Chapter 43: The Traitor’s Scheme and a Desperate Act

Since Bliss had not gone berserk, the Riga Lord’s family, who had been staying at the village villa, were safely rescued. They were accompanied by a female Esper, two male guards, and other household members, all saved by the Antares Unit that arrived with Captain Chase.

Esper units were often deployed to achieve rapid results in a relatively short period. Therefore, future support was planned to be continued by other units, working in cooperation with Riga’s forces.

As the Riga Lord’s eldest son was already en route, moving forces from another battlefield, they decided to escort the injured Riga Lord to the Lance region, where Riga’s main estate was located, before returning to Ashilton.

“There was a traitor.”

Lying in a medical capsule within the transport ship’s infirmary, surrounded by his injured Esper guards, the Riga Lord requested to meet Bliss. Hearing his words, Bliss nodded, as if he had already anticipated them.

“It seems Veliki betrayed Riga as well.”

“Urgh…!”

The Riga Lord clenched his fist.

“One of the Esper guards tampered with all the communication facilities in both the villa and the village. He was my first guard, with me since I came of age, so I never suspected him.”

‘How did he manage to execute it all at once?’

With a desolate expression, the Lord turned his head, his gaze falling upon the other closed capsules beside him.

“Spencer was an A-grade electrical Esper. He also served as a leader to the other guards protecting me. The other guard Espers were telekinetic and defensive shield users.”

Both Captain Chase and Bliss nodded in understanding. Unlike larger strongholds such as Ashilton or the Lord’s main estate, the village housing the villa had no defenses against Espers.

This was entirely logical, as it had merely been a scenic waypoint along an oil transport route before the Ekanetium ore vein was discovered.

A thought surfaced in Bliss’s mind: the electrical Esper who had attacked them upon their initial entry into the village. Spreading currents through the damp ground, he was clearly someone intimately familiar with the local terrain.

Bliss and his team had continued their advance to deploy Psychic Silence, so they couldn’t know what had become of him directly. However, reports indicated he had successfully escaped with Major Paul, aided by teleporters who had appeared from an unknown location.

‘But why would an Esper, who had served the Riga Lord for so long, commit such an act of betrayal?’

The Lord cleared his throat and requested water. Seeing his discomfort, Captain Chase pressed a button, raising the bed so he could sit upright.

With his gaze now more comfortable, the Lord drank the water, sighed, and once again surveyed the capsules beside him.

From his eyes, it was clear he regarded his guards as family, making the betrayal by the one he trusted most all the more agonizing.

“Could something have happened to his Guide? Was he someone with a matching rate of 50% or more?”

When the matching rate exceeds 50%, an Esper’s protective instincts for their Guide and the imprinting phenomenon intensify significantly. If something goes wrong with their Guide, an Esper can go berserk.

This was the reason Bliss’s father, Seth Moore, went berserk despite a 70% matching rate with Henry Grace. It was also why Bliss became even more obsessed with Ethan.

Captain Chase, recalling the Guides among those rescued, added,

“We rescued two Guides among the household members. Weren’t they the Guides of the injured Espers?”

The Lord shook his head in response to Bliss’s and Captain Chase’s questions.

“Violet, a female Esper and shield user among my guards, lost her Guide-husband to Spencer this time. The two Guides we rescued are Emma, who was originally Spencer’s Guide, and Doctor Chen, the partner of Elliot, a telekinetic Esper.

Doctor Chen is both a Guide and a doctor. He also provided emergency first aid to my leg after Spencer attacked me, all while Violet was reeling from the loss of her husband.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that.”

Captain Chase cast a sympathetic glance at the capsule where the female Esper, who had lost her Guide, lay. Inside the Ekanetium capsule, her face pale, she listened to their conversation, tears streaming down her cheeks.

While a 50% matching rate is the benchmark for the imprinting phenomenon leading to berserk states, all Espers with a matching rate of 30% or more develop affection for their Guide, along with a weaker form of imprinting, much like Hans did.

Yet, she had lost her husband, and to an Esper superior whom she had trusted.

“Let’s keep Guide Doctor Chen by Esper Elliot’s side. For Esper Violet, we’ll temporarily assign a compatible Guide for emergency support, as we are now. When you return to the territory, will you be able to find a suitable Guide for her?”

“No. There’s no other choice; we’ll have to request one from the Center.”

Bliss’s brows subtly furrowed. To be assigned a Guide from the Center, Violet’s information would need to be registered there. This meant that some data on a private soldier under the autonomous region’s lord would become the Center’s property.

His eyes met Captain Chase’s, who also seemed to sense something amiss, giving a slight shake of his head.

“We’ll handle the matching ourselves.”

The Riga Lord’s eyes widened. A military Guide. While potentially more dangerous than a Center Guide, receiving one would bypass the time required for Center approval.

This was because Bliss Moore, the ultimate decision-maker, was right before him.

