# Chapter 68
When Jaeyoon climbed onto the last tarantula’s back, the situation looked like it was about to be resolved. Just as he was about to use his psychic power on the tarantula’s weakness, its back, a signboard flew in from somewhere and stuck into the magical beast, making it writhe in pain. When he glanced to find the source of mana flow, he saw Yumaro.
“Esper Yumaro?”
Yumaro’s mana waves were quite rough. Probably because he had used too much mana in this emergency situation. Despite the sudden simultaneous occurrence of gates, the damage was limited this much thanks to Yumaro’s excessive use of his power.
Jaeyoon jumped down toward Yumaro. As he moved away from the tarantula, he felt heat on his back, suggesting Haeil had used fire.
The coordination was so good that he didn’t need to check. Even if the tarantula fell when its breath was cut off, Dojoon would block any damage, so what remained were the werewolves and hydras.
Hydras wouldn’t be a major problem as long as living beings didn’t approach them. The werewolves were easily dealt with thanks to Kyun Jiho’s appropriate help. Even so, he couldn’t ignore Yumaro’s hard work.
“Good job, Esper Yumaro.”
“Who are you to tell me I did a good job?”
Jaeyoon took a step back at Yumaro’s sharp response.
He was aware that Yumaro disliked him, but he didn’t particularly care. There was no need to become friends – Yumaro would still be a good fighting force. Even now, if it weren’t for himself, Yumaro would have made quite a contribution.
As Jaeyoon tried to leave through the window, Yumaro raised his voice, full of irritation.
“What exactly are you?”
Yumaro’s irritation was too much to ignore and jump out. He needed to improve Yumaro’s mood somewhat to maintain his image when he went outside where people were watching.
Jaeyoon imitated Haeil’s respectful expression and turned his head.
“I was being presumptuous. I meant to show respect to an Esper who worked hard, but I seem to have offended you.”
“Your mana waves are complete trash. Even worse than mine.”
When Jaeyoon remained silent, not understanding Yumaro’s intention, he stomped his foot and shouted as if feeling wronged.
“So why do you pretend to be fine? My arms and legs are shaking, and I feel like throwing up, but how are you enduring? You’re a B-grade but you take down large magical beasts’ vital points, and jump from mid-air. Have you lost your sense of fear?”
It sounded like praise, so he wondered if he should thank him.
“Why do you act so superior when you’re just a B-grade!”
What Yumaro showed was jealousy. Jaeyoon was more familiar with the arrogant but indifferent Yumaro from before the regression, so he was slow to realize this emotion since he didn’t expect Yumaro to show such feelings.
There was nothing Jaeyoon could do since Yumaro was jealous without reason. Still, he pondered how to ease the discomfort of Yumaro, who would play a major role in the Association’s future growth.
“Yumaro…?!”
In that brief moment, he tensed up as a powerful mana wave from behind sent chills down his spine.
The heavy wave pushing against his body was something he’d only felt from high-grade gates or massive magical beasts.
Yumaro, an A-grade Esper sensitive to mana, must have felt it too, as his already poor complexion turned even more blue.
“W-what is this?”
Communication device alarms sounded from everywhere as a huge shadow was cast through the window. Unlike the frozen Yumaro, Jaeyoon, who clearly had something to protect, used his communication device without hesitation.
“Kyun Jiho, evacuate my brother!”
Jaeyoon, who had believed such a large gate wouldn’t open for several years, couldn’t help but be tense.
A large front leg, like an elephant’s, slowly descended from the air, gradually revealing its magnificence.
“W-what is that?”
“A Golden Turtle. It’s a magical beast difficult to capture with our current forces.”
It was the appearance of a super-sized magical beast he should have only seen at least a few years later.
“It’s a golden turtle.”
“When you say it like that, senior, I suddenly feel less tense.”
Everyone watched in shock as the golden turtle slowly extended its body through the split in the air. Though it moved slowly, the appearance of a turtle larger than a dinosaur, comparable to a high-rise building, was harmful just by its existence. Already, one building where a single foot had landed was being demolished in real time.
Despite the spreading smoke and debris, it was cozy thanks to the protective barrier previously set up on the broadcasting station’s rooftop.
“Senior, wouldn’t it be better if you went somewhere safer now?”
“No, I won’t.”
“Wow, aren’t you being too brave? I can escape anytime so that’s one thing, but you could be in danger… you’re too bold.”
As soon as he heard Jaeyoon’s urgent cry through the communication device, Jiho tried to take Jaeha to the front of the Association. However, Jaeha made a deal with Jiho who was holding him.
It was a bold proposal that he would give him a second guiding after the situation ended if he let him stay nearby. Without hesitation, Jiho brought Jaeha to the broadcasting station’s rooftop, which was behind the golden turtle and had a protective barrier. This was because Jaeha’s temptation worked better than Jaeyoon’s instructions.
“Like you said, what’s to worry about when I’m with you?”
“Senior, that’s a bit unfair. You make me excited by trusting me too much.”
“Yeah, sure. Do you know where Jaeyoon is?”
Ignoring Jiho’s light flirting even more lightly, Jaeha frowned as he couldn’t see anything due to the thick dust swirling around.
