Chapter 38 – Fracture of the Psyche
The chamber's walls pulsed with psychic energy as Ji-ho faced Han Seo-jin, the fifth target. Ye-jun, bloodied but breathing, leaned against the wall, barely able to stand. The air was thick with tension—the calm before annihilation.
Seo-jin raised his hand.
> "Let's break your mind first."
A wave of pure psychic pressure slammed into Ji-ho.
The world twisted.
He stood in a burning city. Screams echoed. Children cried. His mother—again, reaching for him—burning.
> "You failed me."
> "You let them die."
Ji-ho's hands trembled. The illusion was too real.
But deep in his mind, the pendant pulsed.
A whisper: "Your mind is yours. Own it."
He gritted his teeth.
> "I DIDN'T FAIL ANYONE!"
The illusion shattered, pieces of fire and memory scattering like broken glass. Seo-jin stepped back slightly, smirking.
"You're strong. Good. But let's see how long you can keep your sanity."
---
Round Two
Seo-jin's aura surged—twisting the air into psychic daggers. Ji-ho activated his Mental Split, dividing his consciousness into layers to protect himself from invasive thoughts. He charged forward, Destructive Ray forming a mind-sword, cloaked in destruction and poison.
They clashed.
Blow for blow.
Will against will.
Seo-jin struck Ji-ho's mind with trauma after trauma—reliving his parents' death, the betrayal by society, the public ridicule, the arrest—but Ji-ho kept pushing.
His rage was his shield.
> "Every lie you've forced into others—I tear them apart!"
Ji-ho's sword shattered Seo-jin's defensive barrier.
---
Psyche Collapse Begins
Seo-jin screamed, blood dripping from his eyes.
"You think brute force will kill thought?"
He unleashed his final move—Mind Spiral—a vortex of memories and illusions, designed to trap the victim forever in their worst moment.
Ji-ho felt it pull him in.
This time, he saw Ye-jun dying. Slowly. In his arms.
Crying.
Asking him to save him.
Begging.
The spiral fed on Ji-ho's emotion.
But suddenly—his eye of evil activated. Paths of death glowed in red all around Seo-jin.
> "You showed me the way to kill you."
He raised his hand. Destructive Ray transformed—not just a sword, but a chaotic spear of anti-thought, combining destruction, poison, and his mental evolution.
> "Your power is thought."
> "Mine is the will to end it."
He thrust forward—the ray pierced Seo-jin's chest.
A burst of psychic shockwave blasted outward.
Skyhaven trembled.
The fortress cracked. The psychic amplifiers exploded.
---
Aftermath
Ji-ho stood amidst the ruins. Ye-jun limped to his side.
"Did… you win?"
Ji-ho nodded. "His mind is gone."
Seo-jin's lifeless body fell forward—his last expression was one of disbelief.
> The fifth is dead.
Ji-ho's status screen blinked.
[Trait Evolved: Mental Resistance (High)]
[Skill Gained: Thought Rend]
[Destructive Ray evolved: Thought-Infused Spear unlocked]
He didn't celebrate.
He looked to the sky, bleeding, furious, and said:
> "Five are down. Two more. Then the president."
> "Then the world."