Chapter 87

Chapter 87. Terminal Diagnosis (12)

“Huh? Is something wrong… huh-ack!”

The reason Sodam could now vaguely see ahead wasn’t because her eyes had adjusted to the dark. It was because a massive light, coming from far in the distance, had reached this place. Following the direction of Sodam’s pointing finger, the staff member turned his head—and let out a startled scream.

If this weren’t the countryside and the middle of a forest, one could’ve mistaken it for fireworks. Crimson light flared and disappeared repeatedly between the thick trees. Unlike Sodam, who had never seen a fire-wielding mutant up close before, the staff member immediately grasped what was happening before his eyes.

They had spent an entire week scouring the area in a jeep, their butts nearly blistering from the bumpy rides, and had finally found the tail of the mutant creature Pafnir. But the fact that the battle was still ongoing with explosions flaring even now—despite Juyul having gone off alone some time ago—was worrying. It meant that the creature was powerful enough that even someone known as the “Savior of the World” couldn’t end it quickly.

The staff member, swallowing nervously, grabbed Sodam’s forearm as she started to rush toward the scene. Sodam’s face twisted with frustration as she whipped around and shouted,

“What are you doing?”

“Esper Baek Juyul is fighting with everything he’s got right now. If we go barging in recklessly, it could be disastrous…! Maybe you don’t know because you’re a Guide, but it’s common knowledge that other Espers or Guides shouldn’t approach during a subjugation!”

“Oh, common knowledge?”

It was laughable. Back in Gunsan, and even now—every time she tried to be by Juyul’s side when he was facing danger alone, people gave her the same lecture about how “unreasonable” she was being. But the current Pafnir wasn’t even that powerful—not enough to be worth this much effort from Juyul. And even if it was, that didn’t justify keeping a Guide away from her Esper.

Sodam shook off his hand with force and fired back, her voice full of scorn.

“For me, it’s common knowledge that a Guide should always be beside their Esper. If you’re scared, then back off.”

“I-it’s not that I’m scared, it’s just—this is practically a suicide mission!”

“Wanna bet? Whether I die or not? I’ll put a billion won on ‘not dying.’”

Her confident voice deflated the staff member’s resistance. Though he continued grumbling behind her as he followed, he didn’t try to stop her again. Sodam sighed, exchanging restraint in her arms for annoyance in her ears.

“Look, if you’re scared, can you shut up? If the monster aggroes onto us because of the noise, are you gonna be the one to fight it?”

“Uh…”

“And just so you know, I’m F-class. Even a graze could kill me. Which means I’m no help at all.”

“B-but you just said you’d bet a billion you wouldn’t die!”

“Well, if I really die, Baek Juyul will probably pay it on my behalf out of guilt.”

She said it so casually that the staff member turned pale. In truth, Pafnir was more of a coward than a killer, and unlikely to even target Sodam. She had only emphasized being an F-class to shut the staff member up.

Thankfully, it worked. With the man quiet at last, Sodam could move without wasting more energy. But despite the flames looking like they were flaring just ahead, they were actually farther away than expected. No matter how much she walked, she couldn’t spot even a strand of Juyul’s blue hair.

She’d been following the flickering lights along the mountain path for some time now, breathing heavily and forcing herself forward one step at a time, when—

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air.

Screeeeee—

“Ugh…!”

“…!”

The staff member groaned, but Sodam didn’t even make a sound. She clutched her head tightly.

Was this what Seonghwa had warned her about? It was just the creature’s scream, and yet it felt like her skull was splitting apart. Her vision wavered, and Juyul’s stationary back began to multiply—two, three of him appearing before her eyes.

As Sodam stumbled forward, Juyul caught her easily and clicked his tongue softly. His sharp gaze pierced the staff member, who bowed repeatedly in apology. Juyul ignored him completely and pinched Sodam’s cheek lightly.

“I told you to stay somewhere safe, didn’t I?”

“Still, I’m a Guide, you know. Of course I have to be by my Esper’s side.”

“…Hold on. I’ll put up a wall around us.”

Holding her close, he jerked his chin toward the other side. Then, shards of ice that had been swirling in the air behind him shot off like arrows in a single direction. Unlike the rest of the area, which was filled with heat, this spot felt distinctly cool—undoubtedly due to the sheer number of ice shards Juyul had summoned.

