Even though he was in a dangerous situation where one wrong move could send him flying far away from the monster's attack, Yonghyun found himself so disconcertingly at ease that it was becoming a problem.
Creating an ice step with a single footfall, Yonghyun repeated to himself to maintain the tension necessary for battle.
‘This is a combat situation, an emergency situation.’
With that thought, Yonghyun readjusted his hold on the Guide in his arms, who, despite trembling in fear, was trying to act as if he wasn't nervous. He then decided to treat the Guide like a new recruit—an employee dispatched to a gate for the first time—and brief him on how to raid it.
The last time he had taught someone was two years ago, when he had explained Korea's raiding system to Han Jinho, a freelancer with no affiliated organization. So it was a bit awkward, but he decided to recall his memories from the Bureau agency's rookie training as best he could.
"Do you know what the top priority is when raiding a gate?"
"Uh... the monster that emerged from the gate?"
Though he could have been flustered by Yonghyun's sudden question, the Guide calmly collected his voice and answered.
"A good answer. In truth, there are more than one or two things to consider, but we don't have time, so I'll give you a quick briefing."
The Guide nodded at Yonghyun's words.
"The priority is to take care of the monster as quickly as possible. It's related to the standard raiding method for a gate. That is, the standard raiding method is."
"Killing the most dangerous-looking monster to destroy its core. Right?"
"Yes. It's good that you know the standard method."
In his mind, Yonghyun promoted the Guide from 'clueless intern' to 'well-prepared new employee.'
"If you destroy the core, eight out of ten times, the gate will disappear. So, we prioritize killing the monster first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yonghyun felt the Guide in his arms flinch and waited for a moment. But when he didn't say anything, Yonghyun spoke again.
"The danger level of the gate this monster emerged from is AA-class. Normally, I would have to stall for as long as possible on my own while waiting for support from other Espers. But..."
"I, I. If I'm here… with my ability, there's no need for that."
At the strangely confident voice, though it was trembling, Yonghyun nodded.
"That's right. So, please tell me what I need to do for your ability to manifest."
"The condition for the ability to manifest is, it's a bit funny, but... physical contact. So, holding hands, or like how you're holding me now."
"Understood. Then I just need to keep holding you like this."
As if he would never let the Guide go, Yonghyun tightened his arms around him once more. He then took a deep breath, inhaling the overwhelming sense of comfort, and exhaled.
Since he had first seen the Guide, the side effects of his ability had disappeared. And after holding him like this, that is, after making 'physical contact,' his body felt light as well. The monster's movements seemed slow, as if playing at 0.5x speed, making it that much easier to dodge its attacks.
It was a strange feeling. Just by looking at him, just by holding him, he felt a confidence that he could do anything.
'With an ability like this... I really could solve the gate problem with ease. That email, that Absolute Power, it wasn't a lie after all.'
***
Wonwoo appealed to Yonghyun about his ability… or whatever you could call it, anyway, Wonwoo appealed about guiding and it was successful.
Honestly, if Yonghyun had sworn or shouted at him the moment he caught him, Wonwoo would have had nothing to say. It was hard to think straight, and while he had jumped trusting the message and the S-class Esper Yonghyun, from Yonghyun's perspective, he had to handle Wonwoo's impulsive action in a situation where just focusing on the monster was not enough.
But Yonghyun had caught and held Wonwoo with familiar stability and had skillfully dodged the monster's attacks. It was truly the image of a pro who had solved gate problems dozens of times over.
'But for him to know I'm a Guide while asking what my ability is... that's still a bit strange.'
Recalling what Yonghyun had said to him when they first met, Wonwoo bit the inside of his cheek in thought.
‘Are you a Guide?’ ...is what he said. That had the nuance of someone who knows what a Guide is. He wasn't even very flustered by my nonsense and immediately asked if it was the Guide's ability. This person knows something.
But Wonwoo soon stopped thinking. Now was not the time to waste time worrying about a problem that, while not trivial, couldn't be solved right away.
