Chapter 176: Collaborator

It was the same green grape candy as before.

The boy's eyes, looking at the candy Ho-cheol held out, shook greatly for a moment.

No matter how much he feigned an expressionless face, as a child, a perfect poker face was impossible.

At that reaction, Ho-cheol was inwardly relieved.

At the very least, his emotions had not been erased.

The look in his eyes asking for help that he had seen before was not a misunderstanding either.

The boy hesitated, but reached out for the candy Ho-cheol held out.

But just as he was about to take the candy, he bit his lip and swung his hand.

His small hand slapped the back of Ho-cheol's hand.

The candy fell to the floor.

Hwareureuk—

At the same time, flames shot up around the boy.

The bright red flames lit up the dark alley.

At the boy's prickly reaction, Ho-cheol frowned.

They had parted on good terms last time, so why had his personality gone bad again?

He had not seen him use fire when he had seen him before.

Considering their special nature, there was only one conclusion.

“You’ve managed to learn a new Trait.”

Beyond just having multiple Traits, could he even switch between them so easily?

Honestly, he had underestimated him a little because he had subdued him once before, but at this rate, wasn't he fighting a completely different person?

Towards the boy who was glaring at him as if to kill him, Ho-cheol let out a sigh.

“I’d rather not lay a hand on a kid…”

Since the situation was what it was, was there no choice?

“Judging by the way you’re glaring, a little discipline seems necessary.”

Of course, he had no intention of drawing his sword.

A blade was too much for a child's emotions or education.

When the boy swung his hand, a torrent of flames followed its trajectory.

Looking at the flames that were coming to cover him, Ho-cheol clicked his tongue.

“Tsk.”

Flames that covered the entire surface, not just a point or a line.

He couldn't dodge it by just twisting his body in place or tilting his head as usual.

Ho-cheol pulled his body back.

Even though he was far away, the intense heat dominated the space.

The output is also considerable.

I’ll be in a world of hurt if I’m fooled by his young appearance.

Every time the boy swung his fist, a second attack of flames followed.

Because the flames were a beat behind the fist, his timing to counterattack or choose his next option was constantly being thrown off.

Ho-cheol analyzed the attacks, gradually increasing the distance.

“Flame Emission Manipulation. The radius is 135cm. Is the pure firepower A-rank or higher? It’s a shame the capacity he can use at once is small.”

Perhaps because it was a trait that focused on fine manipulation rather than output.

The flow of the flames was very stable.

In fact, Flame Emission-Manipulation was so common that it was even called a general-purpose Trait.

However, the boy's fighting style was exceptional even among the numerous heroes and villains.

Traits that were formless and affected the user's own body, like flames, were not easy to manipulate compared to other Traits.

Even if he had a partial immunity, he would be psychologically intimidated by the heat.

But he didn't feel any of that from the boy.

In the first place, it was a Trait he hadn't used before, and seeing that he could operate a single Trait so stably and fluidly in such a short time, it was an unprecedented talent.

Honestly, that level of talent was greater than Smiley or The Sun's.

Even he was no match for it.

‘Something’ beyond a genius.

“Then let’s see what other tricks you have besides fire.”

Muttering, Ho-cheol clenched and unclenched his fist.

He rushed at the boy, closing the distance.

Pretending to reach out his hand, he momentarily lowered his body and aimed for his lower body.

But before that, the boy swung his other hand.

A pillar of fire shot up from the floor.

Peo-eong—

Ho-cheol withdrew his hand and tilted his head back, narrowly dodging the fire.

“That just now…”

Ho-cheol's brows narrowed.

He shouldn't have been able to prepare for a lower body attack so easily just by having a fast reaction speed.

It was beyond puzzling, it was unsettling.

Was it just luck?

Or was his sense overwhelming?

Should I try to lure him with a low card again?

Ho-cheol slowly walked to the side and then rushed at the boy again.

The boy did not back down and created a wall of fire between them.

The heat was so intense that the outer wall of the building next to it and the wall were melting.

