The One Who Exists but Does Not Exist
"What did you say?"
The man looked to be in his early forties. Square-jawed, with thick, dark eyebrows that dominated his face, he furrowed his brow hard.
"What did you just say?"
"Well..."
The subordinate who had been momentarily flustered finally found his voice.
"Chang-su got taken down."
"Chang-su got taken down?"
As if certain he must have misheard, the man's eyes blinked once.
"Yes. Chang-su's been carried off to the hospital."
"Explain. In detail."
Sensing that something was seriously off, the middle-aged man who had been sitting calmly demanded more. The one making the report opened his mouth again.
"He... got hit at a gym, they say."
"By who? The guys Chang-su took with him must have seen it. Did they get wrecked so badly they can't even talk?"
"Not that badly."
Their wrists and hands had been shattered, sure, but they were still coherent enough to describe what had happened.
"Then who the hell lost their damn mind and put Chang-su in that state?"
The reporting man looked uncomfortable, then answered.
"They say they don't know."
"What?!"
The middle-aged man—Kim Dong-woong—wore an expression like he'd just bitten into something foul.
"Don't know? What the hell do you mean they don't know?"
"They got hit by someone, but they can't remember who..."
"What kind of bullshit is that? They watched Chang-su get wrecked and they still can't remember the bastard who did it?"
"...That's what they're saying."
"This is... insane."
The sheer absurdity of it left Kim Dong-woong looking utterly dumbfounded.
"Did those idiots all come down with amnesia or something?"
"Well..."
Just then, a commotion erupted outside.
"What the hell is that noise?!"
Kim Dong-woong snapped, nerves fraying.
The door burst open and a man stumbled in.
"S-Someone we don't know just stormed in! He's beating the guys down and heading straight this way!"
"Someone we don't know? What the hell are you—"
"Kraaagh!"
"Ghk!"
From the hallway beyond the open door came a chaotic racket, and the man who had just reported spun around only to catch a flying kick full in the face. He crumpled in an ugly sprawl across the floor.
Kim Dong-woong shot to his feet in shock.
Thud. Thud.
A figure stepped through the open doorway.
"You... who the hell are you?"
"Kim Dong-woong. Used to run with the organizations. Action leader for Baekho-pa until Baek Gang-woo went down, then you stepped back and kept your head low. Once you Awakened, you gathered power fast and founded a guild."
"What... are you?"
The fact that this stranger knew so much about him made Kim Dong-woong's eyes go cold and still.
"Me? The guy who cleaned up those punks who came to the gym."
The reporting man flinched hard. Murderous intent flared in Kim Dong-woong's eyes.
"You've lost your damn mind. Walking in here on your own two feet..."
"Yeah, that guy said the same thing."
The figure—Seong-min—smiled.
"Fine... I don't know how skilled you think you are, waltzing into the tiger's den like this, but you're going to regret coming here of your own free will."
Even among Awakeners, there were ranks. Kim Dong-woong had learned that the hard way. Chang-su sat a full three tiers below him. Still, among the guild's Awakeners overall, Chang-su had been officer-class—top ten, easy.
"Step back."
The man who had made the report scrambled clear.
Sssaaaah...
In that instant, blue Psychic Energy began to surge and roil around Kim Dong-woong's body.
"I'll make you understand that not all Awakeners are created equal."
Of course Kim Dong-woong assumed Seong-min was an Awakener too. To storm the building, drop everyone in his path, and reach this office, the man had to be at least top-five in the guild. Given that he'd taken Chang-su down, top-five was a safe bet. That was why he'd dared to barge in.
But the bastard had no idea what Kim Dong-woong's true strength really was.
Seong-min grinned, a crooked little smirk.
"See, I ran a little experiment."
The sudden, pointless remark made Kim Dong-woong's brow crease.
"Whether it was actually possible or not. Turns out... it works. Not just those guys—the regular members didn't notice either."
Kim Dong-woong had no clue what this lunatic was babbling about.
"So now I'm sure."
Seong-min was in an excellent mood.
"I can work you over without any worries now."
In the next heartbeat Seong-min's body shot forward like a bullet.
Or rather—that was what it looked like for a split second.
"?!"
Kim Dong-woong threw his hands up in a desperate block.
KWAANG!
A massive impact slammed through him. The shockwave that tore through the guild master's office shattered every windowpane into glittering shards.
Driven back by the crushing force, Kim Dong-woong stared in disbelief.
The bastard hadn't used Psychic Energy at all. So what the hell was that impact?
"H-How?!"
The reporting man, watching from a distance, hastily threw up a barrier of Psychic Energy to shield himself from the residual blast and shouted in pure shock.
That someone could drive back an Awakener—the strongest man in the entire guild—with a single heavy blow was already impossible to believe. And the attacker hadn't even used Psychic Energy.
