Chapter 14: The Esper Group That Massacred Ordinary People
"What is this? Was this place just attacked? Did a rift erupt here just now?"
Lee Do Ha was startled the moment he got out of the car. Unlike A-rank and S-rank Guides who often had to support Espers fighting inside rifts, B-rank Guides like Lee Do Ha usually stayed inside headquarters, so it was normal for him to have never seen scenes like this.
"It must have been Jae Sin who blew this place apart during an outburst. I do not know what Jae Hyo was busy with to let Jae Sin turn this place into such a state. It will cost quite a lot of money to repair this place."
Just as we were unsure what to do next, a middle-aged man with a chubby build suddenly appeared and ran straight out from inside the ruined headquarters toward us.
By the time he reached us, he was panting heavily like a pig. With such poor physical condition, he was clearly not a Guide or an Esper.
"You all… which area are you from?"
Cha Cha immediately stepped forward to handle the communication. She gently patted his back and softly introduced each member of our team.
"We are Guides dispatched from Area D to support Esper Jae Sin. This is S-rank Guide Kim Jun, a member of Team 7 along with him is B-rank Guide Lee Do Ha, and I am Cha Cha, an A-rank Guide."
Then she looked toward Jo Hyun, cleared her throat lightly, and spoke with pride.
"And this is the new S-rank Esper of our Area D headquarters, Jo Hyun!"
I narrowed my eyes at Cha Cha.
"He is an Esper in training. He is not an official Esper yet, Cha Cha!"
Cha Cha shrank back and muttered something like "so scary!"
The man let out a breath of relief and stepped forward to shake hands with me. With just one glance, it was obvious that I was the real person in charge of this team.
"Thank you all so much for coming such a long way. I am Stephen, the director of the Guide and Esper management headquarters of Area A. I am truly sorry. Our headquarters has been in this ruined state since a week ago, when Esper Jae Sin entered a dangerous condition and nearly erupted. Now everyone has been evacuated to another building. Only Esper Jae Sin and the Guides supporting him remain in the underground basement of the headquarters. We have been closely monitoring his condition."
Stephen led us into the ruined building. Fortunately, the entrance area to the underground basement was still intact, so we could enter the elevator and go down.
"Then let me summarize briefly."
Stephen sighed and began telling us about Jae Sin's current situation.
"Esper Jae Sin had a mission to deal with a group of criminal Espers who carried out a massacre of ordinary people two weeks ago. After that, he began to show signs of an outburst. Jae Sin deliberately concealed this, and by the time Esper Jae Hyo noticed something strange, he had already disappeared."
I let out a silent wow in my heart. This was truly something a madman like Jae Sin could do.
However, Jo Hyun noticed something else.
"A massacre of ordinary people? Why would there be Espers who do things like this? Aren't Espers supposed to have the duty to protect ordinary people?"
Jo Hyun glared intensely at Stephen. This innocent child, not yet fully grown, had not truly seen the dark side of this world.
There were people like Jae Hyo, born with a mission to save the world and a fervent sense of justice. There were also crazy people who acted without reason like Jae Sin. At the same time, there were many evil and vicious individuals who used the power bestowed upon them to commit any crime they desired.
Stephen seemed unsure how to respond. He stood there stiffly, staring at Jo Hyun in shock.
"Jo Hyun…"
I pulled Jo Hyun's fierce, hunting dog-like face back to look at me, trying to calm the boy down.
"Hyung, but…"
Jo Hyun struggled and looked at me in confusion.
"This is the world we live in, Jo Hyun."
I sighed and spoke softly by Jo Hyun's ear, slowly and carefully.
"You need to learn to accept it as a part of yourself. Me, you, or anyone else will have to learn how to survive and live in this cruel world. Do you understand, Jo Hyun?"
Guiding energy flowed from my hand through Jo Hyun's face, gradually helping him calm down.
Perhaps because of the influence of his fire attribute ability, Jo Hyun became much more irritable than ordinary people when agitated. In moments like this, it was necessary to help him regain his composure quickly.
After a short while, the expression on Jo Hyun's face gradually settled.
"Do you feel better now?"
Jo Hyun nodded shyly with a flushed face in response to my concerned question.
"I am sorry, Hyung."
Jo Hyun looked at me gloomily with tear filled eyes.
"I do not really understand what is happening to me. Hearing things that make me uncomfortable just makes me want to explode immediately."
I laughed.
"Alright. That is exactly why you need to learn how to control the flow of energy within your body. That is a mandatory lesson for every professional Esper."
When we returned, I would talk to Min Seok separately about this. Jo Hyun's emotional control seemed somewhat unstable.
"Ahem… has Esper Jo Hyun calmed down now?"
Stephen finally spoke up. He looked at me and then at Jo Hyun with curiosity, but quickly returned to the main topic.
"Let me continue. After dispatching many Espers to search, we confirmed Esper Jae Sin's location. Esper Jae Hyo personally went to restrain him and bring him back to headquarters. However, in just a short moment of escape, Esper Jae Sin destroyed the headquarters completely, as you all saw when you arrived."
Cha Cha nodded in agreement.
"The destructive power is truly terrifying."
At that moment, the elevator chimed with a ding, and we arrived at the deepest underground level where Jae Sin was being held.
Stephen immediately led us outside.
"We are here. Let us go."