Chapter 135:
Seo Jae-yi, momentarily annoyed, then softened again under his touch, her eyes glazing over as he caressed her wounded legs. The torn skin healed with every stroke.
She shivered, the sensation unbearably ticklish, and clung to Baek Joo-won, burying her face in his shoulder.
“Hmm, ah…”
She tugged at his hair, urging him to give her more of his refreshing energy, her actions almost childlike. Baek Joo-won chuckled and nuzzled her cheek, and she shifted her legs.
His hard thigh brushed against her leg. Baek Joo-won let out a low moan, and Seo Jae-yi, as if not wanting to miss a single sound, swallowed it whole.
Everything felt intensely stimulating, not just for Seo Jae-yi, intoxicated by the Guiding, but also for Baek Joo-won.
How could he possibly stay sane when the woman he desired was in his arms, wanting him?
A drop of sweat, perhaps from Seo Jae-yi’s heat transferring to him, trickled down his jaw and landed on her cheek.
Even that slight touch seemed to excite her, as Seo Jae-yi looked up at him, her eyes still clouded with desire, a desire that could make him crumble.
“Seo Jae-yi…”
Baek Joo-won whispered her name, his voice husky, and lowered his head, their lips meeting in a kiss far gentler than before, awakening all their senses.
Not just their scents, but their very energies mingled.
Baek Joo-won took Seo Jae-yi’s hand, the hand that was gripping his shoulder so tightly that it left marks, and kissed her knuckles, his gaze locked on hers.
Ah, he wanted affection to return to those eyes.
Affection directed solely at him.
Baek Joo-won poured his desire into the kiss, deepening it.
Korea was in chaos.
Seo Jae-yi, one of the longest-awakened S-rank Espers in Korea.
The news of her overload sent the media and the citizens into a frenzy.
People were terrified, hearing that a mountain in Gapyeong had been reduced to ashes.
Korea’s strongest Heat Manipulation Esper. Who could possibly stop her in an uncontrolled overload?
They whispered among themselves, wondering if even her Guide had perished in the overload, despite the reports of her having a paired Guide.
But a few hours after the overload began, Kim Yoo-sung, the Haeil Guild Leader, stepped forward to calm the situation.
“You’ve all heard about the Rank 2 dungeon breakout in Gapyeong. A major disaster was averted thanks to Esper Seo Jae-yi, who bravely confronted the threat alone. However, it is true that she overloaded in the process due to overexertion. There was some damage, but she’s now stabilized, thanks to her paired Guide, who arrived in time. There’s no need for further concern.”
Kim Yoo-sung calmly explained the situation and bowed deeply before the cameras.
“I apologize for the concern and anxiety this incident has caused. I promise, on behalf of Haeil Guild, that we’ll do our best to prevent this from happening again.”
The situation calmed down slightly thanks to his quick explanation and apology.
There hadn’t been any damage outside the mountain where the Rank 2 dungeon had emerged, and the villagers, who had been evacuated thanks to a young woman, spoke in her defense.
Their homes had been destroyed, but their lives had been saved, so they were grateful to her.
And there was no reason to criticize her, as the government and Haeil Guild had promised to cover the costs of reconstruction.
But not everything was resolved.
A sense of unease settled over the people, the fear that an S-rank Esper could overload at any moment. As a result, public support for the Esper Conduct Regulations, which the government had been subtly promoting, started to grow.
The main points of the regulations were that Espers should be completely controlled by the Association and the Center instead of being allowed to roam freely through Guilds, and that they should only use their abilities with the government’s permission.
The internet was divided, with heated debates between supporters and opponents of the regulations.
The supporters argued that Espers, with their risk of overloading, had to be controlled by the government.
The opponents argued that if they had to wait for the government’s permission every time a dungeon emerged, like the recent Rank 2 dungeon, everyone would die.
Korea was in turmoil for two days due to the intense debate.
And then, the focus of the debate shifted.
Because of a post on an anonymous online community.
【Title: Do you guys know there’s another side to the recent S-rank overload incident?】
【I’m writing this because I couldn’t find anything about it online.
My grandmother was in that village where the dungeon breakout occurred. My parents were frantic when they heard the news, but thankfully, she was safely evacuated.
I rushed to the hospital where she was admitted, and she told me…
There were other people besides that young woman (probably Firestarter). She was the one fighting the monster, and the others helped evacuate the villagers. But the news only mentions her. She asked who they were…
I was so creeped out that I searched the internet and news, but only Firestarter’s name appeared. If those other people died trying to stop the overloaded Firestarter, their names should be mentioned, but there was nothing, which was strange.
And it wasn’t just my grandmother who said this; other villagers said the same thing. They said those people weren’t ordinary; they were Espers using strange abilities.
