Seo Dojin’s mind was clearer than it had ever been.
The headaches and feelings of lethargy that had constantly tormented him had completely vanished.
He slowly lowered his gaze.
Raon was desperately struggling to shake off Dojin’s arm.
But there was no way a Guide could match an Esper’s strength.
“Let go of me!”
Dojin merely smiled at Raon’s shout.
To his eyes, it was just cute resistance.
With his reason completely gone, Dojin reached out his hand to Raon.
“Ugh!”
“You just need to be obedient and give me Guiding.”
“What… Gasp!”
Raon, who was squirming, opened his eyes wide.
Dojin forcefully grabbed Raon’s jaw with one hand, prying his mouth open.
Then, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against Raon’s.
‘This crazy bastard!’
Dojin’s eyes were completely deranged.
His black pupils were chilling, and the act of forcing a kiss was repulsive.
No matter how crazy Dojin was, he had never acted so recklessly before.
Although he viewed Guides as tools, he was a man who despised Espers who forcibly engaged in high-level Guiding.
Yet, he was doing that himself. Dojin’s condition clearly seemed abnormal.
“Hmph!”
Raon felt Dojin’s tongue rummaging through his mouth and his face immediately twisted in disgust.
He couldn’t condone this action just because Dojin seemed to be in an abnormal state.
Raon refused to accept the forced kiss and bit down hard on Dojin’s tongue.
Crunch.
“Kuk!”
The sudden pain made Dojin groan and retreat.
He had bitten down so hard that even Dojin, an Esper, felt the pain and frowned.
But it didn’t seem to have caused any significant damage.
Raon immediately raised his head and retreated, avoiding Dojin, who was glaring at him with intense eyes.
“Grab him.”
“…!”
Raon didn’t understand Dojin’s command at first.
But then he saw the Espers grabbing him and his eyes widened.
“You…!”
“Uhh…”
They were all Battle Team Espers who had entered the Black Gate.
But they all looked blank, as if they had lost their reasoning.
It seemed that only Dojin and he were conscious.
‘The North team Espers… they are the ones addicted to the drug, just like Dojin.’
These Espers were also in an abnormal state.
Not only were their pupils black like Dojin’s, but the whites of their eyes were also stained pitch-black, and they were drooling.
“Damn it!”
Only then did Raon realize the Black Gate’s intention.
It seemed to have turned the drug-addicted Espers, including Dojin, to its side.
‘Monsters must still be rampaging outside, and Seo Dojin is an S-class Esper, plus these people are all high-grade Espers.’
The reason these Espers were addicted to the drug was that they had trouble finding Guides with compatible waves.
Having a unique wave meant their grade was high.
There were those who were rated A-class but were treated as near S-class, like Yoonchae.
Raon’s eyes fluttered nervously.
If these individuals assimilated into the Black Gate and betrayed humanity, it could truly become a major catastrophe.
Perhaps even more so than the monsters outside.
“Everyone, ugh, snap out of it!”
Raon shouted, but it was no use.
The Espers, already assimilated by the Black Gate, didn’t seem to hear Raon’s words.
“Hyung!”
“…Siwoo?”
Just then, water that formed in the air attacked the Espers holding Raon.
The water pillar had no effect on Raon.
As the Espers recoiled, someone snatched Raon’s body.
“Why are you here…”
“Are you alright, Hyung?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”
Raon nodded distractedly.
Siwoo looked at Raon’s face with concern.
“Your lips…”
“What?”
But immediately, Siwoo’s face twisted.
Raon, surprised, wiped his swollen lips with his hand.
His lips seemed to have swollen from Dojin forcibly kissing him.
Rough Guiding by an Esper was bound to put a strain on a Guide’s body.
‘Crunch,’ Siwoo gritted his teeth and turned his gaze.
He glared at Dojin with intense eyes.
“Wait, Siwoo. You can’t do this alone!”
Raon worriedly tried to stop him.
Siwoo’s condition had improved recently, so he might be able to defeat one Dojin.
But in a situation with other high-grade Espers, he was at a disadvantage.
No matter how much of a top-tier S-class Esper Siwoo was.
So, it seemed better to evade them and make a plan, in case there were allies like Siwoo who had entered the Gate.
But Siwoo shook his head.
“I think it’s just them and us who came in here.”
“What?”
Raon frowned.
