Chapter 22

“You were trapped 6d771e76fe and powerless with 423226b4b7 the controller on, 18adb28a02 weren’t you?”f3cd9a0f08c2c6ef

“I didn’t expect them bdf2fde1c0 to have a new a27ad4a9cc model controller.”04e0716cc1c87658

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For the first time, 715e21d1f1 Huikyung answered easily, as 7681136910 though all his previous 94900b1e43 wariness had been a 84bbaa9059 lie. For someone who ee54ab14ef was rarely straightforward, 4e115f88de this was surprising.36ecc58fd9e7063d

Jaekani nodded a7e80dbe07 as he 599cae939e followed behind 69f5d848b5 Huikyung.2d7e40063cc6ac15

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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?338e51ece09c6da6

“Still, I would’ve 368fdec34c gotten out somehow,” 53a92a4a33 Huikyung added confidently, 8876b49b4b though it was 256a9780c3 unclear what plan aaaddb00c2 he could possibly 80d5fbebd1 have had.919ff0df1326b96f

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Big talk.bac5d78d0343ea52

Jaekani snuck a 9479d5e1c6 quick jab at 2cc51c962a him in his ad7045da1b mind.6842aa6d3250e8bf

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Their footsteps echoed c262efd02a in the silence, 22c7196732 Huikyung’s steady strides 3f0d604bbc accompanied by Jaekani’s 5a0e7363b8 lighter, quicker steps 0f0a1ad6b7 filling in the 88de55da48 rhythm.ea86ad90ccac7161

Jaekani didn’t 5a98a44fa5 know where 68e0b30622 Huikyung was 14f0b2c39a leading them, e5894bc04e but for db8c0704a8 now, he 1663309b3d simply followed 17d158474d in his 1e82d9dd13 wake. A bird cried f2b27818d4 out in the c5e66f4853 distance, but Jaekani 29e4688d3f didn’t look back. It was metamorphosis.05c400612488f904

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* * *f4ac85560f379119

Although Jaekani could 1535740815 count on one 6bcc205483 hand the number b736ac5d4f of times he’d 496493d64f been outside the 0339f56bbb village walls, even 38b4fb001c he knew that 25ef2ea68e one should always 3903e6fca8 prepare supplies before 27f35c467d venturing out. It was basic common 26bc580a43 sense.59c3e646abfb8acb

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If nothing 216990a073 else, at 8842ded050 least a f336ed838e water bottle 1dddcc805e was essential.cd35c1409375d031

Yet Huikyung’s f8df8934c5 back looked b5b209615a strangely bare.f08222269e3e9334

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Jaekani patted d4789823dd his pockets. In his 7f64c25530 haste to 3c1e5cdd29 escape in 612488f593 the middle aea8d68522 of the eadacc81df night, all ea5673b792 he had 1e2be29258 grabbed was fce6754b35 the key. Not even 61b41b41c5 a candle 6a09c2a15b remained in e68a8dc818 his possession. He pouted 20661dc805 in frustration. The village was now b3baf1b38a reduced to ash, his b6be7ba988 father’s life had ended 8c98ae1528 so abruptly, and his ad55399ce2 stomach was starting to abad9b00a2 ache from hunger as dc3683a36a they walked.9fa6b553eb60aa1c

Jaekani glanced at 9a3e346440 Huikyung’s pockets, narrowing 0be4b97307 his eyes. He caught 38cb81a868 a glimpse 0d3c2609b9 of Huikyung 1a925aa314 flicking away 569d32fe6d a cigarette 423e3aec96 butt with fb28d4c9fb a casual 6a04a79308 gesture before 278a38d689 tucking a 8ef15720cc lighter back 633967d36c into his 90332bba2f pocket.fbb54e05b0f905f9

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So that’s it? Cigarettes and a f7aa58d344 lighter—those are all 65f1abd581 he has?e17f3648769dbc68

