* * *
“…Hyung.”
“Siwoo!”
Raon snapped out of it and looked down.
Siwoo, half-conscious, was breathing heavily and looking up at him.
“I really thought I was gonna die.”
“Ha…”
“Some guiding… please…”
Oddly out of place, soft snow continued to fall from the sky.
The place where the monster had been was frozen solid—nothing of it remained.
It had to be Siwoo’s doing.
So this is what he could do once his limiter was off…
Raon could only laugh in awe at the sheer power.
“Hyung…”
“Yeah, I got you.”
But Siwoo was still dying.
That snowstorm must have come from him—an instinctive act of survival, when both his and his guide’s lives were in danger.
Raon nodded and kissed Siwoo again.
This time, the blood he tasted brought only relief.
“Team Leader Seo Dojin! Guide Han Raon!”
“……!”
At that moment, the scattered guides regrouped and came closer.
Juwon, Taehyuk, Haedam, and most of the agents guarding them appeared to be unharmed.
Raon let out a breath of relief.
Though many agents had been injured due to the earlier-than-expected battle with the monster guarding the core, the worst had been avoided.
In fact, considering the original story, the outcome was nothing short of astonishing.
Fortunately, Siwoo’s injuries healed quickly once Raon flooded him with guiding energy.
The rest could likely be handled by espers with healing abilities.
While Raon checked on Siwoo, the other guides—except for the unconscious Hamin—began guiding the espers.
Those who could still move left to destroy the core.
“This incident will be fully reported to the top.”
“……”
Raon spoke in a sharp tone to Dojin, who stood frozen, pale as a sheet.
Dojin’s eyes turned toward Raon.
That gaze, still drenched in greedy desire, made Raon involuntarily flinch.
But he refused to show weakness to a man like this—he’d rather die than back down—so he stared him down with all the intensity he could muster.
Raon had seen it. Dojin’s strange, unnatural movements just before Siwoo was attacked.
He had deliberately stood still with clear intent.
He had ignored the perfect opportunity to kill the monster and instead watched as Siwoo was nearly killed.
Raon clenched his teeth, filled with certainty.
Rumble.
“The core has been destroyed! Evacuate the injured immediately!”
The gate, its core destroyed, began to collapse rapidly.
Raon tore his gaze away from the frozen Dojin and looked down at Siwoo.
Overexerted and wounded, Siwoo had fainted and now looked nearly dead.
“We’ll take the Major from here.”
“Yes. Please take good care of him.”
Raon nodded and released Siwoo’s hand.
It would be better for the team to hurry and get him outside for treatment.
Even though that ice-cold hand had just let go, it somehow felt even colder now.
Raon, feeling the emptiness in the hand that had just poured out guiding energy, clenched his fist tightly.
And so, the irregular gate suppression came to an end.
By the time Raon, the last one to leave after cleaning up, exited the gate, dawn had broken.
It had felt like only half a day had passed inside, but time moved differently in the gate.
Outside, more than two days had gone by.
The government and Center had already pulled guides from other regions to prepare a second team, but the gate’s size hadn’t changed, so they had waited and observed.
Raon, barely having time to rest, was dragged to give his report to Seokhyeon, and that’s when he heard the full story.
A special task force was being formed due to the irregular gate incident, and team restructuring was underway.
“They want me to lead one of the new teams as the guide leader?”
“That’s right.”
Seokhyeon nodded gravely.
While Raon had entered the gate with suspicious confidence, to think that he had taken the lead in subduing the gate and played such a major role was still hard for Seokhyeon to fully accept.
During Raon’s short rest, Seokhyeon had received reports from both the guides and the military on the espers’ testimonies.
Everyone who had entered with Raon praised him.
The external team members who were initially assigned to guard him even apologized, saying their hasty actions had been more of a hindrance.
Normally, this would be the other way around.
Raon had skillfully commanded the guides, supported the espers with radiated guiding, and even showed composure and quick thinking in front of the monster guarding the core.
