# Chapter 60
Hours after the commotion, darkness fell over the entire island.
True to the word “uninhabited island,” there wasn’t a single light around. The only things illuminating the dark surroundings were the light bulbs hanging here and there in the tents.
Though they emitted fairly bright light, the brightness where they were standing made the surroundings feel even darker by contrast.
“……”
Won Jungyeom remained silent. It had been six hours since they arrived, and he seemed completely unaffected.
This couldn’t be taken as a positive sign. The Riska dungeon wasn’t drawing in Espers. This meant that it was possible it hadn’t been emitting such wavelengths to Suhyun either.
If that were the case… if Suhyun wasn’t free from Riska’s control but rather they simply hadn’t attempted anything yet…
A situation might suddenly arise where both Espers would insist on entering the dungeon.
And that’s not all. If that were true, everything would go back to square one. They would have to accept the fact that even Suhyun was still not safe from Riska, and start the unpeaceful fight all over again from the beginning.
“…Haah.”
Just imagining it made Jiwon’s vision blur, and he let out a sigh.
Excessive anxiety washed over him. Swallowing dryly and clenching and unclenching his fists, Jiwon tried to ease his tension.
“Ha.”
At that moment, Jungyeom laughed shortly. He had already risen from his seat.
“I don’t know.”
Suhyun blocked Jiwon, standing warily in front of him. Jungyeom’s gaze fell on Suhyun.
“I’ve been thinking since earlier.”
“…What thoughts?”
“Why I should enter that dungeon.”
His voice was no different from usual, but something felt off. Jiwon stood up straight and looked at Jungyeom. If it became certain that he was under Riska’s spell even now, he was planning to attempt guiding immediately.
“It feels like they keep telling me not to enter? So I don’t want to go in.”
“……”
“Isn’t that strange?”
Jiwon looked at Jungyeom and nodded slightly. Saying it feels like being told not to enter meant that something was indeed influencing him. If Riska was saying the opposite this time…
“…I need to do guiding.”
Jiwon emerged from behind Suhyun and stretched out his hand. It was clear that Jungyeom’s current state was different from usual. There was only one thing that could be affecting him.
“Haha…”
The point when he was influenced by Riska.
If Jiwon’s guiding was to be effective, that would be the only time. The reason they had decided to attempt guiding in front of the dungeon was because they thought they could check if his guiding would have any effect at the moment when the Esper was under Riska’s mental control.
It wouldn’t have much significance in normal circumstances. If something was different, they should clearly be able to feel the difference here…
BOOM!
“Argh!”
…or so they thought.
“What, what are you doing!”
The hand stretched toward Jungyeom barely failed to reach him. It was because Suhyun intervened between them, blocking Jiwon while simultaneously attacking Jungyeom.
It wasn’t a moderate attack. Jungyeom instantly flew more than 10 meters away.
“Step back.”
Suhyun didn’t even look back at the gasping Jiwon. There wasn’t time.
Whoosh! Boom!
Because Jungyeom, who had collapsed after hitting a tree, was already up and starting to attack. In his hand was a gun made of bright blue wavelength. He rushed forward and fired bang, bang, bang at the two of them.
“Esper Jungyeom…!”
“Stay behind me, Guide-nim.”
Following Suhyun’s instructions took priority over assessing the situation. A transparent barrier had already wrapped around Jiwon. It was the ability Suhyun used every time they went to a dungeon to protect Jiwon.
Bang! Bang!
Meanwhile, Jungyeom continued to fire his gun. Only now, in the confusion, did Jiwon realize that his attacks were directed entirely at him.
“Ha…”
After setting up a barrier in front of himself as well, Suhyun sighed. He needed to protect Jiwon while stopping Jungyeom. It wasn’t a difficult task, but one wrong move could seriously injure Jungyeom.
He had never properly faced off against another Esper. He didn’t know how much force to use. Moreover, Jungyeom now…
“Jungyeom, Esper-nim… should have lost consciousness from that attack earlier… that would have been right…”
Jiwon’s incoherent words were correct. When Jungyeom tried to attack Jiwon, who was approaching to do guiding, Suhyun had momentarily used his power somewhat excessively.
Since Jungyeom was a B-class Esper, he should have already lost consciousness from Suhyun’s attack. Even if not, he shouldn’t be able to attack so seamlessly.
