SOFTIE 3

The people of the Association ran about in a panic at the sudden warning sound. It was the first time an alarm had been this intense. Then, an announcement blared from the communication room stating that an S-class Gate had appeared.

S-class. It was a Gate capable of collapsing an entire nation in an instant. It was only natural that people’s faces turned deathly pale.

It was the first S-class Gate to appear in South Korea in several years. A few years ago, Yeonwoo had been deployed to clear the Gate. But now, nothing was guaranteed. This was because, over the past few years, Yeonwoo’s condition had become serious to the point of being untamable.

In fact, it was a well-known truth that his contamination level had risen because he used so much power while clearing that S-class Gate.

Because of this, the Association was in a state of emergency.

“An S-class Gate has appeared? An S-class right after an A-class appeared! The location? Where is it?!”

“Fortunately, it’s nearby! It appeared in a sparsely populated area, so it seems no civilians were caught in it. Who should we deploy?”

“What do you mean, who?! Get everyone who has free hands ready! This isn’t a Gate where we can afford to be picky!”

“Um… what should we do about Esper Seo Yeonwoo?”

At one employee’s words, everyone fell silent as if time had stopped. An Association employee, finally moving, flipped through a file recording Yeonwoo’s status.

“…His condition is not good. His contamination level dropped to 80% through daily guiding, but it’s not a level where we can feel relieved. Fortunately, he did take a three-day rest, but… it seems he hasn’t been able to sleep well. What should we do?”

The employee, examining Yeonwoo’s status here and there, asked the person with decision-making authority.

“There’s still time before a Gate Break occurs. Are there no orders from above? Did they say they’d request cooperation from overseas?”

“Um… orders have come down from above. They say… this is an opportunity to show that we can be self-sufficient, so they want us to attempt the clear with the Espers currently within the Association…?”

At that remark, the employee slammed his desk.

“They don’t even know the field and are giving instructions just by looking at documents from above…!”

The employee, who had been swallowing his anger for a long while, caught his breath and finally spoke in a grim voice.

“First, inform the Association President. Esper Seo Yeonwoo… has to be deployed. It has to be him. Scrape together every single Esper who has free hands! Contact the regional offices too, and hurry!”

For the sake of the country, for the sake of the people, and for the sake of clearing the S-class Gate, Seo Yeonwoo was someone who could not be left out.

He was the Association’s proudest finger, yet its most painful one. However, for the safety of the people, it was the Association’s job to push him by his back and send him out.

Meanwhile, Yeonwoo had been awake ever since the Association building began to ring noisily. The sounds of footsteps moving frantically and the shouting from the lower floors exploded in Yeonwoo’s ears like time bombs—Pop! Pop!

It was not a situation where he could possibly sleep. And Yeonwoo was listening to that entire conversation. In a hazy state, he muttered blankly.

“An S-class, huh. I have to go. I know, I know, but…”

Yeonwoo had a hunch. This was a matter where he had to act.

The Gear even rang to summon Yeonwoo. Rationally, he knew. That he had to go. But his instinct rejected it. To the sleepless Yeonwoo, it was nothing more than a nuisance.

“Ha, dammit! Please, let me get some sleep!! There’s never a quiet day!”

Yeonwoo, shouting irritably, threw his pillow at the wall, but currents flowed from his hand and the pillow burned into a pile of ash before it could even hit the wall.

Heaving, he held his breath in an effort to calm down. He gritted his teeth. If he didn’t, it felt like he would scream and run wild. The contamination level he had managed to lower must not go up.

S-class. It could never be taken lightly.

How long has it been since the last S-class Gate? An S-class was enough to be called a national crisis.

The last S-class Gate to appear in Korea was three years ago. At least, a year ago, he had been dispatched abroad once after a request for help in clearing an S-class Gate.

“Whew… let’s go.”

He knew. The reality. This was just his grumbling. As long as he had awakened as an Esper, it was something he could never turn away from.

Ring. Ring.

That was when the Gear rang. As an Esper, he could not remove the Gear from his wrist. Because it was a machine for the Association to thoroughly investigate the Esper’s condition. It was also a communication network and a location tracker. Because surveillance was necessary to ensure that a dangerous element like an Esper did not run away.