As soon as the shards began moving in unison, the air in the forest filled with the cold radiating from Juyul. Following the trail of crystals as they surged toward something unseen, Sodam caught sight of a bright red creature darting clumsily between the trees—something that didn’t belong in a forest at all.

She had read about it before and had a rough idea, but seeing it with her own eyes left her speechless. Covering her mouth with her hand, Sodam asked cautiously,

“…Don’t tell me that’s…”

“Yeah. That’s Pafnir.”

“It’s… way smaller than I expected. Kind of cute, even.”

“Keep your voice down. It understands speech.”

“Gasp.”

She quickly looked ahead, but thankfully, Pafnir was too busy dodging the ice crystals to pay her any attention. Relieved, Sodam let out a long breath. Seeing the chance, she slipped in a question.

“Still, why did it take so long? You went after it ages ago.”

“It’s small, so it was hard to find. But now that I’ve got it, there’s no way I’ll lose it again.”

“…You told me not to speak too loud, and now here you are.”

“You can’t dodge attacks. You always act like you’ve got two lives or something.”

At his words, which sounded like blame, Sodam’s face twisted in annoyance.

“When have I ever acted like that? I’m a perfectly average citizen who values her life very much, thank you.”

“If you really cared about your life, you wouldn’t have even glanced this way and would’ve stayed safely at the lodge.”

“Well…”

She had so much she wanted to say. That Pafnir wasn’t that dangerous. That preventing Juyul from killing Pafnir was the only way to stop a bigger threat from arising in the future. That… she was worried about him.

But none of it made it past her lips. She swallowed it all, and Juyul, sighing softly, shook his head.

“I didn’t expect I could stop you, but still, you have a duty to value yourself more.”

“A duty?”

“Yeah. You’ve got an Esper who’d flip the entire world over if you so much as get a paper cut.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to be the cause of the world’s destruction, you should be careful with every single step you take.”

She couldn’t tell if it was a threat or a form of affection. Her mind swirled. Was this man really acting this way just because she was a “Guide”?

Or—just maybe—by some incredibly slim chance, could it be that Juyul actually… liked her? Loved her? He had never once said those words himself, but if it were true—if even a sliver of it was…

“What’s wrong? Your face is red.”

“Huh? N-no, it’s, uh… it’s hot. Yeah. That’s it. It’s hot. Even from this far away, you can really feel the heat. Guess that’s what being an S-class is like, huh? Ha, hahaha…”

Sodam’s flushed face was clearly not just because of the temperature. When Juyul’s cool hand touched her forehead, she could feel just how warm she had gotten. Otherwise, there was no way his touch would have felt so nice.

She let her cheek nuzzle lightly into his hand—then suddenly snapped out of it, pushing him away and pressing both cheeks with her hands in a flustered panic.

When Juyul tried to step closer again, she held up a hand to block him, speaking firmly.

“Okay, first, go finish up the subjugation. It’s way too hot here.”

“…Alright.”

Though his eyes were filled with suspicion, Juyul stepped back for the time being. As he reached out a hand toward her, blue ice began to rise slowly from the bare ground. The shimmering, transparent ice encased her on all sides and climbed upward, stopping when it reached the tops of the tallest trees.

Sodam rubbed her still-warm cheeks as she looked out at Juyul through the beautiful and powerful shield of ice that surrounded her. It was a little ridiculous—he, of all people, should know just how weak Pafnir was. But despite that, he’d left her behind a shield this excessive. She didn’t know whether to be dumbfounded or grateful.

Trying to calm her tangled emotions, she leaned gently against the icy wall—when she suddenly noticed a face with its jaw nearly unhinged in shock peering at her through a gap in the curved ice.

It was the staff member. He crept up and tapped on the wall, asking in a whisper,

“Uh, can I not come in too?”

“If you can break through, be my guest.”

“You know that’s impossible…”

“Too bad.”

At Sodam’s cold reply, the staff’s face scrunched in defeat, and he crab-walked away to hide behind her. Watching this pitiful display, Sodam couldn’t help but think:

‘So much for being B-class…’

“I—I swear, not all B-classes are like me! I’m just especially cowardly and my powers are kind of useless, that’s all!”

…Maybe she hadn’t just thought it. Maybe she said it out loud.