Siwoo could control the moisture spread in the air, allowing him to scout a wide range in an instant.
So, what Siwoo said would be accurate.
This was a disaster.
There was no way Siwoo could handle all of them alone.
‘What if we just escape the Gate entirely?’
No matter how different the Black Gate was from other Gates, the structure would be similar.
They could probably get out if they found the core somehow.
Raon opened his mouth again to persuade Siwoo.
“Then how about running away and looking for the core?”
“I don’t think that will work either. The space here isn’t that large.”
“What?”
Raon looked around in a panic.
Since everything was pitch-black, it was difficult to figure out the layout of the inside of the Gate.
In the current situation, Siwoo was probably the only one who could properly assess the inside of the Gate.
Raon felt more despair at that.
“It’s okay, Hyung. If we hold out, other people will defeat the monsters and enter here.”
“Ah…”
When would that be?
Raon was skeptical.
Right now, there were so many Espers who had been consumed by the Black Gate and were targeting Siwoo.
He had no hope that Siwoo could hold out until the reinforcements arrived.
“Siwoo.”
“It’s alright, Hyung. I will protect you no matter what.”
Siwoo had already made up his mind and shielded Raon.
Raon sent him an uneasy look.
Given that some of Dojin’s reason remained, there was a high probability that he wouldn’t kill Raon, who was useful as a Guide.
But Siwoo was different.
To Dojin, Siwoo would only be an obstacle getting in his way at every turn.
‘What should I do?’
If things continued like this, something bad would happen to Siwoo.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
The clash began immediately.
Siwoo couldn’t retreat because he was protecting Raon, so he blocked all the Espers’ attacks.
The water shield he deployed enveloped them.
But Raon, as a Guide, couldn’t do anything for Siwoo.
Except for giving Guiding to the exhausted Esper…
‘Right, Guiding.’
Realizing something, Raon raised his head sharply.
Guiding. An S-class Guide’s Guiding sometimes causes an explosive synergy effect in Espers.
Moreover, Siwoo and his compatibility rate exceeds 90%.
He would only be able to give wide-range Guiding during the battle, but it was worth a try.
Kwah-Gwang, Clang!
The Espers’ attacks were too fierce.
Siwoo already seemed overwhelmed just by defending.
Raon reached out his hand towards him.
“Hyung?”
“Concentrate!”
“…!”
Siwoo opened his eyes wide as he received the Guiding.
Raon continued to Guide him.
Raon could also feel the gradual change occurring in Siwoo’s body.
Siwoo’s ability felt different from other Espers.
It was as if a refreshing ocean was surrounding him.
Raon’s Guiding made the deep, wide ocean pooled inside his body grow even larger.
‘My Guiding feels like it’s turning into water, too…’
The Guiding flowing into Siwoo felt like water merging into the ocean.
Raon felt a sense of unity with Siwoo’s ability more than ever.
He gritted his teeth and continued to Guide.
“Kueuk!”
“Kuk!”
Then, Siwoo’s expanded ability began to overpower the other Espers.
The other Espers could not endure the sensation of the moisture inside their bodies boiling, and they began to collapse one by one.
Siwoo, whose pupils had turned pale blue from the excessive ability, ignored the situation and struck down the Espers one by one, a feat he hadn’t been able to attempt while blocking their attacks.
‘Maybe it’s possible.’
Perhaps Siwoo could overpower all of them before their allies entered the Gate.
That hope began to blossom.
Fwoosh!
“What?”
But then, Raon’s body shot up.
He was instantly thrown into the air, and in his panic, the Guiding was cut off.
“Hyung!”
“Siwoo, look out!”
“Kuk!”
As the Guiding was cut off, Siwoo was also flustered and looked behind him.
At that moment, an attack from an Esper who hadn’t collapsed flew toward him.
Siwoo had no choice but to continue the fight.
“Your Guiding is certainly unique. What’s the reason?”
“How would I know!”
Raon’s body, floating in the air, flew towards Dojin.
Dojin had captured Raon with his psychokinesis ability.
Raon gritted his teeth and glared at him.
‘Damn it.’
He had forgotten that Dojin’s ability was psychokinesis.
Moreover, whether it was due to the influence of the Black Gate or the drug, Dojin seemed to be in better physical condition than before.
Raon began to consider how to resolve this situation.
