Became a Failed Experimental Subject Novel - Chapter 34

Goo Seoryong slowly shifted her position on top of me. She was in a stance ready to leap away at any moment, and at the same time, I felt her monster core vibrate faintly as she observed me. After examining me with a wary wave, Goo Seoryong spoke with an irritated voice.

“Ah~ I was just about to enjoy myself. How annoying.”

Goo Seoryong began to generate another venom from her fingertips resting on my body. A tearing pain spread through my abdomen. I frowned at the pain caused by the clotting of blood inside my body, and Starlight’s expression hardened.

“Excuse me, S-rank Esper Starlight? What are you thinking, coming all the way here? Didn’t anyone try to stop you?”

“Isn’t that why I’m here right now? While I was busy with monsters, a mudfish got deep inside and stirred up the waters.”

“Hmm… useless things, that’s why the failed ones are no good, right? No investment value. So, you’ve appeared to personally beat me up and throw me into a villain prison, is that it?”

“You understand well, don’t you? Then, why don’t you let that man go and come quietly?”

“Oh my, I don’t want to? This is my prey.”

“Haa…”

The tension was palpable. Goo Seoryong smiled leisurely at Starlight, who was treating me like a hostage, and flicked her long tongue. At that, Starlight sighed and calmly suppressed the vibrations of her power. I knew what Starlight was doing now. The silence just before a sudden acceleration, a technique she mastered to prevent me from predicting her direction right before she charged.

“Kyaat!”

“Kyaaaaaak!”

CRASH! Behind Starlight, the window shattered, unable to withstand the shockwave of her acceleration. Goo Seoryong, having narrowly dodged Starlight’s punch by leaping off the bed, flew to the elevator and landed softly. A streak of blood was boiling on Goo Seoryong’s pristine white cheek, where Starlight’s power had grazed her.

“Looks like the talk of being top-tier A-rank isn’t a lie, huh?”

“Attacking suddenly in the middle of a conversation, how ill-mannered.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a villain who takes hostages, especially one who’s A-rank.”

“Hostage…?”

Shlurrp. Goo Seoryong, flicking her tongue and wearing a strange expression, slowly looked back and forth between Starlight and me. Sensing a faint wave of relief, Goo Seoryong picked up a suit jacket from the floor and draped it over her shoulder, saying, “Oh my, yes, a hostage, you say? It’s natural for an Esper-nim to rescue a hostage, isn’t it? But how do you know if he’s a hostage or my person?”

“Hmph, if he were a villain, he would have already attacked me.”

“I am not a villain.”

When I revealed that I wasn’t a villain, Starlight frowned, quietly looking down at me, who was completely immobile. “As expected, this person doesn’t seem to be a villain. A psychic kidnapped from somewhere?”

“Not a psychic.”

“…Tsk, what in the world did you do to him to make him like this?”

“Ugh…!”

Starlight looked down at my stomach, which had turned black from Goo Seoryong’s venom, and extended her hand, which glowed red. Sizzzle. As my flesh was seared, I writhed in agony, a pain far greater than Goo Seoryong’s venom. The venom I had been slowly digesting vanished instantly, replaced by a handprint that looked like it would take much longer to heal.

“What? Do Espers kill hostages these days?”

“I didn’t kill him. It’s just emergency first aid. It’s clearly venom; this is better than slowly dying.”

“What a cruel woman, are you sure you’re an Esper?”

That’s right, this cruel woman, how could she sear a perfectly fine stomach? Just then, Goo Seoryong snapped her fingers, snap. Woosh. The moment the power of Confusion, carried on the sound wave, reached Starlight, Starlight flared up her flames, burning away the power. In that fleeting gap, Goo Seoryong slid and charged towards Starlight.

“Aha!”

“Guh?!”

Goo Seoryong, who immediately reacted and narrowly dodged Starlight’s punch by leaping towards me, placed two fingers to her lips and whoosh, blew. The venom mist generated by the venom spread from Goo Seoryong’s fingertips, engulfing Starlight. Through her obscured vision, Goo Seoryong rapidly underwent Ghoulification. Her hair turned pristine white like moonlight, and white scales covered her entire body, leaving only her navel and face exposed. A sturdy tail stretched out, and sharp claws covered her hands and feet. CRACK! Goo Seoryong, digging her claws into the marble floor, tearing the carpet, extended both hands towards Starlight. Starlight, who blocked the attack with crossed arms, her sharpened claws pointed, was sent flying out the window.

