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Beep! Beep―!
Geonho and Seojun’s pagers incessantly alerted them to danger. Support requests asking for their help were piling up from all directions. Everywhere they went, screams for help erupted.
“Geonho hyung.”
Seojun bit his lip as he watched Geonho crush Seowol’s empty hideout, covering it with monster corpses. Despite a considerable amount of time passing, they still hadn’t found Siwoo. Even after thoroughly searching Seowol’s entire area of responsibility, not a single hair of theirs was visible.
“Geonho hyung, I’ll go check another area. Let’s split up and search.”
“Shut up.”
Geonho stubbornly moved together with Seojun. Every time Seojun spoke up, unable to bear the frustration, Geonho just frowned.
“It’s taking longer this way. Hyung, please.”
“Keep your mouth shut and follow me.”
Geonho, staring at the pager screen glowing red, suppressed the surrounding gates with force. Although he couldn’t completely destroy them due to the presence of people, he created an opportunity for them to escape.
“There’s no need for me to be right next to you, hyung.”
Seojun was only playing a support role for Geonho. Even that left him with little to do, so he was merely searching for or calling out to Siwoo.
“I told you to shut up.”
Nevertheless, Geonho refused to let Seojun go until the end. He continued to focus solely on finding Seowol’s next base.
Both Geonho and Seojun had abilities not specialized in searching, making it difficult to find anything. They were limited to moving based on information obtained from the secretary.
“Send me the next coordinates.”
-Esper Geonho, just a moment.
Geonho, who was on a call with the secretary, furrowed his brow.
-We suddenly can’t locate Esper Jihan’s position.
Tracking Siwoo’s location had been blocked from the start. It was clear that Seowol, who had taken him, had done something. If Jihan had disappeared following Siwoo, there was a high possibility they were together.
“Yoo Jihan’s last known location.”
-Since he had released his clones, the last location isn’t certain.
Just before disappearing, Jihan had released up to ten clones. He had been moving around Seowol’s hideout when he suddenly vanished in an instant.
-Judging by the wavelength readings, it seems he’s been injured. His condition isn’t good.
Geonho’s expression became even more grim. Seojun, who was listening to the conversation, also closed his eyes tightly and muttered curses.
-His ability use will probably be limited due to the injury.
That’s why he disappeared. If he had been fine, he would have found Siwoo by now.
-Be careful, as Seowol has an illusionist.
The secretary explained the activation conditions for the illusions and warned that they should absolutely not come into contact with that Esper’s blood. Seojun, who had already fallen victim to his illusions, rubbed his face with a pained expression.
-I’ve turned off the support requests. You two should focus solely on finding the guide.
The pagers that had been ringing loudly suddenly went quiet. The secretary emphasized caution and delivered the final precaution.
-You must stay together.
The only ones who could prevent each other from going berserk were themselves. To prevent the worst-case scenario, they needed to stay by each other’s side.
They had to prevent the situation where the suppressant in their bracelets would be injected. At that point, even Siwoo’s guiding would become useless.
* * *
Jihan put his large combat uniform coat on Siwoo and zipped it up all the way. He kept repeating that everything was alright while massaging the thin shoulders that wouldn’t stop trembling. However, none of it reached Siwoo’s ears.
“The blood, why won’t it stop…?”
Siwoo couldn’t take his eyes off Jihan’s side, where blood was steadily seeping out. Even when he sent out guiding with all his might, the condition remained the same. Jihan’s complexion was also becoming increasingly pale.
“This level of injury is nothing.”
Nevertheless, Jihan shamelessly lied. Despite not even being able to use teleportation at the moment, he pretended to be calm and patted Siwoo.
His injury was far more serious than it appeared. Whether something had been inserted into his body to prevent healing, the bleeding just wouldn’t stop. If he attempted to teleport in this state, it would surely lead to a bigger accident.
He had already pushed his powers to the limit to find Seowol. They were hiding in a monster corpse disposal site on the outskirts of Area A. It was a place where fire-type Espers gathered and burned corpses.
Due to the difficulty in burning the corpses of high-risk monsters, they were left abandoned for a long time. They waited until the toxic substances from their rotten organs and blood decomposed the flesh and bones on their own. It was an extremely dangerous place.
Jihan had found this place purely by instinct. While considering where no one would approach, he thought of the corpse disposal site. While searching through piles of corpses containing poison that could dissolve even an Esper’s bones, he detected a suspicious energy from underground.
Seowol hadn’t hidden their wavelengths. It seemed they had no intention of hiding until the end. It was almost as if they were giving a hint, saying “right here.”
Jihan took the bait Kwak Seokjin had laid out without hesitation. Due to the monster corpses, he couldn’t completely destroy the ground, but he created a small gap and entered through it.
“Geonho and Seojun will be here soon, so don’t worry.”
Jihan said, looking up at the ceiling and hugging the trembling body tightly. Somehow, if he could gather enough strength, he might be able to break through the ground, but what came after was the problem.
Right now, he didn’t have the energy to protect Siwoo from the toxic substances of the monsters. He was already in a state where his power was almost completely depleted.
At that moment, Jihan’s clone that had been attacked by Lee Ho-il disappeared into smoke. The bandaged illusionist was nowhere to be seen.
“Stay seated here. It’ll be just a moment.”
