TGIC Ch 20

Chapter 20

Standing a few steps away, Vasily left an obvious opening as if offering the first move, waiting for me with deliberate vulnerability.

In that case, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Now that Vasily had let his guard down, this was my chance. I charged straight at him and leapt into the air. Then, putting my full weight into my toes, I struck down hard at him.

Thud.

With a dull sound, my kick landed squarely.

I had aimed for his immobile right arm, and while the blow hit, Vasily received the attack with a look that said he had anticipated it. He didn’t even flinch, as if evading or blocking hadn’t occurred to him.

Was he suggesting that an attack of this level wasn’t even worth dodging? My pride took a hit, and my brow twitched.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I quickly put distance between us. I thought Vasily would counterattack, but instead, he casually brushed the shoe print off his suit, as if nothing had happened.

There wasn’t the slightest sign he had taken any damage. Seeing his relaxed expression made me grit my teeth. I was the one who had attacked, yet the throbbing pain was in my own foot. It felt like I had kicked a boulder instead of a human.

How on earth was I supposed to beat a monster like that?

I thought I might have some chance of victory since he had handicapped himself—but that was a delusion. From the very start, his superhuman physique alone was an insurmountable obstacle.

Even in the past, when I trained with him daily and occasionally sparred, I had never won once. I thought maybe I could find an opening now, since Vasily didn’t know my attack patterns while I was familiar with his movements, but…

Anyway, he said I only had to knock him down to win.

It was too soon to give up. I quickly worked through a strategy. Targeting his legs to break his balance might be more effective. If I struck behind his knee and made him stumble, I could use that moment to throw my weight and bring him down.

With that plan in mind, I approached him again.

This time I moved lower and faster. Vasily still didn’t budge. Was he planning to take a few hits to humor me? The idea that he was underestimating me made my mood plummet.

I changed the plan. If he was willing to just take the hit, this was a perfect chance to smack that smug face of his.

When I got within range, I raised my body from its lowered stance and aimed a punch straight at his face. But even with the sudden shift in direction, Vasily dodged easily with just a slight tilt of his head.

So, he doesn’t like getting hit in the face after all. I had half-expected the attack to miss anyway.

As my punch sliced through the air and passed by him, I immediately twisted my body with a hand on the ground and swung my leg backward to strike the back of Vasily’s knee.

The moment I struck behind his knee, Vasily’s posture—until now completely still—finally wavered slightly. This was my chance.

Without hesitation, I grabbed his arm and pulled down with all my weight. But the force with which Vasily yanked my arm was far stronger. Instead, my whole body was flung in his direction.

“Urgh!”

It felt like I was being hurled into the air. I thought I might hit my head as I fell, but then a firm arm wrapped around my waist.

When I came to my senses, I was in Vasily’s arms. And not just that—our pose looked like the finishing stance of an intense tango.

Gasping for breath, I looked up. Vasily’s eyes were crinkled in amusement. In his silvery-gray irises, tinged faintly with blue, I could see a glint of exhilaration.

His face was far too close. My rough exhalations reached him easily.

Vasily looked down at me for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Surrender. I lost.”

“……”

Vasily’s declaration of defeat left me limp.

Haah… I let out a deep sigh and slipped from his arms. I dropped to the floor, catching my breath.

Yeah, it was never a fight I could win. If I had actually beaten Vasily, it would’ve been featured on the 9 o’clock news. The disappointment stung even more because, somewhere deep down, I had seriously believed I might win.

But what disappointed me even more was how pathetically out of shape I was—out of breath after only that much exertion. I’d have to double my workout routine…

As I lay there panting on the floor, Vasily helped me to my feet and asked,

“So, what’s your wish?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“That’s anticlimactic.”

If I had won fairly, I would’ve stated my wish right then and there. But with an outcome like this, my conscience wouldn’t let me demand anything. Maybe if the suppression chip in my neck ever gets exposed, I could use this wish to ask him to let me go. Not that I plan to let that happen in the first place.