“Ahaha! That’s right! You can’t attack a hostage, can you, Esper!”

“This is…!”

Shlurp. Goo Seoryong, flicking her tongue and swinging her long tail, smashed the bedside table next to the bed with her tail. Picking up a microphone from the shattered remains with her tail, Goo Seoryong looked at Starlight, who was hovering in the air, and said, [Babies~? Code, S!]

“What…?”

Snap! Goo Seoryong snapped her fingers again, and all the lights in Kuryong Fortress turned to face Starlight. Behind her, countless psychics leaped from the ground, taking positions on the apartment walls, aiming at Starlight.

“Why are you so flustered, S-rank Esper-nim? Did you think villains would run away in fear if you showed up? We were preparing for your arrival, no matter when it happened.”

“You set a trap?”

“Oh my, wouldn’t you say it’s preparation for a hunt instead of a trap?”

BANG, BANG, BANG! With the sound of cannons firing from the ground, fist-sized warheads were shot towards Starlight. It was the sound of a gun I’d heard in the lab: an anti-material sniper rifle. Starlight, unable to ignore the impact even if she wasn’t penetrated or seriously injured, flew to avoid the bullets, and Goo Seoryong laughed, putting the microphone to her lips.

[Ladies and gentlemen! Today’s special event! We’re starting the Esper Hunt!]

“Wooooooah!”

[Just for coming out and watching, everyone gets 100 casino chips! 300 chips if you get injured! Even if you don’t die from a stray bullet, an opportunity to turn your life around is right before your eyes!]

“Wooooooah! Wooooooah!”

Sizzzle. With the sound of smoke being dispersed, the strong scent of stimulants drifted from outside the window.

“Then, I’ll be back soon, wait for me, honey?”

“Goo Seoryooooong!”

“Ahaha! Ahahahahaha!”

“Wooooah! Kill them! Kill them!”

Goo Seoryong pressed two fingers to her lips, blew a kiss at me, and leaped down towards the frantic cheers.

“Hmm.”

And I, on the bed, rolled onto my side. The paralyzing venom was almost completely digested… All that remained was the tranquilizer and the stimulant. Four years ago, when Goo Seoryong escaped the lab, it would have taken me more than a day to deal with this much venom, but now, it would take no more than 10 to 20 minutes at most.

“It hurts…”

More than that, my stomach hurts now. Not inside, but on the outside.

The Esper Hunt Begins
“Let’s see if this attack works on an S-rank.”

“Sniper team! Concentrated fire! Don’t stop for even 0.1 seconds until you run out of bullets!”

As a psychic, hanging by freezing to the wall, reached out to Yoo Anna, an ice mist dispersed into the air. Next to him, a psychic floating in the air, enveloped in a whirlwind, clapped his hands towards the mist, and the ice particles in the mist collided, rising and disappearing. At that moment, Yoo Anna felt her hairs stand on end.

“Kyaha! Get hit and die, Esper!”

BOOM! With the sound of air bursting, a massive shockwave exploded around Starlight. It was the result of a fist-sized projectile fired by a mere C-rank villain using a grenade launcher. It was a condensed energy bullet, fully charged with electricity by a psychic with electrical powers. Fired far away from Yoo Anna’s location, it detonated the entire space like a giant firework. All the lightning that dominated the space transformed into thousands of needles and converged on Starlight’s entire body, a natural guided lightning bolt targeting her conductive flesh.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Ahahaha! She’s crazy~! What was that just now!”

Rumble! The customers of Kuryong Fortress, struck by the thunder that followed the sonic boom, laughed, cheered, and screamed. The white smoke remaining in the air crackled, forming small lights and leaving traces of lightning. At its center, Yoo Anna, her entire body singed, gasped for breath that she had held during the explosion and unleashed her power.

“These bastards…”

“She’s alive! Prepare the next attack!”

“Damn it! If an S-rank dies from this, what kind of S-rank is she?!”

