Chapter 116 : The Guide Who Leads the Way

A chilling premonition shivered down Lee Chae’s spine. He gripped Hae-jin’s arm tightly and whispered so only he could hear.

“Something’s wrong. I think either Seo-geon or Kang-wook is a Humanoid. Otherwise, does this situation even make sense to you?”

Hae-jin, who had been harboring similar doubts, gave a short nod. He quickly focused his mind and sent a telepathic message to Jae-hyung, who was trailing further back. Jae-hyung responded instantly.

—You’re right. One of them is a Humanoid. ‘Do you know which one?’ —I’m not sure yet. ‘Fine. If I beat one of them down, the truth will come out.’ —What are you planning? ‘Just watch.’

Hae-jin leaped forward and grabbed Lee Kang-wook’s shoulder. He wasn’t 100% certain, but he had a way to find out. Humanoids frequently mimicked Guides, and of all human emotions, fear was the hardest for them to fake authentically.

Seo-geon’s fear was palpable and real. Kang-wook turned his head.

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous if he doesn’t get guiding now. Hurry up and—Ugh!”

A massive fist collided with Lee Kang-wook’s face.

“Esper Cha Hae-jin! What on earth are you doing?!”

The other Espers nearby swarmed Hae-jin, horrified that he was attacking the only A-rank Guide in the combat team. Jin-woo, catching onto the vibe, lunged at the fallen Kang-wook and pinned him by the throat. He loosened his grip just enough to ask a single question.

“Give me the code.”

At Jin-woo’s command, the Espers holding Hae-jin recoiled in shock.

“He’s a Humanoid?” “Gasp.”

Jin-woo shook the silent body of Kang-wook. “I’ll say it one more time. Give me the code.”

“……”

When no answer came, Jin-woo barked at the surrounding Espers, “Scatter!”

As the path cleared, Jin-woo tore through Kang-wook’s body without a moment’s hesitation. What if we’re wrong? Lee Chae squeezed his eyes shut, terrified of the potential mistake.

Rrip.

The sound of tearing flesh echoed, followed by a heavy silence. When Lee Chae opened his eyes, he saw that the blood flowing from Kang-wook’s body was not red, but a sickly green.

‘How could it hide its true form so perfectly?’

As Yong-yong incinerated the corpse with his dragon breath, Seo-geon—who had been writhing on the ground in agony—suddenly stopped as if by magic. Hae-jin approached him.

“Is your mind back?”

“Yes, Representative… Thank you for recognizing me. I wanted to speak earlier, but the pain was too much.”

“What exactly happened?”

“It seems the Cyclops tried to eliminate the two people most disadvantageous to it first. Lee Kang-wook can distinguish reality, and I can manipulate the hallucinations.”

“He’s more meticulous than I thought. So where is the real Lee Kang-wook?”

As Seo-geon focused his mind to locate Kang-wook, Jae-hyung stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hyung, I’m here too. Let me handle that much.”

Seo-geon nodded. Watching this, Lee Chae wanted to go over and offer even a small amount of guiding to Seo-geon, but Hae-jin was the problem. Just as Lee Chae was about to speak, Hae-jin whispered in his ear.

“I know what you’re thinking. No.”

“Why? I’m a Legion Gu—”

“You’re Operations Team, not Combat Team. Did you forget?”

Lee Chae shoved Hae-jin’s shoulder, stepped away, and approached Seo-geon anyway, placing a hand on his shoulder. Seo-geon’s energy flow was unstable and he was drenched in cold sweat, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

Seo-geon whispered a thanks, his gaze shifting over Lee Chae’s shoulder toward Hae-jin. He must be giving him the death stare. Lee Chae sighed and returned to Hae-jin. Meanwhile, Seo-geon spoke.

“Guide Lee Kang-wook is close by. I don’t think he got far. He isn’t fully conscious yet—if we don’t find him soon, he might walk straight into the Cyclops’ arms.”

Hae-jin scooped Lee Chae up and began sprinting toward the first floor. His resolve to leave no one behind applied even to Kang-wook. The other Espers followed suit. There were no immediate attacks, but everyone felt it instinctively: the real battle was waiting.

Finally, they reached the iron door leading to the first-floor hallway. Jae-hyung shouted, “We’re lucky! There’s nothing in front of the door. You can just open it!”

“Really?”

Just as Hae-jin reached for the handle, Lee Chae grabbed his hand. Hae-jin looked at him, confused. Lee Chae silently mouthed the words:

‘That’s not Jae-hyung.’

