* * *
‘Why?’
Only one reason came to mind as to why the monsters were attacking him so persistently.
Possession.
The only thing that set Raon apart from others was that he was possessed.
But during his previous life, when he’d been playing the part of Han Raon, the monsters hadn’t shown any particular fixation on him.
So just being possessed didn’t seem like a complete explanation.
‘Or is it because I regressed?’
This time, he wasn’t just a possessor—he was also someone who had regressed.
In his past life, he’d been under the tight control of the system, forced to follow the villain Han Raon’s script to the letter.
Now, he was free to act on his own—and that freedom had changed many things.
Still, why would that make him a monster target?
Raon gritted his teeth and pushed himself up the increasingly steep stairs.
“Skreee!”
“Ugh!”
Monsters clung to the walls in droves.
Their attacks cracked the tower’s structure further, threatening collapse.
If it kept up, the whole tower might fall.
They were close to meeting the combat team—but with so many monsters, pushing further seemed impossible.
“Siwoo! Esper Yeojoon!”
“But if we attack, the tower—”
“Better that than the guides dying!”
“…Got it.”
Siwoo hesitated but then lowered the barrier and launched an attack.
Luckily, the joint strike worked.
The monsters were charred black and tumbled out of the tower.
“Everyone, come this way!”
“Y-yes!”
Raon herded the guides into the center.
In such a narrow space, one misstep could be fatal.
“Kyaaah!”
“Dasom!”
In the chaos, Dasom must’ve slipped—her body tilted dangerously.
A monster darted toward her, ready to strike.
“Damn it!”
Raon moved without thinking.
Instinct took over.
His hand grabbed Dasom’s arm and shoved her backward with all his strength.
“Team Leader!”
Hamin’s panicked voice rang out.
The monster’s beak barely missed them—but Raon, having shielded Dasom, was now tipping fully out of the tower.
“Urgh!”
To make it worse, the wind surged.
Raon’s body plummeted from the tower.
He shut his eyes tightly.
The sharp wind slashed across his cheek.
Falling from such a height… death was inevitable.
Or maybe he’d be eaten by monsters before he even hit the ground.
Raon had accepted it.
He was done.
Ironically, he’d lived longer when hiding behind Espers, playing the villain Han Raon.
Still, even if it was short, he didn’t regret living freely this time.
“Team Leader, please—stay with us! Team Leader!”
“…Huh?”
Just as he was calmly preparing for the end, an impossible voice rang in his ears.
Raon’s eyes snapped open in shock.
“Hamin… Guide?”
“Te-team leader, are you okay?!”
“Hamin—urgh—why are you here…?!”
Raon’s eyes widened in shock.
The person holding onto him as he fell was unmistakably Hamin.
It seemed that when he fell in place of Dasom, Hamin had leapt in after him to save him.
‘At least one of us has to survive!’
Even if it couldn’t be him, Hamin was the protagonist of the novel.
Although the irregular gate had been subdued a full year earlier than it was supposed to be in the original plot, it was a high-difficulty gate—and that meant he’d likely awaken as an S-rank Guide within the next two years.
If Hamin survived, humanity might still have a chance.
But instead of surviving, he was falling right alongside him. It made no sense.
“What the hell were you thinking?!”
“S-sorry, I didn’t even realize…”
“Urgh.”
Talking mid-freefall wasn’t exactly easy.
The wind was so fierce that it was hard to even keep his eyes open.
Raon grabbed Hamin’s arm with all the strength he had.
He had to get Hamin out of this, somehow—send him back up, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
But he wasn’t even an Esper.
No matter how much strength he used, he couldn’t stop them from falling.
“Kieeek!”
And to make matters worse, monsters were everywhere.
Seeing them charge toward them, Raon instinctively pulled Hamin into a tight embrace.
Thud!
“Ugh.”
A harsh impact rang out.
But Raon didn’t feel a thing.
Confused, he looked back toward where the monster had come from.
“Huh?”
“Grrk… click…”
The monster, which had almost reached Raon’s face, was flailing its front limbs, completely unable to move.
Nothing seemed to be physically restraining it, but it was as if something invisible had gripped it tight.
