TRPM 196

chapter 196

The worst psychic imprisoned on Prison Island.

Yeon Mirae was well aware of his existence.

When she was a child, the news had reported on him for several days straight, and from the very next year, his existence was mentioned in history textbooks.

But Yeon Mirae didn’t know his name.

The news at the time had not revealed the psychic’s name, and the history textbooks only referred to him as “the worst psychic” or by the nickname “Children Slayer.”

“… If what Master heard through the Albatross PMC staff is true…”

That is, the incident that earned him the title of the worst psychic.

If the incident in which hundreds of children were kidnapped and killed was truly a false accusation…

If the Taeguk Guild was behind it… she could roughly understand.

“The Taeguk Guild must have prevented his identity from being exposed.”

If what Han Gun-woo from Albatross PMC had told her was true, then revealing his identity could have led to connecting him to the inhumane experiments the Taeguk Guild had conducted.

Of course, that’s one thing, and this is another.

“Even if he was falsely called the worst psychic, it doesn’t mean he’s purely a good person.”

Yeon Mirae assumed a stance and looked at the prison cell where a prisoner was presumed dead.

Judging by the scene, it seemed he had killed the prisoner impulsively… but it was known that even before being imprisoned on Prison Island, he had murdered a spectator in the courtroom who had merely called him the Children Slayer.

“Being a victim doesn’t automatically make someone righteous.”

The psychic in front of her was exactly such a case.

Therefore, Yeon Mirae had no intention of going easy on him.

“……”

The psychic, sensing Yeon Mirae’s imposing presence, became calm and calculating.

“… Even in my normal state, I couldn’t guarantee victory… no, I couldn’t win against her.”

He realized the gap between himself and Yeon Mirae.

He had assumed he could somehow escape Prison Island by dealing with the restraints, but he never imagined such a monster blocking his path.

“… Could I break through if I took the prisoners as hostages?”

Impossible.

It might have been feasible if the difference in levels between him and Yeon Mirae wasn’t too great, but the gap was enormous.

“… Freeing the prisoners…?”

It was a very good idea.

However, thinking about what would happen after freeing them made him hesitate.

Although he might be considered the worst of the prisoners in this prison, the others were also undoubtedly criminals, which is why they were confined there.

Releasing them… would endanger the innocent guards.

“… Even so, that crosses the line too far.”

He was willing to kill anyone who insulted him.

He was willing to kill everyone in the Taeguk Guild who had framed him.

But even he had limits.

Those who believed he had killed over a hundred children would dismiss his protests as nonsense.

So, that plan was discarded.

“… Could I escape if I broke the wall and let the seawater in?”

This plan had potential.

Judging from his sword stance and what the other prisoners called “sword flames,” the opponent was an aura user.

And aura users couldn’t stop the flood of seawater.

“… Even to save the prisoners and the guards below, she wouldn’t have time to focus on me.”

The flaw in this plan was that if Yeon Mirae prioritized capturing him over saving the guards and prisoners, his impaired body wouldn’t allow him to escape.

Even if she went to save them first, she would pursue him afterward.

In his current state, he couldn’t flee far.

“… But doing nothing is worse than trying!”

With that thought, he activated his ability.

“!”

Through her meditation, Yeon Mirae sensed the movement of energy she assumed to be his mental power.

Her skill in meditation was lower than Han Gun-woo’s, and she wasn’t yet fully accustomed to it, so she couldn’t determine its exact target—but she could sense the general direction.

“What are you…!”

“Too late.”

Kwaaah…!

The next moment, a wall in the prisoner wing collapsed.

Through the broken wall, seawater began pouring in.

“That madman…?!”

“Door! Someone, anyone, open the door quickly!”

“I don’t want to die…!”

The water hadn’t yet reached the prisoners, but it would gradually fill the lower levels.

The flooding of the prisoner wing was an inevitable future.

“… It’s fine if we catch him, but shouldn’t we save the people?”

“Madman.”

Yeon Mirae said this as she swung her sword.

Her blade targeted the doors of the prisoners’ cells.

Shing…!

Thud!

Thud!

The cell doors were cut open cleanly, and Yeon Mirae spoke to the liberated prisoners.

“If you don’t want to die, follow the stairs up.”

“W… we survived!”

“I’m going first!”

The prisoners ran toward the stairs leading upstairs.

Other guards were waiting above, and the prisoners still had their restraints, so it should be fine.

Yeon Mirae glanced toward the direction where the psychic had been.

‘He must have escaped through the wall he destroyed.’

The wall with seawater pouring in.