The fact that he was moving suggested that this too was likely Riska’s influence. Either Riska was controlling Jungyeom’s body like a puppet, or preventing him from losing consciousness.
Probably the latter. Unless Riska could directly copy the abilities Jungyeom was using.
“Esper Won Jungyeom mainly uses ranged attacks, so we have no chance like this. We need to close the distance…”
Suhyun clicked his tongue. To close the distance, he would have to leave Jiwon here. Not only would it slow him down, but approaching with Jiwon would be insane. Jungyeom was targeting Jiwon right now.
But they couldn’t just leave things as they were…
“Esper-nim is much faster.”
Jiwon, who could do nothing but defend, quietly said to Suhyun who was standing there. His voice had regained its rationality, erasing the bewilderment.
“This barrier won’t collapse right away from Jungyeom Esper-nim’s attacks. Please subdue him quickly instead.”
“But…”
“Jungyeom Esper-nim’s attacks are too fast. He’s not paying any attention to his wavelength.”
Only then did Jungyeom’s wavelength come into Suhyun’s view. With the reckless barrage of attacks, his wavelength was becoming tangled. Suhyun bit his lip.
“It must be scary, but inside this barrier is the safest…”
“I’m not scared. I’ll stay still. So don’t worry about me and go.”
“……”
“It’s okay.”
Bang! Bang!
Suhyun continued to block the incoming attacks while his face became ruthlessly twisted. It was hard to believe that Jiwon had seen him smile before—his expression was now as cold as frost.
Jiwon tried to calm his racing heart as he shrank his body slightly.
Stay calm. They knew Jungyeom might be controlled by Riska.
“You won’t get hurt. So don’t do anything, just relax and stay still.”
“Yes.”
Though he didn’t know what Suhyun was planning, Jiwon nodded unconditionally. Suhyun had said it was safe inside the barrier, but since he himself didn’t seem reassured, Jiwon was willing to do whatever he was told.
Soon, Suhyun wrapped his arm around Jiwon’s waist.
“Ugh!”
And with that, he threw Jiwon into the tent. As his body floated up and was thrown, Jiwon tried his best to stay relaxed and still as Suhyun had instructed.
Jiwon’s body rolled inside the tent. However, there was no impact. Jiwon turned his head toward Suhyun with wide eyes.
BOOM! THUD! THUD-THUD-THUD!
“Ugh, AAARGH!”
In the meantime, loud noises were heard. Had it even been a second since he was thrown? Suhyun was already subduing Jungyeom.
“AAARGH! AAAAARGH! ARGH!”
Jungyeom screamed while convulsing. Though his hands were bound by Suhyun, he continued to use his abilities. His wavelength was rapidly becoming tangled, but Jiwon couldn’t approach.
This wasn’t the Won Jungyeom he knew. Approaching him now would be foolish.
BOOM!
“Ugh! Huk, huk!”
Suhyun, who had bound Jungyeom with something transparent, wrapped up his hands as well and let out a small sigh.
Completely bound, Jungyeom struggled, but the more he did, the more sluggish his movements became. Conversely, his breathing became rougher.
Jiwon watched them while rummaging through his belongings. His rapidly moving fingertips touched cold metal. Jiwon grasped it.
By now, Jungyeom had stopped attacking.
‘Is he okay?’
Jiwon couldn’t bring himself to ask out loud. Suhyun was also wary of Jungyeom.
“Haah, ha… what the. What, ugh! What is this now, huh? Esper Suhyun.”
Then, Won Jungyeom’s voice, no different from usual, was heard.
“Esper Jungyeom…!”
As Jiwon was about to approach immediately, thinking Jungyeom had regained consciousness, Suhyun shook his head at him. Jiwon stopped abruptly, feeling a chill.
“It hurts… Aigo, I’m dying. Isn’t this too much…? What was I trying to do to deserve this? Argh, let me go. I’m going to die at this rate.”
His fingertips trembled. Suhyun was still wary of Jungyeom. Since Suhyun wouldn’t harm him, Jiwon had to wait. That was the right thing to do. But…
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Esper Suhyun? Huh? Wh-what…? Wait. Where did Guide Jiwon go? Huh? Where is… Guide Jiwon!”
Jungyeom was instead acting as if Suhyun was the strange one, worriedly looking for Jiwon.
