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Siwoo glared at the blackened void, gasping for breath. The thought of a snake-eyed face right in front of him made him feel nauseous.
“I’ll bet on Yoo Jihan. He’s the one with the brains.”
Siwoo deliberately didn’t react to his ramblings. He focused solely on hiding his energy to avoid losing his guiding.
“Who will you vote for, Guide Han Siwoo?”
Kwak Seokjin leaned in closer and gripped Siwoo’s shoulder tightly.
“Ugh.”
It felt like his shoulder might break. The moment he relaxed his body, unable to bear the pain, guiding flowed out uncontrollably. Seokjin’s diseased waves clung to Siwoo, forcibly extracting guiding.
“You should answer.”
Once again, a chilling sensation invaded between Siwoo’s lips. Trying to push away the finger pressing inside his mouth, Siwoo bared his teeth and bit down hard on the thick finger. More blood burst from the already torn area as solid teeth sank in.
Another Esper nearby grabbed the back of Siwoo’s head. Siwoo waited for the moment Seokjin’s hand left his mouth.
“Ha.”
Siwoo, transformed into a cat, ran frantically. Thanks to his reduced size, he was freed from the restraints. However, he still couldn’t see ahead. Eventually, he crashed face-first into a hard wall.
Despite getting a nosebleed from the impact, Siwoo crawled along the floor. He tried desperately to distance himself from them. Running away was all he could do.
Seokjin kept laughing hollowly as he watched Siwoo.
“As expected, beastkin lack intelligence.”
Though it was Seokjin’s voice, someone else grabbed Siwoo by the scruff of his neck. Siwoo distinguished the individual by their waves.
Nyaaak! Nyaak!
He screamed at the top of his lungs, rejecting the unfamiliar touch. Then a familiar ‘snap’ sound rang out. Simultaneously, his blocked vision cleared.
Siwoo fell silent in shock at the scene before him. His small lips, smeared with nosebleed, parted quietly.
“Is it such a surprising sight?”
Seokjin exhaled cigarette smoke, facing Siwoo. Even seeing Seokjin’s torn snake eyes, Siwoo doubted if it was really him.
He didn’t even look like an Esper. He resembled a sickly old man with skin and bones.
His hair had turned white, and unlike Espers who age slowly, his face and hands were full of wrinkles. Moreover, he had so many large wounds all over his body that his original appearance was unrecognizable.
Siwoo’s wavering blue eyes began to survey the surroundings. However, there wasn’t much information to gather.
Though he could see, it was still pitch dark all around. The cold, damp ground was also black. It felt like being in a deep underground cave.
One thing was certain – this was a gate opening site. That was all he could determine for now.
“Just tie his legs.”
Seokjin, watching Siwoo examine the surroundings, ordered his subordinate. The Esper farthest away snapped his thumb and middle finger. Immediately, Siwoo’s struggling movements ceased.
His legs wouldn’t move as he wanted. It felt like when his body had frozen in the ice shell.
“Our guild has so many precious ability users.”
Seokjin muttered with a satisfied smile. Even while talking, he kept moving his hands, reaching for cigarettes and alcohol.
“Only ten people in the country have manifested illusion abilities so far. None of them can handle illusions as freely as my guild member.”
He boasted as if it were his own ability. The man he pointed to was an illusion ability user well-known to the public. His unique appearance, with his face wrapped in bandages, once attracted a lot of attention. He gained even more interest after the conditions for activating his illusion were revealed.
Illusions could only be fully activated by injecting one’s blood into the target. Therefore, it was easy to cast illusions on monsters, but for human targets, some trickery was needed.
“Though the duration is short, the effect is certain.”
At Seokjin’s nod, the man immediately moved, cutting his fingertip with a knife. Then he approached Siwoo and made him swallow the red blood droplets on the blade.
Siwoo, already bound by the man’s illusion, couldn’t resist. He was forced to swallow the pungent blood in his mouth. This extended the effective time of the illusion even further.
They had cast a similar illusion on Seojun. Lee Ho-il, the Esper impersonating Jihan, had cut Seojun’s neck with a knife smeared with the man’s blood.
The result was successful. Seojun, in his empty ice shell, saw the illusion of Siwoo and embraced it preciously. He didn’t even realize that Siwoo had already fallen into Seowol’s hands.
“It should have worn off by now.”
Seokjin smirked, imagining Seojun in panic. If he realized he had been tricked by an illusion, he would immediately think of them. The only illusion ability user in the country skilled enough to deceive Baekya was this man belonging to Seowol.
“Even if they’re stupid, they should have noticed that much. Yoo Jihan is probably already looking for us.”
The real body of Lee Ho-il, whose identity was discovered by Jihan, was right here. He was a multi-ability user no less than Jihan. He was also Seokjin’s most cherished subordinate.
How much did he treasure him? He had never revealed his existence in any official settings. Just like how Taebeom had hidden Geonho. But the reasons were different.
