Chapter 155: The Power Left Behind

‘X’.

Across both my first and second lives, he’s the bastard who’s had the greatest impact on me.

Sorry to Jaeyul, but I have to admit that ‘X’ holds that much weight in my life.

Because of him, I fell from the highest place straight into the abyss, lost countless precious people, and came to despise humanity.

He was also the main culprit behind the end of my first life.

The second life wasn’t any different.

The reason I chose to live while avoiding the Center and the Support Agency was because of ‘X’.

I had no intention of reenacting the nightmare I’d already lived through once.

And meeting Jaeyul and ending up living together was also because of ‘X’… no, thanks to him, I guess.

Either way, the second life that began because of ‘X’ now seemed destined to end by his hand as well.

Could there really be a more cursed connection than this?

And yet, the anger and resentment I feel toward him aren’t as great as I’d expected.

He was once the person I wanted to kill more than anyone else, but as time passed, those feelings gradually faded.

No—after having a proper conversation with him, I even feel sorry for him.

Is it because he has the same face as Jaeyul, or because I’ve come to understand what kind of lives the Son Jaeyuls lived?

I don’t know.

I even felt regret.

Just like this time, when I’d listened to him—albeit half-forced—what if I’d listened, even a little, to the things ‘X’ kept trying to say to me in my previous life?

If I’d learned sooner why the Son Jaeyuls inevitably became villains, maybe this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

That doesn’t mean I fully sympathize with ‘X’ as a person, but still—I pity him.

Thinking that today is his last day, that I’ll never meet ‘X’ Son Jaeyul again, doesn’t bring me peace.

If anything, it leaves me feeling unsettled.

It’s ridiculous that I’m feeling compassion for a bastard like him, but what can I do?

That’s just how I feel.

Even a cursed connection is still a connection, I suppose.

If I were to speak on ‘X’’s behalf, choosing to destroy the world was inevitable.

A chance appeared to erase everything that had only ever tormented him—how could he ignore it?

If, like Jaeyul, he’d had even one person by his side to comfort him…

No, if there’d been just a single person willing to listen to his grievances, this tragedy might never have occurred.

Son Jaeyul didn’t become ‘X’ purely by his own will.

It would be more accurate to say he was shaped that way by people.

Just look at Jaeyul—doesn’t that answer everything?

He was someone who could’ve chosen a completely different path.

The ones who created the monster that would drive the world to ruin…

Were us.

Ah—thinking about it like that just makes that bastard even more pitiful….

I shouldn’t be equating him with my Jaeyul, but because they share the same face, I keep feeling sympathy.

That said, right now, I really want to kill him.

“That insane bastard—how dare he hurt Jaeyul!”

He’d wounded Jaeyul’s beautiful face.

Even on the way to the battlefield, crowds had gathered everywhere, watching the fight through projectors and electronic billboards.

In my urgency, I ran past, only catching brief glimpses of the screens.

Even from fragmented views, I could roughly gauge the state of the battle.

Looking at it now, maybe my guess had been wrong.

The ‘X’ I thought might choose death was fighting with everything he had—no, with full force.

Thankfully, Jaeyul wasn’t being pushed back either, but this was far from a situation where we could relax.

Maybe because both of them used light-based abilities, or maybe because they were the same kind of being, they could read each other’s attacks perfectly.

At the very least, the fight couldn’t be decided before I arrived….

Seeing the wound on Jaeyul’s face only made me more frantic.

What am I even going to do when I get there?

I don’t know.

I’m still running without any idea of what I’m supposed to do.

Just thinking that once I arrive, I’ll do something.

“H-hey!

Are you crazy?

Where do you think you’re going?!”

Looks like I was getting close to the battlefield.

Soldiers were patrolling nearby, standing guard.

Probably in preparation for monsters spilling out, but it felt pointless.

Killing monsters with conventional weapons is extremely difficult.

Still, if that’s all they can do, there’s no helping it.

I grabbed the wrist of the large man who’d seized my arm.

It was so thick I couldn’t even wrap my hand around it completely.

Still—he was just a normal person.

“I don’t have time.

Sorry.”

“W-what are you—aaagh!”

Still holding his wrist, I threw him over my shoulder with all my strength.

There was a loud thud, but he probably wasn’t dead.

…Probably.

I’m in a hurry, so let’s not check whether he’s alive or not.

Charging into the battlefield blindly, I ran straight into a massive problem I’d completely forgotten about.

“Ah….”

A sigh escaped me at the sight before my eyes.

Monsters swarming like an ant colony.

Special ability users fighting desperately against them.

To reach Jaeyul and ‘X’, I’d have to pass through this hellish battlefield.

How was I supposed to break through that…?

If it were just one or two monsters, I could try something, but there were far too many.

