The boss monster was a flying beast. Han Ju-oh had disappeared, and it looked like he’d gone after the creature hiding in the sky. The moment the beast, thrashing to shake Han Ju-oh off, plummeted to the ground, everything spiraled out of control.
The only reason it felt like something was “falling from above” was because of the monster’s sheer size. If they hadn’t dodged in time, it could’ve ended in disaster.
Han Ju-oh and the other Espers surrounded the still-breathing boss, entirely focused on taking it down. There was no time to worry about anything else.
“Roi…”
When Moon Roi pulled him back, Seo-ha had been turning toward Guide Jang Jin-young and couldn’t react quickly. And before he could register what Roi had done—maybe turned his body—everything happened in an instant.
“No way…”
Had Roi used himself as a shield? The thought flashed through his mind, but to be sure, he’d have to ask Roi directly. Seo-ha scanned his surroundings.
Guides were scattered all over, groaning in pain, but the one he was searching for was nowhere to be seen—and panic struck. His gaze whipped around, jaw clenched so tight it hurt, terrified that something had happened to Moon Roi.
“Roi!”
The moment he saw Roi lying face-down, he sprinted over.
“Are you okay? Hey? Roi… haah…”
Pressing his fingers under Roi’s nose, Seo-ha exhaled in relief when he felt a faint breath. Thankfully, there were no visible injuries—he seemed to have passed out from the shock. Seo-ha gently flipped him over and began brushing the dirt from his face when a groan rang out from nearby. It was Esper Baek Jong-hoon.
Seo-ha quickly rushed to him.
“Esper Baek Jong-hoon. Stay with me. Can you hear me?”
He pressed his ear to Baek’s chest and then checked other areas, but there were no apparent external injuries. The uncertainty gnawed at him. The few Guides capable of healing were still unconscious, and frustration creased Seo-ha’s brow.
“I need to know what’s wrong…”
He muttered under his breath—then a faint mechanical beep cut in. A crack ran through the display on his wristwatch, and a red warning light blinked—a signal that Baek Jong-hoon’s values were dangerously unstable and on the verge of a rampage.
“Guide Jang Jin-young…”
He needed him. Someone had to suppress Baek Jong-hoon’s rampage before it was too late. But no matter how hard he looked, Jang Jin-young was nowhere to be found.
“Take it. It’s a little bribe—so you’ll be good to us, yeah?”
“If I’m not there, please look after Esper Baek.”
“You have to help him. Promise me, okay?”
Seo-ha raked a hand through his hair, recalling Jang Jin-young’s words. He needed to look after Han Ju-oh, but he couldn’t turn his back on Baek Jong-hoon either. If he lost control now, the unconscious Guides around them would be in danger, too.
“There’s no way he planned for this…”
Seo-ha placed a hand over Baek Jong-hoon’s chest and closed his eyes. It was one of the methods he’d learned through Guiding Han Ju-oh—laying his palm over the heart and channeling energy had helped stabilize matching rates. He prayed it would work here, too.
Feeling Baek Jong-hoon’s racing heartbeat beneath his hand, Seo-ha centered his mind and focused all his attention on calming the storm inside.
As energy flowed from him, the inflamed, swollen organs inside Baek’s body began to ease. And with that, Seo-ha’s panic slowly subsided.
When the Guiding finally ended, Seo-ha rechecked the watch. Baek Jong-hoon’s readings had dropped by about thirty percent. He collapsed to the ground with a sigh of relief. Not only had he brought the rampage under control, but he’d also bought precious time to find Jang Jin-young.
Planting trembling hands into the dirt, Seo-ha pushed himself to his feet. This wasn’t the time to sit still.
“I need to find Guide Jang Jin-young. And after that…”
Honestly, it was a miracle he was still conscious. He’d taken a hit himself during the chaos. As his gaze swept the area, he locked eyes with someone watching him. An Esper assigned to the Defense Team alongside Baek Jong-hoon—someone he hadn’t seen earlier…
The man’s eyes flicked to Baek Jong-hoon’s wristwatch, and a slow, amused smile crept across his face—a clear curiosity in his expression.
“Now’s not the time to stand there doing nothing…”
Seo-ha’s voice was laced with annoyance. Every second counted, and even the smallest effort could make a difference. But the guy looked completely detached as if this had nothing to do with him.
