Echoes of the Reverse Planet

Chapter 107: Telekinesis

Deep wariness oozed from Won Jongcheol’s cry.

It was a natural reaction, considering that the defensive techniques used by four people had all been neutralized by a supernatural ability attack unleashed by a single person.

The other awakeners also seemed to belatedly realize this fact upon hearing his cry, glaring at Baek Woohyun with extremely tense faces.

To Baek Woohyun, however, that only exposed their inexperience.

“[Bone Spear]!”

“[Steel Claw]!”

“[Lake’s Sword]!”

“[Rock Spike]!”

A spear made of pure white bone, a three-pronged steel blade, water shaped like a sword, and sharp rocks rising from the ground.

As if arguing that they were from a major corporation after all, Won Jongcheol and the awakeners’ counterattack was quite fierce.

Fierce enough that hope appeared in the expressions of the armed guards and office workers still watching from a distance, thinking, ‘Are they winning?’

“……”

Baek Woohyun looked at the ability techniques targeting him with ash-gray glowing eyes.

Then, as he gestured this way and that, something strange happened. The ability techniques that had clearly been flying toward him crashed everywhere randomly.

[Bone Spear] stuck into the ceiling, [Steel Claw] flew in three different directions, and [Lake’s Sword] and [Rock Spike] collided with each other before scattering into pieces.

This happened because unlike the awakeners themselves who had ability resistance, ability techniques that were merely phenomena couldn’t resist Baek Woohyun’s control.

If they had been more powerful techniques, he wouldn’t have been able to twist their trajectories so easily with telekinesis—but that was just a hypothetical.

“In…sane.”

“He blocked them like that…?”

Won Jongcheol and the awakeners groaned at the sight of Baek Woohyun standing unscathed and aloof.

They couldn’t have imagined that their attacks wouldn’t even get close. It was four ability techniques.

Moreover, it wasn’t like he barely blocked them—they were twisted this way and that with just a few gestures and shot down.

***

—So? You said we need to see combat?

—How much more does Hackphysical need to prove

—Just believe lol Before you see, if you believe, blessings come

—What’s with that rhyme lololol

‘Castoros’ donated ‘50,000 won’!

[Sorry;; I’ll just believe from now on;;]

“Thank you for the 50,000 won donation, Castoros! Yes! Just believe from now on! Nothing is impossible for Hackphysical! Remember that!”

—50,000 won deserves recognition

—I’ve also decided to just believe from now on, big Hack fan ㄱㄱ

—Hackphysical is ㄹㅇ a monster lololol

—Nothing is impossible for Hackphysical… memo…

“Actually, I don’t understand those who are skeptical. Normally, thinking logically, that shouldn’t be possible. It’s amazing enough to handle a close-range build well with no compensation, but a ranged build too is hard to believe.”

“Oh. You were also skeptical? You were a non-believer?!”

“No! From the moment Hackphysical built a ranged ability build, I’ve long been ready to exclaim ‘Hackphysical, are you the strongest even at range?!’ I’m just saying I understand.”

—Common folk meme ㅅㅂlololol

—Are you Hackphysical because you’re the strongest? Or are you the strongest because you’re Hackphysical?

—When you put it that way, I kind of understand too

—Still, at this point it’s time to just believe ㅅㄱ

‘Big Hack Fan’ donated ‘1,000 won’!

[Yup~ Already broke my head~ Even if Hackphysical makes a nuke from a pinecone, I’d believe~]

***

“……”

“……”

A brief standoff between Baek Woohyun and the awakeners.

Despite it clearly being a 1 versus 4 situation, the one who appeared to have overwhelming superiority was the side with one person.

Because an aura that could overwhelm the four opponents and more could be felt from Baek Woohyun, wrapped in transparent flames. His presence itself was also tremendous, separate from that.

Uuuung—!

“……”

This time too, the one who took the initiative was Baek Woohyun.

Regardless of the opponents’ skill level, as long as numerical inferiority existed, he needed to move first and attack more to maintain superiority.

He used telekinesis to lift all sorts of objects on the first floor of the headquarters within reach of his senses, and threw them straight at the awakeners.

