# Chapter 67
While worrying about his brother in his mind, Jaeyoon’s eyes quickly surveyed the scene. All the werewolves here were in beast form. They were easy opponents for Espers, but their large size made them a threat to ordinary people.
As soon as Jaeyoon appeared, all the werewolves within his sight collapsed, and an Esper in a navy blue uniform who had been trembling in a corner approached, sobbing.
“Esper Seo Jaeyoon, you’ve come to save us.”
Second-generation Espers who had been hiding among civilians out of fear began to reveal themselves one by one. Jaeyoon gave them firm instructions.
“Your priority is to rescue people, but also confront the hydra.”
“H-how are we supposed to handle it on our own with wolves roaming around?”
“Second-generation Team A. Line up.”
Jaeyoon’s voice contained no hint of hurry or emotion.
At his calm but precise command, scattered Espers ran out and lined up in front of Jaeyoon. Among the personnel, less than a third of the total who had been scattered in all directions, some were covered in blood or holding iron bars.
“Don’t panic. You all can use abilities but aren’t using them.”
“Ah…”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Only then did the Esper holding the iron bar draw out a blade from his hand, and the one covered in blood used wind to clean himself off.
“You learned in class that when werewolves appear, if there are no human forms mixed in, they’re low-rank.”
As they recalled their theoretical lessons, life returned to the eyes of those who had been terrified.
Screams from not far away were concerning, but Jaeyoon knew that if he left the second-generation Espers alone, they would likely give up, so he offered minimal advice.
“Even if you can’t use abilities, an awakened one’s enhanced physical strength is more than enough. Your bodies are different from ordinary people’s. Even if you get bitten once or twice, if you move in groups of three or more and stay alert, you’ll win.”
Though they understood this intellectually, the Espers who had once been frightened couldn’t readily agree. Especially the newcomer who limped over at the call to assemble, still had fear in his eyes, having apparently fled in such panic that he sprained his ankle despite an Esper’s sturdy body.
While maintaining eye contact with them, Jaeyoon issued orders through his communicator so they could hear.
“Requesting escort for stragglers.”
“Okay. How many should I take?”
As soon as Jaeyoon finished speaking, Kyun Jiho appeared by his side.
Unlike Seo Jaeyoon’s cold atmosphere with his stiff expression, Jiho’s playful movements as he suddenly appeared made his curly hair sway gently. The atmosphere lightened considerably as he even winked at some of the Espers who had their attention drawn to him, as if providing a service.
“Please move all Espers who cannot follow instructions.”
As Jiho quickly looked around to see who to take, some half-raised their hands then stopped, while others stood at attention. Jaeyoon didn’t give them much time.
“First, please move me to the top of the tarantula.”
“Yes, yes~”
As soon as Jiho’s hand touched Jaeyoon’s shoulder, they vanished from in front of the Espers.
Having suddenly lost their protector and superior, the Espers witnessed the tarantula hanging on the opposite building wobble. Before they could assess the situation, Jiho appeared again. Standing before the Espers, Jiho smiled with a frown as he shook off the sticky fluid on his hands.
“Wow, as soon as I got him up there, he burst the tarantula’s back. Your younger brother is scary, seriously.”
Behind Jiho’s smiling face, the tarantula began to burn. Probably Kwon Haeil’s ability.
“So. Who should I evacuate?”
The fear in the Espers’ eyes was replaced with aspiration as they witnessed the first-generation’s actions.
“Decide quickly. You’re preventing people from being rescued while you hesitate.”
“I-if we get in danger, will you come save us?”
To the question from the Esper with the sprained ankle, Jiho shrugged.
“If Seo Jaeyoon tells me to, I guess? Come to think of it, somehow I’m following his younger brother’s orders.”
“Um, could I return after getting treatment?”
“That’s for you to decide at the shelter. Should I just move this person?”
“Yes, we’ll try to escort people.”
“I’ll try too.”
“Good luck to the newcomers~”
After lightly encouraging the Espers’ commitments, Jiho left with the injured Esper.
The Esper with the sprained ankle was disoriented by the suddenly changed scenery. But soon he couldn’t say anything at the catastrophe before his eyes.
The shelter was filled with blood-covered people, those wailing, and even some who weren’t moving.
“M-my leg, my leg…”
“Have you seen my mom? She was with me, but I can’t find her.”
“What the hell is all this? Esper Association or whatever, what were you doing to let things like this roam around?”
Association staff were struggling to calm the excited people.
“Please don’t do this here. Only injured people can come in.”
“For missing persons, please go to the white tent to register. Medical support from nearby hospitals will be coming for the injured.”
The Esper hesitated, wondering if it was okay for him to have fled just because of a sprained ankle. A staff member who saw the limping Esper in the navy blue uniform quickly directed him.
“Ah, an Esper? Espers should go to the temporary tent.”
“Yes, yes…”
Jiho had already disappeared, and the Esper headed alone to the temporary tent. As he entered, with staff members at the tent’s entrance moving aside after checking his navy uniform, the tent seemed to have a function that blocked sounds from going outside, as it was filled with groans.
There were those with their upper bodies terribly torn and covered in fluid, or calmly holding their severed legs while waiting their turn. From one side, a pleasant wave flowed out, drawing his attention as if mesmerized, and there, a few people who were scheduled to practice guiding today were sweating profusely while encouraging the Espers.
