* * *
The air around them turned eerily silent, the street filled with rising smoke and an abandoned stillness, as if it had been completely deserted.
And though Ben himself couldn’t feel it, Liran Siu, as an Esper, definitely could.
The shift in the air, the quickened heartbeat of someone nearby, the telltale stirrings of movement.
“Please, please let that monster still be sane.”
Ben didn’t dare say it out loud, but for the first time today, he found himself wholeheartedly agreeing with Liran.
Their eyes met, and she seemed to pick up on the unspoken plea in his gaze.
She bit her lip hard, then slowly pulled her phone away from her ear.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know their condition—how am I supposed to handle this? Whether they’ve lost their mind or not, though honestly, they were always crazy—”
“Hh—!”
“……!”
Liran’s words, which had been tumbling out in near panic, abruptly stopped.
Her breath hitched as her eyes went wide in sheer horror, her face draining of all color.
The once-still air suddenly turned suffocatingly dense.
The space that had felt empty just moments ago now pressed in on them, squeezing like a vise.
Ben’s superior, who had been standing far back, collapsed weakly onto his knees, unable to process what was happening.
“Hey! Get in there and do something! You’re a Guide, aren’t you?!”
Wait—wasn’t that completely different from what she said before?!
If an Esper lost control, the only ways to stop them were brute force or intervention from a matched Guide.
But overpowering an SS-rank Esper?
That was absurd.
So that left only one option—
“I’m an F-rank Guide! I’m practically a failure—you know that better than anyone!”
Ben immediately shot down Liran’s desperate, babbling excuse.
She knew it was nonsense, too.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand—she was just terrified.
She didn’t want to go inside that container.
She didn’t want to risk dying.
It was basic survival instinct.
“If they had just killed that bastard in the first place, none of this would be happening!”
“Who are you blaming right now? The one who threw a damn car at the container first was that kid!”
“Then just—! Just check! Just confirm if they’re okay! Please, I’m begging you!”
Seeing a grown adult stubbornly insisting like a headstrong child was enough to give Ben a headache.
Even though he knew Ben wouldn’t be much help, he was so adamant about not getting involved that he had tossed aside the gun he had been holding.
At the sight of it, Ben let out a deep sigh.
Just how much did he hate this?
“…You just need me to check, right?”
Damn it, it’s not like I’m going to die.
Perhaps surprised by his response, Liran fell silent, his previously chattering mouth now shut as he cautiously watched Ben standing at the entrance of the container.
Though it was Liran himself who had suggested it in desperation, his eyes were filled with doubt—was he actually serious?
It made Ben feel like a moth flying straight into the flames.
It’s not like Ben wanted to die.
Someone had to do it, and since there was no one else, it had to be him.
If only there were more people here, plenty of others could have been sent in his place.
Maybe he should have stopped Liran from throwing out all the employees earlier, no matter how much of a fit he was throwing.
No, there was no turning back now.
He couldn’t take back his words.
It’ll be fine.
He just needed to go in, confirm that the person inside was in their right mind, and get out.
And if—if things actually seemed off…
Would he even have enough time to scream before running?
“…Avoid making eye contact as much as possible. If their sense of self is weak, they might be able to control your thoughts.”
“…I was thinking this earlier, but could you maybe say things like that a little sooner…?”
Ben hesitated, seriously considering taking back what he’d said.
Mind control?
That meant the person inside was an esper with a high-level psychic ability.
Even among psychics, controlling the thoughts of a conscious person was considered nearly impossible.
This was on a completely different scale.
“Of course, there’s also a chance your head could explode before you even see their face.”
“Are you telling me to go in or not?”
Hearing that, Ben’s determination wavered for a moment.
An esper who could affect the physical realm on top of psychic control?
That was beyond dangerous.
He really wanted to give up.
But by then, he had already pushed open the barely-attached container door.
Taking a deep breath, he focused on the pitch-black interior.
