TSCEIAB Ch. 17

 

Kieeeek-!

 

“Right side! Golem approaching at 2 o’clock!”

 

“It’s a boss monster! Find the core!”

 

“Flying monster approaching at 8 o’clock!”

 

Thud, thud, the ground rumbled.

It was the footsteps of the golem, a boss monster, approaching from 2 o’clock direction.

Hugo, covered in monster’s fluids, was panting for breath and looked at the sky.

In the distance, a wyvern was roaring and flapping its wings.

They said it was a Grade A gate, but it was filled with even the toughest monsters.

The gate-raiding party consisted of a total of 35 people, including Hugo, and more than half of them were wounded beyond combat.

Ohio was short of Espers, and since there were only five B-class Espers, let alone A-Class Espers, it was inevitable that the damage would be great.

 

“E-Esper Hugo. Attack……. ”

 

The people’s expectant gaze was fixed on Hugo’s face. Of the remaining ones, Hugo was the only one with the greatest power.

They seemed to have forgotten that Hugo was only seven years old. Or maybe they knew but pretended not to know.

Hugo understood that this was a life-or-death situation, and he couldn’t do anything about it. However, he couldn’t stop sighing at the familiar and unpleasant feeling.

 

“Ha……. ”

 

He could hear the C-class Esper praying on the floor.

 

Our Father in heaven, please have mercy on us and watch over us—

 

The Esper’s right hand was tattered to the point where he could no longer hold the sword again.

He would be able to recover if he was healed by a healing esper, but it wasn’t certain whether he would be able to make it out alive and meet the healing esper right away.

Hugo ignored the terrified prayer and checked his guiding numbers.

32%.

If he were any other esper, he would have already collapsed, overwhelmed due to the side-effect of the lack of guiding.

However, Hugo, as if accustomed to it, swallowed the blood flowing up his throat and rushed towards the boss monster that was getting closer.

 

“Hah……!”

 

Behind him, another esper gasped.

 

Tap, Tap!

 

Hugo’s body seemed light as he stepped on the rocks around the golem and leaped. As he stretched his hand into the air, a sharp spear of ice appeared.

 

‘As soon as possible…….’

 

The gate must be closed as soon as possible.

There was still time until the monster wave, but judging from his guiding numbers, he was at a disadvantage if he dragged out the time for a long time.

 

Grrrrr-

The golem’s hand stretched toward Hugo’s body as he stood on the rock. Hugo, who had been waiting in silence, jumped on the fingers of the near-approaching golem.

Tap-tap!

He climbed up the golem’s arm and plunged his ice spear into the joint between its solid head and torso.

 

Graaargh-!

Sensing the crisis, the golem shook violently, but Hugo only exerted more force on the ice spear in his arms.

 

“Ugh……. ”

 

A cough. Blood finally spilled Hugo’s mouth. Spitting out the blood, he twisted the ice spear, causing the golem’s head to crack.

 

Rumble!

The golem’s shoulders trembled. No, the golem’s entire body was shaking as if it was about to collapse.

But it would regenerate unless the core is found and destroyed.

Hugo kicked the cracked golem’s head and broke it, then quickly leaped off its collapsing body.

He rolled his eyes and searched for the core among the pieces of the golem as it fell to the floor.

 

“Esper Hugo! On the left!”

 

A nearby support shouted in a cracked voice. Hugo turned his head to see the large lump on the left, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

‘Found it.’

He stretched out his hand.

Sharp shards of ice shot from his fingertips and struck the crimson mass.

 

Craack-

The core, now filled with ice shards to the point that no gaps remained, trembled violently, then shattered into pieces.

 

Screeeech-!

In the distance, the cry of a wyvern echoed. Now that the core of the Gate’s owner, the golem, had been dealt with, it would not be long before that wyvern would self-destruct.

 

“Ah…….”

 

Between the crumbled pieces of the golem, Hugo staggered for a moment. He checked his watch and saw the figure was 26%.

His vision was black. Drip– Blood flowed from his nose and ears.

 

“- go! -sper -go!”

 

Beeeep-

Through the loud ringing in his ears, he heard the voices of others calling out. Hugo spat the bloody saliva in his mouth and wiped his nosebleed with his sleeve.

He missed Yi-seo terribly.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Late in the morning, an urgent knock on the door woke me up.

Bam! Bam! bam!

