Chapter 45: Blue Light, First Blood

But despite his efforts, Chaewon’s eyes began to glisten, and just as Su-ha noticed and panicked, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“Kyaaak-!”

A scream rang out from the people sitting by the windows, followed by a tremendous explosion from outside.

****

“Chaewon, stay behind me!”

The café was thrown into chaos in an instant. While Chaewon stood there in shock, staring blankly around him, Su-ha jumped up first, pulled Chaewon to his feet, and positioned him behind himself as he spoke.

Still wide-eyed, Chaewon glanced around from behind Su-ha’s back, then suddenly felt a sharp, prickling sensation on his skin.

He had never experienced anything like it before, but instinctively, he knew what it meant. Clutching tightly at the hem of Su-ha’s clothes, Chaewon spoke in a trembling voice.

“Su-ha.”

“Yes.”

“…I think there’s an esper here.”

Su-ha’s back stiffened instantly. He turned around at once, grasped Chaewon’s shoulders, bent slightly at the waist to meet his eyes, and spoke.

“Listen to me carefully. You weren’t dispatched here, Chaewon. You haven’t officially received a mission. So don’t step in recklessly, stay behind me. Do you understand?”

“…Yes. Yes.”

In truth, Chaewon wasn’t sure Su-ha was completely right. For a moment, he wondered if, as an esper, he shouldn’t step forward when others were in danger. But at the same time, he knew all too well how inexperienced he was.

Even setting aside issues like side effects, he was a rookie who had only gone through a handful of training sessions. In an emergency like this, it was right to follow the instructions of someone more senior.

Listening as Su-ha contacted headquarters, Chaewon matched his steps and slowly exited the café.

Once they reached the street, terrified people were fleeing in one direction. Helping someone who had tripped and fallen in front of him back to their feet, Chaewon looked toward where the crowd was running from. The prickling sensation on his skin grew stronger than before.

And then he saw him, standing tall at the center of the flames and smoke rising in the distance.

It was as if all the air had vanished at once; his ears rang dully. Su-ha’s voice calling for support and the screams of people around them faded far away. What filled Chaewon’s vision was the wave of power gathering in the esper’s hand.

Even without directly touching it, he could see the suffocating heat. Fire, more precisely, an esper with explosion-type abilities.

He hadn’t even seen the man attack, yet it was painfully clear what would happen if that energy were released. Burning cars and buildings around the man came into view one by one.

Chaewon knew, rationally, that he shouldn’t step in. He was still an incomplete esper, one who hadn’t fully overcome his side effects. But he also knew that his side effects were confined to his own pain.

Even when he had endured Min I-hyeon’s attacks, his backlash had never harmed others.

Of course, espers always lived with the risk of going berserk. With Chaewon’s severe side effects, his chances of losing control might even be higher than most.

But Chaewon was looking at Su-ha’s sturdy back, standing protectively in front of him. Right here, at his side, was the best guide possible, someone who could stabilize an esper.

In the enemy esper’s hand, a red glow had now gathered into a clearly visible sphere. Wherever that mass of energy went, someone would be hurt in the middle of the city.

Chaewon slowly stepped past Su-ha and began walking forward. His heart pounded at a terrifying speed, yet at the same time, the world seemed to slow down.

“…Chaewon!”

Only then did Su-ha realize Chaewon was moving ahead and urgently called his name. Chaewon, instead, turned back toward him, gave a small smile, and said,

“I won’t overdo it.”

And before Su-ha could respond, Chaewon turned forward again and closed his eyes. From his small frame, a brilliant blue light began to rise.

****

“W-what is that…?”

People who had been desperately fleeing stopped in their tracks, momentarily forgetting their situation as they stared blankly at the scene before them.

A gentle, wave-like blue light that seemed to have appeared from nowhere wrapped itself around the hand of the esper who had been wreaking havoc moments ago, as if throwing bombs.

