The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 131

Han Yeonwoo asked in an urgent tone.

“Did you do this, Noona?”

I turned around without thinking and saw them staring at me with strangely hopeful expressions. I immediately shook my head.

“I didn’t do this. I need to go take a look. What are you guys going to do?”

“……Honestly, I want to go with you, but I think we’d just get in the way if we followed.”

Perhaps because they had almost lost their lives, they seemed more cautious now.

Of course, depending on the situation, they could get in the way, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving them behind either.

After thinking for a moment, I suddenly remembered something and looked at Nam Woojin.

“Come to think of it, Woojin. You seem to have pretty good instincts.”

Nam Woojin’s ability was probably related to seeing the future.

It was said that Espers with physical enhancement abilities developed sharper senses by training their bodies to their limits, allowing them to sense things like changes in the air or danger instinctively. But Nam Woojin clearly didn’t have that kind of ability.

In response to my question, Nam Woojin answered shyly.

“Well, our leader said it was something like prophecy? Precognition? I only get a feeling about something every once in a while, and normally it’s completely useless. My body can’t keep up with it, you see…….”

“That’s right, Noona. He can tell when bird poop is about to fall, but he can’t dodge it.”

Unlike Park Minseok’s ability, its characteristics were relatively easy to understand, so it seemed their leader had noticed and given him some advice.

Certainly, it wasn’t very useful right now. Even if his body couldn’t keep up, if his ability were strong, he might be able to see the future more quickly and clearly. But that wasn’t the case either.

I looked at Nam Woojin for a moment before turning my eyes back toward the village engulfed in flames.

The roots of the Divine Tree spread throughout the entire village, so the fire that had started at the temple had already spread everywhere.

The heat was now strong enough that I could feel its scorching warmth carried by the wind. The strange thing was that the giants weren’t running around or screaming.

In fact, I suspected that the Gate might be in the process of becoming a Unified Gate.

Gates covered in volcanoes or lava weren’t particularly rare, and there were countless fire-type monsters. Fire-type monsters were also generally aggressive.

The giants of the Giant Garden were innocent and gentle, not to mention the Divine Tree could only attack with its roots at best. If this Gate really had merged with a Gate inhabited by fire-type monsters, then all we had to do was sit back and enjoy the benefits.

Still, it was too early to be certain because none of the three seemed to have seen the words of the World’s Voice. That was another reason I wanted to check for myself.

However, explaining Unified Gates to them right now or increasing Nam Woojin’s ability through Guiding would both be difficult.

After finishing my thoughts, I sighed and said,

“Let’s just go together. I’ll go first, so you three follow slowly behind me. If you feel like something is wrong, don’t hesitate or call for me for no reason. Just follow your instincts. Got it?”

“Yes……!”

As soon as I heard their answer, I immediately ran toward the village.

The closer I got, the hotter it became, and the smell of burning grew stronger. Burnt vines were already visible from the entrance.

The flower beds that the giants had carefully tended were all burning, and the food storage and houses were also going up in flames. I remembered how the Divine Tree had raged about some kind of disaster, and it really had happened.

The area around the temple was even more terrible. The entire building had been destroyed as if an explosion had occurred inside, and the fire had even spread to the stairs. The giants were sitting on the ground, sobbing silently.

“…….”

……Although I hadn’t caused this, it felt strange knowing that the village would have burned at my hands if the Divine Tree hadn’t resisted.

But this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

I focused my senses and looked around to get a better understanding of the situation.

But why? Amid the flames covering everything around me, I began to sense something that felt strangely familiar yet unfamiliar.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out what it was.

‘There’s an Esper.’

There was definitely an Esper inside the burning temple. The Gate hadn’t become a Unified Gate, nor had some unknown problem occurred. An Esper with a fire-based ability had entered.

Yeon Dogyung immediately came to mind, but I quickly pushed the thought away.

Yeon Dogyung wasn’t the only Esper with a fire ability, and there was no way I would coincidentally run into him right after leaving the Association.

Honestly, if it really was Yeon Dogyung, I would feel rather uncomfortable. I couldn’t exactly call it good luck, but I couldn’t call it bad luck either.

Anyway, putting aside the fact that I was a Guide, this was definitely a hundred times better than the Gate becoming a Unified Gate.

‘We just need to wait until the Gate is cleared.’

Of course, I couldn’t simply sit around and wait. There was a high chance I would run into that Esper after escaping the Gate, and if they recognized my face, it wouldn’t just be a little troublesome.

I took a few steps backward, opened my bag, and took out a mask. Then I covered one eye with the remaining gauze and medical tape. I scooped up some of the ash floating everywhere and gently rubbed it onto my forehead beneath my bangs, my chin, neck, and hands, leaving dark marks behind.

I took out a hand mirror to check.

More than half of my face was covered, and I looked so dirty and shabby that even someone who had met me before probably wouldn’t recognize me. Especially since I had cut my hair short too.

After quickly finishing my preparations, I retraced my steps and ran into Han Yeonwoo, Nam Woojin, and Park Minseok, who had been cautiously following behind.

The three of them stared with their mouths open at my suddenly bundled-up and shabby appearance.

I handed them each a mask and calmly said,

“The smoke is pretty bad, so you guys should wear masks too.”

“Uh, Noona. What happened to your eye? Are you hurt……?”

“I’m not hurt. Some ash got in it. I rinsed it out quickly with water, but it stings because of the heat, so I put gauze over it. Are you guys okay?”

I naturally changed the subject, and all three nodded as they put on their masks.

I glanced toward the temple and explained to them.

“We’re lucky. It looks like an Esper with a fire-based ability has entered and is fighting the Divine Tree. Once all of the Divine Tree’s roots burn away, the World’s Voice saying that we’ve cleared the Gate will appear, and a door leading outside will open.”

“R-Really?! Then is this fire from that Esper……?”

“Yes.”

“Thank goodness, thank goodness! We’re saved!”

Park Minseok and Nam Woojin jumped up and down on the spot, expressing their joy with their entire bodies. Han Yeonwoo also let out a relieved sigh and smiled instead of looking at the two of them like they were idiots.

I had been just as hopelessly stuck, so I honestly felt happy about this stroke of luck.

Fortunately, whether because this unknown Esper was highly skilled or for some other reason, the flames burned only the monsters and vines before naturally dying down. All we had to do was be careful of the sparks flying through the air.

The three of them flinched when they saw the giants crying miserably, but no one said anything.

About ten minutes later, the burning temple collapsed without a trace, and the ground shook.

All of the Divine Tree’s roots that had been supporting the village had burned away.

Fortunately, the ground didn’t crack or collapse. But then rustling sounds came from all around us, and all kinds of bugs came rushing out of the unburned bushes.

Those with wings flew into the sky along with the smoke, while the crawling ones quickly moved away from the village.

Although the flames had weakened, fires were still burning throughout the village, allowing us to clearly see the indescribable scene.

“Ugh, aah…….”

Park Minseok made a strange noise and collapsed onto the ground, while Nam Woojin turned pale and rubbed his arms. Han Yeonwoo and I shuddered and looked away as well.

No one said anything, but we could all imagine what would have happened if we had hidden in the bushes without thinking.

A few seconds later, a familiar crack appeared in front of us.

The Gate had been cleared.