* * *
“It’ll be hard to extend this to the combat team too.”
“Let us know if you need guiding at any point.”
Siwoo and Hamin were now extending their powers even to the espers on the combat team.
The old Siwoo wouldn’t have been able to handle that—but now, he could.
Raon gripped Siwoo’s hand tightly, smiling.
“Good job.”
“Just words?”
“Hm? What else do you want?”
Raon grinned playfully and gently caressed Siwoo’s cheek.
The sensation was strange—probably because they were underwater.
It made him smile even more.
But just then, Siwoo’s expression stiffened.
“They’re coming.”
“Ah.”
Raon now saw them too—the swarm of monsters approaching.
These underwater creatures resembled giant fish or sharks, but their forms were grotesque and monstrous.
“Block them!”
The combat team fought against the monsters.
However, while they had resolved the breathing issue, fighting underwater was still beyond their capabilities.
Most Espers flailed helplessly, unable to adapt to underwater combat.
“Hmm…”
Mikhail, who manipulated gravity, was especially powerless underwater, just as Raon had predicted.
Unable to use his powers properly, he frowned, a slight crease forming between his elegant brows.
“Siwoo.”
“Yes.”
After watching from behind for a while, Raon decided it was time to intervene.
Just from Raon calling his name, Siwoo understood and signaled to Hamin.
The two of them vanished in an instant.
Rumble!
Normally, Siwoo and Yeojoon led combat for the guiding team.
But using Yeojoon’s powers underwater would have caused significant collateral damage, even to allies.
So Raon had Siwoo and Hamin work together instead.
The whirlpool they created swept up the monsters.
The creatures were torn apart in the vortex, blood trailing behind them.
The combat team, who had been struggling only moments before, looked stunned at how quickly it was over.
“Esper Minjae, relay my message to Esper Taegeon.”
“Ah, yes.”
It wasn’t just the combat team who had been momentarily dazed—Minjae, too, snapped back to awareness and nodded.
He focused his mind.
“I’m listening.”
“Tell them to follow the direction the monsters came from. We need to go deeper.”
“Message delivered.”
Since electronic devices didn’t work underwater, Minjae relayed Raon’s instructions himself.
The team adjusted their course accordingly and began heading downwards.
‘If things are the same as before the regression, the next stage should be this way.’
Following the direction the monsters came from would lead them to an underwater city—ancient ruins on the seafloor, like a sunken Atlantis from legend.
Monsters poured endlessly from its depths.
In the pitch-black deep sea, it was the only place with any light.
While Espers could rely on their enhanced senses even without vision, guides couldn’t.
Having light made it much easier to issue commands.
“Hyung, if it gets hard, let me know right away.”
“Got it.”
Siwoo, perhaps realizing this battlefield was different from others, seemed more tense than usual.
Yet his body moved smoothly through the water.
With his affinity for water, he seemed more at ease here than anyone else.
Before the regression, Siwoo would’ve been a wreck by now.
Without proper guiding, his contamination levels would’ve dropped dangerously low, and even though he was an S-class Esper, he couldn’t use his powers freely—reduced to a burden on the team.
He’d been more active here only because so few Espers could fight underwater, but even then, he’d been overshadowed by Dojin.
Now, however, Siwoo looked far more reliable.
Working together with Hamin to help the others breathe and clear out monsters—he was undeniably impressive.
Raon couldn’t help but feel proud of him.
Siwoo had become someone the team couldn’t do without.
“You be careful too. Don’t let your levels drop.”
“Understood.”
Thanks to constant guiding, Siwoo’s contamination levels were at their best.
But inside the gate, where he used his powers constantly, those levels could plummet in the blink of an eye.
As Raon clung to Siwoo while they moved, he kept monitoring the levels carefully.
“They’re coming again!”
“…!”
They must be nearing their destination.
A horde of monsters appeared—far more than before.
Raon quickly tapped Siwoo on the arm.
“I’m fine, so go quickly.”
“But…”
“Go.”
If worst came to worst, Yeojoon was still here.
Though he’d have to be careful using his powers underwater.
Siwoo shot a reluctant glance at Yeojoon before heading forward with Hamin again.