“There’s too much mana overflowing from that turtle to pinpoint a location. Senior, please wait 10 seconds.”
1 second.
Jiho, who appeared right next to Jaeyoon, nodded as spatial movement was still effective.
“It doesn’t seem particularly affected by the surrounding mana?”
“My brother?”
As Jaeyoon’s words became shorter, Jiho also answered lightly.
“A barrier is protecting him.”
“What do you mean? I told you to evacuate him, why…”
“Senior said he didn’t want to go. Instead, I got a promise for second guiding after this is over.”
“What nonsense… damn it, Kyun Jiho!”
Jaeyoon couldn’t hide his anxiety and irritation toward Jiho, who disappeared with just a puff of dust.
10 seconds.
“Senior, your brother is in that gray building to the right where the turtle’s front foot emerged.”
“…All the buildings are gray.”
“To be precise, it’s light gray.”
“…That’s still gray.”
“It’s different, senior.”
Unlike Jiho who was trained by his girlfriends, to Jaeha, all the grays looked the same. Even knowing the building’s location, there was nothing he could do. He planned to force Jaeyoon to do guiding even if he had to hit him after this was over, but seeing how things were developing made him anxious.
“Does Jaeyoon look okay?”
“Yes, he looked very energetic.”
“That’s good then.”
“But, senior, if I have to carry you later, please understand. It’s because your brother is quite scary.”
Hearing Jiho’s request with a smiling face, Jaeha had a lot to think about.
It seemed the situation wasn’t good enough that they might have to leave this place. Instead of answering, Jaeha rolled his eyes hard, trying to find Jaeyoon who wasn’t visible.
The Espers who gathered at one place at Jaeyoon’s request were anxious about whether they should attack before the magical beast fully emerged.
“Not yet. When the Golden Turtle starts showing its back, I’ll mark the position for you then.”
Jaeyoon deployed the Espers to maximize their use on the scene.
He ordered all the items from the Association, even those rarely used due to side effects. They hadn’t arrived yet, but given the slow movement of the golden turtle, it seemed quite possible.
Jaeyoon desperately tried to recall the cards he could play now, but he only concluded it was quite difficult.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you tense.”
“I do it often, but I’m glad it didn’t show.”
“Still showing off until the end…”
Yumaro, whose momentum had diminished in front of a common enemy, took in the sight of the massive magical beast instead of being irritable.
“It’s really slow. I wonder if it’s truly dangerous.”
“Once it’s fully out, it will move faster than that. After that, it will head straight for the sea, destroying everything in its path.”
If one had to be specific, the golden turtle was a non-aggressive magical beast. However, due to its enormous size, it destroyed many things just by heading toward the sea. They couldn’t just stand by and watch as living areas were destroyed.
‘Our abilities are insufficient.’
Except for S-grade Joo Dojoon, the rest had expected grades of S but actual grades of A and B. Even he felt he could reach A-grade with a bit more effort, but he currently remained at B-grade.
Moreover, the strategy to deal with the golden turtle was very simple and brute force.
Typically, they would slightly alter the direction of the magical beast that only moved straight toward the sea, while evacuating citizens, but in the future, the Association that had Lee Youngwoo made a deal with the government and resolved it differently.
‘The golden turtle’s weakness is the heart inside the shell, but that shell is incredibly thick and hard.’
Lee Youngwoo, who could see through and penetrate things, easily identified the location of that weakness. Usually conducting disgusting experiments, he was better than anyone at identifying magical beasts’ weaknesses.
With Kyun Jiho’s movement ability delivering him to the exact location, Lee Youngwoo would leisurely roll up his sleeve and push his hand into the shell. Passing through the thick shell that was just about arm’s length, he would grab the heart’s core and tear it out, causing the massive beast that wouldn’t have stopped until reaching the sea to collapse.
Even to him, who didn’t know Lee Youngwoo’s horrific nature, it seemed like an incredible ability. Lee Youngwoo was revered as S-grade regardless of the amount of mana he possessed.
‘Without an ability user like Lee Youngwoo here, we have no choice but to use force.’
It was a crude method, but it might be possible if they attacked from the moment the shell emerged from the gate. If Espers with destructive abilities rushed in, burning and pounding the area corresponding to the heart’s location, they might succeed by the time it reached the sea.
‘Thanks to that bastard, we know the heart’s location.’
However, with their current forces, it would be difficult to destroy the shell in time.
Once it entered the sea, they would be out of options. Shipping routes would be blocked and marine life would begin to be depleted, but it was happening too early. If they could defeat it before then, they should stop it even if they had to push themselves.
It was a race against time, but he started to feel confident that they would eventually win if they mobilized all the Association’s items.
“Isn’t that a fighter jet? I don’t know why they sent something so useless.”
Jaeyoon looked up at Yumaro’s sarcastic voice.
The siren that had been ringing loudly for a while was already annoying, and now air force fighter jets appeared in the sky. The Association should have shared information about magical beasts, so he couldn’t understand why fighter jets appeared.
“Don’t tell me…”
In the brief moment while he anxiously contacted the Association Chairman, wondering if they would use modern weapons that wouldn’t even work, before his suspicion could end, missiles flew toward the non-aggressive magical beast.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
