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

Chapter 272: _Obsession

"Wait," The second party lowered his sword, arching a brow as he took Ambrose in. "Guide Ambrose?"

Ambrose gradually withdrew his aether, also realising who he was. "Captain Killian." He laughed. "Well, this is a surprise."

Yep.

The same captain who led his first raid mission here in Steel Falcon.

Killian laughed as well, sheathing his sword before folding his arms. "Well, considering we both work in this Guild I’ll say it’s not a surprise at all." He squinted. "What are you doing up here though? Guild master Dorothy is clearly not around."

[Can’t detect any trace of the Void Entity’s influence on him. So you should be safe. However, knowing you I think you’d stay alert still.]

’Duh.’ Ambrose kept a friendly smile on his face. "Oh, I know. I was just... I’m actually here to confirm something."

Killian gave him a look that basically said ’I wasn’t born last night’. "Right." He nodded. "And you know if it were most other people you’d probably be getting your ass escorted out of here."

Once again Ambrose kept his guard up.

Sure, Killian was only a B-Rank Esper. But with a perfectly timed strike, he could cause some damage—and possibly alert others before Ambrose can retaliate.

"I know." Ambrose nodded with a sigh. But then his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Although it begs the question... what then are YOU doing here? You clearly knew the Guild master was absent, no?"

An impressed smile stretched the corner of Killian’s lips. "Touche, Guide Ambrose." He paused, looking out of the door. After confirming there was no one else in the hallway, he walked in fully, shutting the door behind him.

That made Ambrose subconsciously reach for the hilt of his frost dagger.

Fortunately, Killian noticed his apprehension and raised his hands. "I’m not here to scold you or act as a disciplinary stand-in." his tone grew serious. "Rather, I’m here because I wish to uncover something I think you’re here for as well."

Ambrose’s head tilted, fingers still inches away from his Frost dagger. "And what’s that?"

Killian lowered his hands. "... That there’s something strange about Guild master Dorothy."

Silence.

Crickets chirped in Ambrose’s head as he blinked at the man.

[You’re about several scenes late, buddy.]

Killian went on. "At first I thought she was just eager to nurture a skilled, young talent like yourself," he wagged a finger at Ambrose. "Until I discovered the price of the penthouse she was going to offer you."

No sooner had Ambrose’s eyes widened at that than Killian added:

"Yes. I know about the penthouse," he scoffed. "I understand giving you a bonus. Heck, I understand if yours was a little higher than the others in that mission. But a penthouse worth ten million dollars? Now that’s—"

"I’m sorry," Ambrose’s jaw slacked at the numbers he just heard, "did you just say ten million?"

The captain sniggered. "Oh," he shook his head. "So you weren’t aware?"

"The fuck I was. After I declined the penthouse I got sent a bonus of five hundred thousand. And even then I felt like it was overkill." Ambrose was bamboozled.

No wonder she didn’t reveal the price of the penthouse when he asked.

Fuck!

He knew he wasn’t wrong for always being pessimistic about shit.

"Seeing that you’re more clueless than I thought," Killian shrugged, "I think it’s best you know some things. Since the C-Rank dungeon raid, Guild master Dorothy has been curious about you. Too curious in fact."

"Asking more questions about your performance that day, wanting to know more about your time at Phoenix Flight... I’ve never seen her like that with any other promising recruit. It was almost like she was—what’s the word?"

Realisation flickered in Ambrose’s eyes.

He uttered before he could stop himself: "Obsessed...?"

Killian nodded. "Exactly. She didn’t..."

Whatever he said next was nothing but background noise to Ambrose. All of a sudden he believed he had cracked the problem with Kali’s theory about the Void Entity.

It was never about negative emotions.

Not quite...

★★★★★

Crescent Gem Hotel

In the hotel room where Loki had stashed Hunter Augustus, they had just walked in. The S-Rank was still tied to the centre of the room.

Still mumbling incoherent things, eyes darting around like he was scared something would crawl out of the darkness. When Loki shut the door his head snapped up.

"No," if he could jump through the nearest window he would in a heartbeat. "N–No, please. No more. No more!"

Loki rolled their eyes. "Ugh. You’ll be fine." They advanced toward him, ignoring the constant pleas and frantic but futile attempts to avoid them.

They simply rested two fingers against Augustus’ forehead.

A pulse of gentle aether flowed through him.

The man’s frantic breathing gradually slowed. His shoulders loosened. The panic clouding his eyes dulled just enough for coherent thought to return.

"There." Loki withdrew their hand. "You’re welcome."

Augustus only stared, still trembling. "...Monster."

"I’ve been called worse." Loki leaned against the nearby wall, folding their arms.

Their thoughts weren’t on Augustus anymore. The idiot didn’t show any signs of being influenced by the Void Entity so that was a plus.

Instead... They replayed every possessed victim they had encountered.

First Han Jae-won.

Now Dorothy.

Two entirely different people.

Two entirely different lives.

Two different levels of strength.

Different personalities. Different goals. Different backgrounds.

Yet—

"...Obsession." The word escaped them before they even realised it.

Han Jae-won certainly hated Ambrose.

But beneath that hatred... He’d become consumed by him.

Every decision.

Every scheme.

Every waking thought eventually circled back to Guide Ambrose.

Augustus had been slowly following the same path. His investigation had long stopped being about justice or suspicion.

He’d chased Ambrose relentlessly, collecting scraps of information like a starving man gathering food.

Then Dorothy.

Loki’s eyes narrowed.

They weren’t certain yet but she might fit this description too.

A slow breath left them. "So that’s it."

Perhaps hatred wasn’t the requirement after all. The true doorway... was obsession.

Their pupils contracted.

Then, without warning, another thought slammed into them so hard they nearly forgot to breathe.

The Void Entity itself was obsessed with Ambrose. It’s every move somehow led back to him. Its possessed vessels always revolved around him.

Like moths helplessly circling a flame.

Loki slowly straightened. "Gods."

If the Void Entity could only—or at least primarily—possess people whose obsession mirrored its own.

Then where exactly did that leave the people surrounding Ambrose?

Their thoughts immediately drifted.

Devon.

Viktor.

Valentine.

Gabriel.

Every one of them had first fallen into obsession—before that obsession slowly transformed into something far more frightening.

Love.

The colour drained from Loki’s face. "And then there’s me. Where does that leave me? Where does it leave all of us?"

For the first time in decades, the Lord of Chaos genuinely felt afraid.