# Chapter 194
Keys like this are typically used for locking expensive office desks. As Kang Dongha hurriedly rushed out of the control room, he saw the Deputy Director’s office door wide open in the distance. It seemed he wasn’t lying about having come running as soon as he received the notification.
He entered the office and immediately opened the locked drawer. Inside, next to an ID card, was a matte black card with only the laboratory’s emblem engraved on it.
“Fuck, this isn’t a multi-level marketing scheme… How many layers of information do they need to unlock?”
Kang Dongha finally cursed after holding it in. He thought he knew everything after carefully extracting information from the laboratory executives, but perhaps that was arrogance.
Well, his brother had committed many crimes, so he was always more thorough and cautious. Just in case, Kang Dongha took the key he’d used to open the drawer and wiped his blood-soaked hands on his clothes.
Now he just needed to go down and hand the card to Beolmae, but…
“Yes, I’ve arrived. Yes.”
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from the hallway. The footsteps stopped at what seemed to be the control room. Kang Dongha froze and silently rolled his eyes.
After waiting for a while, he peeked his head into the corridor and saw someone apparently manipulating the system in the control room. Through the wide-open door, he could continuously hear the voice.
“If there’s no additional contact in 5 minutes, activate code 072, yes. Understood.”
‘!’
Kang Dongha stiffened and held his breath. After pulling his head back in, he felt like all the strength had drained from his legs.
Instinctively, he knew that was one of the Awakened who had swarmed into Building D earlier.
He didn’t know what would be activated in 5 minutes, but there was no way he could go out to stop it. This wasn’t an opponent who could be taken by surprise, either.
Rather, since he’d left the unconscious, bleeding Deputy Director in the control room, hiding thoroughly was the better answer. And of course, his phone… he had left it there when he came out.
As he pondered, time flew by mercilessly fast. The unfamiliar voice called out to someone a few times, and then suddenly everything went quiet. It seemed they were inputting something into the system.
Thud, thud…
Then footsteps could be heard, and they were gradually approaching Kang Dongha’s location.
Ah. Come to think of it, the Deputy Director’s office door was also wide open. The person probably saw it from where they were. If that was the case, he couldn’t hide now. Even if he crawled under the desk, his breathing would give away his position.
He had already heard from Lee Hwan before the operation began about how developed an Awakened person’s senses were. Kang Dongha pondered his escape route in extreme terror.
Then suddenly, he recalled who might be below Building D.
He silently approached the wall and opened the window. His heart was racing like mad, and his brain was signaling him not to do anything crazy.
But Kang Dongha leaned his body out, let out one loud shout, and then dropped.
Shiiiiik!
The sound of the wind passing his ears felt just like a scream.
* * *
“JOO-LEE-HWAN!”
Just as the long, drawn-out shout rang out, right before the blade was about to pierce his eye.
The approaching knife tip, which he had no time to block, suddenly shook violently, grazing shallowly below his eye before passing by his head.
A swishing sound of wind brushed past his ear.
“Urgh, huh, huk…!”
A hot sensation grazed his face. Lee Hwan hastily backed away while using gravity.
The staggering Director properly gripped his blade after pulling it through the air a few times, then glared at one side with an angry expression.
Next to Taesung, Jade was rising to his feet, coughing up blood.
“Cough… I’ll cover you, so stick close to me.”
Somehow, the blade’s trajectory, which had seemed so certain that Lee Hwan was seeing his life flash before his eyes, had blatantly twisted. It seemed Jade had awakened at some point and protected Lee Hwan.
Telekinesis repeatedly shook the blade. Although it stopped when the Director pulled with force, it wouldn’t be difficult to alter its trajectory at crucial moments.
…He survived. He really thought he was going to die, but somehow, he had narrowly escaped the crisis. Blocking both the buckshot and the blade.
A deep sense of relief gripped Lee Hwan’s chest. His heartbeat echoed in his ears almost like a drumbeat, and his exhalations felt strangely refreshing, making his body tremble.
But there was no time for complete relief.
“Eliminate them!”
The Director shouted angrily. The attacks, which were already pouring down so intensely that they couldn’t pay attention to each other, now carried an even stronger killing intent.
Taesung, who had started to run toward Lee Hwan, remained rooted in place, frantically burning approaching enemies, smashing extended fists, and causing guns to explode.
Lee Hwan, trying to join them, was attacked again by the Director. Punches and knife strikes that were difficult to deflect came flying one after another.
The one fortunate thing was that now he could use his ability.
Fists that curved in strange directions, feet and bodies that kept getting caught in empty space, speeds that became difficult to control as they were repeatedly pressed down by weight and released.
The Director’s face was burning with rage at attacks that wouldn’t land as he wanted. Though that sight was satisfying, Lee Hwan couldn’t carelessly lower his guard.
It was equally troublesome for Lee Hwan when the Director read his movements with bloodshot eyes and launched sudden attacks. At one point, he was stabbed in the waist and nearly collapsed.
Strength gradually drained from the injured area. If it weren’t for Jade, who shook the blade whenever there was an opening, Lee Hwan would have walked the path to the underworld two or three times over by now.
