98
Siwoo swallowed a sigh as he saw the blood at his feet and massaged his waist. His legs kept giving out, so he gritted his teeth and walked while beating his waist and knees.
With each step, his pelvic muscles screamed in pain. It hurt so much that he wanted to run to the leader and grab him by the collar.
As Siwoo approached the wolf, he kept glancing back to check on the youngest. He seemed to have passed the crisis for now, so Siwoo intended to guide the wolf beastkin.
“Ugh…”
He came close to the wolf and sat down on one knee. Just sitting made the pain in his lower body worse.
Ignoring the pain, he first placed his hand in front of the wolf’s nose to check if it was breathing. He felt a faint breath. The wavelength was also much easier to detect now.
Already drained of energy, he only emitted a little radiative guiding. He couldn’t tell what state the black-furred wolf beastkin’s body was in. Unable to touch it carelessly, he focused only on guiding.
When would Yoo Jihan arrive?
While soothing the wolf beastkin’s precarious wavelength, he looked around. Everything was unfamiliar, as this was his first time at a gate site. The heavily oppressive air made even breathing uncomfortable.
Just then, he heard someone approach from behind as he wiped away cold sweat. Is it Yoo Jihan?
Siwoo quickly turned to see who had appeared via teleportation. Expecting it to be Yoo Jihan, he was ready to ask angrily why he was so late.
“Move him first.”
However, the Esper who appeared wasn’t Yoo Jihan. He was a leader-class Esper from a fairly famous guild, though Siwoo couldn’t remember the name. He recalled seeing a similar face on TV.
The man had horizontally slit eyes resembling a snake’s. But his eyes didn’t glow brightly. He was an ordinary Esper, not a beastkin. Though “ordinary” hardly described the intimidating aura he exuded.
“Dedicated guide?”
The man asked Siwoo while instructing his subordinate to move the wolf beastkin. Siwoo nodded unconsciously.
“Move him too.”
At that, the man tried to move Siwoo along with the wolf beastkin. Siwoo quickly waved his hand as the man’s subordinate approached and reached out to him.
“No, not me. Him… Ha Seojun’s dedicated guide.”
The man who was heading towards Seojun stopped and looked at Siwoo.
“Baekya’s dedicated?”
Siwoo raised his guard as the man’s expression seemed to turn subtly fiercer. He sensed some hostility towards Baekya Guild. Are they on bad terms?
“Did you hear about them getting a new guide?”
“No, I didn’t hear anything.”
The man looked Siwoo up and down with a questioning gaze. His snake-like slit eyes were very sharp. The moment Siwoo met that gaze without avoiding it, he recalled the man’s guild name.
Seowol Guild. The long-standing guild that had fallen to second place overall.
“You guys go ahead. I’ll bring this one.”
The subordinates who had safely secured the wolf beastkin with their abilities disappeared at the man’s order. The man frowned as he strode towards Seojun.
“What’s this smell?”
The man examined Seojun up and down at the pungent odor. Then he used his foot, not his hand, to push Seojun’s shoulder and lay him flat.
“Hey!”
Siwoo jumped up, shocked at the rough treatment of Seojun. But the man paid no attention and lifted Seojun’s arm with his combat boot.
“Get your foot off!”
Siwoo stumbled and fell as he rushed towards him. The stifling air at the site was sapping his strength even more.
“I said get your foot off!”
“Hey, guide.”
The man’s chilling voice pierced Siwoo. He grabbed Seojun’s forearm and lifted it, his eyes flashing.
“What is this?”
The man’s scarred fingertip pointed at the silver scales still remaining on Seojun’s arm.
“Did he transform into an animal? Is this rotten smell coming from him?”
The man bombarded Siwoo with questions about what animal Seojun had transformed into. Monsters began to gather slowly, drawn by the man’s loud voice. Yet the man only looked at Seojun and Siwoo, demanding answers.
“Answer me! What did he transform into?”
A huge insect-like monster flew in behind the angry man. Siwoo alternated his gaze between the unconscious Seojun and the rapidly approaching monster. He could barely breathe at the grotesque form of the monster he was encountering for the first time.
Unable to make a sound, he reached out with a trembling arm and picked up a stone. Kwak Seokjin, the Seowol Guild leader, only turned around after Siwoo threw the stone at the monster.
“Oh no…!”
Just as he was about to draw his weapon towards the approaching monster extending its tentacles—
Keeeeek!
Before Kwak Seokjin’s weapon could reach it, the monster’s body burst with a scream. The monster’s corpse, crushed as if squeezed by hand, flew far away. The monster’s sticky blood only splattered on Kwak Seokjin’s body. Not a drop touched Seojun or Siwoo.
Keeek! Keek!
After that, the bodies of monsters flying in from all directions began to burst simultaneously. The moment Siwoo saw this scene, he sensed that Kang Geonho had arrived. With this realization, Siwoo’s body was suddenly lifted.
“Why are you so late!”
Geonho lifted Siwoo by placing his hands under his armpits. As soon as Siwoo saw Geonho, he burst out in anger.
“Where’s Yoo Jihan! Why isn’t that bastard here?!”
Shouting loudly as if venting his frustration, Siwoo firmly grabbed Geonho’s collar. His heart was pounding as if it would burst, being at a gate site crawling with monsters for the first time. I’ve been waiting for so long. I thought I was going to be eaten alive by monsters.
“Why is the guide here?”
