* * *
“Phew…”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I made you worry for nothing.”
Raon let out a deep sigh and murmured an apology.
A dull ache throbbed in his head, creeping in belatedly.
Was it from the standoff with Mikhail?
Espers, even when they don’t intend to attack, tend to emit their energy unconsciously when they’re irritated.
Mikhail had been outright threatening—no wonder Raon felt the pressure.
Just a little exposure to that kind of force had left him utterly drained.
“If it’s too much, lean on me more.”
“Mm.”
Raon hesitated at Siwoo’s words.
His rational mind screamed at him to go back and resume training, but his body was adamantly demanding rest.
In the end, he let himself lean more against Siwoo.
“Ngh… Just… hold me like this for a bit.”
“Okay.”
Siwoo nodded and stopped walking, pressing his back against the wall to brace himself so Raon could rest comfortably in his arms.
Raon wrapped his arms around Siwoo and took a long, deep breath.
“Hoo…”
As he inhaled, Siwoo’s scent filled him.
Siwoo, who had water-based powers and an unusually low body temperature, always carried a faint, watery scent mixed with a cool atmosphere.
But if you smelled closely, there was a unique undertone that was distinctly his.
Hard to describe, but it was like finding a small dry patch on a damp, soaked piece of clothing.
That scent was comforting.
Like freshly dried laundry under the sun.
The warmth of it stood out all the more in the midst of the cool.
Raon felt himself gradually calming.
Thankfully, Siwoo had shielded him from most of Mikhail’s energy.
What little he’d felt was just because his powerless body was too weak to withstand even the residual effects.
“Thanks, Siwoo.”
Raon lifted his head and smiled brightly at him.
Siwoo looked down at him with the same calm expression he always wore.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Raon spoke sincerely. In this life, he might not have lasted as long as before.
If he had been swept up by the system again before fulfilling his role as the villain, he might’ve bitten his tongue and ended it all.
His mind was already at its breaking point in so many ways.
But he only realized that after spending time with Siwoo.
The thought of going through all that humiliation again—this time, he might not come out of it whole.
Just imagining Siwoo not being there brought that fear into focus.
It wasn’t just Siwoo who’d be in danger if the system returned.
Raon gave a weary, ironic smile at the thought.
At that moment, a large hand gently cupped his face.
“I’m the one who can’t live without you, hyung. You know that, right?”
“…Yeah, I do.”
“So rely on me more. You can. You’re allowed to.”
Raon closed his eyes, warmed by the gentle touch.
It felt like he was being enveloped in warm water.
BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!
“……!”
Just as he was about to fully sink into the comfort, the watch on his wrist beeped loudly.
The caller was, of course, Seokhyeon.
Knowing he only ever contacted him for serious reasons, Raon calmly silenced the alert.
A bad feeling crept in.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Siwoo’s face had also gone stiff—he must’ve sensed it too.
Together, they headed to the Director’s office.
“Director, what’s going on?”
“You’re here.”
Seokhyeon lifted his head to meet Raon’s gaze.
The dark circles under his eyes were deeper than usual, and that alone told Raon something serious had happened.
“I needed you here to confirm something first.”
“Confirm what, exactly?”
“There was just a report from the surveillance team in Zone 10.”
“……”
Raon’s body gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shudder.
The next Irregular Gate would open in exactly that zone.
It was finally happening.
He nodded slowly, accepting the inevitable.
“What was in the report?”
“They said a dual gate opened in the sea near the observation post.”
“A dual gate?”
So far, everything was exactly the same as his past life.
Raon tried to stay composed as he pressed on.
“What about the color? Was that confirmed?”
“It was.”
Seokhyeon handed him a tablet.
On the screen was a photo—clearly taken by the surveillance team.
Raon’s eyes narrowed.
The sea swirled like a whirlpool, and amidst the vortex, faint colors shimmered.
A mix of blue—similar to the sea—and red.
Raon let out a silent sigh.
