Chapter 171:
Park Jung-soo’s eyes widened. His gaze instinctively flickered towards Seo Jae-yi’s Esper Factor on the ground.
“Why am I the only one with a high Matching Rate with Seo Jae-yi? Even Kwon Yi-soo, a top-tier Guide, only has a 37% compatibility, so why is it only possible for me? As a researcher, you must have wondered about that.”
He was right. He had been curious.
How had a Guide with a 93% Matching Rate suddenly appeared for Seo Jae-yi, who hadn’t had a compatible Guide for eleven years?
But he hadn’t dwelled on it, as such miracles did happen.
“Because a part of me resides within Seo Jae-yi. A significant part, almost all of me.”
“A part…?”
“Similar to a magic stone. I’m the only one compatible with her because she consumed it.”
Park Jung-soo’s eyes widened in understanding.
As a researcher who had conducted countless experiments, he immediately grasped the meaning of Baek Joo-won’s words.
It wasn’t just a natural compatibility. Baek Joo-won had transplanted a part of himself into Seo Jae-yi, forcibly raising their Matching Rate.
“So anyone who obtains my power can also possess Seo Jae-yi.”
Park Jung-soo gulped, finally understanding.
The pain from the side effects of injecting Baek Joo-won’s blood was forgotten, replaced by a greedy glint in his eyes.
The side effects were because Baek Joo-won wasn’t human. But that didn’t matter. What did a little physical disfigurement matter?
He could endure anything if it meant possessing Seo Jae-yi.
“However, you have to consume all of my blood.”
“…What?”
Park Jung-soo stared at Baek Joo-won, dumbfounded. A beautiful, almost terrifyingly alluring, smile played on his lips.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s only natural. Think about it. It’s Seo Jae-yi we’re talking about. Do you have any idea how powerful she is?”
Of course, he did. Seo Jae-yi, whose power intimidated Espers and captivated Guides.
He had coveted that power himself, hadn’t he?
“Ordinary power won’t affect Seo Jae-yi. You need more, much more. Enough to consume me entirely.”
“…”
Park Jung-soo looked down at his own body.
His body was already ravaged just from injecting a few drops; he had to consume all of it…?
“You want Seo Jae-yi, don’t you? Then you have to be prepared to pay the price. Don’t you have the guts?”
“Uh… uh…”
“You casually stick needles into Seo Jae-yi and others, but you can’t handle your own body being damaged? I wouldn’t be this disgusted if you at least had the courage of your convictions, the greed to risk your own life.”
Baek Joo-won sighed, looking up at the sky.
To think Seo Jae-yi had suffered for so long because of an insignificant insect like him… and she was still struggling to catch him…
Even Kwon Yi-soo, who prioritized Seo Jae-yi’s well-being over his own, seemed better than this.
‘Well, he’s also annoying.’
But he was helping him bring down the government, so he could tolerate him, but not this… this creature.
He was too insignificant to even covet Seo Jae-yi.
“I’ll be merciful and give you a chance.”
Baek Joo-won stood up, kicked Park Jung-soo to the ground, and then stepped on his throat.
“Ugh!”
He ignored his struggles and sliced his wrist deeply, blood welling up from the wound.
Park Jung-soo’s eyes widened as the warm blood dripped onto his cheek.
“N-no, no, stop! Don’t!”
“My, my. I’m offering you a kindness, a chance to obtain what you desire so desperately, and you’re refusing? You’re breaking my heart.”
“No! I don’t want it! I don’t need it! I don’t need that!”
Park Jung-soo’s face turned pale.
He had said he feared not obtaining his desire more than death, but that had been arrogance, hubris.
Now, facing imminent death, he was terrified. He wanted to escape.
He wanted to live.
But the one standing before him was a monster, his patience worn thin.
“Don’t be shy. Accept my kindness.”
Baek Joo-won pressed down on his throat, forcing his mouth open, and then dripped his blood, infused with his power, onto his tongue.
“Gah, cough! Hack!”
He applied pressure to his throat, forcing him to swallow.
“Is that enough?”
He stepped back, and Park Jung-soo, flipping over, tried to vomit, but it was too late; the blood had already been absorbed.
“Ugh! Aaaaaargh!”
The blood vessels in his eyes and throughout his body burst, the whites of his eyes turning red.
Park Jung-soo clutched his throat, his body convulsing in agony. An unknown liquid, perhaps blood, oozed from his orifices.
His hair, unable to withstand the powerful energy, fell out in clumps.
“Cough! H-help me… please… Help me!”
Park Jung-soo, coughing up blood, reached out to Baek Joo-won.
