Chapter 37: The Light That Answers

The face I had longed to see so desperately, or maybe it was the regret and lingering attachment — for a moment, I forgot the situation and joy washed over me.

“What the hell, who’s that brat…?”

“Huh…? It’s him! Jin Se-hyeon’s little brother.”

But only for a moment.

In this situation, Jaeyul’s appearance was the last thing I wanted.

Once I snapped out of it, panic and anger surged through me.

“Seon Jaeyul! Run, hurry…!”

Maybe my voice hadn’t reached him.

As if he didn’t hear me, Jaeyul continued approaching my side.

Ah… of course, he must not have understood the situation at all.

Step, step.

Watching Jaeyul stroll toward me so casually made my anxiety spike.

Even knowing it was impossible, I thrashed my bound hands desperately, trying to break free.

“What are you idiots just watching for! Kill that useless brat already!”

Tak Younghoon barked orders at subordinates older than himself.

The Six-Point Star members, frozen by his shrill shouting, finally moved.

Even then, not all of them rushed in.

No matter how athletic he was, he was still “just” a high schooler.

Apparently they had their pride — only five or six who looked weak enough ran toward Jaeyul.

“Stop right there, you bastards! Touch a finger on him and I’ll kill all of you!”

It was a scream.

A helpless roar overflowing with hatred, despite having no actual power.

Even if I shouted until my throat tore, even if I ground my teeth until they cracked, nothing changed.

My body remained tightly bound, and my voice still reached no one.

If only… if only I had accepted their offer.

If only I had killed them first.

If I wasn’t even going to protect Jaeyul properly, then I should never have held that small hand five years ago…

Scarier than when my limbs were about to be cut off.

Scarier than when ‘X’ pierced my stomach.

Losing Jaeyul like this — that terrified me the most.

“Graaaah!”

But I must have given up too quickly.

The massive roar that shook heaven and earth wiped away every stray thought.

A pitch-black shadow burst forward from behind Jaeyul so fast I couldn’t even see its shape clearly.

“K-kugh!”

I could barely follow its movement with my eyes.

The thing — looking like a silver storm — swept through the Six-Point Star members rushing toward Jaeyul.

When the storm passed, nothing remained but shredded flesh and streams of blood.

Those touched by the silver whirlwind were no longer human.

“W-what the hell…! Why is a monster coming out here?!”

“Stop it, you idiots!”

Ah… right.

I’d forgotten an important detail.

Tak Younghoon and Seo Kyungho’s voices trembled with panic.

They must have realized this was no ordinary situation.

Their panic, on the other hand, brought me a strange calm.

“Ppoppi! Protect Jaeyul first! No — take him and run!”

Ppoppi, who almost never revealed his real form outside a Gate, had come with Jaeyul.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure that the monster ripping people apart now was the same Ppoppi I knew.

He wasn’t the affectionate, food-obsessed doglike creature I remembered.

He killed without hesitation, as if all that remained was hatred toward humans.

“Krang!”

But even Ppoppi didn’t seem to hear my voice.

He simply fought the Six-Point Star members head-on.

And in that time, Jaeyul had already reached me.

Meaning… he had walked himself directly in front of Tak Younghoon and Seo Kyungho — both B-rank Guides.

“Hyung… are you okay?”

This kid… still didn’t understand the situation.

He asked about my condition first.

Right… he probably felt relaxed because Ppoppi was here.

Somehow, he must have known.

He must have believed a monster like Ppoppi could wipe them all out.

“You should listen when your hyung tells you something, kiddo. I told you to run — why come to your death?”

Even while Ppoppi was rampaging, Seo Kyungho kept a strange composure.

The Six-Point Star members, after their initial shock, reorganized quickly.

For people who illegally slipped in and out of Gates, they were strong enough to handle a monster or two.

Even Ppoppi was struggling to move recklessly; he was only striking nearby Espers occasionally instead of mowing them down like before.

“Seon Jaeyul…!”

“Just wait a little, hyung.”

My misplaced anger was about to burst at Jaeyul.

Why wouldn’t he listen?

Why pretend not to hear me when I told him to run?

Just then—

Fwoooosh—

The airflow inside the abandoned warehouse twisted violently, as if converging on a single point.

A wind that was anything but natural whipped around us.

“What now, you son of—?! Don’t you dare pull any tricks!”

…Tricks? No.

Tak Younghoon was wrong.

Above Jaeyul’s raised hand, a cluster of light began forming.

A glowing sphere spun violently, growing larger with every rotation — from the size of a fingernail, to a fist.

Ah…

I never thought I’d be relieved to see that light.

Whenever ‘X’ used that ability, my heart used to plummet into the abyss — it was an unbeatable, cheating skill.

But the light blooming from Jaeyul’s hand… brought me comfort.

His delayed awakening had worried me endlessly… but finally, the time had come.

“Looks like you’re the ones trying tricks. Who do you think you’re touching, you trash?”

“So a lucky brat awakened as an Esper? Don’t get cocky! You think that’ll stop Jin Se-hyeon from becoming ours—”

Pew.

