Jung Jae-heon, completely unaware of what had happened, had to fight like a madman when S-rank monsters broke through the barrier and suddenly charged toward the Guide barracks. He was genuinely impressed with himself for not going into Rampage.
Afterward, he gathered the round objects the monsters had thrown and handed them over to the researchers. Unfortunately, the chemicals inside had already vaporized, making it impossible to analyze them. Judging by the monsters’ reaction, they could only speculate that the substances might have contained ingredients designed to lure them.
Either way, the two had vanished, and the signal from the chip implanted in Lee Tae-rim’s body had gone dead. Nothing had changed. They still had no leads and no way of tracking them—it was utterly hopeless.
Central descended into chaos. Seon Juho, widely regarded as the strongest Esper, had been captured. Worse still, there was now a possibility that he might reappear as their enemy. Central threw every available resource into searching for the two of them. But even then, it wasn’t as if they could dig up every inch of land across the country.
The investigation continued to stall as time dragged on. A month passed. Then, in Districts 2 and 7, they discovered traces of the enemy’s distribution network. But just as they’d done in District 1, the enemy eliminated every person involved, severing all connections. They were absolutely ruthless.
About two weeks later, just as Jung Jae-heon was stuck at the office past quitting time, an unbelievable report came through his watch: Lee Tae-rim’s signal had been detected. He was in District 6. Jung Jae-heon immediately contacted the District 6 Center and sent Tae-rim’s coordinates.
The moment news broke that Tae-rim had been found, S-rank Espers and key personnel gathered at once. Districts 1 and 6 were a fair distance apart—even using the fastest transport, the trip would take over six hours. Not knowing the local situation, opinions split on whether to deploy immediately, and the conference room became a cacophony of conflicting voices.
Just then, a call came in from District 6. A Gate had opened—inside the barrier. District 6 requested immediate support from all sectors.
But it was clear that Districts 3 and 4 wouldn’t be able to spare any forces, and the remaining districts likely couldn’t send many Espers either. It became evident that District 1, which had the most leeway, needed to send reinforcements. Jung Jae-heon requested that Central dispatch a jet transport.
Upon learning that more than ten S-rank Gates had opened in District 6, Central quickly complied. With that, District 1’s Espers departed.
The moment they arrived, the scene was hellish. It was impossible to count how many Gates had opened—monsters were swarming the area. But even amid the chaos, two figures stood out clearly: Seon Juho tearing through monsters with overwhelming force, and Lee Tae-rim held tightly in his arms. Tae-rim was bundled up in thick fabric, likely to ward off the cold, and cradled protectively.
They were both visibly thinner, and their complexions pale, but otherwise they appeared unharmed. Everyone had expected they’d been subjected to experimentation, but they were in far better shape than anyone had dared to hope. It was an immense relief.
That day alone, they closed fifteen Gates on the surface. Including the ones underground, the number was even higher.
Despite how many Gates had opened, the entire operation was completed by dawn. In under twelve hours, they’d cleared everything. Much of that was thanks to Seon Juho. He mowed down monsters using a power no one had seen before. Wherever his hand moved, gaping holes were left behind—as if nothing had ever existed there to begin with.
Every Esper on-site was stunned, chilled to the bone. His power was beyond overwhelming—so much so that it made them question whether a human being could truly wield such strength. Yet Seon Juho remained composed, silently eliminating monster after monster while holding his Guide tightly in one arm.
It was undeniable—Seon Juho possessed an erasure-type ability. The same “erasure” Molt had raved about. Having been rescued from their lab, it was only natural that he would’ve been affected by their experiments. Whether the power had awakened recently or had been latent all along was unclear, but the way Seon Juho wielded it was nothing short of terrifying—no, it was awe-inspiring.
More Espers from other districts arrived as time passed. The skies were filled with transport aircrafts that remained in place, shining lights down to assist in the monster hunt.
With the area fully lit, Seon Juho’s power became even more terrifyingly visible. Shadow-like tendrils poured from his hands, blanketing areas teeming with monsters before pressing down and crushing them.