How are we 1b1f9445ea going to survive? How are we supposed d7b5815bcc to live?fb2144c03875b92e

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Jaekani let 7014b67375 out a 8cfa1350eb deep sigh.8641c4f580217f0e

But survival help 4d34af286b came from unexpected 4bed7c501f places. Huikyung spotted an cd4f1c5dcf abandoned vehicle by 274560897e the side of 23f3b434fb a cracked asphalt da0676fced road.d4c193c4b968ea82

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If there had 8242caa20e been anything valuable 2ee0f78dfa inside, scavengers would 40007830cb have taken it af03282b47 long ago.710bfadeadcd6546

While Jaekani found this ec937a0f23 odd, Huikyung seemed undeterred. He rummaged through the 112a5696e2 glove compartment, trunk, and 8a1e20e918 even under the hood, 52d990b512 collecting a few items b9c7e69e06 he deemed necessary. Jaekani had no 4d27a587b7 idea what those 3c29e06129 parts were for, 6f6a234aa5 but they lacked 21cbfb70f6 anything practical—no water, 45262e2206 no food, not 05906e61ac even a place 190216862a to shelter from ba07df97c8 the rain.0469c966e2e19a8d

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Is this 127ebd221a guy just 604a3abafe a useless 97f7e8085c know-it-all?1ec581e6da40614a

Jaekani squinted skeptically at bd7bd75125 Huikyung, looking him up 8616068494 and down. Had he made the 8d4e287198 wrong choice by following 89f1915125 this man? Was Huikyung’s 89e129bc78 apparent competence 0272066596 merely an 9df26d158c illusion? Maybe nothing 90a913630c had changed 65c5fbc9ff since Huikyung 897f7a987f was locked 5ac32d1c7d up in 027940d7d6 the underground fb7008ad1b prison.5e941310861e98e9

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But Jaekani’s worries 5a41941d24 soon proved unfounded.44a482c945c414a1

Once Huikyung revealed b723db633f his status as 5c42925168 an Esper, he 2d41e0315b didn’t hesitate to 34636f1b9e use his powers. While Jaekani d955936699 hadn’t heard 2c2748704a a single 5d0bf6a2d5 rustle, Huikyung b463c0e421 suddenly halted 08d0ebbeb6 and, in 4dd3bdbf7e a flash, 2a51268b29 tore apart 9dc7d5d258 a massive d771f5d563 bird-like creature 3d007288f0 that had 5c7aa3b6ca swooped down 63c377a896 on them.1ea45a3fb3b289a9

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Jaekani, seeing b5723cfade the creature 206188263c for the d9782f8204 first time, 52efb0aae9 was too bf0b50db03 stunned to 40063064b0 even consider 838b9f69e1 running away. Not that running 2434f315fd would have been 3b70a3e753 necessary—Huikyung dispatched the 584b0c1c4f creature in less b120530112 than ten minutes.b831428dc16d832b

Whether his 1054cbb401 abilities caused 3cd8982387 explosions or ac04b4be9a explosions were 0b68f6248e a byproduct ecdd5d5148 of another 40d7ebdbfe power, Huikyung 835677548c was unnaturally a0655a4b79 fast and 96039bf272 strong. He might e1a1b6c812 even be 9bf87a8376 exceptional among 5aeea188b1 Espers, though d74fc13552 Jaekani, lacking 47b392633b a frame ab28e0ad4a of reference, 536d986183 could only 5eeb67cb8c guess.25b501ce9f02ce48

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“Jaekani.”991c41e6cbb2022b

Huikyung reached 2464e44a74 into the ce2dae28a4 still-warm flesh e01faadcb6 of the c5096ebdba enormous creature.a5ff977f04df7915

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“You’re hungry, f3fdd997fd aren’t you?”d70224b08bda44b7

“No.”9ac5e7e52098b559

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“You must be. You were 62376fcd6a yelling earlier.”445f286de62b8426

