Chapter 27

“I’ll stay here. You run away, Siho.”

“What are you talking about?”

“They don’t know if I’m a normal person or a Returner. Some Returners hide their strength like normal people. They’ll remember I was with Orzia, so it’s the perfect misunderstanding.”

They’re not stronger than Orzia. I confirmed that last time.

Unlike Ayu, who was completely unaffected by Orzia’s mental attack, those two were hurt.

If those two had fought Orzia to the death, they wouldn’t have made it here in this time.

Conversely, that means they were with Orzia, and now they have no choice but to be wary of him, who is still with Siho.

They wouldn’t think a normal person would be next to a Returner and an S-class Hunter.

“So they’re definitely on guard. The fact that they’re waiting without revealing themselves, even though they know Siho’s location, is proof.”

They could have fired consecutive lightning strikes earlier, but they’re just watching us, not continuing the attack.

They’re probably wary that we might know their location and attack.

“I’ll buy some time. If Siho runs away, they’ll prioritize her, not me.”

They avoided fighting Orzia for that reason.

They don’t want to clash with Returners.

Then they probably don’t want to clash with Ha-chan, who might be a Returner.

There’s no need to test a dangerous bridge.

“So run away now using Space Movement. When I start running across the island, their attention will be divided. At least one of them will be distracted.”

I’m not sure.

It’s a pure gamble.

But this was the best way to save Siho.

But seeing him like that, Siho’s emotions were shaken.

This is just a plausible excuse.

An excuse to make her believe.

It’s the same as back then.

It’s exactly the same as when her mother told her to run away.

He’ll die.

If she runs away now, Ha-chan will definitely die.

Then rather…

“I’ll unleash my power!”

“Siho.”

Ha-chan grabbed Siho’s shoulder tightly.

Siho’s eyes shook violently, but Ha-chan shouted at her.

“At the very end, if it’s really dangerous, then I think you should prioritize yourself, but…”

Siho lost her mother to a Dimensional Being.

And even now, years later, she still carries the guilt that it was her fault.

That guilt doesn’t disappear overnight.

It piles up, and if one day she can shake it off, it’ll be okay.

But it shouldn’t end like this.

Just as parents can’t abandon their children.

Children can’t abandon their parents either.

To her, her mother who sacrificed herself for her, and her mother who is now at home worrying about her.

They’re both her mother, Kim Ji-sun.

For her to unleash her power means she has to erase her mother with her own hands.

That kind of horror is enough with losing her mother to a Dimensional Being.

Even if it’s stubbornness.

Siho shouldn’t have to part with her mother like this.

Just as children grow up and become independent from their parents.

She should have that kind of parting too.

‘And maybe I…’

I might be seeing my past self through Siho.

The lonely past when my father and mother died because of my sister’s return, and my sister disappeared too.

Maybe my current stubbornness is because I don’t want to look back at my past.

‘But so what?’

Even if it’s just me being triggered by trauma.

‘I want to do it.’

I want Siho to not give up on her mother.

Isn’t that motivation enough?

“I made a promise to your mother to take good care of you.”

I’m the manager.

The manager directly entrusted by her mother, Kim Ji-sun.

Adults know how to take responsibility.

Those who can bear that responsibility until the child becomes an adult.

“So don’t give up until the end.”

Ha-chan pushed Siho’s shoulder.

“Go.”

With those words, Ha-chan started running, leaving Siho behind.

Watching his retreating figure, Siho seemed to scream, but Ha-chan paid no attention.

Watching Ha-chan leave, Siho’s chest churned uncontrollably.

His figure overlapped so much with her mother’s.

Cold sweat dripped.

The tips of her fingers reaching out to Ha-chan trembled.

Siho felt her chest tighten.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I don’t want to lose anymore.

Looking at Ha-chan’s retreating figure, Siho’s eyes hardened.

She wasn’t the 15-year-old Ha Si-ho anymore.

She wasn’t the helpless Ha Si-ho who only ran away.

Siho’s fists clenched.

She never wanted to lose someone who could smile at her like her mother did that day.

Snap!

Siho activated Space Movement.

Appearing in front of the running Ha-chan with her arms spread, she shouted at his bewildered face.

“No!”

As Ha-chan blinked, Siho bit her lip and glared at him.

“Siho, I won’t run away leaving anyone behind anymore. Why does everyone decide for me? They just tell me to run away, why don’t they ask for my opinion?”

