# Chapter 73
Without his watch, he couldn’t know the exact stability level, but he could tell that the condition was rapidly deteriorating.
Jiwon approached Suhyun and placed his hand on his back. There was no time to ask for permission. Suhyun needed guiding immediately.
“Ugh…!”
Was it because he was using his power more violently than usual?
The pain from the distorted wavelength was tremendous. Jiwon groaned but tensed his legs firmly. It wasn’t so unbearable that he couldn’t endure it.
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh, for what?”
“Because my wavelength is a mess.”
Suhyun’s voice was calm as he apologized unexpectedly. Fighting two against one, of course his wavelength wouldn’t be normal. It was an expected outcome.
“We’ll go home and rest, that’s all.”
Jiwon answered calmly, following Suhyun’s lead. It wasn’t that he was certain they would win. The others hadn’t even used their full power yet, being busy protecting Adam. If they were to attack with full force, Suhyun’s barrier would easily break.
But he didn’t want to demoralize Suhyun with needless speculation.
Suhyun nodded calmly.
“Yes, we’ll go back soon.”
His response seemed like it would have been the same regardless of what Jiwon said. Jiwon asked idly:
“Are you sure?”
Regret for this pointless question immediately welled up, but…
“With Guide-nim here, how could I lose?”
Suhyun asserted without the slightest hesitation.
“And they don’t have a Guide.”
Jiwon blinked.
Only then did he properly see the situation he had missed while focusing solely on the Espers.
He was right. They didn’t have a Guide. Adam was a Guide, but he had already lost consciousness.
Suhyun had deliberately attacked Adam first. It wasn’t to make them flustered. It was because Adam was a Guide.
“The one who endures longer wins.”
Suhyun had Jiwon. As long as Jiwon continued guiding, he could endure for a long time.
In contrast, those two Espers unleashing indiscriminate attacks had no Guide. Since they prioritized attacking over protecting their Guide, Adam had already lost consciousness.
So…
“I didn’t attack so you could relay my words.”
“…!”
“Why are you just standing there?”
Suhyun addressed the interpreter who was trembling in fear beside Adam.
Jiwon swallowed dryly. Suhyun had the upper hand. Whether due to panic or confusion, Jiwon had been slow to realize this.
“What is he saying?”
Noticing that Suhyun was speaking to the interpreter, Chase urged him. The interpreter stutteringly relayed Suhyun’s words, and Kalik and Chase’s expressions visibly distorted.
They too had just realized Suhyun’s intentions. Without a Guide, an Esper is nothing. No matter how strong, they can’t use their power indefinitely.
It was something so basic, almost common knowledge, that they had forgotten in their certainty of victory. The same was true for Jiwon.
“Guide-nim.”
Suhyun called to Jiwon while firing an opaque sphere toward them. Kalik gritted his teeth and deflected Suhyun’s attack but didn’t charge recklessly like before.
“I wasn’t trying to kill them.”
“……”
“If they don’t understand and keep attacking until they die on their own.”
“……”
“Would you overlook that?”
Jiwon was momentarily speechless. He thought he wasn’t, but it seems he was just afraid of having two S-class Espers in front of him.
If he had thought a bit more rationally, he would have known that Suhyun had the advantage.
“Haa….”
Suhyun never intended to engage in an all-out battle from the beginning. He was only trying to protect both Jiwon and himself while dragging out the time.
The longer the fight continued, the more advantageous it became for Suhyun. Because he had Jiwon, his exclusive Guide. He was waiting for their wavelengths to become unstable.
“You won’t overlook it?”
Suhyun asked again when Jiwon didn’t answer. A laugh of disbelief escaped Jiwon. He shook his head repeatedly.
“There’s no choice in that matter, is there?”
Was there any need to dissuade someone who deliberately provoked such a situation? The other side had treated Suhyun and Jiwon like monsters, after all.
“That’s a relief.”
“……”
“Their thinking seems a bit short-sighted.”
Suhyun clicked his tongue and moved. Simultaneously, a dull BOOM sound was heard.
Kalik had begun attacking again, trying to break through Suhyun’s barrier.
“You think my wavelength would waver even slightly just to take you down?”
It seemed Suhyun’s words had wounded his pride.
He was confident that his wavelength wouldn’t become unstable just to defeat one Suhyun.
Unlike Suhyun, Kalik and Chase had multiple Guides assigned to them. Even if their stability level dropped slightly, they maintained high stability by receiving guiding.
Their stability levels were so solid that they showed no signs of easily faltering.
However, if such all-out attacks continued like this, problems were bound to occur eventually.
“Looks like they didn’t bring a Guide with them.”
Suhyun remarked indifferently. The words were directed at Jiwon, not Kalik.
Jiwon nodded.
“Seems that way.”
If they had a Guide, they would have laughed at Suhyun’s words. Their agitation only confirmed the fact that they had no Guide.
Thinking about it, even though the Korean Association was foolish, they wouldn’t have let in all the Espers and Guides from America.
They probably said that since there are Guides in Korea, they could receive guiding through them. That was the last bit of common sense Jiwon expected from the Association.
Adam was down, and there was no Guide for them.
“……”
What was there to worry about?