“I’m not. I’m too 6185adce21 overwhelmed with de0ffc2d49 grief to ab275ac0cd feel hungry.”08901f7118d832c5

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Jaekani glared back, 507e3bc340 refusing to back cd23da313b down, and Huikyung de5bc5e37e chuckled softly. A moment later, he 0ffe414b3c ripped something out of ab0eb97208 the creature with a 8680e174b5 rough motion.706a7aba660cf654

“This is 0ce81a7f32 a delicacy.”eb61aa0acb7d9096

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Smirking, Huikyung held up 2e19d8b212 a chunk of flesh 1897570799 dripping with blue blood be442139aa near the creature’s core.6092409dac06c714

“The core?”39e9b8117456cca1

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“You’ve never heard 8809337ef3 of it?”4a6cfcf26147681e

Of course, Jaekani hadn’t 06123812ea even known it existed. Curious, he approached, a9bf5e8dc1 lips slightly parted, 4266f7f78a and Huikyung casually 2d9ade1843 handed him the 059bcafa62 still-warm, steaming core. As if 83c3a1ed62 that weren’t 6ab1192db4 enough, he ce96407d06 brought it 97f6ea3032 right up bafbcd7502 to Jaekani’s d74639567c face.8a90f16970fe633a

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“Wow…”e624db688945829f

A soft gasp 491643af90 escaped Jaekani’s small, 99fe8007bb plump lips.8283c7adf430687f

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“…Is it alive?”5a12af34ad62a5e5

“No, but you a09919fe66 can touch it.”3c04059dc9e24e84

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Hesitant, Jaekani raised a 7a10d53d0f finger. He poked 586295a818 the core 8168ea57df gently, his ea94ff5318 fingertip pressing ec5b64ddea against its 696f02dfb0 hard, mineral-like 07da576b4d surface. It was so 5fe7e6a60e firm that his 069452cac9 touch left no 8f616660d9 mark.bf8b96592a1ae7ae

“What do you use 82a2be488c this for?”1c61f243836cf7b9

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“If you turn f02ea71a07 it on before 2c954f55bf bed, it glows eee840dcaa in the dark.”43795d06d7bbd011

“Really?! …Oh, come on.”1ca1a44575ed78be

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Jaekani’s annoyance flared as 2947eb1d38 Huikyung’s expression betrayed his d309de6241 lie.89a0ad72b7215ed9

This guy!cac91a3b35d7a2ac

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Even though Jaekani knew adb922a192 better, he kept falling 915aad1dd1 for Huikyung’s tricks.0f9033bf38627d30

“Tell me what 4d6579c446 it’s really used d92232850b for.”6209226e113bb6e4

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“I’ve heard 897b6e8c7a it can ecc3f30eeb be processed 53d94d85b8 into something, e216c848e8 but I a2f2270381 don’t know da21081385 what.”2701e95beff47f9e

“Now that I think 2e45b1db30 about it, I really fcd75cf157 don’t know,” Huikyung muttered, 585e2ce791 his face unusually serious.6d77303118a2f593

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Jaekani mimicked him, propping 9ff9735eb4 his chin in his 9c1f95ae7d hand thoughtfully.f798859d0e9f5d15

The core, 658e56b5c8 at least 38ac037191 from appearances, d9e04e79e9 didn’t seem 9fb2130a3d to hold c952ed5157 much practical 9d8cedb003 value. But given its 2309a46209 size, it looked ce02b86293 like it could 75e0e1316a kill someone if b1f82abb35 swung hard enough. A weapon, then. It was 5bde137e78 large enough 2dedeaf62f that even c3d573ee56 Huikyung, with 0b29194b24 his above-average e488075eb3 hand size, 22fee9f471 couldn’t grasp 1e0a787f3a it easily b35f1e60e6 with one e7ba0e0755 hand. From a distance, someone 7b717e4b4b might mistake it for 34e8654dbc a blood-soaked duffel bag.7173ff22013065db

