Clash between metal and human ensued. When I swung my sword, the boss dodged and gave a counterattack with its fist.
It felt like I was fighting a martial artist.
But still, a metal was a metal, my sword attacks weren't effective against it. So I used my sword strikes as a distraction while slipping some blood into its body gap between our clashes.
'They are almost here.'
I could hear Cedric and Xain's steps coming this way. To completely defeat the boss, I need the help of those two.
I dodged another swing of its fist and released my grip on my sword. The blood softened and reformed into spikes that struck toward the boss' head.
It ducked its head, but was met with a kick from me, launching it to the sky before falling down to the ground.
With a motion of my hand, I halted it with the blood inside its joint. Some of its body parts had fallen, but it still tried to move.
Truly a relentless enemy.
CRACK!
I heard a scoff from behind me before a huge ice spike stabbed the boss in the stomach and launched it into the air again.
"Ragh! Take this!"
A roar from the redhead in our team was heard from above. Xain punched the boss as he used all his body weight to crash down on it – following up Cedric's attack.
BANG!
Pile of metals on the ground was thrown everywhere from the impact.
"No fun, this boss is just chunks of iron." Cedric said, coming up to my side. His nonchalant attitude didn't waver even for a second.
The two had finally arrived, giving me time to gather my thoughts.
'This is clearly not an S-Rank gate boss. It's at least the level of SS-Rank. Is the report false?'
Usually, bosses in SS-Rank gates had special abilities uncharacteristic of monsters in common.
Take the previous S-Rank gate for example. The boss was a sea serpent, even though it's huge, it sprayed venom and whipped its tail like an animal would.
But in this case, how could a metal with no brain act and respond like a human?
Taking hostage and moved like a martial artist.
Even advanced A.I. still hadn't reached this level of intelligence.
I watched as Xain continued his barrage of attacks on the boss, its body was dented from his punches.
The boss turned its head toward our direction. Though there's no pupil to indicate where it's staring, the red laser seemed to dig inside my soul.
"…!"
Sudden chills crawled up my spine. Not from the boss, but from the sky above me. Even though I couldn't see anything out of place, my sixth sense was telling me otherwise.
A gaze seemed to be observing from somewhere beyond the clouds. And it's definitely not a friendly one.
"Don't you feel something off? Like someone was watching from above." I voiced my concern.
"Are you really that tired?" But Cedric just brushed off my words.
Yeah, that might be it. There's no way the other two didn't notice if there's actually a threat lingering around us.
"Oh, is it dead?" Xain asked rhetorically then waved at us, "Guys, it's dead!"
I sighed at Xain's beaming face. The gate's exit had opened, which means the boss had been defeated. There's no need to delay getting out of here.
I turned my gaze toward the survivors, which Cedric followed.
"Ah, by the way, you're right, there are seven of them, including a little kid."
A little girl was peeking out from behind a woman, presumably her mother. The moment she met my eyes, she hid herself behind her mother.
"Let's get out of here."
.
.
02:46 P.M.
We led the civilians out of the gate and handed them to the medics. The rift in the universe that caused the gate had closed, returning the building that had been swallowed back to its place – intact and whole.
"Great job everyone, I will report to the higher-ups. So, finish your guiding and go home to rest."
At some point, Shelly had waited for us in front of the gate. Though there were suspicious things going around, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
It might be an error from the assessment team or I was just overthinking things. Either way, I'd observe first.
"Ethan." Ilyas walked up to me, his gaze filled with concern.
"Ah, Ilyas, I want to apologize about before-"
Before I could finish, Ilyas raised his hand and cupped my cheek, he looked a little angry.
"Don't you ever, ever! Do that again, you understand?!"
I felt a little bit guilty, 'Oh, I guess it's a reasonable reaction for someone I almost swing my sword into.'
"Do you understand how worried I am when you recklessly use your body like that?! If you value your life so little, at least think about how I'd feel watching you as your guide!"
'Huh?'
I blinked my eyes, 'Oh, it's not about that?'
"You already lack guiding, at least stabilize your wavelength first before overusing your ability! See? You're getting a nosebleed!"
I could only quietly lower my head under Ilyas' intense glare. I thought he was going to scold me about me almost ending his life, but instead Ilyas fumed in anger as he lectured me about life philosophy, life essence, life goals etc.
It started making him look like a mom scolding his naughty son.
'As expected of our protagonist, Ilyas really is kind.'
A smile formed on my lips as I motionlessly listened to his rants.
Just when I thought it would never end, Cedric came up from behind Ilyas and hugged him, "Why would you waste your energy scolding someone like him, Ilyas? Why don't you praise me instead? I did a great job rescuing the civilians right?"
He placed his head on Ilyas' shoulder while pouting his lips to make a cute expression. But beneath the hair covering his eyes, I could see the glare he directed towards me.
Cedric clasped his hand with Ilyas, "Guide me please."
Ilyas looked at me, then to Cedric and back to me again. He hesitantly opened his mouth but no words came out. He seemed to have a lot of things left he wanted to talk about.
Whatever it was he wanted to say, it's better to talk in a more private space.
"Thank you Ilyas. I'll take better care of myself in the future." I gave him a smile as I clicked my wristwatch and called the headquarters, "I'll call a teleporter to move us."
It didn't take long before four espers with teleportation ability appeared in front of us.
In a blink, we were moved outside of a guiding room.
"Let's hurry up and get in." Cedric pushed Ilyas inside as he gave me one last glare and shut the door.
I was now left with my own thoughts.
'Is that a love rival declaration? This early?'
I knew jealousy when I saw it.
And Cedric's behavior was clearly one of that.
I was once again reminded what kind of world this was. Esper being obsessed with their guide was a common thing and that obsession was twisted as love in their minds. It was something a person from another world like me couldn't comprehend.
Seeing Xain lounging on a nearby sofa, I sighed.
'Xain has anger issues, Cedric is possessive, and I'm a battle maniac.'
Every single one of us had a trait that the author specifically created for us.
'Is there a hidden secret love interest with a normal mind in this world?'
Ilyas was a kind and strong-willed man, I wouldn't want him to be corrupted by us.
I pulled up my phone and searched my contacts, actually weighing the pros and cons of finding a new love interest.
"Oy, you reek of blood."
"Ah, right."
I forgot what kind of state I was in. Though my wounds had formed scabs, the residual blood was still stuck on my skin.
"Give me a call when Cedric's done." I left that message to Xain and went to the restroom.
I soon realized that wasn't a wise decision.