Ch.83Overload of Supernatural Abilities

“Wuwaong.”

After finishing all her food, Black Cat yawned with an adorable meow.

She always turns cold once she’s done eating, as if her business is finished.

But today, Black Cat quietly stared at Meister with eyes showing unusual interest.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything special about W City’s food, nor is she refraining from attacking because we feed her… She just seems like a docile monster.”

“Ah, aah…!”

Meister stroked under Black Cat’s chin while coolly analyzing her.

Every time a purring sound like a motorcycle engine was heard, Yu Anna’s heart pounded heavily.

She never allowed me to touch under her chin, yet so easily with her….

“She’s truly a puzzling variant… not attacking humans and being this docile.”

During the monster weaponization attempts, monsters that seemed tamed always required rewards.

The look in those beasts’ eyes always conveyed the fear that they might rampage at any moment if not satisfied even slightly.

Unlike those predators, Black Cat had innocent eyes as if she were just a house cat.

“So such monsters can really exist… My ability wasn’t wrong after all.”

Meister smiled bitterly as she withdrew her hand from Black Cat.

Meister’s ability, Dimensional Archive, provides absolute answers.

It always speaks only the truth.

When that truth doesn’t manifest in reality, it’s because the questioner is flawed.

Because Nam Gyeong, the questioner, is insufficient.

“It’s about time I head back. Thank you for letting me touch you.”

When Meister bid farewell to Black Cat with a complex expression that was both smiling and tearful, Black Cat licked her lips regretfully.

As if understanding her words, Black Cat jumped off the rooftop and disappeared. The previously quiet communication channel filled with voices of soldiers and heroes.

[Black Cat has disappeared.]

[Situation resolved.]

[Meister, are you alright?]

[Civilian control secure. Starlight, please move quickly to the vehicle.]

[Don’t order an S-rank hero around, you mere soldier.]

Yu Anna carefully observed Meister, who had grown quiet after petting Black Cat.

In the elevator descending underground with its heavy atmosphere, Meister couldn’t properly hide her deep melancholy.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah… I’m fine. It’s just…”

When Yu Anna asked with concern, Nam Gyeong, unable to maintain her Meister persona, spoke with a trembling voice.

“…My ability is never wrong.”

A monster that doesn’t attack humans and even protects them could indeed exist.

Perhaps if Nam Gyeong had tried a little harder, she could have created a monster like Black Cat?

If her ability had been just a bit stronger, could she have prevented so many civilian casualties?

“If I had been stronger, if I had asked the right questions, if I… had properly handled my ability…”

The one who bears responsibility for the failure of the monster weaponization experiment isn’t the high-ranking government officials who pushed the plan.

Just one fragile superhuman with an exceptional ability.

Only one.

“Nam Gyeong, you did your best. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re still so kind, Anna, just like Ho-young… Both of you lost someone precious because of me, yet…”

“It wasn’t because of you. Neither Cage nor I blame you. Not even a little…”

“Thank you for saying that, Anna. But… you know.”

Nam Gyeong pointed to her head with an awkward smile.

Her ability to analyze through her power, to read parts of others’ thoughts.

“I know both of you blamed me. That’s the kind of ability I have.”

Nam Gyeong can read others’ inner thoughts that they themselves cannot handle.

She can vaguely read everything—the true feelings and unconscious thoughts hidden behind kind consolations.

“I’m sorry for reading your thoughts. I’m such an unpleasant woman.”

“Ask your ability what I think of you now. I truly don’t blame you at all.”

“I know you’ve already forgiven me, Anna, and I’m grateful. Still… the fact that I caused pain to you and Hye-na remains unchanged.”

Guilt and responsibility wrapped around Nam Gyeong like sharp thorns.

Yu Anna realized that no words could comfort Nam Gyeong and felt overwhelmed by helplessness.

Meister forced a smile as she exited the elevator and lay down again on the bed-shaped drone.

“Well then, Anna. I’ll try to question what kind of monster Black Cat is.”

“Rest a little first.”

“I can’t. I need to finish the schedule quickly so I can question about your ability again. I recently discovered that my ability’s computational power improves slightly when I take stimulants. This time I might be able to handle the information about your ability…”

“Forget about me, just please…”

“Please let me do at least this for you, Anna. It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

Meister closed her eyes, speaking as if escaping from Yu Anna.

Always suffering from fatigue, Meister quickly fell asleep.

With the throbbing wavelength of ability, Yu Anna sighed and operated the drone.

“This is Starlight, departing.”

After reporting and starting the autonomous vehicle, Yu Anna quietly looked down at the sleeping Meister.

An ability one cannot handle is no different from a curse.

Yet she continues to use this unbearable curse out of a sense of duty.

Meister has saved many people, but has also made choices that led to the deaths of many heroes and civilians.

She made sacrifices believing in answers that promised to benefit humanity.

As a result, the superhuman known as Cage was created.

Heroes must not fail.

They must be strong.

Incompetence is a sin.

