Chapter 55: The Public Kiss

An Esper’s rampage is the uncontrolled discharge of all their stored energy. Typically, an Esper possesses an energy tank with a limited capacity, allowing them to use their abilities and then recharge within that boundary. However, a rampage consumes the entire body, converting even the most trivial energies—those used for eating, drinking, running, and walking—into power for their abilities.

An Esper’s body, superheated from expending all its energy, becomes a ticking bomb. Like a fuse burning down, it drains power until, finally, the intensely hot body explodes, leading to death. The immense physical damage inflicted upon the surroundings was an inevitable consequence. Until now, there were only two known methods to halt a rampage in progress.

For a low-level Esper’s rampage, one method was for an Esper two levels higher to kill the rampaging Esper before the final explosion. The other involved a highly compatible Guide, possessing a similar affinity, calming them down.

The former was difficult to employ if an Esper barrier was present, if many people were at risk, or in confined spaces. The latter, successful only in a rare handful of cases, relied on the rampaging Esper’s matched Guide having an exceptionally high compatibility rate. Alternatively, a multi-affinity Guide like Devon Green could sometimes achieve pacification.

Psychic Silence, a top-tier ability of the rare Shadow affinity, typically depletes an Esper without killing them. While it was unknown if the same effect would occur on a rampaging Esper, inducing depletion before their body overheated from energy discharge might, at the very least, prevent an explosion.

‘…A method I’ve never even considered.’

Bliss murmured, looking down at Ethan with a hint of surprise. A sneer flickered in Herace’s gaze as he watched Devon. Devon grit his teeth. Even he, as the head of the center, found it theoretically plausible. However, he quickly regained his composed expression.

‘It’s questionable whether Psychic Silence can neutralize the energy barrier that only appears around a rampaging Esper.’

All the fragments swirling around Baron Rex formed a circular shape. This barrier, encircling him like Saturn’s rings, protected the Esper as they consumed everything, awaiting death. Only a Guide could penetrate it to reach the Esper’s core being.

Yet, Ethan retorted with unwavering confidence.

‘If there’s a question, we must try it.’

‘Bliss, can you do it?’

At Herace’s words, Ethan reached up, cupped Bliss’s cheek, and whispered into his ear.

‘Sawol, the Mangnyang will help you. You can’t see them, but you can feel them, right?’

As Ethan’s lips moved, almost brushing his skin, warm, ticklish breaths caressed him. Bliss felt his ears flush at the mere whisper, prompting him to stand abruptly. He had focused so intensely, feeling as if all his nerves had converged on his ear, that he immediately understood Ethan’s meaning.

Sawol the Mangnyang had been the primary culprit behind the consumption of the liver dish at tonight’s banquet. From the moment Ethan arrived, he had lectured the spirits hovering in the air, asserting that such occasions were perfect for indulging in expensive food at others’ expense. That spirit, it turned out, was Mangnyang.

Their specialty, Ethan had said, was ‘to ruin, disrupt, and create chaos.’

Bliss descended the dais, evading the incoming projectiles with minimal movement. The gazes of those shrieking in terror fixated on him. It was astonishing enough that an Esper, not a Guide, had stepped forward, but what truly captivated their attention was Bliss Moore. He walked through the air, where shards, chairs, and broken wood flew with incomprehensible force, deftly dodging them with mere tilts of his head, shifts in his steps, and subtle twists of his torso.

While everyone else frantically scrambled and ran, his composed stroll evoked the image of a tiger stalking its chosen prey, stealthily approaching with unwavering focus.

An elegant beast. Devon gazed at him, utterly captivated. The more he watched, the more he yearned to possess him. Truly, he was too valuable a man to turn into an enemy and destroy.

Ethan sighed, observing the pale-skinned child skipping behind Bliss as if playing hopscotch. Above his head, Dongja started bickering with Mangnyang.

‘[Hey! You ate, now work! Stop playing!]’

Ethan subtly rolled his eyes, glaring. Dongja, feeling exposed, offered an awkward laugh and vanished. He was quick only when it suited him.

A deep rumble echoed—

Around Baron Rex, finely shattered, sharp fragments densely enveloped him, forming a rotating belt. These were not the sporadic pieces Bliss had skillfully avoided earlier; rather, they were propelled by the Baron’s fierce, emitted energy. It looked as though a cluster of comets was falling, yet they were instead bound by force, swiftly orbiting in a tight band.

