Finding a specific person in a situation where magic beasts and Espers were tangled together was nearly impossible. No matter how skilled Baek Uihyeon was, he couldn’t remember every single wavelength.
Amid the chaos with more Espers than usual mixed with Guides, and magic beasts layered on top of that, Baek Uihyeon was certain.
Han Seoha and Ryu Jaegeon aren’t here.
“Ugh, this is kind of annoying.”
“Hurry up. At this rate, the newbies are going to develop trauma.”
The magic beasts were all C-rank or lower. Against the abilities of a decent Esper, this level of rank was no different from ordinary beasts.
There was no need for Baek Uihyeon to step in. The problem was that the number of magic beasts crossing the dry riverbed was gradually increasing. They just needed to protect the base camp, but at this rate, things would only drag on endlessly.
There was no reason for Baek Uihyeon to step in for something of this magnitude. He had accompanied them as an inspector in the first place. That said, Baek Uihyeon couldn’t leave his post and go search for Han Seoha either. He needed confirmation that, as he suspected, Han Seoha and Ryu Jaegeon weren’t here.
“Ugh, these things are easy to deal with but they keep increasing.”
“Is Ryu Jaegeon still detained? It’d be great if we could just burn them all.”
“Let’s call a B-rank flame type. I think I saw one earlier… Huh?”
“What, why is there an earthquake…?!”
The Espers who had been endlessly cutting down magic beasts noticed the faint tremor in the ground. At the same time, a massive wavelength crashed over them like a tidal wave.
“What is this?!”
“B-Baek Uihyeon-nim?”
Crack. Crunch. Snap.
At the raw sounds of crushing and bursting, the Espers’ movements stopped completely. The magic beasts that had been swarming annoyingly just moments ago exploded outward, the sound of them spreading from nearby to far away was horrific.
The rookie Espers who had been excited while dealing with the magic beasts just moments ago gagged at the colorful bodily fluids and fishy smell spread before their eyes.
It looked like the scene after an invisible hammer had struck and passed through.
The overwhelming wavelength of power that continued endlessly only stopped in front of the dense forest far in the distance. Even the magic beasts that had been endlessly popping out from there didn’t emerge anymore after seeing their kin crushed right before them. If they continued to advance despite seeing this, it would be safe to conclude that their instincts had evolved to attack ability users. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
While everyone had lost their words in shock, wavering between respect and fear of Baek Uihyeon’s ability, the person in question approached the rookie supervisor.
“Where is Guide Han Seoha?”
Though it was a sudden question, the S-rank Esper’s courtship of a C-rank Guide had been a recent hot topic within the Association. The supervisor quickly tapped on his watch, but for some reason, the total number of rookie Guides didn’t match up.
“Ah, well… the headcount definitely matched at roll call.”
“When was the last roll call?”
“The Espers had morning roll call, but the Guides… there are no separate guidelines for that…”
At Baek Uihyeon’s silence, the supervisor, who had turned pale, barely squeezed out an answer.
“Yesterday, afternoon was the last time.”
“I see. Please tell the communications officer to send Esper Jeong Iro here immediately.”
Though the supervisor was flustered by the unexpected name, he ran off without another word to find the communications officer who had the ability to contact the outside.
Baek Uihyeon didn’t take his anxiety lightly. An anomaly had appeared at a Gate that had been unchanged for years, and not only Guide Han Seoha but even Ryu Jaegeon had disappeared. If the two were together, it would be safer, but he had to prepare for the case where they weren’t.
The first person he thought of for efficiency was Jeong Iro. As a spatial movement ability user, he would be helpful in some way.
***
Walking inside the narrow cave wasn’t easy. The bumpy floor that wasn’t even flat would trip you up if you weren’t careful. Peculiarly, if the rocks hadn’t been glowing, most people would have been too scared and sat down. As they went deeper and the light diminished due to the mottled rocks, their field of vision narrowed. Because of that, they were late to notice the insects approaching through the shadows.
“These damn bugs. The path seems to be getting narrower. Is this really the right way?”
“The wind is cold and I can feel moisture. At the very least, the probability of finding water will increase.”
Yu Haneul, who had been grumbling that there was no reason to even enter a Gate yet he had studied well for it, rubbed his shivering arms in the cold wind. After being rescued from the vines, another vine that fell on his shoulder was mistaken for an earthworm by Yu Haneul, who took off his jacket and swung it around frantically, only to have the vine wrap around it and take it away. At Yu Haneul who was dumbfounded by the faster-than-expected vine speed, Han Seoha informed him that this was why he told him not to scream or move.
“Haa… I’m going to freeze to death before we find the exit.”
Yu Haneul, who wasn’t even wearing a vest under his jacket and only had a thin shirt, kept grumbling. Not wanting to make the pitiful request to borrow something first, he just kept sneezing.
“Yu Haneul-nim, there’s a solid rock wall here, so rest here. I’ll go check ahead first.”
“What if you just leave me like this?”