It was an extremely simple use of supernatural ability, but it was quite threatening because the thrown objects were all considerably large, and there were more than ten of them.

“[Steel Curtain]!” “[Bone Shield]!”

“[Lake’s Judgment]!” “[Rock Hammer]!”

Won Jongcheol and the awakeners didn’t just stand still either. They quickly divided into two for offense and two for defense to deal with Baek Woohyun’s first strike.

It was a role distribution accomplished in an instant without a word of consultation, as if proving they had coordinated together for quite some time.

The way they instantly grasped that this attack was weaker than [Distortion] and distributed personnel accordingly was also quite interesting.

Kwajak! Kwajik!

The steel wall covered in bone fragments wavered but didn’t collapse. Even though dozens of objects shattered against it, it held out to the end.

Moreover, the counterattack that occurred simultaneously reached right in front of Baek Woohyun’s nose without being blocked by [Distortion] like before.

Just as Won Jongcheol and the awakeners’ faces brightened, thinking ‘We did it!’

Huuk!

Baek Woohyun, wrapped in transparent flames, suddenly disappeared, and [Lake’s Judgment] and [Rock Hammer] struck only the spot where he had been, one step too late.

He had evaded the attack by making himself the target of telekinesis and moving himself at high speed, just like when he flew to Geumshin Electronics’ headquarters earlier.

However, while this was simple to describe, it was absolutely not easy to do. Considering the fact that there was no compensation made it even more so.

After designating the target of telekinesis, determining the path to throw it and how fast to throw it all had to be processed with only his senses.

Moreover, applying this to himself was, in terms of difficulty, guaranteed to be at least twice as hard.

Because he couldn’t use vision, the sense most helpful for using supernatural abilities.

For ordinary people, they could barely use it for emergency escapes. And most would fail even at that.

“Huk!”

The awakener gasped in shock at Baek Woohyun appearing before him. To him, it must have seemed like Baek Woohyun suddenly materialized.

Ignoring the opponent’s reaction, Baek Woohyun reached out his hand, and his hand touched the awakener’s chest without any interference.

The telekinesis that started right there struck the awakener with tremendous power. It was a small-scale [Distortion].

“Keuaaak!”

Kwadeuddeuk!

The awakener flew backward with his entire body twisted!

It was a natural result, as there was no way he could withstand Baek Woohyun’s telekinesis with just simple ability resistance rather than defense through ability techniques.

After flying for quite a while, the awakener who finally fell to the floor with a kudangtang! had a condition that made it hard to believe he was alive.

It was merciless handling unlike with the armed guards, but it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Unlike ordinary people who posed no threat at all, awakeners were a clear threat to him, so it was right to kill them when he could.

Even if the one he just killed wasn’t a filthy bastard like Won Jongcheol.

“……”

Baek Woohyun had already killed over thousands of people on ‘that side.’ If you included those he killed indirectly, it might be tens of thousands.

Most were bastards related to Project: Transcendence, but among them, there were surely innocent people too. It wasn’t like he checked each one before killing them.

With hands so stained with blood, how could he hesitate to kill a few more?

“Suchan—!”

One of the awakeners cried out the dead man’s name in grief.

However, that was not the right choice.

If he wanted to survive, he should have immediately counterattacked rather than crying out immersed in sadness.

Of course, it was an unreasonable demand to expect someone who wasn’t even a Hunting Dog to make calm judgments after their comrade died.

Kwadeuddeuk!

Baek Woohyun gestured again, and the space around the awakener was distorted. Just like when he had killed the awakener named Suchan earlier.

The awakener caught in [Distortion] met an end not much different. He died with his entire body twisted by the overwhelming power of telekinesis.

“Hi, hieek?!”

The one awakener who witnessed two comrades die in an instant screamed and fled.

It was an extremely unsightly appearance, but Baek Woohyun didn’t sneer. He didn’t want to mock another’s fear. He simply reached out his hand indifferently.

Soon the [Distortion] manifested from his hand struck the fleeing awakener, and the awakener met the same end as his comrades.

