Chapter 120 : The Last Guiding

It was then that Ji Seung-hyun slapped Hae-jin on the back and shouted, “Esper Cha Hae-jin! What are you doing!”

The Cyclops, which had collapsed from the lightning, was rising again. As Hae-jin raised his hand to use a skill, Zap! An Ice-attribute Esper stood up and froze the Cyclops’ entire body at once.

“Esper Cha Hae-jin, hurry! I only froze it briefly because strong attacks aren’t working—it’ll break free soon.”

Grrr, snort!

The Cyclops’ body slowly began to thaw. Hae-jin lunged into the air and drove the sword already stuck in its body even deeper. The fire surging back through the blade threatened to swallow Hae-jin whole, but a skill originating from his own body could not harm him.

Jin-woo joined the fray. Hae-jin tried to stop him. “Get back! You don’t even have fire resistance.”

“I have my armor! I can’t even feel the heat!” Jin-woo’s face was charred black, making his brave words look almost comical.

Crack-thud!

In a final desperate struggle, the Cyclops shook off the two men clinging to its body. Because it happened so suddenly, Hae-jin couldn’t catch Jin-woo, who went tumbling across the floor. Hae-jin ignited the soles of his feet again and took flight on the wind.

‘The attacks were definitely working earlier…’

He couldn’t use his high-energy skills twice in a row, so he had to find another way. Hae-jin carefully examined the area he had attacked earlier. There was a jagged tear in its chest.

Aiming for the wound, Hae-jin shouted, “Here! Focus all attacks here!”

Fire, ice, water, and electricity all slammed into the spot Hae-jin had marked.

Crunch.

A viscous liquid began to flow from the widening wound. Hae-jin squeezed his eyes shut and thrust his hand directly into the open tear. He intended to blow up its heart from the inside.

As he felt around inside the chest, his hand gripped something soft and squishy. Just as he squeezed to crush it, the Cyclops’ voice echoed.

—Kill… Cha Seong-je’s… son… “What are you talking about!”

Boom! Crackle!

He detonated a bomb inside the cavity, and the Cyclops writhed as if electrocuted.

‘Is this its final struggle?’

Every monster exerts its greatest strength right before death. He couldn’t give it even a moment’s opening. However, it took time for his skills to recharge, so Hae-jin gripped the Cyclops’ heart with all his might, pulling every last drop of energy from his core.

Just then, a massive horn began to sprout from the Cyclops’ side.

“Ugh!”

Hae-jin summoned the wind to dodge, but he couldn’t completely escape the horn’s reach. It only grazed his chest, but with a sickening crack, his bones broke and blood began to spray from the wound. Hae-jin’s breathing slowed, and excruciating pain enveloped his entire body.

But Hae-jin couldn’t stop. He still couldn’t sense Lee Chae’s breathing. Even if he were to die, he had to save Lee Chae first. He gathered his final strength.

With a whistling sound, the air inside the building began to gather rapidly in one spot. Compressed into a solid, giant sphere, the air spun in tens of thousands of circles, creating a vortex.

“F-fire… a fireball…”

He coughed, and blood splattered from his mouth, preventing him from finishing his sentence. However, Ji Seung-hyun, who had been watching, spat fire toward the vortex Hae-jin had gathered. A massive fireball slammed into the Cyclops’ wound.

Soaked in blood, Hae-jin slowly stood up. With every step, his broken bones rattled, and a bloody cough continued to rack his throat.

‘Just one last strike…’

Lacking the strength to even lift his arm, Hae-jin began to gather energy in his eyes. As he struggled to blink, BOOM! A massive explosion erupted.

Whoosh. The final flames of the Cyclops’ annihilation burned hot.

“Ugh…” “Guide Jung Lee Chae, are you awake?”

Lee Chae opened his eyes. His last memory was trying to stay conscious, hoping Hae-jin wouldn’t come for him. Through his blurred vision, he saw the Espers and Kang-wook. He was relieved to see they were all alive and unhurt.

Lee Chae slowly sat up and checked for Hae-jin’s signal. But…

“I can’t sense him.” “What? What do you mean?” “Hyung, I can’t find my Esper’s signal. Oh, no… what do I do…”

His mind went blank, and the world went dark. In an imprinted state, the only time you couldn’t find an Esper’s location via the mark was if they were dead. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was an undeniable fact.

As Lee Chae collapsed, pale with shock, Kang-wook comforted him. “Guide Jung Lee Chae, it’s not certain yet. Your body isn’t normal right now, so you might just be unable to pick up the signal. I’ll share some energy with you, so try again calmly.”

The other Espers chimed in. “That’s right. There’s no way Esper Cha Hae-jin would be taken down so easily.”

