Chapter 31 …
“Mm…”
Aselia was the one who kissed him first. She had only meant to brush her lips lightly against his and pull away at once, but the moment she saw his eyes, she instinctively withdrew. Kalisten looked at her in surprise.
“What was that?”
“Y-You did it first. So I thought I would too…”
For some reason, her heart pounded with embarrassment. He had kissed her first, so she assumed he would like it if she did the same—but he didn’t look pleased at all.
Seeing the complicated expression on Kalisten’s face, Aselia finally began to understand what he meant when he said he wished all of this were a dream.
He hated it, yet acted on his desire all the same.
“I won’t do it anymore—mm—”
Before she could finish, he covered her lips with his own. She squirmed, trying to pull away, but their interlocked hands tightened instead.
Now that she understood he regarded everything as a dream—something he wished were only a dream—and that this was nothing more than an act driven by pleasure, she didn’t want to kiss him. She turned her head, trying to avoid his lips pressing against hers.
“Kal, I—”
The eyes that had been gently closed snapped open sharply, and he released her hand. Thinking he was letting her go, she tried to step back—but she couldn’t.
“Ah—w-wait!”
He followed the direction she had turned her head, and his lips brushed her chin. Without breaking contact, he slid his mouth upward toward hers again. She quickly turned her head the opposite way.
His hand came up and gripped her chin, preventing her from moving.
“Stay still.”
“…Do you like kissing me?”
At her question, he stared at her for a moment as if thinking it over, then answered:
“No.”
Kalisten had been injected with a truth serum, so he spoke honestly. The beautiful woman before him wasn’t truly Aselia. Because of the hallucinogen, he was merely projecting Aselia onto what he saw—his own desire creating the illusion.
There was no way he could say he liked the kiss. It was intoxicating, made him want more, drove him to chase his cravings—
But it wasn’t a feeling of “liking.”
Rather, he felt sorry. Guilty. Self-reproachful.
And along with an incomprehensible flutter in his chest, there was the strange wish that the woman before him really were Aselia.
He truly wanted to see her. But this kind of lust was wrong. This illusion could only exist in dreams. If he were exposed once he woke from it, Aselia would never look at him the same way again.
‘I like you, Kalisten.’
Those words carried a pure affection—something entirely different from the desire burning inside him.
He couldn’t possibly mistake that.
“Mm… ah…”
Pressing against Aselia’s lips and stealing her breath, Kalisten moved more fiercely than ever before. No matter how much he devoured, his thirst only seemed to grow. He brushed her chin with his palm, released their interlocked hands, then wrapped an arm around her waist and stroked her back.
“Ah—th-that tickles—mm—”
He didn’t even let her finish before continuing to stroke her back. Feeling the warmth of him against her shoulder blades, Aselia trembled. His fingertips traced over her shoulder blades, and her long hair brushed against the back of his hand. Each time he touched her, the way her body shivered was unbearably beautiful.
“Ah, w-wait!”
Aselia gasped when he lifted her lab coat and slid his hot hand inside. His large hand pressed her navel with his thumb, making her curl inward.
“I—I have to go soon!”
“Don’t go. I won’t let you.”
“Kal…!”
As she shrank back and struggled to steady herself, Kalisten suddenly scooped her up with ease. Then he buried his head inside her clothes.
“Ah—wait—!”
The brush of his hair against her stomach was unbearably ticklish. At the same time, the softness of his hair grazing her chest made her body heat up.
“Don’t bite—ah, that hurts!”
Though it didn’t truly hurt, she cried out in fluster whenever he nipped at her playfully. When she said it hurt, he lessened the force. He had only been biting with his lips to begin with, but now he did so more gently, as if savoring her.
“Ah…”
Without realizing it, Aselia wrapped her arms around his head. Beneath her lab coat, his head felt scorching hot. And even hotter was his body. What had just explored her mouth now felt far more intense against her skin.
—Step, step.
“S-Stop! I don’t want this!”
