Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“I-I’m not running away, ah!”

Iberis, caught by Lucas, tried to deny his words but let out a moan mixed with a sob. The mana pounding through his body was already maddening, and now hot energy was flowing in through the hand that held him.

“If you’re not running away, then what?”

Lucas, pinning down Iberis who had turned his back to him, leaned down and whispered softly. The tip of Iberis’s ear, visible through his disheveled black hair, was unusually red. Seeing this, a strange thirst suddenly rose in Lucas. He moistened his lower lip with his tongue and tightly gripped Iberis’s small hand as if he would never let go. Then he poured out his mana again.

“Ah! Nngh, s-stop, it’s, too, hard…”

Iberis pleaded, breathing heavily. His shoulders hunched and his toes curled as the foreign energy raged inside his body. He wanted to escape somehow, but it was impossible due to the heavy weight pressing on his back and the grip that seemed about to crush his hand.

Had he ever felt this powerless in his life?

His silver-gray eyes, half-focused, trembled slightly. Iberis tightly closed his eyes, which had been hot and stinging, then opened them again. His vision was blurry, unable to see anything clearly. Hot breath, heated from within, escaped in gasps between his silently gaping lips.

“There’s no way I can stop now.”

Lucas felt the hot breath tickling the back of his hand as he interlaced his fingers with Iberis’s trembling ones. The thin wrist twitched at the stronger connection.

“It will be over soon.”

Lucas emitted mana once again, enough to fill the entire bedroom, and poured it into Iberis.

“Hah…!”

Iberis, engulfed by Lucas’s mana that crashed over him like a strong wave, threw his head back with his eyes wide open. Plop, plop. Droplets of what might have been tears or sweat fell onto the crumpled sheet.

It’s hot.

For the first time in his life, Iberis felt hot. No, it wasn’t just heat – it felt like his entire body was melting.

“Haa…”

Iberis, drunk on the heat, buried his face in the pillow and panted. As his body went from warm to hot, heat pooled below his waist. His thighs instinctively clenched at the unfamiliar excitement, but were immediately blocked by a firm knee wedged between his legs.

“Why do you keep trying to avoid it?”

“That’s not, no, ah!”

The pressure gently pressing against the inside of his feverish thighs made him dizzy. Iberis curled his body as much as possible to escape the sensations Lucas was giving him and shouted.

“My body feels strange…!”

“How so?”

“It’s hot… hah, too, hot.”

“That’s good.”

“What’s good, ah! Ah!”

“It means the mana shower is very effective if your body temperature has risen.”

Lucas replied matter-of-factly as he continued to flow mana. Watching Iberis struggle beneath him filled his chest with a strange exhilaration.

Is this the special satisfaction that guides are said to feel?

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he was engulfed by an unidentifiable elation. Come to think of it, this was also his first time guiding someone in this way. Perhaps that’s why he kept having strange impulses. The desire to see Iberis even more disheveled.

“Please, stop, ugh… huh?”

Iberis bit his lower lip hard to stifle the moans that kept escaping. Immediately after, long fingers forcibly parted his tightly closed lips and entered.

“Don’t bite. You’ll hurt yourself again.”

“Mm, mmm, nn…”

Saliva pooled in his mouth and strange sounds leaked out as the fingers moved around inside at will. When the fingertips scratched his sensitive palate, Iberis couldn’t help but bite down on Lucas’s fingers.

Crunch.

Lucas winced at the pain from his fingertips, now sticky with saliva. He let Iberis continue biting his fingers as he poured out his mana one last time.

“Hngh…!”

Iberis let out a cry that was almost a scream as he felt heat envelop his entire body. Immediately after, the mana that had been raging like a storm suddenly stopped.

“It’s over.”

“Ha, ugh…”

Iberis, limp like a puppet with its strings cut, groaned. From head to toe, it felt as if his entire body had been marinated in Lucas’s mana.

“…”

Lucas quietly looked down at the panting Iberis and slowly separated from him. As he pushed back his sweat-soaked hair, he paused at the tingling sensation in his hand. His golden eyes rippled as he examined his index and middle fingers, which bore clear teeth marks. His gaze, strangely fixated on the fingers where blood had beaded from the indentations, turned towards Iberis, who lay sprawled on the bed, breathing heavily.

