Chapter 119

Chapter 119
Chapter: 119

Chapter Title: Psychokinetic Rampage

—

The moment the barrier locked into place, Sung Si-hoon began ripping the metallic floorboards upward as if he had been restraining the urge until that very second.

“Ah, my tax dollars at work.”

Tearing up the expensive infrastructure funded by the blood and sweat of the public without a single scrap of guilt. I wondered what the citizens would think if they witnessed this destruction.

Before I could voice another thought, the massive slabs of steel he had uprooted came screaming toward me, the sheer force of their flight slicing through the atmosphere.

Every single jagged block of metal was roughly the dimensions of an automobile.

“If I recall correctly, his specialty is psychokinesis.”

Psychokinesis. That was the core of Sung Si-hoon’s capability. It was straightforward, instinctive, incredibly powerful, and possessed a level of utility that was hard to fathom.

However, the radius in which he could exert direct influence was restricted. At the current distance separating us, he couldn’t simply reach out and snap my limb in an impossible direction.

The trick was to remain outside the perimeter where Sung Si-hoon held absolute dominion over his telekinetic grip.

Alternatively, one could prepare for the pressure and dive straight into his territory.

“Do you honestly believe that taking down Choi Yeoreum makes you a big deal? I’m going to prove to you right now that a schoolyard scuffle is nothing compared to a real battle.”

I was well aware of that. My previous bout with Choi Yeoreum had been a test of raw technique—no equipment involved.

This confrontation with Sung Si-hoon was fundamentally different from the outset. The very rules of engagement had shifted.

“Do you think a high schooler is going to outrun an Olympic gold medalist just because they’re racing on a dirt path instead of a track?”

I didn’t even know how to respond. My thoughts were a tangled web. It was incredibly frustrating.

I lashed out with my spear at the incoming steel titans. A violent screech of metal colliding with metal erupted, and the projectile stopped dead in the air before plummeting to the ground with a heavy crash.

I gave the spear a quick, rhythmic twirl, keeping my eyes locked on him as I moved forward with measured steps.

That initial exchange had provided all the data I required.

“He’s powerful.”

There was no way to deny his strength, even if I tried to lie to myself. It made sense—he was the leader of Taebaek LLC, regardless of his current employment status.

However, this newly crafted spear was performing far beyond my expectations.

Because of that, my path forward was clear.

There was no reason to hurry. Paradox Flame began to spiral around the shaft of the weapon. Sung Si-hoon’s face went rigid the moment he saw it.

“So that’s the energy signature everyone has been talking about.”

“The authorities are probably working overtime to figure it out, aren’t they?”

That was the whole reason they had baited me into this location. They wanted to dissect the nature of my Paradox Flame so they could attempt to manufacture some kind of defense against it.

Let them try. Let them analyze it until they’re blind. Let them construct their theories, run their frantic tests, collect their data, and conduct their trials.

The fire dancing along my spear was an anomaly that bypassed human logic entirely.

Sung Si-hoon swept both arms upward in a smooth, intersecting motion. The floor beneath his feet began to disintegrate as if caught in an industrial shredder.

From the resulting wreckage, tiny, needle-sharp fragments of steel rose into the air.

“Perish.”

“Am I really the villain here?”

Telling me to die so casually? How rude. I had offered to let him signal me if things got too painful—I was being considerate. But this man had no intention of returning the favor. The cloud of steel shrapnel lunged at me like a localized cyclone.

To any observer, it would look like a death sentence—a massive whirlpool of carnage that swallowed the air with a deep, mechanical growl.

Is he just arrogant, or are all elite hunters this disconnected from reality?

“I’ll give you a lesson in what ‘beyond understanding’ actually looks like, pal.”

I hoisted my spear, wreathed in pitch-black embers, and sprinted directly into the heart of the metal storm. The radiant Paradox Flame flared outward, creating a counter-vortex in an instant.

The tip of the spear pierced the flank of the cyclone, and the fire detonated from within.

The howling gale lost its drive. As the kinetic energy evaporated, the metal shards it had been carrying rained down onto the floor in a chaotic clatter.

“I hope that wasn’t your best shot.”

Sung Si-hoon ignited a sonic boom, shattering the sound barrier as he lunged toward me. He was trying to close the gap to drag me into his primary psychokinetic field.

As he drew near, the debris scattered across the floor—both the fine shards and the heavy blocks—began to fuse together like kneaded dough.

The blended metal mass groaned and compressed as if being squeezed by a giant, reshaping itself into a long, wicked lance in a matter of seconds.

Its razor-sharp point raced toward my chest.

“At any rate.”

I extended one hand and caught the metal lance. The momentum shoved me backward, but I pivoted my weight to slide clear of its path.

He wasn’t able to follow through. That specific strike was only possible because the tip of the lance was still within his zone of control.

“Just…”

Sung Si-hoon’s telekinesis functioned as if he possessed thousands of invisible, Herculean hands within a specific radius.

He could seize objects, hurl them, or swing them with precision. It sounded simple on paper, but that simple power was exactly how he had reached the top of the food chain.

His offensive became more frantic by the second. Eventually, I couldn’t help but ask a question.

“Are you trying to wreck this entire subterranean facility? The Ministry of Defense is going to be furious.”