But Ho-cheol tore through the wall of fire with great ease.

He was about to grab the boy, but the moment he crossed the wall, the boy had already retreated to a place where Ho-cheol's hand could not reach.

“Hmm.”

Something’s strange.

It wasn't unreasonable for Ho-cheol to think so.

Even if he had outstanding output, combat skills, and physical abilities, the reaction just now was impossible.

He had completely changed his style in an instant to make it unpredictable.

And yet, the boy had already retreated to a range where his hand could not reach at all.

That was not luck or reaction, but closer to prediction.

What was needed for that prediction was an overwhelming experience.

The karma accumulated only through life-or-death battles.

This was something that could never be accumulated in a short period of time.

Or.

He dusted off the embers that had stuck to his hand and tilted his head.

“There seems to be something.”

Ho-cheol, who had been on the defensive until now, switched to the offensive.

He pushed the boy, changing his style in an instant.

The flames were a useful Trait for both offense and defense, but that was only when they could inflict meaningful damage.

Ho-cheol ignored the flames and reached out for the boy.

If the boy had not had an Augmentation Trait, it would have been a game of tag that would have ended a long time ago.

The boy also barely avoided being caught by Ho-cheol and maintained a distance where only his flames could reach.

“Keuk.”

The boy's expression gradually crumpled.

Even though he had been successfully attacking one-sidedly, he could feel the balance of power slowly shifting.

Meanwhile, for the first time, he found an opening in Ho-cheol.

His side, which was wide open because he had overextended his hand.

It could have been a very minor opening, but for those who had reached this level, it was also a fatal weakness.

The boy immediately raised his fingers and was about to stab a flame into it.

Chwararak—

In that instant, the future was replayed in one of his eyes.

Scenario, a superior Trait that went beyond simple future prediction, he was barely keeping up with the overwhelming difference in capabilities between them.

The moment he tried to attack, the future of his wrist being caught.

Whether he attacked with his hands, feet, or a Trait, they all failed.

In the first place, the opening that seemed to have been created by a mistake was a trap intentionally created by Ho-cheol, and his future self had been defeated.

The boy flinched and stepped back.

Seeing that, Ho-cheol nodded his head.

“Right. Is it a precognition trait?”

In fact, he had been a little suspicious from their first meeting.

Because he had been waiting as if he had known he would come here.

“It would certainly be difficult to fight you.”

He said nonchalantly on the outside, but inwardly, Ho-cheol was quite impressed.

Multiple Trait awakeners were a rare case, to the point of being treated as mutants, but they were not without precedent.

In fact, the most famous of the S-rank villains had three Traits.

But they had just had multiple Traits, and they would activate a Trait depending on the situation; they did not operate multiple Traits simultaneously.

The body could not withstand the burden of activating more than one Trait.

That was the established theory.

But the boy in front of him was different.

While continuously using his flame Trait, he also simultaneously activated his precognition Trait as needed.

An advanced human, to the point where Ji-an had even called them a new species of humanity.

Their appearance was just similar to a human's, but they were a being that had been designed and evolved from the genetic level.

“I hate it when things drag on.”

If he could see the future, then it was not that difficult to subdue him in return.

In fact, the higher the level of the precognition Trait, the more so.

Ho-cheol lowered his hand and grabbed the sword at his waist.

That was the end of it.

The boy instinctively activated his scenario Trait at Ho-cheol's unusual action.

And the 7 possible futures he saw all showed the same end.

Ho-cheol drew his sword.

And no matter which option he chose—escape, counterattack, dodge, surrender—the end was death.

The boy, who had seen death, froze.

Towards the completely frozen boy, Ho-cheol approached and clenched his fist.

“It’s going to hurt a little.”

He punched the boy in the stomach.

Bbeo-eok—!

Kwaang—!

The boy, who had been sent flying, was embedded in the wall.

Looking at the boy who was buried under the debris of the collapsed wall, Ho-cheol asked.

“You’re not unconscious, are you?”

A voice came from under the debris.