Bliss approached the energy barrier as closely as possible, scrutinizing it intently. Unable to see Mangnyang, he had to keenly follow the faint spiritual presence he could perceive. Then, for a fleeting moment, the flow of the energy barrier twisted slightly in the lower right section.

‘This is it.’

Bliss moved swiftly, slipping inside. Baron Rex, his entire face covered in thorn-like patterns, stood suspended about ten centimeters above the ground, his arms hanging limp, head tilted back toward the sky.

‘Even if he survives, the chances of him being sane are slim.’

A diameter of fifty centimeters. This meant he had to use it while pressed right against Baron Rex, concentrating his utmost power into a single, focused burst.

Without hesitation, Bliss unleashed Psychic Silence.

A sudden hush—

The statues, wood, and decorations that had been wildly flying across the banquet hall instantly fell silent, freezing in place like a still image. Soon, they began to twitch, attempting to resume their movement.

‘Damn it!’

Clinging tightly to Baron Rex, he resisted the force that sought to ignore him and continue its march toward death, unleashing Psychic Silence repeatedly. Sweat beaded on his forehead, then trickled down.

Crash! Bang! Thud!

Herace and Ethan shot to their feet. Those who had taken shelter in corners, along with the unit members who had been deploying shields or clearing fragments with their abilities, all stared blankly at a single spot.

Bliss’s power and the rampaging Esper’s power were locked in a fierce tug-of-war. The dense belt of fragments swirling closest to Baron Rex would hesitate, then completely cease as if extinguished by Bliss, only to twitch slightly and stop again, repeating the cycle.

‘A-amazing!’

‘What exactly am I witnessing?’

‘I-is this… possible?’

Slam!

Ethan, having sprung from his seat, began to descend into the hall.

‘Ethan Prescott, it’s dangerous!’

Herace shouted, but Ethan seized the opportunity, with all hazardous objects frozen in mid-air, and diligently made his way toward Bliss. Though the obstacles remained, they no longer flew at high speeds, making it possible to move forward by simply pushing them aside or dodging them, unlike before when moving alone was unthinkable.

However, each time the surge of the rampage twitched, attempting to defy Bliss’s power, the floating hazards also twitched and shifted slightly, making Ethan’s progress exceptionally precarious.

‘…Ah!’

As a moving glass shard grazed Ethan’s cheek, drawing blood, a collective sigh of distress escaped those watching him.

‘Just a little more!’

‘Be careful!’

They watched Ethan’s perilous approach to Bliss, their hands clammy with sweat, cheering him on. It was just as Ethan finally neared the energy barrier.

A profound rumble—!

Bliss’s Psychic Silence, for the unknown time, finally subdued Baron Rex’s rampage.

‘He did it! Oh!’

Those who had been cheering now shrieked again. All the suspended debris began to plummet to the floor at once. The Antares Unit members in the evacuation zone quickly deployed their shields and were safe, but Ethan remained exposed near the energy barrier, where the fragments were most concentrated.

‘Dangerous!’

The eyes of those screaming widened. Bliss, who had appeared beside him, swiftly snatched Ethan by the waist, pulling him into an embrace. Simultaneously, Herace, having rushed down from the dais, unleashed a gust of wind that swept away the falling fragments, clearing the space around Ethan and Bliss.

Ethan felt the arm around his waist trembling. He lifted his head, meeting Bliss’s gaze. To provide guiding without releasing Crow Oweol’s shield, mucosal contact was necessary. Seeing Bliss’s tired eyes, which had not expected Ethan to come to him, gradually fill with anticipation, Ethan subtly averted his gaze.

Bliss’s hot breath enveloped Ethan’s lips entirely.

‘…!!’

‘Gasp!’

Bliss sucked on Ethan’s upper lip, tilting his head to the side. As he pushed his tongue between their locked lips, Ethan’s tightly embraced body fluttered. Just moments before, Bliss had been on the verge of a seizure, but the instant he claimed Ethan’s mouth, all the clamoring stimuli around him began to subside.

Delighting in Ethan’s clumsy struggles, Bliss let out a low chuckle against his lips. He pressed his mouth violently against Ethan’s, bruising their lips together, and gently sucked on his soft tongue.

