# Chapter 28
I couldn’t just watch someone die. I had to do something. I frantically searched my pants pockets. I was sure I had some supplements that I habitually carried with me.
“Got it, I’ve got it!”
Two of them. They were candy-shaped energy supplements primarily used by lower-ranked guides. When placed in the mouth, a thin membrane would burst, boosting a guide’s stamina. Of course, these were things that C-class guides with depleted energy would carry around. They might be useless for an A-class. But this wasn’t the time to be picky.
I opened her mouth and placed the two candies inside. Then I made her close her mouth. It would have been nice to have water, but there was no time to find any.
It seemed to have some effect, however small, as Han Miyeon slightly furrowed her brows. Thinking she might be conscious, I shook her shoulder gently.
“Guide Han Miyeon. Can you hear me?”
“…you…”
“What did you say?”
“Please… save me.”
It was a sobbing, desperate voice. Actual tears were falling from her eyes. I quickly wiped them away as I continued speaking.
“I’ll save you. We’ll finish this soon and get out of the gate. That D-class esper. That Jeong guy. He’s alive too. We’ll all survive. Don’t worry. Can you hear me?”
“Save me, save me…”
It seemed she hadn’t fully regained consciousness. A loud crashing sound was accompanied by a gust of wind. It was wind from a collision. I held onto Han Miyeon and the wall, blocking the wind with my body. Perhaps because I had become S-class, I could endure it somewhat. I continued talking as I adjusted the coat I had draped over Han Miyeon.
“We can survive. It’ll be over soon, so get a hold of yourself. Guide Han Miyeon. Get a hold of yourself.”
“Please, save me.”
“We’ll survive. I’m telling you we’ll survive…”
“Ihyeon-ssi.”
My busy hands stopped at the words from her mouth. She shed tears as she uttered Nam Ihyeon’s name.
“Save me. I, I might die…”
Han Miyeon was crying while shaking her head. She was expressing her unwillingness to continue guiding. But regardless of her will, some form of guiding, of physical contact, must have forcibly continued. That’s why she was bleeding. Because she couldn’t endure the shock from forceful guiding.
“…”
I couldn’t say anything. My fingertips felt cold. The wind blew once more with a thundering sound.
The pale face of the A-class guide became wet with tears. It was fortunate that she had regained even this much consciousness, but my entire body trembled with rage.
If I hadn’t come, Han Miyeon would have died. The moment I had that thought, Nam Ihyeon’s voice vividly replayed in my mind.
[A guide? There’s another one besides the guy I just threw out?]
If Kim Haewon hadn’t informed him that there were people here, he wouldn’t have found her.
[How am I supposed to find an A-class guide in this vast place?]
Perhaps Nam Ihyeon had hoped for that.
[Don’t know. Can’t feel anything. Must be dead.]
Because his selfish actions, his attempt to let someone die, shouldn’t be discovered. I clenched my fist.
“What a fucking bastard.”
Guides weren’t disposable syringes to be used and thrown away. But Han Miyeon had been treated that way. This might not have been the first time. There could be guides who died like this, guides who were discarded—it could have been me.
I glared at the battlefield where water and fire were spouting. It was miserable, unjust, and infuriating. It was an indescribable anger that I was feeling for the first time in my life. But there was nothing I could do.
I tried first to calm Han Miyeon. But there was no way for a guide to calm another guide. Even after checking my pockets more, there were no more candies. I held Han Miyeon and looked outside.
Explosions and smoke kept rising as if bombs were detonating. I could only see blue and red flashes; the movements of the two people were invisible.
“I wish they’d kill each other by mistake.”
My honest thoughts just popped out. I couldn’t quell my anger toward Nam Ihyeon, who had done this to Han Miyeon. I held Han Miyeon’s body and looked around. It would be terrible if the building collapsed.
We would definitely get out of here alive. I just wanted to escape with Guide Han Miyeon and report this outrage. But could we overcome Nam Ihyeon’s powerful backing and punish him? Unfortunately, the answer was pessimistic.
The world I had lived in within the Association and Center operated that way. It was a place dominated by power, strength, and rank. Having crawled at the bottom for 20 years, I knew. I knew that even if Han Miyeon survived, she would be silenced.
My fists tightened. I thought I had experienced every kind of injustice since I was young, but this was the first time it was a matter of life and death. I wanted to drive my fist into Nam Ihyeon’s sneering face. I held onto Han Miyeon and continued speaking as if casting a spell.