He was the monster who had tried to kill him, but he was also the only one who could save him now.
“Please, please! I won’t… I won’t appear before Seo Jae-yi again! Just save me! I don’t want to die like this! I’ll confess… cough… I’ll confess… ugh…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to confess. Neither Seo Jae-yi nor I want that. So don’t worry.”
Baek Joo-won spoke gently, his words a soothing balm against Park Jung-soo’s desperate pleas.
Confess? He had never intended to let him off so easily.
If he had, he would have contacted Kwon Yi-soo the moment Kwon Gyu-yeon found him.
There was only one thing Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won wanted.
To capture Park Jung-soo, away from prying eyes.
Baek Joo-won nudged Park Jung-soo’s body with his foot. His convulsions, his desperate clawing at the ground, ceased.
His swollen body and engorged veins gradually returned to normal.
“Uh…?”
Park Jung-soo looked up at Baek Joo-won, hope flickering in his eyes as the agonizing pain subsided.
“I’ll let you live.”
Park Jung-soo’s face lit up at his words, like a lifeline thrown to a drowning man.
“Th-thank you, thank you! I won’t forget this kindness! I promise I’ll never appear before Seo Jae-yi again!”
He scrambled to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly, his forehead hitting the ground.
He was sincere. He would die a gruesome death if he ever appeared before Seo Jae-yi again, not at the hands of humans, but at the hands of this monster.
He didn’t even want to look at her anymore. The thought of having been intimate with such a monster was disgusting.
He didn’t need Seo Jae-yi anymore.
“Th-then I’ll…”
He was about to scramble away, his obsession with Seo Jae-yi completely gone, when…
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“…What?”
“I said I’d let you live, not that I’d let you go.”
Baek Joo-won smiled, looking down at him.
Ah, Park Jung-soo finally understood.
How furious Baek Joo-won truly was.
That he wasn’t satisfied with just seeing him suffer.
That he had no intention of letting him go.
“You don’t have to worry about being seen. You’re going to meet Seo Jae-yi… with me.”
“…What?”
“She wants to see you. She has a lot to say. I would kill you right now, but what can I do? My Master’s wishes are my command.”
“Uh…”
“You should be happy. Seo Jae-yi, the one you crave so much, wants to see you.”
It was irritating that Seo Jae-yi wanted to see him, but he would indulge her, just this once.
Baek Joo-won grabbed Park Jung-soo by the hair and dragged him away. Park Jung-soo screamed as his scalp tore, but there was no one in this desolate desert to hear his cries.
Baek Joo-won threw him against a rock, took out a long metal chain from Seo Jae-yi’s spatial pouch, and bound his hands and feet. Then he secured him to the rock with the remaining chain.
“Wh-why…?”
“I have to enter the dungeon now. Wait here until Seo Jae-yi and I return.”
He couldn’t take him with him; he had to disappear without a trace. But he wasn’t worried about him escaping.
“You probably can’t break the chain, but I’ll warn you just in case. Now that you’ve consumed my blood, I can track you wherever you go, so don’t even think about running.”
Despair filled Park Jung-soo’s eyes.
Baek Joo-won, smiling brightly, shoved a gag into his mouth and secured it with tape.
Park Jung-soo, completely immobilized, slumped against the rock, his eyes vacant.
“That took longer than expected.”
It had been three hours since Seo Jae-yi entered the gate.
She hadn’t contacted him, so she must be alright, but he couldn’t leave her alone for too long.
Baek Joo-won glanced at the defeated Park Jung-soo and turned, walking down the hill. Unlike before, his steps were light.
He wasn’t walking away from Seo Jae-yi; he was walking towards her.
Association Head Taylor, who had been waiting, greeted him as he reached the gate.
“Ah, you’re back.”
“Anything unusual?”
“Not yet. Did you finish your business?”
“Yes, it’s all taken care of.”
Taylor scrutinized him discreetly.
His torn left shoulder, the bloodstains on his clothes and boots, the distant sounds of gunshots and screams he had heard earlier, despite the distance, his sharp ears picking them up.
“So you’re entering now?”
But he didn’t ask, despite Baek Joo-won’s suspicious appearance.
They desperately needed his and Seo Jae-yi’s help. He could ask questions later, after the dungeon subjugation.
“Yes.”
“I wish you a safe return.”
“Don’t worry. This dungeon won’t be a threat any longer.”
Baek Joo-won made a promise even an S-rank Esper wouldn’t dare make.
Taylor’s eyes widened in surprise, but Baek Joo-won, without looking back, strode towards the gate.
His tall, slender figure disappeared into the shimmering blue portal.