‘Hmph…! Ah!’

As a breathless Ethan turned his head, letting out a moan, Bliss lifted one arm from around his waist and cupped Ethan’s jaw, preventing him from moving his face. Then, Bliss devoured even Ethan’s whimpers.

Bliss instinctively pushed back Ethan’s resisting tongue with his own, then swept across the vulnerable roof of his mouth. Ethan trembled as if struck by lightning, wriggling faintly. Bliss plunged his tongue as deep as possible, sweeping it out slowly, then subtly nipped Ethan’s lower lip, repeatedly sucking Ethan’s tongue into his own in a series of intoxicating kisses.

Everyone in the banquet hall stared blankly at the scene. The beautiful, black-haired Guide wore a jacket adorned with elaborate patterns that flowed down his slender frame, beneath which were extremely wide-legged trousers with finely machine-pleated details.

The back of the jacket featured multiple layers of fabric with matching patterns, trailing long like a tail. A wide cover belt, embellished with sparkling snowflake ornaments and delicate chains, accentuated his slender waist. As he was embraced by the tall, blond Esper, who was showering him with soft, fluttering kisses, his legs were drawn together, making the wide, seemingly active trousers vaguely resemble a dress.

His attire, contrasting sharply yet harmonizing perfectly with Bliss’s banquet suit—which exuded a measured charisma through its extreme simplicity—made onlookers wonder if they were, in fact, witnessing a film set, capturing a banquet scene.

‘…What exactly am I… seeing right now?’

Someone mindlessly repeated the words they had uttered moments before.

Unable to hold his breath any longer, Ethan tapped Bliss’s shoulder. Finally, Bliss, who had been biting his lip, briefly pulled away before pressing his lips back against Ethan’s. *Chop, chop*—the soft sounds of their lips meeting and parting echoed starkly through the now-silent banquet hall, all debris having fallen, causing the faces of those watching to flush crimson.

‘Are all Guide and Esper kisses… that… primal?’

Someone, clearly a civilian, cautiously asked an Esper nearby. Though they used “primal” as a euphemism, the implication was “animalistic.” The Esper, whose ears had turned bright red, cleared their throat and evaded the question, while other Espers and Guides subtly avoided the questioner’s gaze, pretending not to notice.

‘It seems the situation has been resolved.’

‘C-Colonel Bliss used that much power, and he’s now calmed down with just a kiss for guiding? How high must their matching rate be to achieve that!’

As practical conversations began, the once-silent banquet hall filled with murmurs. Meanwhile, still holding Ethan close, Bliss cast a wind barrier around them and approached where the exhausted Prince Herace was being supported by others.

‘We were merely invited guests, so there’s no need for us to handle the cleanup, is there?’

Betelgeuse Commander Arthur Swan, responsible for the Royal Guard, went pale at Bliss’s brazen voice, which hadn’t changed a single tone as he attempted to escape. Ethan covered his flushed face with both hands. He had desperately rushed forward, thinking only that Bliss, who had repeatedly used his abilities, would immediately need guiding. Now, regaining his senses, he realized they had just publicly kissed.

‘I will never enter the palace again. I will never encounter Herace or any of these attending nobles again.’ Ethan inwardly struggled behind the hands covering his face.

With a stiff face, no different from his usual demeanor, Bliss dropped another bombshell on Herace, who was glaring at him with a look of utter disbelief.

‘We’ll be taking our leave now. It seems Ethan was so surprised his legs gave out.’

Ethan, who had been leaning against Bliss, abruptly straightened up, his eyes wide in a glare.

‘This damn Esper! My legs gave out because of *you*!’

Bliss gently smiled, pulling the stiffened Ethan back into his embrace, making him lean against him once more. His eyes, usually so impassive as to be brazen, curved into an arc solely for Ethan, causing someone from the Antares Unit to hiccup. It was an unfamiliar sight, almost frightening.

Herace, looking utterly disgusted, waved his hand dismissively at Bliss, letting loose a vulgar remark that completely abandoned his royal dignity.

‘You think I don’t have a Guide?! Get out.’

‘I’m ruined. I’m ruined again.’

With a face on the verge of tears, Ethan allowed himself to be pulled away, almost carried in Bliss’s arms, his body limp with resignation.