* * *
It didn’t take long after Alpha Team 1 entered the Irregular Gate to realize something was wrong.
“We’ve lost contact with the Center.”
The communication officer reported to Dojin.
His expression twisted.
“Looks like there’s some kind of signal interference.”
“Maybe we should pull out for today…”
“We haven’t learned anything yet. We can’t retreat now.”
Dojin shook his head firmly. The officer looked uneasy but stepped back.
Normally, if a gate blocked communication, teams approached it with extra caution.
The officer’s suggestion followed standard protocol.
But Alpha Team 1 was an exception.
Comprised mainly of S-rank Espers, they were allowed to bypass most regulations under the authority of their Captain, Dojin.
Still, maybe because this was an Irregular Gate, the usually composed team members were visibly on edge today.
Maybe it was the strange atmosphere that lingered in the air.
“The monsters are going down way too easily, don’t you think, Captain?”
Taegeon spoke up, clearly uneasy.
As a psychic-type Esper, he often sensed things others couldn’t.
But even that didn’t shake Dojin’s confidence.
“Even if it’s an Irregular, it’ll settle into a color soon. And even if it turns out to be a Red Gate, we can handle it.”
Dojin marched forward with confidence.
There hadn’t been a gate Alpha Team 1 failed to suppress.
People had just been overreacting to the late color manifestation—it wasn’t beyond their capabilities, even if Siwoo’s numbers were a mess.
In truth, Dojin never intended to just scout and leave.
He’d always been frustrated with how people timidly avoided Irregular Gates.
Whatever trouble had come from them—those were past incidents.
Dojin had cleared multiple top-grade Red Gates that everyone thought were impossible.
His confidence was sky-high.
So he ignored all the subtle warning signals from the others and kept going forward.
Fwoosh!
“Gah…!”
And then, suddenly, a flash of light erupted in front of him.
“…Nam Taegeon?”
“Why are you here…?”
The person who appeared in front of Raon and Hamin was none other than Taegeon.
He looked bewildered as he stared at Raon.
At least it wasn’t a monster.
Raon lowered his weapon and let out a sigh.
“Han Raon. Lee Hamin too…?”
Taegeon hadn’t known Guides had been deployed due to the lost connection.
His face darkened as he tried to process the situation, glancing between Raon and Hamin.
“Are you alone? What about the others?”
Raon looked around Taegeon as he asked.
It was a relief to see an S-rank Esper, but Taegeon wasn’t a combat type, so it was still a bit worrisome.
Raon didn’t say it out loud, but he’d been hoping Siwoo might be nearby too.
“I got separated from a few members. We’re checking the surroundings for now.”
“Hmm.”
So Siwoo’s not here. Raon tried his best not to show his disappointment.
“This place really is strange though. We’ve had interference in other gates too, but this one just feels off…”
“Of course it does.”
“…What?”
Taegeon mumbled under his breath, and Raon responded.
“When you entered, the gate registered as gray.”
“Gray?”
“Yeah. This place isn’t ordinary.”
Now the question was—how many of them would make it out alive?
Raon muttered internally and moved his fingers.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Come here. I’ll give you a guiding.”
“Are you insane?”
“I’m offering to help and you’re giving me attitude?”
Normally, Raon wouldn’t bother.
But this was a Gray Gate.
Not as bad as a Black Gate, but still tougher than anything even special ops had dealt with before.
Knowing what was ahead, Raon had decided to push the Espers’ numbers as high as possible.
“Quit whining and give me your hand. We don’t have time.”
“…”
Taegeon stared at Raon’s outstretched hand—then, as if in a trance, slowly reached out.
BOOM!
“…!”
“What the—?”
They turned at the deafening sound to see flames rise and monsters screech.
A battle had broken out nearby.
“Stay here—I’ll go check it out!”
“Wha—wait…!”
Taegeon dashed off, leaving Raon and Hamin behind.
Raon stared after him, dumbfounded.
“You idiot. Just abandoning your Guides like that?”
Raon sighed and turned to Hamin.
“We’re going too.”