What remains for Meister is a desperate sense of responsibility—wanting to atone even at the cost of her own life.

She’s being strangled by her own ability.

“…What a terrible ability, truly.”

“…Cough.”

Just as Yu Anna muttered with mixed feelings, it happened.

The thick smell of blood emerged with a coughing sound.

Recognizing the situation, Yu Anna urgently rose from her seat to check Meister’s condition.

Thump, thump—the increasingly irregular pulsing of ability, blood vessels prominent on her pale face.

Ability overload.

“Ugh, keuup…”

“Nam Gyeong, wake up! Nam Gyeong!”

Yu Anna slapped Nam Gyeong’s cheeks trying to wake her, but the situation grew increasingly serious.

Blood foam blocking her throat, the heart unable to withstand the energy consumed by excessive computation was stopping.

Meister’s ability wouldn’t stop.

“Electris! To the vehicle now!”

[What… don’t tell me?]

Bang! With the call, Electris leaped into the moving vehicle, flinging open the back door.

Seeing the blood gurgling from Nam Gyeong’s mouth and hearing her heart, Electris adjusted her ability without a moment’s hesitation.

“Move aside! Starlight!”

“Wait, her throat is still blocked.”

“Hurry!”

As Yu Anna removed Meister’s clothes, Electris placed both palms below Meister’s chest.

Boom! The electric shock stimulated her heart, causing blood to surge from her throat.

[What’s happening? You’ve broken formation…!]

“You powerless ones shut up and just manage the situation! If the road gets blocked even for a moment, you’re all dead!”

“Nam Gyeong… Nam Gyeong, wake up…! Headquarters! Treatment room! Stand by! Now!”

“This damn woman, I swear if you die…!”

Yu Anna prevented Meister’s rapidly cooling body temperature from dropping further and directly sucked out the blood pooling in Meister’s throat, spitting it out.

Each time Electris delivered an electric shock, Meister’s body jerked.

With each jolt, woong, her ability output increased, making blood vessels stand out on her forehead.

“No, this is…”

Seeing this, a superhuman-specific intuition flashed through Yu Anna’s mind.

Ability overload—a brain unable to handle the computational load, a heart unable to withstand the energy needed for that computation.

As Yu Anna tried to regulate body temperature and Electris delivered electric shocks, that power was being directly used for computation.

Using others’ abilities as fuel, burning her own brain.

“Electris, stop the electric shocks.”

“Have you lost your mind?! Since you’ve already touched her, if she dies here, we’ll both take the blame!”

“I’m trying to save her, so stop! Now! Do CPR with your own hands!”

To save Meister, they needed to avoid using abilities.

Hearing Yu Anna’s instruction based on superhuman intuition, Electris felt the same intuition and widened her eyes.

“I, I don’t know how to do CPR!”

“Move aside then!”

Yu Anna pushed Electris away and pressed both hands below Meister’s chest.

Basic emergency treatment without using abilities.

In the midst of the urgent situation, as the vehicle arrived at headquarters, soldiers rushed toward it.

“Meister!”

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“Electris, you finally?!”

“Get away immediately! Starlight! How dare you touch Meister’s body!”

The soldiers blocking the back of the stopped vehicle saw the blood and Meister’s torn clothes and aimed their weapons.

Immediately, Electris spread lightning among the soldiers, paralyzing their bodies and destroying their weapons.

“You crazy bastards! Powerless ones shut up and get out! Don’t block the way!”

“One, two, three, four…”

“Telekinetic! Come here! Now!”

“No! Don’t use emission-type abilities!”

“Move!”

At Electris’s direction, a hero who was drawing on telekinetic power stopped using his ability, and Iron Might entered the vehicle.

With his trained physical strength, Iron Might lifted the bed-shaped drone carrying Yu Anna and Meister, and together with another hero outside the car, quickly headed to the treatment room.

Arriving at the treatment room much faster than the drone could move, waiting doctors tensely picked up medical instruments.

A defibrillator was attached to Meister’s body, and electric shocks without ability mixture massaged her heart.

The sound of suction drawing blood from her throat, thump, thump—as the heartbeat gradually stabilized, Electris and Yu Anna sighed in relief.

Then, trembling soldiers approached with frowns and said:

“CPR on Meister! How many ribs might have broken…!”

“Electris, why didn’t you use electric shock?!”

“No matter how urgent the situation, to touch Meister so carelessly, you should have reported to us first…!”

“Starlight! Why did you oppose the telekinetic moving Meister with his ability? We will formally protest this!”

“Stop the surgery immediately! W City cannot be trusted!”

“As expected, trying to assassinate Meister for Cage’s power…! Ugh…! Keugeuk…!”

Non-superhumans cannot feel what superhumans feel.

They don’t intuitively understand why abilities shouldn’t be used in certain moments, nor can they comprehend explanations.

They resent that superhumans, once mere tools following their orders, now act independently.

Electris silently spread her ability, knocking out the loudly complaining soldiers.

“Ah, really, these fucking bastards…”

This time, Yu Anna didn’t stop Electris.