Though this was their first time working together outside of training, they moved in perfect sync.
Perhaps it was because they were the main and secondary love interests in the original story.
Siwoo had once openly disliked the fact that Hamin was highly compatible with Dojin as a guide, but now that there was no longer a need for that rivalry, he seemed to have dropped his guard.
They still had occasional tension, but from the looks of it, nothing serious.
Raon, feeling strangely conflicted, shook his head to rid himself of unnecessary thoughts.
His teammates spoke up around him.
“It’s not as bad as I thought.”
“Seems like this is still part of the Blue Gate.”
“Still, being underwater makes it more of a pain than a typical Blue Gate.”
As Juwon pointed out, this area was still within the Blue Gate.
But as Jamie mentioned, being submerged made it difficult even for high-level Espers to perform properly.
That alone increased the gate’s effective difficulty.
“Has the Union ever encountered a gate in the ocean before?”
“No, this is a first for me as well.”
In response to Taehyuk’s question, Jamie shook her head.
Raon, already knowing this, gave a bitter smile.
Seeing their confusion made him realize again just how uniquely Korea suffered from these irregular gates.
Of all places, why did the novel’s setting have to be Korea, attracting disasters from all over the world?
Raon clicked his tongue internally and turned his gaze back to the fierce battle ahead.
“Esper Mikhail should probably pull back now.”
“Hm.”
Jamie, who had been cold toward Mikhail since the briefing room, gave a strained smile.
Raon glanced at her face.
The Center had deliberately mentioned Jamie to irritate Mikhail, but Raon hadn’t realized their relationship was this strained.
Jamie was clearly avoiding him.
“Esper Jamie, are you uncomfortable with Esper Mikhail?”
“No, it’s not that.”
At Raon’s question, Jamie quickly shook her head, though discomfort flashed across her face.
“It’s just that… Mikhail has a rather sharp tongue. I thought it might make you uncomfortable, Team Leader.”
“I’m used to it. It’s fine.”
“Used to it…?”
Jamie murmured, looking a bit taken aback—almost shocked.
“Not every Esper in the Union is like Mikhail, you know.”
“I’m aware. The Union was the one that first proposed the Guide Protection Act and pushed it globally.”
“That’s true. Then… why are you…”
“Hmm.”
Raon looked away from the puzzled Jamie.
Just as she said, aside from a few high-classing Espers like Mikhail and Dojin, the culture of mistreating guides had largely disappeared.
Raon’s case was a result of his own “difficult” personality—a karma of sorts—but unfortunately, there was no way to explain that properly.
He simply turned his gaze slightly and spoke to Minjae.
“Tell Esper Mikhail to fall back.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
The battle was slowly wrapping up.
Underwater combat made things harder, but the Blue Gate monsters themselves were relatively weak, so there were no injuries.
For the first time in a while, Raon had a moment to breathe.
‘Though that won’t last long…’
The problem with a dual gate was that two gates had been forcibly merged.
That meant the space could shift without warning.
Raon had experienced it once before his regression, but even he couldn’t remember the exact timing perfectly.
Fortunately, with Siwoo and Hamin’s strong performance, the fight was going smoothly.
That gave Raon a chance to quietly move Mikhail to the guiding team—under the pretense that he wasn’t useful here.
“What? Why’d you call me?”
The battle had ended, and Mikhail grumbled toward Raon, his face full of discontent.
He had told Raon he’d never been inside a water-based Gate before, and now, soaked and humiliated, he glared at him.
“There’s nothing for me to do on the combat team anyway.”
“You—!”
“Just relax and stay here.”
“…Hoo.”
Mikhail struggled to control his anger.
Watching him take a deep breath, Raon smirked slightly.
It was almost time to use Mikhail’s ability.
To line things up just right, Raon needed to keep him close no matter what.
But that didn’t mean he had to be nice about it.
With a slightly wicked thought, Raon smiled slyly.
“So, how was your first time in an underwater Gate?”
“……”
“I’d also love to hear how it feels to be completely useless.”
“Shut up!”
Mikhail shouted, his face turning red.
Seeing him fume like that made it hard for Raon to hold back his laughter.
* * *
