“Can we trust the intel?”
“Judging from everything we’ve heard so far, it seems that way.”
It was the same this time. As much as it twisted his gut, he couldn’t ignore the bastard’s advice. Delroz seemed to feel the same, his voice laced with irritation as he snapped,
“We’re going to the bunker. Even if I have to break down the door, I’m putting you in there.”
Would it still be a shelter if the door got smashed open? He thought about saying that, but Delroz’s expression was far too serious. Staring at the tightly furrowed brows, Banteon let out a sigh.
“Delroz. Even if I go to the bunker, it’s still dangerous. Your power could have a backlash—that hasn’t changed.”
“At least you’d be safe.”
His tone implied that was more than enough. How did it come to this? It wasn’t a new development, yet Banteon still found himself bewildered by Delroz’s change.
Back when monsters invaded the village, he’d said protecting Banteon’s safety was the top priority too. But it felt different this time. Back then, it seemed like he was just protecting his only Guide for practical reasons. Now… it sounded like he genuinely wanted to protect Banteon.
Banteon turned his eyes to the sky, where the moon was nowhere to be seen. The stars and the moon were hidden behind the smoke, yet he realized his eyes weren’t stinging at all.
A faint aura surrounded the two of them, suspended mid-air. Like a barrier of circulating air, it completely blocked out the smoke. With everyone busy fighting monsters, there was no one else who could’ve done this.
Even while sweating coldly and demolishing the city with barely-controlled power, this air barrier was crafted so finely that it was barely noticeable.
This was bad.
It was troubling how admirable that seemed.
“Delroz.”
“Whatever you say, I’m still putting you in the bunker. It’s no use.”
As if he’d predicted exactly what Banteon would say, he fired back without pause. But Delroz’s guess was completely off. Banteon was planning to go into the bunker—just not by force. He intended to request entry politely, not smash the door down.
Before that, though, he had to stop Rohan from getting his way.
“Delroz. Open your mouth.”
“What?”
As Delroz lifted his head in confusion, Banteon reached out and cupped his cheeks with both hands, holding his face steady as he looked down at that sharp, symmetrical nose. From start to finish, there was nothing about this guy that he liked—but oh well.
“Burn this into your memory. This is what you call an emergency situation.”
Then he leaned in and devoured Delroz’s lips.
As Delroz flinched in shock, Banteon tightened his grip on his cheeks and pushed his tongue deeper, brushing past his straight teeth and grazing the firm tongue like he owned it.
Delroz froze up so hard he forgot to breathe, and Banteon almost laughed. Standing there like a statue while someone kisses you? He could at least close his eyes. No manners, not even now.
Banteon tilted his head with practiced ease. Even with skin contact, if Delroz stayed this tense, the connection wouldn’t be effective. Like he would with a timid partner, Banteon moved gently, brushing along the roof of the mouth and skimming the gums to coax him open.
“……!”
Delroz’s eyes widened in stunned silence, but the unstable red aura around him quickly calmed.
Slowly—yet intensely.
It surged in rhythmic waves, steady and forceful like crashing tides. Banteon pulled back, lips parting with a wet sound, and saw Delroz’s face, flushed even redder under the glow of the flames.
Same face, but this version—embarrassed instead of smug—was far more to his liking.
“Feeling better?”
“You… really thought doing that would calm me down…?”
Delroz trailed off and roughly ran his hand through his hair. His bangs fell messily over his eyes, hiding his expression.
“This is insane.”
He growled low and turned on his heel, heading for the bunker. The energy swirling around him had eased considerably. Ironically, Delroz himself looked far more unsettled than his aura as he moved quickly.
Before long, they arrived at the dirt path near the bunker, as marked on the terminal. Once Banteon touched down and felt the soft ground under his feet for the first time in a while, he finally got a clear view of Delroz’s lowered face.
He seemed expressionless, but the tightly pressed lips made it obvious he was holding back a lot of words.
“Others should be out to meet me soon, so you’d better get going.”
As they approached the bunker, the terminal started functioning properly. Once confirmed, it sent a signal to the bunker. Someone would be dispatched to escort Banteon shortly. He meant to say goodbye, but Delroz’s feet wouldn’t move.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re just… unfazed… well, of course you are.”
Just me being the idiot, huh. Delroz mumbled under his breath and averted his gaze, visibly flustered. Understandable, really—it had been sudden. Banteon hadn’t expected himself to act like that, either.
