# Chapter 92
“…Ugh.”
“Guide-nim!”
“Jiwon Guide!”
At that moment, his vision flipped, and a familiar scenery appeared. Jiwon stared blankly at Suhyun and Won Jungyeom, who were looking at him with surprised faces.
“Are you alright?”
“Are you okay? Are you coming to your senses?”
Jiwon nodded his head slowly.
Wondering if his prediction was correct—that his body had fainted and collapsed after hearing the word “illusion”—Jiwon found himself lying straight on the sofa.
“Are you hurting anywhere? I was about to request support from the Association. So we can go to the hospital immediately…”
Suhyun, uncharacteristically flustered, hurried about with a very worried face.
“Ah, I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital. It’s not that I’m sick.”
Jiwon shook his head, trying to calm him down. Going to the hospital would be useless.
“Haa… Was the guiding really the problem?”
Won Jungyeom frowned as he questioned.
“Jiwon Guide collapsed, but strangely, the guiding continued, so I didn’t let go of your hand.”
“It was still continuing?”
Jiwon asked, finding it strange. If a Guide lost consciousness, the guiding should have stopped.
“Yeah. So I was holding on until just now, but I wondered if this might be a problem, so when I let go, you woke up right away.”
As soon as the guiding stopped, he returned to reality.
Jiwon had worried that guiding would stop when he collapsed, but it was the opposite. Was it because the guiding was happening that he could continue to make contact with the Riska?
“Anyway, since it’s dangerous…”
Jiwon reached out his hand again, as stopping the guiding could mean Won Jungyeom might be controlled by Riska.
“That won’t do. If it’s true that you collapsed because of guiding, then all the more reason.”
However, Suhyun coldly blocked Jiwon. Won Jungyeom also immediately shook his head.
“I know it’s dangerous. That’s why I was about to leave this place. If I get controlled on the way, I’ll come back. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”
Won Jungyeom said, shaking the car keys in his hand. Then he clicked his tongue and sighed.
“There’s no time to delay, so I’ll head out first. I’ll call you when I’m out of the suspicious area, so answer the phone immediately.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Then, Suhyun Esper. I’m counting on you to take care of Jiwon Guide.”
“Be careful on your way.”
“Make sure to answer the phone, definitely.”
Won Jungyeom emphasized again as he turned around. His steps were urgent, as he couldn’t afford to be greedy about checking Jiwon’s condition further and risking the situation getting worse.
“I’m really fine. I’ll answer the phone.”
Jiwon, fully understanding his concern, said to Won Jungyeom as he got into the car. Won Jungyeom waved his hand dismissively and soon started the car roughly.
“…Haah.”
As the car disappeared from view, Jiwon covered his face. His mind was in complete chaos.
“Are you really okay? Did your body get damaged from excessive guiding?”
Suhyun looked just as confused as Jiwon. Being bombarded with questions from Suhyun? It was a strange occurrence, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“I didn’t overdo it. I would know best.”
“Then…”
“I think… I went into Riska’s base.”
“…Pardon?”
Jiwon spoke slowly, facing Suhyun.
Only after saying it out loud did it finally sink in. Jiwon had just entered and returned from Riska’s base.
“What do you mean?”
Suhyun asked, not hiding his bewilderment. Jiwon took a deep breath, organized his thoughts, and explained calmly.
“Suddenly, the space I was in changed. I think I lost consciousness then… When I opened my eyes, I was in a space teeming with Riska.”
“…”
“They told me I was an ‘illusion.’ I don’t know how it works, but I think while I was guiding Esper Won Jungyeom, I got connected to the Riska’s side…”
But even as he spoke, it felt like there was no context or basis for his words, and he thought he might look like someone rambling about a dream they just had.
“It wasn’t a dream. I was definitely in Riska’s base.”
Jiwon added, almost defensively, in case Suhyun might think it strange.
“I don’t think it was a dream.”
Fortunately, Suhyun didn’t deny Jiwon’s words. Rather, he just waited for Jiwon to open his mouth, as if encouraging him to say more.
