TGIC Ch 84

Chapter 84

“Is the esper Vasily attacked… by any chance, the same S-rank esper who participated in the West Sea Gate raid?”

– Yes. That’s correct.

At the words that Vasily had attacked—not even a domestic esper—but an S-rank esper from China, my breath caught in my throat. Shocked only for a moment, I hurriedly began preparing to leave.

I rushed out without even washing, throwing on whatever clothes my hands could grab. My hair, sticking out in all directions, was shoved under a cap.

While riding the elevator down, I searched for any news related to Vasily. But all that popped up were articles about the dating scandal between us.

Why had those two even fought in the first place? It was strange enough that Vasily and a Chinese esper, who normally had no reason to cross paths, had even met.

Shutting off the internet, which was filled with useless information, I shoved my smartphone into my pocket.

As I stepped outside and looked around, I spotted a vehicle parked on the road with its hazard lights flashing. The large Association emblem stamped on it made it easy to identify.

The moment I got into the car, a voice greeted me from inside.

“Hello, Guide Kwon Gidam. We’ll escort you safely to the site.”

Inside the vehicle were two Association staff members. One was at the wheel, and the other was seated in the back to receive me.

I quietly bowed in response to their greeting. As soon as I sat down, the car departed.

Since I hadn’t been given a proper explanation over the phone, I first tried to understand the situation by asking one of the staff members.

“What exactly happened?”

“Just before the gate raid was about to begin, Mr. Huaiyan showed up. The two exchanged words, and suddenly, Esper Vasily attacked Mr. Huaiyan… that’s all we know.”

He even threw the first punch.

This wasn’t just Vasily’s problem anymore. If handled poorly, it could easily spiral into an international incident. By now, the Association executives must be frantically scrambling to contain the situation.

I understood why they had rushed to call me. But even so, I doubted whether my presence would change anything.

“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“You’ll work together with the espers on-site to restrain Esper Vasily.”

They were telling me to personally step into the middle of a brawl between two S-rank espers and break it up? I shot them a look that basically screamed Are you out of your mind?, but the staff member averted his gaze, confirming I’d heard right.

“Haa…”

Still, thanks to what the staff member had said, I remembered the Chinese esper’s name.

Luo Huaiyan.

Usually called simply Huaiyan, he and Vasily had never gotten along—even in my previous life before the regression. Fire and ice. Maybe because their attributes were polar opposites, they never once passed each other quietly.

Picturing Huaiyan, I tried to sort through my chaotic thoughts.

The West Sea Gate raid had concluded safely over the weekend without any notable incidents. I’d assumed Huaiyan had returned to China right after the raid ended. So why was he still in Korea… and why had he sought out Vasily?

I recalled the day Vasily and I attended the strategy meeting for the West Sea Gate raid. As we were about to leave after turning the meeting room upside down, Huaiyan’s eyes had met mine.

I was sure he had said something to me back then…

“We’ve arrived.”

Before long, we reached the site.

Getting out of the car, I looked around, but there was no gate in sight. It seemed they had parked far from the gate, since Vasily and Huaiyan were fighting near it.

I didn’t need anyone to point me toward Vasily’s direction. From far away, towering pillars of ice and flame were surging into the sky with overwhelming force.

The wind carried alternating waves of searing heat and biting cold. The place where Vasily and Huaiyan clashed was little more than a low hill, so I should have been able to see them—but the thick fog blanketing the area made it impossible. From where I stood, all I could see were the menacing spikes of fire and ice shooting skyward.

I frowned. To think I had to walk straight into that war zone. Even with espers accompanying me, it was practically a death wish.

For now, I tried calling Vasily.

“…”

No answer… as expected.

The ringing tone went on and on, but neither did Vasily pick up nor did the towering storms of ice in the distance subside.

Clicking my tongue at the endless tone, I was handed combat gear by one of the staff members. It was even made for espers.

So this really was the only option left, huh? I took the combat gear with a grim expression—when something familiar suddenly caught my eye.

“Does that still work?”

“Excuse me? What—”

The staff member turned to look in the direction I pointed.

“The loudspeaker?”

He glanced at the huge speaker mounted on a pole and echoed my question. Normally used to announce the start of a gate raid or issue emergency alerts, but technically, wasn’t this situation already an emergency?

Beneath the pole was a microphone connected to the speaker. When I flipped the switch, a small green light flickered on.

Tapping the mic lightly, I heard static crackle through the speaker. Confirming that it worked, I cranked the volume up to max and spoke.

“Ah, ah… Esper Vasily?”

[Ah, ah… Esper Vasily?]

My voice boomed across the area through the loudspeaker, drawing everyone’s attention toward the sound.

But in Vasily’s distant direction, the deafening roar of colliding ice and fire seemed to drown me out. I’d probably have to shout louder for him to hear… I scanned my surroundings.

There were easily dozens of people gathered here—espers and Association staff alike. And I had to yell Vasily’s name in front of all of them?

I didn’t like it, but embarrassment was far better than walking into that death trap myself.

After a brief hesitation, I broadcasted a warning for everyone to cover their ears. When some people still stood there blankly, I added that I was about to scream into the loudspeaker, and only then did they cover up.

Hoo… I took a deep breath and shouted.

“VASILY!!!”

[VASILY!!!]

My voice rang thunderously through the loudspeaker. The volume was so high that even the speaker itself let out a sharp screech in protest.

“Ugh…”

I’d warned everyone else to cover their ears, only to realize too late that I hadn’t covered mine. The deafening blast hammered my eardrums, and I hastily clapped my hands over them, wincing as a ringing overtook my hearing.

As I soothed my aching ears and raised my head, the thick fog ahead suddenly grew still—almost as if Vasily had finally noticed my presence.

“Is it over…?”

I muttered as I lowered my hands. A frigid chill rode the wind, and then I sensed a looming shadow overhead. Looking up, I saw an enormous mass of ice suspended in the air, its downward-pointing end sharpened to a deadly point.

Boom!

Dozens of ice spears slammed into the ground with ferocious force. The deafening impact made me clamp my ears shut again and squeeze my eyes closed. The ground quaked so violently beneath me I could barely stay standing.

Only after a long moment did the tremors subside. I slowly opened my eyes.

The ice spears had struck in a concentrated cluster, forming a massive structure. Its jagged tip stretched so high toward the heavens that it blocked out the sun.

I swallowed hard. That last attack had been stronger than anything I’d ever seen. Even when Vasily had slain monsters in an S-rank gate, I had never witnessed him unleash power on this level.

“…”

A heavy silence fell over the area; no one dared speak.

No sounds came from within the fog either.

Judging from the stillness, it seemed the battle between the two had ended. Quietly, I swallowed hard.

Could it be… that he had killed him?

A dreadful premonition gripped me. Before and after my regression, had there ever been a disaster this catastrophic? If Vasily had killed an S-rank esper from another country, the resulting shockwaves would be unimaginable.

Slowly, the espers around me regained their wits and began preparing to enter the battlefield to assess the situation. I glanced down at the combat gear in my hands, hesitating over whether to put it on.