Jihan stood up, placing a barrier around Siwoo’s body. Blocked by the barrier, Siwoo couldn’t hold onto him.
“You must be disappointed, Guide Han Siwoo.”
Kwak Seokjin, hiding behind his subordinate’s barrier, sneered.
“You probably expected Kang Taebeom to come, but someone else showed up instead.”
Jihan glared at him and silently placed his index finger on his own lips. It meant “shut up.”
Before the sneering voice could continue, he launched an attack. All kinds of weapons created by Jihan struck Ho-il’s barrier. Jihan kept creating new weapons until the barrier shattered.
“Ugh.”
Finally breaking through the cracked barrier, Jihan aimed for Ho-il’s vital points with a knife. He tried to stab his throat, but Ho-il jerked his head back at the last moment, dodging the knife. Instead, Jihan grabbed and tore off his ear with his bare hand. The attack didn’t end there.
“Huk…!”
Ho-il staggered, losing his balance. From where his ear had been torn off, thick tree branches began to grow, quickly enveloping his body.
Kwak Seokjin kicked aside Ho-il, who was bound by the tough tree branches, and faced Jihan directly. His cold snake-like eyes held a hint of admiration.
“Your talent is impressive every time I see it.”
To display this level of power in a body that could faint at any moment. Kwak Seokjin felt like applauding Jihan. If he had been one of his guild members, he would have done so.
Jihan immediately tried to stab a knife into Kwak Seokjin’s mouth, but was blocked by a barrier. Even in a situation where his own life was in danger, Ho-il firmly maintained his leader’s barrier. It was an incredibly admirable loyalty.
“You’re not a vessel that should be hidden by the likes of Baekya.”
Kwak Seokjin clicked his tongue with a genuinely regretful expression. He had been proposing to Jihan for a long time to join Seowol.
“You should have been with our Seowol.”
Every time, Jihan had refused with an expression as if he had heard an amusing joke. Just like now.
“Does my vessel look that small to you?”
Jihan, who had broken through Ho-il’s barrier, grabbed Kwak Seokjin’s neck, which was stained with black blood. Killing intent spread across his pale face that had lost its smile.
Jihan was about to burst Kwak Seokjin’s throat right then and there. However, a faint sensation that brushed his ear held him back. It was the sound of Siwoo’s groan.
“Hngh…”
Jihan immediately turned his head to look at Siwoo. Siwoo was curled up, trying to suppress his groans.
The illusionist’s blood that had spread on Siwoo’s body was showing him terrible visions. Even Jihan’s barrier couldn’t block the illusions.
“Ugh, haa…”
Insects crawled all over his body, biting into his flesh, and a giant snake was strangling his neck. Even though Siwoo knew all of this was an illusion, he couldn’t ignore it. The pain was too vivid to deny their existence.
“Esper Yoo Jihan, I have no intention of killing you too.”
Kwak Seokjin, exploiting Jihan’s opening, kneed his burst side. As blood gushed out, Jihan’s balance was disrupted.
“You stay and protect the Center.”
* * *
Bang! The secretary, Nam Dongkwon, who had just finished talking with Geonho, kicked a rock in frustration.
“Those Seowol bastards.”
He was at the gate site with Taebeom. As always, Taebeom stood alone in the center of the site, brutally killing the rampaging monsters. Other Espers were searching for the bizarre plants based on the information Geonho had obtained.
Everyone except Taebeom showed a tense appearance. Even the high-ranking Espers moving swiftly couldn’t hide their tension.
Gates were pouring out simultaneously in all areas. It was a situation reminiscent of the gate saturation period.
Could it all be Seowol’s doing?
Secretary Dongkwon pondered, displaying an image of the plant on his tablet. He wondered if it was really possible for Seowol to be behind the sudden outpouring of gates in all areas. No matter how he thought about it, he could only conclude that it was impossible.
They weren’t beings with that kind of power. If they were, they wouldn’t have lost the number one position to Baekya in the first place.
“What on earth is this…”
The secretary intently stared at the roots of the plant in the photo, which was curled up like a newborn baby. The appearance, which looked like both a newborn baby and the offspring of an animal-type monster, seemed only bizarre.
Screech! Screech!
The secretary looked up at the monster’s shriek pouring out of a newly opened gate.
The first thing that entered his view was Taebeom’s back. He was standing on top of a high pile of monster corpses.
Even at the report of Siwoo’s kidnapping, Taebeom didn’t show the slightest sign of agitation. He just did what needed to be done.
His face, calmly giving orders, was devoid of emotion as always. The secretary felt Taebeom was particularly cold. Even though he knew Taebeom’s inner feelings were different.
“Ah…”
The secretary’s eyes, which had been gloomy, suddenly widened. The tablet PC that fell from his hand shattered with a loud noise.
“Leader!”
His loud voice rang out, piercing through the cries of the monsters. However, Taebeom, who had his back turned, showed no reaction. As if he couldn’t hear the sound, he silently continued to eliminate the monsters covering the ground.
The secretary ran towards Taebeom, calling out to him at the top of his lungs. In the direction the red-faced secretary pointed, a large gate was opening.
And right below it was Siwoo. Siwoo, forcibly held by Kwak Seokjin, moved his pale lips.
“Lea…der…”
Only then did Taebeom raise his head.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
