* * *
‘What’s going on?’
The bomb that could’ve caused a major problem had already been taken care of.
Yet the air was still thick with the sound of explosions and continuous tremors.
Raon looked around, startled, his eyes scanning nervously.
“Urgh.”
It seemed the shock from the explosion had finally brought Mikhail back to his senses.
But even then, he looked dazed, clearly not fully aware of the situation.
Raon grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back.
“Are you with me, Mikhail Esper?”
“This place…”
“There’s no time to explain. Something must’ve gone wrong outside.”
“What?”
Boom!
The moment Raon finished speaking, the ground shook violently again.
Seawater began gushing in through the cracked walls.
That was when Mikhail finally seemed to come to his senses, his brows furrowing.
“This place is going to collapse.”
“Then we need to get out. Fast.”
“Agreed.”
Mikhail nodded at Raon’s suggestion.
Thankfully, they’d come in prepared with equipment, just in case Siwoo and Hamin’s abilities couldn’t cover the full area inside the gate.
The downside was that they couldn’t speak while wearing the gear, so hand signals were necessary.
Mikhail held Raon tightly to keep him from getting swept away by the current, then used the remaining gravitational force in his pupils to blast through the wall.
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
A massive torrent of water rushed in instantly, but thanks to Mikhail, Raon managed to escape the tunnel safely.
He shot a glance at Mikhail’s serious expression.
‘Is he okay now?’
Mikhail, who hadn’t had enough guiding, had nearly lost his mind.
If it hadn’t been for that unexpected explosion and shockwave from outside, Mikhail might’ve forced himself on Raon, overcome by the need for guiding.
Raon had never performed deep guiding with anyone besides Siwoo, and the memory alone made his spine tingle.
‘Guiding is just guiding… or so I thought.’
Raon never placed much emotional weight on physical relationships.
It wasn’t like he had one-night stands regularly, but if he felt like it and liked the person, he wouldn’t hesitate to spend the night.
Objectively speaking, Mikhail—temperament aside—was a man with an excellent physique and face.
Strong guiding would improve Mikhail’s condition, too, so there was no reason to hesitate from a guide’s perspective.
And yet, Raon had felt uncomfortable.
Even more so, because he found himself thinking of someone else.
‘This is driving me insane.’
His vision went dark for a moment.
He hadn’t expected to be forced into confronting his own feelings like this.
With a sigh muffled by the gear covering his mouth and nose, Raon turned his eyes to the surrounding area.
‘What is that?’
In the distance, a whirlpool—likely the cause of the explosion—was visible.
It seemed far from Raon’s view, but Mikhail would probably see it more clearly. Raon turned and tapped Mikhail’s shoulder.
‘…There are team members over there?’
That was when Mikhail responded with hand signals—and the information shocked him.
The guide team and combat team members were near the whirlpool.
Raon’s eyes widened.
Looking closely, he could make out tiny dot-like figures in the distance.
He signaled to Mikhail that they should head toward them.
To his surprise, Mikhail followed without complaint.
Considering how much he hated following orders from a guide, this was unexpected.
Maybe it was because the situation was dire… or maybe it was guilt over his earlier behavior.
Raon didn’t dwell on it.
He simply pressed forward with Mikhail.
“Team Leader!”
“…!”
As Raon approached, Hamin was the first to notice and swim over.
He looked back and forth between Raon and Mikhail, concern evident in his voice.
“Are you okay? We were so worried when you suddenly disappeared.”
“…”
Raon nodded and signaled that he was fine.
But for some reason, Hamin’s expression remained uneasy after seeing that.
Boom! Boom!
“…!”
The situation was getting worse.
Whatever that massive whirlpool was, if they left it alone, it looked like it could destroy everything in the area—and that meant the team wouldn’t survive either.
Biting his lip at the ever-growing list of unpredictable variables, Raon began scanning the area, looking for Siwoo to remove his gear and give orders more easily.
But—
Siwoo was nowhere in sight.
“Team Leader, um…”
“…?”
When Raon asked where Siwoo was, Hamin hesitated, unable to answer right away.
That’s when Raon sensed something was very wrong.
His heart beat erratically.
