* * *
“…Why… Why did you do it?”
“I wanted to be the only Esper for the man I love.”
No way—.
At her words, Ben recalled the first time he met Irina.
Even though they had only lightly bumped into each other, she had cried as though the world had ended, so he listened to her story.
Back then, Irina Sheryl had said she’d been rejected by a man, that he dismissed her love as nothing more than a delusion.
But he never imagined it would lead to this outcome.
Putting the pieces together, that man was likely Irina’s Guide, and now—the corpse lying there—was him.
Love lost is never easy to bear.
Still… even so.
“That’s not a reason to kill someone.”
“Why? Are you going to dismiss my feelings as ‘just that much’ too?”
“I’m not saying your feelings were wrong. Your methods are. You didn’t have to do this… not like this.”
“What would a Guide know, one who isn’t even an Esper?”
At the faint, defeated end of her voice was a tangle of love and hate with nowhere left to go.
Her narrowed eyes, as if recalling distant memories, returned to the present and fixed upon Enten and Ben.
“What even is the relationship between an Esper and their Guide? Just mutual use? One-sided dependence?”
“If it was just that, there’d be no such thing as Imprinting, would there? You’ve not just lost your way—you’ve completely fallen off the path.”
“To me, he was everything. My only true partner. Do you have any idea how wretched it feels when the one you’re bound to doesn’t share your heart? Being shackled together, only to realize your feelings aren’t returned—how—”
Hrk!
Irina broke into a violent cough, unable to finish her sentence.
Blood stained the hand covering her mouth.
She stared at the crimson marks for a moment before steadying her breath.
Not much time left.
The price of defying nature’s order had pushed her body to its limits.
The boiling pain in her abdomen was likely a sign her internal organs were melting from within.
Just like the man and woman whose lives she ended, her own end wasn’t far off either.
Once the jamming barrier broke, her abilities spiraled out of control, and she had long passed the point of reigning them in.
Nor could she borrow what little remained of her powers.
But she’d always known it would come to this.
She still had one last promise to fulfill.
“It’s meaningless now… I just need to finish what I started. You, me… all of us.”
The knife trembling in her hand gleamed sharply once more, its tip aimed at them.
As she said, one way or another, this had to end.
For Enten, subduing the woman who caused this disaster was the only way to wrap it up.
For Irina, finishing what she “started” meant killing Enten and Ben—there was no need to guess.
“Got any bright ideas?” Ben asked.
“Plenty… but the fact you came to me instead of running to Haimar Eilec makes me think we’ve got to settle this ourselves.”
“Can’t argue with that. That Roilnia—one of the fugitives from [Integra]—is here looking for Haimar too. For now, they’re clashing with Elgran.”
“Damn mess we’ve got here… Anyway, it’s probably a race against time. I get the feeling that woman’s using her powers without a Guide, but she’s paying a steep price for it.”
“I don’t care what it takes—we end this.”
Ben’s voice was firm as he toyed with his blood-smeared glasses.
It wasn’t just determination—it was also a nudge, urging Enten to act.
Because truthfully, Ben wanted to go to Haimar.
Forget resolving this mess—he just wanted to escape this suffocating, blood-soaked space and see that man’s face.
If he could just do that, maybe this unbearable tension would ease.
‘Seeking peace of mind from Haimar Eilec? Have I finally lost it…?’
It made no sense.
But after these few moments, the feeling was undeniable.
“Alright, let’s wrap this up, fast and clean.”
“Yes. What do I need to do?”
“Hm… only option is throwing you to the wolves, Ben.”
Enten’s words carried a teasing edge, but it was clearly to ease the tension.
His eyes behind those dirty glasses were dead serious.
Ben almost retorted with his usual sarcasm, but swallowed his words.
He simply accepted it.
‘Surely… he won’t really let me die…?’
It wasn’t much, but that’s the trust he chose to place in Enten.
Meeting his eyes, Ben gave a heavy reply.
“If that’s the only way, better than doing nothing.”
They couldn’t risk discussing specifics where Irina could hear.
Enten surely had the full plan worked out, but Ben could easily guess his role.
Put bluntly, cannon fodder.
More generously, bait.
Still, she had weapons, and he was unarmed… but they had numbers—maybe that would be enough.
Steeling his nerves, Ben flipped the knife’s grip as Irina lunged at him with ferocious speed.
One way or another, she was still an Esper—meaning even against a grown man, her physical abilities were leagues ahead.
His best bet was full defense.
Hiss—
The blade sliced through the air, grazing dangerously close to him.
She followed with a sharp, well-balanced kick, which he narrowly dodged by folding his body.
His eyes stayed locked on the knife, never losing sight of it.
If he could avoid a fatal blow, Enten would find a way to handle the rest.
Ben grabbed her left arm, trying to twist it behind her, but her free hand swung with no hesitation.
He barely dodged the incoming fist, but his side took the brunt of it with a dull thud.
The pain was like being slammed by a boulder.
Worse, the blood-slick marble floor was treacherously slippery.
One wrong step and he’d lose his footing entirely.
It happened several times as he fended off her attacks, but he managed to stabilize himself—barely.
“You… do you have an Esper?”
As the knife skimmed his clothes, Ben retreated, and Irina pointed the blade at him again with a high, arcing motion.
Despite the ferocity of her movements, her voice was eerily flat.
If he hadn’t been focused, he might not have heard her at all.
But tracking the blade’s trajectory, Ben quickly answered.
“I… I do.”
Again, from the right.
Reading the wide swing, Ben dodged and threw a light jab—more to buy time than to attack.
Still, it marked a shift from his earlier, purely defensive stance.
If he had space to throw a punch, it meant Irina’s movements were slowing, however slightly.
“What’s your relationship with that Esper?”
The question flowed in along the blade’s path.
Ben faltered briefly.
Even with the situation improving, he wasn’t relaxed enough to fend off attacks while pondering such things.
He barely dodged—had he hesitated longer, Irina’s fist would’ve been buried in his gut.
‘What… relationship?’
Could he even say that there was anything concrete between him and the guy?
Their relationship was complicated in all sorts of ways, but calling it the typical Esper-Guide dynamic probably wouldn’t satisfy Irina Sheril.
But honestly, he’d never really thought about it—
“Urgh—!”
As expected, letting his attention drift cost him.
The woman’s high kick slammed into his shoulder.
He’d assumed from the start he wouldn’t be able to dodge completely, so he’d braced for impact—but pain was pain, regardless.
Still, her balance shifted significantly, giving him the perfect chance to grab the wrist holding the knife.
Ben didn’t hesitate for a second and seized the opening.
Then he swept her supporting leg out from under her with force.
“We’re nothing to each other—ugh?!”
He tried to spit out some half-assed answer, but Irina, staggering as she fell, shot forward and grabbed his collar with lightning speed.
Thanks to that, they both tumbled harshly onto the floor.
Thud!
Each time they rolled, Ben could feel the fabric of his clothes soaking up the blood pooling on the ground.
The damp, sticky sensation was disgusting, but the current position—with Irina pinning him down—was much worse.
The person on top was the enemy, and as if to prove the point, the moment she recovered, he had to dodge the blade aimed straight at his face.
Ka-kak—!
He could’ve died. Seriously.
His cheek stung.
If he hadn’t turned his face away in time, that sting would’ve been the least of his worries.
As he glanced at the blade, now nicked and damaged from slamming into the marble floor, there was no time to even catch his breath.
Her blood-slicked fingers were already wrapping around his throat.
* * *
