HIDDEN CARD: Hidden Card
ESPER: Psychic [12]
While riding the train, other people chatted occasionally, but Yeoju kept her mouth shut and just stared out the window.
Seo-woo, sitting next to her, seemed concerned, and nudged her arm, but she didn't even turn her head. Seo-jun, who had been watching the sullen Seo-woo, sighed and called out to her.
한서준
“…Kim Yeo-ju.”
김여주
"……."
한서준
"I only recently learned that the village of Vita has come back to life. People started coming back here two years ago."
"It's alive." Seojun described the village of Vita as such. So, was it originally dead? The female protagonist's expression darkened.
한서준
"There will be more new people than there were before. So don't worry about getting caught."
김여주
"Don't do that. That kind of thing."
한서준
"……."
김여주
"I'm fine, so take care of yourself."
Contrary to her blunt words, the female protagonist's hands, holding the cloak she bought from the dormitory store, trembled under her own strength.
Anger, longing, and… fear. Her eyes, filled with so many emotions, closed.
Arriving at their destination and getting off, the place was no different from Yeoju's memories. Baita Village. A place where people struggled to survive, a village so devastated it was practically deserted.
If you walk a little further, you will find a hollow in the ground in the middle of the village.
As soon as the entrance to the village came into view, she stopped walking and stood still, and Taehyung, who was the last to walk, called Yeoju's name.
김태형
"My lady."
김여주
"……."
김태형
"Kim Yeo-ju?"
김여주
"…uh."
김태형
"Why aren't you going? Everyone else is already there."
김여주
“…I’m going.”
김태형
"Are you tired? Should I carry you?"
Taehyung, who had been observing the woman's complexion, gently wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her toward him. Judging by the way she bent down and exposed her back, it seemed like he wasn't joking.
김여주
"Okay. It's not hard."
The female protagonist pulled her wrist free from Taehyung's grasp and followed the others to the village entrance.
Taehyung, who had been standing still after hearing the female lead's words, which were colder than usual, followed after her while grumbling to himself.
김태형
“I was worried, that’s why… Ah, heroine! Let’s go together!”
Whenever he felt that the distance between him and the female protagonist was growing, Taehyung would quickly chase after her.
"Ugh, ugh.... Oh, Mom.... Wake up.... Wake up...!!!"
"Please save me!!! Please save me, yikes!!!"
It all started when I reached the village entrance. Houses were falling apart here and there, people were stuck between them, people were being directly attacked by Espers, and even livestock escaped from the fences.
There were three Espers visible only to the eye, and ten Guardians, no, eleven if you include Seo-woo.
As she entered the village and saw more and more villagers, the female protagonist pulled down the cloak covering her face.
박지민
“Crazy… Is the South always like this?”
민윤기
"How could that be? Everyone seems flustered."
한서준
"Jimin-ah. First, use your powers to put out the fire. The rest of the time, we'll focus on protecting the villagers as much as possible. Understood?"
단미래
"Okay. Seo-woo, follow me. Let's help evacuate the children."
김서우
"yes…!"
At Seojun's words, one by one, they moved their legs and headed towards a place where they could be of help.
Jimin sprayed water on the burning trees and houses, and Namjoon created barriers here and there to prevent the villagers from being crushed by the collapsing houses.
Yoon-ki created a protective ice zone a little way from the village, Hoseok dragged the shadows of people who were trying to go in the wrong direction and sent them towards Yoon-ki, and Seo-jun, Mirae, and Seo-woo helped support the villagers.
As they moved according to their abilities, the people who remained were Yeoju, Seokjin, Taehyung, and Jungkook.
Taehyung, who was of the same fire attribute, and Jeongguk, who could handle electricity, were espers who were only good at attacking, so they didn't know how to help, and Seokjin also didn't have a way to help with his mental abilities here, so he just stayed still.
Seokjin looked down at the female protagonist standing next to him. More than half of her face was covered by a cloak.
Is it because the government is keeping the absorption esper secret that they're not stepping forward? Or... is there another reason?
Because she was wearing a necklace that limited her abilities, it was difficult to read the thoughts of the S-class heroine. Furthermore, because her face was obscured, reading her expressions became even more difficult.
"Huh. You guys are Guardians?"
김석진
"……?"
As I watched the crumbling village, I was contemplating whether to do something, when I heard a woman's voice behind me. To be exact, it was from above. It was from the sky.
김태형
“Wind… is it Kinesis?”
Wind kinesis. Wind control. Just by looking at it floating in the sky, I could tell it was Wind kinesis.
The woman seemed to like the three pairs of eyes directed at her, and the corners of her lips, which were covered in red lipstick, were smoothly raised.
"Well, you hang out with some pretty cool-looking guys. Aren't you, Joker?"
김여주
"……."
"Can you show me your face? That's why I came all the way here.–"
김여주
"……."
