Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“His expression is no joke. I wonder if he might cause an accident.”

“Leave him be.”

Iberis told the worried Brenda not to mind. As he spoke, he gradually drew up his mana. With a flick of his fingers, dozens of ice spikes shot up from the barrier where monsters were swarming.

Screech! Gack!

The monsters screamed as the seawater suddenly transformed into sharp spikes piercing their bodies. The soldiers, momentarily stunned by the sudden situation, quickly regained their senses and opened fire.

“We just need to do our job.”

It’s definitely less taxing. Iberis smiled faintly as he checked his own condition. He could feel the mana flowing through his entire body without stopping or stuttering. With good circulation, it was easier to control the mana.

It wasn’t just because the sea was the battlefield. Recently, Iberis had been feeling that his body was better than before. It was impossible not to notice. As he escaped from chronic lack of guiding, the time he could use his ability increased, and the time he suffered from after-effects decreased.

And that wasn’t all. As all his physical indicators like contamination and damage levels improved, even the occasional chills he experienced lessened. Perhaps because he woke up every morning in the arms of someone claiming to be a human heater, he rarely felt cold when getting up.

Although his body temperature was still lower than others, it was less cold than before, so his digestion improved and his muscles didn’t tense up as much. It was all thanks to Lucas.

Iberis now fully understood why espers become obsessed with guides who match them well. In contrast to his initial negative attitude towards cohabitation, he now viewed sleeping with Lucas positively.

Of course, it wasn’t without difficulties. For Iberis, unfamiliar with physical intimacy, sleeping with someone was still awkward. Moreover, Lucas always slept holding Iberis in his arms, reasoning that this allowed for guiding even while asleep.

It was an extremely valid and rational argument, but Iberis often found himself startled when he opened his eyes in the morning to find Lucas’s sleeping face right in front of him. Sometimes Lucas would wake up first and be watching him. When their eyes met, he would greet him with a “good morning,” which was incredibly embarrassing.

Once, when Iberis asked why he didn’t wake him up and told him to just get up and go about his business if he woke up first, Lucas replied that he couldn’t move because Iberis was sleeping so soundly. He added that if he didn’t stay in place, Iberis would be cold when he woke up.

There was one more troubling thing every morning. Perhaps because his body had become a bit warmer recently, small changes had occurred in Iberis’s body. Things that would never have happened before were now occurring. Just this morning…

“The signal flag is up. It looks like they’re about to start the operation.”

“Hm? Ah, you’re right.”

Snapping out of his brief reverie at Brenda’s voice, Iberis focused his eyes. He could see a soldier at the top of the ship waving a flag frantically. In response, Alec, who had been with Muriel, flew high into the sky.

“I should go too. Everyone be careful.”

“Yes, Major.”

After giving Brenda and Lucas each a glance, Iberis used his mana to levitate. Flying without a flight device was a technique only natural-type espers could perform.

“Tch.”

As Iberis stood beside him, Alec frowned once before releasing his mana. Regardless of his feelings towards Iberis, now was the time to focus on the battle. If he performed well in this operation, he might avoid disciplinary action.

Rumble!

Although inferior to Iberis, Alec was also a natural-type esper. In response to his mana, the sky darkened and thunder could be heard.

“Hup!”

Alec raised his right hand high and swung it down with a shout. Immediately after, lightning split into multiple branches and poured down towards the sea.

“Gaaack!”

“Gurk!”

Monsters electrocuted by the lightning screamed and fell. Alec continued to use his ability as if venting his frustrations. The monsters clinging to the barrier fell in droves under the relentless lightning strikes. As the current spread across the sea surface, hundreds of monsters were incapacitated in an instant. Taking advantage of this opening, bullets rained down from the warships.

“Hmph.”

Seeing yellow sparks crackling on the sea surface, Alec withdrew his hand and looked at Iberis as if to say, “How was that?” But soon realizing that Iberis was focused on the sea rather than him, he wrinkled his nose.

“The Little Krakens are unaffected.”

Iberis frowned as he noticed the Little Krakens unmoved by Alec’s attack. While more than half of the Sirens and Sea Snakes had been dealt with, most of the Little Krakens were fine. This was because the mucus flowing from their tentacles had properties that blocked electrical currents.

If Alec couldn’t penetrate the Little Krakens’ skin, his help could hardly be expected when fighting the boss Kraken. Having made this assessment, Iberis turned his head. As a flag of a different color from before waved, he could see several drones crossing the mana barrier and spraying the prepared Little Kraken hormones into the sea.

