# Chapter 117
Boom! Bang!
Suhyun, leaping forward, attacked the ore deposits randomly instead of Riska. The broken pieces gathered around Suhyun as if drawn to a magnet.
─What a foolish choice you’re making.
Riska, realizing what decision Suhyun had made, charged toward him as if it had been waiting for this moment.
There was no reason for Riska to let Suhyun leave with power. Both the original power and Suhyun’s remaining power would all become Riska’s.
Crash! Crack!
“Ugh, huff…”
Suhyun continuously destroyed the ore mine while attacking and avoiding the charging Riska.
As he struggled to take as much ore as possible, his vision gradually blurred.
His stability was plummeting rapidly, eroding his rationality. His body grew increasingly hot, and the primal urge to release power started to dominate his mind.
“Kuhack…!”
Due to his rapidly deteriorating state, Suhyun stopped attacking and turned back toward the entrance.
His role was to inform others about the price that must be paid to bring this ore out, and then return here.
Desperately maintaining his sanity, Suhyun knew he could hurt everyone if he were to go berserk outside.
Crack! Crack! Crackcrackcrack!
At that moment, the entrance vibrated as if it were about to collapse, creating fissures. It happened just as Suhyun stepped toward it.
“Huok, huff…”
Suhyun took heavy breaths, his eyes wide open. He couldn’t believe that the wall, which had shown no signs of breaking despite countless attacks, was gradually cracking.
Someone was opening the entrance. Realizing this, Suhyun dropped all the ore he was holding.
He didn’t know what was happening, but if the entrance opened, there might be something they could do. If only other ability users could enter this place like he had…
Crackcrackcrack! Boom!
“Kuhack, ugh…”
Suhyun crouched down, breathing heavily. He needed to identify the ability users entering this space, but his vision was blurry and dark. His stability had fallen so far that he couldn’t even lift his watch to check the number.
As even the thin thread of reason telling him not to lose consciousness started to blur—
“Seo Suhyun!”
Jiwon’s voice firmly gripped Suhyun’s fading consciousness.
Suhyun turned his gaze toward the direction of Jiwon’s voice. Jiwon was running over the now completely collapsed wall.
“Haah… why…”
Simultaneously, Suhyun’s face contorted painfully.
“Cough! Kack! Seo Suhyun, huok, Suhyun…”
Jiwon embraced Suhyun as if even a moment’s delay was too precious. His lips were covered in blood, and his breathing seemed perilously close to stopping at any moment.
“Guide, nim…”
“You, hh, you really…”
Jiwon, who was in such a terrible state that it was impossible to gauge what had happened, shed tears.
Suhyun felt extremely anxious as the body embracing him felt unusually cold.
It was actually because an Esper on the verge of going berserk had an overheated body, creating the contrast, but Suhyun thought it was because Jiwon’s physical condition was poor.
“You need, to get, huck, treated…”
“Look at, hh, yourself. Shut up. From now on, ha, don’t say anything.”
Jiwon shook his head roughly and squeezed his eyes shut. He had been guiding Suhyun since the moment their bodies touched, but it felt like pouring water into a bottomless jar.
“Cough!”
Jiwon desperately clung on. Even as blood steadily seeped from his mouth, covering his face, there wasn’t the slightest waver in Jiwon’s guiding.
“I just, wanted to…, ugh…!”
Suhyun, concerned about Jiwon’s condition, whispered something but couldn’t finish his sentence, groaning painfully and closing his eyes. He seemed to have lost consciousness for a moment.
Stability 3.
An absurd number was clearly displayed on the watch.
Jiwon wiped his lips carelessly, then took Suhyun’s lips in his.
He was dying.
Jiwon had to save him, dying as he was, by any means necessary.
***
Right after Suhyun disappeared through the wall.
Jiwon placed his hand against the wall and began guiding.
“Kuhack! Cough!”
Having pushed in so much power at once, Jiwon was coughing up blood less than a minute after placing his hand on the wall, leaving Kalik pacing anxiously.
“Oh no. You’re going to die at this rate!”
He wasn’t sure whether to stop him or not. After all, Jiwon’s judgment could be correct.
When many people hadn’t even figured out what was happening, these two had found Riska and devised a solution.
Knowing that, Kalik couldn’t just arbitrarily stop Jiwon’s actions.
“Damn it. Has it not been 10 minutes yet? Why isn’t anyone coming in?”
It would be good if other ability users came in quickly to try combining powers with Jiwon. Then they could immediately determine if this approach was right.
At the very least, Jiwon wouldn’t die from guiding a wall that wouldn’t budge.
“Huck, keuk, kack!”
While Kalik stood behind, not knowing what to do, Jiwon was solely focused on the wall.
He didn’t know if his guiding would be effective. He was just trying something because he couldn’t just sit and wait with Suhyun inside.
All while desperately praying for this wall to collapse.
“Hh…”
It felt like his entire body was being crushed. It seemed to be screaming in agony, begging for relief. It was a signal that he was pushing his guiding too far, but right now, this was Jiwon’s only consolation.
‘It’s working…’
Not just any guiding would work. A Guide’s power manifested only with valid targets.
In other words, it was a power that could only be used on Espers.
