PARADOX 48

The surrounding scenery flashed by in an instant before Gu Jeyi came to a halt. While still carrying Hanseo on his back, he kicked the stalk of a monster with one foot.

Kwang!

The stalk snapped at once, and the upper section fell to the ground.

…I naturally assumed he was using an ability, but he was just kicking them earlier, too?

It was a Herculean strength that made it difficult to call him human. I’m lucky I survived against a guy like this. It was a relief that since he was being carried on the man’s back, he could hide his pale face.

In the meantime, Gu Jeyi set Hanseo down and tore away the upper part of a large petal. Inside was Woo Taegyu, drenched in a pinkish liquid.

Hanseo realized as soon as he saw him that Woo Taegyu’s condition was worse than Seong Semin’s. It was likely because he was the first to be taken by the monsters, meaning he had been seeing hallucinations for a longer time. If they had arrived even a moment later, Woo Taegyu would have rampaged and lost his life.

Gu Jeyi also realized this fact. He was capable of conquering S-class Gates or sinking an island single-handedly, but he could not save the current Woo Taegyu.

“Mister Yeo Hanseo.”

Thus, Gu Jeyi looked toward the only person who could save Woo Taegyu.

“Can you Guide Taegyu?”

Guiding an Esper who might rampage at any moment was a task where the Guide also had to risk their life. An ordinary Guide would not try to take such a risk. Even the Center teaches Guides to run away if they find themselves in such a situation.

However, Gu Jeyi knew the answer the man before him would give even before asking.

“Yes, I’ll try.”

And as expected, Yeo Hanseo gave his answer without any hesitation.

“…”

Gu Jeyi watched Yeo Hanseo, who was kneeling in front of Woo Taegyu to Guide him, with trembling eyes. Because he was standing behind him, Hanseo could not see what kind of face Gu Jeyi was making as he looked at him.

Hmm, this one feels like a slightly better match in terms of compatibility than Seong Semin.

Contrary to Gu Jeyi’s thoughts, Hanseo did not consider Guiding Woo Taegyu to be dangerous in the slightest.

Because, in reality, it wasn’t dangerous.

Woo Taegyu was not an S-class Esper, nor had he rampaged yet. A condition of this level could be handled without much trouble by any Guide with a matching rate around 90%.

Of course, the problem was that Guides with that level of matching rate were extremely rare, but Hanseo was always the exception to that problem.

Compared to Gu Jeyi’s case, this is easy.

Unlike a certain someone, the sleeping Woo Taegyu was gentle and didn’t attack the Guide, so Hanseo just had to perform the Guiding.

Sure enough, as soon as he let the Guiding energy flow, Woo Taegyu’s bulging veins subsided in an instant.

However, Hanseo was not particularly interested in the miracle he had performed. His attention was focused solely on the man standing behind him.

He doesn’t think it’s strange, does he?

He had intentionally used radiation Guiding, but the speed at which the rampage subsided was much faster than expected. Because the matching rate is high, the effect of the Guiding is “excessively” good. Since this was a part he couldn’t control, he had no choice but to be mindful of the person standing behind him.

How much does Gu Jeyi know about Guiding? Since he had never received proper Guiding, it would be nice if he didn’t have doubts about this either. Was that too optimistic a thought? If Gu Jeyi did find it strange, how should he respond?

While numerous thoughts surfaced and vanished, Woo Taegyu’s condition completely stabilized. The screen of the watch he wore was hard to see due to the opaque mucus, but seeing his distorted face smooth out until he looked like someone having a pleasant dream, it seemed no further Guiding was necessary.

“I think he’s okay now.”

Hanseo turned around, hiding his anxiety. Contrary to what he had imagined, Gu Jeyi’s expression looked as indifferent as usual. After checking Woo Taegyu’s condition, he stared at Hanseo.

“We need to look for the others as well. Can you help me?”

You’re really putting me to work.

Even while grumbling like that, Hanseo nodded.

In the end, they found even Baek Haeryeong and calmed her through Guiding. Finally, only the Guide who had entered with them remained, but since she wasn’t an Esper, she was difficult to find using the same method.

Gu Jeyi said there was no immediate way to find the Guide, and since there was no risk of a rampage, they should find the main body first.

Hanseo wasn’t worried about the Guide at all, but to maintain Yeo Hanseo’s character, he put on a worried expression.