But why isn’t anyone talking about them? Why is everyone saying Firestarter stopped the monsters alone? Why was she alone when the other Espers arrived at the scene???
What happened that day?】
After this post was published, everyone’s attention shifted from the debate about the Esper Conduct Regulations to this incident.
The Esper Association and the Guiding Center had officially stated that Seo Jae-yi was the only one who had reported participating in the Rank 2 dungeon breakout.
Then who were these other Espers who had helped evacuate the villagers? Who had the villagers seen? And why weren’t they coming forward?
The controversy grew as Haeil Guild, the Association, and the Center announced that they would launch an investigation.
There was only one person who could reveal the truth: Seo Jae-yi.
But Seo Jae-yi remained unconscious, and the criticism directed towards her gradually subsided.
What had really happened in that village that day?
Haeil Guild Headquarters, Guild Leader’s Office.
Kim Yoo-sung, his dark circles reaching his cheeks, stared at his computer screen.
The recent post on an online community.
‘There were other Espers besides Seo Jae-yi in that village where the Rank 2 dungeon breakout occurred.’
Kim Yoo-sung immediately called Kwon Yi-soo after reading the post. He asked if any other Espers besides Seo Jae-yi had reported participating in the subjugation that day.
‘There weren’t any. Seo Jae-yi was the only one who reported participating through her receiver.’
But Kwon Yi-soo’s voice, as strained as his, confirmed the post’s claim.
Then there were three possibilities.
The villagers had seen things in their confusion, or the post was a lie.
Or there had actually been another group of Espers there.
The last possibility raised many questions.
Why hadn’t they reported their participation, even though it was mandatory? And if they had helped evacuate the villagers, why were they nowhere to be found when Seo Jae-yi overloaded?
Regardless, it was worth investigating, so Kwon Yi-soo personally visited the hospital where the villagers were admitted to conduct an investigation.
Kim Yoo-sung and the Haeil Guild members went to the village, now reduced to ashes, to search for traces of other Espers.
It was unfortunate that the CCTV footage had been destroyed by the monsters and Seo Jae-yi’s overload, but the traces of an Esper’s ability usage didn’t disappear easily, so the Guild members conducted a thorough search.
And Kwon Yi-soo and Kim Yoo-sung reached the same conclusion.
There had definitely been other Espers in that village that day.
Someone besides Seo Jae-yi had fought against the monsters.
They couldn’t determine when they had disappeared.
‘There are two possibilities. They died fighting the monsters and were incinerated by Seo Jae-yi’s overload…’
Or they had fled in fear.
Kim Yoo-sung’s gut feeling told him the latter was more likely.
There was no reason for those willing to risk their lives fighting monsters not to report their participation.
It was more plausible that they hadn’t reported it because they had planned to run away from the beginning.
The question was, who were they?
‘Everything would be revealed if Seo Jae-yi woke up…’
But she wasn’t here. She had been in the forest dungeon with Baek Joo-won for two days.
“Airok, are you sure it’s okay for us not to go to the forest dungeon?”
Kim Yoo-sung, after a moment of contemplation, looked at the sofa.
Airok was munching on the magic stone he had received as a reward for extinguishing Seo Jae-yi’s flames. He wagged his tail.
“It’s fine. Master said she’ll come out when she’s better. You won’t like what you see if you go in now.”
Airok remembered Baek Joo-won, holding the horribly injured Seo Jae-yi.
He had never seen him so angry in the centuries they had been together.
He shuddered, remembering Baek Joo-won’s expression.
He shouldn’t disturb Baek Joo-won now.
“He’s the only one who can save Master, so leave him be. She’ll be back soon, perfectly healthy.”
“Yes, Baek Joo-won should be able to handle it… even though I’m not sure he’s an ordinary person.”
…What?
Airok blinked, startled by Kim Yoo-sung’s muttering.
What had he just said? Had he noticed that Baek Joo-won wasn’t an ordinary human?
“Airok, you’ve always been with them, so you must know something, right?”
Kim Yoo-sung looked directly at Airok, his light green eyes sharp and calculating.
“Baek Joo-won seemed strange when he calmed down the overloading Seo Jae-yi two days ago.”
Baek Joo-won, who had approached Seo Jae-yi despite her heat, a heat even he couldn’t withstand.
She hadn’t been Imprinted with Baek Joo-won yet, so there was no way she would have recognized him in her overloaded state. In other words, she would have unleashed her heat without regard for his safety, so how had he endured it?
‘And the pressure he exuded was unusual.’
What S-rank Guide could possess such an oppressive aura, an aura that could make even an S-rank Esper hesitate? Even Kwon Yi-soo, with his Dominance ability, couldn’t subdue an Esper without Guiding.
“Airok, is Baek Joo-won truly an ordinary person?”