Chapter 61: Teach him some restraint!

Zephyr paused.

Then, he took her little hand in his.

"You will."

The little girl gradually calmed down, a small smile appearing on her face as she wiped away her tears with her other hand.

"Big Brother is so strong! Just like the powerful Espers on TV."

Zephyr lowered his eyes.

"You are also very strong."

Seeing the little girl chatting with Zephyr, the other children gradually relaxed too, cautiously emerging from behind her.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Zephyr had already stopped using his skill, so he couldn’t tell who was approaching.

But earlier, after he had entered the school building, he had sensed that some people had arrived to help Han and his teammates outside. It wasn’t until he heard two familiar voices that Zephyr realized who they were.

"Zephyr?"

Erick and Lucien called out almost at the same time, both stunned to see him there.

Zephyr paid little attention to the others who had just entered the classroom. After sensing Lucien’s location, he only glanced in his direction. He wanted to ask if Lucien was alright and perhaps put on a pitiful act to get closer to him, but he could sense the children’s unease. Instead, he reached out, intending to stroke the little girl’s head.

It’s just that he couldn’t tell her height.

Children were sensitive.

The little girl quickly realized that Zephyr couldn’t tell exactly where her head was.

She leaned closer to him on her own, allowing his hand to rest on her head.

Zephyr’s smile deepened.

"Don’t be afraid. These are good people. They’ll help you get back to your family."

The little girl and the other children behind her seemed to understand. They cautiously glanced toward Erick and his five teammates.

Not long after, Han, Sara, and Felix also arrived at the scene, breathing heavily.

Their eyes immediately fell on the remaining half of the monster lying at the destroyed classroom entrance.

They exchanged glances before looking toward Zephyr.

There was no doubt about it.

Zephyr had killed the monster.

But knowing that Zephyr was blind, they couldn’t help but wonder how he had managed to do it. And more importantly...

Where had the other half of the monster gone?!

At that moment, Erick stepped forward, glancing at Han and his teammates. He was the first to break the silence.

"You three, take the kids to safety."

Han nodded. They had been fighting ever since the Dungeon Break occurred in B City. Although he had briefly returned to the safe zone to receive guiding, his teammates had remained fighting near the school the entire time after saving an injured young female teacher and sending her to the safe zone.

By now, all three of them were exhausted.

Still, they didn’t waste any time. They quickly moved toward the children, preparing to escort them to safety.

The little girl followed the others, but just before she left the classroom, she stopped, turned back, and waved toward Zephyr.

"Big Brother, thank you for saving us!"

Zephyr pursed his lips and turned toward the voice. As Sara and Felix escorted the children away, Han looked over at him.

"You should come with us. I will take you back so you can reunite with your team."

Zephyr stood up.

He went to stand beside Lucien, who was staring at him as if he had seen a ghost.

His words were concise.

"This is my team."

Han was stunned. He glanced at Erick, the famous Esper known by nearly every Esper in the Association. Since he, Sara, and Felix had arrived late, they hadn’t heard Erick and Lucien both calling Zephyr’s name earlier.

So, he couldn’t help but feel surprised.

"You’re from Erick’s team?"

Zephyr didn’t respond to Han.

Instead, he stepped closer to Lucien.

Despite the sharp, throbbing pain in his head, he spread his mana around Lucien’s body, using it to sense his presence more clearly. Then, Zephyr quietly leaned against Lucien’s shoulder, burying his face against him as he spoke in a weak, pitiful voice.

"Cien... I feel so uncomfortable. I think I used too much mana earlier."

Han, who had seen Zephyr perform shocking feats, immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, I think Zephyr needs guiding! He really used up a lot of mana earlier!"

Lucien’s eyebrow twitched, but he still instinctively steadied Zephyr’s body. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Erick watched this scene in silence, his hands clenching slightly at his sides.

He couldn’t understand just how Zephyr, who should have been obediently waiting for him at the Association in M City, had ended up here. More importantly, how had he managed to make it this far into such a dangerous area and even kill a monster?

Yet, at this moment, what bothered him most was seeing Zephyr leaning so comfortably against Lucien.

The sight was enough to make him forget about questioning how Zephyr had even ended up here.

It was like a thorn in his eye.

Still, Erick knew just how dependent newly awakened Espers could become on guides, especially after exhausting their mana and having their wavelength corrupted. It was a very unpleasant feeling, truly. Pulling Zephyr away from Lucien right now wouldn’t help at all. If anything, it might make things worse.

Suppressing his irritation, Erick exhaled slowly before turning his attention to Han. Although he wanted to send Zephyr back, now that Zephyr was already in B City, it was safer to have him stay by his side.

After all, Erick had realized that the situation here was far from optimistic.

"He’s my teammate. You can leave with your teammates. I’ll take care of him."

Behind him, Nana sneered to herself but said nothing. She had been in a bad mood since last night. Strangely enough, she had felt much better when Erick had left Zephyr behind at the Association. But somehow, this bastard had still managed to show up here! How the hell had he even gotten here?

At the same time, Jake stared at Zephyr with wide eyes. His suspicion that Zephyr’s true rank was far higher than B-Rank only grew stronger!

Nox and Olivia noticed his unusual expression and glanced at him curiously, but ultimately, they couldn’t figure out what he knew that they didn’t.

Hearing Erick, Han sighed inwardly.

So Zephyr was a member of Erick’s team!

It seemed his earlier assumption that the Association had assigned Zephyr a special team to protect and guard this powerful yet blind Esper had been completely wrong.

But considering how powerful Zephyr was, Han didn’t think there was anything strange about having him on Erick’s team. After all, he had heard that the Association wanted to have the best Awakened join Erick’s team.

Now, Han understood why no one had stopped him when he took Zephyr away from the safe zone. Erick and the others had probably arrived early and gone ahead to fight the monsters, while Zephyr must have arrived late and ended up following him. He was probably trying to find his teammates.

With that thought, Han agreed with Erick.

"Alright."

But before leaving, Han couldn’t help but remind Erick in a distressed tone.

"He is a newly awakened Esper, right? I could tell just by seeing how he used his skills so casually! Zephyr really doesn’t know how to use his mana sparingly. You should really teach him some restraint!"