Goal: Removing the First Obstacle (13)
Lee Cheol-min swallowed a bitter smile as he watched the Guides trembling in fear as he approached. It was clear they were completely consumed by terror, barely standing on legs that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
Lee Cheol-min looked at the Guides with sympathetic eyes and carefully extended his hand.
“Are you scared? Come this way and I’ll protect you safely.”
“…W-what?”
“Protect? You’re going to… protect us?”
The Guides stared at him with suspicious eyes after his kind offer. Lee Cheol-min felt a bit wronged by their looks that seemed to put him in the same category as Shin Woo-jun and his gang, but given the situation, he decided to understand and let it go just this once.
Lee Cheol-min, still holding out his hand, explained calmly to the Guides.
“Sticking with Shin Woo-jun will only make things difficult for you with no real benefit. Surely you don’t want to continue with someone who treats Guides like tools?”
“W-we didn’t know he was this kind of person. He was rough, but we thought he would treat us well…”
“Yes, that’s right… We never imagined this would happen. Really. We just… followed him because he promised to save our miserable lives.”
“I completely understand. He’s quite persuasive. You must have been in a desperate situation to fall for his casual promises. Anyway, are you coming this way, or staying there? Decide quickly. I don’t want to keep persuading someone who’s unwilling.”
“B-but he clearly said we might go to prison if we go with you…”
“Is prison really your concern right now? You could die in the blink of an eye. Besides, Guides don’t receive severe punishment. Unlike Espers, you’re not classified as dangerous. But if you continue with them, you’ll face worse punishment. Even if you claim you did nothing, you’ll be treated as accomplices.”
“A-accomplices?”
“But we really didn’t do anything bad! How can we be accomplices when we know nothing…?”
“Yes. Simply providing Guiding to unaffiliated Espers is already a serious offense.”
The Guides’ eyes widened at Lee Cheol-min’s explanation. Being considered accomplices just for providing Guiding? Shin Woo-jun never told them this. If they had known, they would never have participated in his plans. Of course, it wasn’t entirely their choice.
They vividly remembered Shin Woo-jun extending his hand, promising to completely free them from their lives of suffering under their pimp. At first, it seemed like a miracle. But it wasn’t. Nothing had changed except that they no longer had to pay their debts. The Guiding that Shin Woo-jun and his gang demanded wasn’t much different from what they had been doing before.
They definitely knew that Guiding didn’t always require physical intimacy. They had been growing tired of what amounted to assault disguised as Guiding. But they were afraid to make an immediate decision.
They were scared that if they left Shin Woo-jun’s protection, they might return to their pimps, or as he warned, spend their lives in prison. So they couldn’t find the courage.
The Guides hesitated, exchanging glances with each other, then jumped at the threatening flash of abilities nearby, closing their eyes tightly and nodding. Yes, any choice would be better than their current situation.
“W-we’ll go! We’ll go with you!”
“P-p-please save us! We’re not accomplices!”
They quickly grabbed Lee Cheol-min’s hand and jumped inside the shield. Seeing their desperate gestures, Lee Cheol-min clicked his tongue softly and returned to his position with the two Guides.
Hwang Ji-hyun whistled when she saw Lee Cheol-min returning with the Guides.
“Oh, that was faster persuasion than I expected? Not bad, mister.”
“Hwang Ji-hyun, you keep underestimating me, but I can be effective when needed.”
“You? Hmm, well… let’s say that’s true.”
Lee Cheol-min glared slightly at Hwang Ji-hyun, who shrugged her shoulders, then turned his attention to the Guides. They were hiding behind Lee Cheol-min, who was smaller than them, quietly observing the situation over his shoulders. Their round eyes still flickered with fear.
Seeing these individuals, who appeared to be about the same age as their youngest member Sa Hae-geon, looking so intimidated, Hwang Ji-hyun felt strange. She studied the Guides for quite some time while dealing with the attacking Espers, then spoke casually:
“Shin Woo-jun will be handled by our team leader and rookie, so don’t be so scared. And look, we fight really well too. These bastards are nothing for us.”
