Chapter 22

“You were trapped and powerless with the controller on, weren’t you?”

“I didn’t expect them to have a new model controller.”

For the first time, Huikyung answered easily, as though all his previous wariness had been a lie. For someone who was rarely straightforward, this was surprising.

Jaekani nodded as he followed behind Huikyung.

A new model controller… That must mean there was an old model too. How had the villagers managed to secure the new one? And just how long had they been treating Espers like this?

“Still, I would’ve gotten out somehow,” Huikyung added confidently, though it was unclear what plan he could possibly have had.

Big talk.

Jaekani snuck a quick jab at him in his mind.

Their footsteps echoed in the silence, Huikyung’s steady strides accompanied by Jaekani’s lighter, quicker steps filling in the rhythm.

Jaekani didn’t know where Huikyung was leading them, but for now, he simply followed in his wake. A bird cried out in the distance, but Jaekani didn’t look back. It was metamorphosis.

* * *

Although Jaekani could count on one hand the number of times he’d been outside the village walls, even he knew that one should always prepare supplies before venturing out. It was basic common sense.

If nothing else, at least a water bottle was essential.

Yet Huikyung’s back looked strangely bare.

Jaekani patted his pockets. In his haste to escape in the middle of the night, all he had grabbed was the key. Not even a candle remained in his possession. He pouted in frustration. The village was now reduced to ash, his father’s life had ended so abruptly, and his stomach was starting to ache from hunger as they walked.

Jaekani glanced at Huikyung’s pockets, narrowing his eyes. He caught a glimpse of Huikyung flicking away a cigarette butt with a casual gesture before tucking a lighter back into his pocket.

So that’s it? Cigarettes and a lighter—those are all he has?

How are we going to survive? How are we supposed to live?

Jaekani let out a deep sigh.

But survival help came from unexpected places. Huikyung spotted an abandoned vehicle by the side of a cracked asphalt road.

If there had been anything valuable inside, scavengers would have taken it long ago.

While Jaekani found this odd, Huikyung seemed undeterred. He rummaged through the glove compartment, trunk, and even under the hood, collecting a few items he deemed necessary. Jaekani had no idea what those parts were for, but they lacked anything practical—no water, no food, not even a place to shelter from the rain.

Is this guy just a useless know-it-all?

Jaekani squinted skeptically at Huikyung, looking him up and down. Had he made the wrong choice by following this man? Was Huikyung’s apparent competence merely an illusion? Maybe nothing had changed since Huikyung was locked up in the underground prison.

But Jaekani’s worries soon proved unfounded.

Once Huikyung revealed his status as an Esper, he didn’t hesitate to use his powers. While Jaekani hadn’t heard a single rustle, Huikyung suddenly halted and, in a flash, tore apart a massive bird-like creature that had swooped down on them.

Jaekani, seeing the creature for the first time, was too stunned to even consider running away. Not that running would have been necessary—Huikyung dispatched the creature in less than ten minutes.

Whether his abilities caused explosions or explosions were a byproduct of another power, Huikyung was unnaturally fast and strong. He might even be exceptional among Espers, though Jaekani, lacking a frame of reference, could only guess.

“Jaekani.”

Huikyung reached into the still-warm flesh of the enormous creature.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“You must be. You were yelling earlier.”

“I’m not. I’m too overwhelmed with grief to feel hungry.”

Jaekani glared back, refusing to back down, and Huikyung chuckled softly. A moment later, he ripped something out of the creature with a rough motion.

“This is a delicacy.”

Smirking, Huikyung held up a chunk of flesh dripping with blue blood near the creature’s core.

“The core?”

“You’ve never heard of it?”

Of course, Jaekani hadn’t even known it existed. Curious, he approached, lips slightly parted, and Huikyung casually handed him the still-warm, steaming core. As if that weren’t enough, he brought it right up to Jaekani’s face.

“Wow…”

A soft gasp escaped Jaekani’s small, plump lips.

“…Is it alive?”

“No, but you can touch it.”

Hesitant, Jaekani raised a finger. He poked the core gently, his fingertip pressing against its hard, mineral-like surface. It was so firm that his touch left no mark.

“What do you use this for?”

