The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 142
Robert groaned with a tremendous sound. A body accustomed to inflicting pain screamed at the unfamiliar sensation.
“Do you know who I am!”
“It’s a mistake if you think I will continue to be swayed by you.”
Robert groaned, clutching his throbbing arm. The stone floor cracked and nearly shattered. It was an overwhelming force to put to that of a middle-aged man.
‘His bones are crushed.’
An unbearable groan escaped. But in the midst of it, Robert felt a thrill at confirming Hedonia’s strength.
‘Just because I can’t touch him doesn’t mean I can’t guide him. How foolish.’
Robert Apharantes was a master of non-contact guiding. As he focused and moved his power, Hedonia’s eyebrow twitched.
‘I know how sweet guiding is.’
The distance between a guide and an Esper didn’t matter.
No matter what their relationship was.
No Esper had ever completely rejected him.
They knew all too well that they couldn’t live without him.
Even Cayden Cairoze, who loved his wife so much, was no exception.
Elisa, a commoner guide under Robert’s protection, gradually grew closer to Cayden and broke free from Robert’s brainwashing.
‘A mere commoner.’
That didn’t sit well with Robert.
He was infuriated by Cayden Cairoze and Elisa distancing themselves from him.
Robert saw it as a threat to the current guiding system and, in a covert deal with the Emperor, orchestrated Elisa’s death in a dungeon accident.
Robert’s power reached out to Hedonia, but Hedonia didn’t flinch.
Robert was taken aback.
‘…Is my power not reaching him?’
An Esper should have reacted.
But there was no change in Hedonia’s demeanor.
Instead of being unable to resist him, Hedonia frowned and grabbed Robert’s other arm.
“You’re using dirty tricks.”
“It’s not a trick, it’s guiding, Hedonia. You’ll have to—”
But Robert couldn’t finish his sentence.
Crack.
The sound of his other arm’s bones shattering filled the air. This was done without the aid of any external force or object.
“Ugh…”
Robert groaned again.
“Don’t try to guide me.”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t guide; it was just that Hedonia showed no response to the guiding.
‘Could he be an Esper who doesn’t need guiding?’
Even Shaelock, Pheon, and Esban showed signs when they were being guided.
But what was Hedonia then?
‘Even as an Esper, he’s a monster…’
If he became a guide, he would show even more extraordinary abilities.
The possibility suddenly struck Robert.
…But surviving this encounter was the immediate issue.
The murderous intent in Hedonia’s golden eyes directed at him was overwhelming.
“Now it’s time for my patience to bear fruit.”
Hedonia muttered as he grabbed Robert’s neck.
The artery throbbed in his one-handed grip. Thump thump. The sound of Robert’s heartbeat resonated through Hedonia’s hand.
“W-Wait!”
Robert hastily tried to stop Hedonia.
“If you kill me now… the guides outside won’t survive!”
“…What are you talking about?”
Hedonia frowned, unaware of the poison that had been injected into the guides.
“Do you think I managed the guides for no reason?”
“…”
“I’ve injected poison into the bodies of the guides trained here, poison that I can activate at any time. If you kill me, it will trigger immediately. All Espers will fall into despair.”
Hedonia hesitated.
“Yes, killing me will bring you immense pain.”
“…”
“Not just you, but all Espers. The world will be thrown into chaos.”
Robert explained the situation to Hedonia step by step.
“The same goes for the prospective guides.”
Hedonia bit his lip. The smile that had graced his face was almost gone.
As much as he hated to admit it, killing Robert here and now was impossible.
Hedonia was used to this kind of pain, but not all Espers were.
As Robert’s confidence suggested, guiding was indeed tempting. The pleasure felt during guiding was incomparable to anything else.
The relaxation of the body and the blissful mind seemed to say that guiding was their destiny.
But Hedonia’s lack of response to Robert’s guiding was thanks to Karina.
Receiving Karina’s guiding made it possible for him to resist Robert’s influence.
However, there was an even greater reason behind it.
