The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 220: To the Point Where I Am Today

"...And since then, it just kind of... went downhill. I joined the Allen Guild at first to spy on them, but although I possessed an Esper, I still couldn’t use my abilities well, as the body wasn’t compatible with some of them. So I died during one of the raids, and found a new target. It just went on, and on like that... My ways of picking targets for possession changing constantly... And it somehow got to the point where I am today," Lane said, ending his long story.

Heavy silence descended upon the room. Lane lay on the bed, on the sheets still dirty with sweat, lube and cum after their steamy night, his foot jerking nervously as he stared intently at the ceiling, too anxious to lift his head and look at Damien.

"I thought it was only for a while, two or three years, maybe four," he added after a while, unable to endure the silence any longer. "Just until we can take the Allens down. But, well... As it happens in life, things didn’t go quite according to plan."

Or, to be precise, Diana was taken out of the equation. Because she was using her power without any restraint, all while she didn’t have any Guide good enough to support her by her side, she almost ended up self-destructing. They were barely able to patch her up, and build a secret fortress with a dungeon to keep her alive, and out of sight, so that the Allens wouldn’t find her. It consumed a lot of time and resources, and was a major setback.

Ever since then, Lane was practically on his own in everything he set himself to do, whether it was destroying the Allens, or creating a world where the Espers wouldn’t be restricted by countless stupid laws, and the Awakened could thrive. He could only hope to get some advice from time to time, as he took control over the Forbidden Zone, built the spy network, and unified and expanded the secret Awakened organization...

He skipped that part for now, though. First of all, because it could be too much to take in one go, and taking about the secret organization felt unnecessary, at least for now. Second... He couldn’t reveal Diana’s condition. Not because he didn’t trust Damien, absolutely not - if it was him, he would gladly take him to country H right now so that Damien could meet his benefactor. It was just that sharing this secret with anyone... was too risky. Ava knew, because she could potentially help out, with her being a researcher and all, but Damien wouldn’t be able to do anything. And if someone tried using an ability more powerful than him to get the information out of the man...

It was simply a decision Lane couldn’t afford to make, even if he wanted to. He could entrust Damien with his own secrets, but not someone else’s.

And besides... Did Damien even care? Were they... still together? They had just spent that amazing night together, but was that enough? Enough for Damien to want to stay with Lane despite it all...? Lane wanted to believe that was the case, but the man remained silent, even as the minutes passed by... He wanted to look up and check the reaction, but... for some reason he couldn’t find the strength to even so much as lift his head...

Meanwhile Damien was feeling conflicted. He sat by the table, just watching Lane, as thousands of thoughts clashed in his head.

He knew that Lane had a conflict with his parents, yes... But he didn’t quite expect his past to be... like that. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it, that Lane went through it all... He wanted to just hug the man, and console him, tell him... Well, he didn’t quite know what to say, but just show Lane that he was not alone...

But at the same time, whatever reasons Lane had, it didn’t change the fact that what he did was wrong. Should Damien’s reaction to Lane confessing his crimes really be embracing him? Thinking rationally, he should rather take the man to the Association and turn him in...

Except that he didn’t want to. If he did, Lane’s life would effectively be over. He would be locked in one of the highest-security dungeon prisons, and would most likely never be able to get out. Which was what he probably deserved, yes, but...

In the end, Damien’s emotional side won. He slowly got up, went over to the bed, took a seat next to Lane, and extended his hand to stroke that soft pink hair...

Only to be trapped in place a second later, when Lane, like a Venus flytrap, caught Damien in his arms, tightening them around the man’s waist. He clung so hard, that it hurt.

...Damien had no idea Lane had so much strength. He knew that the man was far more powerful than his official rank might suggest, but... Just how powerful was he, exactly?

Not that it was important now. He just continued to stroke Lane’s head, letting the man cling onto him as much as he wanted to. He probably needed it.

They both did.

"You’re... not gonna leave me, are you?" Lane eventually muttered in a strained, muted voice, his face still buried in Damien’s abdomen.

Leave...?

Damien’s hand momentarily paused.

So that was what Lane was worried about? For some reason, it made Damien very happy. The fact that Lane’s first concern was whether they would still be together. Not that he keeps it a secret, or anything. Sure, keeping it a secret was kind of a given - they wouldn’t be able to keep on dating if Lane were incarcerated - but still. Lane’s concern... sounded genuine.

Not getting an immediate answer, Lane grew worried, and finally lifted his head. "You’re not breaking with me, are you?"

Damien stared back at the man for a while longer. However, in the end, he couldn’t help but keep Lane in such uncertainty, so he slowly said,

"I will stay with you... But I have some conditions."