Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 18 (Part 2): The Price of Power (2)

In the meantime, one of the men who quickly grasped the current situation touched his waist with his right hand.

“That crazy bastard!”

It was Kim Song-tae, a sergeant from Nakseongdae Police Station.

He had witnessed the “crazy bastard” who had just killed two of his colleagues leaping down the slope, attempting to narrow the distance between them.

Finally, it was in his hand – a .38 caliber revolver. Normally, it would hold only two rounds of rubber bullets, but ever since the incident that morning, most of the nearby police had loaded only one rubber bullet in their revolvers. The second shot would be live ammunition.

‘Stay calm. He can only fire up to three shots.’

Kim Song-tae recalled the unbelievable attack he witnessed earlier. If luck wasn’t on his side, he could be dead before firing a single shot.

Thunk.

As Jeong-woo, approaching him while aiming, noticed the gun, he hesitated.

‘A gun…?’

Perhaps, he was lucky. Kim Song-tae was on leave until earlier today, sleeping at home just a few hours ago. Then, he unexpectedly saw the police station’s emergency signal and rushed to work in plain clothes. Without any police uniform, it was hard for Jeong-woo to anticipate a gun.

Now, his opponent had the gun pointed at him.

In that split second, Jeong-woo thought, ‘Can he hit me with one shot? No, I can’t risk my life on the chance of missing. But if I wait to attack, it might be too late. The bullet will undoubtedly hit me first.’

What was the solution?

Suddenly, a gap in time seemed to tear apart, followed by a deafening noise.

Bang!

It was Kim Song-tae’s first shot, a rubber bullet.

And immediately, the second shot followed.

Baaang!

This time, it was a live round.

As expected, the fired bullet hit the target just when someone would hear the gunshot.

Despite the recoil from the first shot, Kim Song-tae accurately adjusted his aim and hit Jeong-woo’s chest in one shot.

“Urgh!”

Not only Jeong-woo, but all the Neighborhood Watch members, including Kim Song-tae, were taken aback. It was their first time shooting live ammunition at a person.

A reaction that came from those who sought to uphold the existing order of humanity, a reaction that was visible because of their intentions.

On the other hand, Jeong-woo, who had already crossed many lines, was different. What was important to him now was not that his opponent had shot him…

“Ah.”

A vague mutter escaped him as he glanced down at his own chest.

Then, he raised his head again.

“…?”

The nine Neighborhood Watch members stared in astonishment as they saw Jeong-woo faintly smile.

Sun-woong, observing the atmosphere, realized, ‘The bullets got blocked.’

He felt a tinge of cunning in himself.

Though he hoped Jeong-woo would survive, he couldn’t help but wonder if it might be better for him to die right here.

If Jeong-woo had the power to block bullets, no one could predict what he might do in the future.

Of course, he had heard Jeong-woo’s cry at the gate.

He needed ten thousand essences.

If that was true, the ‘method’ Jeong-woo chose now was something someone had to do, whether it was him or someone else.

When Sun-woong opened his eyes again, he saw Jeong-woo swinging his left arm.

The people who had stood beside him were knocked back and crashed against the nearby building wall before falling to the ground.

‘He didn’t kill them…?’

Sun-woong watched some of them crawling away in retreat.

It seemed like about seven or eight people.

Sun-woong’s gaze returned to Jeong-woo.

Not that it was suitable to call him a savior, but his combat power had undeniably increased to an incomparable level.

To the point where he might be able to save humanity.

Swish.

Jeong-woo retracted his left arm and extended it as if throwing a spear.

Then, a faint blue light flashed from his hand.

There is no need to elaborate on the fact that the men whose bodies were pierced by the flash of light died instantly.

The number of essences increased, albeit slightly.

Jeong-woo was testing his new power against the Neighborhood Watch members.

He experimented with releasing the essences to control his opponents or transforming them into projectiles like the ‘Pitcher’ he had seen in Jungang-dong.

‘With the current number of essences at 1,453… If I can block bullets like this, saviors individuals might be able to overthrow the system.’

Jeong-woo reminisced about pouring all the essences into his body to block the bullets.

Though he could hardly believe that he managed to stop the bullets, someday, it would become an ordinary occurrence.

So, he wanted to master the utilization of essences as much as possible in preparation for that ‘someday.’

When that time came, he would face not people shooting guns at him, but superhumans blocking bullets. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of events that would lead to.

Maybe he would encounter them sooner than he thought.

After all, his plan was to go to the downtown area for serious essence collection.

The densely populated area should have a completely different level of average essence possession and combat power compared to here.

Within his jurisdiction, Park Jeong-woo was ranked ‘3’.

| Possessor of the Closing Ability.

Confirming that his rank hadn’t changed, Jeong-woo shifted his gaze to the man who was running away.

It was the policeman who had shot at him earlier, Kim Song-tae.

Swish.

He calmly adjusted his aim, recalling Kim Song-tae’s expression when he had shot at them earlier – it was as if he himself were frightened.

‘Ten thousand essences.’

Jeong-woo reminded himself of his goal.

Only now could he acknowledge why he was chosen as the savior instead of righteous individuals.

He was not afraid.

Not of what he was doing now or what he would have to do in the future.

Whooosh!

His arm, infused with essences, swung again.

The true path of a savior had begun.

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