“……”

“Uu.”

Baek Woohyun looked at the last remaining awakener and the target of the apparitions’ revenge, Won Jongcheol.

He was frozen stiff with a face full of fear. It was understandable, since the three comrades he’d trusted died one after another in horrible ways.

But that appearance didn’t inspire sympathy. Because he knew what this bastard had done and would do.

‘Trash bastard.’

The moment on ‘that side’ when Won Jongcheol died at his hands came to Baek Woohyun’s mind.

When he was active as a Hunting Dog, he would laugh gleefully drunk on his power when killing test subject comrades, but when it came time for him to die, he was so terrified he even wet himself.

Endlessly weak to the strong and cruelly strong to the weak—a cowardly coward.

That was what Won Jongcheol was.

“U, uaaah! [Rock Spike]!”

Won Jongcheol cried out mixed with screams as he used his ability technique.

However, the ability technique he manifested couldn’t even penetrate the wall of telekinesis protecting Baek Woohyun’s body.

It was a situation that arose because it was an ability technique manifested haphazardly in a panic, and it was none other than a wall established by Baek Woohyun.

“No! Save me! Please! I’m begging like this!”

“……”

Ttaak!

“Keuaaak!”

—……

—……

Baek Woohyun, who had been standing still enjoying Won Jongcheol’s despair as he struggled, snapped his fingers toward him.

The [Distortion] thus manifested tore him to shreds. Very meticulously, as if judging the evil deeds he had committed and would commit.

The evil spirits surrounding him quietly looked down at that sight. Continuously, until submerged in blood, his movements stopped.

***

—Just overwhelming

—Really ㅈㄴ strong ㄷㄷ

—At this level isn’t the ranged build stronger than the close-range build??

—Eh, even so, I don’t think it’s that much

“A ranged build being stronger than a close-range build… That does make me curious. If close-range build Hackphysical and ranged build Hackphysical fought, who would win?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure but— probably Hackphysical would win, wouldn’t he?”

“……”

—Definitely Hackphysical would win ㅇㅇ

—Calling that an answer lololol

—I vote for close-range build. Close-range has shown more than ranged

—The aura alone makes ranged also insane though

*

‘It’s over.’

All combat finished, Baek Woohyun turned his eyes from Won Jongcheol’s corpse and looked around.

No one else remained anymore. Not only the office workers who had been caught up, but even the subdued armed guards had long since fled.

Well, everyone would know it was a stupid thing to remain while awakeners were fighting.

‘About twenty minutes left. It’ll be tight.’

Baek Woohyun used telekinesis to collapse the floor at the spot he had marked earlier and entered the underground space.

However, where he descended was just a place that looked like a spacious warehouse. Only various odds and ends were piled up.

Even though it seemed like he’d chosen wrong, there was no change in his expression. Because this wasn’t where he had been heading in the first place.

He collapsed the floor again and dug further down—and only then did the underground research facility reveal itself.

‘Found it.’

“Intruder! It’s an intruder!”

“How did he find this place?”

“Could there be a mole?”

“You idiot! Is now the time to discuss that! Call the Etinel right now!”

Listening to the shocked cries of the researchers, Baek Woohyun smiled coldly.

The researchers who realized the terrifying future in that smile tried to say something, but he didn’t listen.

He simply immediately manifested his supernatural ability and tore them apart just like Won Jongcheol whom he’d killed on the ground floor.

If it were the ground floor maybe, but being down here meant they were fairly deeply involved.

Whether with the research facility, the corporation, or Project: Transcendence.

And what that meant was that there was absolutely no reason for him to spare the researchers.

‘Let’s see.’

Baek Woohyun, who had dealt with all the researchers in an instant, examined the research materials on the computers they had been touching.

This was also something he’d done often on ‘that side,’ so his hands typing on the hologram keyboard were very skilled.

He first searched for TL-01, and could find related materials quite simply. Materials containing quite detailed content at that.

It turned out his decision to raid Geumshin Electronics, which was most closely related to the research facility, was correct.

‘The effect of TL-01 is… overall enhancement of supernatural abilities?’