TGIC Ch 114

Chapter 114

I stared at the pitch-black pupils reflected in the glass, lost in thought.

Since I was on my way to China, I had wanted, just this once, to leave with a lighter heart, free of Vasily. But after our call ended, I realized that was impossible.

It was only natural I felt shaken. Vasily had always been cold and high above, never once showing weakness in front of me.

Yet he had begged me not to go—voice low, unsteady, trembling. That sound lingered in my ears like a hallucination.

‘…If only he’d shouted at me instead, told me not to go.’

If he had, I wouldn’t feel this tangled mess of emotions, wouldn’t find my steps so heavy just before I left.

Heaving a deep sigh, I faced the truth: I couldn’t leave Vasily alone and unsettled. Unbuckling my belt, I stood.

“Esper, I’m sorry. I can’t do this after all.”

“You’re not going to China?”

“…No. I’m very sorry, especially since you prepared this opportunity for me.”

“No, it’s fine. It was just my way of repaying you, since thanks to you I gained useful information.”

Huai Yan let me go without complaint. I had feared he might insist it was too late, that we were airborne already and I couldn’t disembark—but fortunately, he didn’t.

Apologizing over and over, I stepped off the plane just before departure.

Back in the terminal, I watched Huai Yan’s private jet take off. I followed it with my eyes until it vanished into the sky.

Though I felt a twinge of regret, my heart was oddly at ease. If I’d truly left, I would have been restless and useless the entire time I was in China.

Yes. I’d go back to Vasily, apologize, and endure another six months. That cursed suppression chip—surely if I bore with the discomfort, half a year would pass quickly enough.

I left the airport and boarded the subway back toward Seoul.

Switching on my phone to check the time, I found nothing but a black screen. Ah, right—I’d turned it off after my call with Vasily.

Booting it back up, I was greeted by the simple base wallpaper—and a flood of emergency alerts.

Emergency alerts?

Had a Gate opened nearby? But scanning them quickly, I realized it wasn’t that. It was an Esper Rampage notice.

[Currently, an S-rank Esper is rampaging near Hangang Bridge. All citizens nearby are urged to evacuate immediately.]

“What?”

An S-rank? I blinked in disbelief—just as a station announcement blared:

– Trains bound for Seoul Station will only run up to the next stop due to the Esper rampage. All passengers must disembark.

Even subway operations were being suspended. Shocked, I stood frozen on the spot.

In my memory, up until my death in the first timeline, no S-rank Esper had ever publicly rampaged. The only time I had witnessed such a thing was when Vasily lost control inside a Gate.

So then… who was it now?

“…Surely not.”

Of course, only Vasily’s face came to mind.

Following the stream of passengers off the train, I fumbled with my phone, trying to load news, but the servers were overwhelmed—just refreshing endlessly.

While I struggled, a call came from the Association. That would be more reliable. With trembling hands, I answered.

“Guide Kwon Gidam! Are you still on the plane?”

The worker’s voice was panicked. Taking a breath, I calmed myself to reply.

“No, I disembarked just before takeoff. But… by any chance—”

“The report says Guide Kwon Gidam didn’t board after all!”

The worker cut me off mid-sentence, probably shouting the news to colleagues nearby.

I pressed on with my question:

“Is the Esper rampaging right now… Vasily?”

“Yes, that’s correct! Where are you currently?”

“I’m at Hongdae Station. I was heading back when the subway stopped and we had to get off midway.”

“Please head to Exit 1! We’ll pick you up immediately!”

“Understood.”

Calmly ending the call, I tilted my head back and muttered quietly:

“Damn it…”

I had prayed it wasn’t Vasily. But I had forgotten: misfortune always clings to me.

Climbing the station steps outside, I surveyed the chaos. Sirens wailed everywhere like in a civil defense drill; crowds streamed out of buildings, murmuring anxiously.

My phone buzzed incessantly with fresh evacuation alerts from the Association. Yet above, the sky was flawlessly clear.

Not like when I froze to death inside a Gate—there was no cold. Could Vasily really be rampaging? It felt unreal.

Screeech!

That was when the Association’s vehicle screeched to a stop before me.

A black van emblazoned with the Esper Association’s seal swung open, and a staff member waved frantically.

“Guide Kwon Gidam! Quickly, get inside!”

I nodded and leapt in.

“There’s no time. Change into this, fast!”

The moment I stepped in, they thrust battle gear and heavy winter garb into my arms. Knowing the urgency, I quickly changed while asking:

“When did Esper Vasily start rampaging?”

“The moment he heard your plane had taken off!”

“……”

There was no denying it anymore. The cause of Vasily’s rampage… was me. Screwing my eyes shut, I tried to escape the crushing weight of the truth.

“He started at his home—so far there are no civilian casualties. If we can just get you to him and calm him, it’ll be fine…!”

If it began at his residence, then the altitude at least made it so the cold wouldn’t hit the streets instantly. That bought us some time.

But not much. When Vasily rampaged inside a Gate, he froze that vast interior in an instant.

The fact that casualties were still minimal meant there was still some fragment of his consciousness left. That meant we had to reach him before total collapse.

“We’re here. Out, quickly.”

Anxieties and dread churned in me as I exited the car… only to realize we weren’t at his apartment complex. Instead, the familiar Association building loomed before me.

In the yard stood a waiting helicopter. I nodded in understanding.

Right. To reach him quickly, the air was best. Climbing floors by stairwell one by one would just get me frozen before I arrived. And with him rampaging, even the stairs wouldn’t be safe.

Jaw tense, I strode toward the helicopter. Around it stood the team of Espers who would accompany us—and among them, a familiar face.

“I remember saying I hoped we wouldn’t see each other for a while. If I’d known it would be this soon, I’d have chosen different words.”

It was the squad leader. Sighting me, he lifted a hand in a half-wave, joking lightly as though to ease my tension.

“Called in from home again, were you?”

“Pretty much. Today was actually my wedding anniversary, you know.”

“Then you’d best return quickly if you don’t want to be in trouble with your wife.”

“She said as long as I came back in one piece, late didn’t matter.”

“…I’ll do my best to see that through.”

Though our words were light, the air buzzing around us hummed with grim weight.

Every Esper present wore a grave face, checking their gear one by one. If things worsened, Vasily might freeze all of Seoul to an icy grave. The human toll would be catastrophic.

If we failed to stop him here, the Association would eventually send other S-ranks to eliminate him outright.

Grinding my teeth, I remembered that wavering voice clinging to me over the phone. No—that, I could not allow.

Then came the briefing from the Esper in charge.

“We’ll take the helicopter straight to Esper Vasily’s residence. The Espers will smash the window and enter the bedroom first. Guide Kwon Gidam, you will follow immediately after, using the ladder, and begin guiding.”

“Understood!”

“Can you handle this, Guide Kwon Gidam?”

This was no less than a special operation. Everyone’s eyes doubted whether I, a civilian among the extraordinary, could manage. But I knew otherwise.

Don’t underestimate six years of Gate experience.

“I can.”

I answered without hesitation, and climbed aboard the helicopter.