The person who knocked on the front door called my name with urgency.

 

“Guide Sophia! It’s urgent! You need to get to the center quickly, quickly!”

 

Not long after, my parents burst my door open. My dad picked me up in my groggy state and hurriedly found a cardigan to put on over my pajamas.

 

“…… What …… going?”

 

“…… Esper’s numbers are too, …….”

 

Through the door, I could hear my mother’s voice and the familiar voice of a man.

Is that……. Liam’s voice?

 

“Yi-seo. Mom and Dad will be following you soon, so go to the center first. Okay?”

 

My dad, removing the sand in my eyes, spoke in a trembling but sweet voice. He immediately took me out of the room as if he had no time to listen to my answer.

 

“Mr. Liam. Here, she’s ready.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Kang. Guide Sophia, I’ll explain as we go, come this way!”

 

It was Liam, Richard’s secretary, who knocked on the front door so early in the morning.

He was wearing a tracksuit made of stretchy material like any other day.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Liam took me from my dad. He held me tightly around my waist and back and began to run at a rapid pace.

Whoosh-

A sharp wind blew in my ears. With that, Liam began to explain the situation in a nervous voice.

 

“The conquest of the A-grade gate is over. However, Esper Hugo is not in good condition, so we had to bring you in, Guide Sophia.”

 

Hugo isn’t feeling well?

The faint slumber that lingered vanished. He continued speaking, patting me on the back as I flinched.

 

“We tried machine guiding in the emergency guiding room as soon as possible, but the numbers were rising too slowly. There were signs of a rampage, so we moved to the underground bunker.”

 

The underground bunker was a place to confine espers who were on a rampage or at risk of going berserk.

Five days after the rampage.

If he could not calm down within five days, the Esper would have to be executed for the safety of the citizens.

 

“We tried guiding with all the B-list guides at the center, but even that didn’t work. At the moment, the only way is through your radial guidance.”

 

Can radial guidance stabilize his numbers quickly?

There were many questions I wanted to ask Liam, but I felt like I was going to bite my tongue the second I opened my mouth.

As if he knew my situation, Liam comforted me by telling me a few precautions.

 

“Don’t worry too much. We’ve put a restraint on Esper Hugo, so he won’t hurt you. Just keep your distance and do the radial guiding, and that should be enough.”

 

Restraint?

In the end, I couldn’t stand it and was about to open my mouth.

 

“We’ve arrived.”

 

He stopped in front of a glass door.

The wind blowing in my ears died down, and the sudden silence was deafening.

 

Bi-beep-

Liam placed his finger on the machine next to the door, and the door opened with a confirming sound.

 

“Here …….”

 

“This is the way to the bunker.”

 

Would I be able to use my ability beyond this glass door?

Liam strode quickly down the hallway.

After a few minutes of walking, Richard approached in the distance.

 

“Guide Sophia!”

 

Even in the dim lighting, I could see his pensive face.

 

“Hello, Director.”

 

“Did you hear the entire explanation on your way here?”

 

“Yes, to some extent.”

 

“Come this way. It’s that room.”

 

As soon as Liam put me down, Richard motioned for me to follow. I glanced at his trembling fingertips and walked calmly.

 

“How is Hugo now? What’s his guiding number?”

 

“The last confirmed figure was 24 percent. But strangely, the numbers kept dropping…….”

 

“Is he hurt? Are there any injuries?”

 

“There are some minor wounds, but nothing major.”

 

With that, Richard stopped in front of a door. He pointed to the door and spoke.

 

“Esper Hugo is unconscious right now. Rather than saying he has fainted, it would be more accurate to say he has lost his senses.”

 

“…… What?”

 

“I’m saying he might not recognize you. I put a restraint on him and tied him to the bed, just in case he showed aggression.”

 

Tied a seven-year-old to a bed?

‘No matter how ambiguous the distinction between adult and minor is for Espers, but still ……?’

In an instant, the color drained from his face. Richard seemed to see Hugo as a dangerous beast rather than a man.

 

“So don’t come too close. I put a chair in front of the door, so just sit there and do radial guiding. Do you understand?”

 

“But, but…….”

 

“Guide Sophia. We don’t have time.”

 

He gestured to another secretary next to him, who held out the pad in front of me.

The pad screen showed a room with a hospital bed. On the bed was a little boy twisting his body, bound in iron chains.