Ch.45Those Who Welcome, Those Who Don’t – 4

“Miss! Miss, are you alright!”

Soohyun Kim barely managed to regain consciousness at the urgent cries of the bodyguards.

She had been lying in a daze, but suddenly sat up as if remembering something.

“The, the examiner! What about the examiner?”

The last thing she remembered was him embracing her.

After that, she couldn’t remember anything due to the intense impact and thunderous noise.

“Examiner! Examiner!”

Even though the bodyguards tried to stop her, saying everything was fine, she brushed them off.

‘No, it can’t be. It can’t be. Did the examiner get hurt because of me?’

That’s impossible. He’s such an amazing person. Yes, he’ll be fine.

…But what if, just what if, he’s not? What if my worst fears are true?

Is someone else getting hurt because of me again? Are they going to leave me again?

No, I hate this. I can’t take this anymore. Please stop. Stop…

Just as she was about to search for Seojin Baek who had disappeared from before her while staggering—

“Look out!”

Almost simultaneously with the warning from the other bodyguards, another fireball came flying in.

The bodyguards beside her immediately moved to shield Soohyun Kim.

BOOM—!

The fireball shattered and scattered in all directions.

Through the crimson flames and black smoke, a figure appeared.

The sight surprised not only Soohyun Kim but even the bodyguards.

“That was close.”

It was Seojin Baek, holding a car door that he had somehow torn off from the vehicle they had just been riding in.

Knowing the vehicle was sturdy enough to withstand magic, he had used the door as a shield.

“Examiner! Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“Fortunately, I’m fine. Soohyun, are you okay?”

Soohyun nodded.

She was so grateful for this person who worried about her even in this situation.

“Miss, we need to evacuate you! Through the back…”

“No, everyone. Don’t move unnecessarily.”

Seojin Baek quickly stopped the bodyguards.

Soohyun immediately froze in place.

“What are you saying? The safety of the young lady is…”

“If we go into the crowd of civilians in this situation, what will happen to those people?”

The bodyguards looked around and sighed at Seojin Baek’s rebuttal.

He was right—the only place to escape to was among the civilians.

But doing so would result in a terrible number of civilian casualties.

While protecting their charge was the priority, as human beings, they couldn’t make that choice.

“It’s better to hold our ground here.”

“But if something goes wrong!”

“What if there are other villains hiding among those civilians?”

“Ah…”

“If you’re confident you can protect her in a place where you can’t distinguish friend from foe, then go ahead.”

Having made an accurate point, the bodyguards decided to follow Seojin Baek’s advice.

They positioned themselves around Soohyun Kim and glared at the villains approaching them.

“Augh…”

Only then did Soohyun Kim seem to realize what was happening.

Similar to the previous attack on the Academy, villains were closing in from all directions.

Perhaps she was reminded of those who had hurt students and faculty indiscriminately while searching for her.

“Ah, aah!! No! No!”

The terror of the Elder that she had barely managed to forget came rushing back.

Whether these people were Elders or not didn’t matter to Soohyun Kim right now.

Only the nightmare from that time resurfaced, making her healed leg feel like it was breaking again.

The screams from all around tore at Soohyun Kim’s heart.

Even though the bodyguards tried to calm her down, it wasn’t easy.

They told her it was okay, that there were many people protecting her now.

Despite their words, Soohyun showed no signs of improvement.

“Huk! Sob! Huuuk!”

Rather, her condition was worsening as she began to hyperventilate.

“Soohyun.”

At the sound of Seojin Baek’s voice from in front of her, Soohyun Kim looked up.

“Soohyun?”

“Yes, huk. Yes, Examiner.”

“Don’t worry. Like last time, I’ll protect you from everything.”

“B-but…”

“How about thinking of this as another examination?”

“An examination?”

In response to Soohyun Kim’s question, Seojin Baek smiled and nodded.

“Behind me is where you are, Soohyun, which is Silver, and I’m blocking students trying to reach Silver. How about that? Doesn’t that make you feel better? Think about it, Soohyun. Has any student ever made it to Silver?”

“…No. Not one.”

“That’s right. And today will be no different.”

BOOM—!

Blocking another incoming spell, Seojin Baek loosened up his body.

These past few days had been suspiciously quiet.

*

I didn’t expect to be working overtime here.

Work right after clocking out. Oh my, the pitiful fate of a low-level civil servant!

I deflected another fireball coming straight at me.

Heat and sparks scattered in all directions before quickly disappearing.

