BP 29

It was Park Young-seok. He expressed strong displeasure upon seeing that he had been assigned to Ha Jae-il.

Team Leader Lee Ju-yeong’s eyebrow twitched. While Guides didn’t have a hierarchy as strong as Espers, she was offended by such excessive rudeness.

“Currently, Sergeant Rowan Lee is trapped in the OniCube, and it is too much for Sergeant Joy Lee to guide Esper Ha Jae-il, who is two ranks higher, alone. I believe it is only natural that a superior who is a Steeple and has the second-highest matching rate after the twin Guides takes charge. Is that not so?”

Even with logic, it didn’t work on Park Young-seok. He snarled and threw a tantrum.

“Is my life not a life? Guiding a Backsplash is too much for me as well. Why are you forcing me to do something that’s only done during wartime? Ha Jae-il isn’t exactly an ordinary Esper, is he?”

Park Young-seok’s point had some merit. After all, he was a lower grade than Ha Jae-il. Furthermore, the man was famous for being difficult to guide. Even the twins of the same rank had found him burdensome. Regardless of the emergency, he hated taking a loss. He didn’t want to risk his life for a mere OniCube. Park Young-seok took a deep breath as if to suppress his rage.

“And why are you pushing me when there’s a bastard with a 98% matching rate right here?!”

Park Young-seok’s loud shout echoed through the meeting room. A bastard with a 98% matching rate. The Guides’ gazes converged on Ji Seung-hyun.

He was an A-Class Backsplash and had a matching rate of 98% with Ha Jae-il—in a way, he was a custom-made Guide for Ha Jae-il. However, since he was still utterly useless as a Guide, subtle condemnations, devoid of reason, poured toward him. Seung-hyun, not unaware of their intentions, looked troubled for a moment.

Joy’s blurred gaze lingered on Seung-hyun before turning toward Team Leader Lee Ju-yeong.

“Team Leader. Trainee Ji Seung-hyun hasn’t even… opened the channel yet.”

Her tear-soaked voice barely managed to leak out. At that sound, Park Young-seok shook his head violently. His face looked as if he were hearing the most ridiculous thing in the world. His flushed Read on Read BL Novelsface was plastered Read on Read BL Novelswith nothing but negative emotions like hatred and exclusion.

“Then just have sex and force it open! Who here doesn’t know the reason you took in that filthy 13th District trash was because of Ha Jae-il?! I’m saying use him for that purpose, so why so many words!”

He was treating him completely as a tool. Despite being the same A-Class, he did not give Ji Seung-hyun the corresponding treatment. He was trampling on Ji Seung-hyun’s human rights simply because he came from a different place. As Team Leader Lee Ju-yeong remained silent, an infuriated Park Young-seok strode toward Seung-hyun.

“Hey, you idiot Ji Seung-hyun. If there’s nothing you can do, then just spread your legs. Huh?!”

Park Young-seok spat out low-class insults without restraint. He looked ready to throw a punch, so those around him grabbed his arm. Though reluctantly held back, Park Young-seok continued to hurl abuse at Seung-hyun, and Lee Ju-yeong finally pressed her hand to her forehead. It was absolute chaos.

She didn’t know what was what. She was just confused. Joy was on the verge of tears, unable to continue speaking. What should I do? What should I do right now?

“Mentor.”

Seung-hyun’s voice settled in her ear. It was a calm and composed tone.

“Hic, yeah?”

“I… caught the fishing line.”

“What?”

“I practiced with Esper Ha Jae-il this morning.”

Joy stared blankly at Seung-hyun’s face. It was surprising. To succeed in only two tries. No Read [unauthorized [stolen content]copy]on Read BL Novelsmatter how great his ability was, in two tries. The matching rate likely played a huge part. However, Joy slumped her shoulders and sobbed again.

“That… isn’t enough for right now….”

“I’ll try.”

“…….”

“If he says it’s okay, I’ll have sex too.”

Joy’s blue eyes widened. His mindset was extraordinary. Feeling as if she were looking at Rowan, a wave of longing washed over Joy. Ji Seung-hyun is saying such cool things, so why the hell isn’t that bastard Rowan here? Seung-hyun carefully sat her down in a chair as she wept, unable to speak, and then walked toward Park Young-seok.

He appeared resolute, unhurt by any mockery or contempt. His eyelids lowered and raised slowly. His pupils, reflecting everyone who refused to accept him, shone clearly. Ji Seung-hyun bowed deeply to Park Young-seok.

“I am sorry. I will do everything I can.”

If Rowan returned safely, Jae-il could be guided immediately without such a struggle, but they had to prepare for the worst. The world does not turn as one wishes. Selective priority. What did a petty bit of pride matter?