Wherever the Darkness swept through, nothing remained. It tore straight through the monster horde, leaving a gaping hole. Though more monsters quickly filled the gap, they were just as quickly erased by Seon Juho. Again and again, he obliterated them en masse.
Without Seon Juho, they would’ve never contained the outbreak. The monsters would have consumed the city. Jung Jae-heon felt profoundly grateful that Seon Juho was the only Esper currently receiving real-time Guiding. His presence alone had turned the tide.
Even more astonishing was Lee Tae-rim. Despite the dark circles under his eyes and his hollow expression, he kept Guiding without pause. Naturally, he looked even worse than Seon Juho. But still, he held on to Seon Juho and continued the Guiding, giving it his all. Even when his body swayed with sleep, he endured until the first light of dawn.
If Seon Juho was impressive, then Tae-rim was just as much so. Even with a 90% Matching Rate, maintaining Guiding for that long was nearly impossible. Guides also had limits to their strength. Sure, they recovered energy with rest—but twelve continuous hours of Guiding was no small feat.
Did they… Imprint? Jung Jae-heon’s heart sank as he watched the two, more entwined than ever, as if bound by something thicker, more intimate. He’d known this day would come eventually—but never imagined it would come this soon. An uneasy pounding filled his chest.
Once the monsters were all dealt with, the Espers returned to their respective Centers. Seon Juho and Lee Tae-rim returned to District 1 and were immediately taken to the infirmary.
Meanwhile, the Center Directors from every district gathered at Central to coordinate a response to the incident. Thanks to that, Seon Juho and Tae-rim were able to rest without disturbance. Not that it would’ve made much difference—Tae-rim had passed out the moment they arrived—but it worked out for the best.
Seon Juho and Lee Tae-rim slept for an entire day, hooked up to IV drips. Since Juho refused to be separated, the two shared a single bed, holding each other tightly as they slept.
Watching them, Jung Jae-heon couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste in his mouth. He’d heard they hadn’t Imprinted, but regardless, the shift in their relationship was obvious.
Tae-rim was discharged quickly—aside from some physical fatigue and lack of sleep, he showed no other symptoms. As for Seon Juho, after sleeping the whole day, he woke up completely fine and immediately began debriefing.
He reported that they’d forced him to close Gates every day, pushing him past his limits. They seemed convinced he had an erasure-type ability and were determined to draw it out of him, no matter the cost.
Watching Tae-rim deteriorate day by day had only heightened his desperation. Meanwhile, his own body was being driven to the edge by constant overuse. In the midst of all that, his ability finally awakened. And with that power, he broke out—taking Tae-rim with him.
Among Espers ranked C or lower, it wasn’t unheard of for special abilities to emerge during extreme panic, especially when first encountering monsters. That was why special abilities tended to be more common among lower ranks.
While no S-rank Esper had ever manifested abilities that way, it wasn’t considered entirely impossible. The researchers concluded Seon Juho was likely such a case. He may have been S-rank, but the circumstances—especially the threat to his Guide—had been extreme enough to trigger it.
He also reported being injected daily with an unknown drug, prompting a series of urgent medical tests. Though he said the drug hadn’t affected him—something that had clearly disappointed his captors—they couldn’t be too sure. Fortunately, the results showed no abnormalities.
As for Tae-rim, it seemed he hadn’t undergone any experimentation at all. According to Seon Juho, every time someone so much as hinted at touching Tae-rim, he’d threatened to go into Rampage. Hearing that reminded everyone again just how frightening an Esper’s attachment to their Guide could be.
It must’ve been maddening for the enemy. Seon Juho’s power had exceeded expectations, and now he was using it to make threats. Just imagining how stunned they must’ve been was almost laughable. But thanks to those threats, Tae-rim had come out unscathed.
Just as Seon Juho had said, Tae-rim had been imprisoned the entire time. He did recall one incident—after being put to sleep with a sedative, he’d woken up feeling like some of his blood had been drawn. Other than that, he hadn’t been harmed.
Jung Jae-heon quietly asked Tae-rim to keep that detail from Seon Juho. Tae-rim looked puzzled but agreed anyway. They pinky-swore on it and sealed the promise with a stamp of their thumbs.