I realized anew just how sturdy this car door I was holding was.

‘Are they after Soohyun Kim again? Yes, that’s the most likely possibility right now.’

I quickly looked around, just in case.

Last time, Elders—two of them—appeared just to capture Soohyun Kim.

If Elders showed up this time too, we could be completely helpless.

There’s no Jiyoon Han who could fight an Elder here, nor Hakjun Ma who could hold them off temporarily.

‘Could I hold my own against an Elder right now?’

After thinking about it briefly, all the conclusions were negative.

In my current state, I’d barely be able to handle an A-rank if I pushed myself to the limit.

So while blocking the magic, I kept checking my surroundings thoroughly.

Thankfully, I didn’t feel the tingling sensation on my skin like last time.

That meant there were no Elders involved in this attack.

The one-eyed woman and the dark-skinned man approaching from the front seemed to be the strongest.

From my estimation, they were at least B-rank, possibly A-rank ability users.

‘It’s fortunate there are no Elders, but this is still far from a good situation.’

S-rank abilities are absurdly powerful, but A-rank is nothing to scoff at either.

Even Hakjun Ma is A-rank. Thinking about it that way, they’re definitely threatening opponents.

“That axe fetishist again.”

The man who appeared to be the leader of the bodyguards gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

Glancing with my Third Eye, I could see he was likely the most skilled among the bodyguards.

“Don’t leave the young lady’s side no matter what. I’ll keep that woman occupied.”

“Will you be alright? Perhaps we should provide backup…”

“If that woman breaks through to us, we won’t be able to handle her. We must stop her at all costs.”

The leader’s words were spot on.

In fact, the one-eyed woman’s characteristic that I observed was brutally simple.

‘A beast hungry for slaughter.’

Her ability grows stronger the more enemies surround her.

Only I can identify characteristics using The Third Eye.

Judging by how he seems vaguely aware of the enemy’s danger, this bodyguard is no ordinary person.

“Excuse me.”

The leader approached me and spoke.

“I saw you on the news recently. You seemed quite skilled.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just a civil servant suffering from daily overwork.”

“Your shield handling skills seem too exceptional for that.”

“I just picked it up somehow.”

More precisely, I’m using it perfectly fine after just watching a few videos.

But there’s no need to mention that part, so I’ll skip it.

“I was grateful earlier, but I need to ask you for a favor.”

“You want me to take care of things here while you go fight that one-eyed woman, right?”

The man slowly nodded at my response.

“If you can hold out just a little while, reinforcements will arrive. I’m asking for your help until then.”

“This is overtime work. And you’re not even paying my salary.”

“I’ll definitely repay this favor later. Please.”

I nodded in agreement, and the man smiled.

Then he shouted, “Hey, you axe fetishist!” and rushed forward.

The one-eyed woman responded, “What? I thought you were dead, muscle brain?”

Apparently, those two aren’t meeting for the first time.

‘So the villains that the rest of us bodyguards and I need to handle are…’

One by one, villains emerged and approached Soohyun Kim’s group.

Particularly annoying was that dark-skinned man at the front.

RUMBLE—

Another massive fireball formed in the man’s hand.

He seems to be Magic Class, but judging by his physique, he’s definitely not a frail mage character.

It feels like the world is finally ending. A muscle monster who uses magic.

“You need to die.”

The man approaching me as I stood blocking Soohyun Kim blurted out those words.

It seems that since kidnapping Soohyun Kim failed, he’s just going to kill her.

Perhaps he’d rather kill her while she’s weak than see her grow into a powerful ability user later?

‘Not a chance. Soohyun Kim is no longer a future villain.’

She will definitely be a great help. She’ll become an indispensable force for the coming catastrophe.

I barely saved her after taking such a beating from the Elder, and now I’m supposed to hand her over to a mere B-rank?

“Stop talking nonsense, Mr. Villain.”

I tried to provoke him, but he didn’t budge.

Seems like he’s not interested in me and just wants to deal with Soohyun Kim.

No way that’s happening. The Gatekeeper is wide awake and watching.

– The Third Eye is activated.

◎ The Silver Gatekeeper

: Characteristic activation conditions have been met.

: Characteristic is currently active.

◎ Overtime

: Civil servants are always meant to be overworked.

: When the Gatekeeper characteristic is satisfied, examinations become possible even outside designated locations.

– Due to the sub-characteristic ‘Overtime’, location restrictions for examinations have been removed.

I’ll make you pay for ruining my precious on-time departure with a good beating!