“It hurts, it hurts.”
“I’m sorry. It will take time. Please hang in there a bit longer.”
“Huu… th-thank you. But it hurts so much…”
“No, I’m sorry for being slow.”
It was quite a different atmosphere from the guiding Bang Chunjae and Ko Minjae had talked about. It was partly because it was still in the testing stage, but also because the ranks and matching rates didn’t align.
Those who didn’t know this fact due to lack of data were struggling to shake off the side effects of excessive ability use in a short time.
While people were struggling in their respective positions, the situation was being quickly resolved.
After bursting the back of the second tarantula, Jaeyoon checked again with Dojoon, who had deployed a barrier in preparation for a fall.
“How far can your barrier reach effectively?”
“I’ve tried up to 100 meters, and it should work as long as I’m aware of it. But covering everyone here is impossible.”
“We should use it only where needed. And never remove the one you’re using on my brother.”
“That’s my number one priority check.”
His brother’s current location was on a high-rise building that was visible from here, but the detailed situation was unknown.
He had no intention of showing his brother such horror. He might find out through broadcasts or media, but he didn’t want to show his brother the terrible scene firsthand. Dojoon sympathized with this.
“Just in case, I’ll put a barrier on the broadcast station roof. Escape there if it gets dangerous.”
It was hard to gauge the amount of mana Dojoon had. Even after deflecting the falling large tarantula with his barrier, he still seemed to use his abilities with ease.
“I’ll share the communicator channel. I’ll give Esper Kyun Jiho instructions directly as I’ve been doing.”
— Okay~ I’ll recharge a bit first.
Here, “recharge” meant guiding.
It was natural for Jiho’s wave to become unstable after spatially moving countless people.
And Jaeyoon’s mana wave, moving without rest after not receiving proper guiding for days, was also getting rougher. It was very obvious to Dojoon watching from the side, but the person himself seemed so calm that it was as if he couldn’t feel the pain.
“Don’t you need to get some guiding too? Your condition is really bad.”
“I can go to the guiding room after this is over. I’ll catch one more, so please make sure there’s no damage to the surroundings.”
“Yeah, go ahead, I’ve got this.”
The trust Dojoon spoke of didn’t really resonate with Jaeyoon, but it was time to set aside personal feelings.
Jaeyoon’s gaze followed the path to the last tarantula hanging on the building. Having Jiho would make moving convenient, but he could still move without him.
“Still, try to get guiding from your brother if possible… He’s already gone?”
In the moment Dojoon took his eyes off to deploy a barrier, Jaeyoon’s movement running up the wall was as skillful as if he were running on flat ground.
While worrying if it was okay for him to keep using his power like this, Dojoon was shocked that almost no mana was being used for these impossible movements.
“The term ‘cheat talent’ was made just for that guy.”
Meanwhile, Jiho, who had returned to Jaeha, was offering an Americano and sweet desserts he had pre-ordered from a cafe during his teleportation.
“Sunbae, aren’t you thirsty? Have this too.”
He neatly placed slice cake, macarons, and bread-like items on the table he had brought from somewhere. The tarantula that had been hanging on a distant building was burning.
“The desserts are sweet, so I got a drink that’s not sweet.”
“…Being with you makes it feel like we’re watching a movie.”
“Me too. It feels like 4D to me. Since it came up, want to go see a movie?”
“How can you say such things in this situation?”
Joo Dojoon’s barrier provided perfect safety for Jaeha. Kyun Jiho, the only one who could freely go in and out of it, was even relaxed.
Kyun Jiho carefully observed Jaeha as he moved between the scene where people’s screams were rampant and the space where safety was guaranteed.
This person still doesn’t know fear. That was fortunate. He hoped that Jaeha, who had started to appear as his only romantic interest, wouldn’t be emotionally hurt either.
While hugging Jaeha, his gaze went to the ring that didn’t match his hand.
“Sunbae, who gave you that ring? I could get us matching couple rings that would be prettier.”
“No one gave it to me. I’m wearing it because it’s an item.”
“Then please wear my gift later too.”
When he stuck close to Jaeha, who wasn’t answering, guiding immediately began and his heavy body lightened. Jaeha also noticed that Jiho had been struggling and quietly pushed a macaron into his mouth.
“Delicious.”
“Yes, for me too.”
“Oh, are you really trying to make me curse?”
“Come on, Sunbae, it’s not my fault your guiding tastes good.”
“You’re disgusting. Don’t you ever get tired of this, seriously?”
Despite complaining, Jaeha didn’t push him away. Feeling that this aspect of him was so soft and cute, Jiho rubbed his cheek against Jaeha’s neckline and tightly hugged his waist. When his body lightened, other sensations began to emerge subtly, so he was planning to do guiding only until then. He ignored the alarm ringing from the communicator that had been muted.
“That…”
When Jaeha tensed up in his arms as if nervous, Jiho also raised his head wondering what was happening. At the same time, an urgent voice burst from the communicator.
— Kyun Jiho, evacuate my brother!
“W-what is that?”
A huge foreleg, making tarantulas look like house spiders in comparison, was slowly emerging through a gate that had opened in the air.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