Hearing approaching footsteps, Aselia cried out. Kalisten immediately halted.
She quickly slipped down from his arms and picked up the necklace that had fallen to the floor.
—Beep.
By a narrow margin, she managed to put the necklace on.
“You can go now.”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Don’t take her.”
Kalisten suddenly pulled Aselia into his arms and spoke to Ivan as though giving an order.
“You think I’ll just let you?” Ivan retorted.
Kalisten glared at him and began releasing his magic wildly. The air heated up in an instant. Ivan looked at Aselia in alarm.
Placing her hand gently over the back of Kalisten’s hand, she said,
“Kal, calm down.”
“No. He’s trying to take you.”
“I want to see your face. Let go for a moment.”
The heat around them gradually subsided, and he slowly loosened his arm. Once free, Aselia threw her arms tightly around his neck.
Even though she had returned to her male form, Kalisten strangely felt just as pleased as when she had been in the form of a woman.
“I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
“Don’t go. I don’t want you to.”
“If you’re like this, I’ll be really sad. Don’t do that.”
At her words, Kalisten quietly leaned into her. Then he hugged her tightly and said,
“Come back before the dream ends.”
“…Okay.”
“Promise.”
“I will.”
Aselia hated lying, but she thought she had no choice.
And so, she returned to Building A with Ivan.
Not long after she left, Kalisten lost consciousness from the drugs. When he woke again, he curled up his large body and waited for her to return.
Praying desperately that the nightmare would remain nothing more than a nightmare.
But Aselia did not appear, even when morning came.
The next day, Aselia had to follow Ivan for morning meal distribution.
Something felt off. Usually, distributing meals meant carrying a tray, receiving the food, and bringing it to the designated room to feed the subject.
But today was different. Everyone carried the same trays and received food as usual.
However, instead of one person entering a room at a time, a long line formed to enter a single room.
—Bang!
The closer they got, the louder the crashing noises became.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Researcher Ivan.”
Holding her tray and lowering her head, Aselia listened as Ivan spoke quietly beside her.
“Take this.”
“This is…?”
“If it seems impossible, drop the tray and come out immediately.”
“…What?”
“The one inside is XX-grade. So…”
“Ah…”
XX-grade meant considered for disposal. XXX-grade meant one more mistake and immediate disposal.
—Crash!
The line grew shorter, and Aselia tensed.
“If I come out midway, what about you, Researcher Ivan?”
“I won’t be in trouble. But the chip inside you…”
“So whether I complete the task or not will be reported.”
“Right.”
Aselia knew about the chips implanted in all the test subjects. They were embedded using magic, and only a specialist could remove them. Though they looked like small lumps of lead, they actually regulated and monitored all of the subjects’ actions.
Those who escaped the lab were all captured and killed because of those chips.
The thought that someone was watching her every move sent a chill down her spine.
“Was I reassigned for Kalisten’s awakening?”
At her sharp question, Ivan frowned.
“Yes. So… if it’s too dangerous, come out. I’ll say I mistakenly pulled you out.”
“What instructions were you given?”
Knowing he wasn’t someone who would casually strike her, Aselia looked him in the eye as she asked. The moment their gazes met, Ivan unconsciously thought of an old friend and grimaced.
“I can’t say. If I do, I’ll die too.”
“…Don’t tell me you also—”
“Yes. I have one implanted as well.”
Fear gripped Aselia at the realization that even Ivan carried the same chip. At the same time, she wondered what any of this had to do with Kalisten’s awakening.
“You won’t be going in alone. So go in—but if it’s dangerous, slip out quietly.”
“Yes.”
Clutching the researcher’s card Ivan had given her tightly in her hand, Aselia slowly approached the door from which the loud crashes echoed.
The sound inside was heavy—like something solid striking against something else.
Like the sickening, brutal noise of a body colliding with something hard.
“Z-898 will arrive soon. Even if you can’t get out, endure it.”
Though terrified, Aselia nodded at Ivan’s words.
