Chapter 114 : Illusion That Cannot Change Reality

Debris from the ceiling and shattered walls rained down. In a situation where they couldn’t see an inch ahead, Hae-jin shouted.

“Yoon Jae-hyung! Is it an ambush?”

“…I’m not sure. I don’t feel any monster presence nearby!”

Rumble! Crash! An even louder sound echoed.

“Ugh!”

The ground beneath Lee Chae’s feet swayed. He tried to keep his balance, but his body moved against his will. Just as he was about to fall, Kang-wook grabbed his arm.

“Are you all right?”

“………”

Lee Chae nodded, his face pale as a sheet. The fear that had felt distant while being carried by Hae-jin now pressed against his skin. He felt so suffocated he turned ghostly white. Thud. With one final explosion, the noise ceased. Having seen the situation, Hae-jin rushed over and scooped Lee Chae up.

“See? I told you to stick close to me.”

“…….”

Was it just useless stubbornness after all? Am I really nothing more than a hindrance?

While Lee Chae was spiraling into those thoughts, Hae-jin carried him to the front of the line. The Legion Espers understood the situation, but the others couldn’t comprehend why an S-rank Esper would break formation in the middle of a potential battle just for one Guide. Complaints soon poured out.

“Esper Cha Hae-jin, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Exactly. It’s a relief the attack stopped, but if it hadn’t, this could have been a disaster.”

Lee Chae flinched at their words. Depending on how he acted now, Hae-jin’s reputation could be at stake. Lee Chae steeled himself and spoke up.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding.”

When Lee Chae spoke, several people looked at him with skeptical eyes. Only then did he realize that while they had been briefly introduced, their specific relationship hadn’t been clearly explained.

“I am Jung Lee Chae, Director of the Operations Team at Legion and the exclusive Guide for Esper Cha Hae-jin. In a state of physical contact, Esper Cha Hae-jin maintains peak condition, and his attack power is doubled. Therefore, he is holding me to ensure maximum combat readiness. I hope there are no further misunderstandings.”

Even after saying this, when some Espers still tilted their heads, Lee Chae added more.

“Yes, I understand your confusion. There hasn’t been a case where a Guide participated directly in combat like this before.”

Pffft, Hahaha…

He could clearly hear Hae-jin laughing. Since they were at the very front, the others couldn’t hear it, but Lee Chae was so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to hide in.

“Ah, I see. So that was it.”

“And here I thought the person in the lead was being incredibly thoughtless.”

“I’ve heard of this too—that an Esper’s power peaks during contact with their exclusive Guide. But since most Guides don’t step onto the battlefield, it’s usually useless in a real fight. Both of you are quite impressive.”

“Haha… well, I’m flattered.”

As the praise came in, Lee Chae’s conscience began to sting. Hae-jin had been giggling for a while now. Hey, I said that because your reputation was on the line! And even if it was a bit exaggerated, it wasn’t a total lie, right? Why is he laughing so much?

Lee Chae narrowed his eyes and looked up at Hae-jin. Hae-jin whispered lowly.

“Well then, Mr. Exclusive Guide, I guess you can never let go of me now.”

“Exactly, so treat me well. If you get hurt, I die too. We’re one body.”

When Lee Chae hugged Hae-jin’s shoulder tightly as if he’d never let go, Hae-jin teased back.

“Oh? We’re one body?”

“I mean… figuratively speaking!”

Lee Chae’s cheeks flushed red as he told him to stop saying weird things. Hae-jin kissed that cheek and continued forward.

As they walked for a long time trying to find the path, someone from the back spoke up.

“But really, how long do we have to just keep walking like this? You said we’d lose our sense of time—aren’t we going to starve to death at this rate?”

Judging by the tone, it sounded like one of the Hasard Espers who had joined later. If it were a Legion member, they would have been joking and laughing. Peering over Hae-jin’s shoulder, Lee Chae saw it was a young Esper. Ji Seung-hyun answered his own member.

“Wouldn’t dying from walking be better than becoming monster food?”

A few people burst out laughing.

“Vice Representative…” The young Esper called out, his face pale with worry.

“Don’t worry. You have me, what are you afraid of?”

“I suppose so, but still…”

Lee Chae understood the young Esper’s anxiety. Though they were supposedly heading for the exit, there was no certainty that this path was correct. It looked like a normal building interior, but a narrow hallway shouldn’t be able to accommodate this many people walking in several rows; what they were seeing clearly wasn’t the whole truth.

