* * *
“Stop scurrying around like a damn rat. It’s exhausting.”
The enemy’s morale collapsed in an instant.
Rather than losing their will to fight, it would be more accurate to say they had been stripped of it entirely.
The building, now exposing its skeletal steel frame, was shedding debris in places, showing just how fragile it had become after that absurd attack.
The fireballs that had been crashing down, the deafening gunfire—everything had halted, as if it had all been a lie.
The gaping hole left in the building was so seamless that if someone saw it now, they might assume it had always been there.
No traces remained, as if it had vanished like dust, like a mirage dissolving into thin air.
The monster had erased space itself in mere seconds.
“Where’s the Guide?”
Enten’s words barely registered as Liran steadied his churning stomach.
The unease he had anticipated was creeping closer to reality.
While some of his concern stemmed from the potential loss of their personnel, the root of it lay elsewhere.
That monster—still not properly stabilized—was using his power like this.
If things went even slightly wrong, it would lead to an irreversible disaster.
“Momo sent a message. But…”
“But what?”
Liran trailed off, prompting Enten to twitch his bushy mustache as he pressed for an answer.
“He’s officially assigned to Division 8, but… it seems there’s some kind of mix-up. Probably a clerical error, and now he’s having trouble getting here right away—”
“What?!”
“Listen to the end, Deputy Director! He said he’ll come! No matter what, he said he’ll make it here, but we don’t know when!”
“And why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner?! If he can’t come, we need to drag him here by any means necessary!”
“We never thought he’d be outside Central! And to top it off, his phone is missing….”
The ideal Plan A was for the Guide to arrive.
But Enten Nebail had also considered a Plan B—restraining Haimar before he lost control.
However, if that method had ever been viable, they would have used it long ago.
Calling it Plan B was just a way to make it sound good—truthfully, it was a near-impossible option they wouldn’t even get to attempt.
With no clear solution, Liran, possessing eyesight far superior to the average person, spotted the enemy Esper emerging near the severed building.
Their face was deathly pale.
They must have realized, from that single attack, that they were up against a monster leagues beyond their own capabilities.
And yet, despite their ashen expression, fireballs were beginning to gather once more, dancing in the swirling snow.
It seemed the enemy Esper had no intention of backing down.
Even with that terrified face, they still wanted to fight.
Was it reckless bravado, or a matter of pride?
“Good. That’s how it should be.”
Even if this had started as nothing more than a passing amusement, it would’ve been dull if it ended too easily.
He wasn’t even using a fraction of his true strength, but his experience made up for what he currently lacked.
Despite the intensified assault raining in from all directions, the attacks were monotonous, their patterns easy to read.
There was no need to exert more power—it was all well within his control.
Thud!
The moment Haimar barely dodged an attack, a massive boulder, engulfed in flames, came crashing down toward him.
Boom—!!
On reflex, Haimar raised a hand.
The fire-cloaked boulder lost its momentum, shattering into fragments under the force extending from his palm.
That wasn’t all—the bullets fired in desperation by the panicked enemies either disintegrated mid-air or changed trajectory, turning back against their own side.
“Arghhh!!”
With the tide completely reversed, the once-confident enemies faltered visibly, their formation breaking apart in disarray.
It was now obvious to even ordinary onlookers—men falling left and right, struck down by an unseen force, as if they had been smashed over the head by something invisible.
Liran clicked his tongue as he watched the enemy troops, now wounded and tumbling through the snow.
At this point, it wasn’t a battle—it was a one-sided slaughter.
Most of the lower-ranked enemy soldiers had already discarded their weapons or surrendered, but the enemy Esper refused to yield.
Fireballs continued to rain down without pause.
Boom!
The embers that hit the ground quickly fizzled out in the snow, but those unlucky enough to land on fabric left black, smoldering holes.
Yet, despite the scattered flames, not a single ember touched their allies.
Haimar had ensured that.
And yet, Haimar furrowed his brow slightly.
Like a lit fuse burning toward an explosion, the power he had been keeping suppressed was beginning to stir.
It was a nauseating sensation—his blood rushing in reverse, making him feel sick.