A tiny fragment of the light sphere detached and shot forward like a bullet.

Its destination: Tak Younghoon’s open mouth.

The moment the bead of light slipped inside—

BOOM!

Tak Younghoon’s entire head exploded, spraying flesh and blood everywhere.

Thud.

A beat later, the headless body collapsed.

Every remaining Six-Point Star member snapped their focus to Jaeyul — even forgetting about Ppoppi.

“Huh… I guess my control isn’t that great yet.”

It seemed Jaeyul hadn’t intended that.

He probably wanted to blow up only the mouth, not the entire head.

‘X’ could manage precision like that — but Jaeyul couldn’t yet.

“…Looks like I picked the wrong opponent.”

Seo Kyungho didn’t panic even after seeing Tak Younghoon die horribly.

Maybe he was panicking inside — but on the outside, he looked calm.

“Your name… Seon Jaeyul, right? Listen. How about joining our Six-Point Star? If you join, we’ll never touch Jin Se-hyeon again. No pointless fighting.”

Amazing.

It took guts to run a criminal organization — guts I would never have.

Trying to recruit someone who just killed his own ally so brutally…

“Jaeyul, don’t listen! These bastards lie about everything!”

I cut in quickly before Jaeyul could waver.

“My hyung doesn’t want it, mister. And even if he didn’t say anything — I’d never hang out with trash like you.”

“Hmm. A real adult should guide younger ones down the right path. Guess I need to make the choice easier for you.”

Seo Kyungho’s thigh swelled grotesquely — and in an instant, he rushed toward me.

He ripped me and the chair apart as if the bindings were nothing.

The ropes I struggled against so desperately snapped instantly.

Such overwhelming strength.

“Ugh… Taking a hostage with that body of yours? Aren’t you ashamed?”

He wrapped his massive arm around my neck from behind, choking me.

Well, of course they’d take me hostage — they’d kidnapped me to cut off my limbs, after all.

“To be honest, this went way beyond what I expected. I just wanted to grab a Guide… ha. Sorry to my guys, but I need to survive too, right?”

As time passed, the situation was turning in our favor.

Ppoppi was slaughtering enemies steadily and carefully.

Almost half the Six-Point Star members had already fallen to his claws and fangs.

“As humiliating as it is… I’m not confident I can handle that monster.”

By “monster,” he meant Jaeyul, not Ppoppi.

At least he recognized the truth.

Even if Jaeyul couldn’t fully control his power yet, the raw force was unmistakable.

The white sphere spinning above his palm was both beautiful and terrifying.

“…You people really don’t learn. How far are you planning to go to hurt my hyung?”

“Shut up and back off! One step closer and I’ll snap your hyung’s neck!”

The thick arm crushed my throat.

Seo Kyungho was definitely panicking now — the idiot actually dared to lay hands on me.

I could disrupt his mana and knock him out with my ability… but before I could act, something happened.

“Ppoppi, take hyung and run. As far as possible.”

Ppoppi, fighting at a distance, immediately ignored the remaining enemies and charged toward me.

“S-stop! Don’t you dare—!”

“Krang!”

Crunch!

Without slowing down, Ppoppi bit down on Seo Kyungho’s arm — right at the elbow — tearing it clean off.

The choking pressure instantly vanished.

Then Ppoppi clamped his jaws around my torso and bolted.

The movements were so precise, so practiced, it felt like he’d been fighting alongside Jaeyul for years.

“Wait! P-Ppoppi, hold on! We need to bring Jaeyul too…!”

He sprinted toward the hole we’d made in the wall earlier.

At a speed far greater than when we walked inside the Gate together.

We escaped the warehouse instantly — but Ppoppi didn’t stop.

He just kept running.

“How far are we going?! Stop for a second!”

I was terrified for Jaeyul, left alone.

Even if awakened, his control was still shaky.

And there were still too many Six-Point Star members.

He needed every bit of help — and instead, Ppoppi and I were both running away.

For the first time ever, I hated how Ppoppi kept ignoring my orders today.

“Arf! Arf!”

Ppoppi ran a long while before finally stopping.

The abandoned warehouse wasn’t far from our shop — surrounded by shady illegal offices.

We had run so far that the warehouse was swallowed by darkness, no longer visible.

“Haa… don’t wag your tail. Let’s hurry back.”

As soon as Ppoppi put me down, I climbed on his back again.

But no matter how much I urged him, he didn’t budge.

Threats didn’t work.

Bribes didn’t work.

“Ppoppi, you! I’m seriously going to—”

Just as I was about to explode—

Beeep—.

A sharp ringing swallowed all sound.

My hearing vanished.

Even my own voice disappeared.

And then—

As if a sun had risen in the middle of the night, a massive sphere of light bloomed far, far away.

A massive explosion bright enough to turn the world into midday.

BOOOOM!

The deafening blast and scorching wind arrived a beat later.

I stared, stunned, at the disaster I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Once, that explosion terrified me.

But now… it looked almost beautiful.

Because I knew — I was certain — that Jaeyul was unharmed.

And as if to prove it, when the light faded, a single figure stood there alone.