I couldn’t even imagine clearing them out.

How did I forget something this obvious?

I really wasn’t thinking at all.

“Why did you come all the way here?”

“Me?”

An esper who’d been fighting nearby spoke to me.

His face was drenched in monster blood, and his gaze wasn’t exactly friendly.

He looked like he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, panting heavily—yet his eyes were sharp and alert.

“No matter if you’re SS-rank, what help does a guide think they can be here?

Did you come to pretend to fight for the cameras or something?”

What kind of ridiculous provocation is this?

I’d noticed the glances being thrown my way.

It’s true that guides can’t do much on the battlefield.

Seeing a guide show up where everyone’s risking their lives, it’s only natural they’d wonder why I was here.

But assuming I came just to make a show of it?

That’s crossing a line.

What a filthy misunderstanding.

I almost slapped him to knock some sense into him, but then I changed my mind.

Grabbing his wrist, I poured in the maximum output of my guiding ability.

“I don’t need your interest or help, so don’t make stupid assumptions.

Just focus on the fight.

If your concentration slips even a little, you’ll die instantly.”

Maybe it was his first time receiving my guiding—his eyes widened in shock, and he couldn’t speak.

Even if his assumption had irritated me, I didn’t really want to blame him.

Anyone would be on edge in a situation where death was always one step away.

“Th-thank you!”

I finished the guiding quickly and was about to move on.

Boom!

Something exploded behind me.

My gaze snapped back instinctively.

The agent I’d just guided moments ago was lying on the ground, his body torn into pieces.

The flying-type monster that seemed responsible didn’t even spare him a glance, soaring high into the sky instead.

“Aaah!

S-someone help!”

It happened in an instant.

Someone I’d been talking to just moments ago lost his life.

And it wasn’t just him.

Agonized screams rang out everywhere, and many agents were fleeing with injured bodies, unable to withstand the monsters’ attacks.

Would these people really survive today?

With high probability, they’d die just like that agent moments ago.

It was someone completely unrelated to me who’d died, yet my mood was far from unaffected.

In the past, I wouldn’t have cared at all.

I forced myself to look away from the agents’ battle.

There was no way I could save them anyway.

With complicated emotions, I stared off somewhere beyond the battlefield.

Toward where Jaeyul and ‘X’ must be.

To come all this way only to turn back in vain….

I can’t help but resent ‘X’.

If he was going to send me to another world, he should’ve made me an esper instead of a guide.

The guiding ability that had been invaluable when tending to Jaeyul when he was exhausted or injured felt utterly useless today.

Realizing I couldn’t reach Jaeyul or ‘X’ made my chest feel painfully tight.

There was something I had to confirm.

Something I absolutely had to say.

Kyaaah!

When nothing’s going right, even insignificant things start picking fights.

A monster about the size of a cat—its appearance matching—charged at me with sharp fangs bared.

Fine.

You picked the wrong day.

I might not have attack skills to hunt monsters, but it’s not like I’m completely helpless.

Even with an omega’s body, if it’s a low-tier monster, I can handle it.

I waited until it entered attack range.

Sorry, little monster, but I need something to vent my frustration on.

Kii!

Even small, a monster is still a monster.

As its finger-length fangs came right up to me, it felt genuinely threatening.

The moment it kicked off the ground, aiming for my neck, I timed it and threw a punch.

Just in case it was stronger than I expected—or I was weaker—I put all my strength into that blow, smashing its head.

…Huh?

I definitely hit it properly, so why is there no impact at all?

Pop.

Boom!

I couldn’t even tell whether my attack had landed.

The cat-like monster simply evaporated, leaving behind only a splash of red.

There’s no way my punch was that strong…?

And the strange part didn’t end there.

The monsters in the direction I’d punched started exploding like water balloons filled to the brim.

Their bodies literally burst apart, one after another.

“Wow….”

A gasp escaped me.

The range wasn’t huge, but even monsters quite far away were detonating in sequence.

I looked back and forth between the splattered monster remains and my own hand.

I turned around, wondering if someone behind me had attacked—but there were only a few espers, staring with the same stunned expressions I had.

How was something like this even possible?

Kiiiaaak!

Maybe because of that attack, aerial monsters started diving toward me.

Seeing one plunge downward, I instinctively stretched out my hand.

Boom, boom!

Once again, the flying monsters never reached me.

The ones that had been charging in burst apart in a straight line, nothing but droplets of blood falling to the ground.

After it happened twice, there was no denying it—I was the cause.

And yet, it was still impossible to believe.

There was no way I had this kind of power.

If I could kill monsters without even touching them, I’d have been going through gates with Jaeyul ages ago.

Only one person came to mind when faced with this inexplicable power.

‘X’.

What on earth did he do to me, and just what is that bastard planning now?

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