Chapter 445 - Side Story. Lily Of The Valley (19)

Behind her, a mysterious blue machine containing a pillar of light appeared in a large space made of gray walls.

The deepest level of Han-eun Group Headquarters.

There, Han Seo-eun and Da-in finally faced the center of the Han-eun Group: Dr. Kim Sun-woo.

"You've finally arrived, Han Seo-eun. And Egostic. You've managed to defeat everyone above and made it here. Have you come all this way to stop my great progress!"

Kim Sun-woo spoke while his white coat fluttered from the railing above the machine.

Wearing round glasses with long black hair flowing down, his sharp expression and smile seemed to trigger Han Seo-eun's past trauma.

"Great progress? Don't make me laugh. You're just a villain who attacks people indiscriminately, acting like some cult leader."

Drawing courage from Da-in's cold rebuke beside her,

she also gritted her teeth and shouted at the man above.

"That's right. Everyone except you has fallen. Now it's your turn to fall, Kim Sun-woo!"

"Hahaha! Indeed. There's nothing more to discuss between us. You want to settle this with force? Fine, come at me!"

And the moment he said that,

Kim Sun-woo added with a sinister smile from above.

"By the way, Han Seo-eun. I've been watching your battles... aren't you relying too much on the man beside you?"

"....!"

And simultaneously.

BOOM.

A large iron door came down at the entrance they had used, completely sealing off the space.

At that moment, Da-in seemed to try to move quickly using teleportation.

"...?!"

Seemingly surprised by something, Da-in couldn't move his body.

He quickly pulled out two guns from inside his coat and said to her urgently.

"Seo-eun, it's a trap...! My ability doesn't work in here!"

"...What?!"

Hearing those words, Han Seo-eun momentarily panicked.

At the same time, she remembered what her brother had said.

'...These guys are too weak. They must have prepared their trump card for the final room.'

So this was the trump card? Ability sealing?

Da-in can't use his supernatural ability...

'Wait, that means he's no different from a regular person with a gun...!'

"Brother, stay behind me!!"

With those words, Han Seo-eun flew into the air with her suit's helmet down.

And Kim Sun-woo.

"Yes. This is the final device I prepared. How else could I stop that monster of a man by myself?"

He descended slowly from the air with his white coat fluttering, holding flickering fire in his hand.

'Kim Sun-woo. So that man could also use abilities...!'

No sooner had she thought this than—

Fire, launched directly.

"Ugh...!"

BOOM. FWOOOOSH. BOOM.

Han Seo-eun used her suit to block most of the flames.

It wasn't easy since she had to move her body instantly, but she managed it nonetheless.

Along with that.

RATATATATATATATA

Da-in helped her by shooting at Kim Sun-woo from behind.

And Kim Sun-woo, flying through the air, avoiding all of those attacks.

Even while launching flames, he didn't stop talking.

"A while back, I discovered a material that could seal the powers of ability users. If you trap them in a space where every surface is made of this material without any gaps, the ability users inside can't use their powers."

"Urgh...!"

"It seemed useful, but it wasn't really. Having to trap an ability user in a perfectly square room to seal their powers—how easy could that be? It was especially difficult because I couldn't even understand the principle behind it at the time."

"Stop... chattering... and shut up!"

"But in this situation, it's proven quite useful. From my position as someone welcoming unwanted guests, I can easily trap them. Didn't you find it strange that only this place has iron-colored doors while all the other spaces are blue?"

With those words, the battle continued.

Mostly Kim Sun-woo dodging attacks while throwing fire, Han Seo-eun blocking those attacks with her durable suit in place of her brother, and Da-in attacking from behind.

"...Things aren't looking good. Seo-eun, just in case, if something goes wrong, you need to escape first. Understand?"

"What... what are you saying, brother! Stop saying such strange things and focus on the fight...!"

With those words, Han Seo-eun gritted her teeth and deployed a defensive shield with her suit by crossing her arms in front.

The situation seemed disadvantageous for Seo-eun who had to protect Da-in with zero defense, but that wasn't necessarily the case.

FWOOOOSH.

"....Ugh. Your resistance is fierce. How absurd."

Perhaps due to Da-in's fundamentally cautious personality, he had successfully launched surprise attacks on Kim Sun-woo from behind with the various weapons he had brought.

Seo-eun also managed sharp attacks while defending.

Of course, in the process, her suit was shattered, pieces flying in all directions.

Particularly, many parts with small bomb launchers attached had fallen off.

Anyway, what seemed like a battle that would end quickly had become unexpectedly prolonged.

...And especially since Dr. Kim Sun-woo wasn't a villain who fought in the field... despite having abilities, his physical limitations soon became apparent.

He too was covered in soot, his white coat completely tattered.

And then.

FWOOOOSH

"Ha..."

