Guide to the Fallen World - Chapter 10

#10. Invasion

And it was precisely that uneasy feeling that made Yeowon sneak glances at the footage containing Dohyeok’s every move… or rather, it was simply her curiosity about Espers that was greater. However, since she couldn’t openly admit that, the superficial excuse Yeowon came up with was as follows.

“Now that I think about it, I never properly confirmed what that Esper’s ability is. How foolish of me. I should have asked back then. But since I’m watching closely like this, I’ll soon find out what kind of power he have, right?”

Jay shook his head at the sight of Yeo-won, but what kind of Esper Do-hyuk, who was only a child in the past has grown into is an interesting and unexpected factor for herself.

As Yeowon insisted that safety is a non-negotiable issue, situations like this required even stricter measures, regardless of past connections.

Still, though, why spend all day staring like that when she could just ask what their ability is?

As expected from someone who lived 500 years ago, even after two years of living in the Ark, Yeowon was still clumsy with handling machines.

Unable to stand it any longer, Jay explained to Yeowon.

“If you press this button at the bottom of the hologram, the speaker function for the surveillance camera activates. What that means is, you can communicate. Think of it as a kind of walkie-talkie or phone. It allows two-way transmission too.”

“Oh, really?”

As soon as she heard the explanation, Yeowon immediately pressed the button and bluntly asked,

“I have a question.”

[…Yes.]

“What’s your ability? I forgot to check that.”

[I have telekinesis and physical enhancement traits. I can also use a bit of electricity.]

Jay silently rubbed her forehead. A guide who asks so bluntly, and an Esper who answers so readily—neither of them is normal.

Yeowon might be clueless about the etiquette and common sense between ability users, but what’s wrong with Dohyeok, who should know better?

No, wait. Is he answering everything because he knows exactly what’s going on? Because the other person is a guide? Even so, Dohyeok’s attitude seemed overly submissive.

Moreover, judging by how he responded immediately, it seemed he had been waiting the entire time for some kind of command or question to come through the surveillance camera.

Right. Come to think of it, there were rare cases of Espers who were overly submissive to guides.

“…But isn’t that something that only happens if the match rate is over 90%?”

Jay mumbled aloud without thinking, and quickly closed her mouth, but it was too late—Dohyeok had already heard it through the speaker.

Flinching at the sound, Dohyeok pretended not to hear anything and instead asked a question.

[Do you have any more questions?]

He had desperately hoped for her to say yes, but Do-hyuk’s expectations were beautifully betrayed.

“No. Thank you for answering.”

Click.

The call was disconnected.

***

Do-hyuk waited, hoping the guide would suddenly speak to him again, just like before.

But as one day, two days, and then half a month passed, not a single voice came through the surveillance cameras.

The number of restless nights he spent in light sleep, unsure of when the guide might speak to him, continued to grow.

Do-hyuk thought to himself, ‘If I linger around the tunnel that was blocked off by the explosion, wouldn’t they contact me at least to issue a warning?’

But what if doing that only made the guide more wary of him?

Whenever his mind was overwhelmed by such thoughts, he found himself wanting to use the surveillance cameras to make the first move and contact them instead.

He didn’t have much to say, and there was a chance he wouldn’t get any response. Even so, he just wanted to hear that voice one more time.

Do-hyuk knew all too well that this was merely an instinctive reaction, drawn irresistibly toward the guide.

Even so, how could he crave someone whose face he didn’t even know this much?

With a bitter smile, Do-hyuk swallowed the ampule, recalling the faint ripples of memories stirring in his mind.

He wanted to ask. If there were any other questions to ask now. Would it be okay to try reaching out first?

But then again, he hadn’t been given permission to do so. What if contacting the guide without permission made them uncomfortable or upset?

As he kept overthinking, a whole month slipped by in the blink of an eye.

During that time, Yeowon felt reassured. There was no sign of Do-hyuk attempting to break through the tunnel or make contact with the outside world.

To Yeowon, who had only ever seen espers recklessly committing crimes and flaunting their powers, Do-hyuk was an unusual case—neither violent nor impulsive.

Usually, such quiet espers were either in poor condition or completely withdrawn, but Do-hyuk didn’t seem to be either of those.

However, the sight of an esper who silently let each day pass without a single word to himself did seem a bit lonely.

Spending the entire day sitting in a spot overlooking the ruins of the shelter—that was the entirety of his daily routine. Was he a person or a statue? Wasn’t he lonely? Even a monk who practices meditation wouldn’t be as calm as this man.

If it weren’t for the occasional movement of him glancing at the surveillance cameras, one might have mistaken him for dead.

“I’m getting bored just watching him,” Yeowon muttered.