It’s coming.

Iberis narrowed his eyes as he stared at the massive black shadow rising from the deep blue sea below.

Splash!

The Kraken, emerging while parting the seawater, immediately swung its tentacles towards the mana barrier.

Boom…!

As the massive 9-meter leg struck the barrier, an ear-splitting boom resonated. Although the wall didn’t break, there was another problem.

“Tsunami!”

“Don’t fall into the sea!”

While the mana barrier could block monsters, it couldn’t stop the incoming seawater. The warships lined up in a row swayed back and forth in the tsunami caused by the Kraken’s attack.

Seeing the soldiers in chaos, Iberis used his ability without delay. An ice wall rose from the sea, blocking the Kraken’s leg as it tried to attack the mana barrier again.

“Grrrk?”

The Kraken, finally noticing Iberis’s presence, extended its tentacles.

“Too slow.”

Iberis’s eyes glowed blue as he easily dodged the Kraken’s attack. At that moment, seawater shot up into the sky, turning into ice pillars one by one.

“Gurk?”

Trapped in the ice prison Iberis created in an instant, the Kraken twisted its huge body. The ice, unable to withstand the force, shattered and scattered into the sea. However, new pillars quickly formed to fill the space. Irritated by the constantly reforming ice prison, the Kraken roared fiercely.

“Good! Keep it there! I’ll kill that thing!”

As the Kraken’s movements slowed due to Iberis, Alec joined the battle. He hurled a spear made of lightning at the Kraken. However, Alec’s all-out attack failed to inflict significant damage on the Kraken.

“Damn it!”

Alec cursed as he saw his attempt fail. Although he had painfully realized over the past ten days that his compatibility with the Kraken was poor, he couldn’t help but swear when his maximum firepower only managed to cause slight scratches.

“Alec, stop wasting effort and kill the remaining monsters.”

“What did you say?”

“Isn’t that the order the Lieutenant Colonel gave you? I’ll handle the Kraken, you focus on your job.”

“Tch!”

After instructing Alec to deal with the monsters in the sea, Iberis gathered mana in his right hand. An ice bow as large as his body formed in Iberis’s hand.

“Hoo.”

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Iberis drew the bowstring of the mana-created bow. The silver mana flowing from his fingertips coalesced in mid-air, transforming into an arrow shape.

Creeak.

The target should be the Kraken’s eye. The eyeball was the weakest point, the only area not covered by the mucus that enhanced the Kraken’s defense. Iberis carefully aimed his bow at the Kraken, which was wildly flailing its legs trying to escape the ice prison he had created. Then, without hesitation, he released the bowstring.

Whoosh… Thunk!

The power of Iberis’s compressed mana arrow was undeniable. The mana arrow, slicing through the air, precisely pierced the Kraken’s eyeball.

“Grrk! Grrrrrk!”

The Kraken writhed in apparent agony as the mana that had penetrated through its eyeball began freezing its insides. Then it started spraying ink in all directions. However, the ink spewed by the Kraken solidified in mid-air, turning black. Iberis had frozen the ink as well, since it was also water.

“Wow!”

“Amazing…”

Contrary to expectations of a difficult battle, the soldiers were all amazed as Iberis consistently dominated the Kraken. Lucas felt the same way.

“The Major’s condition is good today.”

“It’s not just good condition… In my view, he seems to be regaining his former self.”

Brenda said, her eyes sparkling. She had witnessed Iberis’s health deteriorate and his abilities gradually weaken over the past few years. That’s why she knew. This wasn’t even the extent of Iberis’s true capabilities.

“Returning to his original state, huh…”

Lucas muttered, seemingly intrigued. Although they have stronger bodies and special powers than ordinary humans, espers are still people. When their health deteriorates, it inevitably restricts their ability use.

In Iberis’s case, chronic lack of guiding had repeatedly pushed him to the brink of mana outbursts, so he likely had more bad days than good ones.

If he’s this overwhelming now, how much stronger will he become when fully recovered?

Lucas unconsciously swallowed at the thought that crossed his mind. Since awakening as an ability user, Iberis had never received proper guiding until meeting him. This meant he had never been at 100% physical condition.

It might not be the right thing to say about someone who might not yet be free from a terminal condition, but Lucas found himself wanting to not only cure Iberis but also enable him to maintain peak condition at all times.