He stood out even among the many tall Espers. As Banteon approached, thinking that the violently flickering red aura above his sharp nose made him even more noticeable than usual, the people around them scattered to either side and backed away.
“……”
Delroz turned his head toward where Banteon was approaching. He took a quick scan of the figure, thinking he looked unexpectedly tidy today.
His gaze slowly moved down from the head and came to a halt. He stared intently at the neatly fastened buttons. It was the first time he had ever seen the guy with all his buttons done up. He checked the rest. The cuffs were also properly buttoned. Though there were some wrinkles, both the jacket and pants were intact. Even the shoelaces tied around his ankles were done by the book.
From a distance, his silhouette had changed so much it would’ve been hard to recognize him as Delroz.
As Banteon paused with a hint of puzzlement, Delroz, who had been waiting, strode toward him. With the gap between them closing, the red Esper aura swirling around Delroz became more apparent. Maybe it was because he’d been confined for a month—it was raging more violently than usual.
No matter how much the pain was dulled with drugs, it didn’t settle the aura itself. The medication only helped with endurance. He likely hadn’t taken any today, and he hadn’t received Guiding in a long time, so this must have been rough.
Before coming to the Center, he might have endured even longer stretches without a Guide. But once the body becomes accustomed to Guiding, going back isn’t easy.
Delroz looked at Banteon with a furrowed brow.
“You’re here.”
His voice came out low and steady as he gestured toward the prepared room.
‘Must be really desperate.’
Banteon hadn’t planned to exchange any kind greetings, but the way Delroz demanded Guiding without a word of courtesy was downright rude. Delroz followed him into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. The bang echoed through the room, leaving Banteon’s ears ringing.
“So noisy.”
“Your hand.”
Looking down at him with a pitiful expression, Banteon reluctantly extended his palm. Delroz’s hand tangled between his fingers and gripped tightly. The space between their interlocked fingers tingled as their energies slowly intertwined.
Delroz’s turbulent aura gradually began to subside. Having finally received proper Guiding after a long time, he let out a shallow breath and loosened the tension in his shoulders.
It was surprisingly unexpected. The isolation room was for treatment—it wasn’t a solitary cell. If it got too much, he could’ve called for Banteon at any time for Guiding. That meant Delroz had chosen to endure until things reached this point.
In truth, Banteon had assumed Delroz would’ve asked for Guiding partway through. From the Center’s standpoint, the Esper’s condition took priority over treatment. He’d even been prepared to get dragged in once or twice under the guise of resistance.
At Banteon’s gaze, Delroz’s brow lifted ever so slightly.
“What are you looking at me like that for?”
“You’ve been… surprisingly well-behaved.”
Delroz’s eyes twisted into an unreadable expression before he leaned back into the chair.
“I promised not to cause any trouble.”
As the Guiding continued, Delroz’s atmosphere gradually relaxed. The red aura settled down slowly.
Comfortably leaning back, Delroz reached up to his collar, where his top button was tightly fastened—but then hesitated. Clicking his tongue softly, he lowered his hand from the area around his neck.
“The person I made that promise to is annoyingly strict. If I broke my word, it would’ve been a whole ordeal.”
He brushed his bangs back, as if even thinking about it annoyed him. Banteon, who’d never been particularly clingy, pretended not to hear.
“And honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
“That’s good to hear. If it had been, I was considering sending the cuffs back.”
Of course, considering he’d escaped solitary once, handcuffs were useless. It was more of a jab to provoke Delroz, and sure enough, his brow twitched.
“Those Center bastards are a joke. What’s the point of trying to suppress someone’s power with a hunk of metal? I didn’t even have to use my ability to break it.”
The handcuffs he dismissively referred to as a “hunk of metal” were thick and heavy even at a glance. Twisted from multiple layers of iron, they made a dull clunking sound with every movement and must have weighed a fair bit. Designed to suppress not only Esper powers but also enhance physical strength, they were nearly impossible for even Espers to remove without using their abilities.
“That’s probably just you.”
“Don’t tell me the others couldn’t even break that much?”
“Obviously not. Normals and Guides can’t, and even Espers have a hard time getting out without powers.”
“……”
Though it was a perfectly reasonable statement, Delroz’s expression turned increasingly odd. Tilting his head, he responded with a furrowed brow.
“You’re joking, right? You mean other people can’t even get out of that?”
“Don’t you know anything about common sense? You were probably a Normal before your awakening, weren’t you… Ah.”
Banteon’s voice cut off mid-sentence. Delroz had no memories from before his manifestation. Which meant he had absolutely no recollection of ever living as a normal human being.