“Why…?”

The Riga Lord’s gaze wavered. While it was his prerogative to weigh the options between a Center Guide and a military Guide, his desire for Violet to suffer less made a military Guide the more likely choice.

However, that was his own concern. For an elite Esper unit, composed almost entirely of officers, to directly arrange such a valuable Guide matching seemed an excessive act of kindness.

“It would be safer that way.”

As the Lord mulled over Captain Chase’s words, his eyes grew wider.

“C-could it be…?”

Could the Aitoolia Empire’s Center possibly be involved in this territorial conflict? He opened his mouth to ask urgently, but Bliss cut him off.

“Let’s not speculate further. Nothing is certain, but consider it a precaution, just in case.”

“We were also blindsided by the Veliki army, so we intend to conduct an investigation. If the Riga Lord cooperates actively, it seems things will be resolved much faster.”

“…I will consider it.”

The Riga Lord deferred an immediate answer. Bliss and Captain Chase respected his decision.

After all, the Riga Lord’s prudence had contributed to his successful defense against Zaisler’s well-prepared attack.

“Colonel!”

A unit member rushed into the infirmary, urgently calling out to Bliss.

“What is it?”

“Among the rescued Guides, one named Emma attempted to commit suicide by stabbing herself in the neck with a fork!”

“…!!”

Upon hearing this, Violet began pounding on her capsule, wailing.

“Spencer! You bastard! I’ll kill you!”

Beep-beep-

The capsule shuddered as an alarm bell began to blare. It was a prelude to an Esper’s seizure or berserk state, triggered by ability depletion or emotional overload.

[Danger Warning Level 3! Danger Warning Level 3! Activating Esper Barrier in the infirmary! 5 minutes remaining until Esper Barrier is complete. All occupants in the infirmary are advised to evacuate.]

The Esper Barrier, an application of Esper detection technology, suppressed the abilities of physical-type Espers. While it mimicked Psychic Silence artificially, it was ineffective against mental-type Espers.

Furthermore, it merely interfered with abilities rather than fully depleting them, making it distinctly different from Bliss’s own power.

Nevertheless, its effectiveness was not poor. Consequently, it had been installed within the radius of Ashilton’s Jade Bridge and at key locations in the royal palace.

However, its fatal flaws included exorbitant costs and a slow deployment speed relative to the area covered. While Esper Barriers were partially deployed in encampments on the battlefield, these critical drawbacks prevented their effective use in immediate combat situations.

Captain Chase hastily opened the adjacent capsule. He intended to evacuate the Esper inside, even if just that one.

The Esper had suffered burns over half of his upper body from the electrical attack, but he was in a state where he could recover quickly if he met his Guide and received guiding. Since the presence of his Guide was confirmed, there was no need to keep him in the capsule.

“My Lord! Evacuate…!”

The Esper, who had quickly risen, immediately attended to the Riga Lord.

“Colonel, get to safety at once!”

Captain Chase helped the Esper move the Lord onto a mobile bed robot, shouting, but Bliss remained motionless, his arms crossed.

[Danger Warning Level 2! Danger Warning Level 2! Pre-seizure transfer detected in an A-grade Esper! Infirmary sector separation may occur. All occupants in the infirmary are advised to evacuate!]

Outside the infirmary, commotion erupted. The artificial intelligence, having assessed the Esper’s grade by the speed of the pre-seizure transfer, was recommending that the infirmary sector be completely detached from the transport ship and detonated mid-air.

“Damn it! What are you doing?!”

As Captain Chase, having evacuated the Lord to the door, yelled, a look of ‘displeasure’ finally settled on Bliss’s face, which had been devoid of emotion until then.

Then, slowly, he retrieved something from his pocket and, against her convulsing face…

*Rubbed it firmly.*

“…!!”

His hand, swiftly withdrawn, vanished back into his pocket.

[Danger Warning Level 2 deactivated. Danger Warning Level 3 deactivated.]

“H-how…?”

As the warning levels dropped, the blaring bell and red lights ceased. No one understood what had transpired, but when Bliss, an Esper, extended and then withdrew his hand, her seizure stopped.

Violet, who had been half-conscious, was equally oblivious to what had just occurred.

Yet, Captain Chase had seen it. What Bliss had rubbed against her face was Ethan’s lucky pouch.

“…A new, haha, Moore family, experiment, in progress, still, incomplete… hahaha.”

Captain Chase, cutting his words short and mumbling, then followed his superior, who was attempting to nonchalantly exit, out of the infirmary.

“If you had that, why didn’t you say you’d use it sooner?!”

Despite being the one who had stabilized Violet using the lucky pouch, Bliss still appeared to be in a foul mood. In response to Captain Chase’s badgering, he opened his tightly sealed lips and uttered a single word.

“…It’s a bit.”

“A bit what?”

“…Too precious.”

Captain Chase clutched the back of his neck.