The moment Jae-hyung finished speaking, Lee Chae realized what he had overlooked. The Cyclops, who went through such lengths to remove the hallucination specialists, would never have left the scouting Esper alone.

Furthermore, while Jae-hyung was usually sweet and articulate, he tended to speak in short, clipped sentences when in combat or under stress—a habit formed as a scout who needed to relay info quickly. That was how Lee Chae knew.

The person giving them info right now was not Jae-hyung. Since when? Since he said one of the two was a Humanoid?

‘If we open this door, something terrible will happen.’

The fake Jae-hyung urged them again. “Hyung, what are you doing? Open it! Lee Kang-wook is in danger!”

It was possible Lee Kang-wook was still on the second floor, and the “danger” was a lie. This was a blatant trap. Lee Chae knew he had to act fast before the Humanoid changed tactics.

“Esper Ji Seung-hyun, please hold onto Yong-yong.”

“What? Why…?”

“No time to explain! Just do it!”

Only a dragon could suppress a dragon. As Ji Seung-hyun pinned Yong-yong down, Hae-jin—who had caught onto Lee Chae’s intent—soared into the air and drove a kick straight into the fake Jae-hyung’s neck.

“NOOOOOO!” Yong-yong screamed, but he was already immobilized by Seung-hyun.

While Hae-jin dealt with the Humanoid, Lee Chae rushed to Yong-yong to explain.

“Yong-yong, that’s not Jae-hyung! That’s a monster. You know Humanoids better than anyone!”

“B-but it has Jae-hyung’s face!”

“Yes, it does. But you know that’s exactly what they target. That’s why they’re the worst—they make you doubt the people you love.”

“Sniff… You’re right! Cyclops is bad!”

“Let’s catch him together.”

After seeing green blood spill from the fake Jae-hyung’s body, Yong-yong finally nodded, though he trembled with anxiety. “T-then where is my Jae-hyung?”

“He’s probably with Lee Kang-wook. Since all our hallucination specialists are out of commission, we have to stay sharp from now on.”

“B-but we have Esper Seo-geon!”

“He’s too weak to use his powers after that last attack.”

Lee Chae looked worriedly at Seo-geon, who was being supported by Jin-woo. He looked like he could barely walk, let alone use his skills. The other Espers agreed, their faces grim.

“We need to find those two first. I hope they aren’t badly hurt…”

Hearing this, a frantic Yong-yong grabbed Lee Chae’s arm. “Dambo, please find my Jae-hyung. I’ll die without him. Please…”

Tears rolled down Yong-yong’s face. Lee Chae patted his back. “Yes, we’ll find him. I’ll find him for you.”

Lee Chae focused. While Espers could sense other Espers, a Guide’s perception was often more acute when it came to locating specific individuals. The safety of Jae-hyung and Kang-wook now rested on Lee Chae’s shoulders.

He took a step forward, but a massive energy signature was following him so closely it drowned out everything else. The culprit was, of course, Hae-jin.

“Haa… Hyung, seriously!”

Hae-jin widened his eyes innocently. “What? What did I do?”

“Give me some space! How am I supposed to track Jae-hyung’s energy if you’re glued to me?”

“I was just worried something might happen to you…”

As Hae-jin trailed off, the other Espers clicked their tongues at him. Yong-yong wiped his eyes with his sleeve and pressed a necklace into Lee Chae’s hand.

“This is Jae-hyung’s necklace. Before we came here, he gave it to me as a keepsake in case he died. I hated it when he said that, but…” Yong-yong choked up. Seung-hyun wrapped a gentle arm around him. Yong-yong continued slowly, “Now I think it’s a good thing. Maybe he gave it to me so I could give it to Dambo. Dambo… what if Jae-hyung is d-dead?”

Lee Chae looked at Yong-yong pityingly, gripped the necklace tight, and closed his eyes. He thought back to the time he accidentally knocked over Yong-yong’s cookie box. Suddenly, as if by magic, Jae-hyung’s energy felt closer.

Lee Chae snapped his eyes open.

“Yong-yong! Jae-hyung is alive. Let’s go find him!”

“What? He’s alive? You found him already? Dambo, you’re the best!”

Lee Chae started to run. In a bizarre turn of events inside the Cyclops’ hallucination gate, a D-rank Guide took the lead, with a swarm of high-ranking Espers following in his wake.