Seducing the Guideverse With My System — Raising an Anomaly [BL]

Chapter 123: _Fate-Defying Guide

Right outside the Phoenix Flight HQ, an Uber came to a halt. Han Jae-won stepped out of the back seat, adjusting his outfit. He glanced back into the Uber—eyes landing on his sister.

"Noona," he motioned, speaking in Korean. "You’re sure you have things taken care of? With ’Ghost’, I mean."

Moments before they arrived Han had gotten an alert. An Esper he’d sent to kidnap Ambrose’s little spawn had been compromised.

He immediately reported to his sister who simply told him she’d already handled it. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. How could she have ’handled’ it without at least showing up at the HQ premises?

"You need to relax, Jae-won," Ji-Hoon muttered calmly, a small smirk curving the corner of her lips. "The threads of fate take time to set things in motion. But... with a little pull..."

She snapped her fingers once.

BOOM!

Han’s heart shot to his throat when a massive explosion rang from the building. He stumbled, lifting his head in a mix of fear and awe.

One of the floors in the skyscraper was ablaze, smoke billowing out and glass raining onto the city below. Not any floor either.

If he wasn’t mistaken that was the Guild’s executive floor!

Pedestrians gasped from the sidewalks, some already pulling out their phones.

"As expected." Ji-Hoon chuckled. She stretched her head enough for her brother to look into her eyes. "Next time—handle things more cleanly. Or better still, step back and let me take the lead."

Jae-won parted his mouth to say something. Anything. But the screams from the building plus the cold way his sister stared at him made him swallow his words.

"My God." The Uber driver peeked out of his window. "Aren’t you two—"

"Mind your business." Ji-Hoon hushed him in English before continuing in Korean. "Jae-won... for now, keep an eye on our fate-defying Guide. Do not act impulsively or let emotions rule you. Our main goal is observation."

She gestured for him to back away. As he did, she grabbed the open car door, pinning him with one last look. "Keep me posted."

With that, she slammed the door shut.

The car drove off despite the chaos left behind, leaving Han Jae-won standing like an out-of-place monument. His eyes remained widened with surprise for a beat—

—Then, gradually, his mouth curved with a malevolent smirk.

"I told you, Ambrose," he swivelled back to the Guild building, "your wings will get clipped eventually."

He proceeded to wear a concerned mask, darting into the lobby, brushing past people fleeing the building.

★★★★★

Phoenix Flight HQ

The ringing persisted for what felt like an eternity. Ambrose’s eyes opened slowly, taking in the blinding light streaming into the building. Smoke and soot travelled through the air.

He clutched his chest—dry heaving in an effort to get out the dust.

The glass walls had been completely shattered. Lights in the hallway were mostly turned off now. Through the blur, he realised something.

There was a body on top of him.

"D–Devon?"

Panic shot through him like lightning.

It really was him.

He grunted, attempting to check his pulse... when the S-Rank raised his head with a gasp.

"Thank God, you’re okay!" Devon breathed with relief, getting off him. He brushed a thumb across his ashen cheek, staring into those silver orbs. "Are you hurt?"

Ambrose couldn’t speak for several seconds.

He just sat there while the world around them descended into chaos. People were scurrying out of their offices, either checking out the damage the explosion left or trying to find an exit.

"... I should be asking you that." Ambrose finally found the right words to start with, lifting a hand. He grabbed Devon’s face, his heart racing when the Esper leaned into his touch. "You... you used yourself as a shield."

"I did."

"Even though there was a chance you’d... die?"

"And I’ll do it again," Devon pressed his forehead against his. "Over and over."

Neither of them said anything after that.

All Ambrose could do was blink blankly.

So much for avoiding external stressors. Today’s been one crazy ride already.

"Are there any injured?!" Speaking of stressors, a familiar baritone boomed through the hallways. All heads swerved as the Guild master strode past the smoke. "Devon? What the hell happened?"

Just then, the energy type Esper who’d approached them before the explosion got to her feet. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes sunken like she’d drained herself.

Ambrose vaguely remembered her creating an energy field around Cecil before he lit up like fireworks. If she’d been just a second late... good grief, he didn’t even want to think about it.

"Sir," she swallowed, taking in heavy breaths. "It... it was one of our A-Ranks. An Esper—Cecil."

It was at this point that Devon pushed himself off the ground. He dusted himself, keeping his grandfather’s inquisitive gaze.

"She’s right." He said. "Ambrose and I were bringing Cecil to your office. We caught him in Ambrose’s room and he..."

He stopped himself, recalling how revealing too much would bring up Orion. Not like there wasn’t a chance Magnus was aware of that already.

The kid’s face had been all over social media not too long ago.

"He admitted," Ambrose took over smoothly, wincing as he stood up, "to breaking in. Per the orders of Guide Han."

He didn’t want to bring Orion into this. That might involve interrogations—which could in turn lead to the Guild master discovering something he shouldn’t.

"Guide... Han?" Magnus’ forehead creased. The pause and the way his eyes flitted were a clear indicator that he couldn’t believe it. "Did you get any evidence from him?"

"The man is dead," Devon answered flatly. "We hoped for you to interrogate him yourself and then boom... his aether began destabilising. That was no coincidence."

Magnus’ lips thinned.

His eyes trailed—from the destruction in the hallway. To the faces of the female A-Rank, his grandson and the low rank Guide he always stuck to like a love-sick pup.

Indeed... something felt horribly wrong.

"Head back to your suites," he finally raised his chin. "I’ll handle this."

He didn’t bother explaining further, waltzing past them in hurried steps.

Meanwhile, in the backseat of the moving car, Ji-Hoon rested her chin against her palm. Her gaze drifted toward the burning skyscraper. "...Interesting."

For a brief moment the threads in her vision... tangled.