Guide to the Fallen World - Chapter 29

#29. Shelter Yeouido

Dohyeok braced himself, prepared to fend off attacks from all directions.

His heightened senses confirmed that this place was devoid of any ordinary civilians or officials. Everyone had already fled.

The only presence he could sense was the ominous energy of his own kind.

Dozens of Espers had meticulously surrounded the area, clearly anticipating his arrival.

Or rather, it didn’t seem like they had reacted to the traces he’d left at the two previous locations.

How could they have responded so quickly and pinpoint his location?

To react so immediately, someone would have had to inform them in advance or possess a special ability to detect him. But according to the information provided by the Director, there were no Espers with detection abilities in Yeouido.

So, is this all a setup by the director, who’s wary of me getting too close to the guide, and wants to get rid of me?

As doubts and inferences intertwined, Dohyeok continued to precisely strike down the Espers targeting him one by one.

“Ack!”

“He’s a telekinetic ability user! Check the effective range of his powers!”

“Damn it, his fists! He’s pretending to punch but he’s actually using telekinesis to swing a blade. Everyone, watch your necks! Don’t get too close!”

“Dammit! Why the hell is Noah’s Ghost here?”

Dohyeok, with his piercing white eyes, delved deeper into the formation of the Espers.

What filled his mind, however, was not the Espers before him, but rather Jay’s warning.

‘Dohyeok, I want to believe in you. So let’s do well, okay?’

‘You’re already trying to surpass me? Did you finally start to feel that way?’

I thought my uselessness had paradoxically made me useful. But maybe I was wrong.

Even if I managed to escape this place and return to the base, would I find anything but an empty ruin waiting for me?

“Aaargh!”

“Enough.”

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a surging blaze erupted, radiating heat and striking Dohyuk’s body with crushing force.

“Captain!”

Dohyuk, caught off guard by the attack, shook off the flames that seared his skin.

Yi Gyeom, his eyes glinting with dark light, questioned him, “What business does Noah’s esper have here? I thought you intended to die with that tomb.”

He asked, but no reply came. Instead of answering, Dohyuk fixed his gaze on the esper who had burst through the wave shielding membrane, destroyed in the midst of battle.

Hidden esper identity in Yeouido. Confirmed. Ability: Earth manipulation. Though the application of power is clumsy, the inherent potential of the ability itself seems considerable.

However, with just this, I cannot be certain that this situation is not a trap laid by the Chief Director.

If that’s the case, then I must verify.

Dohyuk broke free from the stalemate in an instant. The wave shielding membrane in the depths of Yeouido is 30 meters in a straight line from here.

Surging swiftly along the walls and ceiling, Dohyuk breached the esper formation blocking his path and tore away the wall of the room where the magnetic field was operating to check the interior.

As soon as he confirmed, he identified the esper’s identity via bodycam. He immediately struck a blow to draw out the opponent’s ability.

At the blatant display of his purpose, a short exclamation escaped Yi Gyeom’s gritted teeth: “Hah.” Seeing what he was doing, it became clear who sent Noah’s esper to Yeouido.

“Chief Director sent him?”

As the question hung in the air, scorching heat flooded into the hallway breached by Dohyuk’s breakthrough.

In an instant, everything around them began to melt and soften.

Buildings melting away, leaving only steel frames behind. Even the espers of Yeouido, unable to withstand the heat and suffocation, fled from the heart of the inferno, while Yi Gyeom calmly regulated his breathing.

And like the leader of Yeouido, he assessed the damage.

On their side, six espers were incapacitated. Two were on the verge of a berserk. Among the three hidden espers, the faces and abilities of two had been exposed.

For just one esper infiltrating Yeouido, the scale of damage was quite significant. Therefore, he had to end the situation here.

Yi Gyeom poured the molten concrete directly at Dohyeok. Reacting to his will, the grey lava surged menacingly, engulfing Dohyeok’s entire body.

The pushing force is considerable, but with mere telekinesis, it’s impossible to escape that lava prison.

That prison of blazing heat, amplified to its limit by ability, may look like a simple sphere of cement, but in reality, it is an artificial volcano with immense heat raging within. It’s a powerful technique completed by simultaneously drawing upon fire and earth abilities. Once trapped inside, no matter how capable an esper is, they will soon perish.

Each time it is used, the surge level rises terrifyingly, but the effect is just as remarkable. In fact, Yi Gyeom had eliminated countless espers who had berserk using this method.

As if to prove this, the esper of Noah, trapped in the prison of blazing heat, was silent, seemingly unconscious.

With a sigh, Yi Gyeom opened his terminal and attempted to communicate with Jay. As if Jay had been watching, the hologram appeared before the connection tone even finished.

[Oh no, it seems our side’s esper might have escalated things a bit too much.]

At the android’s nonchalant attitude, Yi Gyeom wordlessly put a cigarette in his mouth.

“What’s the meaning of sending a rat to someone you’ve allied with?”

[Hmm. Let’s just say it was… a verification process. ]

“We faithfully carried out the kill order, but the reward we’re getting back is a mess.”