“Hey, Hwang Ji-hyun. Stop chattering and knock them out. The kids behind me aren’t afraid of those guys, they’re afraid of getting caught in the crossfire and dying.”
“Huh? Really? I thought they were trembling in fear of those guys. If you knew, why didn’t you say anything? That’s really funny.”
“When did you give me time to speak? You kept chattering. You’re the funny one, Hwang Ji-hyun.”
Lee Seong-rok shook his head at the childish argument between Lee Cheol-min and Hwang Ji-hyun. It was ridiculous that Lee Cheol-min, who often scolded him and Hwang Ji-hyun for fighting in such situations, was now arguing with her. Lee Seong-rok muttered while sending a fireball back in the direction it came from:
“As always, it gets worse, never better…”
Meanwhile, a fierce battle continued where Shin Woo-jun and An Jong-hyeok were. Several flames created by An Jong-hyeok floated around Shin Woo-jun. Shin Woo-jun’s face, bathed in orange light, glowed ominously. He created a gentle breeze to extinguish the flames approaching him.
Shin Woo-jun’s lips curled up as he stared at An Jong-hyeok.
“I don’t plan on becoming an unsightly roast.”
“Hmm, that wasn’t my intention. I just thought the world might feel cold to you, so I wanted to share some warmth.”
Shin Woo-jun’s brow furrowed deeply at the remark, which felt worse than a hundred insults. An Jong-hyeok always grated on his nerves like this. He didn’t like that despite being similar in age and rank, An Jong-hyeok had become a team leader before him, and the way he subtly provoked people while being obstinately righteous in the field was infuriating.
Shin Woo-jun tried to suppress the anger rising inside him. He hadn’t received enough Guiding the previous night, or even up until just now. The Guides he kept around were convenient to use but inefficient. Guides working in the underground all had poor stamina or low-quality Guiding.
Naturally, their compatibility was low too. The fact that he felt disgusted from the moment he received their Guiding was proof enough. That’s why he had frequently visited countries abroad where there were many Guide guilds, but even that had become difficult due to complicated circumstances.
Therefore, excessive use of his abilities would have severe repercussions. He might even lose control. Having experienced losing control of his body once was enough, so Shin Woo-jun intended to keep a tight grip on his mental state. That would be entirely possible if only An Jong-hyeok would stop provoking him.
The flames An Jong-hyeok rekindled gradually grew larger. The massive fire, which could be called a fire demon, opened its maw toward Shin Woo-jun. Shin Woo-jun’s face contorted at the intense heat that made it difficult even to keep his eyes open, like facing lava. It had been a long time since he’d faced such scorching flames.
And that made it even more exciting.
Shin Woo-jun slowly regulated his breathing and created wind. The strong wind began pushing back the flames An Jong-hyeok had created. The fire demon, which had grown large enough to touch the ceiling, couldn’t withstand the strong wind and was pushed behind An Jong-hyeok.
The Espers fighting behind him let out successive screams.
“Aaagh…!”
“Huck, fuck! This crazy…!”
“Ugh… Huaagh! Hey, Shin Woo-jun! Are you pushing the flames this way to save yourself? Are you out of your mind?”
Shin Woo-jun didn’t care about the screams and curses from the Espers on his side. Instead, he clicked his tongue and mocked them.
“You should have dodged well. Do I need to teach you that too?”
One of the Espers who was backing away to avoid the flames fell on his backside with a thud. He was an Esper with no combat ability, who could at most heal wounds on the body. He wasn’t skilled enough in physical techniques to quickly dodge the fire demon rushing to devour him.
Therefore, he could only sense an agonizing death approaching. He crossed his arms to cover his face and let out a loud scream.
“Huh, kk, kkwaaak…! S-save me…!”
An Jong-hyeok spotted the Esper about to be engulfed by the flames he created and clenched his fist. He knew Shin Woo-jun wasn’t in his right mind, but he never expected him to drive his own team into danger… Was he really this awful?
With one gesture from An Jong-hyeok, the flames that were about to devour the Esper disappeared instantly, leaving only black smoke. The Esper, sitting on the ground, continued trembling, unable to lower his arms from his face. Warm liquid flowed from where his buttocks touched the ground, soaking the floor.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
