Chapter 52: Sneaking In.
The realization hit Ethan so hard that for a moment, he simply stood there staring at the name on his screen as though looking at it long enough would somehow make it disappear.
Rin.
His fingers tightened around his phone.
Rin had never told him he was joining the SRU. He had not even been listed among the students selected for the mission when the academy first announced the deployment. So how had he ended up among the injured students being brought back from the rift?
Ethan couldn’t make sense of it, but at that moment, that wasn’t even the most important thing.
The only thing that mattered was that Rin was injured.
Badly enough to be listed among the students who had been brought to the infirmary under special security.
Ethan’s chest tightened.
He had already made his decision.
He was going to the infirmary.
He knew exactly how reckless that was. The academy had specifically warned students to stay away because some of the returning Sentinels were still suffering from dangerous corruption, and approaching them without proper protection could put anyone at risk. Ethan was also supposed to be keeping a low profile while the academy investigated him, which meant sneaking into a heavily guarded infirmary was probably the worst possible thing he could do right now.
Unfortunately, Ethan had never been particularly talented at doing what was best for himself when someone he cared about was involved.
Rin was the only person in this strange world Ethan genuinely trusted.
After everything that had happened since he arrived at the academy, Rin had been one of the few people who had treated him like an actual human being rather than a useless F-rank Guide, and Ethan cherished that friendship more than he cared to admit.
There was no way he was going to sit in his room wondering whether Rin was dying.
Without wasting another second, Ethan slipped his phone into his pocket and hurried toward the infirmary.
Unlike the last time he had been there, when he had woken up after his own near-death experience surrounded by exhausted medical staff, the entire area now looked completely different.
The infirmary had practically been transformed into a restricted zone.
Several Sentinels stood guard at the entrances, their expressions stern as they watched every person approaching the building. Warning signs had been placed along the corridors, while faint spiritual barriers shimmered across certain sections of the facility, presumably to prevent corrupted energy from spreading beyond the wards.
Ethan immediately realized that walking straight through the entrance was impossible.
He slowed down and quickly slipped behind a nearby corridor when he heard approaching footsteps.
He quickly hid behind a corridor when he heard approaching footsteps.
Several voices were coming from the opposite direction.
Ethan stayed perfectly still, listening.
"What’s the condition of the students?"
It was Ronan.
Ethan recognized the principal’s voice immediately.
One of the doctors sighed heavily before responding.
"Not good, Principal. The corruption they’ve suffered is far more severe than we initially estimated. Some of them were already weakened before they were brought back, and the continuous exposure has made their condition even worse."
Another healer spoke, sounding equally grim.
"It’s the Guides that are giving us the biggest problem. Their compatibility is becoming an issue. We simply don’t have enough compatible Guides capable of handling corruption at this level, and the few who are compatible are already being pushed beyond their limits."
"Can’t you rotate the Guides?" Ronan asked.
"We’ve tried, but the corruption is too aggressive. Some Guides can barely maintain contact before they’re forced to withdraw, and if we continue pushing them, they’ll end up suffering spiritual backlash themselves."
A heavy silence followed.
Ethan’s expression slowly darkened.
Even the academy was struggling to find a solution?
He had assumed that with all the powerful Sentinels, Guides, healers, and resources available here, something as simple as treating corrupted students wouldn’t be impossible.
But judging by what he had just heard, it was far more serious than he had imagined.
"If this continues," one of the doctors said quietly, "we may have to consider transferring the most critical cases to another facility."
Ronan sighed.
"We’ll discuss that later. For now, continue looking for compatible Guides. There has to be another option."
"Yes, Principal."
The group eventually moved away, their voices fading as they continued discussing possible solutions.
Ethan remained hidden for a few more seconds before cautiously peeking around the corner.
The corridor was clear.
He released the breath he’d been holding.
So even the academy didn’t have a proper solution yet.
That meant Rin really was in serious trouble.
Ethan couldn’t waste any more time.