The pouring barrage of bullets consisted entirely of massive rounds fired from anti-material sniper rifles. Villains, using their enhanced psychic powers to continuously fire sniper rounds, stood brazenly among the drugged citizens, laughing with delighted expressions.

“Hey, you bitch! Die quickly! It’s hard when the target is small!”

“Hahaha! You idiot! Can’t even use your telekinesis properly!”

“Shut up before I shoot you first!”

Bang, bang, bang! The fired bullets followed Yoo Anna for a certain distance even as she moved in the air. These were guided bullets from psychics with telekinetic abilities. While the villains with barely C-rank psychic powers thoroughly kept Yoo Anna in check, B-rank villains prepared their next combination.

A hail of bullets, psychics powering up their abilities again, and a growing number of people reloading their magazines created openings. Yoo Anna, not missing the opportunity, clasped her hands together and raised a single finger. A pinpoint sniper shot aimed at the group of villains, pew, pew, pew. The moment the light bullets were fired, the forms of the hit villains crumbled like sand.

“Oh my, wouldn’t it be better to be careful? You might accidentally shoot a civilian!”

“I told you to evacuate, really!”

“Wooooooah! Ahahaha! She’s flying!”

“They won’t evacuate! It’s so exciting!”

“How annoying!”

The stimulant spread throughout Kuryong Fortress, Goo Seoryong’s power, and illusions caused by sensory confusion. The moment Yoo Anna tried to fly quickly above Kuryong Fortress again to avoid the bullets, Goo Seoryong appeared behind her and spun once. Yoo Anna, struck towards the ground by Goo Seoryong’s long tail, stopped just before crushing the citizens and flew past, grazing the iron cage of the arena in the center of the apartment complex. THUD! Goo Seoryong, who had fallen on top, stopped by gripping the iron cage with her scaled feet.

“Ahahaha! It must be hard for Espers, huh? Because they have to protect these citizens too!”

Snap…! Snap… snap… The sound of fingers snapping echoed, and Yoo Anna’s sky and ground inverted. Sensory confusion, Yoo Anna, having lost her sense of direction, shot upwards, narrowly grazing the people on the ground. This time, the apartment building began to collapse towards Yoo Anna. When she frantically extended both hands to support the apartment, a middle-aged man copulating with a prostitute inside a window shouted in an excited voice.

“Kya~! Starlight! You’re so pretty!”

“Ha-a-a-ang~!”

The collapsing apartment was also an illusion; what was collapsing was Yoo Anna’s sense of balance. Whoosh. The human figures stretched out, and the windows of other floors elongated like playing cards, the people inside passing before Yoo Anna like images in an old film.

“Starlight! Stop fighting and just lie down here!”

“Ahahahahaha! Is 10 million won enough! I’ll pay any amount!”

“Die quickly! Starlight, I bet on you losing, ugh!”

“Kyaaaaaak!”

Bang, bang, bang! A subsequent barrage of bullets flew, and the head of the man leaning against the window, crushing the prostitute, was blown off. Yoo Anna, passing by the disgusting sight and sinking towards the moon below her head, gritted her teeth in the sky.

“Ah! Really! Disgusting!”

“Hmmph? Is that remark for my babies? Or for the citizens~?”

Next to her, Goo Seoryong, who had approached without her noticing, was squatting on the apartment rooftop railing, her claws dug in, and snapped her fingers. Snap, snap… snap… With the echoing sound, the moon stretched out like a deck of cards spread in a hand. Suddenly, 13 Goo Seoryongs stood before Yoo Anna’s eyes.

“Ta-daaan~ Who’s the real Goo Seoryong~?”

“All of them!”

FLARE! Yoo Anna spread flames across the entire rooftop, incinerating all the Goo Seoryongs. At that, a Goo Seoryong appeared, squatting on the opposite rooftop, casting a shadow against the moonlight. In her hand was a switch shaped like a chess piece. The moment she pressed it, the illusions around Yoo Anna vanished. Around Yoo Anna, covering the apartment rooftop, were Claymore mines. Anti-personnel mines that would blow away the space in front of them the moment they detonated.

“Yes, BANG♥”

BOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted on the apartment rooftop.