IGWKE Episode 7

Episode 7

No matter how desperately the berserk Esper might be crying out for help, it was still someone else’s problem for those stuck in the back office. Yoon-ui pulled the guide badge out of his pocket and tossed it onto the corner of the desk.

“Even if I go, it’s not like anyone at the center would be happy to see me.”

“I’ll go throw out the leftover broth.”

And so, the third call passed by.

By this point, someone should have already responded, but the light on the guide badge still hadn’t gone out. Including the time they had stepped out for some fresh air, this was the sixth call.

The two of them stared down at the guide badge, which was practically shaking on the desk as if in a seizure.

“……”

“……”

“…Do you think this is really an emergency?”

“…I think you should probably go.”

“Ha… Why does it have to be a restricted area today? I’m really exhausted…”

“I’m sending you.”

Jung-woo was merciless. Before Yoon-ui could even finish complaining, he found himself standing alone in a deserted hallway.

There was no need to check the coordinates or the signposts. This place was too familiar to Yoon-ui.

“The training ground…”

He had been teleported to the training ground under the jurisdiction of the Talent Development Team, where underage Espers were trained. Yoon-ui had spent six years coming and going from this place after middle school, so he knew the layout like the back of his hand.

And at this time of day, when all minors were strictly required to return home by 10 PM and attend classes by 10 AM, there was only one training ground that would still be in use.

“Good eve…”

The moment he deactivated the security and entered the special training area, he was met with a hellish inferno. For a second, Yoon-ui thought he had accidentally responded to a fireman’s emergency call instead. That’s how intense the flames were.

The scorching heat hit him like a wave. The air was so hot that it momentarily took his breath away, drying out his throat and filling his nostrils with the acrid scent of smoke.

And at the center of it all stood a man. He was standing tall in the middle of the blazing flames, trembling uncontrollably as he struggled to manage the power surging from within him.

Ah. So that’s him.

‘He’s really tall.’

Yoon-ui recognized the man immediately. The S-Class Esper who hadn’t shown any powers until he reached adulthood. He couldn’t recall the name, as it was someone from another department, but he knew this was the very same flame Esper the headquarters had been ambitiously grooming for promotion. No wonder he was rampaging in a training ground normally reserved for minors at this hour.

Regaining his composure, Yoon-ui quickly assessed the situation and checked on the blue-collared guides surrounding the man. Some of the young trainee guides were familiar faces, while others were not. Despite wearing protective gear, it was clear that none of them were skilled enough or high-ranking enough to handle an S-Class Esper.

“Step aside. Stop guiding! Turn it off! I said, turn it off!”

Yoon-ui clapped his hands loudly, stopping the guides who were only exacerbating the situation by trying to assist the berserk Esper.

The basics of guiding fall into two categories. A guide can either release their energy to support the Esper’s ability manifestation or suppress the manifestation entirely, forcing the ability to remain contained within the Esper’s body. What was needed now was the latter.

Normally, a guide’s energy helps bolster an Esper’s physical and mental abilities, aiding in their recovery. However, in cases like this, where an Esper is rampaging, providing support guiding recklessly could quickly drain the Esper’s power, cracking their “vessel.” Yoon-ui shouted at the confused guides.

“Wait for my signal before coming in!”

He motioned for them to step back, then calmly walked toward the flames one step at a time. Without any protective gear or fireproof suit, it was practically a suicide mission, but for Yoon-ui, who was experienced in the field, this distance was still within the safe range.

“Hoo….”

The closer he got to the inferno, the more suffocating it became, and his chest trembled. The sound of the flames consuming the air roared in his ears. The flames were massive, raising doubts about what the four guides had been doing until now.

But in fairness, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Most guides are primarily focused on helping Espers recover, and the guiding they perform in the field is usually limited to amplifying the Esper’s abilities. In a situation like this, where suppression rather than enhancement was required, they were naturally out of their depth.

Moreover, this was supposedly an S-Class rampage. No matter how seasoned Yoon-ui was as an A-Class guide, handling this alone would be nearly impossible.

‘I’m more familiar with guiding that kills Espers rather than saving them.’

The silver lining, if there was one, was that this S-Class Esper was a rookie who had yet to fully develop or learn to control his powers. The guides who had been with him had inadvertently helped by nearly exhausting his abilities through their misguided efforts. Yoon-ui glared intensely at the flames.

Was his skin originally so pale? The man’s face, covered in ash, had lost all color, revealing only the faintest contours. Yoon-ui had witnessed the tragic end of fire-type Espers in rampages multiple times before. They would extract flames as if their bodies were made of gasoline, and when their power ran out, they would offer up their own bodies as fuel until they were consumed.

