Guide to the Fallen World - Chapter 9

#9. The Guide’s Son

 

 

“I remember. Hello, Chief.”

 

[You remember me. That makes things easier. First of all, it’s nice to see you again. You have no idea how happy I am that you’re alive.]

 

That distinct tone, though faint in his memory, washed away Do-hyeok’s doubts. The person standing with the Guide now was indeed the research lab chief he knew.

 

Once he grasped the situation, he was finally able to objectively assess what had happened and what he had done. Having quickly pieced together the context, Do-hyeok spoke.

 

“I’m sorry for destroying the android. I didn’t realize it was under your command, Chief.”

 

[No, I should apologize first. I’m the one who sent in the android without notice, and it’s my fault for taking action without properly identifying who you were.]

 

“….”

 

[“The reverse guiding must have thrown the wavelengths into chaos. Are you okay? It’s best to neutralize the shock with guiding medication first. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way…”]

 

“I’m fine.”

 

[“Fine, you say. But it’s entirely our fault. As an apology, I’ll leave you with enough guiding medication to last for a hundred years. In exchange, I’d like you to keep the Guide’s involvement a secret. Can you do that for me?”]

 

“Yes.”

 

[“Thank you for cooperating. I’m in a position where I have to protect the Guide, so this is all I can do for you. But, why are you here? Judging by the skills you showed when destroying the android, you’re definitely a high-level Esper. It’s strange. There must be plenty of places that would welcome you, so why are you here? Are you working as an Esper affiliated with a shelter?”]

 

“….”

 

[“Oh, did I ask an uncomfortable question? It’s okay, you don’t have to answer. I’ll pretend I didn’t ask.”]

 

“I’ve… never left Noah.”

 

[“What?”]

 

“This is my home.”

 

***

The moment he sensed the faintly spreading wavelengths of the Guide, Do-hyeok mistakenly thought his mother had returned to life.

 

This line of thought stemmed from the fact that his mother was the only Guide on Earth.

 

Had he thought it through, he would have known it was impossible. But Do-hyeok was too broken to even entertain such a rational thought.

 

Fifteen years had passed since Shelter Noah was half-destroyed by a mass Esper rampage. Do-hyeok had survived in the ruins, relying on the guiding medication his mother had secretly left behind.

 

He fought off Espers who came to Noah seeking the medication, survived, fought again, and repeated the cycle until his mother’s legacy—the guiding medication—was finally depleted.

 

From then on, every day became a battle against his own rampages.

 

Thus, Shelter Noah became a barren wasteland, a place no one sought out. The barrier that once protected the shelter had been destroyed, leaving the land uninhabitable.

 

Moreover, with a monster who could rampage at any moment occupying the area, the Espers’ visits naturally became less frequent.

 

They also knew, Do-hyeok’s wavelengths had become so damaged that they no longer resembled those of an Esper who had taken guiding medication.

 

This meant that the guiding medication he had left was completely gone.

 

With a keen sense, they realized there was no more guiding medication to be found, and no one would want to visit Noah, a broken shelter inhabited by a broken Esper, offering nothing worth salvaging.

 

Thus, Do-hyeok was gradually forgotten.

With shelters collapsing day after day, no one had the interest or power to focus on him. Noah, once praised as the giant shelter that housed the only Guide, was thoroughly destroyed.

 

In turn, Do-hyeok had become part of the ruins, slowly fading away.

 

Do-hyeok didn’t know that Yeowon and Jay had started distributing guiding medication across various regions. No Esper had come to the ruined Noah to bring him the news.

 

Ordinary people couldn’t travel outside the shelter due to fear of monsters, and most Espers held ill feelings toward Do-hyeok, intentionally cutting off any communication with him.

 

He was a piece of trash who monopolized the guiding medication after the Guide’s death. Even as the shelter collapsed and the world descended into chaos, he was a ruthless man who never once showed any willingness to share.

 

The label attached to Do-hyeok was clearer and more solid than anything. The charge against him was that he hadn’t shared his mother’s legacy with others.

 

Had there been an ample supply of guiding medication left, Do-hyeok might have at least partially responded to their demands for sharing.

 

But the guiding medication left by his mother was never enough.

 

The requests from shelters and unknown Espers across the land were not for sharing, but for theft.

 

In order to avoid having it taken, Do-hyeok had to fight. If he wanted to survive, he had to win. That was all.

 

[Do-hyeok?]

 

At the sound of the voice, Do-hyeok quickly snapped back to reality.

 

[This won’t do. You don’t look well. How about you take some guiding medication first, and then we can continue our conversation?]

 

Before he could finish speaking, a combat android quickly extended an ampoule towards him.

 

Even though he knew the Guide was clearly watching him, Do-hyeok couldn’t refuse when the guiding medication was offered.

 

The aftereffects of reverse guiding were wreaking havoc on his brain.

 

He needed to pull himself together before his consciousness became further clouded. Hadn’t he already made a fool of himself by confusing the Guide with his mother from the very first meeting? If the Guide thought he was insane, he had no excuse.

 

Do-hyeok knew well that no woman would appreciate being called “mom” by a dark-skinned man.

 

However, at that moment, he wasn’t in any condition to even make such self-deprecating thoughts properly.

