PARADOX 46

“Aaagh!”

Who is screaming so loudly?

Watching a man behave so pathetically was one of the things Seong Semin hated most.

He tried to throw a sharp word toward the man who was screaming loud enough to burst his eardrums.

However, he couldn’t.

Because the one screaming was himself.

“Get it together, Seong Semin.”

A stern voice fell toward Seong Semin, who was groaning while clutching his hollow right shoulder.

He turned his head as if possessed and saw a familiar face.

It was Baek Haeryeong.

Seong Semin didn’t recognize her at first. It wasn’t just because of her face, which was filthy with blood and dust. It was because the look in her eyes was different. Eyes stained with fear and madness. If she hadn’t been regenerating his severed arm, he would have thought someone else was mimicking Baek Haeryeong’s appearance.

Baek Haeryeong was no longer looking at Seong Semin. Her gaze was fixed on the air. Specifically, on the swarm of monsters constantly pouring down from the sky.

Her blood-crusted lips murmured as if reciting a spell.

“We have to stop them. We must stop them. Otherwise…”

Baek Haeryeong’s voice was too low to hear. However, even without hearing it, he could predict the words that followed.

It was the story Baek Haeryeong had told him relentlessly.

That if they failed to conquer this Gate, and if these horrific monsters made it outside… everyone they held dear would die.

‘Don’t go into the Gate, hyung. Please, I’m begging you. Let’s run away.’

Right, that was it. That’s why he had ignored his younger brother’s plea and participated in the Gate raid. But in truth, he had known. That if he entered this Gate, he would never see his brother’s face again.

In the meantime, the teammates who had entered with them were dying. Even Baek Haeryeong’s ability could not bring back the dead.

Before long, only Seong Semin and Baek Haeryeong remained.

Seong Semin wasn’t unscathed either. His limbs had been severed and reattached several times. He was at a point where he envied the dead. At least they would be liberated from this kind of pain.

Despite their efforts, the number of monsters didn’t decrease at all. Seong Semin stared blankly at the monsters before turning his gaze away.

“I can save them… I…”

“Noona, you know where my brother is.”

“I…”

“I’m going to get you out of here, so make sure you protect that kid.”

At 그 moment, light returned to the eyes of the half-insane Baek Haeryeong.

“No, Semin…”

Squeezing out his remaining strength, he moved Baek Haeryeong outside the Gate. His eyeballs felt hot. No, it wasn’t just his eyes that were hot. His watch had broken long ago, so he couldn’t check his status, but the end for an Esper who overused their power without a Guide was obvious.

It felt like the blood in his entire body was boiling. He could see his bulging veins throb and twitch beneath his skin. It was more painful now than when his limbs were being severed. If there had been a bullet left, he would have held it to his head and fired.

Do people say they look for God in the face of disaster? Seong Semin was an unbeliever, but in this moment, he couldn’t stop someone from coming to mind. To think that bastard endured this kind of pain for 23 years; he was truly incredible. The brief thought was quickly consumed by the pain.

Seong Semin was a macho guy who insisted a man should only cry three times in his life, but in this much pain, he couldn’t help but weep.

Please, just kill me quickly. End this pain.

The moment he whispered those words to no one in particular.

—Seong Semin.

Along with a soft male voice, a warm and gentle light embraced Seong Semin. All the pain vanished, and only peace remained.

Seong Semin didn’t believe in God. But this sensation was something that could only be explained by the word “salvation.”

Shit, that startled me.

Hanseo, who had poured Guiding energy into Seong Semin, furrowed his brow.

While he was wavering between being angry or relieved that the person inside the monster was Seong Semin and not Gu Jeyi, the air suddenly changed strangely, and goosebumps broke out on his skin. He realized a beat late that it was because of the Esper energy leaking out of Seong Semin.

Beep— Beep— Beep— The watch on Seong Semin’s wrist began to ring loudly. It was the undeniable precursor to a rampage.

What’s wrong with this guy all of a sudden?

He was flustered, but his body moved instinctively. Like using a fire extinguisher on a burning pot, Hanseo immediately sprayed Guiding energy. Fortunately, unlike Gu Jeyi, Seong Semin returned to a stable state quickly with just radiation Guiding.

