* * *

—Too late… it’s all too late…

The sound coming from the figure kneeling, hands covering his face, was beyond what one could call a “human voice.” It held far too much emotion.

In front of him stood a half-collapsed hospital, encircled by an immense ice barrier.

Even though Elliot had rushed to the scene immediately, the hospital building was already more than half destroyed.

Its location had been unfortunate, positioned almost directly beneath the gate.

But it wasn’t entirely in ruins.

If Elliot withdrew his power, perhaps we could begin rescue efforts and find survivors.

His icy energy hadn’t penetrated beyond the ice wall.

Yet he, consumed by emotion, was in no state to make a rational decision.

—My precious…

As his hands fell from his face, drops of blood began to fall.

Elliot’s eyes were usually a beautifully clear, cherry blossom pink.

But now, they were stained with a brutally cold hue.

He clenched his fists.
The air was chilling to the lungs, but I took a deep breath.

“Elliot.”

I called my esper, who was blankly staring at the ground.

He, of course, couldn’t answer my call.

He simply shed tears of blood, unable even to look toward the hospital.

As I approached, the icy air radiating from Elliot began to freeze my skin to a pale white.

Ignoring it, I reached out my hand.

“Ugh…”

The moment I touched Elliot’s shoulder, an immense torrent of emotional impurities flooded into me.

My mind spun, but I didn’t let go.

Or rather, I couldn’t let go.

As soon as I touched Elliot—the source of this chill—my body froze solid, making it nearly impossible to move my fingers.

‘Contact guiding alone won’t be enough….’

It needed to be mucosal guiding.

I’d have to kiss him.

But even with my hand on his shoulder, his lips felt an impossible distance away.

Those lips I’d kissed countless times before…

What am I going to do?

Am I going to die here, unable to do anything?

“Ah…”

My breath grew labored.

There was too much emotional impurity for me to absorb through contact guiding alone.

Just like with Jake, it felt like my body was breaking apart.

No scream escaped my lips; I didn’t even have the strength for that.

When standing upright started to feel impossible, Elliot slowly lifted his head.

My heart sank in that instant.

Maybe he would lose control of his power and turn me to ice or slash me down in one blow—but no, my worry was unfounded.

Instead, Elliot extended his arms and pulled me into an embrace.

Did he recognize me?

No. He had lost all rationality.

He couldn’t possibly recognize me.

Yet even in his frenzy, Elliot’s actions were different from how Jake Polwel had treated me.

Was it a difference in personality?

Even in this state, he instinctively restrained himself from any violent action, as if I, his guide, were precious to him.

“Elliot…”

Swallowing my tears, I mustered all my strength and pressed my lips to his.

My frozen body made it difficult to aim; I ended up kissing his chin instead of his lips.

I tried again, but my body still wouldn’t move properly.

Between the cold and the overwhelming influx of emotional impurities, my head was spinning.

Unlike Jake, Elliot wasn’t intentionally pushing these emotions onto me, yet they were unbearable.

Would I be unable to perform mucosal guiding at all?

Just as I began to panic, Elliot’s hands gently cupped my face, and he kissed me first.

“Mmm…”

A tender kiss.

His lips parted, allowing the mucosal contact. I

t was as if he knew who I was.

But this wasn’t the Elliot I knew.

His arms around me, his cold lips, even his frigid breath—all were painful.

All the more reason I couldn’t let him go.

Elliot’s arms pulled me closer around my waist and back.

This time, I lifted my hands to his pallid, bloodless cheeks, gently caressing them as I entwined my tongue with his.

My mouth was so cold that even opening my eyes felt difficult, but that didn’t matter.

Even if I never opened them again, I had to save him.

As I clung to my fading consciousness and focused on guiding him, just as our kiss began to settle, a familiar voice brushed softly against my ear.

“Hee…un…”

I guess he can recognize me now.

He’d found his voice again.

He wasn’t entirely stable yet, but he was no longer a slave to his emotions.

Thank goodness.

As I steadied my ragged breathing, I moved my numb tongue to speak.

“Yes, it’s me.”

Yet Elliot’s beautiful cherry-blossom eyes still hadn’t regained focus.

Even from this close, he couldn’t fully meet my gaze.

“Hee… I’m… sorry… I was… too… late…”

Despite his state, the first thing Elliot did was apologize.

Tears pooled in his eyes, and as they fell, the bitter cold transformed them into small ice crystals.

He looked like a mermaid crying jeweled tears.

Beautiful, yes, but each drop weighed on my heart, freezing it with sorrow.

I pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Don’t blame yourself… You did… everything you could…”

“But… the child…”

“For now… I’ll do… my best too.”

With that, I exhaled a long breath.

It felt like my insides were turning upside down.

My organs twisted, frozen, clearly unable to function.

My body could no longer even feel the cold.

I was numb all over, struggling just to breathe.

Every particle of air seemed like shards of ice stabbing into my lungs.

But I couldn’t stop yet—not when Elliot’s emotions were still swelling with impurities, dark and turbulent.

“Kiss me.”

I wanted to reach for him first, but even that small movement felt impossible.

Elliot’s face twisted in sadness, but he had no other choice.

His hands rose to cup my face again. I opened my mouth, allowing him in, our lips and tongues meeting as if sealing a pact.

It felt like being pierced by an arrow of ice, shooting through my whole body.

I forced my eyes open, terrified that if I closed them, I’d lose consciousness.

But somehow, I wasn’t embarrassed.

My vision blurred, fading into white, or maybe… black…?

“Ugh… gasp…!”

I desperately drew in a breath through my nose.

As soon as I felt something rising from deep within, I pulled away.

Hot liquid spilled from my mouth right after.

Even with my vision clouded, I saw the sharp, bright red.

Realizing I’d just coughed up blood, my first thought was:

‘Ah, I can’t d guiding anymore.’

I could still use my tongue, but with blood tainting everything, there’s no way Elliot would find any peace through this.

This was a disaster.

Accepting the impurities of a runaway esper through ordinary contact would strain my body with membrane guiding.

My body wouldn’t last until Elliot’s mind was stable.

‘Wait… guiding through mucosal contact isn’t limited to just kissing.’

I bit down hard, then reached for my waistband, unfastening my pants.

If I’d known it’d come to this, I wouldn’t have bothered buying new clothes; now they were stained with blood.

My old ones would’ve been easier to take off, anyway.

My hands kept slipping as I struggled with my belt.

Every time the metal grazed my skin, a sharp pain jolted through me.

But I didn’t stop until I managed to undo it—a victory of sheer will.

In the meantime, though Elliot could barely see me, he sensed something was wrong, frantically shaking his head.

“D-Don’t… don’t do it…”

“Elliot… haah… I’m probably going to die here…”

Even as he clutched my hand, I pushed forward, pulling down my belt and pants.

My body felt like it was shattering.

Already frozen solid, it seemed like the slightest crack would make it crumble like brittle ice.

My body convulsed, and I vomited blood again.

I wasn’t startled this time.

I pressed on, determined to handle even a fraction of Elliot’s emotional impurities.

A massive glacier seemed to settle in my stomach, freezing my insides solid.

It was difficult to even sit upright, so I leaned my forehead on Elliot’s shoulder.

Somehow, my body still had some warmth, visible in the white breath that escaped my lips.

“It’s okay… I don’t blame you… so… don’t blame yourself…”

* * *