Even something as simple as glancing downward seemed sluggish—two or three times slower than everyone else. Seo-ha gave up on him entirely and turned away.
He began checking the fallen Guides one by one, scanning each face to find Jang Jin-young. At the same time, he looked for those seriously hurt, laying them gently on flat ground.
“Where the hell are you…”
Flipping bodies, dragging unconscious people—it all took time.
He wanted nothing more than to sit for a moment. But with the boss still alive, he couldn’t afford to relax.
As he approached the last figure lying face-down on the ground, Seo-ha swallowed hard without meaning to. Their hair was filthy and tangled with dirt, but something about the back looked painfully familiar. His heart pounded louder, and the world around him faded into silence.
“Please…”
Please be okay.
Seo-ha slowly dropped to his knees and turned over the body of Guide Jang Jin-young.
***
“Move!”
As Ian shouted, the A-rank Esper sprang backward—just in time. A massive wing, torn clean from the boss monster’s body, crashed down exactly where he’d been standing. Thud. The impact sent a heavy tremor through the ground, and in its wake, the area darkened—soaked in the thick, black blood spilling from the severed wing.
“Ugh.”
The stench rising from the toxic blood made one Esper cover his nose and mouth while another doubled over, gagging.
Ian immediately turned to Han Ju-oh. The boss, now grounded and wingless, was in a frenzy, fixated solely on killing him. Han Ju-oh remained composed, effortlessly weaving through the attacks, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Even on land, the monster’s power remained formidable. Worse yet, it was calculating. It had planned to stay hidden until the Espers were worn down fighting lesser beasts. If Han Ju-oh hadn’t flown up and flushed it out, it would’ve kept lurking in the shadows.
“Left!”
At Ian’s shout, Han Ju-oh twisted sharply, dodging an attack from his left. The strike had been subtle, but it left a wide opening—perfect for a counter.
Without hesitation, Han Ju-oh launched himself straight into the monster’s chest while Ian rushed in from the opposite side to back him up. The two Espers moved with lethal precision, their coordination seamless. The rest could only watch from behind.
“There’s barely a chance to get in there.”
One Esper muttered, and the one beside him gave a grim nod.
“It’s not just that we can’t handle it—we can’t even keep up with those two.”
The monster was enormous—easily the size of a house—and its wings weren’t even metal, yet most attacks bounced off like nothing. That wasn’t the worst part. Even if they managed to land a hit, the blood that sprayed out was dangerously acidic. One splash could eat through both clothes and skin.
“Fighting something like this should be illegal.”
“That’s why it’s S-Class.”
There was a reason gates were ranked. This thing was powerful enough to crush the pride of even elite Espers.
“Don’t space out and get yourself killed. Stay sharp.”
At the sharp voice of the man who always stepped up when Han Ju-oh wasn’t around, the Espers instinctively straightened. It made their reaction time slower, maybe—but at least it forced them to focus.
“Once this is over, I’m going to pass out for sure.”
“Don’t even think about it. The Guides are in bad shape, too.”
The same man pointed toward the group of collapsed Guides. Most had been swept up when the monster fell, and judging by the signal from their escorting Esper; they were likely just unconscious. Still, with only a few people left standing, getting proper Guiding right now was near impossible.
One narrow-eyed Esper glanced over and clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Of all people, it had to be Baek Seo-ha who’s awake.”
The most useless Guide was the only one conscious. And it wasn’t just because he was Han Ju-oh’s partner. With such a low match rate, getting Guided by him was barely better than nothing.
“This is bad. Even if we kill the boss, there’s no guarantee more monsters won’t appear.”
“He’s going to collapse if he keeps pushing himself.”
Complaints rippled through the Espers. Han Ju-oh and Ian were burning through their abilities without hesitation, darting across the battlefield—while the others could only stand and grumble, feeling the gap grow wider.
“Shouldn’t we try waking the other Guides? At least get someone who can help?”
The narrow-eyed Esper offered the idea, trying to sound practical.
“Let’s talk about that after this is over.”
But the man who had kept them grounded looked grim. He already knew—Baek Seo-ha alone wasn’t enough to support all the Espers here.
“But seriously, what is he even doing right now? We need him waking Guides, not…”
His eyes narrowed even further in annoyance.
What he saw was Baek Seo-ha, barely managing to stand, hauling a Guide onto his back.