Yet this wall was accepting Jiwon’s guiding as is. Therefore, if he just waited a bit longer, he would surely achieve what he wanted.
Even if that wasn’t true, he had to believe it. He had to believe his power wasn’t making the wall stronger.
“Huok, huff… kuhack!”
“Can’t you stop? You’re going to die at this rate!”
Unable to just watch anymore, Kalik finally reached out to stop Jiwon. But before his hand could touch him, Jiwon roughly shook his head.
“There’s a, response…”
The somewhat sharp retort wasn’t necessarily meant for Kalik to understand.
There was a response. Therefore, it would work.
It was closer to a spell he cast on himself to believe and not give up.
“Ha…”
He felt nauseous and dizzy. Not just his throat, which had coughed up blood, but his entire body was stinging.
He couldn’t even tell how much power he had used on this guideless, all-out guiding.
‘I can open it. I will open it.’
Focused solely on breaking this wall and retrieving Suhyun from inside, blood began pouring from Jiwon’s nose as well.
“They’re finally here. These 10 minutes felt like 10 years.”
In the meantime, it seemed the agreed-upon 10 minutes had passed, as ability users finally entered the dungeon in droves.
“…Found it.”
It was then that Jiwon muttered, opening wide the eyes he had closed for concentration.
The starting point of the power that stole Espers’ wavelengths.
The moment when Jiwon’s ability, which had been endlessly pouring into the solid wall, finally touched the center of that power.
Crack! Crackcrackcrack!
“…My God.”
The damned wall that had swallowed Suhyun finally began to crumble under Jiwon’s hand.
***
And now.
“Wake up. Please, wake up…!”
The sight of Suhyun, finally faced through sheer determination, was literally a mess.
Despite not being that far apart, seeing him in such a terrible state made Jiwon feel like his insides would burst.
“Hh…”
Although he had already used a lot of power to break the wall, Jiwon couldn’t just sit and watch Suhyun, who was at a level where it wouldn’t be strange if he went berserk at any moment.
He didn’t care if he could never guide again. As long as he could save Suhyun, it didn’t matter how much he got hurt.
“Shit…, keuk, ah, Seo Suhyun…”
But was it because of the wound Riska had made on his hand?
Suhyun’s wavelength showed no signs of rising. The number he checked again was 5. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy that it had risen slightly or not.
“Jiwon Guide!”
His anxiety grew. He heard Won Jungyeom calling him, but he didn’t have the leisure to turn his head. Jiwon continued guiding, kissing Suhyun and embracing his body.
“I, I’ll help too.”
An unfamiliar voice reached Jiwon’s ear, and one of Suhyun’s hands was lifted. Only then did Jiwon turn his head, and an unfamiliar face came into view.
“I’m Guide Choi Sojeong. My matching rate with Esper Suhyun…!”
Given the urgency of the situation, she introduced herself while already starting to guide.
Choi Sojeong. B-class Guide. The only Guide besides himself who had a fairly high matching rate with Suhyun.
“Ha, thank, you… Please, I beg you.”
Feeling as if a ray of light had descended in the midst of darkness, Jiwon bowed his head.
Yes, he wasn’t the only one who could guide him. There was Choi Sojeong. This meant that Jiwon had even less need to spare his body.
He hadn’t intended to anyway, but knowing there was another Guide who could take responsibility for him if he lost his guiding ability was a great comfort to Jiwon.
“Cough! Hh…”
Jiwon’s body shuddered greatly. The taste of blood was strong in his throat. It felt like all his internal organs were being torn apart.
“Ungh…”
Because Suhyun’s condition was so bad, it wasn’t long before Choi Sojeong began sweating cold sweat, as if in pain. Her lips were pale white.
10.
If there was any consolation, it might be that Suhyun’s stability had risen to double digits.
Or should he despair that it wouldn’t rise any further despite all this effort?
“Ha…”
Jiwon raised his head.
He could see the ability users who had appeared just as the entrance opened.
The Espers were dealing with Riska, and the Guides were eliminating the ore.
And several of the Espers were watching Suhyun. They were being cautious of Suhyun, who was essentially a time bomb that could go berserk at any moment.
If he went berserk here, everyone would die. It was only natural for them to be wary.
“…Please.”
But Suhyun wouldn’t go berserk.
Because Jiwon would never just watch as he went berserk.
Moreover, Jiwon had an almost certain belief in Suhyun.
“He will absolutely not, go berserk. He will, somehow, endure.”
At Jiwon’s words, Choi Sojeong, who was guiding with a pale complexion, looked at him.
“So, until I come back, just don’t let him, fall, don’t give up… hold him. Don’t let, anyone, kill this person…”
“G-Guide-nim…”
“Please… I beg you. Please…”
Jiwon bowed his head toward Choi Sojeong.
Where was he trying to go in this situation? What was he trying to do? Choi Sojeong wanted to ask but couldn’t bring herself to do so.
“Yes, I’ll… do that. I will, hold him.”
That was all she could say to Jiwon right now.
“Thank, you…”
With a faint smile, Jiwon staggered to his feet. Suhyun’s hand, which he had released, fell to the floor with a thud.
