NOVEL NEXT C9
Name counterpart. At those words, Lucas’s brow furrowed. Name was a peculiar phenomenon that occurred sporadically only among A-class and higher Espers and guides. When they awakened, a specific name would appear on their body like a tattoo. When an Esper and a guide with each other’s names engraved formed a pair, there were several advantages, such as amplified abilities and dramatically increased guiding effects. Moreover, these two could grow further through ‘imprinting’.
The problem was that finding a Name counterpart was extremely difficult. Only the given name, not the surname, appeared on the body, and Espers and guides with each other’s Names didn’t awaken on the same day or at the same time. Above all, due to many cases of Name abuse by various countries and villain organizations in the past, ability users usually hid their Names. If mishandled, it could become a fatal weakness. Countries reluctant to let their Espers and guides leave were also uncooperative in finding Name counterparts for ability users.
“The team I’m secretly running has been continuously searching for your Name counterpart, but there’s been no progress at all.”
“As I’ve said before, there’s no need to search.”
Lucas said coldly. It was Espers who desperately needed Name counterparts, not guides. This was because guiding itself was an act that benefited Espers.
They say guides also gain special satisfaction through the act of guiding, but Lucas had never experienced that. To him, guiding was nothing more or less than work.
Winfried told Lucas that meeting his Name counterpart would open up a new world for him, but he didn’t particularly empathize. He had far more important things to do than finding a Name counterpart whose gender, age, and nationality he didn’t even know.
“Anyway, saving the current Major is the urgent priority for now. Make sure to help him recover.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Don’t give such a vague answer. I told you to say you’ll definitely save him in these situations.”
“There’s no 100% certainty in saving a sick person. Every treatment comes with risks. How can I give a definite answer about curing someone when I haven’t even seen the patient yet? A doctor shouldn’t do that.”
“You never back down, do you? Cheeky brat.”
Winfried chuckled as he watched Lucas respond articulately. What major in the world would act like this towards a lieutenant general? Others might be shocked if they saw this, but it was possible between these two. Before being superior and subordinate, they were comrades who had been running towards the same goal.
To Winfried, Lucas was the son of a precious comrade and a close childhood friend, and to Lucas, Winfried was an old friend of his parents and an adult as good as family.
“Anyway, be careful… If there’s any problem, contact me directly. It’s a much more dangerous place than here, so prepare well.”
“Yes, Lieutenant General.”
Lucas stood up and saluted Winfried. Then he quickly turned and left the office. He had a lot to prepare to go to the N-0 unit where Iberis was in a week.
* * *
Splash.
In the steamy bathroom, Iberis massaged his stiff calf while soaking in the hot, steaming bathtub. It was his routine to soak in hot water and release tension after returning from a mission.
“Cough!”
Iberis let out a small cough as he was about to massage the other leg. Suddenly, a chill ran through him, and his body shivered. Even soaking in such warm water, the cold that tormented him persisted.
“It seems to be getting worse…”
Iberis muttered, looking at his slightly trembling hands. This hand tremor was one of the aftereffects of using his ability. Usually, the mana would have settled and his body would have calmed down by now, but today it was particularly disobedient.
“Huff…”
Iberis took another bottle of sedative he had brought into the bathroom, drank it, closed his eyes, and took a long breath in and out. After taking several deep breaths like this, gathering the mana surging around his chest, the trembling gradually subsided.
Having finally calmed his mana, he opened his eyes again and pressed a button to raise the temperature of the bathwater. With a bubbling sound, the slightly cooled water warmed up again.
“Did I get shocked all of a sudden…”
Iberis lightly shook his hand that had stopped trembling, then clenched and unclenched his fist. When mana goes berserk, it’s important to maintain mental composure. Otherwise, the out-of-control mana would rampage even more.
He guessed that the reason he couldn’t control his mana well today was due to the shock of receiving a death sentence. That was the only variable different from usual.
“How foolish…”
Iberis cursed himself and submerged everything but his face in the hot bathwater. In this state, he slowly reviewed what had happened today.
He had no lingering attachment to life. Living in a place where someone gets hurt or dies every day had made him numb to death. Or so he thought.
But when he received his third death sentence today, his heart sank. He thought he wouldn’t be surprised since he had heard similar things at the hospitals he had visited before, but he was wrong. It felt like being confirmation killed that there really was no hope. Perhaps that’s why it was hard to suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Are you scared now that you’re actually dying? Have you suddenly started wanting to live?
Iberis chuckled with a deflating sound after questioning himself. He had no life goals or personal desires he desperately wanted to fulfill. He had no family to support, no lover to protect, no friends to rely on.
Somehow, he had become a boy soldier in the Defense Force, received Esper training, carried out various missions, and lived as a soldier. But he had no noble spirit of contributing to world peace or loyalty to sacrifice his life for the Defense Force. It was a life where he wouldn’t mind dying tomorrow.
So he could remain calm in the face of doctors’ words that he didn’t have much life left. But why was today different? Why was he so shaken? Iberis frowned in confusion. He habitually touched his right ankle. On his scarred foot, there was something different from the healed wound marks.
The Name that suddenly appeared when he was 13.
Twelve years ago on that day, Iberis realized that a guide connected to his soul had awakened when he saw the name that appeared on his right ankle. But he hadn’t met his Name counterpart yet.
‘If only the chronic lack of guiding could be resolved, your body would improve incomparably to now. Ah, being an S-class Esper, you must have a Name on your body…’
Could he escape the death sentence if he found his Name counterpart? Recalling the doctor’s words, Iberis traced the name engraved near his ankle bone with his finger.
Since awakening as an Esper, he had always lived a life with death by his side. He had nearly died several times. Just recently, he had fallen into a coma due to severe aftereffects and mana explosion, then woken up. Whether dying from illness, mana explosion, or monsters emerging from rifts, it wouldn’t be strange to die at any time living as a frontline Esper.
However, there were a few things on his mind that made him reluctant to quietly wait for death to come. One of them was revenge for his comrades who died three years ago.
‘Cough, ah, bitter… It hurts so much. Hey. I’m really sorry to ask this, but… if I die… could you take me to my family? With your ability, it’s possible, right?’
‘I’m fine, Iberis. So don’t think about revenge, okay? No matter how strong you are, you can’t beat General Logan.’
‘Kid. I think I was wrong after all. Hehe… can’t be helped. Now that it’s come to this, you must survive. Live and get out of here, then avenge us who were made like this.’
‘I don’t want to die, Iberis. Sob, I’m so scared.’
‘Why are you crying, man? Geez, I get to see you crying until I die. Don’t cry… smile. And live long for my share too.’
‘Objectively speaking, you have the highest chance of surviving out of all of us here. So let me ask one favor. Okay? It’s not difficult, just look after my daughter until she can be independent. Not financial support, just be her guardian.’
‘Live, Iberis. Somehow live and be happy. Forget about people like us and live well on your own.’
Iberis unknowingly squeezed his eyes shut as he recalled the last words his team members left him as they were dying three years ago. Thinking of them always made his head hurt as if it would split and his chest tighten. Even after years, the moments when they died one by one remained as vivid as if it happened yesterday.
Splash.
Iberis submerged himself as if escaping from the buzzing voices of his team members in his ears. Even if he closed his eyes, covered his ears, or fled underwater, the memories that once surfaced didn’t easily disappear.
“Puha…!”
Iberis raised his head after staying submerged until he was out of breath. Water dripped from his soaked hair. It looked just like tears, so Iberis blankly stared at the ripples created by the water drops falling from his hair, then wiped his damp face with his hand.