“Oh my, seems that small body can’t handle it.”
Seokjin clicked his tongue, watching Siwoo cough. It was natural that he couldn’t withstand the energy of the gate site in a cat’s body. Siwoo had been fine earlier only because of the barrier stone.
“Kuh, huk…! Heuuk.”
Finally reverting to human form, Siwoo gasped for air painfully. His thin body, crouched on the cold ground, was excessively pale. It was a body that inevitably drew attention.
“Now answer me.”
Seokjin put his foot on Siwoo’s slender waist, knocking down the heaving body. He smiled, pressing down on the bare chest that couldn’t breathe properly with his foot. Seeing the naked body made him regret even more that Siwoo was a beastkin.
If only he weren’t a beastkin, he would have imprinted on him long ago. Seokjin’s pathological hatred for beastkin applied without exception even to guides. He couldn’t mate with something that wasn’t human. He had to be satisfied with swallowing the leaking energy.
“Who do you think will arrive first?”
Seokjin grinned, black blood flowing from his nose. Instead of wiping the blood, he puffed on his cigarette.
“Those two beastkin brutes with only strength will come last due to their lack of brains, and Kang Taebeom…”
The moment he mentioned Taebeom, his expression twisted fiercely. Just uttering that name made his insides churn.
“Yes, the great Guild Master.”
At the same time, he felt so good he could laugh. It was unbearably satisfying to have Baekya’s treasured guide under his feet.
“He has many important things to do besides you. He’s not someone who would move personally.”
His sneering voice became increasingly slurred. He drank more alcohol to erase the pain spreading throughout his body. His body was already damaged beyond recovery.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter who comes first. The order isn’t important.”
“What… do you want?”
Siwoo spoke with difficulty, gasping for breath. Seokjin mocked Siwoo for asking such an obvious question and pressed down on his dry chest.
“What else? Think about it.”
As soon as Seokjin finished speaking, the ground shook. It was a subtle vibration, but enough for the Espers and beastkin Siwoo to notice.
Finally, they’ve arrived.
Seokjin rolled his eyes and inhaled his last cigarette smoke. The short cigarette butt fell next to Siwoo’s ear.
“To set everything right.”
After another tremor, everything became quiet. Seokjin spread his arms wide, not bothering to stop the blood gushing from his nose and mouth.
“It’s our mission to protect humans from monsters, after all.”
A small hole of light appeared in the pitch-black ceiling. Light seeped in like faint moonlight at dawn, illuminating Seokjin’s corpse-like face.
“I told you back then too. Dangerous elements should be eliminated before they take root.”
“Ugh…”
“I should have done this sooner.”
He pressed harder on Siwoo’s chest, ruminating on wasted years. The white skin turning red looked even more tempting. But remembering that he was a beastkin made him want to vomit.
“We will eliminate Baekya. We, Seowol.”
The light illuminating Seokjin’s face was blocked. It was due to smoke entering through the hole.
The smoke that entered quickly formed a human shape. It was a power similar to the ability that had attacked Siwoo in the ice shell.
“As I expected, my prediction was correct.”
Seokjin gladly welcomed the intruder who had found their hidden hideout despite their ability concealment.
Jihan, who instantly took complete form, kicked Seokjin’s face the moment he appeared. Lee Ho-il blocked it with his body and protected his leader with a barrier.
“Why are you so late! Esper Yoo Jihan!”
Seokjin burst into laughter behind his subordinate’s back. The attacks continued endlessly. Jihan used all sorts of abilities to shatter the barrier. However, each time it broke, a new barrier formed. Lee Ho-il countered by mimicking the abilities Jihan used. The illusionist also launched attacks at Jihan.
Jihan faced them with his doppelgangers. His real body stayed with Siwoo.
“Ha, haa…”
Siwoo looked up at Jihan, who was draping his coat over him, gasping for breath. Due to lack of air, his vision was blurry, and he couldn’t see Jihan’s face clearly.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Though he couldn’t make out his expression, Siwoo could feel Jihan’s emotions. Jihan’s waves were turbulent in a way unlike him. His voice, murmuring apologies, was filled with surging anger.
Siwoo touched Jihan’s sweat-soaked cheek and exhaled in relief. It was the real Yoo Jihan. The real Yoo Jihan I know.
You should have come sooner.
Siwoo’s eyes reddened at the sight of Jihan, and as he wiped Jihan’s sweat, he naturally gripped his collar. His sorrowful eyes then fell on Jihan’s damp side.
“Yoo… Jihan…”
What soaked his abdomen wasn’t sweat. Jihan was bleeding so much that his clothes were drenched. Siwoo’s eyes, now pale with fear, trembled.
“You…”
“It’s okay.”
Jihan softly whispered, stopping Siwoo’s hand from reaching his side. His voice, laced with anger, was sharp as a blade. However, his gaze towards Siwoo remained consistently gentle and affectionate.
“Trust us.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