I was being genuine. Sung Si-hoon had dozens of massive chunks of metal orbiting him, his hands balled into tight fists.

What exactly was he trying to assemble with all of that…?

“Good grief.”

Then I realized the plan this lunatic was actually executing.

“He’s completely lost it.”

The hovering metal pieces were being refined and molded. Bolts, plating, mechanical joints, cables woven from steel wire with grappling hooks at the ends…

Even while he was focused on this absurd construction, he continued to tear up the environment, fashioning small spheres of metal and firing them at me like a machine gun.

“Seriously, am I some protagonist who walked in on a girl in the bath in a comic book?”

Why was he throwing such a tantrum? The only difference was the velocity—these things were traveling as fast as high-caliber bullets.

He might as well have been screaming at the top of his lungs while he was at it.

The projectiles zipped through the air at supersonic speeds, with a fire rate of at least fifteen rounds per second.

The frequency fluctuated based on how much attention he was giving to his “project,” but it never dropped below that mark.

“Let’s see how much stamina you’ve got.”

I had the skill to parry every single one, aided by a spear durable enough to withstand the full force of my output without a dent.

“It’s a different league than Choi Yeoreum, isn’t it? Yeah, I’ll give you that.”

The metal slugs I deflected skipped and bounced off the walls. In the brief intervals between his shots, I managed to swat a few of them back in his direction.

Naturally, the moment they crossed into his personal space, they halted instantly and were fired back at me.

“Go on. Faster. I know you can do better.”

Sparks showered the room. While he remained preoccupied with his building, I reached the outer boundary of his psychokinetic reach.

“This is where it gets serious.”

Sung Si-hoon stared at me, his eyes wide and strained. I wiped the smirk off my face and focused.

The velocity of his metal barrage intensified. I matched it, increasing the speed of my defensive swings.

To describe it in an absurd way, it was like a high-speed ping-pong match played with fifty balls at once.

“Ha.”

Was his telekinetic launch speed superior?

Or was my spear-work faster at redirecting them?

“Watch this. This is the move that ends you…”

I seized a micro-gap in his rhythm to leave a glowing blue trail suspended in the air.

With every strike, I funneled maximum mana into my physical reinforcement.

Sung Si-hoon was doing the same, burning through his reserves to keep the metal projectiles flying.

“Now!”

In that heartbeat, I breached his inner circle. But I didn’t feel the expected psychokinetic crush.

The effort of managing our constant exchange of metal was already pushing Sung Si-hoon to his absolute breaking point.

The second he tried to exert pressure on me directly within his range,

One of the metal chunks I had redirected would find a path straight to his skull.

At this rate of exchange, no matter where it hit him, he would either be killed instantly or lose a limb.

Inch by inch, I narrowed the distance. He couldn’t back away. Retreating even a single step would be fatal.

As the gap closed, the speed of our volleys naturally accelerated. A shorter distance meant less travel time for the projectiles.

And at point-blank range? Sung Si-hoon looked at the blue arc of my spear near his throat with eyes filled with blood. Crimson began to leak from his nostrils.

“I told you. This is the end of the line for you.”

That blue trajectory was about to pierce through him. In that desperate moment, Sung Si-hoon choked out a response.

“You’re… not normal either.”

Fair point. While he was bleeding from his face, I wasn’t in perfect shape.

My strained muscles, skeletal structure, and joints were begging for a break. My body was walking a tightrope at its absolute limit.

“Calculate the distance between us yourself.”

We had both committed everything to this trade. If Sung Si-hoon were truly my superior, I would have been the one losing ground.

But we were getting closer. In a raw brawl like this, I held the advantage. The work I did to fix my nervous system back then was what allowed me to see and react first now.

The bottom line?

I was the stronger one.

The blue trajectory finally reached its target.

“Guh…!”

A massive explosion of sound sent Sung Si-hoon tumbling backward. I exhaled sharply, whispering to myself.

“Damn, it didn’t connect cleanly.”

I felt a surge of frustration. A few more seconds and I could have finished it.

I snapped back into focus immediately. A missed opportunity meant the battle continued. If the battle continued, there was no room for complaints.

“All that work just for this?”

Using the metal he had scavenged, he had put together a gargantuan, massive suit of armor. It wasn’t something a person wore—it was more like a piloted mech.

Sung Si-hoon slid the visor of the helmet up, giving me a jagged grin.

“You’re finished. You have no idea what’s about to happen…”

“It’s enchantment transfer, isn’t it? You’re going to use the power from that necklace.”

He flinched at my remark. Did he really think I wouldn’t notice? I have the ability to evaluate Erosion Core prizes on sight.

“Pathetic, thinking you could keep that a secret. All that effort for a oversized tin can.”

“Shut your mouth. Knowing what it is won’t help you.”

The silver plating covering his body began to glow with a deep, crimson light. It looked like dark red ripples flowing over the metal.

Magic resistance, enhanced durability, shock absorption… every enchantment from his equipment had been migrated to the armor.

It was obviously far more efficient than trying to buff a fragile human body.

“And now…”

He growled, throwing a red-hot fist forward. I drove my spear into the floor to anchor myself against the shockwave the movement generated.

“What a waste of time.”

The fact that I had missed that killing blow earlier was starting to feel a lot more annoying.

Now that he was inside that metal shell, this fight was about to become extremely tedious.