 

Forgetting to offer any words of gratitude, Do-hyeok hastily swallowed the ampoule the android had handed him.

 

If this was truly guiding medication, he hoped it would bring his shattered mind back to life. If it was reverse guiding medication, that would be good in its own way too.

 

After all, he was destined to perish along with Noah. At this point, even if he were to die according to the Guide’s will, he wouldn’t have any regrets.

 

Ah. Still, it would have been nice if he could have at least seen their face.

 

Ignoring the late-blooming regret, Do-hyeok emptied the ampoule.

 

The effect was immediate. The wavelengths damaged by reverse guiding were restored in an instant, and his consciousness, once hazy from enduring the approaching rampage, became sharp and clear. His vitality surged, and his body felt alive again.

 

The nerves that were worn down to the point of breaking, the endless tinnitus and pain disappeared as if they had been washed away. It was simply amazing.

 

But Do-hyeok already knew something even more remarkable. This was a perfectly refined, flawless guiding medication… but if the wavelengths the Guide themselves emitted were the sun, this medication was merely a firefly.

 

Still, the efficacy was nothing short of astonishing. The guiding effect was so remarkable that it could not be dismissed as just a mere drug.

 

Do-hyeok couldn’t help but think that the matching rate with the Guide would likely be high.

 

However, even as he made these inferences, he didn’t allow himself to expect anything.

 

It was because he remembered Yeowon’s voice that had echoed from the panic room.

 

“That Esper… he’s the one who interfered with our goal, isn’t he? Shouldn’t we take care of him? Shouldn’t we trigger his rampage now?”

 

Her voice was cold, almost harsh. The Guide’s tone, sharp in pointing out the facts, carried a mixture of fear and anxiety, as if cautioning him at the same time.

 

With the completely ruined first impression and the hostile attitude of the Guide, there was no reason to expect any mercy.

 

It was likely that if the director of the Esper research lab, with whom he had past ties hadn’t intervened, the reverse guiding would have continued without stopping.

 

[Hmm. Where did we leave off? Right, you said you didn’t know that guiding medication had been distributed. Those Espers are too much. They could have at least given you a heads-up.]

 

[Indeed. Did they have a grudge against you or something?]

 

At the Guide’s voice, which struck right at the heart of the matter, Do-hyeok silently lowered his gaze. There was nothing more to say because it was not wrong.

 

From his reaction, Jay deduced the truth and, in a lowered voice, reprimanded Ye-won.

 

[Ye-won, why would you say something like that?]

 

[It’s strange. Even among Espers with bad relationships, there’s usually some basic level of communication. Since the distribution of guiding medication started, that communication has become much more active. There are even Esper groups forming tight alliances now and then. But this person… he was so inactive that he wasn’t even registered in the Esper database.]

 

[Well, we can just ask him now.]

 

[That’s true. You heard it, right? Explain yourself.]

 

Under the commanding tone, Do-hyeok reluctantly opened his mouth. He began to slowly recount everything that had happened up until that point.

 

***

 

I understand the situation has become pitiful. I also admit that we can communicate better than I thought. However, safety is an irreconcilable issue.

 

For that reason, Yeo-won blew up the tunnel connecting the ark with Shelter.

 

In exchange for agreeing to leave surveillance cameras in place, she generously provided enough guiding medication and made sure to secure the necessary core as well.

 

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a clean and efficient handling of the situation. Do-hyeok, or whatever his status was, would never need to be dealt with again.

What bothered her, however, was Jay’s reaction.

 

“Did it really have to be done this way?”

 

It sounded like she was muttering to herself, but no matter how you looked at it, it was clearly meant for her to hear.

 

“It ended well, so why are you like this?”

 

“That’s true, but…”

 

“That Esper agreed to it too. Who’s going to keep such a flimsy promise like ‘I’ll give you guiding medication if you keep quiet’? It’s much cleaner to say, ‘Agree to be monitored, and then I’ll give you the medication.’”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“As soon as we’re out of Noah, we’ll be able to verify everything and easily assess if something’s off. So what’s the problem?”

 

“That’s because he’s not that kind of person.”

 

“Jay. You said you’re not sure what kind of adult that person grew up to be. Haven’t you seen Espers fighting to take over perfectly fine shelters in the meantime? Haven’t you seen Espers pretending to actively listen to shelter requests and cooperate obediently, just to later backstab and snatch the shelter for themselves?”

 

At those words, Jay once again repeated her late regret. If she had known it would turn out like this, she should have shown just a little of the bizarre behavior Espers had committed.

 

How much did I emphasize the dangers of Espers in order to persuade Yeowon, who wanted to leave the Ark and check the outside for herself? Right now, there are more than dozens of cases of Esper crimes that Yeo-won knows.

 

Whether she understands how I feel or not, Yeowon raised her guard even further.

“Since it’s a high-grade Esper, I think we need to monitor it thoroughly. I blew up the tunnel, but if he clean up the rocks by force and come into the ark… that”d be a real disaster.”

She said that, but Yeowon also felt uneasy. Aside from her wariness toward Espers, she knew full well the common sense that an Esper couldn’t survive without a guide.

“He’s been fighting against rampage for a long time, hasn’t he? It’s uncertain whether just the guide drug will be enough to keep him stable.”