“As you can see, it’s a dual gate with a blue and red signature. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I called you.”
“…That’s understandable.”
Raon nodded in agreement, but his eyes didn’t leave the tablet.
In his previous life, he had never seen a photo of the gate—he had been too “incompetent” to be included in missions while playing the role of villain Han Raon.
But he still remembered the scenery right before entering that dual gate.
A dual gate meant two gates merged together.
Though the spaces inside were technically separate, one misstep could throw you into the other side—or into a chaotic intersection of both—making suppression missions extremely difficult.
Still, before the rise of Irregular Gates, dual gates were manageable.
After all, red was the highest level among them.
Complex, but not impossible.
Under normal circumstances, a team of S-class Espers would be dispatched to handle it, keeping their best forces in reserve in case an Irregular appeared elsewhere.
But Seokhyeon had probably sensed that Raon’s thoughts differed from his own and called him in for coordination.
“This one… should be handled by the Special Unit.”
“Special Unit?”
“Yes.”
“Then… are you saying you believe this is an Irregular Gate?”
Raon nearly said “yes” without hesitation.
As someone who had regressed, he knew—this dual gate would become the next Irregular.
But then again, he might arouse suspicion, so Raon held himself back as much as possible.
After a moment of silence, he answered cautiously.
“The fact that it’s underwater, and that it’s a double gate—both are highly unusual. As you know, sir, gates usually appear near densely populated areas.”
“Hm, that’s true.”
“So most of them open inland. But this one is in the middle of the sea. And inside it, two gates have merged. I’d say we can safely consider it an irregular gate.”
“And what if it’s not?”
Then I’ll bet my right hand on it!
He wanted to declare it boldly, but Raon suppressed the urge. Instead, he gave a pleasant smile and replied.
“You know our capabilities. Even if it’s not an irregular gate—no, even if it is—we’ll suppress it quickly and get out. That way, we’ll be better prepared for the next real irregular gate.”
“Hmm.”
Seokhyeon crossed his arms and tapped his bicep with his fingers as if contemplating something.
He tried not to show his unease, but it wasn’t easy.
Knowing Seokhyeon’s cautious nature all too well, Raon couldn’t help but feel anxious.
But then Seokhyeon said something Raon hadn’t expected.
“You do know that Team Leader Seo Dojin won’t be able to go this time.”
“Yes, I do.”
After getting hit by a special poison in the last irregular gate incident, Dojin was still undergoing treatment.
Even Dasom’s healing powers hadn’t been able to fully cure him.
Having only recently awakened, Dasom seemed unable to neutralize the unique venom of the final monster just yet.
And even with treatment, the poison would leave lingering aftereffects.
No one knew when Dojin would be able to return.
Raon actually preferred it that way, but Seokhyeon seemed to feel differently.
“Mikhail, the Esper from the Union, will be going instead. But he’s not one of ours. He’ll assist with suppression for the by-products, but he won’t fully cooperate. And he’s hostile toward you.”
“I’ve prepared myself for that.”
“If it were up to me, I’d bring in Esper Jung Hyunseung as well, but the military probably wouldn’t allow it.”
“Hmm.”
Raon recalled Hyunseung glaring at him beside Mikhail.
One’s just as bad as the other.
He wanted to reassure Seokhyeon that it wasn’t worth worrying about, but if he said that, he’d probably get an earful in return.
So he kept quiet.
Seokhyeon let out a long sigh.
“Phew… In any case, I’ll trust the judgment of the field officers. Take the special team and suppress the double gate in Sector 10. You’ll be taking over Team Leader Seo Dojin’s command authority, and Team Leader Beom Inho will be in charge of direct combat leadership.”
“I’m fine with that.”
Raon nodded readily, recalling Inho’s kind demeanor toward him.
Communication would be far smoother than it had been with Dojin.
The suppression of the next irregular gate was just around the corner, but Raon felt surprisingly lighthearted.
He saluted Seokhyeon, then turned and exited the director’s office with Siwoo.
* * *
