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

Chapter 278: _No Guessing This Time

[Progress: 87%...]

[Progress: 92%...]

[...]

[CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve successfully created a permanent link with the target.]

[Would the host like to see his—sweetie?]

Ambrose could barely see the notifications or hear Aura’s voice at this point. Loki had so graciously let him hold their hand for the rest of the walk back to the abandoned warehouse.

During all that time Ambrose had successfully pushed the permanent link to creation. And now he understood why he wasn’t getting any overload during the process.

It’s because it was all storing up till AFTER he was done.

"Hey?" Loki turned to him once they’d gotten close to the warehouse. "You good now?"

Ambrose struggled to stare at the Esper through the blurriness clouding the corner of his vision. Occasionally Loki’s face switched with that of a little kid.

Other times he’d hear screams of said little kid as their father beat the shit out of them for trying on makeup. All of these were fragments from Loki’s mind.

And fuck, he felt like he was swivelling dangerously close to insanity.

"I’m good," he lied regardless. "Just... still worn out by this whole thing."

Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk into the warehouse compound. Devon, Viktor, Valentine and Gabriel strode out, heading straight for them.

Devon specifically noticed the way Loki held Ambrose’s hand. His brows furrowed.

’Not... odd at all.’

"Thanks for looking out for him, Loki." Viktor basically snatched the Guide from the chaos lord. "The other Pantheon guys were asking about you. Back in the warehouse."

Loki nodded, giving Ambrose one last look before pulling away completely. "You’re going back home, right?"

Ambrose’s gaze switched between them and the system screen blinking with Orion’s life signature. He beamed. "Yep. We’ll still have to cross-check the tracker for any updates on Orion’s—"

"Cool, cool." Loki winked. "I’ll be around. Don’t worry."

As the Esper left, Ambrose’s shoulders loosened. He nearly doubled over, subconsciously leaning against Viktor who was none the wiser.

"Hope he didn’t cause you too much trouble." The ice Prince chuckled, fixing his gaze on Ambrose. Only to notice something off. "Uh, Rory?"

"Yeah?" Ambrose lifted his head immediately, smiling through the terrible headache hitting him. "What?"

"Your... nose."

"Do I have chocolate on it?" Ambrose reached for his nose without thinking. He felt something wet smudged right beneath his right nostril.

He froze.

That wasn’t chocolate.

It was—

"You’re bleeding." Viktor raised the alarm, making the others rush to Ambrose’s side. "W–What’s happening to you?"

Ambrose grunted, shaking his head. "It’s... I’m fine. I just need to sit down so we can come up with... a new plan..." his voice drifted with each word he let out.

"Rose?" Devon called out. "Is he losing—Rose?!"

Chaos erupted between the Espers as everything turned black for Ambrose. Their voices bounced around him, scattered and confused.

"We need to get him home, now!"

"Gabriel?!"

"Already on it."

Then their voices faded altogether.

★★★★★

The world was loud as fuck when consciousness finally embraced Ambrose again. From the wall clock. To the night crickets outside. Then the voices.

Even the television playing a comedy show from the nineties in the living room.

Ambrose groaned.

He was lying on a couch but he couldn’t even remember how he got there to begin with. One of the guys probably dropped him there.

[You’re finally awake.]

[Loading rewards:]

’You couldn’t give me time to—’

[5000 EP points boost and +2000 HP points. The host has also gotten a new S-Rank weapon for free.]

[S-Rank weapon: Chains of Delirium.]

[Appearance: Silver chains each ten feet at normal length but capable of extending almost limitlessly.]

[Skills: Once waved before a target the chains are capable of disorienting and confusing them. The most perceptive targets would find it difficult to track the host’s next move while using this chain. It also works well alongside the Grave Keeper’s Scythe and—]

’Aura?’ Ambrose closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath. ’Get these screens outta my face.’

The system stayed silent for a beat.

Then, one after another, every holographic window dissolved into glittering blue particles until nothing remained.

Much better.

Ambrose let out a relieved sigh before planting both palms against the couch. His muscles protested immediately.

"God..." he winced. "Everything hurts."

"You’re awake." Valentine’s voice drifted in from another corner of the living room.

Ambrose slowly turned his head.

The Necromancer hadn’t moved from an armchair at said corner. One leg rested over the other while a book sat open in his lap, though it was painfully obvious he hadn’t read a single page.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on Ambrose.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked calmly.

Ambrose rubbed his forehead before forcing himself upright.

"I feel," he muttered with a wry smile, "as if I went through an aneurysm and a lobotomy all at once."

Valentine stared.

Then, unexpectedly—a laugh escaped him.

It wasn’t loud. Just enough to make Ambrose snort despite himself.

Their laughter was interrupted by hurried footsteps.

"So he’s actually awake?" Viktor poked his head into the living room first before letting out an audible sigh. "Thank the gods."

Devon appeared right behind him.

The second he saw Ambrose sitting upright, the tension that had lived on his face for hours visibly eased.

"You scared the absolute shit out of us."

Gabriel walked in last.

Ambrose blinked.

"Wait..." His eyes narrowed with confusion. "You’re... still here?"

Gabriel frowned. "What kind of greeting is that?"

"I just..." Ambrose scratched the back of his neck. "Don’t you have missions in Canada? Guild stuff? Inter-dimensional space god responsibilities?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Rose." He folded his arms. "Your son got kidnapped." A pause. "Then you collapsed."

"I promise you whatever mission exists over there can survive without me for a day or two."

Something warm settled inside Ambrose’s chest.

He smiled. "...Thanks."

Devon pulled a chair over before sitting opposite him.

"As touching as this reunion is," his voice softened, "what actually happened to you?"

The room grew quiet.

Even Valentine closed his book.

Ambrose looked at each of them before exhaling slowly.

"I..." he began. "I managed to create a permanent link."

Gabriel arched his brow. "Huh? With whom?"

Ambrose didn’t make them guess. "With Loki."

Silence.

Every eye blew wide even while Ambrose’s smile returned.

"And before I blacked out..." Those silver orbs gleamed with renewed determination, "the system tracked Orion’s life signature again. No guessing this time."

He managed to get on his feet, pressing his lips into a strained line. "I know where my boy is. And I think I even have an idea on how we can get him back."