Where did it all go wrong?
The man thought and thought again. He couldn’t tell how many days he had been imprisoned here, or what was happening in the outside world. All he knew was that this was the basement of the unit building belonging to Iberis, whom they had tried to kill.
“Ugh…”
The man, groaning from extreme thirst, winced at the heavy weight he felt in his hands and feet. Although he once ruled the back alleys of N-Zone, now he was no different from an ordinary person. It was due to the mana restraints. Perhaps that’s why it was especially hard to endure the hunger and thirst that came today.
“So thirsty…”
The man muttered in a cracking voice. For days, he hadn’t had a proper meal, let alone water. With a tired face, he searched his memories.
After being brought here, the man underwent intense interrogation. There was no terrible torture, but mental and physical pressure continued relentlessly. Still, he had no desire to cooperate with the Defense Force. Having failed to kill Iberis, his life was as good as over anyway.
He shouldn’t have taken that request in the first place.
The man, sprawled on the cold floor, made a hissing sound. After being captured by the Defense Force, he regretted it countless times. He kept wondering who could have put in the request that ruined his life.
Thinking about it, it was suspicious from the start. The photo of Iberis visiting the hospital, the military hospital records of him falling into a coma, information about the bereaved families of dead comrades he supported…
The anonymous client’s investigation materials on Iberis were extensive and detailed enough to impress him and other villain organization leaders. As if they had been preparing for this for a very long time.
That’s why he was foolishly deceived. He believed that Iberis had weakened, that he could kill him. This was the result of that belief. He had been thoroughly played by someone he didn’t even know.
“I’ll kill… them…”
The man, grinding his molars, burned with revenge. Realizing he had been used as a disposable tool, uncontrollable anger surged within him.
The unknown client probably wanted to know if Iberis had really weakened based on the information they had gathered. And to confirm their speculation, they used the villains. With the mindset that success would be good, but failure wouldn’t matter either.
“Haaah…”
The man exhaled deeply to suppress his anger and calmly organized his thoughts. He was planning to negotiate with the Defense Force using the information he had. Just then, neat footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor.
“Hm?”
The man’s shoulders tensed at the approaching presence. With a creaking sound, the firmly closed iron door opened, letting in bright light.
“Roman Gorsky?”
“Ugh! …Huh?”
Roman, the man who had been squinting at the harsh light, raised his head at the baritone voice calling his name, only to be captivated by the flowing silver hair. A beautiful person with dazzling golden eyes contrasting with the softly glowing hair was looking down at him.
“An… angel?”
A bewildered mutter escaped between his dry lips. Lucas slightly furrowed his brow at Roman’s mumbling.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Who… are you…”
Finally coming to his senses, Roman sat up with a still dazed expression.
“I’m Captain Luke Illum. Are you Roman Gorsky, the A-class villain with the largest organization in N-Zone and the mastermind behind this recent terror attack?”
“Yes, but… Luke Illum? The military doctor who became the guide for Major Hyun?”
“That’s right.”
Lucas, who answered curtly, closed the distance with Roman. With his hands in his pockets, he stared at Roman with eyes as arrogant as his posture.
“I don’t have much time, so let’s talk quickly. I heard from Lieutenant Denver that you seem to know something. If you have any idea about the mastermind, confess obediently. Then things will get easier for you than they are now.”
“What?”
Roman made a dumbfounded expression at Lucas’s sudden request for cooperation.
“This is both a request for a deal and an ultimatum. If you provide useful information, I’ll guarantee you a comfortable detention life from now on. I’ll also put in a good word with the investigation bureau that will take custody of you.”
“Hmph. If I’m going to be punished either way, what benefit is there for me?”
Roman asked with a twisted face and a sarcastic voice. Even as he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Lucas. He couldn’t help but keep looking at him.
“I just told you. Your life will improve until you go to prison. Maybe your sentence might even be reduced somewhat at the trial.”
“Is that all? The terms of the deal are pathetic.”
“Isn’t even this much a luxury for a criminal like you?”