That explained his ridiculous question. Realizing Delroz’s situation, Banteon gave a small shake of his head. No matter how he explained it, someone with no frame of reference for “normal” wouldn’t understand.
“Even if I tried to explain in detail, you wouldn’t get it. But yeah, if it’s not you, it’s almost impossible to get out of those cuffs.”
“So you weren’t joking.”
Delroz mumbled with a serious tilt of his head, as if genuinely struggling to believe Banteon’s words. Even while understanding why Delroz lacked common sense, Banteon couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the absurdity of his reaction.
“Why would I joke with you?”
“Of course.”
Delroz’s lips curled into a faint smirk at Banteon’s indifferent tone. He tilted his head slightly and stared at him with that crooked smile.
“Why would you joke with someone who’s not even your type?”
The topic abruptly shifted. What Delroz just said referenced something Banteon had told him during one of his visits to the solitary cell—that unless he was reborn, he’d never be Banteon’s type, so he shouldn’t get any foolish ideas. It may have sounded heartless, but it wasn’t wrong.
And even now, that stance hadn’t changed.
Rather than offering false hope to someone who wasn’t right, it was better to reject them early—for both their sakes. Above all, the man was a patient. Sometimes, a harsh prescription might be what’s best for him.
But seeing him react like this even after a month in the isolation room made that whole effort seem pointless.
Banteon still hadn’t received Delroz’s examination report concerning Guide Awareness Syndrome. His SS-rank numbers were unprecedented, completely outside the standard range. Comparing them to an S-rank wasn’t even meaningful—they were like analyzing a completely different species. Every researcher in the Center had been working overtime trying to make sense of it.
And despite all that effort, not a single clear conclusion had been reached in over a month. Regardless of the pending results, Banteon was already convinced: Delroz had Guide Awareness Syndrome.
“Did you take your meds properly?”
“……”
“Stuck to the prescribed dosage? Attended all treatments?”
One of Delroz’s eyes twitched, irritation flickering across his face.
“You really think I’m a child.”
Well, you’re acting like one. Banteon had no desire to ask these childish questions to someone whose build was even larger than his.
“It’s just… maybe you’re actually sick. You took the damn meds, waited patiently for a whole month in isolation…”
Delroz spoke with a persistently sour expression.
“But if absolutely nothing changes, then what? What if I’m exactly the same as before?”
“Then what’s your current condition, exactly?”
“I want to rip apart every other Esper near you. Shred them into pieces so fine that the only thing left in your memory of them is a pile of meat.”
Banteon’s brow furrowed. That sounded even worse than before. He pressed his fingers against his temple. Maybe SS-ranks really were immune to medication. Or maybe it was that Banteon’s Guide’s Dominance was unusually strong.
This was his first time dealing with an SS-rank. And the first time entering into a binding contract. It was impossible to tell which variable was the source of the problem. Oblivious to Banteon’s inner turmoil, Delroz continued muttering.
“So this damned sickness really is the reason for how I feel?”
“……”
“I’m this close to grabbing one of those idiots who called me a patient and shaking them by the collar until they give me answers.”
His throat tightened for no reason. This was clearly a situation where Delroz felt some form of affection toward Banteon, and yet the words coming out of his mouth were as violent as ever. This wasn’t just bad—it was borderline dangerous.
Banteon let out a small sigh and responded.
“Calm down. Don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”
“Oh, is that why you made sure to hide that brat ahead of time?”
“What?”
The sudden comment made his mind blank out for a moment.
As soon as Delroz mentioned the “brat” that fit his so-called type, the image of Keslan instinctively flashed through Banteon’s head. Delroz, catching the subtle change in his expression, sneered.
“You said you wouldn’t see him again, but yeah, that was never going to happen, was it?”
“……”
“He’s already been sent off for training somewhere else. Didn’t expect you to hide him away in such a remote place. Must be pretty damn precious to you.”
The real reason Keslan had been relocated was different altogether. It was Delroz’s own fanatics who’d moved him without permission. And yet the person they were supposed to impress had no idea about any of this—and instead firmly believed Banteon was behind it.
The absurdity of it all left Banteon speechless.
The follower and their master were equally pathetic. If they were going to grovel and curry favor, they could at least do it properly.
Unaware of Banteon’s frustration, Delroz continued saying whatever he pleased.
“It was a pretty wise choice. Soon as I got out of solitary, I planned to go pay him a visit.”
“It’s not like that.”
“So he really is that important to you?”
“……You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