Because of that blue barrier, the red power that looked ready to be fired at the crowd remained bound in the esper’s hand.

Eyes followed the shimmering flow of light. In a world long accustomed to espers, where many people could recite common abilities by heart, the power unfolding before them was something they had never seen before.

And at the place where all gazes converged stood a man who looked far too thin and fragile to be an esper, his entire body wrapped in that blue radiance like light itself.

“Damn it…!”

Su-ha spat a short curse and hurried to Chaewon’s side. Though Chaewon had ignored his warning and used his power on his own, Su-ha couldn’t blame him.

If Chaewon hadn’t acted, there would have been many more casualties. As an esper, Chaewon’s judgment had been extremely appropriate.

Su-ha hadn’t tried to stop him because he doubted his skill or feared a mistake. He had simply been worried about him.

Using one’s power in a fully controlled, safe training room and using it in the field were entirely different matters. On the battlefield, the same power demanded far greater strain, and mind control was several times more difficult.

That was why, when rookie espers were deployed, a veteran esper would usually stay almost one-on-one with them to assist and help them adapt. Given Chaewon’s already severe side effects, a single misstep could put him in real danger.

But how could Su-ha stop someone who had stepped forward to protect others?

Instead of holding Chaewon back, Su-ha moved in front of him, pulled out a specially manufactured gun designed for anti-esper combat, and fired at the esper whose movements were restricted because of Chaewon.

It was a weapon Su-ha always carried when outside, just like other espers, one meant for situations he might face at any time.

Already flustered by an unknown power binding his attack, the enemy esper’s face twisted in visible panic when bullets came flying at him as well.

He quickly gathered energy with his other hand to block the incoming shots. Judging by the force with which the bullets detonated midair, they were clearly no ordinary ammunition.

Deciding he needed to free both hands first, the esper poured power into the energy binding his hand. Another explosion rocked the surroundings, and flames began spreading along Chaewon’s power.

“Ugh…!”

A groan slipped through Chaewon’s clenched teeth. A dull impact reverberated through him, and his fingertips burned as if being scorched. He could see the fire unleashed by the enemy racing toward him along his own energy.

Frozen in panic, Chaewon didn’t know what to do, until Su-ha shouted,

“Pull your power back!”

The moment those words left Su-ha’s mouth, Chaewon withdrew his power. He didn’t need to think any further. He trusted Su-ha, and he was certain Su-ha would make better judgments than him in a situation like this.

As Chaewon’s power rapidly dissipated, Su-ha pulled out another weapon, a hilt shaped like a sword handle. He pressed the button on its side and swung it hard once.

In an instant, the hilt extended into the full form of a blade. It was a monster-combat sword specially assigned to Su-ha, who could enter dungeons and fight alongside espers.

Su-ha swung the blade straight at the flames rushing toward Chaewon. The sword cleaved through the fire as if slicing radishes, and the energy scattered harmlessly into the air.

Su-ha’s gaze darkened. Judging by the opponent’s power and level of control, he was at best a B-rank esper. Someone like that causing chaos alone in the middle of a city not far from the center? Unless he was utterly reckless, or insane, it wasn’t something one would do lightly.

After finishing that brief assessment, Su-ha spoke to Chaewon.

“Don’t try to confront him head-on. Just focus on stopping him from escaping. Support will arrive soon. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. Yes, I do!”

After taking one more firm look at Chaewon’s determined face, Su-ha relayed more information to headquarters.

“The target appears to be a B-rank esper, but the fact that he’s acting alone and causing this much disturbance is suspicious. I recommend widening the perimeter and investigating further.”

At the same time, another massive explosion sounded ahead. A car the enemy esper had blown up came flying toward them at high speed.

Just as Su-ha tightened his grip on the sword and moved to shield Chaewon again, Chaewon reacted a split second faster and deployed a barrier.

With a deafening crash, the car struck Chaewon’s shield and fell to the ground, and at the same time, blood began to trickle from Chaewon’s nose.

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