Jiwon reproached himself, his face contorting. Beyond being anxious and uneasy, he hadn’t trusted Suhyun.
“This really sucks.”
“Chase.”
Kalik and Chase exchanged glances. Chase shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah, the Director is asleep anyway. He’ll accept it as an unavoidable accident.”
“Good. That’s much better.”
“But the Guide can’t be harmed.”
“I know that much.”
A cracking sound came from Kalik. Around Chase, wavelengths undulated like water ripples.
“Let’s see. Whether our wavelengths collapse first, or you die first.”
Kalik’s already massive sword grew even larger. Swinging the absurdly sized sword lightly, Kalik leapt forward.
The ground where he had stepped sank in. Kalik’s movement, disappearing in an instant, was too fast to follow with the naked eye.
With just a blink, Kalik was right in front of them.
BOOM!
Suhyun wasn’t idle either. He too gripped a sword and faced Kalik.
The weapons formed from wavelengths created an explosive sound.
Jiwon focused on guiding Suhyun. It was a battle of time. Jiwon had to fully trust Suhyun.
“Uaaah!”
At that moment, Chase joined the attack.
The wavelengths undulating around him surged like a flood, engulfing Suhyun and Jiwon.
“…!”
Jiwon flinched and shuddered greatly. His attack resembled a wave, prompting an instinctive reaction.
“Tsk.”
Suhyun clicked his tongue as he strongly crossed swords with Kalik. A sandstorm arose, and Kalik retreated a few steps.
“Ha.”
In the meantime, Suhyun threw spheres toward Chase and Kalik. Watching the two dodge his attack as if it were laughable, Suhyun embraced Jiwon and stepped back.
“Haah….”
They had been on the verge of being swallowed by the wave.
Jiwon let out a sigh of relief before chiding himself. He realized that Suhyun had evaded because he knew Jiwon was frightened.
“Are you alright?”
However, Suhyun didn’t blame Jiwon.
“There won’t be the same attack again.”
He was simply comforting Jiwon.
His heart pounded loudly. His face flushed inappropriately for the situation, pleased by Suhyun’s resolute words.
Jiwon bit his lip and then smiled faintly.
“Why are you so kind?”
This wasn’t the time for such talk. But he couldn’t stop the question that came out unconsciously.
“I wonder.”
Suhyun tilted his head. He didn’t seem to relate to Jiwon’s comment about his kindness at all.
Jiwon didn’t bother explaining. There wasn’t a moment’s respite. Suhyun’s eyes flashed fiercely.
“It might hurt a bit more.”
“What?”
“But I think it’s better to end this quickly. Please understand.”
Suhyun’s words came quickly, unlike his usual manner. He launched a sphere toward the charging Kalik, incomparably larger than the previous one.
Kalik simply deflected Suhyun’s attack with a laugh, but it didn’t last long.
“Ugh!”
“Kuk…!”
“W-what is this…?”
Jiwon soon understood his words about it possibly hurting more. Suddenly, Suhyun’s wavelength fluctuated greatly, making guiding much more challenging than before.
Momentarily surprised, Jiwon strengthened his legs and placed both hands on Suhyun. He felt as if Suhyun’s stability level was plummeting.
“Kuhk!”
“Kut! Eugh…!”
As tremendous as the rate at which his wavelength was distorting, the power Suhyun emitted was incredible. Not because of the guiding, but Jiwon’s legs, unable to resist his power, trembled continuously.
That it wasn’t just his imagination could be seen from Kalik and Chase, who suddenly knelt and were pinned to the floor.
THUD! BOOM!
Like Adam earlier, something was pressing down on them. The Espers struggled against Suhyun, trying to lift themselves, but their heads gradually lowered under the immense pressure, enough to bury them in the ground.
The ground around them split, and the surface became bumpy. Even while focusing his mind amid Suhyun’s rampaging wavelength, Jiwon was dumbfounded by the incredible sight.
“This is my domain.”
Suhyun murmured.
“…What do you mean…?”
Jiwon swallowed dryly and mumbled.
“I’ve told you before. I control air.”
“ARGH!”
“HEURK!”
Suhyun’s wavelength fluctuated violently once more. Cold sweat had already formed on Jiwon’s forehead. His hands trembled uncontrollably.
“So all spaces where people breathe and stand are, in entirety, my domain.”
“……”
“If I don’t have to worry about wavelength, it doesn’t matter how many come at me…”
CRASH!
The completely pinned Espers suffered. Because Jiwon was there to block the aftermath of the enormous power, Suhyun was using his attacks without restraint, crushing everyone in an instant.
“Impossible…, huk, no way, kut!”
A power he had never shown before was exploding.
Jiwon bit his lip. Those Espers were no match for Suhyun. However, guiding couldn’t keep up with the speed at which Suhyun’s wavelength was dropping.
Straightening his dizzy vision, he concentrated all his mind. If he faltered here, everything would be in vain.
Suhyun had unleashed his power, trusting in him. He had not the slightest intention of betraying that trust.
“Kik…!”
Suhyun gazed at the Espers with a cold stare. The thoroughly pinned Espers’ faces turned pale.
Suhyun had taken away even their breath to respire.
