I Don't Like This Esper - Chapter 169

……Hoo.

As she let out a slow breath, she felt her broken bones return to their original positions.

No—rather than merely healing, they had become even stronger. It felt as though the body she had been using until now had been nothing more than an empty shell.

‘So this is…… power that transcends an entire class.’

Kim Soo-Jeong found it astonishing that she could vividly feel every strand of her hair and every breath she exhaled.

It was as though her body had grown enormously. In reality, she was not even 160 centimeters tall, but at that moment, she felt as though she easily towered over two meters.

‘It feels like I have complete control over this entire space.’

Even though she could perceive the movement of the air itself, she knew precisely that only a few seconds had passed.

So much information was flooding into her at once that it seemed as though processing it should take considerable time, yet in reality, she was processing everything even faster.

Realizing that her perception of time had become at least ten times longer than before, she turned her gaze.

‘Lee Hana…….’

Holding nothing but the standard-issued security baton, Lee Hana was recklessly charging at the fish-man while crying.

Her posture was fairly good, but Kim Soo-Jeong could tell that Lee Hana had completely given up on herself.

Had Kim Soo-Jeong worn that same expression when she kept looking back after abandoning her team leader?

‘……Idiot.’

Kim Soo-Jeong repeated the word inwardly, unsure whom she was directing it at.

Then she gave a bitter smile and kicked herself free from the wall. Despite having been embedded in concrete moments ago, her body was now in perfect condition.

Previously, she had needed to consciously make delicate adjustments whenever she wanted to float using telekinesis. Now, she wielded it as naturally as though a new hand had grown from her body.

She stepped on that invisible “hand” in midair and used it to leap even higher.

The hand was firm, and her movements flowed seamlessly without even the slightest conscious delay from activating a skill.

As a result, Kim Soo-Jeong arrived directly in front of Lee Hana in the literal blink of an eye.

The fish-man’s enormous fist was already right before Lee Hana’s face.

Since Lee Hana’s gaze still had not registered the approaching fist, she would die without even understanding what had struck her.

When it came to combat, she was an idiot with neither talent nor ability.

‘Do you think charging out recklessly like this will somehow bring me back to life?’

Even as she muttered that inwardly, Kim Soo-Jeong gently caught the giant fish-man’s wrist just before it touched Lee Hana’s soft cheek.

Creeeeak—!

The sound of twisting flesh and bone began to ring out as the fish-man’s upper body suddenly swelled.

It appeared to be the same ability that had struck Kim Soo-Jeong earlier—one that immediately reflected powerful damage.

But this time, Kim Soo-Jeong remained perfectly calm.

Unlike before, she could now see everything unfolding beneath her gaze.

‘……So I can do something like this too.’

A smile appeared on her face as she marveled at the seemingly boundless nature of her strength and this ability.

Then she precisely settled her telekinesis at the very center of the ugly, malicious power rushing toward her.

‘There was never any need to clash against it with overwhelming force.’

The fish-man’s power was bizarre.

It contaminated everything around it and greedily craved life force in the most repulsive way.

The problem was that the flame consumed not only the target toward which its power was directed, but also the fish-man using it.

Kim Soo-Jeong saw through the truth: even the fish-man itself was merely a sacrifice to the power it had been granted.

She did not know what kind of being had bestowed such an ominous ability, but the more its recipient used it, the more they offered not only their life force but even their sanity to the one who had granted it.

Burning alive and destroying everything around oneself without even realizing that one had become a living sacrifice—it was an act of utter stupidity.

But anyone intoxicated by power that was never truly theirs would never recognize it.

So Kim Soo-Jeong accelerated that tremendous power even further.

She made the fish-man demand more power than it could control, making it feel as though it had become omnipotent.

[Kyaaaaaagh!]

As though it had forgotten human language entirely, the fish-man opened and closed its enormous mouth, releasing a moan filled with ecstasy.

Just as she expected, it had become intoxicated by the power welling up within its body.

Kim Soo-Jeong waited expectantly for the moment it would fall into the trap she had created.

And then—

[H-Huh……?]

