# Chapter 111
Suhyun’s wavelength was dropping sharply.
Jiwon anxiously watched him while biting his lower lip.
‘This won’t work.’
He had no choice but to be extremely cautious since this was an attack they couldn’t afford to miss.
Moreover, no matter how much they counterattacked, Riska wasn’t taking any damage at all, and instead, its attacks were becoming more fierce.
Here in the Riska dungeon, an Esper’s wavelength deteriorated rapidly. Suhyun’s wavelength was already precarious, making it risky to continue fighting in search of Riska’s lair.
‘Now I need to kill the monster.’
And then open the dungeon’s exit.
He anticipated that once all the monsters disappeared and the exit opened, Riska would also vanish.
There was no need to confirm everything in this dungeon. It was time to take a step back.
“Esper-nim.”
Jiwon, who had been afraid to make even the slightest sound lest he interfere, firmed his resolve and called out to Suhyun in a low voice.
Bang! Crash!
While deflecting all of Riska’s attacks, Suhyun nodded.
It seemed he had been thinking the same thing.
“Kyaaaak!”
Simultaneously, a monster that had been contained in a sphere instead of killed to prevent the exit from being created, sprang out.
Cold sweat ran down his spine. Jiwon fidgeted with his watch and moistened his dry lips. He wanted to finish this quickly and guide Suhyun.
Swoosh!
In that moment, Suhyun leaped powerfully and aimed his blade at the charging monster. Since his wavelength was severely disrupted, he seemed to be trying to minimize his ability usage.
“Gasp…!”
“Guide-nim!”
However, Suhyun, who was about to behead the monster in one breath, had to quickly change direction.
This was because Riska, which had been targeting only Suhyun all along, suddenly started charging toward Jiwon.
Riska and Suhyun simultaneously drew closer to Jiwon.
“No…”
This was a trap using himself as bait.
Riska had no intention of attacking him. There was nothing to gain from it. It was merely trying to prevent the monster from being killed so that the exit wouldn’t open.
“It’s not after me, it’s after you, Esper-nim!”
Having reached this conclusion, Jiwon shouted as he ran backward.
“So don’t come here, kill the monster…!”
Swish! Swish!
But Jiwon’s running was meaningless. He flinched as Riska appeared right in front of him in an instant.
Bang!
“Haah…”
A thunderous noise erupted at the same time. It was because Suhyun had blocked Riska’s path to Jiwon and attacked it.
“It’s just putting on a show to prevent you from killing the monster. Esper-nim…!”
“What if the Guide-nim gets attacked? What then?”
Suhyun’s breathing was rough. It was the aftermath of fighting with his sword directly to minimize using his abilities and prevent his stability from dropping further.
“Ugh.”
Jiwon instinctively placed his hand on Suhyun’s back but retreated with a groan. Nevertheless, his wavelength was so distorted that even a simple touch brought pain.
“Haah…”
Bang! Bang!
Fending off Riska’s attacks while protecting himself was an even more challenging task. Thinking they shouldn’t waste time, Suhyun concentrated his wavelength with his left hand. He was aiming to attack the monster that was charging toward the two of them.
“Keoogh!”
Boom!
However, Suhyun’s attack, which had slipped through a gap, didn’t reach the monster.
“Shit…!”
A curse inadvertently escaped from between Jiwon’s teeth.
It wasn’t that the monster had dodged Suhyun’s attack. It was because Riska had grabbed the monster and thrown it far away, causing the attack to miss.
Its intention not to create an exit became even more apparent.
‘It’s fallen below 30.’
Once destabilized, Suhyun’s stability was dropping rapidly. Even without checking the exact number, Suhyun must have been feeling it too.
“Haah, ha…”
His breathing gradually became more labored. The pain was clearly evident on his contorted face, making Jiwon anxious.
“Kyaak! Kak!”
Meanwhile, the monster that Riska had thrown far away roared.
The distance to the monster from here was about 20 meters. If Suhyun ran with all his might, he could reach and attack it much faster than Riska could.
“Let’s go.”
Jiwon calmly said to Suhyun.
“If we keep holding out like this, you’ll die when your wavelength collapses. So don’t look back, run and kill that monster.”
“But Riska is now…!”
Suhyun gritted his teeth as he answered, but Jiwon didn’t listen.
“It’s doing this because it knows you’re worried about me. In the end, what Riska wants is you, Esper-nim.”
Crack! Bang!
Riska’s body was gradually swelling up. Its thickened frame now indicated an intention to kill by causing a complete meltdown rather than just inflicting wounds.
“Trust me. It’s only using me because you’re trying to protect me. It won’t attack me.”
Of course, that didn’t guarantee that Riska wouldn’t attack Jiwon at all. However, Riska, which seemed to think it had cornered Suhyun, wouldn’t likely follow him.
It had to be that way. That belief was necessary to overcome this situation.
“Go!”
Since it wasn’t a situation to persuade him with words, and it probably wouldn’t work anyway, Jiwon first ran in the opposite direction from the monster and Riska.
“Guide-nim!”
When Jiwon moved away from behind him, Suhyun immediately tried to follow, but it became impossible as Riska, having noticed his momentary distraction, showered him with attacks.
“Hurry!”
