you collapse twice already before this?”
“Once everyone is out, I can just burn this entire location.”
“While surrounded?”
“…”
“I know that even you can get hurt if continuously engulfed in flames.”
Taking me for a fool? The attempt to deceive him was so obvious that he felt dumbfounded before he could even be moved.
This bastard with his memories still not returned was suddenly acting like in the past. Having just witnessed how the causality had shown his final memory ended, Lee Hwan absolutely couldn’t accept his proposal.
“There’s no guarantee I’ll be safe escaping alone. Rather than failing to escape properly and both getting caught, I’d rather stay behind.”
“I can buy that much time.”
“That’s what I was going to say. I can buy you that much time. Get out of here.”
A strange argument began with both desperately trying to get the other to evacuate. Meanwhile, the trackers who had ambushed them and were aiming their weapons remained quiet without further attacks for a moment, as if wondering what these two were discussing.
For a brief moment, Lee Hwan had the ridiculous hope that maybe they could both escape. He slightly turned his head, and sensing this, Taesung also turned and met his eyes.
Let’s try it. Just as Lee Hwan exchanged glances with Taesung and was about to move—
Tang-! Pababak!
Suddenly, countless small bullets flew at them. Taesung raised flames again and Lee Hwan hurriedly deflected them with his ability, but there seemed to have been a mistake. One particle barely grazed his ear.
“Ugh!”
Feeling a stinging pain at the tip of his ear, Lee Hwan quickly turned his head to examine the ground around them. Bluish rock fragments were embedded in the floor, scattered like shotgun pellets.
Just as I thought. As Lee Hwan clicked his tongue, a strange vibration ran through his ear. Sensing something was wrong, he touched the wound and suddenly grimaced, letting out a groan.
‘Haa… damn it. As I suspected.’
They really scraped together all sorts of things. Lee Hwan kicked the pellet fragments away, immediately recognizing what they were, and forcefully bumped Taesung’s back with his shoulder blade.
“Did you see what their weapons are? It seems I’ll be more useful in this situation.”
“What do you—”
“If we continue like this, not only will escape be impossible, your life might not be safe.”
As Lee Hwan kicked one of the rock fragments backward, the back pressed against his heaved with a deep sigh.
“I shouldn’t have reported this, right?”
The blue particles were emitting cold energy. Taesung fell silent.
“…”
Elemental minerals. Lee Hwan also sighed deeply. If it became known that they were hiding such things in the gate, they would truly be finished. These people showed no fear and had nothing to lose.
Well, it was Lee Hwan and Taesung who had discovered that gate. That’s probably why they were so desperate.
Taesung and Lee Hwan who had infiltrated the lab, both sharing the same bloodline, along with Jade who had been an experimental subject—if those three exposed Naru’s corruption, they could completely destroy them down to their very souls.
“Can’t be helped. Let’s go. There’s no point in wasting more time; it’ll only put me in more danger.”
Fortunately, the ear tip grazed by the bullet was just slightly torn rather than bursting. Though shotguns generally have a short range, the destructive power seemed weaker than usual. As if there was an issue with the ammunition.
‘Raw stone chunks.’
It seemed these guys had simply crushed the elemental minerals and were using them as shotgun pellets instead of crafting hardened bullets.
They probably didn’t have enough time to make weapons specifically tailored for Taesung. Moreover, most of the trackers had been chasing him away from the Naru research facility for a long time.
This was actually fortunate for Lee Hwan. If the bullets’ speed was reduced, it would be easier to manage with spatial control. Just like how he had freely handled the Dolpeung before.
For Taesung, however, this was bad news. The weapon was designed to suppress the abilities of an Awakened person who used flames by embedding in their body. Not only would his attacks be less effective, but he could also potentially lose his life if he wasn’t careful.
Setting aside personal feelings, Taesung needed to escape immediately.
So logically, this person should have disappeared long ago, yet he was still pressed against Lee Hwan’s back.
Tang-! Pababak!
A cat doesn’t consider a mouse. While they hesitated, the shotgun pellets flew at them again. Lee Hwan’s eyes flashed brilliantly as he twisted and deflected all the incoming bullets.
Then, bumping his back against Taesung’s again with a thud, he gritted his teeth and spoke.