In contrast, Dojin, who was supposed to lead, had failed to do so.
Seokhyeon frowned, his headache worsening.
“Is it true that Esper Yoon Siwoo was injured because of Team Leader Seo Dojin?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
Raon gave a detailed account.
Not just him—Taegun and several other team members had offered similar testimonies, lending credibility.
However…
“Team Leader Seo Dojin claims he was paralyzed by the monster’s sorcery and couldn’t move at that moment.”
“Ha!”
Raon let out a bitter laugh at Seokhyeon’s words.
What a pathetic excuse.
That monster only had physical attack and defense capabilities.
Mental attacks?
That was Taegun’s specialty, and only because Raon had pushed his guiding to the limit to support him.
Raon’s lips twisted.
If it were any other esper, that excuse wouldn’t have held up.
But unfortunately, Dojin still had strong footing.
A single failure inside the irregular gate wasn’t enough to erase all his past achievements.
On top of that, he was the president’s nephew.
Powerful people from various sectors, not just the military, were going all out to protect him.
What a lucky bastard.
Raon had already figured he wouldn’t be able to bring Dojin down in one shot, but he hadn’t expected him to walk away completely unscathed.
Raon clenched his fists until they bled.
“I’ll take the guide leader position—on one condition.”
“What is it?”
Seokhyeon looked at Raon, who spoke through gritted teeth.
Having heard the reports himself, Seokhyeon was also conflicted.
Whatever Raon asked, he intended to accommodate it as best he could.
“I want partial authority over personnel selection for the new team. Especially the guide who’ll work directly under me, and the esper who will guard our team—I want to pick them myself.”
“Hmm.”
A request like this would be too much from a regular guide.
But Raon was the nation’s only S-rank guide and had played a critical role in suppressing the irregular gate.
If he insisted, the higher-ups would likely approve it.
Seokhyeon nodded without resistance.
“I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and…”
“……?”
Just as Raon thought the conversation was over, Seokhyeon hesitated, as if there was more to say.
Raon looked at him curiously.
“It’s about Esper Yoon Siwoo.”
“Is his condition serious?”
Raon frowned in concern.
He hadn’t yet been able to visit Siwoo in the hospital, as the reports weren’t finished.
Siwoo was currently being treated in the military ward, and Raon, anxious to confirm his condition, was ready to leap to his feet.
“No, physically he’s perfectly fine. He regained consciousness a few hours ago.”
“Whew…”
“I wanted to ask—would you be willing to perform an insertion guiding with him?”
“…What?”
Raon tilted his head, confused.
Then realization struck.
His lips parted slightly in shock.
“I wouldn’t ask under normal circumstances, but something like the third district’s irregular gate could happen again.”
“……”
The government seemed to have reassessed Siwoo’s potential after this.
And rightly so.
Dojin may have been a skilled esper, but Siwoo had shown he wasn’t far behind.
His performance this time had been nothing short of remarkable.
Now that they realized how much more they could draw from him, they likely intended to push his levels higher through intense guiding.
Raon could understand that much.
But insertion guiding—that meant having sex with Siwoo.
‘God… he just became an adult.’
Raon had never topped anyone before, but more than that, what made it difficult was Siwoo’s youth.
Seeing Raon hesitate, Seokhyeon nodded.
“I’ll give you time to think about it.”
“…Understood.”
“Esper Yoon Siwoo already refused quite firmly, so I’m hoping you might reconsider……”
“Who said he refused?”
Raon looked up, puzzled. Seokhyeon answered calmly.
“Esper Yoon Siwoo did……”
“He said no? Already?”
“Yeah.”
It seemed the offer had been made to Siwoo before him.
Understandable, since Espers are more likely to accept.
But he refused?
He did?
Raon couldn’t quite make sense of the cold sensation blooming in his chest.
Twisting his lips upward into a forced smile, he looked at Seokhyeon.
* * *