It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, driven purely by a desire to defy Rohan’s intentions. His body had moved before his head caught up. After always telling Delroz to get consent first, Banteon had just blatantly ignored that himself. No question about it—this had been a clear mistake.
“If I startled you, I’m sorry. But that was the only way to calm you down fast.”
“No. You don’t have to apologize.”
Delroz spoke firmly, scratching his neck while keeping his gaze fixed somewhere off in the distance. Staring far ahead, he muttered softly,
“…Because I liked it.”
“What?”
“You’d better go. They’re coming.”
Banteon turned toward where Delroz pointed, but saw nothing. As he kept his eyes trained on that direction, the surroundings slowly brightened, and figures carrying lanterns began to approach.
“There he is!”
“Are you alright? Please, take shelter inside!”
The people who spotted them quickened their pace. They were assigned to escort him to the hidden underground bunker beneath the Center. Their faces were tense, shadowed with worry. The severity of the situation, which had slipped his mind while with Delroz, came crashing back—outside, the battle was still raging.
“You should go. Thanks for today.”
“…Yeah.”
Today, Banteon owed his life to Delroz—no doubt about it. If he hadn’t shown up, Banteon might have survived, but not without consequence. As Delroz had said, people would have been injured or killed trying to protect just him.
The moment Banteon finished speaking, Delroz turned on his heel. Watching Delroz’s back as he walked toward the battlefield stirred something indescribable in his chest. Delroz probably wouldn’t come to harm—he was too strong for that. Still, it didn’t make the night any easier.
“Delroz.”
His mouth moved before his mind could stop it. Speaking to Delroz’s casually turned face, he said,
“…Be careful.”
“…Yeah.”
As Delroz leapt back into the sky, Banteon let out a dry chuckle. Even with his normal human eyesight, he could clearly see the bright red flush on Delroz’s ears.
Was it really that good?
It was just a simple goodbye. Even when they’d kissed, Delroz’s face had only slightly flushed, but now, just from a few parting words, his ears looked like they were on fire. Banteon ran his fingers through his still-perfectly-arranged bangs, ruffling them.
“Is something wrong, sir? Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. Let’s head back.”
Banteon offered his usual relaxed smile and followed the guides back. Truly, this was troublesome.
He ran his hand back through his tousled hair.
Was it just the dramatic situation messing with his vision? Or had there been something strange in that tea he drank back in Yasen?
Otherwise, there was no way that rude bastard could possibly look cute.
***
[Capital Recovery Rate: 38%. Southern districts suffered severe damage—approach with caution. Combat-Type Espers will be divided into recovery and support teams. Follow orders from your unit commander.]
The long night had ended. Once adorned in the splendor of festival preparations, the capital was now soaked in the dark crimson blood of monsters, and the banners hanging over the streets had turned to ash, drifting into the sky.
“They were preparing for the festival, of all times. No wonder the damage is so bad.”
“Lots of people had already arrived early, too. Tsk tsk.”
People spoke in hushed tones about the disaster that had unfolded the night before. Those who couldn’t find a place to stay had set up tents outside the city for temporary shelter. For commoners, seeing the capital’s festival was a once-in-a-lifetime dream. The kingdom had declared this year’s celebration would be the most spectacular yet, and that promise had drawn in more visitors than ever—a stroke of misfortune.
The monster crisis had been resolved faster than expected. Around 6 a.m., the bunker doors were opened, and evacuees returned to the Center.
The bunkers had operated on minimal power, just enough to circulate air and maintain temperature. They were far from comfortable. On top of that, not knowing what was happening outside left most people anxious and sleepless. Once back, they caught up on the sleep they had missed.
“Good morning, Banteon-nim.”
“Are you headed out to guide, Instructor Sodel?”
“Yes, I’ve been summoned. It’s a busy hour for everyone, after all.”
The Espers returning from the battlefield were first treated for their injuries—and then, without fail, they sought their Guides. The harder the Espers worked overnight, the busier the Guides became.
“Still, I’m relieved everything was resolved quickly. I was worried they might call us out in the middle of it.”
Had the situation dragged on, designated Guides might’ve been sent into the field with protective equipment to perform urgent Guiding on-site.
Fortunately, despite how serious the situation was, it never came to that. Even with high-level monsters, large numbers, and the complexity of the capital setting, the warning level hadn’t risen.
The reason was simple: Delroz had shouldered all the burden where manpower fell short.