At that moment, Jihan’s voice came from above, and Siwoo looked up. Jihan was coming down after tying up a gate that had opened in the sky. He seemed to have arrived with Geonho.
Seeing Geonho and Jihan, Siwoo felt relief wash over him, and his legs gave out. Completely leaning into Geonho’s arms, he glared at Jihan. He was about to demand why they were late but only bit his lip hard.
Unlike Geonho who came directly from the dorm, Jihan looked terrible, having come through gates. Judging by his messy wavelength, it seemed he had used a lot of his ability.
“How did you get here? Did you come alone?”
As soon as Jihan landed, he checked on Siwoo first. Siwoo’s complexion was terrible as he looked up at him with startled eyes. He was even drenched in sweat as if he had been caught in the rain. But that wasn’t all.
“Were you with our hyung?”
Geonho, who had been staring blankly at Siwoo, suddenly grabbed his thin shoulder.
Siwoo was covered in his brother’s scent and wavelength. For a moment, Geonho thought his brother had come too. The energy was that clearly imprinted.
Only then did Jihan also sniff, wiping his nose which was covered in dark ash. His expression became subtle as if he too had detected the leader’s scent.
Siwoo blinked rapidly as he received the gazes of both Geonho and Jihan. He resented the Espers’ keen sense of smell.
“Well…”
Unable to answer immediately, his lips trembled, and he first turned his attention to the youngest.
“Ha Seojun fainted! Quickly move him first!”
At this, Jihan immediately created a doppelganger and moved Seojun to the medical center. Kwak Seokjin, standing a little distance away from the three, frowned as he watched Jihan skillfully handle the doppelganger. Siwoo, noticing that sharp gaze, pointed at him this time.
“That bastard kicked Ha Seojun! Like this!”
“Don’t shout.”
Geonho stopped Siwoo, who was kicking in the air, and placed his hand on his pale face. Siwoo’s body was hot, his voice badly cracked.
“Hyung.”
Geonho nodded slightly, gesturing towards Jihan with his eyes. Even without him saying anything, Jihan was about to teleport. He had noticed that Siwoo was struggling with the heavy air at the gate site.
In the blink of an eye, the three moved to the dorm. Siwoo took a deep breath as he saw the familiar living room of the dorm. Yet he couldn’t erase the dissatisfied expression from his face.
“Why did you leave that bastard alone? I told you he kicked Ha Seojun.”
“We’ll take care of that.”
Geonho said firmly in a low voice. He never took his eyes off Siwoo as he stroked his back to calm him down.
Geonho’s red pupils were fixed on Siwoo’s neck. His snow-white neck, exposed as the band had fallen off, was marked with new traces. These were clearly bite marks. Not just his neck, but his collarbone was also covered in red marks.
“Did you… guide our hyung?”
Aside from the red bite marks, Siwoo’s body was thoroughly covered in his brother’s energy. There wasn’t an Esper who wouldn’t know what that meant. Everyone would know, unless they were a complete novice.
As Geonho’s gaze moved downward, greater confusion filled his eyes. Geonho couldn’t bring himself to press for an answer and only parted his lips. Jihan too just watched, tilting his head slightly.
Conscious of their gazes, Siwoo rubbed his face vigorously. As he dry-washed his face with complicated emotions, he suddenly blurted out a lie.
“I didn’t.”
If he said he had guided Kang Taebeom, he felt he would have to explain how far they went. He absolutely didn’t want that.
“You didn’t?”
“Yeah, I didn’t, so stop asking!”
He shouted unnecessarily and broke away from Geonho’s embrace. He strained his legs to keep from staggering.
Siwoo was determined to deny it no matter what. What are you going to do if I say I didn’t?
Trying to steel himself, he headed to the kitchen. He wanted to drink some water first to calm himself down. Or maybe take a painkiller. As the tension eased, the pain in his body became more pronounced. Especially his lower part, which hurt so much he felt like crying.
“That…”
“What now!”
Siwoo showed his anger at Geonho, who spoke without giving him a moment to breathe. However, at Geonho’s next words, the deeply furrowed wrinkles between his brows helplessly smoothed out.
“That’s our hyung’s shirt.”
Geonho’s wavering gaze fell on Siwoo’s shirt. Siwoo glared down at the long shirt sleeves that covered his hands completely.
Ah, shit. Why did I come wearing that guy’s clothes?
He had put on whatever he could grab in a hurry, without time to check. Only after Geonho mentioned it did Siwoo realize he was wearing Taebeom’s shirt.
“That is our hyung’s shirt, right?”
Siwoo’s Adam’s apple bobbed again at Geonho’s stunned voice. He couldn’t keep denying it in this situation. It wasn’t a believable lie to begin with.
“Did he force you?”
This time it was Jihan who asked. He stepped up to Siwoo and blocked his path.
“Answer me. Did you want to do it?”
There was a strange edge to Jihan’s soft tone. His gaze, scanning the abundant traces of lovemaking on Siwoo’s neck and collarbone, was uncomfortably intense.
“What do you mean ‘do it’! I didn’t do anything!”
Siwoo quickly hunched his shoulders and closed his gaping collar. Lies that wouldn’t hold up spilled out smoothly.
“I didn’t do anything! It’s just mosquito bites!”
Just as he was about to take a wide step to leave, his pants, which were hanging loosely on his hips due to a broken zipper, slid down. Along with a whitish liquid that had soaked his buttocks.
