Chapter 25
Iyabon turned his head toward the wall.
He saw his son, clutching the wall and sobbing.
Good.
That was enough.
He could feel his life slowly slipping away.
He didn’t know what kind of poison the monster carried, but his body was gradually becoming paralyzed.
Still… as long as that wall was there, the people would be safe.
And his son, too.
For the last time, Iyabon forced his heavy eyelids open.
He took one long look at his son’s face, then turned to Yurein.
Her face was stiff, her hands gripping the boy’s shoulders firmly.
He didn’t know how she’d managed to open the wall, but she would protect him—his child.
That was enough.
If you can live to see tomorrow, then I don’t mind if today is my last.
Iyabon closed his eyes.
His body, unable to endure any longer, collapsed.
Thud.
A hollow cloud of dust rose into the air.
“Father! Father! Father…!”
The inn boy cried uncontrollably, thrashing in despair.
It looked like he might run straight through the wall at any moment, so Yurein quickly grabbed his shoulders.
At that moment—
Vmmm.
The wall trembled faintly.
A tiny vibration, a sound that only Yurein could hear.
She instinctively turned toward it.
And unlike before, faint letters were now etched across the wall.
[Manifestation]
This time, she understood the meaning instantly.
And as soon as she recognized the word, it vanished—replaced by new letters.
[Resonance]
The instant she saw it, a sharp tingling ran through her fingertips.
She looked down at her hand in surprise—
“What…?”
Yurein froze, unable to believe her eyes.
Tiny flames were rising from the inn boy’s body.
Only she could see them—
small flickers that began where her fingertips touched him, spreading slowly across his form.
The energy was unmistakable.
The same fiery aura that preceded an Esper’s awakening.
And now, that aura was emanating from the boy.
Again, the wall pulsed with a deep vmmm.
New words appeared upon its surface—
[Awakening]
At that moment, Yurein understood everything.
The wall was commanding her—to use her power as a Guide to draw out the Esper’s manifestation and lead it to full awakening.
Inside this space, it was possible.
Finally, she realized:
This wasn’t a space meant for Espers that a Guide could enter.
It was a space meant for Guides—
that allowed Espers to enter.
“Kid,” Yurein said softly.
But the boy didn’t hear her. He was still crying, still struggling, still calling out for his father.
She gripped his shoulders more firmly, speaking calmly.
“Do you want to be an Esper?”
“…What?”
The boy looked up at her, confused.
But Yurein had no time to explain everything.
She lowered her voice so no one else could hear.
“I’m a Guide. You can become an Esper. If you do, maybe—just maybe—you can save your father. Do you want to try?”
The boy’s eyes widened.
Then he bit his lip hard.
“If I become an Esper… I can save him?”
“I don’t know.”
Yurein’s answer was blunt.
The boy’s expression twisted again.
“I don’t know what kind of power you’ll have, or how strong you’ll be. But there’s a chance—you might be able to change this.”
That was all she could offer.
The situation within this wall was special.
No one could predict exactly what would happen.
But there was one thing she could promise—
that through awakening, this child might be able to change everything.
“And know this—this choice will change your life forever.”
His future, his fate—it would all be rewritten.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Yurein’s brow furrowed slightly.
Then the boy clenched his fists.
“I don’t care. I’ll do it. If there’s even a chance to save my father, I’ll take it. I’ll try—anything!”
“Good.”
Yurein closed her eyes.
Slowly, she released her magic, channeling it into the boy’s body.
“Aaaahhh!”
The boy screamed.
People turned in alarm, staring.
But Yurein didn’t let go of his shoulders—
and the boy didn’t pull away.
Normally, an Esper’s awakening took time.
It required a gradual transformation—altering each cell, each fiber of the body.
But this boy was enduring all of that at once.
It was agony.
And there was no time.
Yurein adjusted her magic as precisely as she could, making sure the boy didn’t lose control.
Sweat beaded across her forehead.
It was the first time she’d ever manipulated energy this delicately.
But she wasn’t alone—she could feel the space itself resonating, helping her.
Like thread drawn from a spindle, her magic intertwined with the boy’s, binding and reshaping it.
Then—
BOOM!
“It’s done! Now!”
The boy shouted as he leapt through the wall.
From his hands extended long, glowing crimson claws.
“Watch out for the poison! That monster paralyzes its prey first—it likes to eat them slowly!”
Yurein’s words came as a whisper from behind, yet they reached him clearly.
He glanced down instinctively.
A white thread was wrapped around his wrist—visible only to him and Yurein.
She hadn’t explained what it was, but somehow, seeing it eased his heart.
He could feel a steady strength flowing through it—
a power that calmed the storming energy within him.
At first, his magic had terrified him.
But now, guided by Yurein’s power, he could control it.
The wild energy inside him grew gentle, obedient.
With this strength… I can defeat that monster.
Hope began to spark in his chest.
Moments ago, his eyes had been dark with despair—
but now, a path had opened.
Even the faintest light shines brightly in total darkness.
Drawn by that light, the boy charged forward.
To others, it looked like he was flying.
He didn’t slow down.
Instead, he accelerated—
and in one powerful leap, he reached Iyabon.
With his crimson claws, he slashed through the monster’s long neck—
the same one that had impaled his father.
Kiiieeeeaaaahhh!
The creature shrieked, writhing in pain.
But this cry was different from the horrifying ones it had made before—
this was a cry of agony.
A beast brought low, howling from a wound dealt by something it once saw as prey—
a mere insect of a human.
“We can live!”
“W-We can really live!?”
Someone gasped between ragged breaths.
Could they really survive?
Even with the mysterious wall, both Iyabon and Edern had been struck down—
how long before the barrier gave way, too?
They had almost given up.
But now—
Kiiieeeeaaahhh!
Fresh wounds opened along the monster’s snakelike neck.
And slowly, hope flickered back into people’s eyes.
Maybe… they really could live.
The creature screamed again, even louder than when Edern had pierced its eye.
“…Keshan?”
Iyabon’s eyes flew open as he called his son’s name.
The boy turned at the sound.
Iyabon’s stomach was drenched in bright red blood—
but still…
“Father!”
He was alive.
His father was still alive.
The moment Keshan realized that, his eyes shone with light.
“Don’t worry. I’m here now!”
His father was strong.
Even with his stomach pierced, Keshan knew—people could survive worse.
He’d been born and raised in a mercenary city, the son of a mercenary himself.
He’d seen plenty of men live through wounds far more terrible than this.
But seeing his father falter still made his heart ache unbearably.
Focus on surviving.
Keshan bit his lip, sharpening the crimson claws on his hands.
His father had always protected him with that strong, broad back.
Now it was his turn to protect his father.
And this time—
he had both the strength and the weapon to do it.
Clang