“No.”

The boy slowly stood up.

Ho-cheol's eyebrows twitched, slightly surprised.

He had controlled his strength, but to think he would get up so easily.

After thinking for a moment, he asked.

“Are you going to do more?”

“No.”

If he had simply felt the difference in power, he might have clung on more.

But he had completely lost his fighting spirit after seeing that realistic image of death just now.

There was an unbelievable gap between himself, who was just strong, and the monster in front of him.

The boy's expression, who had been staring at Ho-cheol, crumpled.

“……Please help me.”

“You’re finally saying what you really mean.”

Ho-cheol squatted down in front of the debris.

“That’s why I came here in the first place.”

He lightly moved his hand and cleared the debris that was crushing the boy.

Then he held out his hand again.

It was the candy that the boy had knocked away and had fallen to the ground.

“It's a little melted, but want some candy?”

“……Yes.”

Ho-cheol unwrapped it himself.

He pushed the candy between the slightly opened lips of the boy.

“Is it good?”

“Yes.”

The boy, with a candy in his mouth, explained the situation haltingly.

Originally, the twins had been guaranteed a certain degree of freedom, to the point where they were allowed to run away from home, but after meeting Ho-cheol, they had felt a change of heart and had refused the experiments and orders, and the situation had changed.

The scientists at the facility had oppressed them in a more harsh way.

The twin girl who had been with the boy.

They had planted a bomb in her heart.

A very simple and excellent threat.

“They said if I didn’t want to see my sister die, I had to do as I was told…”

“These crazy bastards.”

For a rare moment, Ho-cheol's expression was truly angry.

“There’s a limit to crossing the line.”

If the culprits had been in front of him, he would have forgotten his usual resolve and beaten them to death for a moment.

He was that furious.

Recalling the girl he had seen yesterday, Ho-cheol ground his teeth.

“I was wondering why her expression was so bad then.”

Of course her expression would be bad with a bomb in her heart.

Although they were twins who looked young on the outside, their actual age was even younger, only about one year old.

There were things you did to kids, and things you didn't.

“The reason you stopped me?”

“They suspect that my sister and I are in contact with the outside.”

The boy slowly stood up and leaned his back against the wall.

“If you had arrived at the facility and acted like you knew us, they would have surely considered us traitors and killed my sister.”

For the boy, he had to desperately stop Ho-cheol.

But now that he couldn't, he had to entrust everything to him.

He reached out and grabbed Ho-cheol's clothes.

“Please save my sister.”

“You guys tried to keep my promise of not killing people, so this time, it’s my turn to keep mine.”

Ho-cheol stood up from his seat.

Although he had made a bold promise, it was not such an easy problem.

A bomb was installed in her heart.

And it could even be detonated remotely.

It was impossible for even Ho-cheol to remove it safely.

No, even if he could, as long as there was a 1% variable, he could not take that risk.

A situation where the bomb could not be detonated.

And on top of that, a technology that could remove it 100% safely.

Even if Ho-cheol were to mobilize all the connections he could, it was impossible to satisfy both of those conditions.

Except for one way.

But this was not a normal way, but a side road, and even closer to a heterodox path (Outer Path).

“Haa.”

In the first place, it wasn't his connection, and he didn't want to receive help from him even if he died.

“Right. I have to save a person.”

Muttering, Ho-cheol stood up from his seat.

And he turned his back and looked up at the empty air.

“You’re listening and watching, right? Since you’re my fan. Then you should help me once.”

The boy blinked his eyes as if he couldn't understand.

Ho-cheol didn't know it, but the boy's sensory trait was always on.

Naturally, there was no one within a radius of several hundred meters except for the two of them.

There was no one watching from a distance either.

But the situation that followed was far beyond the boy's perception.

The space distorted, and a clear crack like a spider's web formed.

A person fell through it.

Thud—

A man in a pure white suit, with skin whiter than it.

“Well now. To think you would come to me first. I couldn't be more honored!”

He approached Ho-cheol with a bright smile.