“If you turn it on before bed, it glows in the dark.”

“Really?! …Oh, come on.”

Jaekani’s annoyance flared as Huikyung’s expression betrayed his lie.

This guy!

Even though Jaekani knew better, he kept falling for Huikyung’s tricks.

“Tell me what it’s really used for.”

“I’ve heard it can be processed into something, but I don’t know what.”

“Now that I think about it, I really don’t know,” Huikyung muttered, his face unusually serious.

Jaekani mimicked him, propping his chin in his hand thoughtfully.

The core, at least from appearances, didn’t seem to hold much practical value. But given its size, it looked like it could kill someone if swung hard enough. A weapon, then. It was large enough that even Huikyung, with his above-average hand size, couldn’t grasp it easily with one hand. From a distance, someone might mistake it for a blood-soaked duffel bag.

Although cores were a valuable trade commodity, they were useless in their current situation. Without hesitation, Huikyung flung the core away and turned his attention to the meat. If he had the right tools, he could dry it into jerky, a reliable food supply for the future. But for now, that wasn’t an option. The best course was to feed Jaekani as much as possible right away.

With one hand buried in the creature’s flesh and his cheek nearly resting against its scaly surface, Huikyung showed no sign of discomfort. Jaekani, accustomed to the sights and smells of blood and flesh from working in the slaughterhouse, didn’t flinch either.

Huikyung soon separated a portion of meat he called a “delicacy.”

“The sun will set soon. We need to rest before other creatures show up because of this.”

By “this,” he clearly meant the dead creature lying before them.

In the chaos of trees devastated by the creature’s attack, Huikyung managed to find a patch of flat ground.

He smoothed the dirt, laid down grass and bark, and created a makeshift mat. His efficient, unhesitating movements made it clear to Jaekani that he was experienced with life outside.

Jaekani was reminded that he still didn’t know what Huikyung had done before coming to the village. Despite seemingly revealing so much, the man himself remained a mystery.

Using broken stones and pebbles, Huikyung built a small hearth and started a fire. Dry wood caught the flames easily, burning brightly.

Huikyung skillfully skewered the creature’s bluish flesh onto branches. The meat, sliced thinly using the creature’s own scales, cooked quickly.

“Eat.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

Maybe it was because the meat was ‘meat’. Then again, creatures bled blue.

“You don’t like it because it’s blue?”

After all, it wasn’t red meat.

Blue food might suppress appetite, but Jaekani had never refused food just because of its color or appearance.

“Burnt, it all tastes the same. I still don’t want it.”

“You used to eat meat, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Perhaps Huikyung really had become a vegetarian. The thought that trauma from his past had altered his diet darkened Jaekani’s expression.

He no longer felt curious about the “delicacy” Huikyung had prepared. Still, Huikyung didn’t just point to the cooked meat—he went as far as to press it into Jaekani’s hands.

“You eat it all.”

“What about you?”

Huikyung waved him off, as if to say not to ask any more questions. Feeling subdued, Jaekani fell silent. The only sounds between them were the occasional crackle of the fire.

* * *

Huikyung was right; the sun set quickly. Jaekani thought he’d caught a glimpse of the sunset earlier when Huikyung had been wrist-deep in the creature’s flesh, but now the sky had already gone dark.

As soon as the darkness set in, the chill wrapped around Jaekani’s exposed skin. Time passed, and the only things filling the space between them were faint noises and the flickering glow of the firelight.

Jaekani lay down on the dry grass Huikyung had prepared. The ground felt cool yet comforting. Above him, the stars whispered. Were they delivering a message? Telling him to run away?

Whatever the stars foretold, the boy remained where he was—under the same light, near the same fire, as Huikyung.

Jaekani, lounging lazily, glanced over at Huikyung. The man, sitting by the fire with his knees drawn up, seemed lost in thought.

“Huikyung.”

His eyes, sharp and slanted upward, shifted toward Jaekani.

“…Be honest with me. Why did you kill everyone?”

Was it really necessary to kill them all?

Couldn’t he have at least spared ‘Father’? If he’d truly cared about Jaekani, even a little… If Jaekani had meant anything to him…

But clearly, Jaekani hadn’t been important enough to save anyone.