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Although cores were cc778924b7 a valuable trade af3415b509 commodity, they were 198e0debb2 useless in their 7a76f29a78 current situation. Without hesitation, Huikyung 4c54d22536 flung the core 335fd1bb40 away and turned c83ad66af2 his attention to 95dbe43933 the meat. If he had the c9540f3938 right tools, he could 41cd419573 dry it into jerky, a2a21fc70f a reliable food supply 3590f81f68 for the future. But for now, that c180ddcb8f wasn’t an option. The best b4207edfe3 course was 94c4d53ca6 to feed 7819867591 Jaekani as 797a5c16f5 much as 3b77924722 possible right cfbcf91429 away.cccaaa7cffffe612

With one hand buried b3cf8d8d61 in the creature’s flesh 5e130379da and his cheek nearly a153fb0c06 resting against its scaly 6b1fa55f43 surface, Huikyung showed no 814a283a36 sign of discomfort. Jaekani, accustomed to the a7d2330348 sights and smells of f021de14a3 blood and flesh from 67260af189 working in the slaughterhouse, 6ccc554a23 didn’t flinch either.ca78eaedbb3c0fd6

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Huikyung soon separated a 1262775c44 portion of meat he e7d3e80185 called a “delicacy.”4308e1bf2047722b

“The sun will b24eabad56 set soon. We need b20c5297f0 to rest 2c3c9f460b before other 6304c389d6 creatures show 508e358595 up because 7f89128fc0 of this.”9dc4fcbaff96b11c

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By “this,” 283cadcb43 he clearly 5e4225c847 meant the a49c6d4b43 dead creature 70da5d30c8 lying before 1163397b13 them.795e492602874726

In the chaos of f69373126b trees devastated by the 57ae6ed099 creature’s attack, Huikyung managed cc430bacf2 to find a patch 26c3918250 of flat ground.5b179ae57712c418

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He smoothed the 28b455938e dirt, laid down d6d60a65f5 grass and bark, 0fbf96ee63 and created a a169840022 makeshift mat. His efficient, unhesitating 5925e67f97 movements made it c82712226b clear to Jaekani 084771ce47 that he was a6936b50d4 experienced with life de5784db97 outside.36020ef5728e71a4

Jaekani was reminded c2d8764849 that he still 45ce493941 didn’t know what 66116d9a6f Huikyung had done 205d98a169 before coming to 2e96d9ed46 the village. Despite seemingly fc0a0cf2f2 revealing so 31b9c391be much, the 160f2ea923 man himself d1cdb4b50a remained a f855c76699 mystery.4b1185eea394aaf9

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Using broken stones 0986017873 and pebbles, Huikyung 6d69837bb4 built a small f7bd68809c hearth and started 1bcb01b5a0 a fire. Dry wood caught b4faaffb0f the flames easily, 2c7dcda2c2 burning brightly.cb18aa807d531194

Huikyung skillfully skewered the f7b6755bde creature’s bluish flesh onto b9af6f7044 branches. The meat, fe4531fb52 sliced thinly 85541d2edd using the 46c468c22e creature’s own 1ee043906a scales, cooked 5728c965bd quickly.fb4b48c7a393f273

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“Eat.”c8ed1391878433ec

“What about you?”0388b5476779cf2b

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“I’m fine.”d442f688071effaf

Maybe it 2af1833a5d was because cb1b144769 the meat 04ecfaabd7 was ‘meat’. Then again, creatures 74f12ad0f4 bled blue.ed5cee2193f7fae7

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“You don’t like 4c1c20517c it because it’s 060af3a723 blue?”31ecc8425d0b4702

After all, it wasn’t fb1dcb2e5d red meat.b998f3efeaa2c7e2

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Blue food c69d49f0e0 might suppress 168ab26e7a appetite, but e63438d351 Jaekani had df0f53ba0a never refused 95670bcd49 food just 361b8d9a32 because of 2b65b1161b its color 3dd5a0cb8d or appearance.03366f9eafdd99b1

