Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“Urk?”

Suddenly, Alec felt his tongue and lips stiffen and his eyes widened. Crack, crack. In an instant, his mouth area was covered with white frost. Realizing his mouth was freezing in real-time, Alec turned his head, pale with fear. There, he saw silver-gray eyes filled with a subtle killing intent.

“Trying to harm my subordinate right in front of me, do you want to die?”

Step. Iberis approached Alec with an angry face. As his usually gentle eyes sharpened and his small lips pressed into a line, his soft impression transformed into something fierce, as if he were a different person. The air around them froze from the cold he emitted.

“You worthless piece of shit, how dare you…”

A voice laced with intense killing intent flowed from between his small lips. When yellow static electricity rose from Alec’s body, Iberis’s heart sank. He regretted not stepping in earlier, even though Lucas had signaled him not to interfere.

Fortunately, Lucas had subdued Alec in the blink of an eye, but Iberis had no intention of letting this incident slide. Since losing all his comrades a few years ago, he had become indifferent to attacks aimed at himself but extremely sensitive when those around him were threatened. He could endure any mockery or provocation directed at him, but he couldn’t tolerate threats to his people.

“You’ll kill Luke? I’ll kill you first.”

Iberis felt his murderous intent towards Alec surge as he drew up his mana. Crack, crack. With each step he took, white frost flowers bloomed on the ground.

“You can’t, Major…!”

Brenda, realizing that Iberis was genuinely angry, urgently tried to stop him. She was just as irritated by Alec’s words and actions, but this was clearly foreign territory. If they caused trouble with Alec, an S Zone person, here, it was obvious that Iberis would become the subject of gossip.

However, Iberis’s aura was so menacing that it was impossible for Brenda to directly restrain him with her own strength. If she tried to grab Iberis barehanded while he was deliberately emitting mana, she might get injured. She wasn’t afraid of getting hurt while stopping him, but she could imagine how sorry Iberis would be later when he calmed down. So Brenda couldn’t actively hold him back.

“Get out of the way. I’m going to end this today.”

Iberis reached out to Alec, passing by Brenda who was blocking his way. Not just Alec’s mouth, but his cheeks, nose, and eyes began to freeze.

“This, ugh, mmph.”

Of course, Alec wasn’t just sitting there taking it. He tried to draw up mana to defend against Iberis’s attack. However, due to the aftermath of the reverse guiding, his mana control was more unstable than usual. Even if he could use his ability as normal, he wouldn’t have been able to beat Iberis.

Feeling the overwhelming difference in power, Alec’s face turned pale. He wanted to shout for Iberis to stop, but his stiffened tongue made it difficult to speak. He trembled involuntarily. Goosebumps rose all over his body from the cold that penetrated to his bones. The feeling of losing sensation in his eyes, nose, and mouth was terribly eerie.

I’m going to die.

Alec, terrified, looked at Iberis with fear-filled eyes. A fear he had never felt even in front of monsters dominated his entire body. That’s how real Iberis’s killing intent towards him was right now. He really intended to kill him. Alec’s body shook as he fell into a state of panic.

“That’s enough, Major.”

“…Luke.”

Iberis, who had been about to completely freeze Alec’s head, hesitated at the hand on his shoulder.

“There’s no need to waste your mana on trash like this.”

Lucas firmly gripped Iberis’s shoulder, disregarding the intense cold that stabbed at his palm. While he was pleased that Iberis had become angry for his sake, he was worried that Iberis, with his poor health, had used his ability for something other than combat.

“Ah…”

Iberis blinked at the warmth flowing into his body. As mana like warm spring sunlight gently spread throughout his body, his mind, which had been consumed by murderous intent, cleared, and the mana raging inside him settled. Focus returned to his silver-gray eyes that had been clouded with anger.

“Calm down.”

Lucas slowly flowed his mana until the cold disappeared from Iberis’s body. Just after he had pacified him, a thunderous voice echoed across the landing area. Muriel, sensing the unusual atmosphere, had reappeared on the scene.

“What’s going on here?”

Muriel approached with a hardened expression after discovering Alec with his face half covered in ice. She looked alternately at Iberis, Lucas, and Alec, and demanded an explanation in disbelief.

“I told you to go to the operation site, what’s all this commotion?”

“Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Major Hyun, you explain. Why did you attack Major Roman?”

