“Is Guild Master Logan bothering you?”
“…Yes.”
Iberis hesitated for a moment at the direct question, then nodded slightly. When Lucas asked like this, it meant he was already somewhat certain, so Iberis couldn’t deny it.
“Was it that obvious…?”
“A little.”
“I see.”
Iberis took a sip of his vanilla latte with an awkward expression. The coffee that had been as sweet as melted cotton candy just moments ago now tasted bitter. He chewed on the innocent disposable cup. Then he mumbled, almost like a sigh.
“…He was strong.”
“Guild Master Logan? He certainly lived up to his S-class Esper status.”
Lucas easily understood who Iberis was talking about. Honestly, he too was quite surprised when he saw Livio during the Death Lands outskirts cleanup.
“Me and…”
Who do you think would win if I fought that person? Iberis swallowed the question that had risen to his throat. In the past, he was confident he would win if he clashed with Livio. However, after seeing him slaughter the monsters in the outskirts, his thoughts had changed.
While Iberis had weakened due to chronic guiding deficiency, Livio had grown stronger. In his current state, he couldn’t guarantee victory if he fought against him.
“If I had known it would be like this, I should have killed him somehow back then, even if it meant becoming a villain.”
Iberis regretted leaving Livio alive in the past. When the trial that began with his whistleblowing ended in vain, he had intended to end Livio’s life with his own hands. If the law refused to judge the criminal, he had no choice but to punish him directly.
But in the end, he couldn’t go through with it. An ability user who kills someone who isn’t a criminal is labeled a villain and becomes internationally wanted. That would have made it impossible for him to take care of Brenda and the families of his dead colleagues.
So he endured and endured. If he had eliminated Livio, Livio would have gone from perpetrator to victim, and the honor of his unfairly killed team members would have been tarnished.
But as a result of leaving Livio alone, he now had to watch him return to the Defense Force.
Iberis felt an indescribable sense of devastation. The thought of having to work with Livio in the future made his insides twist and his chest burn. He had often felt frustrated due to his physical condition, but this was the first time he felt so miserable and angry.
“Don’t say such things. You chose the right path back then for the sake of your dead colleagues, Major.”
“That’s right. But it didn’t work at all. Instead of punishing Livio, the Defense Force gave him freedom.”
Iberis bit his lower lip to suppress the anger boiling inside him. Looking back now, he realized how naive he had been a few years ago. He believed that since Livio’s crimes were clear, the military would properly punish him.
However, the military court made a political judgment rather than a fair verdict. And that wasn’t all. Many people pointed fingers at Iberis, calling him a traitor. After that, he lost all expectations for the Defense Force.
“Calm down.”
Lucas cupped Iberis’s cheek and gently pressed his thumb against his tightly closed lips. He lightly rubbed the slightly chapped skin with his finger, trying to soothe Iberis.
“There’s a saying that you reap what you sow. Guild Master Logan will definitely face consequences someday.”
“…You think so?”
“Yes. There are many people who dislike the Guild Master besides you. Including me.”
The hand that had slipped from his lips gently brushed his chin before falling away. Feeling a strange sense of regret at the retreating warmth, Iberis unconsciously gripped his coffee cup tightly.
“If you’re done, give it to me. Shall we continue our rounds?”
Lucas naturally took the disposable cup from Iberis’s hand. Then he led him deeper into the street. They headed towards the back alley with the worst security in their patrol area.
The back alley, where refugees with nowhere to go, day laborers, criminals, and others who found it difficult to get proper jobs gathered to live, was essentially a slum.
“It’s as dark as night here even though it’s daytime.”
Visiting the back alleys of N sector for the first time, Lucas slightly frowned at the pungent smell that assaulted his nose. Unlike the bustling area they were in earlier, the narrow and gloomy street was littered with garbage. Moreover, with its many interconnected alleys, it was like a maze.
Children who had been playing with garbage as toys hid with frightened faces when the uniformed soldiers appeared. A woman smoking in front of a half-collapsed building also glared at them with an uncomfortable expression.
“The residents here are quite hostile. We’re not here to do anything bad…”
Lucas’s eyes hardened uncomfortably as piercing gazes poured in from all directions. Although they weren’t showing themselves, many people were observing them.