The signs of his power trying to break free.
At times like this, he had to hold back, which was all the more infuriating.
If he could just kill them, he might regain some control.
But he had made a promise to spare them, and that made it even more frustrating.
“Ugh—!”
With a mere flick of his hand, several minions were sent flying, screaming as they crashed into the ground.
He hadn’t intended to send them that far.
Had he gone rusty?
Honestly, it was a miracle he hadn’t lost it completely by now.
As Haimar quietly let go of his control, the once-gentle snowfall was immediately replaced by a dense, suffocating aura of killing intent.
Liran Siu and Enten Nebail gulped audibly, their nervous breaths almost audible to Haimar’s ears.
Even the enemy Esper, standing beside their Guide, faltered for a brief moment.
[———-]
The long-dormant senses sharpened, and the sounds of the world he perceived began to blend together.
[What is this? What’s he trying to do?!]
[Just unleash everything at once!]
[No, is that monster insane? We were told not to kill him!]
[Should we move to Plan B or not?]
[What do we do? Is this place going to collapse?]
[Scary. Who is that guy?]
[Monsters, all of them! Should’ve brought them here earlier!]
[Why is it snowing so hard all of a sudden?!]
[Is that the monster of Main Central?]
[Ugh, my head hurts. Did I pass out?]
The moment control slipped just a little, not only did he sense the thoughts of those around him, but unnecessary noise surged in as well.
[What’s going on over there today?]
[Zone 8 never has a peaceful day.]
[What’s with all this snow?]
[I hate the cold.]
[Ugh, nothing ever goes right.]
[Who’s that person?]
[Weren’t we told not to enter this area?]
[There are a lot more Central guys around than usual.]
[I told you, those who don’t listen won’t last.]
[Wait, hold on, you—!]
As expected, the world he knew was always this noisy.
Words, each carrying an individual’s will, tangled together in his ears and mind like a chaotic mess.
The control devices attached to him buzzed with heat, overheating as if they would explode at any moment.
By this point, it was nearly impossible to distinguish who was speaking or thinking—everything blurred into a single, overwhelming noise.
Haimar suppressed the force that kept trying to lash out, as he always did.
The voices in his head mixed, again and again, until they became unrecognizable.
As the power within him struggled to escape while another force suppressed it, a backlash began to take effect.
Though the force was there, the reaction from the collision wasn’t stabilizing, and the symptoms emerged faster than expected.
Screeeech—!
A sensation started at his fingertips and slowly spread, gnawing away at him, until his entire body felt as if it were being crushed.
It was no different from feeling like a living corpse.
A world filled with indistinguishable noise held no meaning for him.
That was why even when a car suddenly screeched to a halt near the safety line, it failed to catch his interest.
“Aaaaaaaah—!!”
The atmosphere trembled as the cold snow-covered ground clashed against the burning heat of fire.
Right in front of Haimar, an Esper was preparing for his final strike.
Against the monster of Main Central, he was about to unleash everything he had—an act of desperation fueled by sheer defiance.
BOOOOM—!!
Flames rained down against the backdrop of the white, snow-filled sky in a strangely mesmerizing pattern.
Even as he watched, Haimar felt nothing.
He didn’t think about dying.
No matter how awful he felt, that kind of flashy attack was too overdramatic to even consider getting hit by.
He would have ignored it altogether—if not for the sudden, sharp voice that cut through the noise in his ears.
“Wait—! This is seriously not a joke?!”
Reacting instinctively, Haimar turned at the voice.
The first thing that caught his eyes was a familiar shade of soft-colored hair.
A man was running frantically through the falling flames, having crossed the safety line.
He stumbled several times, nearly falling, but never stopped running toward him.
“Hey! There’s fire falling right there, you idiot!”
Ben’s warning was meaningless.
The fireball that was supposed to land on Haimar never even grazed his clothes.
It crumbled into nothing but dust before it could touch him.
Even the attacks near Ben were effortlessly neutralized by Haimar, making Ben’s desperate cries seem pointless in an instant.
* * *
These espers are fricking useless omg.