“What… is this…?”
And then Raon noticed—his body was no longer falling.
He was floating in midair.
Just a moment ago, they had definitely been plummeting.
Even Raon was at a complete loss for words.
“Team Leader…”
“Hamin… Guide…?”
Raon looked down at Hamin, who was trembling in his arms.
With a deathly pale face, Hamin was stretching out one hand toward the monster.
‘Don’t tell me… Hamin…?’
Two bodies suspended in midair.
A monster frozen in place.
This wasn’t something anyone but an Esper could do.
But there were no Espers down here—only him and Hamin had fallen.
And if Raon had reawakened as an Esper, he’d have noticed right away.
“No way…”
Raon muttered blankly.
No matter how he looked at it, this had to be Hamin’s doing.
The very same Hamin who, in the original story, had reawakened as an S-rank Guide.
“I… I think I can do it.”
“Do what?”
Hamin moved his fingers a few times, as if he’d made up his mind.
Raon, still in a daze, asked.
Shwiik!
“Ugh!”
A sharp sound of wind sliced past Raon’s ear—much more intense than what he’d heard during the fall.
Slash! Slash-slash!
“Kieeeek!”
“The monsters—!”
It was as if invisible blades were tearing through the monsters.
The creature that had tried to attack them was shredded midair, its blood spraying as it tumbled down below.
Raon stared at the scene in stunned silence, then turned to Hamin.
Beads of sweat clung to Hamin’s tense face as he let out a long breath.
“Whew…”
“Hamin, that just now—”
“Yeah… I think that was me.”
Hamin met Raon’s gaze and gave a small smile. Raon had no words left.
His mind was a complete mess.
Why was Hamin, a Guide, using powers that only an Esper should have?
Raon simply couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening.
“I think… I can carry us back up too.”
“Then… I’m counting on you.”
For now, getting out of this situation was the top priority.
Raon looked up toward the tower, which had long since vanished from sight.
Still… they were alive.
That had to count for something.
Just a moment ago, both of them had almost died a meaningless death.
“Uh… please hold on tighter.”
“…Ah.”
“My control over this power isn’t very stable yet…”
Hamin’s face turned bright red as he mumbled. Raon simply nodded.
“Got it.”
Hamin had just awakened his ability.
They had managed to float midair simply by clinging to each other, but now he’d have to actually fly—with Raon in tow.
It made sense that he’d be nervous.
Raon wrapped his arms tighter around Hamin and pressed in close.
His head rested against Hamin’s chest, where he could hear the frantic thudding of his heartbeat.
‘Is he that nervous?’
Hamin’s heart was pounding wildly—as if it might burst.
Raon frowned slightly, worried, but then Hamin gently wrapped his arms around Raon’s shoulders and whispered.
“Then… here we go.”
“Okay.”
Slowly, the two of them began to rise into the air.
Raon still wasn’t sure what Hamin’s power was exactly, but given how they were flying and how the invisible force had torn monsters apart, it was likely something related to wind or telekinesis.
But it felt different from Dojin’s telekinesis.
Dojin could fly using his powers too, but his were closer to traditional psychic force—it didn’t create wind.
But right now, wind was swirling around Hamin.
The power that had just shredded that monster had also carried a fierce gust.
Wind-based Espers were rare.
The ability was as strong and versatile as Dojin’s telekinesis, but Korea had very few of them—and none of high rank.
Raon didn’t know Hamin’s rank yet, but he’d seen countless high-level Espers at work inside the gates.
Even if it was still unstable, Hamin’s power was clearly not low-grade.
‘What the hell is going on…?’
Raon sighed inwardly.
Hamin wavered once in the middle of their ascent, as if uncertain of his trajectory, but they managed to make it to the base of the tower at last.
“So now we go inside the tower—”
“Wait.”
“Huh?”
Just as they neared the tower’s base, Raon sensed something was wrong.
Hamin widened his eyes in surprise and looked up—then flinched.
“The bottom of the tower is…”
“Get us higher, now!”
“Right!”
The tower was slowly collapsing… from the bottom up.
* * *