It felt refreshing to move my body for the first time in a while. Working as a temporary guide meant I didn’t have to enter gates, which was nice, but sitting all day doing guiding work left my whole body aching. If my future self had heard these cushy complaints, he’d have grabbed me by the collar.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, you arm seems to hurt where you got hit earlier… could you guide me?”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m serious… I think a bit of guiding might help.”

His intentions were transparent, but I just laughed it off. I didn’t have any immediate tasks anyway, since I was currently suspended from work. I figured I could humor Vasily this once.

“Understood. Let’s head to your private quarters, Esper.”

I said that as I looked down to remove my combat suit—but the moment I saw the complicated knots, I lost all motivation. It had been a while since I last wore a suit like this, but the tight pressure it exerted on my body strangely made me feel secure.

“……”

To make things worse, the Espers were murmuring and watching us. Vasily didn’t particularly enjoy being the center of attention.

As expected, a chill began to emanate from Vasily’s direction, and I could sense his mood souring. It seemed best to leave quickly.

“I’ll take the suit off in your quarters. Let’s go now.”

“Sure.”

We left the training hall and re-entered the Esper Association building. As we walked toward Vasily’s quarters, chatting about our recent spar, I noticed an Association staff member running toward us from afar.

“Esper Vasily!”

The urgency was obvious. Vasily looked like he intended to ignore him, but when I stopped walking, he reluctantly halted as well.

The breathless staff member came to a stop in front of us and said,

“H-Hello, Esper Vasily. An A-rank gate has appeared near Seoraksan. Monsters are spilling out continuously—we need you at the site immediately…”

The moment I heard the location, a chill ran down my spine. Come to think of it, wasn’t it around this time? The first time I ever witnessed civilian casualties.

That memory was still painfully vivid.

It had happened just after Vasily and I returned from a month-long overseas assignment. We were immediately dispatched to an A-rank gate that had appeared in the country. It had opened without warning in a remote mountain village, and the damage had been severe.

By the time Vasily and I arrived, countless monsters had already spread beyond the gate. Since they had scattered across the vast mountain terrain and were difficult to track, Vasily froze the entire surrounding area.

But there had been people who hadn’t escaped in time. Two young siblings. We only discovered them after the gate closed and we were checking to ensure no monsters remained in the village. Of course, they were already gone by then.

“……”

The guilt I had carried in a corner of my heart ever since that day.

Maybe now, I could save them. I knew the place and the time. But the problem was how. As a mere guide, entering a sealed-off village without authorization to rescue those siblings wouldn’t be easy at all.

“I’ll have to get guiding later, then.”

Vasily spoke quietly after hearing the report. He instructed the staff to prepare a helicopter and began to walk away. I silently watched him go, then reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Esper Vasily.”

Vasily turned back.

“Can I use my wish now?”

“Now? That’s a bit inconvenient…”

“Please take me with you to the gate site.”

Vasily furrowed his brow at my request. He didn’t seem particularly pleased.

“…It’ll be dangerous.”

“I’ll be waiting in the safe zone anyway, right? You’ll need guiding afterward, so I’ll just be on standby at the scene.”

“……”

Locking eyes with Vasily, I continued firmly. In the past, he’d been desperate to drag me into gates, but now, just saying I wanted to be near one brought this reluctant reaction from him.

“Aren’t you scared? Monsters could show up.”

“With you there, nothing dangerous will happen. Or… are you saying you can’t even protect a single guide?”

“Then it’ll be fine. That won’t happen.”

Somewhere between flattery and provocation—he seemed to enjoy that and gave his consent. Success. Grinning, I walked alongside him.

Vasily and I made our way to the rooftop, where a helicopter was already waiting. We boarded immediately and headed quickly toward the site of the gate.

Seoul spread out beneath us as the helicopter ascended. My ears popped from the altitude—an old, familiar sensation.

Looking at Vasily sitting across from me, I felt strangely conflicted. I had barely managed to escape a life entangled with him, and now here I was again, getting pulled back in. Was this really the right choice?

Still, I was certain of at least one thing: if I let this chance pass me by, I’d regret it all over again.