Was it wrong to mutter that? Suddenly, warning alarms blared throughout the Ark. At the same time, Jay, who had mentioned needing to go to the engine room, rushed into the room in a panic, and the acrid smell of smoke brushed against their noses.

“What’s going on? Is there a fire?”

“Hurry, hurry! Let’s go to the panic room!”

“What’s happening?”

“The location of the Ark has been exposed! The espers are coming!”

As soon as Yeowon understood those words, she immediately started running after Jay.

“What happened? How did they manage to infiltrate?”

“The location of the tunnel we dug for the guiding drug extraction has been exposed. We dug it like a maze, collapsed it, and cut off their trail, but it seems they’ve mapped out the entire area and found us.”

“You said espers, right? That means it’s not just one person, but a team. What’s their identity and how many are there?”

“From the Yeouido Shelter, Heo I-gyeom, and from the Brisbane Shelter, Aaron McKillop, along with several others. According to satellite data, there are five of them.”

The information made her heart race with fear, and Yeowon forcefully planted her feet into the ground. When she heard “Shelter Yeouido,” something came to mind. It was likely the Esper group that had secured a nuclear fusion core through relatively moderate means.

But they weren’t truly moderate. An esper was an esper, after all, and trying to distinguish between who was more or less insane among them was a pointless task.

When Yeowon arrived at the panic room, Jay quickly ordered the android to close the door that had been left open. In Jay’s hands was an oxygen mask and tank, items she hadn’t noticed her take until now.

“Here, use the oxygen mask. Heo I-gyeom is a pyrokinetic. Judging by the extreme geothermal heat rising, it looks like he’s trying to melt the ground to reach the Ark.”

“That’s insane. If he’s not careful, he’ll cook himself alive. At that point, he’s not coming to capture me; he’s coming to kill me, right?”

“That’s unlikely. Since he’s only burning part of the area, it seems like he’s being cautious too. The residential area here is well-equipped for fire prevention, so don’t worry too much. Just don’t take off the mask, in case there’s an issue with the air supply.”

As Jay said this, a hologram appeared in front of her. It was connected to a reconnaissance drone. As the image on the screen revealed a group of espers, Jay’s expression suddenly changed.

“Stop it. Are you trying to kill the guide?”

The icy tone of the voice sent a shiver down Yeowon’s spine, and she reflexively ran her hand over her arm. She had grown used to it and had momentarily forgotten what kind of person Jay truly was.

But what captured Yeowon’s attention even more was the group of espers in the footage, staring up at the drone.

[“Of course not. I was only trying to soften the ground.”]

The absurdity of the statement left them silent for a moment, but soon an even more chilling assumption followed.

[“This confirms it. The guide is down here, beneath this ground. Am I right?”]

As one of the espers stepped forward, the superheated ground began to dig itself up. Dirt and sand rapidly lowered the terrain, a sight that made Jay’s face contort in frustration.

“A geomancer? This just got troublesome,” Jay muttered.

Yeowon glanced at the inactive speaker nearby and asked cautiously, “What’s the plan?”

“What are you going to do?”

“What else? We fight. After securing the core, I ramped up production of combat androids. Watch carefully, and when I give the signal, unleash full-force reverse guiding. Be prepared to push them to the brink of a meltdown if necessary.”

“So… simple suppression isn’t an option. Saving them without killing them is… impossible, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t want to ask this of you, but I’m sorry. In situations like this, killing is cleaner than subduing.”

“It’s fine. I was prepared for this.”

Hearing the words she most wanted to hear, Jay’s expression noticeably brightened.

“Do you remember when we came back from Shelter Noah and developed the reverse-guiding drug? I modified some depleted uranium bullets into solid reverse-guiding ammunition. It’s basically an esper-killing weapon. I’ll handle as much as I can on my end, but if the fight gets overwhelming, you’ll need to assist with large-scale reverse-guiding.”

“Got it.”

“These days, espers have only ever experienced the guiding drugs we provide; they’ve never encountered reverse guiding. It should work well on them.”

Jay’s tone was full of confidence, but whether it would actually work was another matter. Reverse guiding, being little more than a radiation-based countermeasure, was unlikely to take down espers so easily.

But there was no way they could let the guide be taken without a fight. Preparing for the possibility of defeat, Jay quickly continued.

“Those bastards will try to take the entire panic room back to their shelter once they breach the Ark. Remember that we installed a wave amplifier in the panic room, right? If things go south, just like last time, we’ll use all our power to unleash reverse guiding. Amplify the wave radius as much as possible with the device to stop their movements.”

“Got it.”

“But this is only a last resort. It won’t come to that.”

Will it really?

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