The smell of burning protein seemed to hang in the air.

Whether it was a hallucination or the man before him truly burning, the acrid scent of smoke kept Yoon-ui grounded as he reached out toward the man. Focus.

He targeted the man in his mind, fixed his eyes on the guiding subject, and imagined a wide net spreading out from his palms, focusing intensely while controlling his breathing. Gradually, he felt the guiding energy flowing not just from his hands but from every part of his body.

This was it.

Yoon-ui’s guiding energy surrounded the roots of the flames. Slowly, he began to push inward. This was a suppression guide, forcibly pressing down on the ability being released from the Esper’s body, a near-physical act of restraint to halt the rampage.

As Yoon-ui’s focus intensified, the flames began to subside, starting from the Esper’s fingertips, crown, earlobes, and other vulnerable areas.

“Just die down already…!”

Yoon-ui bit his lip hard. They had made a big fuss about this being a true S-Class Esper, and judging by the sheer amount of energy he was releasing, it seemed they were right. No matter how much energy Yoon-ui tried to suppress, the Esper’s relentless S-Class abilities kept pushing through, as if desperately trying to consume its owner’s body. It felt like the flames were screaming in a frenzied attempt to kill the Esper.

Despite all his efforts to clamp down on the rampaging energy, Yoon-ui had no choice but to move even closer to the source of the fire.

He thought he heard a faint scream from behind him. The closer he got to the inferno, the more suffocating and stifling it became. Sweat poured from his skin, only to evaporate instantly, leaving a stinging, prickling pain like needles. The smoke made his throat raw and his nasal passages burn.

When he saw the tips of his bangs singe and turn brown from falling embers, the thought of dying alongside this Esper briefly crossed his mind. But dying in a training center used by middle schoolers—not even in the field—was never a career path Yoon-ui had considered.

“Get a grip, kid…!”

It wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say to a guy who looked close to 190 cm tall, but given his poor control over his abilities, being called a kid seemed justified. Glaring at the ash-covered broad shoulders, Yoon-ui squeezed every ounce of energy from his body. This was a battle of willpower between superhuman abilities.

No matter the difference in rank, Yoon-ui was a former A-Class ace with 12 years of experience. There was no way he would lose a battle of control to this giant fledgling, who had already exhausted more than half of his power and had little experience to draw from. No way.

Yoon-ui focused all his attention on the massive human torch in front of him. He concentrated his energy, gathering it from every extremity, and skillfully wrapped it around the other’s power, completely enveloping it as if to suffocate the opposing force. This was a temporary outburst, much like a rampage, but on his part.

“Ah…”

Finally, there was a response from the other side. A faint, husky groan. The Esper was beginning to regain consciousness. The long, white lashes, covered in ash, blinked heavily. As his awareness returned, so did his control, and the flames weakened momentarily.

This was the moment. Yoon-ui released all the remaining energy he had. The tightly woven guiding energy enveloped the Esper’s entire body, cutting off any remaining outlets for his power. As the surrounding fire began to die down, the flames extinguished, starting from the periphery of the fiery column.

This was the time for the inexperienced guides to step in with their supporting guidance. Without looking back, Yoon-ui gestured for them to move in, though it wasn’t out of a desire to look cool—he genuinely had no strength left to turn his head. How unfortunate that guides couldn’t guide each other.

After what felt like an eternity, the white ash figure before him began to move slightly, shaking off the layer of soot that had settled on his body. Gradually, the man’s form emerged from beneath the ash. His hair, face, and neck were still partially blackened, but underneath it all, Yoon-ui could tell—this guy was handsome. With that final thought, Yoon-ui slowly closed his eyes.

* * *

Just as Espers can experience power depletion, guides too can become exhausted when they overextend their abilities. Facing off against a high-ranking Esper after such a long time, Yoon-ui had used up every bit of his strength, taking a toll nearly as severe as the one suffered by the berserk Esper.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, his body was no longer in its twenties but in its thirties. He hadn’t been in the field for a long time, and it had been years since he’d had to use his abilities so intensely. On top of that, this came right after an overnight shift. Even if he wanted to go to work—though he didn’t—his body simply couldn’t keep up.

To make matters worse, having spent so much time in the flames without protective gear, his skin and especially his bronchial tubes were in terrible shape. His throat, scorched from inhaling hot smoke, hurt, and it felt like there was soot embedded in every corner of his lungs, making him cough up what seemed like blackened residue. If someone drew a cross-section of his lungs right now, charcoal would be the only appropriate medium.

Taking three days of sick leave, and then an additional day of vacation, he finally returned to work on Friday.