The X Guide

Khal did not often show his vulnerability, or, like, he almost never did.

Ayen looked up and watched the two kiss; as their lips parted, the two espers looked at him. Khal caressed his hair and touched his earlobe.

Their lips were moist from their saliva.

"What happened?" Ayen felt the need to ask. He already noticed Aicel’s miserable state. To say his condition was way worse than what Ayen did should be an understatement.

Seeing him did not stir any emotions within him.

He was more concerned about Khal’s emotional upheavals.

Khal locked gaze with him and slowly traced his chin to his lips, and then leaned to give him a kiss. Ayen expected it and closed his eyes.

Just like with Devion’s, it was unlike Khal’s usual kisses; it was slow and more like Khal wanting to feel his lips against his.

Their breaths intertwined, and the three fell silent after that kiss. The temperature had stopped dropping, and Khal’s eyes returned to normal.

"We need to talk," Khal said seriously to them.

His plans... have to change.

At the same time, what was happening in the city had also reached the higher-ups of each force. Not to mention the commotion they caused; every eye was focused on this city, after all.

Moreover, Khal never had any intention to hide this operation. Since it has already come to this point.

"They are there... why?" The president looked dumbfounded as he looked at everyone in the room. "Can someone tell me how no one noticed their arrival?"

The others lowered their gazes, but inwardly they were screaming and criticizing the president.

How can ordinary people like them, even S-class espers, notice the SS-class espers’ whereabouts if they choose to hide their presence?

The president knew about it too, but he was only frustrated and taking it all out on everyone.

The president pinched the space between his brows, suddenly having a headache. He wanted to reprimand the two espers for breaking their promise not to intervene in this war, but would he dare?

No one ever could. And that was the problem.

Khal and Devion were like terrifying, uncontrolled weapons, ones that have the potential to go berserk and destroy the world.

The conference room was silent. Each of them has the same expression as the president.

They were not even brave enough to talk shit against Khal and Devion out loud or inside their heads.

This war could not continue if they intervened. His hand clenched. When would the battle against the clans end? The tension around them had already reached a point where they could not hide it anymore.

The clan forces must have been restless, too.

The President sighed after a while.

"Is Arstem back yet? Tell him to... Try and meet them."

There was no choice. Even though they feared and hated the SS-class esper’s power, they could only lower their heads. This was so humiliating for a person practically at the top of human power, the President of the government.

Just as the secretary was about to say something, the door of the conference room opened. The one entering could not help but stiffen when an almost displeased gaze went to her.

After all, the tension was palpable inside. Her knees almost buckled, but she still managed to bow and walk inside.

In her hand was a letter.

"Uh, I’m sorry to interrupt." She bowed again and put the letter on the desk before the president. "The exclusive SS-class esper team in the institute sent this, Mr. President."

The President instantly became serious about this, and so did everyone else.

It was an independent institute branch that only reported to Khal and Devion. Despite being an institute affiliate in name, they were allowed not to obey the Institute Director, and even the president himself.

He almost gripped the letter hard just by thinking about this. It was such a disgrace to allow this to happen, a clear indication that the two stood over his head.

The president swept at everyone’s curious gaze and opened the letter at their watch. His expression increasingly became subtle as he continued reading it.

In fact, the content was not much and did not even sound formal, as though it was written in a hurry and with a lack of care. Yet, the content was what made it shocking.

His eyes went to everyone.

"A guide... They found a guide," he muttered in an almost inaudible tone.

The letter was then distributed to everyone. Their expression was strange, but also surprised.

The conference was suddenly shrouded by silence for a few minutes.

"They actually declare the Nevaris Clan as their enemies..."

This shattered the silence.

A collective heavy sigh soon followed.

Wow... The Nevaris clan was in serious trouble this time.

"That meant... We shouldn’t be worried about their intervention, right?"

There was an indication of that in the letter. The two made a clear line of who they were after, and while not explicitly said, they conveyed their stance regarding the war.

The president fell silent.

"Hmm..." he tapped the table, lost in thought.

After so many years, the two espers finally found a guide capable of guiding them. It should be good news, but he could not help but frown.

Without a guide, they were already unstoppable. How about now, when they have a guide? Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

However, that was something he could not be fixated about, as he was powerless no matter the case. Still, this might help them in their war.

The president looked at the secretary and ordered.

"Draft a congratulatory message and indicate our stance on this matter." He doubted the two espers cared about his message, but it was better to send something than nothing at all.

He looked around and became motivated.

"Use this pretext to tilt the moral ground in our favor. Say that the clan did not have morals, kidnapping the SS-class espers’ guide."

Of course, the real story was the friend of the SS-class espers guide. But there was no need to be specific. After all, what the government needed was to drive public opinion and not to report the truth.