# Chapter 40
Looking at their faces filled with curiosity about why S-class Espers had come here, I was honestly appalled and angry.
I didn’t know what position to take when faced with these people who stubbornly clung to the dungeon without resolving or containing it, and who even showed hostility toward our arrival.
This feeling intensified as we approached the dungeon and my senses became more sensitive.
Lee Ha-min, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong, Lee Ha-min?”
When Byun Tae-young asked, Lee Ha-min took a moment to catch his breath.
“It’s stinging. I think I can feel the monster’s energy.”
“Lee Ha-min is particularly sensitive to that. What Lee Ha-min says is probably right.”
After Byun Tae-young spoke, Kyun In and Shim Woo-jin also seemed to pay attention without dismissing his words.
“This doesn’t seem like something we can handle half-heartedly, so let’s all focus and make sure we finish it properly.”
It was a matter no one would acknowledge, but we couldn’t just ignore it either.
When the lower-class Espers guarding the dungeon tried to approach us, Kyun In raised his hand.
With just that gesture, the three lower-class Espers who had been approaching us flew backward and crashed.
“Don’t make us use unnecessary force here. If you approach again, I won’t control my power next time.”
When Kyun In said this, they stopped approaching.
They could surely tell from Kyun In’s face that he wasn’t making idle threats.
It was the first time all five of us had entered the same dungeon together for clearing.
Maybe I was worrying unnecessarily when there was no need to be tense.
As we entered the dungeon, I concentrated on sensing the monster’s presence.
Sister hadn’t often dealt with monsters in detail.
If Sister had written in detail about monsters and how to defeat them, it would have been a great help to me.
If I could follow the strategy Sister created, wouldn’t it be much easier to kill monsters?
While I was thinking about this, with a shrieking sound, a monster appeared as if seeping out from the wall like a shadow.
It suddenly vanished from where it was standing and instantly appeared in front of Lee Ha-min, clearly in the form of a zombie.
Lee Ha-min disappeared even faster than the zombie and tried to knock it down by swinging his leg from behind it.
Such a strike should have knocked it down immediately, but an ominous sound came from Lee Ha-min’s direction.
I clearly heard the sound of a bone breaking.
‘That’s impossible!’
As Lee Ha-min lost his balance and fell to his knees, Kyun In raised his hand toward the zombie.
The zombie’s body flew into the wall, and Byun Tae-young set it on fire.
‘Is it over just like that?’
While thinking it probably wasn’t, the zombie rose from the flames.
Burning flesh seemed to melt and flow down from the zombie’s body.
I wrapped my arm around Lee Ha-min’s waist and moved him to a safe place.
Lee Ha-min seemed to think there was no time for this.
“It’s just a broken leg. I can fight. I need to go.”
If Kyun In and Byun Tae-young had been overwhelmingly winning, Lee Ha-min wouldn’t have been so stubborn, but things weren’t going as we wanted.
That’s when Shim Woo-jin started playing his violin, and the zombie seemed affected by it for a moment.
It stumbled while walking, swayed back and forth, and at times stood completely still.
He seemed to be creating the mental image we had practiced together.
Shim Woo-jin probably couldn’t maintain it for long, and Kyun In and Byun Tae-young needed to make the most of this opportunity, but unfortunately, they couldn’t do it.
And the more this happened, the more anxious Lee Ha-min seemed to become.
Even though I thought I should go help them, I couldn’t leave Lee Ha-min like this, so I also became anxious.
Guiding.
Guiding.
I tried to provide Guiding by holding Lee Ha-min’s hand and injecting energy, as I had done before.
But the Guiding happened slowly.
“Eunwoo. Can I do it?”
“Do what? Guiding?”
“No. You do the Guiding.”
“Then what?”
Instead of answering, Lee Ha-min wrapped his arms around my waist.
Then he approached me and captured my lips.
“…!”
I didn’t even have time to ask what he was doing.
Then I felt his wavelength stabilizing quickly.
His hands holding me tightened, and soon there was not even a small gap between us.
I should have felt uncomfortable and upset, but there was no time for such thoughts.
‘Is this Guiding? Is Lee Ha-min getting better?’
That seemed to be my only thought.
The moment didn’t last long, and soon Lee Ha-min let go of me.
As his lips separated from mine, a silver thread connected us.