“Can’t you hear me telling you to go? Snap out of it, Kang Taesung. Go. Go first and find Jade. After you both evacuate, contact me separately by phone. I still have it with me.”
Lee Hwan growled, abandoning all formal speech. He was about to regain his memories soon, and he had no intention whatsoever of losing Taesung here.
When he showed his determination to knock Taesung unconscious and roll him down the mountain path if he refused to leave, Taesung finally opened his mouth as if he had no choice.
“…If it looks dangerous, don’t waste time, just run.”
“Even if you ask me to hold out a little longer, I’ll ignore it and flee, so don’t worry and just go.”
Only then did Taesung seem to agree and took his stance. Through their connected backs, Lee Hwan felt Taesung’s body becoming firmly tense.
“Phew…”
Taking that as a signal, Lee Hwan took a deep breath and designated as wide a space as possible with somewhat excessive conditions.
‘Apply maximum gravity to all objects entering this space at speeds over 60 kilometers per hour.’
Whooosh. Power surged outward from his aching chest. Soon, a dizzyingly strong control surrounded the area like a fine net.
His eyes shone coldly.
‘Now.’
While Taesung was leaving this space, no bullets, blades, or people aiming for him would find their proper trajectory. He had made sure of that.
“Run!”
At Lee Hwan’s shout, the entire designated space vibrated.
Pak!
Taesung shot forward like lightning after stomping the ground hard enough to create a crater.
Tang-! Pababababak!
Shwik, Paaaa!
All manner of objects flying toward him made air-cutting sounds as they plummeted to the ground. Acrid dust rose up, obscuring the pursuers’ vision.
“Catch him!”
Urgent shouts were heard from the distance as blades and bullets flew again. However, all attacks still fell easily at Taesung’s feet, making them simple to avoid. Even those who abandoned their ambush positions and rushed out hastily collapsed the moment they entered the space.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
Without Lee Hwan’s permission, no one could reach Taesung. Under his protection, Taesung disappeared along the mountain path at a frightening speed.
Kwang! He pressed down on the wide space with gravity once more. Those who were trying to rise under the weight collapsed again, forced to their knees.
Ten seconds since Taesung fled, fifteen seconds, twenty seconds… Lee Hwan gritted his teeth and endured, trying to hold out for at least two minutes.
“Kuluk, kheuu…”
A metallic taste filled the back of his throat and his insides began to twist. In the end, unable to last the full two minutes, Lee Hwan withdrew the gravity skill.
As the pressure disappeared, the trackers who jumped up and rushed forward either stumbled or stepped back as Lee Hwan twisted the space.
Glancing back at the mountain range, there was no trace of Taesung.
“Kuk, hehe…”
It was quite a successful escape. The ones confident in close combat were now all trapped in his space, so the few who might follow later could be handled by Taesung himself. And after preparing as much as possible, he would come back looking for Lee Hwan.
Of course, Lee Hwan had told him to contact as if he would break through this encirclement and wait somewhere, but Taesung didn’t seem to believe it. He probably thought Lee Hwan would definitely be captured. That’s why he had been so reluctant to leave.
‘This guy is too perceptive.’
Lee Hwan swallowed the blood that kept rising in his throat and muttered inwardly. He had almost revealed that his physical condition was still not good.
Click.
The sound of a weapon being loaded came from the right. Lee Hwan wore an ambiguous expression as he stopped smiling.
The truth was, as Taesung had predicted, he didn’t really have a plan. Unless he strapped a bomb to himself and committed suicide, there was no way he could escape their encirclement, even as a corpse.
He had simply chosen the better option between both of them being captured and processed along with Jade or witnessing Taesung’s death, versus just himself being dragged away. His selfish desire to save Taesung had also factored in.
After Taesung escaped, he significantly reduced the range of his space. Though he had swallowed all the refluxing blood to avoid showing weakness, a nosebleed inconsiderately began to flow.
At this rate, he would be captured anyway. Whether he fought more and was captured exhausted with his combat style completely exposed, or just quietly surrendered, was his choice.
[Causality will be restored.]
[1h 5□m 1□s]
Lee Hwan deactivated his space. His brightly glowing eyes took on a tired look.
“…If I surrender, will the punishment be reduced?”
Puk! An enraged fist slammed into his stomach.