"Awakeners are supposed to have this massive superiority complex, right? Too bad for you... that superiority looks pretty damn laughable from where I'm standing."
"C-Could it be...!"
Horror flooded the reporting man's face.
"H-Hyung-nim! This guy is an Ordinary Human Superhuman!"
"......"
Kim Dong-woong said nothing. His face had gone rigid.
Ordinary Human Superhuman.
The weight those words carried was enormous.
There had been exactly one.
One Ordinary Human Superhuman had appeared in the world. And that man had single-handedly wiped out the most notorious Awakeners in every region of the country.
People called him The Absolute—Kang Jung-gil.
The cry of "Ordinary Human Superhuman" instantly summoned the image of Kang Jung-gil. But the man standing in front of them looked nothing like him.
"I don't really like sticking my nose into other people's business... but that Chang-su bastard should've known when to quit."
"Don't get cocky... Just because you're an Ordinary Human Superhuman like Kang Jung-gil doesn't mean I'm going to be afraid of you."
"You scared or something?"
"Shut your mouth!"
Seong-min let out a short, incredulous laugh.
"Hilarious... An Awakener getting spooked by an ordinary human."
It really was funny to him.
This alone told him everything he needed to know.
How massive an impact Kang Jung-gil had left among the Awakeners.
The moment this man realized he was facing another Ordinary Human Superhuman, he had tensed up completely. And the one who'd shouted was staring at him with naked fear in his eyes.
The whole situation was just too amusing.
"Alright. Now that you know I'm an Ordinary Human Superhuman... you already know what's about to happen to you, right?"
"Ranks exist even among Awakeners. That goes for you too!"
As long as this wasn't Kang Jung-gil himself, there was no reason to be afraid. Kim Dong-woong poured power into his body and charged.
A vicious kick came flying in a single blur, aimed dead-center at Seong-min's head.
Paaak!
Seong-min blocked it without any real trouble.
But that was only the beginning.
In an instant Kim Dong-woong's form blurred, moving at blinding speed, and powerful strikes rained in from every direction like a machine gun.
Shupapapapak!!!!!!
A relentless barrage of consecutive attacks left no room to dodge, all of them slamming toward Seong-min. Every single blow carried crushing force. Attacks no ordinary human eye could even track came flying in endless succession—
and Seong-min blocked or slipped past every last one of them.
He twisted aside from a thrusting kick, spun the other way, and drove his own leg out in a counter.
Paa-ak!
A heavy impact smashed into Kim Dong-woong's chest and sent him skidding backward.
"Kkeuhk!"
The blow was so brutal it felt like his insides had been shaken loose.
"Don't tell me that was everything you've got."
Seong-min looked at him like he was already bored.
"Don't you dare look down on me!"
Clutching his chest, Kim Dong-woong charged again and detonated the Psychic Energy he had gathered in his hands.
PAAAAAANG!!!
A violent explosion and shockwave tore through the guild master's office.
"Uheot!"
The watching man maxed out his Psychic Energy and threw up a barrier to protect himself, but the blast still hurled him backward into the wall. He crumpled to the floor.
Kuuuu...
The door frame was wrecked. One entire wall of the ruined interior had caved in. Dust billowed through the air.
That's what you get for underestimating me.
Kim Dong-woong was certain of his victory.
"This guy's a real psycho."
"?!"
The voice came from right beside him. He whipped his head around.
Peoeok!
A crushing blow slammed into his solar plexus. His body bounced across the floor.
"What the hell were you thinking, just blasting your energy like that?"
"Uuugh..."
Kim Dong-woong clutched his chest, trembling in agony.
"I'm ending you right here."
"S-Spare me... I..."
Peok!
Seong-min struck the back of Kim Dong-woong's neck mid-plea, knocking him out cold, then methodically broke both of his legs and his lower back. Even unconscious, Kim Dong-woong's body convulsed; he soiled himself and went limp.
Seong-min turned his head.
"P-Please spare me!"
The man who had been thrown earlier was staring at him with a bloodless face, begging for his life.
"Sorry, but you're going to need some hospital time too."
Peoeok! Peok! Paaaak! Crunch!
"Kyaaaaaagh!"
Seong-min finished the job cleanly, then simply vanished from the spot as if he had never been there.
That night, every news broadcast covering incidents and accidents, along with the papers, carried the story of Gangrim Guild. The core of the report was always the same: an outside invader had reduced the place to rubble, and Guild Master Kim Dong-woong had been carried out in critical condition.
Yet nothing concrete about the attacker had surfaced. The guild members were furious, of course—but they had no idea who the culprit even was.
Seong-min checked the television news, the papers, and every corner of social media. Then he smiled.
The Escape Skill...
was turning out to be even better than he had expected.