“If I truly cannot do it, I ask that the Sergeant provide the guiding.”

Right now, emotions were unnecessary.

* * *

“Hey. What are you doing? Your assigned Guide is inside.”

As soon as Giju saw Jae-il dressed in black combat gear, he raised his voice. Jae-il calmly donned a bulletproof vest over it.

“I’ve been assigned to a team.”

“What?”

“If we don’t kill all the Gon, the Guides outside will be in danger too.”

Do you think I don’t know that? Giju frowned. Is this bastard trying to put on another suicide show? No, how did the higher-ups handle the team assignments?

‘Ah, no way.’

Come to think of it, some Espers, including Bern, were missing today. Most of them were high-ranking Espers; they had likely been deployed to support other regions. He had heard news that Oni sightings were frequent along the borders of the Rokan Empire. Information affecting troop strength is not disclosed publicly. This was the most likely reason why Ha Jae-il, who currently lacked a proper Guide, was pushed into the operation.

Giju’s eyebrows knit slightly. The higher-ups couldn’t be unaware of the situation. If so, was there a Guide assigned to Ha Jae-il other than the twins? Could it be Park Young-seok? No, or… no. Ji Seung-hyun didn’t have the skill to provide guiding yet.

While Giju was preoccupied with his thoughts, Jae-il silently began putting on his equipment. To fight monsters that could freely change their external forms in a place without a single speck of light, and to burst their cores, there were many things to pack, but Jae-il’s movements were faster and more proficient than anyone’s.

Enduring Giju’s worried gaze, Jae-il finally looked up. His stiffened eyes gleamed black.

“Kwon Giju.”

“Yeah?”

“Stop overthinking.”

As he checked the chamber of his submachine gun, a heavy clack echoed.

Their operational goal was rescue and Oni elimination. There were twenty people to be rescued, mostly employees who had arrived early for work. Due to the vibrating pulses, the exact number of Oni was unknown. While high-ranking Psychic Espers and regular units equipped with Esper-grade ammunition cleared the Oni surrounding the building, Physical-type and Psychic-type Espers would team up to enter the building.

The armed Espers moved in perfect unison. Entering in a low posture, they surrounded the building in an instant. Having trained countless times for such real-life scenarios, they moved with seasoned teamwork.

The thickness of the Oni surrounding the building was considerable. As they were heavy and slow, they boasted immense hardness. The moment the Psychic-type used psychokinesis, a bomb flying toward the entrance exploded with a thunderous boom! As if waiting for the signal, the ground shook ominously. Black masses slithered up through the curbs and cement cracks. They were clones of the Oni covering the building.

[Alpha Team. Moving up. The rest handle the Oni.]

The moment the second shell pierced the entrance with an even louder roar, the command center gave the order. The Oni collapsed under the impact before expanding its body again, followed by cover fire. Gunshots began to batter their eardrums. The vanguard entered through the hole blasted through the wall.

[Alpha Team A, search the 1st floor. Team B, search the 2nd floor.]

At the instruction flowing through the radio, all deployed personnel simultaneously put on night-vision goggles. Jae-il, who was in Team B, followed the lead and stepped into the darkness without hesitation.

Whether it was a Gon or an Oni, it was meaningless unless the core was attacked. The core had to be destroyed. Since the Oni’s core position was not fixed, it required teamwork where the Psychic-type tore through the mass with psychokinesis and the Physical-type shot the core.

On the other hand, Gon were faster and more intelligent than Oni, making them trickier to eliminate. Their only weakness was the location of the core. If one could hit the center of the chest or the head accurately, they could be eliminated in one shot. Physical-types with superior dynamic visual acuity and marksmanship were in charge of them, and Ha Jae-il was undoubtedly the best.

The group followed the orders and began climbing unauthorized copythe stairs again. Infrared [stolen content]beams were projected onto the walls, ceiling, and the upper floors not yet visible.

While providing wide-area forward security in place of the vanguard, whose field of vision was narrow, Jae-il’s eyes flashed. He spotted an Oni crawling on the ceiling. The Psychic-type, quickly catching Jae-il’s hand signal, used psychokinesis, and a round core revealed itself from within the torn Oni. A short bang echoed.

They had to reach the 4th floor as quickly as possible. No matter how deep they hid, these monsters with sensitive smell would find the humans soon.

After quickly eliminating two Grade 2 Oni, they advanced while maintaining a perimeter. The vanguard, determining the hallway was safe, gave a hand signal. The staff duty room they arrived at was where the distress signal had originated.

It was the moment they took positions by the door. As the duty room door swung open, tense muzzles hurriedly pointed toward the sound.