Save Me, Scrapper!

Nine was peeking up at him. But the moment their eyes met, Nine quickly shoved his nose back into Sawon’s chest. Ji Hayeon and Nine—those two similar creatures—were both lined up doing the same cute little act.
Sawon tried not to show it, but anger kept boiling up in his chest.
Until now, being stuck in a standby position had always been normal for him. And he hadn’t taken on guard duty because he wanted it in the first place.
Even so, the fact that he had to sit here doing nothing while sending Ji Hayeon into the dangerous spot annoyed him.
Why.
“I’ll need the two of you to restrain him from either side. I’ll face him from the front. I need to see his face to be sure of the hunter’s condition.”
Ji Hayeon’s voice carried over. Sawon frowned and leaned the back of his head against the wall.
'The front’s the most dangerous place. What is he talking about.'
His insides simmered hotter. Was it because he’d been excluded from an important task? Jealousy, an inferiority complex, something like that?
“Hm…”
He thought it over carefully, but it didn’t feel like that kind of emotion. It just pissed him off that he was out here while Ji Hayeon went inside. No—more precisely, it pissed him off that Ji Hayeon was the one who had arranged things to be that way.
Snatches of Ji Hayeon’s earlier words flashed through his mind.
“Do you think other hunters are worse than you?”
'Do you not trust me?'
Another line followed right after.
“Is this the only kind of job Gu Sawon is suited for?”
“If people lean on you, are you just going to carry all of it and do whatever they ask?”
'…Is it worry?'
Ji Hayeon had once held off a Heukgu alone to save his juniors. Maybe, despite his appearance, he was the type to meddle too much, or someone who worried excessively.
Still, wasn’t it weird to pin that worry not on anyone else, but on him?
The fact that he couldn’t clearly explain why he was in a bad mood only made him more irritated. The jagged feeling sharpened the look in his eyes.
Watching the three of them get ready to enter the detention room, Sawon set Nine down on the chair beside him. Nine hesitated, glancing at him sidelong.
“Stay there for a bit, Nine.”
Nine turned to face the wall and went still. Under normal circumstances, seeing him stare at the wall like that would’ve made Sawon feel bad enough to try and make it up to him somehow, but he didn’t have the leeway for that now.
Ji Hayeon stood in front of the detention room door. Seo Hansu smacked his fist into his palm, fingers clenching tight with a series of cracks.
“I’ll make some space first. Then you rush in all at once.”
Mok Geonho nodded and grabbed the doorknob.
“On three. One, two, three.”
Click.
Thud!
As the door opened, Jin Jeonghae charged for the entrance. Seo Hansu drove a clean punch straight into his gut. The movement was lean and efficient, fitting a former boxing pro.
Jin Jeonghae flew back and slammed into the wall. Mok Geonho lunged, grabbing his right arm and pinning his right leg. Seo Hansu moved in on the left and locked him down.
Pinned by two First-class hunters, Jin Jeonghae couldn’t budge an inch. Even so, his whole body twisted and writhed. Mok Geonho clicked his tongue.
“Was the kid always this strong?”

“No way. That crazy brain thing has to be boosting him.”
“If we slip, he’s going to blow right through us.”
Ji Hayeon stepped in front of Jin Jeonghae and reached out pale fingers, speaking in a low voice.
“Whatever you do, do not let go.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Mok Geonho and Seo Hansu answered.
Ji Hayeon’s hand touched Jin Jeonghae’s forehead. He began pouring Metena out in earnest. A deep blue current bloomed at his fingertips and spread out in thin streams, flowing over Jin Jeonghae’s brow like a river.
Screeeee!
The translucent tendrils lodged inside Jin Jeonghae’s head slowly began to push their way out. Sawon watched the process with a sharp gaze.
The more Metena Ji Hayeon used, the rougher his breathing became. The thin tendril-legs flailed wildly, and Seo Hansu used his own Metena to press them down toward Jin Jeonghae’s body. The Deater’s brain-shaped torso shuddered violently in response.
Bit by bit, the Deater was being removed. Director Kim Inhee gestured toward Director Kwon.
“We’ll handle corpse collection on our side.”
Director Kwon agreed without comment. From behind them, Sawon observed everything.
Cold sweat streamed down Ji Hayeon’s temples. Sawon could see his body trembling in fine, subtle shakes.
Seo Hansu and Mok Geonho probably weren’t paying close attention to Ji Hayeon’s condition. Director Kwon and Director Kim Inhee were focused on the mutated Deater. Sawon was the only one who noticed those tiny shivers.
Ji Hayeon bit down on his red lower lip. The lip was pressed so hard it looked bloodless, and the pain was written there for anyone who cared to see. The more Sawon watched, the worse his mood got.
