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

"What did you do to him?" Devon immediately ground his teeth once they’d adjusted Ambrose enough to rest on the sofa. "I left you two for what? Five to ten minutes? And somehow he’s bleeding from—"

"The question here should be what did HE do?" Valentine’s expression remained neutral as his standing posture straightened over the Guide. "Placing a Necrotic Mark is never supposed to be so difficult. A minute at most. And in all my years I’ve never had a target bleed from their nose."

"Oh, so now you’re blaming him for something you did?"

"I’m simply being rational." The SS-Rank held back a chuckle. "He did something and that’s the only reason he’s unconscious. Either that or his aether... just didn’t react the way it’s supposed to."

His head swerved to Ambrose. His face was marred with beads of sweat now, his eyelids quivering like he was having a mental struggle.

Valentine placed his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "Let’s hope he wakes up soon. Maybe then we can get some answers."

"No." Devon shook his head. "You’ve questioned him enough. When he wakes up there has to be less of that."

Neither of them said a word after that. They just waited. And watched—both hoping in their own way that the Guide wakes up soon.

★★★★★

Aurelia City Park

"We need more Guides here!"

"Argh—my arm. I need a medic!"

Viktor and the rest of the Glacier Talon team had successfully cleared the A-Rank dungeon after about two hours. Well... depending on your definition of ’successfully’.

Not only had some of them barely escaped with their lives, but Viktor had discovered something nerve-racking even before they walked out.

"What do you mean guiding isn’t working on him?" One of the medics the Guild had sent to the scene rushed past the S-Rank Guide giving the report.

She squinted at Viktor’s current state. He rested his back against a tree, his eyes closed and arms limp by his sides. It might look like he was worn out or exhausted.

But that was far from what was happening.

Behind those sealed eyes, he fought back the primal instincts his aether energy was awakening. The voices became nothing but noise—concerned or otherwise.

His heart hammered like war drums as his thoughts ran wild. ’Stay calm, Viktor. You can’t go berserk... You just fucking can’t.’

"Mr Morozov?" The female medic, who also happened to be an A-Rank Guide, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Can you hear me? Please, can you open your eyes?"

Viktor hesitated, angling his head away from the sound of her voice. But then her grip tightened.

"If you want whatever is happening to stop then you’ll have to answer, sir."

Fuck.

Reluctantly, the ice Prince opened his eyes. They flared with an icy blue glow, brighter than normal. And far fiercer.

"My word..." the female medic searched through her bag before pulling out a small vial with a yellowish liquid. "Take this. Come on, open up."

Viktor scrunched his face as he let her empty the vial’s contents down his throat. He gulped with a raspy breath, blinking erratically once it hit his stomach.

"A special guiding mixture." The medic explained, her eyes sliding to the S-Rank Guide. "You’re sure you guided him properly? Even after stepping out of the dungeon."

He nodded. "I know what I’m talking about. I couldn’t even connect with his aether, let alone carry out a successful guiding. It was as though... his energy was rejecting mine. Actively."

A grim light flickered in the medic’s eyes. "Christ," she muttered, spinning her head back to Viktor. "How’s the guiding potion working?"

Viktor held back the urge to say something harsh. "Useless." He managed instead. "There’s... barely any difference."

The medic’s face paled. "It’s just like I feared." She and the S-Rank exchanged a knowing look. One that instantly made Viktor feel left out.

"What? What is it you aren’t telling me?"

The S-Rank Guide heaved. "I’ve seen situations like this happen before. But I didn’t want to believe it was the case because... well, you never mentioned having one."

Now Viktor’s frown turned to something ugly. "Having... what?"

It was the medic’s turn to make an input. "A permanent Guide." She whispered, shaking her head. "One of the effects of being linked permanently to a Guide is that you won’t be able to form temporary links with other Guides. And normal guiding medications gradually start losing potency."

Shivers ran through Viktor’s being. He nearly stumbled, resting his head against the tree until he was staring past the large branches and into the sky.

A permanent Guide?

Unless he’d somehow suffered a cruel case of memory loss, Viktor had never been permanently linked with a Guide. Ever.

’Unless...’ his pulse stuttered when a stray thought raced through his head. ’No. That can’t be. It’s just... not possible...’

Yet whenever he tried thinking of literally anything or anyone else, his mind just came back full circle. To one blonde, silver-eyed Guide.

★★★★★

"Fuck..." Ambrose gritted his teeth as consciousness flooded back into him. He rubbed his temple, blinking through the blurry haze. "What the heck—"

"Rose!" Devon’s voice was the first thing to welcome him. The S-Rank pulled him off the sofa and into his arms, rocking him in a choking embrace. "God, you scared me."

Ambrose’s eyes went wide as he tapped his back gently. "T–Thanks. But... you’re kinda suffocating me right now."

Devon let go, keeping his hand on his shoulder instead. "You passed out. After Valentine put his... what’s that thing called again?"

He turned to the Necromancer who stood a few paces to Ambrose’s left with folded arms.

"A Necrotic Mark." He answered coolly. "Good to have you back in the land of the living, Ambrose."

Those words were supposed to be comforting at the very least. But Ambrose saw past them as he remembered all that happened before he lost consciousness.

The permanent link...

[Updated number of linked Espers: 3.] Aura rang with her usual bad timing. [You passed out due to the pressure from Valentine’s aether and his psyche.]

A sharp knock suddenly echoed through the suite.

Three short taps.

Then silence.

All heads turned toward the door instantly.

Devon’s posture stiffened beside Ambrose while Valentine merely arched a brow, unfolding his arms with lazy curiosity.

"Now who could that be?" The Necromancer muttered.

Another knock sounded. This time louder. More impatient.

Ambrose swallowed hard for reasons he couldn’t explain. Something deep in his chest tugged painfully.

Valentine glanced between the two before shrugging. "Relax. If it’s an assassin then at least today won’t be boring."

"That’s not funny," Devon snapped.

Yet the SS-Rank only grinned faintly as he strode toward the entrance. The moment he unlocked and pulled open the door—freezing air rushed into the suite.

Literally.

The living room temperature dropped so sharply that Ambrose felt goosebumps erupt along his arms.

Standing outside the door was Viktor.

His snow-white hair looked slightly damp, loose strands clinging to his forehead. His face had lost most of its usual color and his icy blue eyes glowed unnaturally beneath the hallway lights.

For a second no one spoke.

Even Valentine looked mildly surprised as the Ice Prince stepped inside slowly.

The air around him crackled with unstable frost aura, thin layers of ice forming briefly beneath his boots before melting away.

Devon’s expression shifted immediately. "Viktor...?" he frowned. "What happened to you?"

But Viktor didn’t answer.

His gaze had already found Ambrose. Locked onto him. Like a predator spotting the only thing that mattered in the room.

Ambrose’s stomach dropped.

That strange tug inside his chest intensified violently now.

Their permanent link!

Viktor’s jaw clenched.

Then finally, in a low voice cold enough to freeze blood, he asked: "... Did you do something to me?"

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