"A murderer born from eating his parents."
bang-!!!
It was a split second. As soon as the woman's last words were out, the heroine lightly touched Jeongguk's shoulder and clenched her fist with her other hand, sending lightning crashing down on the woman.
However, the woman noticed that the air current had changed and quickly changed her position using the wind to avoid the lightning shot by the heroine.
As if she knew the heroine would act like that, the woman leaned back and smiled, wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Why? Are you scared? Are you afraid I'll eat you again?"
김여주
"…shut up."
“Or maybe you’re worried that the kids next to you might run away too?”
Ugh, my teeth chattered together harshly, making an unpleasant sound.
Taehyung, who couldn't understand what the woman was saying, looked back and forth between the female lead and the woman with a bewildered expression, and Seokjin, who had roughly guessed the situation, looked at the woman with a stern face.
김석진
"What are you?"
As I held the amber necklace tightly in my right hand, intending to take it off if necessary, the woman naturally tucked her hair behind her ear, saying, "Oh, that's right!"
"Call me Spade. We have our own ranks."
Blue-dyed hair flowed down Spade's hand.
"Ahhh!!! No.... No!!!! Please save me!!! My child... My child!!!!!!"
전정국
"……."
스페이드
"What are you doing? Aren't you going?"
김여주
"……."
스페이드
"If we keep going like this, are we really all going to die?"
Spade chuckled and gestured toward the village, as if he were watching a fun movie. "Go ahead. I'll just watch from here." It was truly a remarkable gesture.
When Spade's words didn't move the three people, the heroine herself moved her feet and walked towards the place where the screams were coming from.
Seokjin and Taehyung called out Yeoju's name from behind, seemingly flustered, as if they hadn't expected Yeoju to come out, but Yeoju didn't even listen to their calls and adjusted her abilities to prevent the heavy debris from reaching the villagers.
The heroine uses her absorption powers to draw particles toward her, yet immediately releases them if they touch her. Even from a distance, her ability control is truly top-notch.
김여주
“…It’s okay,”
"Eek!!! Hey, Esper!!!"
Taaak–!!!
When I reached out to the resident who had fallen to the ground without seeing the debris falling on his head, the female protagonist's head turned instead.
I didn't expect to hear a thank you, but I didn't expect to get slapped either... . I spat the saliva that had gathered at the corner of my mouth onto the floor in an incomprehensible bitterness.
As if simply slapping the female protagonist wasn't enough, the resident trembled and picked up a brick lying on the floor. It was a brick that had popped out when the house collapsed.
김남준
"What are you doing now!!!"
Bang!!
If it weren't for the barrier Namjoon created, Yeoju's head would have been shattered.
The heroine did not dodge the bricks flying towards her, and the villagers were too consumed by fear to anticipate what would happen next.
민윤기
“…What is it? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
김석진
"Look into my eyes. Look straight into my eyes."
Yoongi, who ran to Namjoon's voice, quickly froze Jumin's legs and arms, and Seokjin grabbed Jumin's face and looked straight into his eyes.
Looking at the two of them, they looked at each other and muttered something to themselves, so it seemed like they were using their powers to calm the residents.
박지민
"Are you okay? Look at your face."
김여주
"It's okay. There are still a lot of places where the lights are still on. Please turn them off."
박지민
"A small fire will go out on its own in no time!! I want to see your face."
“Kim… Kim Yeo-ju…?”
김여주
"……ah."
The cloak covering my face was halfway up when I was slapped. Jimin's hand was approaching my face, so I hastily pulled it back down, but it was too late.
The old man, who saw the female protagonist's face in the temporary sanctuary created by Yun-gi, called out the female protagonist's name and pointed at it with his finger.
At that action, everyone in the sanctuary followed the old man's hand and looked at the female protagonist, and they all began to tremble and wave their hands.
"I... I... That dirty thing!!!! Where the hell am I!!!"
"Salt!!! Where's the salt!!! Get rid of it now!!"
"Esper, get out of this land immediately!!!"
"A murderer born after eating his parents!!!! Is it okay to appear in the place where he killed his parents?!!!"
When attacked by the espers, he could do nothing but run away, but after confirming the existence of the female protagonist, he cursed the espers and called them dirty creatures.
Disgust, fear, terror. The voices of those gathered, filled with all sorts of dark emotions, were louder than the sound of houses collapsing, and soon filled this small town.
스페이드
"Pfft. It was good that you came here. Right, Dia?"
"……."
Spade chuckled as he watched the heroine, surrounded by villagers and being hurled at with every insult. The person known as Dia stood beside Spade, staring at the heroine, then turned away.
“…You can’t collapse here, Kim Yeo-ju.”
The words that never reached the end quickly dispersed through the air.
As you may have guessed, I actually wrote that hidden card after seeing the character change and getting a feel for it... On Rock! Open Haaaat! I'll never forget it... 🤦🏻♂️