Chapter 57: Arrival (5)

It was obvious who sent it. Ayen read them again before looking at the card details.

He tried to stay calm, but the obvious shaking of his hands betrayed his real emotion. For some reason, he found it hard to compose himself.

Devion and Khal finally arrived.

That realization completely pulled him from his agonizing thoughts, and all he could think about was… running to the place indicated to meet the two espers.

Ayen had not thought that he was this eager to meet them again until that phone call. It was strange… This feeling, which he felt, was so uncharacteristic of him.

Yet, he was not repulsed by it in the slightest. Instead, he felt like welcoming this change, no matter where it led him. Ayen’s life had been stagnant for far too long, and a little wave of change was very noticeable.

Despite his feelings, Ayen did not immediately leave. With the card in his hand, he finished what he was doing. The two were not urging him, and Ayen could not just leave without an excuse.

It just so happened that his tasks were not particularly important, and Ayen quickly finished them.

He left the association building after a talk with the team leader. He did not ask Ayen and let him leave casually. Unlike in the yellow zone, the desk work was not much in the red zone, and everything was almost centered around the field.

This helped the fact that Ayen might not check in by the next day or in a few days. If he were to guide both Devion and Khal, then a backlash symptom would definitely affect him by the next day or in a few days.

Pushing up his scarf to cover the lower half of his face, Ayen walked towards the indicated place. The stronghold was not huge, and most houses or buildings were almost next to each other, except in the branch buildings.

Soon, Ayen paused and looked around. He observed his surroundings and read the signs visible around. The card did not have a complete address on it, but instead more of an illustration with some text to indicate the surroundings.

Ayen was not sure if he was in the right location at all. Even if he was not, he could have just walked around the area a bit. He looked up and saw the institute building.

In the card, there was also a drawing of that building, indicating the location was near it. Just as he was about to ask some people, Ayen sensed a gaze watching him.

He was very particular about such sensations, and so he quickly swept his eyes around until they landed in one direction. Ayen met a very familiar face, and that arrogant grin was etched on his face.

It seemed he had been watching Ayen since earlier.

“Yo, I’ve never seen someone as pretty as you.”

“Devion,” Ayen called, somehow absentmindedly.

Looking at the man sitting comfortably on the stone edge outside a small house. His figure was not too conspicuous, but Ayen had wondered why he had not noticed him earlier.

Devion’s grin widened, seemingly satisfied to be called by his name. He got up, put on his hood, and lowered it. Ayen remained in his position as he watched Devion walk towards him.

Devion stared at him with a glint in his eyes.

Ayen stared back at him, confused.

“Looking good. This coat suits you,” Devion commented with a satisfied smile on his lips.

Ayen’s lips quivered slightly. He found it harder to just dismiss such praise as usual.

“Are you complimenting yourself or me?” Ayen could only voice out.

Devion chuckled and leaned forward. “Both.”

Ayen looked up at him. Their faces were closed, and he could immediately feel Devion’s natural warmth that he radiated. They stared at each other like that.

“Shall we go?” Devion whispered.

Ayen nodded slightly.

Devion then led him to the exact house where he was sitting in front of it. Again, Ayen had noticed that they liked to stay in such a simple place.

Ayen did not know that it was only because it was his decision to become low profile that they could only stay in such a place, even in a red zone.

Although it was true that Devion and Khal did not mind where they rested, they still indulged themselves once in a while.

Getting inside, the cold quickly dispersed.

“You can put your coat there.” Devion pointed at the cabinet right at the entrance. While he just threw his coat on the sofa. “Khal met your bodyguard a bit. He’ll be back.”

Devion had just finished when the door opened once more.

“Oh, speaking of the devil.”

Khal paused and met Ayen’s eyes, who also stopped removing his coat.

“You’re here,” Khal softly greeted and closed the distance.

Ayen’s hands in the hem of his coat tightened. To hear that soothing voice while facing him sends shivers down his spine. He had to admit that Khal truly knew how to mess with his system.

“Yeah,” Ayen swallowed and then called his name. “Khal.”

Although he was on edge since that call. And that the moment he received the card, he almost wanted to run to their location, and what he wanted to do was the least of his concerns. He just wanted to see them again.

And now that they were facing each other, Ayen felt his heart settle down somewhat. He could not understand himself at all. Handling emotions after years of closing himself off was harder than he thought.

Ayen felt that he wanted to say something, but also could not put anything into words. In a way, he began to realize and dislike that part about himself.

The anger he felt upon realizing that the dungeon break was more than meets the eye was now replaced by a conflicting emotion. But between the two, Ayen was more open to face the latter.

***

“They disappeared?”

“Yes, the espers following them completely lost them.”

There were sighs and clicks of tongues that resounded for a while in the room. However, no one was truly angry.

“This is also within our expectations.”

“Following two SS-class Espers is an impossible task from the start. It’s just…” His aged voice then began to sound annoyed. “How ruthless. Some of the espers lost contact with us.”

Some could not help but hold their breath at that.

It could only mean the espers were already dead or killed.

Silence began to overwhelm the room for a few minutes.

Then the man sitting at the head seat spoke, shattering the silence. Everyone immediately looked at him.

“This plan isn’t exactly a failure.” There was now a smile on his lips. “They won’t interfere, at least… They don’t have any intention to enter the fray at this time.”

With this realization, the participants also felt relieved. With two SS-class espers out of the equation, their plan could be smoothly implemented.

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