An endless dark path stretched out. No matter how much they walked, the scenery didn’t change, making it hard to even tell left from right.

“Wait, hold on a moment.”

It was Lee Kang-wook’s voice.

“It would be best to be cautious from here on.”

The group stopped, holding their breath as they focused on Kang-wook.

“Everyone, remember your codes. It’s best to walk in pairs or groups of three. This doesn’t mean you should leave the formation, but we don’t know what might happen.”

Hae-jin asked, “That sounds like you’re saying a stronger hallucination is about to unfold.”

“You hit the mark. The ringing in our ears and the loss of direction we experienced earlier were just the beginning. I don’t know exactly what will happen next, but I’m certain it will get worse. Everyone, stay sharp. I will focus on marking Yoon Jae-hyung.”

Hae-jin held Lee Chae, Ji Seung-hyun stayed near Yong-yong, Lee Kang-wook stayed with Yoon Jae-hyung, and Sung Jin-woo moved closer to the S-rank hallucination Esper, Seo-geon. The other Espers also paired up with someone of a complementary skill type.

“U-um… does anyone else smell something burning?”

At those words, everyone inhaled. Now that it was mentioned, the further they went, the hotter it felt. It felt like a massive pit of fire was somewhere nearby.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Ugh…”

Suddenly, a giant pillar of flame erupted upward. The coalition halted and ducked. Hae-jin shouted urgently.

“Are there any Ice or Water attribute Espers here?”

“Over here!”

“I’m Water!”

Whoosh!

An Esper stepped forward and blasted water toward the pillar of fire. A white spray of mist rose in the darkness, instantly surrounding the flames. Then, the Ice attribute Esper spun around, freezing the area.

As a thick fog rolled in, the final struggling flames of the pillar slowly died out. Hae-jin used the flow of air to create a shield to prevent anyone from getting hurt. The Espers, who had narrowly escaped being burned to cinders, gasped for breath.

“Whew…”

“It’s too early to relax. This is just the start. If we pass a few more checkpoints along this path, we’ll meet the Cyclops at the very end of the maze.”

At Kang-wook’s words, the Espers looked at each other with despair. Then, the hallucination Esper, Seo-geon, spoke up.

“What’s with everyone? Didn’t you all come here to pick a fight with the Cyclops? This is better than going home empty-handed. We have S-ranks, a dragon, and even a Guide who can see through hallucinations. What are you afraid of?”

Just providing an accurate assessment of the situation calmed the Espers. Seeing this, Hae-jin—still carrying Lee Chae—went to the spot where the fire had been to examine the area. Even though the space began to warp again as the fire vanished, it was clear they were getting closer to the Cyclops’ energy.

“Seo-geon, how close are we?”

“Very close. But the path is so difficult to find that unless the Cyclops leads us, we might never find it.”

Seo-geon closed his eyes and frowned, trying to sense the Cyclops’ aura. After a moment, he opened his eyes and continued.

“I still don’t know the Cyclops’ intention. Whether it wants to trap us in this hallucination forever, or if it actually wants to fight.”

Being trapped here forever was a much worse fate than fighting. Hae-jin, who was contemplating how to minimize damage since returning to the entrance was no longer an option, was pulled from his thoughts by Lee Chae tapping on his chest.

“Hyung, I just remembered something.”

“Yeah?”

“Is it even possible for the Cyclops’ hallucination to change the physical shape of everything?”

“…Is it?”

As Hae-jin tilted his head, Ji Seung-hyun stepped forward.

“It’s true that a hallucination created by a Humanoid is just that—a hallucination—while the physical shape remains. That’s not a fact widely known to the world yet; I’m curious how you knew.”

“I was captured by a Humanoid monster before. Even though I was in a hallucination for a long time, I remember the shape and form of the house stayed exactly the same.”

Hae-jin interrupted. “How did you come to know this, Esper Ji Seung-hyun?”

“It was a long time ago, but I encountered a Cyclops in a gate once. It was a gate that transformed the cave where it was hiding. Since it was a place I lived, knowing the locations helped me escape. It was hard to tell what was real and what was a hallucination, but I knew the place so well I could navigate it with my eyes closed.”

If Ji Seung-hyun was telling the truth, the problem was simple. Although Hae-jin felt a bit awkward talking to someone he didn’t particularly like, this wasn’t the time for personal feelings.