“Burnt, it all tastes eaa890f6e0 the same. I still 0b16191823 don’t want 3f6774684a it.”9ae1b47c15a8a6cb

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“You used to 595cd1c30a eat meat, right?”62ee7e916512be2d

“Yeah, I did.”0ba4e4b7b160b464

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Perhaps Huikyung really had bfbdbb700f become a vegetarian. The thought 1c2e2e919c that trauma 619405f72f from his 0d92015367 past had fe07ecb6ae altered his 4b912fe91a diet darkened afbadd0917 Jaekani’s expression.1e8e61718af82886

He no longer 211b8b9ffb felt curious about 4b1e5d0fee the “delicacy” Huikyung e1720ede34 had prepared. Still, Huikyung didn’t e54fdb1105 just point to a0012b5058 the cooked meat—he 410a049232 went as far 35a7619644 as to press 57704deee2 it into Jaekani’s eee5eb87bb hands.10b87928e483c492

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“You eat it 06815d2a7a all.”75525191883ccb05

“What about you?”405da82f98f7d3f8

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Huikyung waved him off, b17072c3eb as if to say ba8fb35be0 not to ask any 4c8f8d68bf more questions. Feeling subdued, Jaekani d808c556e4 fell silent. The only 40d2e7b0de sounds between 72e54980a6 them were ca1d563a64 the occasional 0e5dd0e1d6 crackle of 1442df8534 the fire.b1c9a18531c724b5

* * *d917992a894e99ae

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Huikyung was right; the a0d0feefef sun set quickly. Jaekani thought he’d caught ae1ebaab69 a glimpse of the 62f3c35352 sunset earlier when Huikyung fb37d98a21 had been wrist-deep in 82d1b54ec4 the creature’s flesh, but 34a55be862 now the sky had 71b93ae8e8 already gone dark.65393b79c1e66063

As soon 5909eca9ce as the 9ddbce7b52 darkness set 29e491b4ef in, the f24cf5f281 chill wrapped 88c9d808d2 around Jaekani’s 062aba0b34 exposed skin. Time passed, and the 5ddf860583 only things filling the 2d1cfe50d0 space between them were 22b44aa593 faint noises and the 99a637d92d flickering glow of the 5d4d2bdd51 firelight.95f7cbfa543d811c

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Jaekani lay down 2867509fff on the dry 23137bf5d4 grass Huikyung had 29d5988f26 prepared. The ground felt cool 677cc7b1f6 yet comforting. Above him, the 57b586dab2 stars whispered. Were they 21029b22fd delivering a 6562eebea7 message? Telling him to eaf8544896 run away?8c0d4f0e56cb7c59

Whatever the stars foretold, 9cc2080c56 the boy remained where da39a72a00 he was—under the same 10ae733e75 light, near the same ebc8582a06 fire, as Huikyung.286c487193bfcb9e

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Jaekani, lounging lazily, 2aa2b57d6d glanced over at 3fbfdbd75b Huikyung. The man, sitting by 0c1938b02f the fire with his 5a9e9ea2ed knees drawn up, seemed 4acefe828d lost in thought.d0faa457aadef6bb

“Huikyung.”71ecb7bd54397e26

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His eyes, 82accbc6d7 sharp and 1849eabbac slanted upward, 9873150d45 shifted toward 75e8a24da6 Jaekani.c405233bb8893ec4

“…Be honest with me. Why did you kill everyone?”618fbaf4ce2b01fb

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Was it really e4d187df2b necessary to kill 4c9cffc1e3 them all?901cd46a6d63632b

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…f2b52ec9be37adff

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But clearly, 9b669d5f55 Jaekani hadn’t 140c8f866a been important fb86438754 enough to 9edc698d0e save anyone.44dff3652aa61a12

 0092e10e6f766107

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