He waited until the security personnel at the nearest entrance shifted positions before carefully making his way toward the infirmary. He had barely reached the next corridor when a familiar voice suddenly called out. He turned around to see Stella.
"Don’t tell me you’re here to sneak into the infirmary."
Ethan immediately gave her his best innocent expression.
"I was just passing by." The look Stella gave him showed she didn’t believe him one bit so he had to say the thruth "Okay, fine!" Ethan whispered, lowering his voice as he stepped closer. "I’m looking for Rin."
Her expression softened slightly.
"Rin?"
"He’s on the list of injured students. I tried calling him several times, but he didn’t answer, and nobody told me what happened to him. Please, Stella.I just want to see him. That’s all. I won’t touch anything, I won’t interfere with the healers, and I definitely won’t go anywhere near the corrupted Sentinels. I just need to know that he’s okay."
Stella’s expression softened slightly, but she still shook her head.
"Ethan, this isn’t your ordinary infirmary anymore. Those students were exposed to a high concentration of corrupted energy. Even experienced Guides are being careful around them."
"I know."
"You could get hurt."
"I know."
"You’re barely recovered yourself."
"I know that too."
"Then why are you still asking?"
Ethan hesitated before answering quietly.
"Because he’s my friend."
That seemed to silence her.
Stella stared at him for several seconds before finally releasing a tired sigh.
"Fine."
Ethan’s eyes immediately brightened.
"But," she added firmly, raising a finger, "you are not entering the ward. You will only look at him from outside. Do you understand?"
Ethan nodded rapidly.
"Yes."
"And if I tell you to leave, you leave."
"Yes."
A few minutes later, Stella escorted him toward the restricted section.
When the security guards questioned them, she calmly explained that Ethan was another Guide they wanted to test for compatibility with one of the injured students.
After a brief exchange, the guards reluctantly allowed them through.
Stella led Ethan down another corridor before stopping outside one of the wards.
She pointed toward the door.
"You can look through the upper glass panel, but that’s it."
Ethan nodded.
Stella gave him one last warning.
"Don’t open that door, Ethan. I mean it. If the corruption inside that ward reacts to you, I may not be able to get you out safely."
"I understand."
Stella hesitated before leaving him alone.
Ethan waited until her footsteps disappeared before slowly approaching the ward.
His heart was pounding.
He lifted his head and looked through the glass.
Then his entire body went still.
Rin was lying on the bed.
But the boy Ethan remembered was nowhere to be seen.
Rin’s usually warm complexion had become frighteningly pale, his face drawn with exhaustion as he lay motionless beneath the sheets. Several medical monitors surrounded the bed, their faint beeping filling the otherwise silent room, while thin spiritual seals had been placed around him to contain the corrupted energy circulating through his body.
Dark, almost black veins crawled faintly along the side of his neck and disappeared beneath his hospital clothing, pulsing every few seconds with a sickly glow.
His breathing was shallow.
Too shallow.
There were also several bandages wrapped around his arms and torso, and even from outside the ward, Ethan could sense the faint, oppressive presence of corrupted energy hanging around him like a heavy fog.
Ethan’s eyes immediately burned.
How had this happened?
Rin had been perfectly fine when they last saw each other.
He had been smiling.
He had been helping Ethan reach the safety zone.
And now he was lying there looking as though his body was struggling simply to remain alive.
Ethan’s vision blurred.
He quickly shut his eyes and inhaled sharply, refusing to let the tears gathering in them fall.
No.
He couldn’t cry.
Not now.
He remembered Stella’s warning. But then his eyes opened again.
They returned to Rin.
Ethan’s fingers slowly curled around the edge of the door.
He couldn’t just stand there.
If there was even the slightest possibility that his Guiding could help Rin, then he was willing to take the risk.
He wasn’t going to stand outside and watch the one person he cared about slowly disappear.
Ethan reached for the door handle.
His fingertips had barely touched it when a cold, furious voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"How dare you show your face here? When you’re the one who put him in this condition!"