Jiwon, who escaped from the elevator almost bursting out, ran without the capacity to observe the unsettled and subdued lobby atmosphere.
The closest Esper discovered such Jiwon and made surprised eyes while going “Huh?!”
There were more people who greeted Jiwon crossing the lobby, but right now was a situation where every minute and second was precious, so paying attention to the surroundings was a luxury.
The Esper training ground was so large that one had to move by electric car, so it took quite a while to get to that area. While crossing the lobby thinking about how to arrive quickly, a familiar someone’s voice was heard.
“Jiwon?”
Jiwon, who turned his head with a whoosh to confirm the other person, made an expression delighted as could be and changed direction.
“Minhyeok hyung! Me, over there!”
It was none other than spatial-type Esper Lee Minhyeok. At this moment, it was a very appropriate encounter.
Minhyeok also grasped the situation as soon as he confirmed Jiwon running toward him and reached out his hand while drawing up his ability. And the moment Jiwon’s hand touched, the two people disappeared from the lobby.
The two who moved to the training building in an instant didn’t move to that location in one go but teleported multiple times.
Through the training building entrance, the Guide training ground Jiwon went in and out of every day, moving to the end of the long corridor, and again to the wide training ground.
Though he was dizzy at the scenery passing by whoosh whoosh, Jiwon held tightly onto Minhyeok’s hand and endured.
The Center training ground had facilities installed at every boundary crossing areas to interfere with ability use in preparation for any possible situation.
Minhyeok wasn’t swept up in the chaotic internal situation of the training building and moved to locations that came into view while expanding his ki sense.
“Kyaaah.”
“M-monster…”
“Oh my god, move. Move!”
“Aaah!!”
Every time they stopped for a few seconds after teleporting, every time they ran directly to cross area boundaries, they encountered Guides screaming and escaping from the opposite side.
They seemed to have lost their reason, terrified, as if seeing a rampaging Esper for the first time.
Even long-tenured Guides who only did guiding without leaving the Center often only heard about Esper rampage by word and had never actually experienced it.
Between the Guides escaping in confusion, Minhyeok and Jiwon moved to that area without wavering.
Kwajik—! Kwaaaaang!
Minhyeok stopped moving, having arrived.
Strong impacts and noise burst out from ahead, enough to shake the ground.
“Ugh.”
Minhyeok grabbed with both hands Jiwon who was covering his ears and staggering.
Jiwon, who barely came to his senses, observed the situation.
Between the continuing impact sounds, the Esper watch’s emergency alarm ringing sharply was heard vividly.
What caught his eye first were dozens of ability users wearing black suits.
Between them standing in a wide circle surrounding somewhere, defense-type Espers were struggling to maintain a giant dome-shaped barrier as if imprisoning someone by deploying their abilities.
And inside that barrier, flashing continued unceasing like lightning striking.
Jiwon carefully approached that direction. Minhyeok blocked him protectively and walked ahead first.
The closer they approached, the more serious the situation that came into view.
To the right of the barrier, behind a large pillar, about five people were standing while being protected—seeing Team Leader Lee Juyeon and Woojin, they seemed to be Guides.
Even just the Guides escaping that they briefly encountered while coming here exceeded 20 people by far.
There must have been quite a few Guides in the Center who had gathered from the Code Red emergency broadcast, but now only five remained.
As soon as Jiwon saw them, he quickly approached while receiving Minhyeok’s protection.
“Guide Kim Jiwon!”
Team Leader Lee Juyeon, who had been releasing broadcast guiding to the maximum, welcomed Jiwon. Woojin also greeted him with his eyes.
“I’ll start guiding.”
After greeting back with eyes, he immediately started guiding. He deployed broadcast guiding like the other remaining Guides were doing.
Jiwon boldly released his energy.
The defense barrier range was wide, so if he didn’t do that, it seemed like it wouldn’t reach the rampaging Esper.
Thanks to that, the faces of the defense-type Espers who had been struggling to deploy the barrier became noticeably more comfortable.
Since it was Jiwon’s first time spraying broadcast guiding in such large quantities, he had to close his eyes and concentrate.
The high-rank Guide’s guiding gradually expanded its range and enveloped the barrier. Then the rampage of the rampaging Esper inside the barrier clearly decreased.