The black hair disheveled and damp with sweat, the reddened eyes, the flushed peach-colored cheeks, and the red flesh visible between parted lips…

Lucas abruptly stood up, as if fleeing from the desire that suddenly surged within him, and took a deep breath in and out. Only after several such deep breaths could he return to his characteristic expressionless face.

Meanwhile, Iberis was still in a daze. Even though the air in the bedroom had calmed, his body was still trembling.

“…You’ve sweated a lot. I think it would be good for you to take a quick shower.”

Lucas, after catching his breath once more, brought a towel and wiped Iberis’s sweat-soaked face. As his eyes took in the collarbone and slender neck visible through the unbuttoned pajamas, he felt a hunger as intense as if he hadn’t eaten for days. He clenched his molars to suppress the sinister impulse that was slowly rising.

“Sweat…?”

Me? Iberis, finally coming to his senses, muttered as if he had heard something strange. Then he realized his condition and was surprised. As Lucas said, his entire body was damp. He looked at himself, soaked through, with unfamiliarity. It was the first time in his life he had sweated this much.

“How can this be…”

“If you’ve come to your senses, please get up.”

Lucas sat Iberis up on the bed and tidied his disheveled hair. Then he picked up the towel again.

“If it’s difficult for you to wash, shall I bring a wet towel?”

“No, it’s fine, ah.”

His body, more sensitive than usual, reacted strongly even to light touches. Iberis flinched every time the soft towel brushed against his skin, which still held a damp heat.

“S-stop. I’m going to wash anyway…”

Iberis got up, stopping Lucas who was trying to wipe his body. Otherwise, he felt like he might make strange noises again. However, he staggered, unable to stand properly.

“Oh dear.”

Lucas quickly supported Iberis and lifted him up nonchalantly. He had no choice, as it seemed Iberis might collapse to the floor if left alone.

“I’ll carry you to the bathroom.”

“That’s not… Sigh. Do as you please.”

Iberis, who was about to refuse, leaned on Lucas with a tired expression. It was obvious that this arrogant guide would stubbornly carry him to the bathroom even if he said no.

“Can you wash yourself?”

“Why, are you offering to wash me if I say I can’t?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“…”

Iberis’s lips moved silently, speechless at Lucas’s calm response.

“Just put me down in front of the bathroom. I’ll manage the rest.”

“What if you fall? I’ll seat you in the bathtub.”

Lucas carried Iberis into the bathroom despite his request.

“If you need my help, please call me immediately.”

“…Okay.”

Click. Left alone as the door closed, Iberis covered his face with both hands. He let out a silent scream as he staggered to grip the sink and stand up. He immediately turned on the water to cool his burning cheeks. Even though he washed his face with cold water he wouldn’t normally dare to use, his skin was still hot rather than cold.

* * *

“A request for support in the coastal monster subjugation operation in the S Defense Zone?”

Lucas frowned slightly upon hearing the urgent news brought by Caleb.

“Shouldn’t the S Zone’s unit handle what happens there? Why us?”

“Well… an A+ grade monster appeared a few days ago, causing significant damage. It seems a dungeon break occurred in the deep sea recently.”

Caleb explained the situation and handed over a copy of the official document he was holding. The paper bore a series of official seals from the S Defense Zone unit commanders requesting support from the N-0 unit, including Iberis.

“The sea is practically all a magical realm except for the coastline and safe waters, so dungeon breaks aren’t particularly special, are they?”

Lucas muttered as if it was nothing new. The sea was land lost to humanity. Responding immediately to cracks occurring underwater and swiftly conquering them was as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.

Given this situation, in the early days when cracks appeared worldwide, there were countless failures in conquering underwater cracks and subsequent dungeon breaks. As a result, most of the world’s oceans turned into magical realms and became monster paradises.

Even now, when underwater crack conquest has become somewhat possible, cracks occurring in the deep sea remain untouchable.

In modern times, many countries are striving to reclaim the seas, but they’ve only managed to secure safe waters. Even then, countless espers and soldiers are stationed in these safe waters, engaging in daily battles with monsters attempting to invade the land, just to avoid losing them again.

Naturally, the defense forces were responsible for international waters and the coastlines and safe waters within defense zones that no country wanted to take on. The S Zone was one of these.

“What’s the species of the A+ grade monster?”

“It’s a Kraken.”