“What did you say? Listen, if you want me to open my mouth, you should behave more politely. You want to know who ordered the hit on Iberis, don’t you?”
“Watch your mouth. How dare you, the Major is not someone you can speak of so casually.”
Lucas, his eyes hardening, approached Roman and reached out his hand. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed Roman’s head.
“I forgot that your kind only listens when beaten. I wasted time trying to be gentlemanly.”
“Ugh, what? Are you going to torture me? Do you think I’ll just sit still? Go ahead and try! I’ll protest about human rights violations during the interrogation…”
Roman, momentarily frightened by Lucas’s menacing aura, shouted while putting on a brave front.
“When did I say I was going to torture you?”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to guide you.”
“What…”
“Did you know? Guiding can be the most terrifying torture in the world for an Esper.”
“What nonsense… Are you, are you not going to remove your hand?”
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Roman struggled to break free from Lucas. The more he struggled, the stronger the grip on his head became. It was an incredible grip strength.
“Generally, guiding is known to calm an Esper’s mana to prevent them from going berserk. When I first heard that, I thought: if it’s possible to suppress mana, wouldn’t it be possible to make it go berserk too? I looked into it, and it actually exists. It’s called reverse guiding.”
“Reverse… guiding?”
“It requires excellent mana control ability, and the guide’s mana quantity needs to be greater than the target Esper’s… The conditions are a bit tricky, but the important point here is that I know how to do reverse guiding.”
“No… don’t…”
Roman’s face turned pale as he understood what reverse guiding meant. In other words, it meant that Lucas could artificially induce mana overload, the most unbearable pain for an Esper.
“It’s true that even criminals who deserve to be torn apart shouldn’t be arbitrarily tortured unless it’s a wartime situation. But guiding is different, isn’t it?”
Lucas raised his mana while curling up the corners of his eyes into a smile. It was a bright smile like a blooming flower, but to Roman’s eyes, it looked like an evil demon grinning.
“Wait, a moment, aargh! Aaargh!”
Roman, who was about to say something, screamed as the mana inside his body began to surge. For a while, agonized cries and desperate groans echoed throughout the basement.
* * *
“Haaah…”
Iberis, who arrived at Lucas’s office, looked at the tightly closed door with a complicated expression. Then he took a deep breath and exhaled.
Three days after returning to work from sick leave, he had started receiving guidance in Lucas’s office again since the day before yesterday. Although it was something he did every day in the official residence even during his recovery, the tension Iberis felt yesterday and today was different. It was because of the changed guiding method after the terrorist incident.
He was embarrassed even during mana showers, but kissing Lucas was on a whole different level. An act that went beyond simple physical contact, mixing each other’s saliva and breath, was really…
“Ugh.”
Iberis bit his lower lip hard as the sensation imprinted on his body came back to life. Looking slightly upset, he rubbed both his cheeks vigorously with his hands.
He felt he was being overly conscious, but it couldn’t be helped. After all, Iberis was in a situation where he had heard Lucas say he liked him.
It was already sufficiently bewildering with the unexpected progression to stage 2 guiding, but having received a confession on top of that, there was no way he could remain calm.
Iberis’s mouth tensed up as he felt his lips tingling for no reason. Brenda had advised him to just enjoy the moment, but that was impossible given his personality. Kissing someone who had confessed to him gave Iberis a strange sense of guilt.
‘Was that what you were worried about?’
Last night, unable to shake off the thought of whether this was okay, Iberis had struggled to open up about his feelings to Lucas. He judged it better to explain the situation as much as possible to Lucas, who would be waiting for his answer, rather than suffering alone.
‘Don’t feel too burdened. I was prepared for this to be a long-term battle anyway.’
‘Long-term battle?’
‘Yes. Given your personality, Major, I expected you to react this way.’
As Brenda had predicted, Lucas replied that Iberis didn’t have to answer right away. His attitude seemed as if he had anticipated even Iberis’s concerns. Contrary to the worry that he might be disappointed, Lucas actually looked a bit happy. There was even a subtle sense of relief.