“The container was originally filled with anesthetic gas, but since it’s broken, it’s probably leaked out.”
“…….”
How could he describe the inside of the container?
It was utterly dark.
Only the faint light seeping in from outside gave any sense of its structure.
Through the twisted iron bars, he could vaguely make out the space inside, packed with locks and iron restraints.
There were broken-down machines emitting occasional sparks and static.
Just from a glance, it was obvious—the entire setup was designed to confine something.
They had gone to extreme lengths to keep whatever was inside from getting out.
“…Is anyone there?”
Swallowing dryly, Ben carefully called out into the darkness.
His voice echoed inside before fading into silence, and that brief moment of stillness stretched unbearably long.
If he was about to have his head twisted off, what could he even do?
If something responded, what should he say?
Creak—.
A metallic sound echoed from within.
It was faint, but he definitely heard it.
He couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but it was clear that something was moving.
Gulp. A cold sweat ran down his spine.
He was frozen in place, instinctively feeling that even the slightest movement would only heighten the tension.
Click.
“…!”
This time, the sound was unmistakable.
Ben flinched, his body jolting in surprise.
If he were an esper, he might have been able to see clearly in this darkness.
But to his eyes, everything was just a void.
He needed to say something—to break the silence—but before he could, the metallic sound came again.
And it didn’t stop.
Click.
Click.
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click—
Without realizing it, Ben took a step back as he finally recognized the sound.
The countless locks inside the container were all simultaneously coming undone.
It was eerie—one by one, the locks were failing, as if they were never meant to hold anything in the first place.
The sight made his skin crawl.
And suddenly, he understood why Liran had said the creature walked in of its own accord.
Because it could never be locked up by force.
This was a mistake.
He was never supposed to step into a monster’s lair of his own will.
When Liran had shown such obvious reluctance, he should have stayed out of it, too.
What the hell was he thinking—
Boom—!!!
Shit—.
Ben turned to run, but before he could even take a step, the battered container door was slammed shut by an unseen force.
“Ugh—! Wait—!”
In the next instant, something strong grabbed his arm and yanked him down.
Dust rose around him as he crashed to the ground.
Ben struggled to free his arm, but the grip was inhumanly strong, pressing his wrist against the floor.
Pain shot through his arm, the pressure making his skin tingle with a dull ache.
And when the back of his head hit the ground, a sharp sting surged through his skull, so intense that tears welled up in his eyes.
Blinking through the pain, Ben looked up at the figure pinning him down.
What he saw were deep, lake-blue eyes—brilliant even in the darkness—set against platinum hair so luminous it seemed to glow.
The man’s striking features were sharp and well-defined, as if sculpted with precision.
Ben froze, though this time for an entirely different reason.
The stark contrast between this man and the “monster” Liran had been ranting about was almost laughable.
Looking at him, even the most famous celebrities and models seemed plain by comparison.
It felt absurd to say this about another man, but calling him the embodiment of beauty wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
He was breathtakingly handsome.
And his towering height and solid, well-built frame only added to the contradiction.
Instead of evoking fear, the sight of him called to mind something… completely opposite.
Especially since the man’s eyes were curved in an unmistakable smile.
Oh. Eye contact.
Liran had explicitly warned him not to do that.
The moment he realized it, a sharp pain began pricking at his skull, like needles stabbing into his brain.
Maybe it was just from hitting his head earlier, but now his wrists hurt too, and the added headache made Ben grimace.
Couldn’t they at least have a conversation first?
Humans had a perfectly peaceful means of communication—words.
Since he hadn’t immediately dropped dead from eye contact, he figured he had dodged the worst of it.
Summoning his courage, Ben spoke.
“Uh… um, could you… let go of me?”
Where he found the nerve to ask politely, he wasn’t sure.
Watching the man’s expression carefully, he saw that he was still smiling down at him.
And… was his face getting closer?
It wasn’t his imagination.
If this continued, their noses were going to touch.
* * *
