The X Guide-Chapter 27: The Other Side of Forbidden Zone (1)

Ayen stared at him wordlessly, then at Devion, who directly met his eyes and said nothing. However, his solemn appearance expressed agreement.

He realized then how heavy Khal’s words were than they seemed.

His eyes returned to Khal, who never took his eyes off him, waiting silently.

Ayen nodded, agreeing. He felt like that was all he needed more than a verbal one. Sure enough, Khal’s expression immediately eased, and he smiled.

The discussion about the contract ended on a peaceful note.

Deep in the night, Ayen curled up on the couch alone. The two were sprawled on the floor using a mattress they found. The electric lamp only gave off a dim light, and the slightly low temperature was comfortable enough to have a deep sleep.

That should be the case, but the three were still very much awake.

The sensation of the first guiding session still lingered, and the two espers felt their condition was better than usual. As for Ayen, who needed the sleep more, he found it hard to turn off his mind.

"Still awake?" Khal whispered; his voice always had this calming effect. Ayen did not know if he was doing this deliberately.

"Hmm?" Devion murmured in response.

"Ayen," Khal answered.

Ayen, who had his eyes closed, opened them slightly after hearing his name.

"How do you know?" Ayen asked, tone low.

"I just know." There was a smile lingering in his voice.

"He’s lying," Devion’s hoarse voice argued.

A low and deep chuckle resounded in the whole room.

Ayen was not sure what was funny. When he heard Devion’s laugh, he quickly lost interest. They probably had an inside joke again.

"Can’t sleep," Ayen spoke after a while.

His voice was barely audible, but the two could hear them just fine.

"Want me to sing you a lullaby?" Devion’s smirk could be heard through his words, if that even made sense. Of course, it was a load of nonsense, as Devion was.

"When did it start?" Ayen showed a rare initiative to start a conversation that made the air almost freeze due to the silence.

A few seconds later, Khal’s voice rang. "What do you mean?"

"Ayen’s curious about us. Probably." Devion hit the mark for once.

"Mmm," Ayen hummed in agreement.

He was curious and also interested. Ayen did not know why that was the case. Khal and Devion had a bad relationship, as the rumors said; the media also pushed and painted rivalries between the two.

Ayen was truly surprised when he found out their relationship was far from the rumors and they even slept together, the two admitting to being fuck buddies in Devion’s words.

"It just happened," Khal answered rather nonchalantly, with Devion supporting it with a low hum.

Ayen thought the two would hesitate, at the very least, not speak too casually about it. Then again, Khal and Devion had always been easygoing, from what Ayen observed so far.

"When I greatly needed someone, Devion was there. Likewise, I’m there for him. And somehow, it works that way. We never thought much about it before." Khal’s words sounded honest enough, and there was no hesitation in his voice.

So, those were his real thoughts.

Suddenly, Devion also became lost in thought.

"As long as it’s fun." Despite that, Devion answered casually as well.

Ayen was not even shocked anymore, although it did not satisfy his curiosity. He had another impression of their relationship.

They were clueless about how harmonious they looked, like two puzzle pieces unable to connect for some reason, but perfect for each other.

For some reason, Ayen was looking forward to their development. What would happen if... Things were no longer fun?

"You’re both weird," Ayen murmured and closed his eyes again, not waiting for the answer.

Somehow... living would not be as boring as before. With such thoughts, Ayen began to drift to sleep.

The next day, Ayen visited the branch and confirmed the schedule of his new assignment. Due to the chaos brought by the sudden dungeon break in the yellow zone, the higher-ups were furious, and so the association’s hands were full. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Ayen and the others who were part of the lower rung escaped the intense interrogation, but new assignments would only be announced in three weeks or a month.

He was not interested in inquiring about it further. This was also the responsibility of the headquarters; if they had taken the reports seriously, maybe none of this would have happened.

Of course, the tragedy had already occurred, and who would take the blame was now the matter of discussion. That had nothing to do with him.

By this time, Ayen had already returned to the small building inside the most dangerous forbidden zone in the world.

It was strange that someone as powerless as he was would choose to willingly return to such a dangerous place. Ayen was also crazy in his own way.

"This is the critical season. Look at that," Khal pointed to Ayen in the direction not far from the building. "That concentration of miasma will continuously nurture stronger monsters."

They stood on the third floor, which was now considered the rooftop. In this position, Ayen could immediately witness how the miasma engulfed everything but the building where they were.

It was like an invisible shield enveloped the building and the few meters of land surrounding it, making the miasma unable to penetrate inside.

"The gate you accidentally entered was also one of the gates it might nurture during this time," Khal continued to explain.

Ayen could not exactly see through the miasma and the darkness, which also intensified the isolation he felt from the world. Somehow, even though that looked and sounded terrifying, he did not feel any fear at this moment.

"Ayen," suddenly, Khal exclaimed with a grin on his face, "Watch!" He pointed in a certain direction to the west.

Ayen curiously glanced to that side, but he could not see anything at all. Suddenly, sharp lights appeared, flickering into the darkness. It was so fast that Ayen barely kept up.

"That’s Devion."

Ayen blinked, and the light was already in the other direction; it was always moving so fast. Devion was moving so fast. He was killing monsters and clearing the area so quickly.

Strictly speaking, Ayen could not even see Devion’s figure or watch him in action, but only flickers of lights. Yet, he still found it fascinating.

Due to the sound isolation around the area, Ayen could barely hear the commotion Devion caused. But it should be so loud that Ayen noticed the fog being so disturbed and the ground shaking.