Seeing that, my face flushed, but Lee Ha-min didn’t seem to notice.
“Mucosal Guiding from an S-class Esper who’s also a Guide. That’s incredible, Eunwoo.”
And considering our matching rate, it would be even more so.
“Are you… healed?”
Even so, I wondered if a broken bone injury could really be healed just like that, and Lee Ha-min said yes without even checking.
“Thank you, Eunwoo.”
I could see that his words were true as Lee Ha-min immediately ran out.
‘My goodness… just how amazing am I?’
But this wasn’t the time to sit comfortably with such thoughts.
The zombie fled at an unbelievable speed, and the Espers’ attacks repeatedly failed.
At first, Shim Woo-jin seemed to be blocking the zombie’s movements, but over time, his concentration was noticeably wavering.
With Lee Ha-min joining, Kyun In and Byun Tae-young’s attacks clearly became stronger, but the zombie wouldn’t fall easily.
It seemed the zombie, as the dungeon’s master, had grown stronger as the dungeon remained uncleared for a long time.
Seeing each attack fail, I kicked off the ground, ran toward the zombie, and drove my fist into it. The attack succeeded, but despite the hit, it didn’t fall and lunged at me.
I succeeded with several consecutive attacks, but it was the same each time.
It was like continuing to create minor wounds that wouldn’t affect its life, so I eventually backed off.
I thought we could never defeat it this way.
“Step back, Seo Eunwoo.”
Byun Tae-young said, but I had seen enough to know his attacks weren’t working.
It was a compatibility issue.
If Byun Tae-young’s attacks had never succeeded, it would be different, but even when they landed properly several times, the zombie didn’t take much damage each time.
I couldn’t tell if it could continue moving as long as the bones remained even if the body melted, or if attacks like that simply didn’t work on a body that had already crossed death.
Kyun In’s attacks were also the same, and from then on, only one option remained.
Rather than meaninglessly repeating the same attacks, we needed to find attacks that the zombie found uncomfortable.
The other Espers seemed to know this too, and I looked at Lee Ha-min.
“Use your amplification ability on me.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t know exactly how Lee Ha-min used that ability, but I made the request anyway.
Then Shim Woo-jin started playing his violin.
The zombie, which had been quickly approaching me, stopped abruptly.
I couldn’t be sure what mental image appeared in front of it, but I could tell that it was unable to move, at least for a moment.
I didn’t know how long this would last, and I needed to make the most of the opportunity.
I drew my sword and swung it, but that too failed to damage the zombie.
Wounds alone couldn’t kill the zombie.
‘Then do I need to tear it apart completely?’
To find out if my thinking was right or wrong, I had to try it first.
I gave up on the sword and took out a dagger.
The S-class Espers didn’t know what I was trying to do but were helping to prevent the zombie from attacking me.
Despite Shim Woo-jin’s violin, the zombie began to move little by little.
Thinking that Shim Woo-jin’s power was gradually being depleted, I ran toward the zombie with my dagger.
The zombie might have thought nothing serious would happen this time either, but I was determined to end it as I grabbed its arm.
The zombie tried to grab and scratch me with its other hand, but avoiding that, I stuck the dagger into its armpit and tore off the arm.
Kweeeeeeek-!
A loud scream was heard, but I didn’t let go.
The zombie writhed, and I twisted the dagger.
The S-class Espers seemed astonished, and they too finally seemed to realize that the zombie’s reaction was different from before.
‘It’s working. This is how it needed to be killed!’
Kyun In approached and helped me attack the zombie.
Once I had started, his telekinetic attacks on the zombie became stronger.
The zombie tried desperately to escape from me, but each time, Kyun In’s attacks continued, making it scream.
My attacks were visible, but Kyun In’s were not, and the zombie seemed increasingly confused.
Now Shim Woo-jin’s violin had completely stopped.
There was no need for him to step in anymore.
He had already used too much of his ability and needed to rest.
I wanted to tell him that anyway, and his coordinated attack with Kyun In was natural.
Byun Tae-young had nothing to do, but I thought he might need to finish things off a little later.
Thinking that we seemed to work quite well together, I stepped back briefly and watched as Kyun In tore at the zombie’s body.
I thought he might be able to finish it, but the zombie’s skin was tougher than expected, and there was a limit.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