Just now, a bomb thrown by Da-in had exploded right next to Kim Sun-woo's head, engulfing him. The doctor now wore an annoyed expression.

"This is getting bothersome. Perhaps it's time to end this."

With those words, Kim Sun-woo adjusted his broken glasses and flicked his hand.

KUUUUUUNG.

Numerous fireballs appeared above him.

And then.

SWOOOOOOSH

They all flew toward Seo-eun.

"Ugh...!"

An attack that anyone could see was lethal.

Looking at them, she was trying to deploy a shield to block the attack as much as possible...

But this was Kim Sun-woo's trap.

"You let your guard down."

"What...!"

The moment Han Seo-eun was blocking the meteor shower of flames.

Kim Sun-woo, faster than ever before, flew instantly to Da-in's front with 'lightning' surrounding his body.

And simultaneously.

"...!"

KWAAAAAAANG

A shock wave emanating from Kim Sun-woo's body engulfed Da-in.

With that, Da-in was thrown back and slammed into the wall.

KUUUUUUNG

"B-Brotheeeeeeer!!!"

At that sight, Seo-eun, gripped by a fear that seemed to stop her breath,

forgot her own exhausted body and flew instantly toward her brother.

There she saw her brother Da-in collapsed against the wall.

Rushing right in front of him, she removed her suit's helmet to check.

Da-in was leaning against the wall with blood flowing from his head, his eyes closed.

"Ugh..."

He was groaning, but seemed to have half-lost consciousness.

Still, perhaps thanks to some bulletproof gear worn under his coat, his life didn't seem to be in immediate danger.

Just as she was feeling relieved.

"Stop. Move any further and I'll shoot that man."

From behind, a chilling voice was heard.

She saw Kim Sun-woo aiming blue lightning at her brother with a cold smile.

With that cold smile suggesting his victory...

...that creepy smile he used to make when his 'experiments' succeeded in the past...

Han Seo-eun.

With an enraged expression, she growled back at him.

"...Ha. You're the one who shouldn't move. Why don't you look around?"

"Huh? Haven't you grasped the situation yet? What..."

As he said that and looked around, Kim Sun-woo soon realized the situation and froze.

The fragments of the suit that had fallen off during the fight with Han Seo-eun.

...Those things he had simply assumed were destroyed by his attacks.

ZIIIIING

Without his knowledge, they were floating in the air, illuminating bright red laser holes, surrounding Kim Sun-woo from all sides.

"You deliberately made it look like the suit was breaking apart. In reality, you were using something like drones to surround me? Heh... I wonder who taught you that. You had a trump card hidden."

"Shut up. Stay still or I'll fire immediately."

Thus, a standoff was formed.

Kim Sun-woo's blue lightning aimed at the fallen Da-in.

And opposing him, Seo-eun's numerous laser fragments targeting Kim Sun-woo.

In this crisis situation, a desperate measure Seo-eun had created by racking her brain to protect her brother.

...But in the end, her brother was injured, and she had only managed to create a standoff.

Kim Sun-woo.

That man, in addition to massacring all her precious family members,

was now trying to take away the only family she had newly gained.

Overcome with emotion, Seo-eun,

without realizing it, shouted at Kim Sun-woo with a trembling voice.

"You... why are you doing this?"

"In the past, you abused us with absurd experiments... and now you sacrifice countless people with an impossible goal of conquering the Republic of Korea."

"Why? What's wrong with you? Are you that precious to yourself? If Han-eun Group's wrongdoings were exposed, you should have just quietly accepted death. Why... why are you being such a nuisance until the very end!!"

Seo-eun's outcry, filled with rage.

To that.

"Hehe... listening to you, I find it strange."

"Child. You seem to be misunderstanding something."

Dr. Kim Sun-woo, with a cold smile,

spoke with a voice more sincere than anyone's.

"I'm not trying to conquer the Republic of Korea. Why would I do such a thing?"

"...What?"

"Or did you think I wanted the destruction of this country? I was only trying to save the world. Didn't you even notice that?"

At those absurd words,

Han Seo-eun, unconsciously calming her excitement, refuted his words point by point in a cold voice.

"Again... being a nuisance until the end. In the past, you tortured us with illegal experiments... after abilities disappeared, you mass-produced ability users to create villains."

"And after that, you started by attacking the association, then the broadcasting station, and even sent villains to the light bulbs when we were coming today. What? You had no intention of conquering the Republic of Korea? Am I supposed to believe that?"

To Seo-eun's clear and concise words,

Kim Sun-woo laughed as if he had heard the most absurd thing in the world.

"Hahaha... Child, child. Han Seo-eun. You really don't know anything. Yes, this too must be due to my lack of virtue."

"Fine. Since it's about time anyway, I'll tell you everything. It's going to be a long story..."

And so.

With the strange machine containing a pillar of light humming mysteriously behind him.

Kim Sun-woo finally began to speak.