“Run!”
With one hand I carried a child on my back, and with the other, I grabbed a boy’s hand and ran. But the cold closing in behind us was catching up fast.
“Ah!”
At that moment, the boy tripped and fell. There wasn’t even time to ask if he was okay—I just scooped him up and kept running.
The small lives pressed against my back and chest. Precious, fragile warmth. But at this pace, even if I ran at full speed, the blizzard would swallow us soon.
I clenched my teeth. At this rate, not only I but the children too would die.
“Vasily Kairov!”
I screamed his name in desperation, praying my voice would reach his ears.
The name I shouted echoed through the frozen air.
“It… stopped….”
And as if by miracle, the ice storm that had been closing in right behind us halted.
A freezing chill brushed my cheek. The tips of my hair had turned brittle—when I reached up, they crumbled to dust between my fingers. One second later and my whole body would’ve frozen solid.
As soon as I realized the ice had stopped just before me, my legs gave out. I collapsed to the ground. The children, terrified, began to cry.
I gave a hollow laugh, but truthfully, I wanted to cry too. This time, I really thought I might die. Calling out Vasily’s name had been a gamble. If my voice hadn’t reached him, I’d already be a corpse by now.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I asked in a trembling voice. The children only managed small nods.
I took a deep breath, forcing my ragged breathing back under control. My lungs burned, my heart hammering painfully after running flat out for so long.
Just as I began to calm down, I heard a crunch—the sound of boots breaking ice behind me.
“I heard a familiar voice, so I came to check….”
The slow, deliberate sound of steps crunching over shattered frost drew closer and closer.
“Why are you here, Guide Kwon Gidam?”
Vasily appeared, face cold as the ice around him.
“I believe I told you to wait somewhere safe, didn’t I?”
He was clearly displeased. His mouth carried no trace of a smile, and his eyes glinted with a glacial chill.
“I—I can explain.”
“Go on, then.”
Vasily flicked his arm. An ice shard shot past me, and a dull thud sounded behind.
Cold sweat ran down my back as I turned to look. A monster that had been creeping up behind me lay dead, its body skewered by Vasily’s sharp ice.
“You’d better have a reason I can accept.”
I swallowed hard.
Vasily was truly angry. Since my regression, I hadn’t seen him this openly furious before.
He hated disobedience more than anything. I’d gone against his direct order to stay put in the safe zone and walked straight into danger—it was no wonder he was furious.
If I gave him the wrong answer, would I end up like that monster? Normally I’d try talking back, but there were children here.
I hid the frightened kids behind me and stared up at Vasily. His frozen gaze looked ready to turn me to ice any second.
I steadied my breath and spoke carefully.
“When I arrived at the safe zone, they told me the children were missing. So I…”
“The children….”
Vasily cut me off and turned his chilling gaze toward the trembling kids behind me. Instinctively, I stepped between them, blocking his line of sight.
“So you came all the way here just to save those little things?”
“...Yes.”
“And if I hadn’t heard your voice, you’d have died here?”
“……”
I had no answer. Because it was true—if he hadn’t heard me, I’d be dead.
“I thought it was strange, seeing a Guide fighting monsters… turns out it’s just a Guide who’s desperate to die.”
Vasily’s tone dripped with mockery. I shrank back, swallowing dryly before asking,
“I don’t understand why Esper Vasily is this angry with me.”
“You don’t understand…?”
“……”
“I think it’s time for you to figure it out, Guide Kwon.”
Vasily grabbed my arm.
“Ugh!”
He gripped so hard that a cry escaped me. He hauled me to my feet, the children bursting into sobs behind us.
“By the time I return, you’d better have thought about what you did wrong.”
He muttered low beside my ear, voice trembling with rage. The sound made my skin crawl.
Then he released me roughly. I staggered but managed not to fall.
Just then, other Espers appeared from behind. They must have come after receiving Vasily’s signal. The moment they saw him, they saluted sharply.
Vasily shot me one last icy glare and ordered,
“Take them.”
“Yes, sir!”
Without another glance at me, Vasily disappeared into the frost-covered forest. The Espers escorted the children and me back to the safe zone.
“Oh, my precious one!”
“Grandma!”
I watched the tearful reunion with a faint, weary smile. I’d saved two innocent lives. Something about them had weighed on my mind, and now I finally felt a little lighter.
But… thinking of Vasily returning soon ruined that relief. Beside me, the field manager was muttering to himself, face pale as chalk.
“I’m dead… I’m dead… I’m done for…”
I did feel a bit sorry—it was partly my fault.
I’ll apologize later. Somehow, I’ll calm him down…
I looked toward the distant mountains. Ice blanketed the peaks, jagged and violent, mirroring Vasily’s mood.
The glacial mass grew and spread, swallowing the mountain range, then finally stilled. It meant no monsters remained. Which also meant Vasily would soon return for cleanup.
“Haah…”
“Haa…”
The field manager and I sighed at the same time.
'How am I supposed to calm him down…?'
Back then, whenever Vasily was in a foul mood, I’d be dragged to his quarters and wouldn’t be allowed out for days. That wouldn’t happen now—he wasn’t my exclusive Esper anymore—but still…
Maybe I could offer to guide him every day for a while? Vasily seemed to enjoy my guiding, even though our match rate was only 4 percent. Maybe that could buy me some mercy.
Before long, I saw Vasily in the distance, striding toward us, cold mist rolling off him. His mood was impossible to read—but the ground froze solid under every step.
Time to brace myself. Even after surviving years under him, I couldn’t help but tense with fear.
Ignoring the crowd trying to thank him, Vasily walked straight up to me and stopped.
“So? Have you thought about it?”
I swallowed again. It was like facing the Vasily from before my regression—frigid, unyielding.
Carefully, I recited the answer I’d prepared.
“I’m sorry for not staying put in the safe zone as ordered.”
“……”
“And for leaving the safe area even knowing how dangerous it was…”
Still nothing? I glanced up, but his expression remained frozen solid.
Fine. Then I’ll have to offer him what he wants—guiding every day, as long as he likes—
“Ugh!”
Suddenly Vasily seized my arm and began leading me somewhere. Was he taking me off to some quiet corner to finish me off?
Panic shot through me. I tried to resist, to say something—anything—but he didn’t budge. The old fear crushed down on me again. My throat locked up, my limbs stiff with dread.
He dragged me along until we reached the spot where an Association vehicle was waiting.
“To the Association.”
“Yes, sir!”
Vasily gave the order to the Esper beside the car.
Without another word, we got into the back seat. Sitting side by side, we stayed silent. I kept glancing at him carefully. The air between us was frozen, suffocating.
“……”
I felt like I should say something to ease his mood—but fear gripped me too tight. My body trembled like a broken doll. Even clenching my cold hands together did nothing to stop the shaking; it only got worse.