“…It was a place full of dark red gems. There were countless Riska there. Though it wasn’t human language, I could understand what they were saying.”
Thanks to that, Jiwon was able to tell Suhyun more easily what he had experienced.
“The Riska said we are ingredients. The source of their power is the dark red gems, and we are the ingredients for them.”
A sublime sacrifice accumulated for a very long time.
The power and wishes of humans who expected ruin and desired rest.
The incomprehensible words echoed vividly in his ears once again.
“And…”
Just before returning here.
The last thing he heard, Jiwon conveyed it directly to Suhyun.
“They said that all of us would be used for Riska’s power. That’s the last thing.”
-All of you will be used for our power.
It couldn’t help but sound preposterous. If Jiwon himself felt that way, would Suhyun be any different?
“They said they would dominate us through Esper Won Jungyeom. It’s the same as what they said then.”
But Suhyun responded seriously, seemingly not thinking that way at all.
Jiwon looked at him and suddenly asked.
“Do you believe me?”
Even if it sounded strange and unbelievable, Jiwon would tell everyone what he had seen and heard.
Because he couldn’t carelessly overlook even the slightest detail.
But maybe because the other person was Suhyun, he felt a bit self-conscious. It was because of the useless thought that he didn’t want to appear strange.
“Is there any reason not to believe you?”
However, Suhyun reacted as if he had heard an odd question.
“Um… Even as I’m saying it, it feels too far-fetched.”
To his somewhat embarrassed excuse,
“The existence of Riska itself is far-fetched.”
Suhyun’s answer remained calm.
Jiwon chuckled. Because his words were correct. The existence of Riska, no, dungeons, even ability users… Before getting used to them, they were all far-fetched things.
“You’re right.”
Though his voice softened with relief, unfortunately, Jiwon’s expression grew sharper.
If everything he saw was true, the Riska exist in countless numbers, their power is literally accumulated in layers, and they grow stronger through repeated evolution. It was difficult to see the future as hopeful.
Moreover…
“You know…”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think I have the power.”
“…”
“I don’t think I can stop the Riska with guiding. Far from stopping them, I was swept away instead.”
When he heard that he returned as soon as the guiding stopped, Jiwon instinctively knew that guiding couldn’t avoid Riska.
He had hoped otherwise, but Suhyun was special. It seemed like Riska’s ability to manipulate Espers by interfering with their wavelengths had pulled him in when it intersected with guiding.
Jiwon thought this too was a coincidence and a stroke of luck. In reality, there was a high possibility that guiding had no power at all to confront Riska.
If he could have exerted even a small power, wouldn’t the Riska have been somewhat damaged?
The fact that they were unfazed and even boasted of their power suggested that Jiwon was not threatening at all.
Riska felt emotions on a different level than ordinary monsters. If Jiwon had even the slightest power to overcome this situation, those creatures should have been at least annoyed.
“…What if we never find an answer?”
Jiwon muttered, lowering his gaze. Since Suhyun didn’t have the answer either, it was just an unnecessary comment that would drain energy, and Jiwon felt somewhat pathetic for speaking out of turn.
“Haven’t you brought back a new answer?”
“…Pardon?”
Jiwon, who was trying to take back what he had said—saying it was nothing to worry about—responded dazedly to Suhyun’s unexpected words.
“You said that the source of their power is the dark red gems, right?”
“…Yes.”
“That means if we just destroy them, Riska will lose all their power.”
“…!”
Jiwon, who had been responding dazedly, opened his eyes wide. He had been so consumed by the thought that he would be of no help that he hadn’t noticed the hint in his own words.
“This is a much better situation than you trying to guide all Espers. We just need to find where those dark red gems are.”
As if it were such an easy task, Suhyun spoke lightly.
A small smile formed on Jiwon’s lips.
Finding their base wouldn’t be an easy task. They might not even be able to find it.
However, with Suhyun’s firm attitude, he really wanted to believe that the situation had improved.
If Suhyun said so, then of course it must be true.
“Yes, you’re right.”
Jiwon’s face, which had been stiffly set, softened.