'If he used that much power when he was dealing with me yesterday…'
He mentally ran through the math—yesterday’s overload, and the second overload he was forcing on himself now. Sawon’s fingertips tapped his own arm in a steady rhythm.
Tap, tap, tap.
Screeeeeee!
The more the creature’s roots slid free, the louder its ear-splitting shriek became. The other tendrils, pinned by Seo Hansu’s Metena, began to thrash violently in revolt.
Tap, tap.
Sawon sat like a statue, the only movement in his twitching fingers.
“Mok Geonho! Use your Metena to pin it too!”
“Yeah. Damn. Who knew our rookie was this strong.”
“Next time, I’m sparring with Jin Jeonghae instead of you.”
Tap, tap.
“Ugh…”
A faint groan finally slipped out of Ji Hayeon’s mouth.
Screeeeeeeee!
The frenzied legs of the thing pried at every gap they could find. Sawon, who had been quietly watching, suddenly shot to his feet.
One of the tendrils that Mok Geonho was pressing down managed to escape completely. The long, thin leg zipped up along Ji Hayeon’s wrist.
Bang!
Clang!
Sawon smashed straight through the detention room’s glass wall and stepped inside.
Thud!
His hand closed around Jin Jeonghae’s neck and slammed him back against the wall. The entire room shook, Ji Hayeon’s hand seemed to slip from Jin Jeonghae’s forehead for an instant, then snapped back into place.
Sawon shaped a short dagger out of Metena and severed the tendril coiled around Ji Hayeon’s arm. Then he drove the blade into the Deater’s head, pinning it to the wall.
He poured Metena out, pressing Jin Jeonghae’s body flat against the glass. Mok Geonho flinched at the sight of the rookie getting crushed.
“Hey, hey, Gu Sawon!”
But Sawon didn’t let up. If anything, he pushed Jin Jeonghae’s entire body harder into the wall.
“Mok Geonho, Seo Hansu. Is this really the best you can do?”
He shot Mok Geonho a blazing look. The two of them had been holding back, afraid their full strength would hurt their team’s youngest member.
Sawon turned his head just enough to glance at Ji Hayeon’s arm. The fabric where the tendril had coiled and tightened was torn. The skin underneath was scored with red welts.
He’d gone to the trouble of applying medicine and wrapping it in bandages, and it was all for nothing. Sawon fed even more Metena into the dagger wedged in the Deater’s head. Seo Hansu shouted,
“Hey! It’s gonna burst at this rate!”
Sawon ignored him. When he spoke, his voice was cold.
“It won’t burst. You two take my place, you do at least as much as I would’ve done, you bastards.”
His tone dropped even lower, but showed no sign of easing.
“Chief Ji. Pull it out, now.”
Screeeeeeeeeee!
The creature’s struggling grew more violent. But under Sawon’s pressure, it could do nothing but stay plastered to the wall.
Ji Hayeon poured his Metena out again. It wasn’t long before all the tendrils had been drawn free.
Once the tendrils that had been clinging on for dear life detached from Jin Jeonghae’s head, his body slid down the wall in a limp line. A groan escaped his lips as he sagged to the floor.
Only then did Sawon release him. The brain-type Deater was still pinned to the wall by the dagger, squashed flat.
“You two handle that thing yourselves.”
Sawon stepped back and caught Ji Hayeon by the forearm, pulling him toward the exit.
“Let me see.”
“I’m fine. This is nothing…”
“I said let me see.”
He tightened his grip and examined Ji Hayeon’s arm closely.
Sawon had cut similar tendril-legs during the mutated Heukgu incident. That one had been a melt-type Deater, and this one looked no different.
Ji Hayeon’s injury wasn’t some simple line left by a thin cord. His skin was melted, as if burned through. Sawon’s brow furrowed.
“Chief Ji has done everything he needs to. I’m taking him to Medical.”
He spoke to Director Kwon as he half-dragged Ji Hayeon toward the door. By the time he finished talking, Ji Hayeon’s body was already halfway out. Director Kwon agreed without any particular objection.
“Um… why am I here?”
Jin Jeonghae’s dazed voice drifted over.
“Rookie. You back with us? How’s it feel, rampaging around smashing everything? Do you remember any of it?”
“Huh? What… did I do something?”
Sawon ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ didn’t react at all to the bewildered exchange between Jin Jeonghae and the hunters. Shards of the glass he had shattered were scattered everywhere. Leaving the wrecked room behind, he pulled Ji Hayeon out of the detention area.
He didn’t say a word on the way to the elevator.
“Gu Sawon. Slow down a little.”
Ji Hayeon spoke through a sheen of cold sweat. His faintly trembling voice made Sawon stop short and whip around.
“Hey. Chief Ji.”