“I won’t. If I see the exit, I’ll definitely call you even if I have to shout.”
“I don’t trust you. Ugh, it’s cold.”
Even though the wind got colder the deeper they went, Han Seoha had no choice but to give his uniform to the stubborn Yu Haneul.
Though he didn’t want to hand over an item, it was better to protect Yu Haneul even a little by using the cold as an excuse. All along the way, whenever a safe situation or location appeared, he would recommend waiting for rescue, but each time Yu Haneul stubbornly stuck with him, so this was the only way to provide a safety measure.
Yu Haneul, who accepted the worn uniform without hesitation, felt Han Seoha’s back walking ahead looked very small. Feeling needlessly guilty, Yu Haneul preemptively struck in case Han Seoha harbored other feelings.
“It’s natural that you and I hate each other, but still, let’s not act emotionally until we get out of here.”
The situation was ridiculous since it was Yu Haneul who had been acting emotionally, yet he was warning Han Seoha.
“Yes, let’s work hard together to get out.”
Han Seoha actually agreed lightly and looked around. The deeper they went, the more the stains increased.
Since it was proof they were going in the right direction, his pace naturally quickened. Yu Haneul, however, found the increasing stains disgusting and amplified his anxiety.
“Ah, are we really going the right way? If you have complaints, let’s talk about it. You’re trying to trap me in a snare, aren’t you?”
“If you’re worried about that, wait back there. It’s a safe place.”
“You think I’ll fall for that? No way. I’m going to follow you to the end.”
It’ll be a headache if he’s like this even when obtaining the item.
What was fortunate was the certainty that the item he was looking for would be mixed among the treasures and wouldn’t attract Yu Haneul’s attention.
In a situation where Yu Haneul thought they had entered this place by chance in the first place, there was no need to raise suspicion over a single item. Han Seoha thought lightly that he could just pocket it moderately, but being distracted by the success right before his eyes, he took Yu Haneul’s worries lightly.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly grabbed and pulled by the arm, Han Seoha staggered, unable to brace himself properly. Wondering what it was, he quickly looked around, but there were no magic beasts that looked like earthworms that had Yu Haneul unable to move. Nor were there any bugs large enough for the two of them to deal with.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t you answer me?”
“Pardon?”
Yu Haneul, whose eyes had become bloodshot at some point, had a face full of wariness.
“Do you want to kill me?”
Ah. Of all times to ask that question, I missed the answer because I was lost in other thoughts.
Han Seoha blinked his eyes gently and let out a trembling voice.
“If I had been alone, I wouldn’t have even thought about going around looking for an exit. Thanks to Guide Yu Haneul, I was able to come this far.”
“Don’t lie. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still have water left in the canteen and wouldn’t have given up your clothes.”
The cave was humid enough to make Han Seoha’s thin shirt damp. The mottled rocks became even darker with moss-like things stuck all over them. To the point where Han Seoha’s smiling face looked eerie.
“You’re trying to deceive me to kill me.”
“Guide Yu Haneul, please calm down.”
“You’re just waiting for me to let my guard down. To push me away when I’m tired. To abandon me.”
At the increasingly loud voice, Han Seoha tried to soothe him, but it had the opposite effect. At this rate, the vines would come back. It might actually be better to get caught. However, if Yu Haneul was in this state, he would clearly panic and get hurt.
“Shall we hold hands?”
Despite Yu Haneul’s expression asking what he was talking about, Han Seoha held out his hand.
“I won’t leave you behind. If it’s hard, we’ll go slowly, and if it’s still too hard, we’ll rest before going.”
Yu Haneul looked back and forth between Han Seoha and his own hand with shaking eyes as if confused. His fingers trembled slightly, but in the end, he didn’t extend them.
“You and I are both Guides. What’s the point of holding hands?”
“Well, it means I won’t leave you behind…”
“It’s disgusting, two men.”
Huh? What did I just hear?
No matter how annoyed or angry he was, Han Seoha, who never lost his smiling face, only raised his lips while unable to hide the doubt in his eyes.
Everyone in the Association knew that Yu Haneul and Ryu Jaegeon had a relationship because of close contact guiding. Making such a fuss over just holding hands?
‘Am I missing something?’
Fingertips trembling anxiously. Eyes bloodshot from struggling. Yu Haneul, who was more sensitive to the cold than Han Seoha, who had given up his jacket, even though cold wind was blowing.
He had been so lively that he noticed it late, but perhaps he was in a panic state.
‘Even so, it’s strange. A panic doesn’t reveal one’s true nature.’
Hallucination? Confusion? Could he have been affected by something like poison?
Come to think of it, the footsteps of Yu Haneul following behind had a subtle rhythm.
“Ah, could it be…”
“What? Could it be what?”
“Didn’t you hurt your ankle earlier?”
The injury from being wrapped in vines—he had limped a bit but followed along diligently, so he hadn’t particularly paid attention to it, but now it came to mind.