Lee Chae swallowed hard and took Kang-wook’s hand. His hand began to heat up as Kang-wook’s energy slowly transferred over. Praying for Hae-jin to be alive, Lee Chae calmly searched for his location again. Miraculously, a faint signal began to appear.

“How is it? Do you feel it?” “I do, but… it’s so far away, and so weak. What do I do… he must be hurt. No, I shouldn’t be sitting here…”

Lee Chae immediately jumped up and started running toward Hae-jin. Now that he knew his condition, he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

“Guide Jung Lee Chae! Where are you going?” “We were ordered to protect you! You can’t just wander around!”

The Espers shouted at him, but Lee Chae didn’t hear them. His mind was filled with only one thought: he had to go save him. How many days had passed? How much time had gone by?

Inside the building where time and space were distorted, the path twisted strangely. He felt his energy draining with every step. The fear that he might never see Hae-jin again washed over him. Lee Chae clenched his fists to steady his heart.

‘I can’t be weak.’

He closed his eyes to ignore the hallucinations and focused solely on the signal Hae-jin was sending. Relying on that weak signal, he ran and ran. And there, in front of the Cyclops, stood a man who looked like he was about to die.

“Hyung!”

It was Cha Hae-jin.

Crimson eyes pointed toward the Cyclops’ heart like lasers. As Hae-jin glared, Pop! sparks flew, and the flickering fire grew in volume.

Unable to withstand the heat, the Cyclops’ heart burned, emitting a horrific stench. The fire grew and transformed into the shape of a dragon. Beside it, Yong-yong and Ji Seung-hyun breathed fire simultaneously. The dragon Hae-jin created opened its maw and swallowed the Cyclops’ body whole.

The monster that had threatened humanity for half a century vanished completely in what felt like less than ten minutes.

“Cha Hae-jin!”

Thinking ‘Our Lee Chae is safe now,’ Hae-jin started to turn at the sound of his name, but collapsed on the spot. Through his blurry vision, he saw the charred ceiling, and then a beloved face filled his sight.

“…Hyung, Cha Hae-jin, Hyung!”

The screaming voice, the falling tears—it was Jung Lee Chae.

Our Lee Chae, you’re alive. He wanted to reach up and wipe away the tears, but his body wouldn’t move. He tried to lift his arm to touch Lee Chae’s cheek, but the pain in his shoulder was so intense he had to drop it again.

He couldn’t do anything even though Lee Chae was crying. Still, seeing him breathing properly, moving his limbs, and even crying, Hae-jin felt he could finally rest.

Now that he had confirmed Lee Chae’s survival, a wave of immense fatigue crashed over him, and Hae-jin closed his eyes.

“Cha Hae-jin, open your eyes. Please… you crazy bastard! Open your eyes! Shit.”

At Lee Chae’s plea, Hae-jin’s eyelids flickered but closed again. Lee Chae hurriedly placed his hands on Hae-jin’s chest. The bleeding was too severe, and his heart rate was dangerously low.

At this rate…

“No, you can’t die. How can Cha Hae-jin die and leave me alone! We haven’t even gotten married yet!”

Lee Chae thought he saw the corners of Hae-jin’s mouth twitch upward slightly. He wasn’t dead yet. It was too early to give up.

‘I’m only D-rank… even if I save him, he might lose his powers… I’m so useless…’

Even in this emergency, his inferiority complex tried to rear its head, but Lee Chae slapped his own cheek hard. This was no time to lose to his insecurities.

He had to save Hae-jin no matter what. Who cared about powers if he was going to die? If Hae-jin lost his abilities, Lee Chae would do whatever it took to provide for him.

Lee Chae roughly wiped the tears from his cheeks and placed both hands on Hae-jin’s chest. His ribs were fractured, and his internal organs seemed damaged. It was a desperate situation, but Lee Chae gritted his teeth and pressed on the wound, pouring his energy into it.

‘It’s weak. Too weak…’

The power flowing in was nothing compared to the life force flowing out. Ignoring the gazes of the people around him, Lee Chae climbed directly onto Hae-jin’s body.

He pressed his lips to Hae-jin’s parting mouth, licked down his neck, and tightly hugged his blood-soaked chest. He felt almost every ounce of energy in his body transferring to Hae-jin.

Finally, when the power entering exceeded the life force leaving, a shadow fell over them.

“What are you all looking at? Look away.” “That’s right! Everyone, turn around!”

At Jae-hyung’s words, Yong-yong spread his massive wings wide. A perfect curtain of dragon scales was drawn. Within that private space, Lee Chae carefully removed Hae-jin’s bloodied clothes and hugged him again.

He felt a boiling heat radiating from Hae-jin’s body. Pressing himself as close as possible, he kept calling Hae-jin’s name.

“Hyung…”