"Stand back!"
Xain, acting as our vanguard, immediately responded. He ran with his fist ready. Sensing his murderous intent, the boss monster nimbly climbed up the tunnel's wall and ran past Xain.
Cedric moved his hand, ice lances sprouted out from the wall, right in front of the boss. But each time, the boss dodged his attacks by a hair's breadth.
Baring its teeth, it jumped.
"Hiyah!"
Xain interrupted its attack, kicking it away from us. His attack was followed by Cedric's ice lance, precisely tearing its stomach and spilling its innards.
SPLASH!
The body fell into the water, leaving only bubbles that slowly faded, signaling the end of its life.
'Huh, that was easy.'
The exit portal had opened, meaning the gate was cleared.
"So what should we do with the rest of the missing people?"
Cedric asked my opinion, which made me slowly close my eyes. I didn't enter combat and entrusted it to them both because I had been searching for even a trace of the bodyguards' locations. But no matter how many times I searched, there was no one or any corpses that could be found.
I slowly opened my eyes again, sighing. I didn't want to admit it, but a decision should be made.
"I'll file for casualty. It's a shame that we can't retrieve their corpses, but we can't do it with our current manpower."
Once the gate was raided and the exit opened, it wouldn't take long before it closed up and vanished from the world, trapping whatever was left inside.
So I made the hard decision of letting them go.
Our team stepped outside the gate, carrying both the children and the wife. The minister ran in tears as he spotted his family.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
He was sobbing as he hugged his children and blood-soaked wife. I was planning to tell him that they might be under the influence of a skill, but decided to shut my mouth at the sight of him exploding in emotions. I decided to report it to the bureau instead, hoping they would convey it to the minister.
After a rough medical check-up, we were dismissed from the scene.
.
.
Finishing up our team's report, I drove Ilyas home. Traffic was high because snow had started falling.
I steered the wheel of my car slowly. Driving safely was one of the important things to do if you want to live longer. I stepped on the brake when the traffic light turned red and glanced at Ilyas on the passenger seat.
'It's been bothering me.'
Since we entered the car, Ilyas had been staring directly into my face. He didn't say a word, but the constant gaze made me awkward, so I decided to ask him.
"Ilyas, what are you doing?"
"Nothing, just ingraining your handsome side profile in my mind."
"H-Huh?"
Ilyas laughed at my flustered response. He brushed the hair sticking out from my head and sighed.
"Honestly, I'm more worried about your condition. Taking care of you is like taking care of a reckless child who constantly gets hurt, it makes me worried." His lips curled into a smile, "But still, I know how capable you are, that's why I believed in you."
Ilyas sank into the car's seat. He closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
"Does today's incident happen often?"
He was referring to the missing bodyguard. Unlike the three of us, who had been through a lot of deaths as espers, it was Ilyas' first failed rescue mission. He must have been shaken by their deaths and his inability to save them.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm not doubting your decision. It's been a year since I first stepped into the world of gates. I know how cruel it is to both espers who raid it and civilians trapped inside, so I can't afford the naïve thoughts of saving everyone."
He opened his eyes, then turned to me, "Even if this kind of accident happens again in the future, I'll carry on with you – as your guide."
He sighed, "This must be how it feels when a doctor can't save their patients. The guilt is quite suffocating."
I understand what Ilyas was feeling. This took me back to my rookie days, the first time I failed a mission – which resulted in several deaths of my comrades – I was also riding in guilt for months before finally able to cope with their deaths.
The world of gates was dangerous, even for S-Rank espers. We were just lucky we had better ability and endurance than normal humans. If we don't, we might not survive the boss' raid.
I tapped the steering wheel and asked Ilyas.
"Want to go somewhere to refresh your mood?"
Ilyas rubbed his chin, seemingly considering my offer. He pulled out his phone, typed something on it then nodded at my offer, "Sure, where do you want to go?"
"Maybe to a karaoke or cafe, do you have a place in mind?"
"Actually, there's somewhere I've been wondering to go." He smirked, the mischief in his eyes was visible.
'That's his usual teasing smile, he must be thinking of something devious.'
I was bracing myself for any outrageous place suggestions that might come out of his mouth.
"Take me to your house."
I blinked.
'Oh, that's it?'
"You never invited any of us to your house, and don't think you can escape this one! It would be too cruel to reject your lover's request to visit-"
"Sure."
"Huh? You agree?"
It's about time anyway, I could show him where my house was so we could visit each other.
"Yeah, why not? You haven't had dinner yet, right? Let's stop by the convenience store first, my food stock is already low."
"You'll cook?"
"Of course, what won't I do for my beautiful boyfriend?"
Ilyas' eyes widened, clearly not expecting my counterattack, but my expectation of him stuttering in embarrassment was blown away by his confident smirk.
"So you admit that I'm beautiful right?"
"Yeah, of course you are."
"Hm? What did you say? I didn't hear it."
"I admit it."
"Admit what? Say it once again to my face."
"Why do you keep repeating the question?"
"Because I like being praised by you."
Ilyas kept on catching me off guard, which made me speechless. He's the only one who could make my brain freeze in the middle of a conversation like this.
Was it because of the unreasonably blinding smile? Or that radiant face that could captivate you easily?
"Haha, as expected, your face is the cutest."
His laugh, as light as a spring breeze, carried a hint of amusement. Looking at his joyful face, I could only sigh in content.
'Well... As long as he's happy...'
I raised a white flag inside my heart, our battle of teasing ended with my defeat.