“I apologize. Major Roman made advances towards my guide, and when he was rejected, he lost his temper and tried to lay hands on him, so I unconsciously…”

“What? Advances?”

Muriel was surprised by the unexpected answer. She turned her gaze to Alec, demanding clarification.

“Alec. Is what Major Hyun says true?”

“Cough, no! I just…”

Alec, having barely removed the ice covering his face, hurriedly tried to make excuses. But Iberis was faster.

“Captain Illum is currently my dedicated guide. But Major Roman spouted nonsense about asking him for guidance and telling him to leave me and come to him. When the Captain refused his proposal, he got angry and used his ability.”

“What?”

“Surprised by this, when the Captain defended against Major Roman’s attack with reverse guiding, he then tried to grab the Captain’s collar. As the unit commander with a duty to protect my subordinates, I couldn’t ignore this situation, so I stepped in.”

Iberis proudly asserted that neither he nor Lucas had done anything wrong. In such situations, it was far more effective to show a righteous attitude rather than being submissive.

“Hmm.”

Muriel hummed lowly after hearing the whole story. Looking at the result alone, it seemed Alec had been unilaterally attacked by Iberis, but considering the cause, contrary to appearances, the aggressor and victim were reversed. If Alec had indeed provoked first, both Lucas’s reverse guiding and Iberis’s attack would fall under self-defense.

“Major Roman. Is it true that you tried to use your ability against Captain Illum?”

“No! While I did get excited and some mana leaked out, I swear I had no intention of attacking! Rather, Captain Illum committed insubordination against me! Despite being lower in rank, he spoke and acted recklessly…”

Alec vehemently denied Muriel’s question.

“I can testify about that part. Everyone here witnessed Major Roman trying to use his ability while angrily talking with Captain Illum.”

“That’s right!”

“The Captain was only defending himself!”

Brenda, who had been watching cautiously, stepped forward and testified that Alec had tried to harm Lucas first. Other unit members also gathered courage and added their voices one by one.

“This is slander! As the saying goes, ‘the arm bends inward,’ the testimony of N-0 unit members is invalid!”

“Ugh, what is this…”

Muriel frowned as if she had a headache when Alec protested vehemently. If she took Iberis and Lucas’s side, she would be at odds with a subordinate she’d have to work with in the future. If she took Alec’s side, she’d be on bad terms with a promising S-class guide backed by Winfried and an S-class esper whose competence and skill everyone acknowledged. It was a situation where she had nothing to gain no matter which side she chose. Above all, it was even more difficult to make a judgment since she hadn’t witnessed it herself.

“Wouldn’t the truth come to light if we check the CCTV?”

At that moment, Lucas, who had been quiet, stepped forward to resolve the confusing situation.

“Hm? CCTV?”

“Yes. If we look at the landing area CCTV, it should have captured the moment Major Roman tried to attack me.”

Lucas pointed out the CCTVs mounted on the landing area building and streetlights one by one. He had already identified the CCTV locations just in case, from the moment Alec started picking a fight with Iberis.

“Oh, that’s right! There were CCTVs!”

Muriel brightened up as she saw a clue to resolving the situation thanks to Lucas. With CCTV footage, they could clearly determine who the aggressor was and assign blame accordingly. Moreover, judging by Lucas’s attitude, it was clear that Alec had made a mistake first that could be used against him. This meant she could take Iberis and Lucas’s side without any problem.

“Well, Major Roman. Will you admit your fault now? Or should we check the CCTV?”

“I…”

Backed into a corner, Alec’s lips quivered. Since it was true that he had released mana in excitement and tried to grab Lucas’s collar, if they checked the CCTV, he would undoubtedly be seen as the aggressor.

“…I apologize. I got overly excited and caused a disturbance.”

In the end, Alec admitted his fault. It was better to resolve the situation before it worsened, as Muriel would become even angrier if he continued to resist and then was confronted with irrefutable evidence.

“I’m disappointed, Major Roman. I told you to guide the people who came to help us, and you start a fight?”

Muriel scolded Alec with a stern face as he confessed his wrongdoing. Then, looking somewhat embarrassed, she apologized to Lucas and Iberis with a slight twitch of her eye.

“I’m sorry about this, Major Hyun and Captain Illum. I’ll apologize, so how about we let this incident slide?”