He now knew that Guiding worked not just by holding hands, but by any bodily contact like this, and that Guiding strengthened the S-class Esper's ability. And, just as he wanted, Wonwoo had become a party with Yonghyun.
'On top of that, the blue light spreading around my body. Does this appear every time I do this ‘Guiding’ thing? If so, the visual effect is, pretty cool.'
It was hard to shake the feeling that things had proceeded in a somewhat muddled way, but Wonwoo decided to think positively. Now, it was time to move on to the next step.
As if on cue, the System that had been persistently tormenting him seemed to have tired out and stopped its alarm, allowing him to think more comfortably.
-GRUUUUCK!!!
Just as he was pondering how to naturally suggest, 'Now you have to freeze that monster whole!', the monster let out a terrifying roar with a menacing aura.
Startled by the loud roar and ferocious movement, Wonwoo blurted out his thoughts without even having time to choose his words.
"How about trying to freeze that monster, the whole thing, while holding me?!"
"...The whole thing, you say?"
At Yonghyun's question, Wonwoo came to his senses and wanted to slap his own mouth, blaming his linguistic skills that could only produce such words. Then, he shook his head inwardly.
'I'm... I'm a civilian. Honestly, it's a relief I haven't fainted from shock already, so I can say a little nonsense like this. Of course! Since it's come to this, I'll just push ahead with it...!'
But before Wonwoo could open his mouth again, Yonghyun spoke first.
"When I first saw the monster, I thought it would be great if I could do that... but unfortunately, it was beyond my ability, so I gave up. But."
Yonghyun's serious yet sharp gaze met Wonwoo's.
"Yes, because I'm here, Yonghyun-ssi can freeze such a big monster whole."
"...Very well. When raiding a gate, a 'hunch' is more important than you might think. That's why briefings and exchanging opinions are important."
Surprised that Yonghyun was so readily listening to and willing to follow his opinion, Wonwoo nodded at Yonghyun's subsequent words and let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Strangely, bizarrely, they clicked. Even if he said things clumsily, Yonghyun understood him perfectly and gave a response that was even better. Wonwoo had a silly thought, 'If we had our compatibility read... wouldn't we get a great score?'
"It will be a little cold. If it gets unbearably cold, please let me know."
Wonwoo swallowed dryly at Yonghyun's words. Then, while still holding Wonwoo with one arm, Yonghyun stretched his other hand toward the monster.
The blue light that had been scattered around Wonwoo grew slightly larger. And in response, winter arrived in an instant.
The beginning of winter was the fingertips of Yonghyun's black leather gloves. Ice crystals formed thickly on his fingertips as if flowers were blooming. Then, a sound like something cracking began to be heard around them, and in an instant, a chill began to envelop Wonwoo and Yonghyun.
Wonwoo's breath turned into white vapor. That vapor touched his eyebrows and began to freeze into ice. Before Wonwoo could even shiver from the sudden arrival of winter, the monster that had seemed ready to continue its rampage froze solid.
It was instantaneous.
Wonwoo recalled the moment that monster had blackened the subway window. He then recalled someone's tearful scream, the sight of people desperately breaking windows to escape the monster, the train car that had become a lump of scrap metal in an instant, and the monster's leg slithering over that train car.
In the space of a few breaths, Yonghyun had simply stretched out his hand.
And yet, the monster that had been making bizarre noises and showing its menacing aura just moments before was now frozen solid. Was this the power of an S-class, a guided Esper at that? He was astonished by the intense cold and the massive ice, enough to believe this was a glacial zone.
"Ha, haha...."
It was almost anticlimactic.
All his thoughts about meeting Espers and persuading them about 'Guiding' while considering his own circumstances and situation were all a waste of time.
The effect of 'Guiding' that Wonwoo had witnessed firsthand was just that powerful.
Wonwoo knew well that the original power of Yonghyun's ability was not this immense. If it had been, he would have frozen the entire monster when he first used his ability, not just its leg.
And Yonghyun was just as stunned as Wonwoo.
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