“Huh? But…”
“What if monsters show up while we’re just standing here?”
“R-right, good point.”
Still, it wasn’t only Taegeon’s fault.
For the past ten years, Guides hadn’t been deployed into gates.
Young Espers like Taegeon or Hamin didn’t really know how to cooperate inside one.
Sim training helped a little, but it was no substitute for the real thing.
Raon took off in the direction Taegeon had gone, Hamin close behind.
Thankfully, it wasn’t far—the Guide’s stamina was enough to keep up.
“Damn it, why are these things so tough?!”
Taegeon was actually angry—a rare sight.
As a psychic Esper, he normally made monsters fight each other.
But something was different now—he couldn’t.
These monsters were on a whole other level compared to other gates.
Raon took cover and analyzed the situation.
“Hamin Guide, remember the drills in the training room?”
“Huh? Y-yeah.”
“When I give the signal, we’ll do a radiating guiding.”
“Got it.”
It was Hamin’s first close-up battle, and he was clearly scared.
But when Raon spoke, he didn’t hesitate to nod.
Seeing the serious look in his eyes, Raon gave the command before the Espers’ numbers could drop further.
“Now!”
“Yes!”
Hamin, being only a B-rank, wasn’t an ideal match for anyone except maybe Dojin, so the guiding efficiency was low.
But he was just backup—Raon could manage fine on his own.
He was the only S-rank Guide in the entire country.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
“This is guiding…!”
The overwhelmed team members were confused at first.
But once they realized what was happening, they tapped into their abilities harder.
In a flash, the tides turned.
The team that had been getting overpowered was now dominating the monsters.
“Whew…”
It looked like they could breathe for a moment.
Raon watched the battle unfold, continuing to radiate guiding to Espers whose numbers began to drop again.
“Hamin Guide, you can stop now…”
Unlike Raon, Hamin needed to conserve energy to guide Dojin later.
Raon turned to tell him to stop.
“Huh?”
“KRAAAH!”
“…!”
A monster was charging straight at Hamin, its jaws wide open.
Without a second thought, Raon tackled him and rolled across the ground.
CRACK!
“Ugh…!”
“R-Raon!”
His shoulder burned and ached.
It must have been wounded.
Still, it was a relief that his body hadn’t been torn in half.
Just barely dodging it—he supposed that counted for something.
But Raon didn’t feel relieved.
A guide’s stamina was no better than that of an average person.
Even if he’d been lucky enough to avoid the attack once, dodging the next one would be difficult.
It was too late to draw his weapon now.
“Damn it, is this the end?”
Muttering to himself, Raon held Hamin tightly in his arms.
At the very least, while the monster killed him, Hamin needed to survive—he had to meet Dojin.
Raon didn’t think he was going to make it, but he hoped the other espers would find them in time and rescue Hamin.
“Kieeek!”
“Ugh…”
Half resigned, Raon closed his eyes.
And right then, a sudden downpour burst from the sky.
‘Ssshhh…’
“…Rain? All of a sudden?”
Raon opened his eyes slightly in confusion.
Rain, here, inside the gate?
It definitely wasn’t a natural occurrence.
“Kiek, kieeek?”
Even the monster seemed bewildered, glancing around nervously as it stood in the rain.
Then, in the next moment, the raindrops turned into blades and struck the monster.
Slash.
“…!”
The monster collapsed without even a scream.
Raon could only stare blankly at the sight.
Rain soaking the inside of the gate.
A familiar energy.
As far as Raon knew, only one person had an ability like this.
“…Siwoo.”
Beyond the fallen monster, he saw Siwoo.
His presence more intense than usual, Siwoo looked straight at Raon and ground his teeth.
“Thanks for saving me…”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“…What?”
Raon had been about to greet him warmly—grateful, relieved, since it was Siwoo who’d saved him.
But those sharp, unexpected words stopped him short, eyes widening.
“Do you have any idea where you are? Are you crazy? Huh?!”
“…Uh…”
Siwoo was yelling, furiously, like he’d lost it.
Raon just stared at him in a daze.
* * *
MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR SAVE YOUR MAN