Chapter 218: Ch 218: Found Out? - Part 3

Alan was marked as dangerous for every operative, so they knew that he needed to be handled carefully. As soon as they realised that he was in a playful mood, they came out of their hiding spots but kept him at gunpoint.

"Esper Alan, it will be in your best interest not to do anything ridiculous. Please drop your weapon and come this way."

The esper team’s leader asked him while threatening him, and it made Alan let out a chuckle.

"Sir, do you really think that toy will be enough to scare me?"

Alan asked, causing the esper leader to grit his teeth. He knew that the gun would have no effect, but this was still a protocol.

The sedative in the gun might not be as useful as he wanted, but it would still slow Alan down enough for them to be able to land a hit and subdue him... probably.

But this was the only weapon they had to get out of the situation, so they had no choice but to take this risk.

Alan, seeing this determined hesitation, let out a sigh and decided to show the other side the true fear of a high-class esper.

"You are all overestimating yourselves. But I will play with you... if you are able to survive going up against my assistant today. Ethan, would you please display your powers?"

Alan smiled as he looked at Ethan, but it was not a nice smile.

Ethan flinched as soon as he saw that smile. It was telling him that Alan was going to kill everyone here if he did not do as he had been asked.

So he took a deep breath and ignited his flames.

Seeing his presence made the others flinch. They looked betrayed as they tried to control their feelings.

The leader stepped forward to try and reason with him as well.

"Esper Ethan, you are still on active duty. If you attack us now, then it will be considered a breach of duty, and you will face consequences. For now, please join us and-"

A pillar of fire pushed the soldiers and even the leader back. He looked shocked and looked up at Ethan with a betrayed expression.

But all Ethan could do was shake his head and give him a helpless look.

"I am sorry, but this is the best I can do to save your life. You might not realise it now, but you have no idea what kind of danger you are all in because you decided to walk in here with your own two feet when Alan is in a bad mood."

Between the esper squad and Alan’s bad mood, it was clear who was more dangerous.

And Ethan was not in the habit of making bad decisions, especially considering how much sway Alan had over the main council because of his family.

He might have been the adopted kid, but his grandfather had left everything in his hands, including the DNA, making him the sole heir to his family.

And it was all because he was an SSS-grade esper. That old man would surely raise hell if he knew something had happened to his precious grandchild.

Anyway, that was something that needed to be taken care of later. The more important thing was to make sure these people stayed alive.

To do that, Ethan needed to put on a show and fake his powers working. But, knowing Alan, he would see through his bullshit.

’Please play along with me. If not, then I might have to involve Noah, and I really don’t want to do that.’

If there was one person who could make Alan bend, it was Noah. But Noah was also an innocent bystander, and the thought of letting him get caught up in all this made Ethan uncomfortable.

For now, he decided to raise his flames as a warning to push the other espers back. But a few stepped forward and tried to get past the fire.

"I am warning you not to come here. It is for your own good if you follow my advice."

He tried to stress these words to tell them that he was not being difficult. He was just trying to help.

But he could also see the dissatisfaction on the people’s faces as they looked back at him while shaking their heads.

"We know. But we cannot exactly step back here either. Our actions are being noted."

Well, this made the situation much more difficult to handle. But there was a silver lining.

There were only a dozen or so people. So if they all got knocked out, then-

"This is taking too long. I am going to do this my way now."

Alan whispered as he raised his hand. It instantly made Ethan panic because it could only mean one thing.

"Hey, run-"

He whispered, but it was likely too late. Alan was not one to hold back. But just as Ethan closed his eyes, not wanting to see what happened next, he heard the sound of footsteps.

Ethan opened his eyes and saw a miracle.

Alan had not reduced their attackers to ashes. Instead, his hand was being held in a tight grip, and he looked conflicted, as if he did not know what he was supposed to do.

The reason behind this was Noah, who had finally arrived and decided to stop Alan. And Alan was like a puppet, following Noah’s orders and doing as he was asked to.

Seeing Alan so obedient was something no one had ever witnessed before. It made the people flinch before they snapped out of their daze and realised that a civilian had walked in and stopped a ticking time bomb.

It was suspicious, and Ethan suddenly felt sorry for Noah.

Ethan could already imagine the questions that would follow once everyone realised what had happened.

There was no way the Esper-Guide Commission would let this matter go without investigating Noah, especially after witnessing how easily he had managed to stop Alan.

And considering how much Alan disliked people prying into his affairs, this was going to become a headache for everyone involved.