The beginning of Episode 17 depicted Kim Haewon coming to see me.
「”At this time of crisis for humanity! You’re telling me to lie down comfortably? Don’t ask me to do something so cowardly!”
“Guide Park Garam.”
“Even if this body breaks and shatters, I will go. No matter what happens, I will protect. Both Esper Kim Haewon. And Earth.”」
In the novel, for some reason I was burning with a sense of justice and making a whole speech. It was like the protagonist of a boys’ manga, embarrassingly so beyond words. Even in such a crisis situation, my face turned red.
“Scroll down quickly, scroll down.”
I scrolled down rapidly. Fortunately, that scene was short. The scene of traveling on the plane was the same. Even though the scroll hadn’t even come down to 1/3 yet, Kim Haewon was already preparing to descend.
「While listening to Garam’s words, Haewon frequently recalled the phrase “one in ten thousand.”
One in ten thousand, if Liu Xiqiang became a monster, could he shoot him?
One in ten thousand, if he had to choose between Emily Ruler and Liu Xiqiang, what would he do?
One in ten thousand, if he had to use himself to the limit again and had to bring Garam to the white box, what would he do?
Haewon couldn’t easily answer any of those questions. Haewon did things his way. Meaningless hypotheticals aren’t necessary. Do what you can do.
When he cut through the sky with only minimal safety equipment, Haewon’s eyes gradually changed to a deeper color like the deep sea.
As quickly as possible, with minimal damage.
And without using the final method.
Haewon clenched his fist as if catching the wind flowing backwards from below to above. The parachute opened with a thwack. The entrance to the gate, black as a black hole, began to come into view.」
Kim Haewon entered the gate resolutely, just as he had appeared before me. It was written that the gate entrance seemed to suck Kim Haewon in.
And at the same time Kim Haewon entered, about a dozen cities near the gate all experienced power outages. As if someone had absorbed all the electricity in an instant. I checked the external situation with the tablet PC Kim Haewon had left behind.
The real situation was the same as the novel. Breaking news said several cities near the gate had experienced power outages and they were searching for the cause. The Chinese Esper Association stated, as soon as the breaking news appeared, that the power outage didn’t seem to be caused by the gate.
“Like hell it isn’t.”
When all the SS-classes should be mobilized from elsewhere to help Kim Haewon right now, it was frustrating that they were being lukewarm. I glanced once toward the front. The Diplomatic Management Bureau seemed busy, so they still weren’t paying attention to this side.
I began to continue reading the novel.
「As soon as Haewon entered the gate, he detected Emily Ruler’s life form reaction. Detection was easy. Because he could see Emily wielding a sword as large as a telephone pole.
As the blade and electricity collided, the waves split as if being torn. She was wielding her sword without falling behind to a force that couldn’t even be seen. There was an injury on her right arm, which seemed to be a wound she got from forcibly sending her guide outside the gate.
Haewon finished his assessment quickly. The gate grade was ‘Gab’. The enemy’s life form reaction could be felt, though faintly. He made a stream of water into a thick chain and aimed at the large sand mountain where its body was.
{Emily!}
Emily reacted to his voice. She deflected the energy she had been colliding with, then quickly swung her sword toward the sand mountain. The sand mountain suddenly stirred up a gust from the force applied from both sides.
Haewon spread the chain-shaped water stream widely and applied pressure downward. The sandstorm that had tried to obscure visibility plummeted to the ground under the powerful water pressure. In the middle of it was a physical form.
It was Liu Xiqiang, bound tightly with thick chains.」
I covered my mouth. The deductions left by Episode 16’s readers were correct. However, the description of Liu Xiqiang that followed had even more anguish than that.
「He had transcended excitement. He panted and acted as if he would charge anywhere, but the soles of his feet didn’t leave the ground.
His skin had turned dark blue, and his muscles were swollen as much as they could expand. He was too busy releasing his power in all directions to recognize Emily or Haewon.
{Damn it, why is Xiqiang there?}
Emily said while stacking Liu Xiqiang’s energy pouring from the sky onto her sword in sequence and throwing it to Haewon.
{Haewon, answer me. What should we do! Should we attack Xiqiang like this?}
Haewon couldn’t answer. Seeing his energy react to other SS-classes, he was still an esper. But at the same time, he was also a monster that could control this entire gate.
Liu Xiqiang was one of Haewon’s close espers. His characteristic heartiness, yet delicate considerateness and warm personality won the favor of all SS-class espers. On top of that, he carefully looked after Haewon, who rarely interacted with other SS-class espers. Whether his feelings were reciprocated or not didn’t matter.