Siho’s shout echoed.

“…Siho, that’s…”

“I know. I know everything. That it’s dangerous, that I’m being selfish now. That the manager is trying to sacrifice himself for me.”

Siho didn’t want to see anyone die for her sake anymore.

“We can solve this without unleashing my power.”

As soon as she said that, Siho raised her arm into the air.

Her arm disappeared into the void, and as Ha-chan watched in surprise, Siho began waving her hand around.

“If they can sense Siho, Siho can sense them too.”

Then, as if she found something, her body twitched and she looked up at the sky.

“Is it up there?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s those two from before.”

Noticing Siho’s gaze, Ha-chan started to look up but stopped.

If they realized they had been spotted, the other side might move.

Ha-chan looked at Siho, deep in thought.

Siho’s eyes were steady.

She really had no intention of running away.

It would be good if she ran away, but persuading her to give up her stubbornness would take too much time.

The situation was too urgent to spend time on such persuasion.

‘They’re definitely wary of Siho’s Space Movement. They must have prepared countermeasures.’

That’s why I tried to draw their attention.

If an unknown person with her moved, their attention would naturally shift.

It was a gamble to let Siho escape in that gap.

But if they had a way to block Siho’s Space Movement, it would be the end.

Ha-chan’s dilemma didn’t last long.

In a life-or-death situation, the longer you hesitate, the more you risk your life.

‘Then rather…’

If she decided not to run away, it might be better to suggest another way to resolve this.

“…Siho, Spatial Ability can move visible things, right?”

“Exactly, it’s based on spatial perception. It’s similar to sight.”

It could be considered something like the Fifth Sense.

“The man who uses Spatial Ability like Siho was blind, right?”

Ha-chan first thought of the blind Returner.

“Then he must be using spatial perception instead of sight to grasp the location of objects or living beings, right?”

Siho nodded without hesitation.

That was close to certainty.

“Then, is it possible to use Siho’s Spatial Ability to disrupt his spatial perception?”

Siho made a thinking expression.

Then she started nodding again.

“But if I do that, my spatial perception will also be messed up. It’ll be hard to move relying on spatial perception.”

“But you can still move to a point you can see, right?”

Siho nodded once more.

They can’t see, but Siho can see with her eyes.

Even if her spatial perception is disrupted, Siho can still use Space Movement.

“That’s enough.”

Seeing that, Ha-chan let out a small breath.

Is it possible?

I don’t know.

I can’t be sure because I don’t fully understand the enemy’s strength.

‘There are two of them, just like last time.’

Then we shouldn’t move separately.

If they choose to divide and conquer, we’re finished.

‘And they’re not that relaxed either.’

Just as they found us, the World Returner Association is also moving to search for us.

‘They’re just as anxious.’

Anxiety and impatience create variables.

That’s something I often experienced in games.

‘An uncertain existence like me, the tightening search by the World Returner Association, and a Spatial Ability User like Siho.’

They only have one variable.

A Returner who uses lightning.

Ha-chan’s head tilted up.

“Let’s do it.”

It was the second crazy gamble of his life after investing in Bitcoin.

Former Russian military, Sobolev Yekaterina.

After leaving the military, she is now a member of Giraseong, classified as a 4th-class returnee with the heart of the Brain Dragon implanted.

Thanks to that, she can use the blue lightning that the Brain Dragon possessed.

Among Returners, she’s not particularly strong, but her lightning is powerful.

That’s why she can operate without issues in Giraseong.

Because of a crime, she couldn’t join the World Returner Association or return to her country.

The kidnapping of S-class Space Movement User, Ha Si-ho.

That was the mission given to Aoki Kaito, who was to act with her.

S-class Hunters are individuals with abilities comparable to Returners.

Given that, this mission needed to be handled quite carefully, but for some reason, Kaito, who was deployed first, spoke as if it were easy.

“That kid, for whatever reason, her Space Movement is tangled. She won’t be able to use her full power.”

Watching him chuckle, Yekaterina fiddled with the voice translator-equipped receiver in her ear.

Since she’s not related to Space Movement abilities, she doesn’t know much, but if Kaito, who is of the same ability type, says so, it must be true.

And as he said, the target Ha Si-ho was nothing special.

She didn’t even react to her attack and was caught, so it seemed she could be taken to Giraseong without much trouble.

But then interference came.

