* * *
“There’s nowhere in the Center I can’t go. No matter where you are, it’s my choice.”
“Shit.”
Mikhail swore roughly and glared fiercely at Raon.
But Raon wasn’t scared of him in the slightest.
After all, Siwoo and Taegeon were flanking him on either side.
Siwoo’s presence in particular was immensely reassuring.
Mikhail swore again, biting and harsh, then glanced sideways at Siwoo.
It was clear that his past near-death experience due to Siwoo’s ability had left some kind of trauma.
Raon casually lifted the corners of his mouth into a smirk and spoke again.
“There’s also a training room in the Guide Team’s sector. Jaime Esper is always there, in case you didn’t know.”
“I’m more familiar with this place.”
Mikhail’s curt response showed he’d picked up on Raon’s mocking tone.
As if he’d been here more than once.
Raon clicked his tongue and crossed his arms.
“Right. I was just saying, in case you didn’t know—Jaime Esper will also be entering the next irregular gate.”
“What?”
Mikhail’s reaction was sharp.
But Raon tilted his head, looking at him with innocent surprise, as if he genuinely hadn’t expected Mikhail not to know.
“Guess you really didn’t know. You two haven’t been talking lately, huh?”
“Ugh…”
Ever since the reverse guiding incident, Jaime had been completely ignoring Mikhail out of disappointment.
Jaime had fully integrated into the Guide Team and was doing everything with them—from training to pre-lodging routines.
Their lodging was still close to Mikhail’s, so Raon thought they might still be meeting, but apparently not.
A flicker of something—faint anger, but also a touch of hurt—passed across Mikhail’s twisted face.
It was fleeting, but Raon caught it clearly.
“Who gave you the right to send Jay in there?”
“Jaime Esper did. And from the looks of it, his superior gave the green light, too. What, you didn’t hear it from your own boss?”
“You little—!”
Of course Mikhail didn’t know—Raon and Jaime had literally just decided this.
Raon also had no idea whether Jaime’s superior had actually agreed or if they’d hesitate and calculate things.
He just figured there was a good chance they’d go along with it.
But honestly, that wasn’t Raon’s concern.
Teasing Mikhail right in front of him?
That mattered more.
Mikhail stormed toward Raon in frustration.
Like clockwork, Siwoo and Taegeon stepped in front of Raon to block him.
Mikhail stopped in place, gritting his teeth.
“Well, your issues are your own. I came because I’ll be going into the next irregular gate too, and there are a few things I need to confirm beforehand.”
“…What is it.”
Barely managing to calm himself down, Mikhail asked in a steady tone.
Raon got straight to the point—blunt, even.
“You become useless in water, don’t you?”
“You son of a—!”
Mikhail, who’d just barely been keeping himself together, immediately exploded in anger.
The gentlemanly image he always tried to maintain crumbled in an instant—he now looked like a wild beast.
Still, the fact that he hadn’t lunged at Raon meant he was clinging to some self-control.
Raon smiled brightly and continued.
“I’m only asking to confirm. No need to get so worked up.”
“Hah… you’re driving me insane.”
Mikhail, being a well-known Esper with international field experience, had been asked similar questions before.
After all, knowing each other’s fatal weaknesses before entering a gate was essential.
But no one had ever asked so rudely like Raon just had.
Mikhail bit his lip; his eyes glinted with restrained fury.
“Then have you ever fought alongside a water-ability Esper in water?”
“…What?”
Mikhail frowned, as if Raon had said something ridiculous. Then he shook his head.
“No. Even inside gates, it’s rare to find entirely submerged spaces. And even then, I’ve never been in a situation where I was completely immersed and couldn’t use my abilities at all.”
He said it confidently.
And he wasn’t wrong—gates that were filled with water like the ocean were practically nonexistent.
‘But we’ll be entering one soon.’
Raon, who already knew the future, muttered internally.
He was already looking forward to seeing Mikhail’s overly confident face crumble like a crumpled piece of paper in that place.
“I see. Thank you for the answer.”
Raon replied politely and took a step back. Then, glancing between Siwoo and Mikhail—
‘Before regression, these two were so out of sync they couldn’t fight together properly.’
The next irregular gate would primarily take place underwater.
Mikhail’s gravity ability would be completely nullified there, and without one of their main powerhouses, the team had to struggle through the battle.
Raon had no intention of repeating that disaster.
Back then, Siwoo hadn’t received proper guiding for a long time.
His physical state was a mess, and with accumulated battle fatigue, he was on the verge of losing control.
He was in no condition to use his abilities properly, let alone team up with Mikhail.
‘That’s why I wanted to try syncing them up in advance this time.’
It would be difficult to fully simulate a submerged gate, but maybe they could try some underwater training together.
Still, with Mikhail’s uncooperative attitude, Raon doubted it would work.
‘Well, whatever. We’ll just deal with it when it happens.’
Once again, Raon would have to dive into it himself and push through.
For whatever reason, S-class Espers—except for Siwoo—never wanted to cooperate.
Seo Dojin was the same.
“That’s enough. Let’s go back, Siwoo.”
“Okay.”
Responding in his usual gentle voice, Siwoo turned around.
Raon didn’t spare Mikhail another glance as he exited the training room.
Still, it was probably a good idea to run through a few different scenarios.
Even with unpredictable variables, the patterns would likely be similar.
As he recalled the upcoming gate from before his regression, Raon fell into thought.
But the moment they stepped outside the training room—
“Fuck, who does that bastard think he is? What the hell’s his problem with you?”
“What?”
Taegeon’s furious voice rang out.
Raon turned his head instinctively—only to be dumbfounded when he realized who was fuming. Taegeon?
Was he really angry at Mikhail for being rude?
He wasn’t just grumbling—his whole body was trembling as if he was restraining himself from going back and punching someone.
Now that he thought about it, Taegeon had stepped forward to block Mikhail earlier too, along with Siwoo.
Raon blinked in surprise and blurted out,
“You do it too.”
“…What?”
“You act that way toward me too.”
“……!”
It was a short sentence, but it held layers of emotion.
Taegeon, catching the nuance, didn’t fire back immediately.
His eyes widened, reflecting Raon’s figure in their red depths.
Even after transmigrating and regressing, Raon had always assumed that people’s coldness toward him was justified.
System or not, the cruel words and actions had come from his own mouth, his own choices.
So he bore it all, pretending not to care.
But that didn’t mean it never hurt.
Raon was still human.
His tolerance might be higher than most due to his nature, but continuous jabs took their toll, even if he didn’t realize it.
“You’re not so different from him, so what are you so mad about?”
“……”
Raon suddenly recalled the moment of his death in his previous life—and how Taegeon had reacted.
“If you’re going to die, just do it already. So clingy.”
At the same time, he remembered the look of contempt Taegeon had given him as he looked down.
Even though the current Taegeon hadn’t done anything like that—yet—their attitudes still felt eerily similar to Raon.
“I mean, I… um…”
“…?”
But the present-day Taegeon trembled all over, as if shocked by Raon’s words.
Raon had expected anger—maybe some heated reaction from being lumped together with Mikhail, whom Taegeon clearly saw as trash.
But this?
This was unexpected.
Raon looked Taegeon up and down, taking in his flustered state.
“Let’s go, Siwoo.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Raon soon lost interest and turned away.
Whether or not Taegeon was shocked didn’t matter to him.
It wasn’t his concern.
As he walked down the hallway, Siwoo came up close and wrapped his arm gently around Raon’s shoulders.
The careful touch, like he was handling a precious glass doll, helped Raon’s frayed nerves settle slightly.
Left standing alone, Taegeon could only stare blankly at their retreating backs.
* * *
