TGIC Ch 144

Chapter 144

As the sun slowly sank, the surroundings grew dim. I checked the time and gazed toward the distant gate.

It should be about time for them to come out…

I had arrived a little earlier, worried the raid might end sooner than I remembered, but even if I had come after sunset, I wouldn’t have been late. Sniffling lightly, I slid my chilled hands into my pockets.

Just then, the area around me began to stir with sudden commotion. I was about to step outside to see what was happening when the attending physician, who had just returned to the tent, informed me of the situation.

“Guide-nim, the raid has concluded. We should go greet the Esper.”

I nodded and rose from my seat.

Near the gate, they were already busy preparing to receive the Espers as they returned. Severely injured personnel were carried out first, and only after quite some time did the Espers themselves begin to emerge one by one.

As expected of an S-rank gate, everyone looked exhausted. Quite a few were injured as well, but since all three S-rank Espers had entered, the overall damage would not be severe. As long as the three hadn’t fought amongst themselves inside, the strategy should have gone smoothly.

Soon after, Vasily appeared.

His brilliant silver hair caught the lights shining from the gate and fluttered in the strong wind. Surrounded by Espers clad in combat uniforms, he stood out starkly in his immaculate suit.

As the Espers stepped out of the gate, the surroundings grew even louder, reporters firing their camera flashes from every direction. Hearing the barrage of shutter clicks, I pulled my mask a little higher.

“Didn’t think you’d actually come out to meet me.”

The moment he exited the gate, Vasily walked straight toward where I stood. Ignoring the attending physician, he spoke to me directly. I lifted my cap slightly in greeting and met his eyes.

“How did you know it was me? I thought I wouldn’t be recognized.”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize my own Guide.”

“That’s funny, because I almost mistook you for someone else — your appearance is a mess.”

“Oh dear, looks like I’ll have to mind my appearance when stepping out of gates from now on.”

It sounded like a light joke, but his condition was far from fine.

Even for him, an S-rank gate must have been grueling. His suit was drenched in monster blood, and patches of ice clung to various parts of his body. His expression was faintly stiff, making it clear he wasn’t in good shape.

Out of habit, I checked his condition — and immediately sensed something was wrong. His movements were unnaturally stiff, and especially on one shoulder, ice had accumulated far more thickly.

“Wait… are you injured?”

Alarmed, I grabbed him and examined the area where his neck and shoulder met.

What I’d assumed was ice forming as an aftereffect of his ability was, upon closer inspection, clearly something else. Through the ice, I could see not the dark suit fabric but a deep, dark red.

“You really can’t hide anything from Guide Kwon Gidam.”

“No—! It’s this obvious, what do you mean hide—! Doctor, please check his—!”

I tried to turn to call the attending physician, but a chillingly cold hand stopped me. As he stroked my now-rigid cheek, he spoke slowly.

“Do you know what kind of expression you’re making right now?”

“This isn’t the time for that! You need treatment immediately!”

“No, it is important.”

Vasily quietly cut off my words and removed the cap from my head. Winter wind slipped through the gap, ruffling my hair, and the cap slipped from his fingers, dropping onto the cold ground with a soft thud.

His long fingers brushed down the bridge of my nose and tugged my mask downward.

Once my face was fully revealed, Vasily’s lips curved faintly, as if satisfied. He lowered his head until our foreheads touched. At a distance so close even our eyelashes could have brushed, he looked directly into my eyes and asked:

“And you still claim you don’t love me?”

My lips froze mid-movement. At his words, my pupils trembled violently.

“I—I…”

My mouth had gone dry. Through our joined foreheads, the tremor of his wavelength seeped into me, and his quiet, silver-gray eyes seemed to freeze my entire body in place.

As I stood frozen in confusion, Vasily gave a low laugh and leaned into me.

His body sagged, all strength draining at once, pressing heavily against mine. By the time I realized something was wrong, he had already lost consciousness.

Everything after that was a blur — I couldn’t even remember how we got to the hospital.

All that remained clear was the moment Vasily collapsed. The instant he lost consciousness, blood began seeping steadily through the ice, as if it had been waiting to spill. I must have stood there broken, staring at the stinging metallic scent and the blood soaked into my palms, until the attending physician shouted me back to reality.

Because he had already been the center of attention upon his arrival, the moment he collapsed, chaos erupted. All I could do within that turmoil was sit beside him throughout the transfer, guiding and watching helplessly as his complexion turned paler and paler.

Upon arrival, Vasily was taken into the operating room with several medical staff, including the attending physician. Left alone, I sat outside the surgical room, staring blankly into empty space.

Noticing the blood covering my clothes far too late, I removed my outerwear and tossed it into the biohazard bin. Contaminated with monster blood and Vasily’s blood alike, it wasn’t something I could ever wear again.

I had no idea how much time had passed when the operating room doors finally opened. Seeing the attending physician step out, I shot to my feet.

“Ah, Guide Kwon Gidam. Thank you for waiting.”

“How is he?”

“The surgery went well. Esper Vasily will be transferred to a private room shortly.”

At the words no complications, tension drained from my body. I collapsed back onto the chair and swept a hand over my face, exhaling deeply.

“You must be tired, but may I ask you to guide him tonight? It will greatly aid his recovery.”

“Of course.”

I nodded slowly. Even without the request, that had been my intention.

Vasily was soon moved to a private room. Seeing him lying where I usually lay felt strangely unfamiliar.

Still, his breathing had stabilized. His wavelength remained unstable, but with proper guiding, he would recover quickly.

Sitting at his bedside, I took his hand and focused entirely on guiding. I considered lying beside him to strengthen the guiding, but worried the freshly stitched wound might reopen, so I remained seated, holding only his hand.

His icy-cold skin seeped into mine, and I closed my eyes. With the crisis behind us, my tension fully unraveled, and exhaustion washed over me.

“…Gidam.”

Dozing lightly against the chair, I opened my eyes at the sound of my name. Lowering my head, I found Vasily awake, blinking slowly at me from the bed.

“You’re conscious?”

“So… this is a hospital.”

“Please lie still. You shouldn’t move yet.”

The room was dim, lit only by a small fixture. Thinking it would be better to brighten the room now that he was awake, I began to stand — but Vasily suddenly gripped my hand tightly.

“Don’t go.”

“…I’m not going. I’m just turning on the light.”

I tried to explain calmly, but he refused to loosen his grip.

“Esper Vasily.”

“…”

“Vasily.”

Even calling his name gently earned no response.

Was he afraid of the guiding breaking? His unfocused gaze made it clear he wasn’t fully conscious, so I let him be for now.

Once I sat back down, his grip eased slightly — but he still didn’t let go.

Perhaps due to the medication, he looked dazed, so I explained the situation for him.

“Your carotid artery was half-severed. It seems you froze the area to hold on, but how could you lose consciousness inside the gate like that? You nearly died of blood loss.”

“Were you worried?”

“…Is that even a question?”

The bleeding had been so severe that death had felt like a real possibility. Even an S-rank Esper would die if all the blood drained from their body.

“I didn’t mean to faint, but the moment the guiding flowed into my brain, everything went black. Looks like I’ll have to be careful even touching Guide Kwon Gidam next time.”

Vasily murmured as though joking. Given how gravely he was injured and that he had just completed an S-rank raid, fainting was only natural. And since the suppression chip had been removed recently, it made sense he still struggled to gauge the guiding’s intensity.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

If he had ever been this badly injured before regression, I would remember it. And Vasily was not the type to let his guard down in a gate. That left only one possibility—he had deliberately created a dangerous situation to observe my reaction.

Certain of this, I asked him directly.

Vasily only curved his lips in silent reply.