“Krut!”
Finally, Lee Hwan rolled long to avoid an attack and joined Taesung’s side. Jade intuitively used all his strength to push back the enemies, and a space with Lee Hwan’s constraints was created around their empty surroundings.
Lee Hwan met Taesung’s gaze. Their battles always proceeded by silently reading each other’s intentions.
Eyes gleaming with bright light.
From now on, objects and air above 50 degrees Celsius could not enter the 2-meter radius space.
Ulk, blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. This was why he normally tried to use Shield instead of space constraints when blocking fire or cold.
Knowing the toll it was taking on his body, Taesung wasted no time and set large fires in all directions. Jade focused on marking the charging Director while pulling every visible weapon toward their opponents.
It worked. Finally, a stable defensive battle had begun. However, since Lee Hwan, who had created the fortress, continued to bleed and grow tired, they couldn’t just keep holding out forever.
Unfortunately, two ice-type users had survived intact, and while they couldn’t completely counteract Taesung’s attacks, they were somehow managing to reduce the impact of the flames.
Without reinforcements, how long could they stand against the Director and his group, who showed no intention of falling?
It was evenly matched for now, but gradually the tide would turn against them. Could they properly escape this situation?
As Lee Hwan’s worried eyes scanned the devastated laboratory:
Ding-!
The faint sound of the elevator, ringing from afar, was clearly audible even amid the noise.
‘…?’
Then footsteps were heard, and suddenly armed forces rushed into the battered corridor.
At the forefront was a middle-aged man with graying hair and considerable bulk.
“…Beolmae.”
It was Beolmae, who had simply put a bulletproof vest over the white shirt Lee Hwan had seen earlier.
Having arrived before everything completely fell apart, he quickly surveyed the surroundings and ordered:
“Subdue and arrest them all.”
As they charged, fierce attacks began to rain down on the Director’s already exhausted group. Meanwhile, the elevator kept moving, steadily bringing in more allies.
As he listed legitimate reasons for suppression—use of abilities in a civilian facility, combat, injury, murder, and so on—Lee Hwan felt a simultaneous sense of deep relief and dizziness.
How had he gotten in here? Had the lockdown actually been lifted? All sorts of questions arose, but they all dissolved at one subsequent thought.
Anyway, have we survived now? Both Taesung and himself.
At the same time, all strength left him, and Lee Hwan collapsed to the floor.
“Lee Hwan… Joo Lee Hwan!”
Ah. Come to think of it, he had taken several hard hits earlier. He seemed to have been stabbed as well. Looking down, he saw his stomach was red with blood.
Only then did he realize his ears had been ringing the whole time. Ulk, he vomited blood once more. It was partly due to overusing his ability, but the battle injuries seemed deeper than expected.
Beolmae, who had approached at some point, called a subordinate to bring emergency treatment patches. Lee Hwan sat dazed until he collapsed onto the floor, guided by Taesung.
“…Kang Taesung.”
For some reason, as he called out to him blankly, there was a ripping sound as clothes were torn. Wet pieces of cloth fell away haphazardly.
Soon, terrible pressure was suddenly applied to the wounded area.
“Urgh, aaaagh!”
Hands mercilessly pressed down to stop the bleeding. While Lee Hwan’s eyes rolled back from the overwhelming pain, Taesung kept calling his name.
“Lee Hwan, breathe. Breathe. Yes, slowly. Slowly.”
When he barely managed to open his eyes with a muddled mind, he saw clear tear tracks on Taesung’s blood-stained face.
His handsome face was severely wounded in various places. Even in the midst of everything, Lee Hwan reached out with a distressed heart, but dropped his hand back to the floor when it wouldn’t move.
What was this? He felt like a doll soaked with water. His body was limp, and his head felt emptied.
Come to think of it, he remembered someone sticking a needle in his leg while applying pressure to stop the bleeding. He must have been given an emergency painkiller.
Slowly rolling his eyes, he saw a tall man crouching in front of him.
“He says to tell you he did his best.”
The ID card Beolmae showed him as he delivered the message had Kang Dongha’s face on it. The dried blood all over it was extremely eerie.
Speaking of which, was that guy safe? The sudden changes in the security system meant someone had interfered.
While earnestly hoping the blood on the ID card wasn’t his, Lee Hwan, now exhausted, closed his eyes. In the darkened vision, he groped around with his hand, and a warm hand grasped it.
“It’s okay now. It’s… it’s okay now.”
Taesung’s voice, either comforting or talking to himself, penetrated Lee Hwan’s ear. He pulled Lee Hwan’s limp body into his arms and pressed his cheek against Lee Hwan’s face.
It’s hot. Warm heat began to circulate through his body, which had been cooling down after the battle. Thump. Thump. Thump. The loud, fast heartbeat was fully felt through his ears and body.
“…Guess we don’t need to go to a deserted island after all.”
Lee Hwan murmured, straining to raise the corners of his mouth. And then—thud. He dropped his hand that had been around Taesung to the floor and lost consciousness.