“It can’t be helped. The people here are far from clean jobs… Many are unregistered. Most of the houses were built without permits or are illegally modified abandoned buildings, so they’re afraid we might evict them.”
Iberis explained calmly. Having grown up in such back alleys, he understood the attitude the residents showed towards them.
“We’re here to help, not to harm them.”
“From their perspective, the best help we can give is to leave quickly, I guess?”
As Lucas and Iberis were talking while walking, a child with tear-stained face burst out from an alley.
“He-help! Bad guys took my mom…!”
Iberis reacted quickly to the child’s cry. Catching the child who ran towards him, he asked gently:
“Don’t cry and tell me slowly. Do you know where the bad guys took your mom?”
“There, inside there…”
The pale-faced child pointed at the alley he had come from, trembling. Iberis nodded and turned to Lucas.
“I’ll go check it out. Stay with the child for a moment.”
“Understood.”
Iberis left the child with Lucas and entered the alley. Soon, he came upon an open space surrounded by large abandoned buildings.
What’s this?
Iberis stopped when he discovered the empty space devoid of any signs of life. Something felt suspicious. He slowly moved forward while drawing up his mana.
BOOM!
The moment Iberis set foot in the open space, a deafening explosion rang out and the abandoned buildings collapsed. He quickly erected an ice wall to block the debris falling towards him.
BANG! CRASH!
The explosions didn’t stop at one. The sound of bombs detonating and people screaming intersected from various directions.
“Kyaaah!”
“The building is collapsing!”
“Waaah! Mom! Dad!”
“No!”
Hearing the shouts and cries behind him, Iberis bit his lip and stomped the ground once. A wave of pure white ice rose from his heel and spread out widely towards the back of the alley.
“Huh…?”
“We… we’re alive.”
The back alley residents, who were almost crushed by the explosion, sighed in relief as the massive ice wall blocked the collapsing buildings.
“Don’t just stand there, hurry and evacuate!”
“Ah, yes!”
“Th-thank you!”
People snapped out of their daze at Iberis’s shout and scrambled away. Just then, an urgent voice came through the earphone he was wearing. It was Lucas.
– Major!
“Luke?”
– Are you alright?
“I’m fine. Contact the nearest unit members right now and tell them to evacuate the residents to a safe area. Also, inform the police and rescue teams about the terrorist attack.”
Iberis calmly gave orders to Lucas, unfazed by the sudden terror attack.
– What about you, Major…
“I’ll join you after I catch the culprits.”
– The culprits?
“Yes. It seems I’m the target of the terrorists.”
– What?
“I’ll handle things here, so you focus on rescuing people. I trust you.”
– Wait, Major…
Iberis cut off the communication and took a combat stance, watching the area in front of him. As the hazy smoke cleared, he saw dozens of enemies approaching him.
“It’s been a while, Major Hyun.”
“You are…”
Iberis immediately recognized the man who greeted him as their representative. He was one of the bosses of the villain organizations based in N sector. No, it wasn’t just the man. The woman beside him and the middle-aged person behind were all familiar faces.
“Was there some kind of bosses’ meeting here today?”
“We all gathered after a long time, thanks to someone.”
“Ah, I see. A meeting to kill me, I presume.”
“Well, something like that.”
“How admirable. After running away from me all this time… you’ve come to your death place on your own.”
“Ha! You’re still so confident even in this situation!”
The man burst into laughter at Iberis’s provocation, as if he had heard something amusing.
“It’s not me, but you who’s come to your death place, Major. We heard you’d be coming here today, so we prepared a little stage. How do you like it?”
The man spread his arms wide and laughed cheerfully. For the past few years, how much damage had they suffered due to restrictions on their organizational activities because of Iberis? He had no intention of missing this opportunity.
“It’s terrible. Dirty and unpleasant.”
“Oh my, it seems it’s not to your taste, Major. But you have no choice. Die here! What are you all doing? Attack!”
The man drew out his main weapon, a sword, and charged at Iberis while releasing his mana. Following him, dozens of villains rushed in all at once.