Riska wasn’t following him. That was rather fortunate. Jiwon ran with all his might. He needed to get as far away as possible. Only then would Suhyun feel at least a little reassured.
Bang! Boom!
Suhyun, who glanced at Jiwon running with gritted teeth, strongly deflected Riska’s attack.
“Haah…”
After exhaling a short sigh, he immediately turned toward the monster.
Jiwon was right. They couldn’t continue this standoff with Riska like this. The answer was to quickly take care of the last monster.
“……”
With a coldly hardened face, Suhyun leaped again.
However, when Riska, which had been chasing him, suddenly changed direction, Suhyun had no choice but to stop moving. Riska was heading toward Jiwon again.
“Don’t come!”
Jiwon, who had noticed its intention, shouted without even looking back.
What Riska was after was Suhyun himself. Riska’s pursuit of Jiwon now was only to lure Suhyun.
Running to protect him would only worsen the situation. If they continued like this, he would go berserk and both of them would die.
“……”
A mere second, not even a full one.
Suhyun, who had been deliberating whether to head toward the monster or go protect Jiwon, forcefully stamped his foot again.
At the end of that path was the monster.
“Kreogh!”
Bang!
The sword in Suhyun’s hand pierced the monster’s heart in one stroke. The monster fell with a death cry, bleeding out, but there was no time to watch it.
Suhyun turned around immediately. He needed to check if Jiwon was okay.
“Guide-nim!”
“Huff, cough…”
Jiwon was sitting alone on the ground. He was breathing roughly, presumably from running hard.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
He’s safe. Just as he had said, the moment the last monster was killed, Riska disappeared and the dungeon exit opened.
“Haha, we survived…”
Jiwon let out a laugh. Suhyun immediately embraced him as his body went limp with tension release.
“…Are you injured?”
It was then that he noticed Jiwon’s sleeve was torn.
Alarmed, Suhyun rolled up the sleeve to check Jiwon’s arm. His heart beat anxiously with all sorts of thoughts – where and how was he injured, was it serious, was it from Riska just now?
“I’m not hurt. Is this the time to worry about me? Your wavelength is the bigger issue…”
Jiwon tried to dissuade Suhyun with a smirk. But even after confirming there were no injuries, Suhyun remained frozen, causing Jiwon considerable confusion.
“…Why do you look like that?”
Suhyun’s expression looked like he might cry at any moment. Taken aback by this unexpected reaction, Jiwon shook his head vigorously.
“I really didn’t get hurt… oh.”
“……”
With a face that seemed ready to burst into tears, Suhyun tightly embraced Jiwon. He buried his face in Jiwon’s shoulder and exhaled a long breath.
“…Were you scared?”
The rapid beating of Suhyun’s heart concerned Jiwon more than the pain from his distorted wavelength.
Jiwon hugged Suhyun back and gently patted his back.
“…I’m sorry.”
Suhyun apologized with a voice that had become tremulous. Did he think he hadn’t protected him properly? It was just a slightly torn piece of clothing.
“I’m fine, I told you I’m not hurt…”
“I shouldn’t have said that I would face it.”
To Jiwon, who was again asserting that he was perfectly fine, Suhyun muttered with a voice full of regret.
Before Jiwon could grasp the meaning of his words, Suhyun embraced him more strongly and continued.
“I thought it was something that I alone had to bear.”
His fluctuating wavelength was unstable. Though they needed to start guiding immediately, comforting Suhyun seemed to be the priority.
“I didn’t know. That the opponent could become dangerous. That even knowing that, I would have to ignore it, endure it, that…”
As his voice became tinged with tears, Jiwon’s face gradually contorted.
Jiwon now seemed to understand a little what Suhyun was trying to say.
“How terrifying and painful it is, ha, I… so when I stepped forward to face Riska, with what feelings the Guide-nim must have watched me and agreed to it… Now I think I understand…”
He’s afraid of losing him. So he wants to stop him from stepping forward, but he can’t deny that it must be done.
So he accepted it.
That Suhyun had to risk his life to face Riska.
“That moment, when I had to turn my back and leave the Guide-nim alone…”
“Yes.”
“I wasn’t ready, but you just ran off…”
“So were you resentful?”
Jiwon asked with a small smile. Suhyun didn’t give any answer. It seems he was somewhat resentful.
“I was a little.”
“……”
“But I think your choice was right.”
Even though he hated the fact that Suhyun alone would take the risk, his choice was correct. The only person who could eliminate Riska right now was Suhyun.
“Thank you for understanding how I feel.”
Jiwon spoke in a gentle voice as he nestled in Suhyun’s arms.
“Now that you know, from now on, you just need to try harder not to die.”
“……”
“Until I can say it’s all over, that it’s okay now.”
His voice trembled involuntarily, as if the tears were contagious.
Suhyun raised his head with difficulty. Jiwon smiled as he carefully wiped away Suhyun’s reddened eyes.
“But you don’t have to worry about my feelings anymore.”
His fluttering eyelashes were damp with tears. Jiwon touched his eyelashes and calmly said.
“We’ll have to fight together from now on.”
There was good news.
It might only be good news for himself, but at least for Jiwon, this fact that he had just learned was simply welcome.
“Riska’s power. I think I can eliminate it.”
