The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 159: Trapped (3)

Chapter 159: Trapped (3)

The metal gate was creaking ominously, assaulted by all sorts of abilities, and yet, still refused to give up. The Espers gathered tried various approaches, but the thing was so damn sturdy, that even with several S-Rankers leading the ’attack’, it was still resisting. And it didn’t help that more dino monsters came to play, attracted by the noise and massive Mana fluctuations...

It was kind of ironic, really. A few hours ago, all those people were praising the construction in awe, and now? There were no swear words strong enough to describe their anger and frustration.

Lane, however, had no strength left to feel angry or frustrated, or even amused at the irony of the situation. While the guiding he had received had improved his condition a bit, it could only boost his natural recovery rate. It was nowhere near enough to help with the extensive injuries he had suffered. All the blood loss resulted in him feeling more and more faint as the time went on, despite constantly sucking on Recovery Pills...

"Hey, by the way," he said all of a sudden, interrupting the silence hanging between him and Nyla. "Why did you tell me all those things earlier? About your brother, I mean?"

It wasn’t that he was particularly curious. He just asked to have something to do. With his condition being the way it was, he couldn’t exactly move, lest he’d reopen his wounds, but if he remained so idle, he might fall asleep soon. And if he were to close his eyes, he had a hunch he’d never open them again... Not as ’Xavier’, that is.

"H-huh? Oh, well..." Nyla stuttered, shifting around uncomfortably. "You... just reminded me of him, so..."

"That’s not what I mean. Back at the gala, you said you didn’t have a brother. So why change your tune now? Wasn’t it supposed to be a family secret or something?"

Nyla didn’t answer. She just lowered her head, her long blond hair - well, now mostly red, and significantly shorter on one side as a result of the corrosive substance treatment - falling over her face and hiding it from the view.

Tsk.

SHE was the one who started it, and now she was shutting up again? What was her deal, really? Annoyed beyond compare, Lane couldn’t help but click his tongue.

"Telling that to a random person, aren’t you afraid the secret will get out?" he said, trying to provoke his sister.

At first, Nyla didn’t react. She just sat in silence...

"Maybe it’d be good for it to get out," she suddenly muttered.

"...What?"

Lane blinked, staring at his twin sister.

Did he mishear it? Perhaps he did, because the woman didn’t say anything else. She just stared down at her knees in silence.

’Well, whatever,’ he scoffed, shifting his gaze from Nyla toward the gate, as a wave of cheers erupted there.

They had finally succeeded, it seemed. A large chunk of the metal had been blown away, revealing the colorful blackness of the crack in space that was the dungeon Gate. One of the Espers rushed forward, trying to cross to the other side...

Only to bounce back, rubbing his head.

They might have destroyed the metal gate blocking the exit from the dungeon... But the one blocking the entrance, back on the other side, still remained.

"What?!" someone yelled. "What are they doing over there?"

"Right! Why is it not open yet?!"

A few more people spit out their lungs in angry shouts... Absolutely pointless angry shouts. It’s not like the people on the other side could hear them.

Their frustration was understandable, though. On the other side, they had far more Espers and resources. No monsters to distract them. No shortage of technicians and hackers who should be able to resolve the issue with the gate’s broken controls. And, on top of that, plenty of people with proper authorization to make the call.

So how was it that the gate still remained closed?

Well, there were several possible explanations, actually.

First, the people outside... were simply not aware of the issue yet. While it felt like forever to everyone trapped, it hasn’t been THAT long since the incident started. Those waiting at the hotel likely believed that the event was still going on, and might not get concerned about the lack of contact for a few hours or so. All Molzen had to do was to replace the guards by the Gate with his own people, so that the unexpected blockade wouldn’t be reported.

Another possibility was that they knew about the monsters’ reappearance, so they purposely kept the gate closed, to avoid the monsters getting out. That’s what it was supposedly meant for, after all.

Or perhaps the Awakened Agency simply refused to let others intervene, claiming they had everything under control? While in fact, they struggled to get anything done? It wasn’t implausible. Based on Lane’s experience with the Awakened Association, the government organizations tended to be ridiculously stubborn sometimes, even though they were useless on their own...

Whatever was the reason, though, the point was that they were STILL stuck. And now they had to charge at the second gate... Which would be much more difficult, as it had to be done through the Gate. And the Gate... had this property of dissipating Mana. Rendering all their attacks far less effective.

Lane sighed, dropping his head, too tired to keep it up to continue watching. The sun (or whatever passed for the sun in this world) shone brightly, but Lane couldn’t feel its warmth. Rather, it was as if he fell down in an icy pond, the cold water quickly stealing all the warmth from his body, leaving him shivering and numb...

He didn’t know how much time had passed, slipping in and out of consciousness. At some point, he just realized he was moving again, all while levitating in the air - probably, he couldn’t tell for sure, because all of his senses were all dulled - and a familiar low voice right by his side, saying something, although Lane couldn’t quite pick up on the words. The sound of it made Lane smile, at least mentally, because his facial muscles wouldn’t quite respond to him.

Then there was a familiar ripple of crossing the Gate...

’Ah, so we’re finally out?’ A thought passed through Lane’s head.

The last one, because a moment later, everything turned pitch black, and all of his already weak senses completely faded away.