Chapter 7.2

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“So, Siren, or should I say Ullim?”

Ullim’s expression hardened coldly. …She had been too soft, reminiscing about old memories. She shouldn’t have left her position in the government as Icarus had ordered.

Ullim closed her eyes and opened them again. Her pupils flashed purple. What’s the quickest escape route?

But even as she prepared to flee, Yiheon stood still with his hands in his pockets, waiting.

Except for one time, Ullim’s ability wasn’t resonating with Yiheon. And even now, as she spread her waves further. No way… Only Gahan should have the ability to control waves.

“Have you thought it through?”

“What did you do?”

“Me?”

“I didn’t do anything. And I can make it so you didn’t do anything either.”

It was true. Officially, Icarus was an organization that had just started its activities this time. If not for Yiheon’s precognition ability, it wouldn’t have been something to be so wary of.

They were dangerous because they had unregistered monstrous espers and could forcibly trigger gates. But there were no actual victims. Especially no civilians were involved.

“That’s impossible.”

“There’s only one witness, and depending on your choice, I can be someone who knows nothing.”

Ullim’s lips quivered. Was this sweet talk the devil’s whisper? When she heard that Yeoncheong had left the government, she thought it was for the best. There was no longer anyone who could read her thoughts.

‘Think of your family, Seo Ullim.’

The distorted voice of a man she didn’t know stabbed at her heart. Dim light filtered through the broken windows of the dark abandoned building, illuminating Yiheon. He smiled, crinkling his eyes.

“This is your last chance.”

‘We’re your only chance.’

But that was only true until now. As Yiheon foresaw, they would commit a catastrophic act reminiscent of past gate incidents.

Ullim opened her mouth. Yiheon’s red lips curled up slightly.

“—.”

“–.”

The emergency bell rang loudly. Agents quickly checked the unfamiliar wave’s location on CCTV and rushed to surround Yiheon and Siren.

It was a building with too many risk factors for two espers to clash. As they pointed their guns and stood on guard, Siren and Yiheon raised their hands. Siren, with a playful smile as if she hadn’t been flustered, and Yiheon sighed.

…Getting back to HQ early was out of the question.

“I have a feeling the boss will be even later.”

Jeongsik looked at Logan’s muttering with disbelief. Was he secretly an animal ability user instead of a pheromone user?

Jeongsik’s inner thoughts were slightly off, but they were closer to the truth. After all, alpha pheromones weren’t much different from animal pheromones.

Of course, Logan’s words were based on his phone, which hadn’t received any messages. If Chiwon heard, he’d shed tears of blood, but Yiheon always sent Logan texts about when he’d arrive.

As the two bantered, Jeonghee, who had been clenching and unclenching her fists, suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, Logan, your ability feels a lot like guiding.”

It wasn’t quite like calming or filling waves, but more like preventing them from depleting. Jeonghee stared intently into Logan’s eyes.

Logan masked his guilty expression with a bright smile. “Really?” he asked, his voice slightly trembling. Did they find out? His heart pounded with tension, but Jeongsik agreed with Jeonghee’s comment.

“Yeah, it feels similar to guiding, and the scent makes it pleasant.”

“Yeah, like getting an aroma massage.”

Prejudice was strong. Logan briefly pondered whether his beloved colleagues were just that clueless or if his guiding didn’t seem like guiding.

But it didn’t matter. They hadn’t found out, so it was a relief for Logan. He did have a slight thought that it wouldn’t be so bad if they discovered he was a guide. It wasn’t that Logan was so naive as to trust Jeonghee and Jeongsik completely, but…

“With this opportunity, Logan, you might get promoted.”

“Exactly. If they keep you at F-rank with this ability, the Association is incompetent.”

It was really hard not to trust someone who would even criticize the Association for his sake. Logan beamed and exclaimed, “Shall we practice one more time?” Jeonghee and Jeongsik nodded.

And there were people watching the training room’s CCTV. Normally, watching someone else’s training would be a big breach of etiquette, but…

The man watching the three train with his arms crossed checked the wave size.

‘37% match.’

‘39% match.’

At his gesture, the person behind him operated a machine. A message appeared on the screen, indicating a certain security level was required. Sitting silently, Yeomho sent his wave into the machine.

If the person watching was the highest-ranking person in HQ, it wasn’t a breach. As his wave was recognized, the security restriction lifted, and Yiheon’s ability stats appeared on the screen. Logan’s wave appeared alongside it.

‘90% match.’

Everyone sighed. Yeomho’s face briefly showed relief, then annoyance at Yiheon’s actions for hiding this fact. And at Chiwon, who tried to keep it a secret. Even when asked if anything was strange lately, he kept his mouth shut. This brat. Friends are more important than your grandpa, huh?