A nun wielding a large sword appeared.

As soon as her whispering voice brushed her ear, her consciousness flew away.

That alone made Yekaterina feel a significant threat.

This nun is strong.

Dangerously so.

In that moment, an arm was severed.

If she hadn’t quickly regained her senses thanks to the Brain Dragon’s heart, it would have been her neck instead of her arm.

Using the electricity flowing through her body to forcibly stop the bleeding, she had no time to prepare before a massive bundle of black tentacles rained down from the sky.

The tentacles, which corroded everything they touched, including the forest, evoked an indescribable hostility.

“Yekaterina! No need to fight!”

This isn’t our target.

Hearing that, Yekaterina fully unleashed the Brain Dragon’s lightning.

In that instant, the surging lightning engulfed the area, and the nun, slightly burned, stepped back.

Even with her full power, she only suffered minor injuries. She’s more dangerous than I thought.

“Let’s go!”

Just before the black tentacles could grab her, Yekaterina was caught by Kaito and Space Moved away.

If she had stayed there, her entire body would have melted. The thought made her break out in a cold sweat.

“What now?”

The mission failed.

She immediately asked Kaito, who seemed to be scrutinizing something through his black glasses before sharply turning his head.

“No need to worry. It seems things have turned in our favor.”

Kaito explained that he had scattered Ha Si-ho’s Space Movement coordinates, making it impossible for her to move to a specific location, so she ended up moving to a random place.

Thanks to that, by tracking his power attached to Ha Si-ho’s Space Movement, they could quickly pinpoint her location.

Ha Si-ho had moved to an uninhabited island almost on the opposite side of Korea.

“Ha, how free is her Space Movement to accidentally fly all the way here?”

Even for Kaito, a Returner, this level of Space Movement was ridiculous. He clicked his tongue.

Moving this distance without using her full power meant that if she ever used her full power, no one could catch her.

“Let’s move too. Is your new arm usable?”

“More or less.”

Using a drop of elixir given by an alchemist, she restored her arm and briefly touched the new one.

It feels awkward, but it’ll get better soon.

“Then let’s move. It’s a long distance, so we’ll need to Space Move several times. It might make you nauseous, so bear with me.”

With those words, Kaito began repeatedly Space Moving with her.

She almost vomited from the worse-than-Dimensional Movement nausea in between, but she somehow endured.

And when the last Space Move ended, what greeted her eyes was a blue sea.

Above the sky.

A small island began to appear below her feet.

She began to float skillfully, and Kaito also stopped firmly in the air beside her.

“The target is.”

“A little away from here. It seems Ha Si-ho isn’t alone.”

“A Hunter or a Returner?”

“Hmm, not sure. I’m not a detection type. What’s certain is that it’s probably the person who was with that Returner back then.”

“Likely another Returner. Probably trying to protect the target.”

Hearing that, Yekaterina briefly touched her new arm.

“I have an idea. What do you think?”

“What is it?”

Turning to him, Kaito smiled as if it were no big deal.

“There’s a good trap for dealing with Spatial Ability Users. The kind that activates when trying to move long distances.”

“So you’re saying to set that up and then induce Space Movement?”

“Exactly, Yekaterina, you’re smart. That’s it.”

“Then that’s my part.”

“Just a warning shot will do. No need to lose your newly restored arm.”

Making an unpleasant joke, Kaito immediately began manipulating space.

“When should we do it?”

“Hmm, wait a bit. Ah, it’s done. We can start now. Of course, we can’t kill Ha Si-ho.”

“I know. I’ll control the firepower.”

As soon as she said that, blue sparks began to fly around Yekaterina.

Kaito stepped back before getting caught, and she held a lightning bolt in her hand, imbued with the Brain Dragon’s power.

“Ugh!”

With a drawn breath, Yekaterina hurled the blue lightning bolt to the place Kaito indicated.

Boom!

The lightning struck like an explosion, and one side of the forest was devastated.

The burning forest was empty.

“The trap.”

“Didn’t work. Seems they made a short-distance move in a hurry.”

“Was the firepower stronger than expected?”

“Long-distance movement itself is a gamble for them. Let’s watch the situation a bit. They’re probably just as anxious as we are.”

Yekaterina decided to do that.

She’s not talented at thinking, so it’s better to follow the smart one.

Then, at that moment.

A man walked out onto the sand where her lightning had struck.