As though realizing that something had gone wrong, the fish-man’s dormant sense of self released a confused sound.

The power that had grown beyond its control was gradually turning into agony.

According to someone else’s plan, it would probably have taken more time for the fish-man to be completely consumed.

But once Kim Soo-Jeong added her own power and forced it to draw out even more strength, the balance finally collapsed, and its body began to break down.

Even the fish-man’s vocal cords burned away, leaving it unable to scream properly.

[Kh-Khhk…… Ugh…… Kheeeeegh—!]

Thick black smoke billowed from the fish-man’s open mouth.

Then, although it was slightly nauseating, a savory smell began drifting out.

It was the scent of flesh cooking and fat melting.

Leaving the slowly collapsing fish-man behind, Kim Soo-Jeong gathered Lee Hana—who still had not understood what was happening—into her arms and leaped toward safety.

“Uwah!”

Only when Kim Soo-Jeong touched her did Lee Hana finally come to her senses and raise her head.

“……U-Unnie!”

“Have you lost your mind?”

Lee Hana’s eyes had filled with tears upon seeing Kim Soo-Jeong unharmed, but she flinched when Kim Soo-Jeong immediately scolded her.

“……M-Me?”

“Yes, you idiot. What exactly were you planning to do by charging in with nothing but that pathetic baton?”

“B-But…….”

Although Lee Hana felt hurt by Kim Soo-Jeong’s reprimand, she was also overwhelmed with relief that Kim Soo-Jeong had returned safely to her side, and tears once again streamed down her face.

“Y-You collapsed, Unnie! I…… I had to avenge you…….”

As she spoke, Lee Hana spread both arms and whined, intending to embrace Kim Soo-Jeong as she usually did.

“Unnie……?”

But before she could hug her, Lee Hana noticed a bluish light gathering across Kim Soo-Jeong’s body and slowly scattering.

“……Huh?”

Lee Hana hesitated as an uneasy feeling overcame her.

Kim Soo-Jeong spoke to her without the slightest tremor in her voice.

“Listen carefully. Now that this monster is dead, something even worse is going to come after you.”

“Something worse?”

“That thing was only a sacrifice too. There was a stronger enemy connected to it. I’m not completely sure yet, but…… now that a sacrifice it invested so much effort into has died, its attention will probably turn this way. I mean that bird-like monster we saw earlier.”

“Ah…….”

Lee Hana listened carefully to Kim Soo-Jeong’s warning, but inwardly, she could not suppress her confusion.

Kim Soo-Jeong could have told her all this while they escaped together.

But the moment that thought crossed her mind, faint, transparent particles began sparkling and drifting upward from around Kim Soo-Jeong’s feet.

Starting from there, Kim Soo-Jeong was slowly disappearing.

It looked as though someone were carefully erasing her little by little with an eraser.

“……Unnie?”

Only then did Lee Hana call out to Kim Soo-Jeong with a terrible premonition.

But even as Kim Soo-Jeong looked at Lee Hana’s expression, her own face did not change as she continued speaking.

“That’s why I’m going to collapse this passage and buy as much time as I can for you and the bride to escape.”

“W-Wait, Unnie…… Your feet…….”

“You said you still had one stimulant left, right? Even if you’re exhausted, take it and endure.”

“……Unnie! Unnie! What did you do? Huh?!”

“If I collapse the passage, the rescue team might detect the shock waves and come here…….”

“Why aren’t you answering me?!”

Only then did Lee Hana realize that something irreversible had happened.

And Kim Soo-Jeong’s calm attitude meant that she had chosen this outcome despite fully understanding what it would cost.

Lee Hana screamed almost hysterically.

“What did you do?!”

Kim Soo-Jeong quietly stared at Lee Hana’s tear-streaked face before answering.

“I did what I had to do.”

“W-Wait……! Just wait!”

“I’m sorry, Lee Hana. Forgive me.”

Then Lee Hana felt an immense force gently pushing her backward.

She immediately screamed, but a powerful light erupted one after another, and her cries vanished along with the light into the explosion.