If you were to choose the person with the best personality among the ten SS-class espers, it would be Liu Xiqiang. That’s why he might have been victimized like this. By forces unknown. But there was no time to hesitate.
{Attacking.}
{Haewon!}
Just enough not to die. Haewon threw the massive energy in his hands at Liu Xiqiang, who was roaring while bound in chains and a gag, while looking straight at him.」
The moment I read that part, a Diplomatic Management Bureau employee opened the partition door. Then looked at me. I immediately lowered my phone. When our eyes met, he spoke.
“Esper Kim Haewon has discovered Esper Liu Xiqiang. The gate grade is ‘Gab’, and a white box is being transported nearby. It seems you’ll need to prepare as well, Guide.”
“I-I see. What about Esper Liu Xiqiang’s condition?”
“He’s bound in chains, but there’s a high probability his mind is being controlled, so they’ve commenced the attack. However, communication has been cut off since then.”
This was serious. I hadn’t been able to convey the hint to Kim Haewon yet and communication was cut off… I reluctantly nodded and asked further.
“What did the Chinese government say?”
“They’ve permitted entry into Pamundong. A negotiation team will enter Pamundong. Esper Gabriel Arenas from Spain is also coming to the gate.”
“Understood. I’ll be alone for a moment.”
“Yes, I’ll inform you if there’s new information.”
The management bureau employee closed the partition without asking twice. When I unlocked my phone, there was an error. I pressed the refresh button. Then the page appeared again.
I quickly scrolled down to the part I had read. The same part the management bureau employee had mentioned was in the next scene. I wasn’t even getting goosebumps from this kind of thing anymore. I needed the next scene quickly, information that could be a hint. I fidgeted with the microphone in my anxiety. Fortunately, the next part was from the perspective of the Pamundong people.
「The sofa Suo Weiqian was sitting on was taxidermied with the soft leather of a leopard as is. Cigarette smoke continuously flowed from a chair turned toward the wall.
{They’ve commenced the attack. Three SS-class espers have been deployed, so he’ll probably be killed.}
His subordinate reported in Chinese. Suo Weiqian turned the sofa around. The thick cigar he had been biting was ground directly onto the wooden desk.
{And the Leader?}
{That is…}
{Don’t delay, speak!}
Suo Weiqian slammed the desk. His face was flushed red with anger.
{He said to protect him if we can and bring him back.}
{Utterly vicious human! Disgusting old man!}
Suo Weiqian criticized the Leader harshly. Then he slammed the desk.
{Find a way. Find any way! We must bring Liu Xiqiang back to Pamundong. Otherwise, we’ll be slaughtered.}
{Yes.}
His subordinate left the chairman’s office with a dark expression. He didn’t know what to do. The drug’s effects gradually diminish over time. But the chains binding him were also set to break within that time. Whether by Liu Xiqiang or by the three SS-class espers. A rampaging esper cannot be brought back.
‘We need to endure for an hour with the chains bound, but how on earth can we do that! And even if we endure for an hour, he might not return to normal, so what meaning does it have?’
Suo Weiqian’s subordinate wondered if he alone should escape from Pamundong. The sky he unconsciously looked up at was thickly covered with dark clouds. The negotiation team was scheduled to arrive soon.」
‘An hour with the chains bound!’
My gaze fixed on those words. I gripped the microphone tightly. Without even time to scroll down, I spoke first.
“Esper Kim Haewon, can you hear me? Esper Kim Haewon.”
There was no reply. As the management bureau employee said, there could be a communication error. But I knew no other way than speaking.
“You can’t break the chains. You absolutely can’t break the chains. You have to endure for an hour with the chains bound. Otherwise, he’ll rampage!”
Even if Kim Haewon didn’t follow my words, it couldn’t be helped. Even if later, when all this fell into place, I was interrogated about how I knew, I would have nothing to say.
“The drug’s effects will disappear within an hour. Until then, you have to keep him bound in chains. Then you can prevent the rampage! You have to somehow keep the chains from breaking!”
But it was better to say it than not say it. Because this was the only thing I could do right now. I turned off the microphone and scrolled down to the end.
Park Garam in the novel made the same choice as me. And at least Kim Haewon in the novel heard this radio transmission even amidst severe radio interference.
Episode 17 ended like that. I stared at the screen that showed nothing but static. The sky at high altitude was just blue as if nothing had happened.
