Chapter 46 …
“Kal!”
Ascelia screamed his name. But Calisten looked as if he couldn’t breathe at all.
“Huff… gasp…!”
It was as if he was desperately trying to inhale but couldn’t get a single breath. Ascelia was alarmed at how irregular and pained his breathing was, like someone drowning.
“Kal, I… I’ll… I’ll get the researcher!”
“Don’t…!”
The moment the word “researcher” left her lips, Calisten regained some consciousness through the pain. He tried not to touch her, but his hand grabbed her wrist.
Pain made it impossible to control his strength. He wanted to avoid touching her, fearing that in his blurred state, he might leave marks.
Yet when he held her wrist, he felt a strange and intoxicating sensation: her sweet scent mixed with the stabilizing of his own magical energy. Still, his breaths came in short gasps.
“Huff…!”
“Kal…! No! At this rate, you’ll really…!”
Ascelia panicked. His condition was severe.
Calisten felt like a drowning man, struggling to breathe underwater, his head throbbing, his nose stinging, yet unable to feel the intake of air. It was agonizing.
“No! We need help…!”
Calisten knew exactly what this was. He had experienced it when he had been captured here before.
Back then, the deputy director had covered him with a paper bag, which had helped. But now, there was no way to breathe in the CO₂ he had inhaled, and he had no method to steady his breathing.
“Haa… Ascelia…”
“Kal, let go. I… I can’t just stand here worrying about you. Please.”
Ascelia began to cry. In that moment, Calisten saw her pink lips, so tempting. Perhaps if he pressed against them and shared a breath… maybe his chaotic breathing would stabilize.
“Calisten.”
Hearing her call his name, he held her jaw and collapsed toward her, pressing his lips to hers.
“Mph…”
Ascelia seemed surprised, but she stayed still as he kissed and nipped her lips. She wondered why he was doing this. He was fully in his male form now.
Perhaps this was to calm his breathing, she thought.
At the same time, a small hope flickered in her heart: that it didn’t matter if he was male or female—he still wanted her.
“Kal… stop… mph…”
Just as she tried to protest, he entangled her flesh. Ascelia couldn’t dodge; he held her close, pressed her down, and caressed her. He sought air through her mouth, scraping her palate roughly.
“Huff… ugh…”
When their lips parted, Calisten finally regained his breath.
“You…”
His chest heaved, still unsteady, as he looked at Ascelia.
Their eyes met. She saw in his eyes the dampness of someone struggling to breathe.
“Kal.”
His gaze was filled with guilt as he looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
“Kal, I…”
She hesitated, but fear made him cut her off.
“It was a mistake. Forget it.”
He said this and, ashamed of his pounding heart, stormed out of the room.
Alone, Ascelia’s sorrow resurfaced, tears filling her eyes.
“He kisses me and then leaves…”
She felt upset, as if she had been rejected.
“Ugh… really… I hate him.”
Even the disheveled bed where he had been upset her. She went into the wardrobe and wept quietly.
“By what means did you capture XXX-666?”
Alexis asked, following the rebel leader, the head of the Kerno tribe. He kept a distance just enough to be able to decapitate the Kerno leader at any moment if needed.
“It wasn’t captured. I just thought it would be good for you to meet him.”
The Kerno leader looked at Alexis with an understanding expression. Alexis, irritated, scratched the back of his neck, feeling uneasy about the expression.
He wanted to finish this quickly. He was growing increasingly impatient with work. He just wanted to return to Ascelia, hold her, and spend the night until morning. Even if she hadn’t slept, she would pretend to sleep for him, then eventually fall asleep. Then he could gaze at her defenseless face as she slept. That thought made him crave a truly safe refuge.
“XXX-666 was originally rated R-666, correct?”
“That’s right.”
R-ranked individuals only had regenerative abilities. Alexis recalled what the deputy director had said before:
“Back then, R-666 made all the healing potions in this lab. Not anymore, though.”
He remembered the deputy director pouting while explaining that, and Alexis grimaced at the memory.
“I’ve always wondered, how could a healer defeat offensive-class ability users so easily?”
“You seem curious.”
Alexis had once been curious about combat; life after awakening felt empty. Now, returning to Ascelia was more important than uncovering such secrets.
“Walk faster. Why are we so slow?” he said irritably.
“Almost there.”
The place they arrived at was the central cabin of the encampment.
Knock, knock.
“We’ve brought a guest. Velos.”
The door opened immediately.
“You must be XXX-666?”
The Kerno leader signaled, and the rebels behind Alexis frowned but dispersed. They had been ready to shoot Alexis on command, but now they had to stand down. The rebels opposed the royal family but valued internal unity, so they obeyed the Kerno leader’s orders absolutely.
“Yes. And you?”
“I’m Z-898.”
“Ah, a Z-rank. I’ve never seen one in real life. The quality of your mana feels very different.”
Alexis observed XXX-666, called Velos. She had bright platinum hair, violet eyes, and appeared older but had a soft roundness to her face when she smiled, making her age difficult to guess.
“You look a lot like someone I know.”
Velos’s beauty was extraordinary, and yet strangely reminded him of Ascelia when she smiled. He frowned. He had been lucky to find XXX-666, but realized she was someone he could never kill. And she looked so much like Ascelia.
“Good to meet you,” Velos smiled, making Alexis frown further.
“Enough. Let’s get to the point.”
Alexis feared wasting time. Picking off only the rebels would be difficult, and he couldn’t fully trust the lab. Adding an extra precaution seemed wise. Seeing a woman resembling Ascelia intensified his craving for a safe haven with her.
“I want to be freed from the lab. I want to hide somewhere no one can find me. I have a wife-to-be, and I want to go with her.”
His declaration surprised both the Kerno leader and Velos.
“You said you could grant my wish… can’t you?”
“No… I didn’t expect you to speak so openly,” Velos replied with a smile.
Alexis asked, unconsciously:
“How old? Thirty?”
“Forty-seven.”
“….”
He was unsure if the question was rude due to his learned social etiquette.
“Enough. Conditions. Can you meet them or not?”
Velos laughed as if amused. Alexis felt a strange mix of emotions—embarrassment and guilt—for asking a question Ascelia would have hated.
“We can meet your conditions. But you’ll have to help us first.”
“What’s your goal?”
The Kerno leader replied:
“I aim to become emperor.”
With the same face as Calisten.