The name Ma Seong-tae appeared on the screen. Above it, the contamination level was displayed. 80% because the level had dropped due to medication and guiding. Generally, they are not deployed to Gates.

No, before that, they aren’t left loose in society.

“The fact that I can move around this freely is only because I am ‘Seo Yeonwoo’.”

Yeonwoo, letting out a sigh that resembled a lament, finally sat up.

“How many days did I rest…?”

The room was dark because blackout curtains blocked the sunlight. He slept in this room every single day. Yet, since his fatigue wouldn’t lift, he couldn’t even tell how much time had passed. Whether just a day had passed, or perhaps two.

“…Today might be the last.”

Yeonwoo had a hunch. In the reflection of the Gear’s screen after the call cut off, there were dark shadows under his eyes that could not be hidden.

If it was an S-class, he couldn’t afford to fight while monitoring his condition. Moreover, there were many more Espers lacking both experience and skill.

A situation where support could not be expected. Only after someone dies, only after a failure occurs, will they finally lift their buttocks and move.

“Did I spoil them too much…”

Because he resolved every dangerous thing that happened, they mistook it for their own power. They were becoming conceited. They were acting like spoiled children, telling him to just handle it somehow since they had become so arrogant.

“Still, things will change once I die. No, they’ll have no choice but to change.”

Yeonwoo sensed the end. He had endured for a long time.

Normally, since a rampage occurs when it exceeds 90%, anything over 80% resulted in isolation measures. But perhaps because Yeonwoo had maintained a high contamination level for so long, he didn’t rampage even when it exceeded 90%.

He touched the number 80% with his finger. For several years, there had been no history of it dropping below 80%. Rampage. Among Espers, there was no one who did not fear the word “rampage.” The moment one rampaged, it not only meant causing damage to people but was also a word that signified death.

“Sometimes they are eliminated before that.”

An Esper’s rampage was similar to a Gate Break. It meant a beast that had lost its reason was running wild. Yeonwoo had always lived alongside the words “rampage” and “death.” To be honest, he thought it was a miracle he had lasted this long. The Gear rang again, and Yeonwoo allowed the connection.

Beep.

Before Ma Seong-tae could say anything, Yeonwoo spoke.

“I heard. I’m coming.”

Then he hung up. The pitch-black room felt exactly like his own situation. This place was a home to him, but at the same time, it was a prison.

A place from which he could never escape.

At that moment, a small knock, knock sounded. It was a knock where hesitation and caution could be felt.

“These guys sent a rookie because I’ve been losing my temper.”

Yeonwoo, who hadn’t slept, was inherently sensitive. He didn’t have a gentle personality to begin with. Since daily life was a struggle due to all sorts of side effects yet he spent it fighting, his personality couldn’t possibly be good.

However, perhaps because of the thought that this was the end, his mind felt at peace.

Because everything would be over today. Because he was going to bring everything to an end.

“Cap… Captain… are, are you awake?”

If it were a normal person, it would have been a tiny voice urging one to sleep rather than waking them up, but to Yeonwoo, it sounded louder than any other sound.

“Don’t dawdle and come in.”

“Ye, yes!”

“Let’s head out.”

“…Yes. I’m, I’m sorry.”

It was a situation where he, who had done nothing wrong, instead dropped his shoulders and apologized.

“Geonwoo-ya. My condition is pretty bad. You can tell by looking, right?”

Looking at the dark room and the fiercely glowing pupils, Geonwoo nodded his head repeatedly. Yeonwoo started to open his mouth but then closed it. His chest felt tight. He thought his mind had become peaceful since it was the end, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

‘Am I… feeling a bit wronged?’

The ferocious nature hidden within the Esper leaked out, making him want to destroy everything. However, he clenched his fists and endured.

After awakening as an S-class Esper in his childhood, Yeonwoo’s daily life had changed completely. It became about entering Gates and fighting magic beasts.

The memories of laughing and crying happily with his parents were all stained with the filthy blood of magic beasts.