“Are you okay? There was a really loud noise last night.”
“It wasn’t the boss. Haaah…… Honestly, I wish it had been the boss.”
The Espers who had returned all looked utterly exhausted. Among them was someone whose entire front was darkened, soaked through with blood.
“This is…….”
“Oh, I got treated right away. Seriously, if Min-hyeon hadn’t been there, it would’ve been a disaster.”
Seo-ha said lightly, laughing it off. But despite the smile, it wasn’t a trivial situation. Just moments ago, she had genuinely thought she was going to die.
“We tried to take down the boss as quickly as possible, but…… there was another monster guarding it. The boss was earth-type, and that thing was aerial. Their compatibility was insanely good.”
“Please, stop getting hurt already…….”
Min-hyeon muttered in a pale, shaken voice, as if he were on the verge of panic. As a healing-type Esper, he was used to seeing injured people, but he had never been pushed to this extreme before.
“I feel like my arms are hurting everywhere…….”
“Wait—where’s Rion?”
While checking on the condition of those who had returned, Hee-soo noticed that one person was missing and asked. The Espers exchanged uncomfortable looks before answering.
“We tried to bring him with us, but no matter what we said, he just wouldn’t listen…….”
“You’re saying he’s fighting the monsters alone?”
Yu-won cut Joo-chan off mid-sentence and asked. The Espers nodded with troubled expressions.
“You guys go and get guiding.”
“What about you, sunbae?”
“I’m fine. I’ve bought us some time for now, but monsters don’t exactly wait for us to get our act together. We’ve already stirred things up this much—someone has to stay behind. Go. Hurry.”
They had barely managed to deal with the monster guarding the boss, but the most crucial hurdle still remained. Carrying that anxiety with him, Rion couldn’t bring himself to leave the forest.
“He said he took care of all the visible monsters. And just in case, he insisted on staying behind…….”
“But still—what if another monster shows up in that condition?”
“Calm down. First, guiding. The faster the team recovers and goes back, the more it’ll help Rion too. Right?”
Jin-ha stepped in to calm Yu-won, who had momentarily lost his composure. Jin-ha was right. Rion was already alone in the forest, and under the circumstances, the most ideal solution was for the other Espers to recover as quickly as possible and rejoin him.
But even knowing that, Yu-won couldn’t think calmly. Rion was someone who always took on the most dangerous tasks, even when he wasn’t alone.
Who knew what reckless thing he might do while on his own—especially when he was already short on guiding. Was it really okay to leave Rion alone like this?
“Yeah, we tried to persuade him, but he’s stubborn as a bull. Figured it’d be better to get guiding fast and regroup instead of wasting time arguing.”
Tae-hwan backed up Jin-ha, further calming Yu-won. Yu-won bit his lip and nodded.
He understood the situation, but accepting it was another matter. Any Esper, regardless of rank, needed guiding—yet Rion was staying behind as if he were some kind of superhuman. That was what made it so frustrating.
Min-ho’s words from earlier—that he wanted to go into the forest and guide him even if it meant risking himself—hit painfully close to home. Yu-won felt like he wanted to run to Rion’s side and guide him right now.
Suppressing those feelings, Yu-won focused on guiding the other Espers. As they’d said, Rion wasn’t someone who easily changed his mind once he’d decided something.
Still…… I kind of hoped.
But today, the disappointment felt sharper than usual. After that conversation at dawn, Yu-won had thought—just a little—that his feelings had gotten through. Maybe it had all been his own misunderstanding.
Once again, Rion chose the dangerous path, and the only one left feeling stifled was Yu-won. He let out a bitter smile and muttered,
“He really acts like someone with two lives.”
“Any Esper prepares themselves for situations like that, but yeah—he’s especially bad.”
“I wish he wouldn’t be like that. Is it too presumptuous of me to say something like that?”
Yu-won let his true feelings slip out casually. Thankfully, Min-cheol didn’t take it too seriously and just responded offhandedly.
“It’s not presumptuous. But even so, he’ll probably let it go in one ear and out the other. Wouldn’t matter who said it.”
“Is that so.”
Yu-won had fallen for Rion because of that shining side of him—his pride in his work, the way he always gave it his all. But now, that very same side was all he could resent.
