# Chapter 33
“Yes, I did.”
A long sigh escaped.
Until now, it was reasonable to believe that. But thinking about the Guides who died, caught in the rampage, left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Are you worried about it a lot?”
“…They all tried hard to escape. Even after being attacked, they managed to run quite far from Esper Kim Juyoung…”
Yet they still couldn’t survive. Remembering the Guides who died in such a terrible state made his chest feel tight, and Jiwon took a deep breath.
“……”
Jo Wooyeon didn’t respond.
It would have been better if they had died instantly.
He was probably thinking the same thing Jiwon had thought.
When an Esper begins to rampage, there are only two options: risk your life guiding the Esper, or run as far away from that Esper as possible.
An Esper in rampage has no rationality left. They’re consumed by their power, struggling just to handle it.
In other words, a rampaging Esper doesn’t move from their spot, meaning if you’re lucky, you can run with all your might and save your life.
They all knew this fact. Yet they couldn’t survive.
“Did someone deliberately place the Guides’ bodies next to Esper Kim Juyoung?”
“…It’s obvious people would say they tried to run away instead of attempting to guide him.”
Comments about dishonorable deaths would likely be common too. Hwashin said they would provide compensation to the Guides’ bereaved families.
But if they learned the Guides were running away, who knows how they would react. Even though it was a natural option for Guides, they might try to reduce the value of their lives.
He hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but the possibility was so high that his brows furrowed involuntarily.
“…Guide Jiwon.”
“Yes.”
“How scattered were those Guides?”
Just then, Jo Wooyeon abruptly asked an unexpected question. His expression had hardened in a short time, causing Jiwon’s expression to harden as well.
“…They were quite far. It would have taken about 10 minutes at a Guide’s pace. Moreover, if they were injured…”
His serious answer continued before suddenly stopping. Jiwon blinked slowly.
After receiving such severe attacks from Kim Juyoung… they ran for more than 10 minutes?
In place of the sympathy he felt for them, suspicion suddenly bloomed.
“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”
“……”
“What Esper Kim Juyoung said before entering the dungeon bothers me.”
“…What did he say?”
Jo Wooyeon replied with a grimace.
“I told Esper Kim Juyoung that protecting the Guides from danger should be his priority. Since I had heard something from Guide Jiwon.”
“…Yes.”
Jiwon had confided in Jo Wooyeon about Kim Juyoung’s blind attacks. It seemed he had given him a heads-up to prevent the same thing from happening again.
“And he said, ‘Guides who can’t even avoid that aren’t needed, they’ve been paid a lot, so shouldn’t they handle themselves well…'”
“……”
“…Perhaps it wasn’t a rampage, but something like that?”
Jiwon swallowed hard. No matter how much of a jerk Kim Juyoung was, would he kill Guides for such a trivial reason? Contrary to the thought that it couldn’t be possible, his insides were boiling with anger.
It was an unreasonable explanation. It shouldn’t have happened. But…
“Since they were so far apart for having been caught in a rampage, I just thought about it. What situation occurred… only they would know.”
Perhaps because Jiwon’s expression wasn’t looking good, Jo Wooyeon tried to wrap up his words. Jiwon didn’t press the matter further.
Right then, Suhyun, who had briefly stepped away, appeared, and the meeting time was approaching. It was time to get up.
“…Let’s go in.”
Nodding his head, Jiwon only began to move once Suhyun reached his side. Meanwhile, the question Jo Wooyeon had thrown at him started to confuse Jiwon’s mind.
‘It’s strange.’
As he deliberately dropped the rising anger, his dulled rationality returned to its original state. Immediately, Jiwon judged that Jo Wooyeon’s assumption didn’t make sense.
The wavelength could become chaotically tangled, which is why he brought three Guides. But he killed them with stupid attacks? No, the words he spat at Jo Wooyeon were probably just bravado.
Then why did it happen? He naturally thought they died caught in the rampage, but if that wasn’t the case… why on earth?
“Thank you for gathering.”
Before the question could be resolved, the Association Chairman appeared in the now full conference room. His face was full of worry, but in fact, everyone gathered here had unpleasant expressions.
That was understandable, as Kim Juyoung was an A-class Esper. Currently, Suhyun was taking the lead, so Kim Juyoung’s role wasn’t prominent, but the fact that he was a valuable talent remained unchanged.
They lost an A-class Esper. That alone was a problem, but Kim Juyoung was also the son of the Hwashin Group chairman. He heard that Hwashin’s shifting of responsibility was becoming excessive. So naturally, the faces of the Association executives couldn’t help but look pale.
“First, I think we should discuss if there are any peculiarities about this dungeon, if there are commonalities with the previous dungeon…”
Of course, the troubles with Hwashin couldn’t be the topic of this meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how to handle problem dungeons in the future, and if there was a way to stop them without sacrificing ability users.
“Before that, I will first convey the Association’s position.”
The Association Chairman looked at Suhyun and Jiwon.
“We no longer wish for Esper Seo Suhyun and Guide Moon Jiwon to enter dungeons. Although the damage would be enormous, it wouldn’t be as much as losing the two of you. In this situation without even minimal clues, sending you both recklessly into dungeons is deemed dangerous.”
The Association’s position was as Jiwon expected. They judged that the public would understand given the fact that even an A-class Esper died so futilely, and proposed to only fight monsters outside the dungeons.
Jiwon glanced at Suhyun. He was looking straight at the Association Chairman without any change in expression.
‘…I don’t know.’
Jiwon also knew it was dangerous. But it didn’t seem like a matter to be decided easily either.
Moreover, the uneasiness he felt from the conversation with Jo Wooyeon earlier was still consuming him. In this situation, he couldn’t add any words to the Association’s opinion.
He needed time to think. Maybe he could come up with a safer method that would minimize damage.
“…I’m not sure.”
Soon, Suhyun opened his mouth.
“You’re just saying we should preserve our lives, right? I don’t think the harm citizens will suffer is less important than my life.”
Jiwon nodded slightly. Except for treating Suhyun’s life lightly, Jiwon agreed.
Monsters come out of all dungeons. It would become a hellscape in an instant. The number of evacuees currently tallied would be laughably small.
Since no one knows when and where dungeons would appear next, even evacuation centers would have to be constantly relocated.
It would be no different from war. No matter how hard the ability users try, many people would be injured and lose their lives. The everyday life they’ve enjoyed so far would be impossible to maintain.
Working, having hobbies, meeting friends, and having fun—such a life would be unimaginable now. By avoiding dungeons, ability users would force people to survive painfully in a world that is not peaceful.
Jiwon also definitely did not want such a situation.
“I understand what you’re saying. But we must prevent the situation where Esper Seo Suhyun dies.”
“……”
“It’s chilling just to imagine, but if an S-class dungeon were to occur after losing Esper Seo Suhyun, we wouldn’t be able to respond at all.”
“……”
“As you know, there are no countries that can afford to help other nations right now.”
The problem was that there was no clear solution.
The dungeon anomalies were occurring globally. Other countries would also be preoccupied with worrying about the lives of their own ability users.
In such a situation, supporting another country? It was impossible.
Jiwon pressed the corner of his eye and swallowed a sigh. While he couldn’t think of a good solution, his head throbbed with the new worry of Kim Juyoung.
Let’s think about that problem later. Jiwon judged that there was no need to confirm it right now.
As Suhyun said, it was already more than enough to rack his brains for results beyond just preserving lives.
But right now, there was no immediate method…
“First, there’s something I’d like to confirm.”
Just as the helplessness he had felt consistently since leaving the dungeon was about to resurface, Suhyun opened his mouth with a sharp gleam in his eyes.