The loud impact sounds that had been ringing decreased, and the barrier that had been shaking from colliding with the electric ability also found stability.
Around that time, Jiwon opened his eyes that had been closed and looked ahead.
As the interior of the barrier that had been flashing dazzlingly calmed down, the rampaging Esper sitting collapsed in the center finally came into view.
Unlike his solid build easily exceeding 180cm, his still young-looking face was covered in tears and terrified. Below that, several syringes that appeared to be used guiding substitute drugs with only traces of use remaining were rolling on the floor.
It seemed to be an Esper who hadn’t manifested long ago who was in danger of rampage from being unable to control his ability. He had heard that such cases didn’t occur well after entering the Center, except maybe when first manifesting, so he couldn’t know what had happened.
Electric ability was being endlessly discharged around the Esper’s body starting from his fingertips, but the direction was all over the place.
“Esper Kim Taehwan. Good now! You can do it. Try controlling the internal waves like you learned!”
A senior Esper with both fists clenched tightly stomped his feet while shouting toward the rampaging new Esper. His strained voice was breaking, as if he had been continuously shouting from before.
The rampaging new Esper, as if he hadn’t lost his hearing yet, barely stopped crying at the senior Esper’s voice and tried to calm the waves.
If the rampage continued, afterwards one would gradually lose basic bodily senses like sight, hearing, and touch.
Once it progressed that far, the waiting EED (Explosive Esper Disposal) would transfer the rampaging Esper to an empty dungeon gate to prevent surrounding damage.
Then one would be abandoned alone in the dungeon gate and miserably end their life in pain.
Kim Taehwan, whose rampage was progressing, couldn’t control his body that was trembling while recalling the dangers of rampage and the handling after rampage that he learned in his first education session after Esper manifestation.
He simply tried his best to move the internal waves as the senior Esper said, but the waves violently surging as if telling him not to make useless efforts didn’t listen.
His condition was especially good today, so while the senior Esper was briefly away, he had just let his guard down for a moment, a very brief moment. From some point, suddenly the electricity extending regardless of his will—not knowing what to do, when the senior Esper who had returned discovered him, he was already in a state that had turned into a momentum about to rampage.
In just a few minutes from that, people wearing black suits all over appeared and surrounded him, then generated a defensive barrier around.
As if it was just routine work for them. Their appearance of silently, with expressionless faces, only quietly processing what each had to do was making Kim Taehwan, who felt like he would die from fear anyway, even more terrified.
To Taehwan, the giant barrier between himself and the people felt like a signal that he could no longer set foot in the same world as them.
He felt like he would go crazy from loneliness and fear of death at the feeling of being left alone. When he thought about being abandoned alone in a dungeon gate like this, his vision went dark.
The Guides who had rushed over from the emergency broadcast screamed and ran away when his rampage didn’t stop and became worse, and only a few remained.
Would he really die futilely like this?
“Huk, heu…”
At the tremendous pain he was experiencing for the first time since birth, even a proper scream didn’t come out.
Taehwan, who had fallen into despair, thought of his family he hadn’t seen since manifestation.
In front of his parents who were proud that their only son had become an Esper but couldn’t hide their inward worry, he himself had been happy about the mere fact that he no longer had to go to school.
He couldn’t even guess how much it would wound their hearts if they heard the news that he died from rampage.
He was so afraid, in pain, resentful, and didn’t even know who to blame.
Nevertheless, he wanted to live. He didn’t want to die like this. He earnestly prayed for someone to please save him.
All kinds of emotions whirled like a vortex.
While being eroded like that by worry about his remaining family and fear of death, suddenly thick guiding energy touched his body.
Taehwan’s eyes widened.
Could it be…?
The waves that had been tangled and running wild haphazardly as if heading toward the end resisted, but the high-rank guiding suppressed that resistance.
The stream of ability that had been escaping regardless of his will gradually thinned.
Afterwards, the noisy flashing that had been coiling around the transparent barrier’s interior cleared away and the outside situation began to be visible.
He raised his head to check the surroundings, but tears blocked his vision making it blurry. The voice of the senior Esper shouting from outside and desperately calling for him was heard vividly.
Perhaps, now might be the last chance.