“All done.”
“As expected of S-rank guiding—fast and effective. And that’s with a matching rate that’s not even that high.”
Min-cheol said it with a face far more refreshed than before receiving guiding. He looked almost cheerful, hardly like someone who’d just risked his life in battle.
“Don’t worry too much. You can’t be an Esper without being like that. Well, guides aren’t all that different either…… Still, isn’t it because people like this exist that the world keeps turning?”
“Right. I guess…… that’s true.”
Yu-won nodded slightly. Min-cheol wasn’t wrong. Even so, wishing that Rion wasn’t that kind of person was nothing more than Yu-won’s selfish desire.
“Let’s go already. We can’t leave Yu-won alone forever.”
“Wait, just ten more seconds of guiding……!”
A short while later, the Espers finished their preparations and got ready to return to the forest. Even Joo-chan, who’d been desperate to receive even one more second of guiding, finally finished. Just as the team—led by Hyeon-seo—was about to depart—
Boom—!
A massive vibration, loud enough to make the trees outside the forest tremble, echoed from within the Gate. The startled team members all turned toward the source of the sound at once.
“Run!”
“Damn it—how did this happen in just the short time we stepped away?!”
“Don’t move from here. Stay put. You could get caught up in it, so absolutely do not come further inside.”
The Espers hurried toward the forest. The guides, unable to participate in combat, could only watch their backs as they disappeared.
“I hope everyone’s okay.”
“Rion…… will he be okay? I mean, he’s the strongest one here, but…… he’s probably low on guiding right now, and alone might be too much.”
“He’ll be fine. It’s Kang Rion we’re talking about.”
The guides worried in their own ways, comforting one another. Amid the chaos, Jin-ha noticed Yu-won standing there blankly, staring at the forest, and spoke to him.
“Yu-won, try not to worry too much and come inside for now. Right now, the best way we can help is to stay here, manage our condition, and hold out.”
“…….”
Yu-won nodded silently. But his gaze remained fixed on the forest.
Is he really okay? No matter how strong he is, he’s still just a person. Isn’t he scared? It’s been quite a while since he last received guiding—what if, like last time, he collapses from lack of guiding?
When he’d found out he was an S-rank Guide—and Rion’s matching Guide—he’d been nothing but happy. Now, he resented the fact that he was a Guide instead of an Esper.
What’s the point of having the ability to guide if I can only do it when I’m right there? And even if I went into the forest now, I wouldn’t help—I’d just get in the way.
He wished he’d been an Esper who could fight by Rion’s side instead. With that thought, Yu-won bit down hard on his lip.
But no matter how much he bit his lip or blamed his own helplessness, nothing changed. Yu-won couldn’t run to Rion’s side, and he couldn’t help him.
So there is something worse than watching someone get hurt right in front of you.
Yu-won let out a small sigh as he thought that. He’d started this guiding job without hesitation, filled with excitement at being able to help Rion—but as time passed, it felt like all he was becoming aware of was his own powerlessness.
***
If everyone gathers in one place, isn’t it obvious where the boss will head? In case something goes wrong, at least one person needs to stay behind and buy time. Fighting with the guides mixed in would just be the same as deciding to all die together.
After stubbornly sending his teammates away, Rion remained alone, monitoring the forest’s movements. It wasn’t that Rion felt no fear—but this was the best option.
An S-rank Guide with a 99 percent matching rate. The guiding he’d received from Yu-won was clearly on a different level from any other. The speed, the quality, the lingering effect—everything was superior.
That was why Rion didn’t regret his decision. He believed he could hold out for that brief window of time while his teammates went to receive guiding.
Rion believed that the person with even a little more leeway should be the one to make the sacrifice. If you had that kind of ability, responsibility naturally followed.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t save people. I just…… wish you’d think about yourself a little too. And that you wouldn’t think it’s only natural to die while saving others.”
For some reason, the words Yu-won had said today kept circling in his head. Judging by how sentimental he was getting, the schedule inside an S-rank Gate must really have taken more of a toll on him than he’d realized.
“Enough. That’s not what matters right now.”
Rion muttered to himself, as if scolding his own thoughts, and began moving through the forest to drive them away. The forest was unnervingly quiet—like the night before a storm breaks.