“What was that about?”

Come to think of it, was the cause of death for the Espers who entered this Gate said to be a rampage?

Indeed, even a high-grade Esper wouldn’t be unfazed by seeing their own death. The hallucination created by this plant’s sap was so powerful that one couldn’t help but mistake it for reality. It seemed that in the process, combat-type Espers with weak mentalities lost their minds. Of course, the term “weak mentality” was entirely Hanseo’s personal judgment.

Tsk, tsk. Hanseo clicked his tongue and tried to pull Seong Semin out of the monster. However, contrary to his will, he couldn’t pull him out at all. At first, he thought it was because he had used up all his strength climbing the stalk, but that wasn’t it.

What is that?

Hanseo’s eyes narrowed.

Looking closely, thin stalks were wrapped around various parts of Seong Semin’s body. Furthermore, the tips of the stalks had burrowed into his skin. Hanseo frowned as he saw the stalk inserted into the back of Seong Semin’s neck. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed dangerous to remove it recklessly.

Honestly, he didn’t care whether Seong Semin lived or died, but since he was also a teammate of Gu Jeyi, it seemed best to be careful. Hanseo took out the stabilizer Gu Jeyi had given him from the bag on his waist and put it in Seong Semin’s mouth. Then, he let go of the hand he was using to hold Seong Semin without regret. Seong Semin, who had floated up slightly, sank back down with a gurgle.

It’s not here, then. Where is Gu Jeyi?

Hanseo stood up and looked around. From his high vantage point, he could see more clearly just how many of these monsters there were.

I have to find the one Gu Jeyi is in out of all those? The mere thought made the world feel distant.

Just then, the ground beneath Hanseo’s feet began to shake.

“Wha—”

What. Before he could even finish the word, Hanseo began to fall toward the floor.

Only then did Hanseo realize the situation. The monster, which hadn’t budged when he tried so hard, was collapsing with a loud crack like a tree cut by an axe.

Thump! A sound as massive as its giant body rang out. An ordinary person wouldn’t have survived falling from this height, but fortunately, Hanseo was an exception. It was thanks to his body stopping abruptly in mid-air right before hitting the ground.

Did I… live? The moment Hanseo opened his tightly shut eyes, a familiar voice reached him.

“Yeo Hanseo?”

Pitch-black eyes, where it was hard to distinguish the pupil from the iris, were looking at Hanseo.

There would only be one person in the world with that body and that face.

It really was Gu Jeyi.

Why are you perfectly fine?

And it seemed Gu Jeyi was thinking the same thing.

Without a word, Gu Jeyi strode over and examined Hanseo. Hanseo took the opportunity to scan Gu Jeyi from head to toe, quickly checking his condition.

His face looked a bit tired, but he seemed fine without a scratch. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief, then thought it was ridiculous of him to do so.

Me, worrying about Gu Jeyi… no, that’s not it. I’m worrying about my own peaceful life.

“What happened? I saw you getting sucked into a swamp.”

“A swamp?”

What Hanseo had seen was up to the point of the teammates collapsing. Everything had happened in an instant and the fog was thick, so it was hard to see the situation clearly, but it seemed Gu Jeyi had grasped the situation in the meantime.

“The moment you lose consciousness due to the fog, a swamp appears beneath your feet. It seems you are moved to a different space if you fall into that swamp. I followed in for now… but since I couldn’t find where anyone was, I intended to find the core first and destroy it.”

It seemed he was aiming for that because if the core is found and destroyed, the Gate’s monsters naturally perish.

“But then I felt an Esper’s wavelength.”

“Esper Seong Semin is over there.”

Only then did Gu Jeyi’s gaze turn toward the gourd-shaped flower lying on the ground. The light in Gu Jeyi’s eyes shook slightly as he examined Seong Semin.

“Did you Guide Seong Semin?”

“Yes, I felt his wavelength suddenly become unstable. I’m glad it worked.”

If he had died, what would have happened to your mental state?

Hanseo was sincerely relieved.

“…”

And Gu Jeyi looked at that Yeo Hanseo as if he were a bizarre creature.