“Will she be alright?”

“Seeing as Mister Yeo Hanseo is unharmed, it seems this monster’s sap doesn’t work on Guides, so she should be fine. These monsters aren’t threatening except for the sap, so staying here is likely safer than anywhere else.”

So that’s how it works. Hanseo knew for a fact that this sap showed hallucinations to everyone equally, but he simply nodded.

Gu Jeyi checked his watch.

“Since we don’t know how long it will take to find the main body, it’s best to move quickly.”

Indeed, if they didn’t conquer it within a week, not only would the team members be in danger, but all the monsters in the Gate would spill out. No, by now, there probably wasn’t even a week left.

“Do you know where the main body is?”

“I can faintly feel the aura of the core. The main body must be what is creating this fog. It should appear if we head toward where the fog gets thicker.”

Toward where the fog gets thicker. Honestly, the fog looked thick everywhere, so Hanseo couldn’t find the way with his naked eyes. This was likely why only combat-type Espers participated in Gate raids. Their innate physical abilities were simply on a different level.

“Mister Yeo Hanseo, please come with me.”

Gu Jeyi made the suggestion first, perhaps wondering if Hanseo would say he didn’t want to go to the dangerous place where the main body was. It was a needless worry. Hanseo quickly went to stand by Gu Jeyi’s side.

Gu Jeyi walked in the lead and Hanseo followed behind. As if the direction was correct, the fog grew thicker and thicker as they walked. Monsters popped out occasionally, but each time, Gu Jeyi dealt with them by striking with his hands or feet as if swatting flies.

Seeing him handle monsters purely with physical strength without using any abilities, even if they were C-class, made one wonder which side was truly the monster.

Meanwhile, the fog grew even denser. The problem arose when it reached the point where he could barely see the person right in front of him. Hanseo stopped, unable to walk further.

“I’m sorry. I can’t walk well because of the fog.”

“Would you like to be carried?”

“What if a monster appears? It would be inconvenient for you while fighting.”

“It’s fine.”

Gu Jeyi said so, but Hanseo was not fine. He had entered the Gate to help Gu Jeyi, not to become an obstacle. After some thought, Hanseo suggested:

“Then, shall we go holding hands?”

“…”

“I thought it might be okay since we have gloves and we’ve practiced.”

Gu Jeyi would never know how much courage Hanseo was mustering right now. Hanseo’s stomach still occasionally throbbed whenever he saw Gu Jeyi. Physical contact with the man who had almost killed him brought an unavoidable tension. That was also why his heart beat rapidly every time he touched Gu Jeyi.

However, Hanseo failed to notice that Gu Jeyi was hearing all of those sounds.

Gu Jeyi hesitated for a moment, but perhaps thinking there was no more time to waste, he took the hand Hanseo offered.

The Gate was so vast that there was no end to the walking. Hanseo suppressed the urge to ask to rest for a bit and walked along after Gu Jeyi.

Does this guy not even get tired?

Just as he thought that, Gu Jeyi staggered.

His heart skipped a beat.

“Gu Je— Hyung! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

While scrambling to fix the fact that he almost called him by name, Gu Jeyi stood upright again. However, his complexion was worse than before.

“Mister Yeo Hanseo, are you… perfectly fine?”

“Yes? Is there a problem?”

Gu Jeyi pressed firmly between his eyes and then stared silently at Yeo Hanseo.

Finally, his well-shaped lips parted.

“…I am sleepy.”

What? He was momentarily dazed by an answer so completely different from his expectation. It wasn’t as if Gu Jeyi would be joking in a situation like this.

Hanseo looked at the fog surrounding them.

Suddenly, an ominous hypothesis occurred to him.

If it wasn’t that this fog didn’t work on Gu Jeyi…

But rather that the effect was just appearing later because he is an S-class Esper?

Please tell me it’s a joke.

Hanseo sent a desperate look toward Gu Jeyi. However, Gu Jeyi only blinked his eyes slowly.

“I refrained from using my abilities because I thought it would make me more susceptible to the fog’s influence, but it seems that was to no avail.”

So that was why he had been smashing monsters with his body without using his supernatural powers.

It was certainly a logical deduction. Excluding the Guide, the first person to fall asleep in the fog was Woo Taegyu, who had used his abilities the most to protect the Guide.

“But why is Mister Yeo Hanseo perfectly fine?”