“For now, Logan Carter…”

Yeomho tapped the armrest of his chair, deep in thought. Whatever Yiheon was thinking, it was better to cover it up for now. Ultimately, Yeomho’s heart leaned toward his friend’s grandson rather than the Association. Yiheon was more of a precious finger than his own grandson.

Yiheon wasn’t someone who would harm the Association, nor was he a naive kid. He must have a plan.

Leaving him at F-rank for too long would make him stand out, and raising him above C-rank might seem suspicious. C-rank mental type was just right for joining Team 1 and being regarded as an esper with proper ability utilization.

“Raise him to C-rank, but this incident never happened.”

He was a guide still maturing. The initial lack of wave records might have been because he was manifesting as a guide. Besides, even if there were suspicious points, wasn’t he an American gate victim? It would be fortunate if Yiheon could persuade Logan to express that there were no issues.

“By the way, he’s a peculiar guide, isn’t he?”

“…Indeed.”

Actually, Logan might not know, but the reason his ability didn’t feel entirely like guiding wasn’t just prejudice. It was because he was from another world. His guide wave and pheromones were still mixed, so their esper bodies didn’t simply perceive it as “guiding.”

Even the machine recording waves couldn’t clearly determine whether Logan’s ability was an esper wave or a guide wave. The wave graph, showing both red for espers and blue for guides, was the first of its kind.

It was sheer luck that someone like Yiheon, with over 90% compatibility and sensitivity to cell stimulation, was around. Without Yiheon, neither Logan nor the Association would have realized he was a guide.

“If it weren’t for you, we would have found out much later.”

At Yeomho’s words, Boyun, who had been staring intently at Logan’s wave, slowly shook his head.

“I didn’t anticipate it either.”

Truly. Boyun emphasized slowly. Watching Logan’s bright smile in the training room, Boyun asked Yeomho.

“Will you credit me for what I found out?”

“Do you want something?”

Yeomho asked, surprised. Given Boyun’s position, he didn’t need to ask Yeomho for favors, and he rarely made demands of the Association. After losing his guide, he became even more taciturn and steadfast. Thinking this far, Yeomho nodded, signaling him to speak.

“I’d like to train Logan Carter for a while and enter the gate together.”

“Hmm.”

Yeomho looked troubled at Boyun’s words. If this record was true, wasn’t Logan a guide? And with a 90% wave match with Yiheon.

“Yiheon won’t let it slide.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to stop him.”

The two men looked at each other. Both had watched Yiheon grow up, and both had lived following Yiheon’s wishes.

“……”

“……”

So neither could say to Yiheon, “Hand over your guide.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You just said you’d grant it.”

“I only asked what you wanted.”

That sly old man. Boyun muttered, and the adjutant standing silently pretended not to hear.

“If you have another request, let me know.”

Yeomho patted Boyun’s shoulder and slipped away. It was an escape.

⌗ • ⌗ • ⌗

In the dark underground, a huge screen kept replaying news about the‘esper achievements’of the Korean Esper Association, like how they extinguished a gate in just a few minutes. Gahan watched the screen with boredom. His eyes turned red and then back to brown repeatedly.

The blood-red thorns around him absorbed blood and grew larger. The thorns, rooted in each of Gahan’s joints as if parasitizing him, kept reopening wounds without giving them a chance to heal. The thorns seemed to know exactly where to pierce to make the blood gush out, extending up to his neck as if to strangle him.

Despite losing enough blood to feel dizzy, Gahan sat upright, accustomed to the pain, letting the thorns be.

The news showed the face of the Activation Division Team 1 leader, speculated to be the next director, various espers frequently seen in the media, and… Gahan flinched at the face filling the screen and lowered his gaze.

If he moved his arm or head even slightly, the thorns would pierce him more, worsening the wounds. His unstable ability kept craving the host’s body it was parasitizing. But they couldn’t let Gahan rampage just to gain one ability.

The leader ordered him to let the ability take his blood if he couldn’t control it and would lose his sanity. It was also an easy way to control Gahan.

Even though he had never once disobeyed the leader’s orders. Perhaps he thought of it as a process to use the tool better. Ignoring the familiar pain, Gahan recalled Yiheon’s face he saw that day while still watching the news he had seen dozens of times.

Yiheon, who still ran wild even after having his ability sealed, with eyes gleaming with excitement every time they clashed. His face wasn’t particularly special, so why was he… Gahan’s thoughts were interrupted by a subtle presence appearing behind him.

The person, unfazed by Gahan’s appearance, calmly spoke.

“Don’t look elsewhere.”