At Yi Gyeom’s words, Jay in the hologram lightly raised both hands.

[I said I’m sorry. I’ll admit our mistake. So, let’s settle this here. But… you guys are really something, aren’t you? That’s why I wanted to finish assessing your capabilities before you returned from the West. Misjudgment on my part.]

[Don’t glare at me like that, you’ll be compensated enough. Since we caused this mess, we should take responsibility too. Tell me the scale of the damage, and we’ll compensate you with that much guiding medication. How’s that sound?]

“I’ll take it. And I’ll add one more condition.”

[Go ahead.]

“Instead of you, I want to speak with Guide Jung Yeowon. Is a call possible?”

[Reason?]

“Well… I just want to see her once.”

With those words, Yi Gyeom’s arm flew off.

It happened in an instant. The intruder, who had ceased movement within the prison of blazing heat, burst out of the concrete lava as if it were a lie, and unleashed telekinesis, severing Lee Gyeom’s arm in one swift move.

Had he not reacted instantly, it would have been his neck, not his arm, that was severed.

As Dohyeok’s figure rushed towards him with terrifying momentum, Yi Gyeom sensed it instinctively. This was not the look in the eyes of an esper carrying out orders under the direction of superiors.

Noah’s esper. I thought he was just a pawn the Chief Director would use briefly and discard…

A twisted smile spread across Yi Gyeom’s lips.

“Kang Dohyeok, you’ve met a guide, haven’t you? Isn’t that right?”

The ensuing attack served as the answer to his question.

Thanks to this, Jay, who unexpectedly witnessed an esper battle, observed Yi Gyeom’s abilities with shining eyes.

And soon, she realized something.

The original objective was to uncover the identities and abilities of Yeouido’s hidden espers, but what was revealed instead was a truth even more significant.

The reason for sending Dohyeok was because they suspected Yeouido might be hiding a special detection ability user, but to think that Heo Yi Gyeom himself would be that unique ability user.

In just a short battle, the number of abilities he used was as many as five. Starting with fire, he successively utilized earth, shadow, and detection, continuing the fight.

If he didn’t have detection ability, he wouldn’t have been able to evade such invisible telekinetic force so skillfully.

Moreover, this isn’t just a simple multiple-awakening ability. It’s more than that, his physical capabilities themselves far surpass those of a typical esper. On top of that, he even recovers from injuries as quickly as he receives them.

After analyzing the situation, Jay said.

[What is this? Heo Yi Gyeom, are you not a fire ability user, but an absorption ability user?]

“I’ve been found out.”

It was his hidden trump card.

As he said that, Dohyeok’s fierce attack poured down upon Yi Gyeom’s head.

Each formless blade delicately constricted his neck. In reality, dozens of deep scars, as if carved by a knife, were forming momentarily on Yi Gyeom’s shoulders and neck.

Simultaneously, Yi Gyeom’s flames also aimed for Dohyeok’s neck, and shadows that stretched out from under his feet engulfed his body in flames. Following that, earth spears, aiming for openings, moved to restrict his movements.

The telekinesis that deflected and countered each of those attacks vibrated the surrounding air.

Dozens of ability exchanges swiftly transitioned between defense and offense, clashing intensely, and in the midst of it, the fists of the two espers, aiming for openings, crashed into each other’s jaws.

“Ugh!”

“Kuh!”

Jay had never seen such a fierce battle between high-ranking Espers.

Jay analyzed and collected Heo Yi Gyeom’s combat abilities and powers one by one, calculating who would win this fight.

However, the cycle of attack and defense was so fast that it was impossible to calculate. She could only vaguely perceive that meaningful blows were being exchanged every few seconds.

However, she could easily grasp the surrounding situation through the satellite.

The opponent was missing an arm, so he might have the advantage in terms of conditions, but the location was not favorable. This was Yeouido, the headquarters where the Espers led by Heo Yi Gyeom were gathered.

The espers who were defending the outer walls of the shelter were also becoming increasingly concentrated as they became aware of the commotion in the depths. It seemed they were currently hesitant to rashly intervene in the chaotic battle between the two, but if the fight prolonged or if Yi Gyeom appeared to be at a disadvantage, the espers of Yeouido would join in immediately.

Therefore, a choice had to be made.

Should he continue to collect data while leaving Heo Yi Gyeom and Kang Dohyeok to fight it out? Or should he intervene to allow Dohyeok to escape from the current situation?

The first thing that came to Jay’s mind was Yeowon.

‘No spitting! My saliva is on the guiding stone!’

Yes. If Kang Dohyeok died in Yeouido, Yeowon’s resentment would be directed entirely at her.

[Kang Dohyeok, stop and get out of there! I’ll start providing rear support, so head to the ship floating above Yeouido…]

Although Jay said something, Dohyeok didn’t hear it properly.

He also knew why he was being ordered to get out. The opponent’s strength was equal to his own, and the overall situation surrounding them was unfavorable.

However, that judgment was made because the chief was a transhuman, not an Esper.

Dohyeok had a hunch.

Heo Yi Gyeom of Yeouido. He had to kill him now.

And so, the chaotic battle began.