After observing it briefly, Yeon Mirae headed to the lower level to save the guards who had originally been watching the psychic’s cell.

Meanwhile…

“… Huff…!”

The psychic, carried by the sea away from Prison Island, checked the island’s direction.

‘Hah… a prison in the middle of the sea.’

All he could see was the island where he had been, the navy surrounding it, and the endless sea.

‘I see… so this is Prison Island.’

He had not known where he was until now, and only upon seeing the surroundings did he realize it was a prison island for only the worst criminals.

At the same time, he despaired.

‘It’s impossible to return to land like this.’

Breaking through the island walls and escaping had succeeded, but returning to land in his current state was impossible.

He could barely swim and couldn’t travel far even using his powers.

“Huff…”

Ultimately, he floated with only his head above the water, waiting for Yeon Mirae to come for him.

He had abandoned hope of surviving to return home or avenging himself against the Taeguk Guild that had framed him.

‘Still… I fulfilled at least one wish.’

He had seen the outside world for the first time in twenty years.

The stars in the night sky were incredibly beautiful.

Swoosh…!

While he gazed at the stars, Yeon Mirae, having rescued all the guards, brushed back her wet hair and spoke.

“Surprisingly, you didn’t go far.”

“… I just gave up.”

Observing him, Yeon Mirae asked,

“Why didn’t you destroy the other prisoners’ restraints? You could have.”

“……”

The prisoners’ restraints.

If he had destroyed them, the prisoners would have unleashed their full powers.

They would have freed other prisoners to expand their forces, and the guards could not have subdued them.

Yeon Mirae had to capture him to protect the guards.

If she hadn’t intervened, Prison Island would have become a hell entirely occupied by the prisoners.

“That would have been more advantageous for you, wouldn’t it?”

She asked why he hadn’t done that.

“… None of the methods I could think of involved that.”

A lie.

Yeon Mirae saw his expression and instinctively knew it was a lie.

‘… He probably thought I wouldn’t believe the truth.’

Normally, no one would trust a villain who had supposedly killed hundreds of children.

Yeon Mirae, who knew it was a false accusation, was different.

Which meant…

‘The truth is something a villain wouldn’t speak… he was probably concerned about what would happen after the prisoners were freed…’

Yeon Mirae thought this and placed multiple restraints received from the guards on his body.

He did not resist while she bound him.

Several hours later.

All Albatross PMC members involved in the incident were arrested, including those on the island and in the submarine, and the prisoners evacuated by Yeon Mirae were temporarily moved to vacant cells.

“… Huff… repairing the wall and draining the seawater will take some time.”

The warden muttered tiredly, but a smile lingered on his face.

The raid had yielded some gains.

‘The submarine brought by Albatross PMC and most of the equipment they wore is now the property of Prison Island.’

Some equipment was taken by higher authorities for source verification, but the remaining advanced technology equipment was extremely valuable.

Though, in terms of power, the devices using the mental energy of psychics on Prison Island were still more remarkable.

“What about the psychic?”

“Now he wears many more restraints and is restricted from moving off the bed. I think he should have been like this from the start.”

The warden answered Yeon Mirae.

The psychic, who attempted an escape and killed a prisoner, had his remaining bodily freedom stripped.

Yeon Mirae looked as if she thought this punishment was somewhat excessive but said nothing.

It seemed something had occurred while subduing him.

“Then, shall we move on to the last one?”

She opened the door of the cell containing the mastermind of the incident.

“(… Artist….)”

Morris Reynolds.

Leader of Albatross PMC.

He glared at her while restrained.

“(… Indeed. I wondered how Prison Island noticed our intrusion so quickly and how the psychic I freed was subdued… you betrayed us.)”

“(… As I told your subordinates, I never considered you my allies.)”

Morris sighed at her words.

“(… That’s true. Still, I thought you would support us in this operation…)”

If she had helped those wrongfully accused and established the Cheolhyeol Guild, she wouldn’t have helped, but she also wouldn’t hinder them.

Yeon Mirae nodded in agreement.

“(… I thought Master would try to save those wrongfully accused too.)”

She alternated her gaze between Morris and Yeon Mirae and spoke.

“(… It seems everyone has some misconception about me.)”

I am not a righteous person who saves everyone I see.

“(… I hate criminals, which is why I eradicated crime in Korea.)”

Before my regression, I hated criminals because of those who kidnapped my mother to lure me into their organization.

But…

“(… That doesn’t mean I try to save people I don’t even know.)”

Had someone imprisoned on Prison Island belonged to my people, I might have helped Morris.

But they didn’t.

That’s all there is to it.