“Guide Han Miyeon, we need to return alive. We must return alive. Even if we can’t punish Nam Ihyeon, living is winning.”
“…”
“Listen, even subconsciously. Living is winning. You’re an excellent A-class guide. If you survive, you’ll be able to accomplish much more. You must live.”
It was embarrassing to say, but it felt like Han Miyeon wouldn’t die if I spoke so earnestly. The battle seemed to have entered a lull. The waves that had been rising greatly had diminished. This is what it meant for Kim Haewon and Nam Ihyeon to be deployed. No matter how strong the monsters were, they would subdue them at once and resolve the situation.
They were treated almost like gods. In fact, within the gate, they could control everything. That’s why Nam Ihyeon was all the more unforgivable to me.
Would it have hurt so much just because he couldn’t receive guiding? No, that wasn’t the case. Compared to Kim Haewon, Nam Ihyeon’s guiding state was relatively better.
He simply couldn’t endure it. His own condition, that is. Because he had never experienced it before. Because he had filled himself by using and discarding guides like this.
But we weren’t energy drinks to be consumed and discarded; we were people.
What Nam Ihyeon had done wasn’t simply abusing and exploiting a guide. At this rate, he could be arrested for being an accessory to murder and have nothing to say in his defense.
Because Han Miyeon would have died if she hadn’t been found by Kim Haewon and me. Just thinking about it made my blood boil.
I held Han Miyeon tighter. She had stopped mumbling and was just breathing softly. Still, how fortunate it was that she was breathing. I held her shoulder and looked at the place where smoke was rising. There were no more flashes of collision or explosions.
Was it over?
Just as I was thinking that, the entire building shook. As if it had been hit by something. I closed my eyes tightly. As it turned out, Kim Haewon and Nam Ihyeon had moved from where they were to here in an instant. Almost like teleportation. But they couldn’t control the wind or waves created during the movement. I stared at them, covered in dust from the ground.
“She’s alive.”
“…”
“She’s still alive.”
As I emphasized this, Kim Haewon nodded and picked up Han Miyeon.
“Mission complete. Moving outside the gate.”
I nodded at Kim Haewon’s words. Then, as I got up, I grabbed a stone that had fallen nearby.
“Good work, Esper Kim Haewon.”
“Anyone watching would think there’s only one esper here.”
“Right. As if someone thought there was only one guide here.”
Nam Ihyeon raised his eyebrows as if asking what my problem was and looked at me. That’s when I quickly struck his face with my fist holding the stone.
But even if Nam Ihyeon was off guard, it was no trouble for him to avoid my hand. Moreover, Kim Haewon seemed to have noticed and was holding my arm.
“Let go of this! That fucking bastard tried to kill this guide.”
“What bullshit.”
“Hey. You piece of shit. You call yourself S-class? Is being pathetic when you’re just a little short on guiding what makes you S-class? You act so high and mighty, but you’re no different from a vampire sucking people’s blood. Hey, how many people have you killed like this? Huh?”
“Park Garam-ssi.”
“How many have you killed! Do you look down on guides? You fucking bastard?”
With my hand held by Kim Haewon, I stretched out my leg. I could somehow attack lower-ranked espers, but S-class was simply impossible.
Tears welled up from frustration. Nam Ihyeon snorted and asked me.
“If I tell you how many, are you going to service me once?”
“Look at that mouth bragging about penetration too. You just bend over. I’ll shove this stone up your ass!”
“Your mouth is like a dirty rag.”
“I can just throw away what I’ve put in my mouth. But you, you’re a rag yourself. Trash, you!”
“Acting like you’re looking out for another guide. Do you know who I am?”
Nam Ihyeon smirked as if he found my ranting amusing. He tried to come closer to me, but Kim Haewon hid me behind him and blocked Nam Ihyeon.
“Move. It seems like he has a lot to say to me. Let us have a chat.”
“Go.”
“Who do you think you are to order me around?”
“Have you forgotten that if an esper dies inside a gate, fellow espers bear no responsibility?”
“What?”
“Just like you wouldn’t have been responsible if this guide had died.”
“What are you saying, you bastard.”
“I’m saying I wouldn’t be responsible either if I killed you.”
“You kill me? That’s ridiculous…”
“You should know who I’ve killed before.”
Nam Ihyeon’s mouth clamped shut. Kim Haewon was staring at him with dry eyes.