That earlier unexpected explosion… the encounter with a strange bomb… none of it existed before his regression.
Whatever was causing the whirlpool, it couldn’t be just another bomb.
If it had been, Siwoo—who had water-based abilities—would’ve responded quickly.
“After you disappeared… Siwoo…”
“…”
“I think he’s almost completely lost control.”
Hamin finally spoke, trying hard to stay calm.
Raon quickly checked his watch.
[Yoon Siwoo – Contamination Level: Moderate (53%)]
The level had dropped significantly from before, but it was still enough to trigger a rampage.
If Siwoo kept overexerting his powers like this, the contamination would skyrocket.
At that point, going berserk would be inevitable.
“Team Leader, please don’t. Others have tried to get close, but they couldn’t. It’s too dangerous.”
Raon had said he would go guide Siwoo directly, but Hamin stopped him, clearly worried.
Juwon and Taehyuk had already attempted to approach Siwoo and calm him down, but failed.
Their battle suits were in tatters, and Dasom was sticking close, probably healing them.
Raon didn’t hesitate long. He signed back at Hamin:
[I’m the only one who can stop Siwoo. It’s dangerous—just use your power to get me close.]
“Team Leader…”
Hamin tried once more to dissuade him but couldn’t speak against Raon’s determined expression.
Finally, he nodded and replied,
“Okay. But I’ll make sure to protect you, no matter what.”
“…”
Just as Raon couldn’t change his decision, he couldn’t deny Hamin’s either.
With no other choice, he gave a small nod.
Hamin wrapped his arms around him, and they pushed forward through the raging current.
“Urgh!”
It was getting harder and harder for Raon’s guide body to endure.
Inside the whirlpool, Siwoo was thrashing wildly, destroying everything in his path.
He’d probably started out trying to find Raon—searching frantically—but as the belief that Raon might have died solidified, Siwoo lost all control.
It was extremely rare—almost unheard of—for an S-Rank like Siwoo to lose control like this.
Even when his contamination levels had been at their worst, he’d still maintained top-tier control over his abilities.
This just proved how much of a shock he had suffered.
Raon and Mikhail had been lucky—staying in the air-pocketed tunnel the whole time.
If they hadn’t, they might not have survived.
In the crushing pressure of the deep sea, relying on fragile gear alone, even the smallest variable could’ve been fatal.
‘The gear is…’
As if on cue, cracks began forming in the gear exposed directly to Siwoo’s power.
Oxygen, once steadily supplied, began leaking rapidly.
“Team Leader!”
As Hamin panicked, Raon calmed him with a steady gesture and held his breath.
Now—he had to get to Siwoo.
No matter what.
“Grrkh!”
A strained groan escaped from Hamin, who was clenching his teeth.
They were both S-ranks, but the gap between Siwoo and Hamin was significant.
Unlike Siwoo, who had awakened at a young age and honed his skills through countless gates, Hamin was a complete rookie who had only just awakened and begun using his abilities.
The fact that he had even gotten close enough to see Siwoo like this was already impressive.
[Esper Hamin! That’s enough, throw it now!]
“Huh?”
[Just throw it already!]
“But…”
At Raon’s command, Hamin hesitated.
He had assumed Hamin could control his ability from a distance, but it seemed Hamin lacked the confidence.
Still, if this dragged on any longer, Hamin wouldn’t be able to withstand it and would be swept away by the current.
[Hurry!]
“Ugh…”
In the end, Hamin used his ability to move Raon.
To call it a “throw” would’ve been an exaggeration—it was more like a careful transfer.
Still, thankfully, Raon’s body was carried stably and moved closer to Siwoo.
Crack.
“…!”
In that moment, Raon’s gear shattered completely, bursting into pieces.
Trying not to panic, Raon reached out. Soon, he got close enough to touch Siwoo.
Siwoo’s eyes were closed.
The water around him was surging violently.
The ability that had once desperately searched for Raon was now ruthlessly tearing the surroundings apart.
‘Siwoo.’
Calling his name in his mind, a tender ache spread from Raon’s chest throughout his entire body.
The tip of his fingers barely brushed against Siwoo’s cheek.
At that moment, Siwoo’s eyes opened.
* * *
