The Last Esper [BL] Chapter 10: Flickers of freedom

Rong Ye didn’t understand.

He didn’t understand why Eun-woo acted as if the most brutal defensive instinct on record wasn’t in his blood. And Rhys, with his damned calm, simply stood still, as if his re presence was enough to stem the storm that every specialist in the regi knew was brewing inside Eun-woo.

Why did they look at each other as if they could trust each other?

As if they needed each other.

Rong Ye felt a burning in his throat. It wasn’t hatred. It was sothing dirtier, more visceral. Because he’d been there from the beginning. He’d morized every clinical finding, every episode of dissociation, every pattern of trauma. He’d prepared himself to understand Eun-woo, to contain him, to protect him.

So why was Rhys getting what he was forbidden to?

Eun-woo clung to Rhys’s body as if his life depended on it. As if he sought him out of instinct. That touch, that connection, shouldn’t have existed... But there it was.

Rong Ye needed to do sothing to separate them.

And the only way he could think of was to call the guards at the Research Center. He spotted the help button on the nearest wall and made a move to run toward it.

But he didn’t reach it.

A figure intercepted him before he reached the wall. A man in a dark gray uniform appeared out of nowhere, like a ghost. His reaction was swift, and before he could dodge, Rong Ye felt the weight of a forearm closing against his neck.

Rong Ye managed to elbow him in the stomach, enough to make him take a step back, but it wasn’t enough.

A second later, the stranger’s boot caught him behind the knee, knocking him off balance. Rong Ye fell sideways, but caught a glimpse of his face: ssy brown hair, sharp eyes, and an expression filled with lethal determination.

"Caelan..." he spat through gritted teeth.

"I’m not going to let you ruin this," was all Caelan said before slamming his fist into Rong Ye’s temple.

And then, everything went black.

***

"I told you it would be easy," Caelan said.

Rhys rolled his eyes.

"Easy? Wait until he wakes up and you’ll see what I an," he replied, crossing his arms.

"Rong Ye growls but doesn’t bite." Caelan shrugged.

Rhys sighed, exasperated. His plans had only included getting Eun-woo out of there, but Caelan had insisted on bringing Rong Ye along as well. He said he would be helpful on their upcoming missions because he was the only one, besides Magnus, who knew all the ins and outs about Eun-woo. If he fell ill or had so strange crisis, the presence of a professional would be necessary.

That’s the only reason he accepted.

Caelan’s gaze shifted from Rhys to Eun-woo, a kind, sincere smile spread across his face, and he greeted him in a cheerful voice.

"How nice!" he exclaid. "Are you sure he’s the person we’re looking for?"

At Caelan’s question, Rhys half-closed his eyes and nodded. Like it or not, Eun-woo was the last esper, the one who held sothing special that Blackwood craved. Keeping him out of the tyrant Magnus’s reach was the only solution to defeating the dictatorship.

Eun-woo curled his lips in confusion. He had many questions to ask, but the situation wasn’t favorable. He had to wait if he wanted to know more about himself.

Then soone knocked on the door three tis, and both soldiers beca alert and shared a confidential glance. After one more knock, the person behind the door groaned.

"Are they going to open it or are they going to wait for us to be killed?"

That voice sounded much more jovial, yet it was harsh. That left a strong impression on Eun-woo.

"Don’t whine," Rhys replied, opening the door and smirking. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

A young boy appeared in the doorway, dark-haired and frowning like a true soldier. Despite his young age, his presence was imposing. He was carrying what seed to Eun-woo to be a huge white tal box and another strange object.

"You don’t order around," the boy growled when Rhys tried to take the items. "I’ll give them to Caelan personally."

Rhys shrugged and pointed inside.

"Jae!" Caelan called.

The boy took long strides until he reached the soldier, once in front of him he ignored the unconscious Rong Ye and knelt on the ground, handing over the box and the other object.

"The portable lab," he said. "If a lab even fits in this thing, and the gas mask. Where’s the Esper?"

Caelan crossed his arms, nodded, and pointed at Eun-woo.

Jae looked at Eun-woo with a look that was sowhere between confusion and interest, then smiled as if Caelan was playing a trick on him and shook his head.

"In what universe would this man be able to kill a fly?"

"Hard to believe, isn’t it?" Caelan added, carrying Rong Ye as if he were an unimportant object.

Eun-woo watched the scene without understanding much, so he approached Rhys and took his fingertips in a childish gesture seeking attention. The action caught Rhys off guard, and he jumped at the touch, causing his friends to burst out laughing.

"What’s wrong? Did he already hit you with his laser beam?" Jae mocked.

Rhys’s expression hardened, but that didn’t stop him from taking Eun-woo’s hand completely. Thanks to this gesture, Eun-woo was able to relax.

"You better shut your mouths and move your asses," Rhys snapped fiercely.

"Have you been told you’re a little scary when you’re angry?" Caelan added, still smiling.

Rhys ignored the comnt and instead grabbed the gas mask.

"Jae, you carry the portable lab," he ordered.

The boy looked at him with wide eyes and shook his head.

"He’ll be a nuisance when I shoot..."

"You just have the portable lab," Rhys insisted.

Jae was about to appeal when Caelan tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to carry the portable lab, only then did he relent.

"You have to put this on," Rhys said gently, showing the gas mask to Eun-woo.

Eun-woo looked at the object with a mixture of curiosity and distrust. He nodded slowly. Rhys let go of his hand and took the mask in both, ready to put it on. But as soon as Eun-woo realized it would go over his head, he imdiately stopped him.

His eyes filled with tears, and he looked at him pleadingly, as if he were begging him not to do it.

It was a sharp blow to Rhys’s chest.

God.

What had they done to him to make him react like that?

"No..." Eun-woo whispered on the verge of tears. "...not if it’s on my head...please."

Rhysr pushed the object away and shook his head.

"Eun-woo, if you want to get out of here you have to put it on."

Eun-woo closed his eyes and let the tears slide down his cheeks. He rembered the ti he’d been taken from his parents to that place. He’d also been forced to wear a similar object, only the other one was called a "muzzle." After they’d put it on him, they put his head in a black cloth bag and threw him into a wooden box with his hands and feet tied.

It had been horrible; he didn’t want to relive that mont. However, now he had soone he could trust. He could do it; if he set his mind to it, he could achieve it.

"Fine..." he whispered as he opened his eyes.

That puppy dog look hit Rhys hard.

Damn.

He hated being defeated by that sweet, suffering-filled gaze.

He denied it to himself..

Eun-woo is sothing Magnus wants. As long as that’s the case, I can’t...

"Everything will be okay," Rhys assured him as he placed the mask on him.

With the mask on, Eun-woo couldn’t see clearly, and the extra weight bothered him. He felt like his head would tip to the side if he didn’t hold it steady. He wanted to take it off, but Rhys told him that no matter what, he didn’t have to take it off.

The next thing that happened was confusing to Eun-woo, he held Rhys’s hand tightly and as he followed him, the rest of his senses beca distorted, as if he were subrged underwater.

The voices of his companions ca muffled through the gas mask’s filter. He couldn’t understand what they were saying; all he knew was that he shouldn’t leave Rhys’s side.

They left the room, walked through corridors as silent as tombs, climbed tal stairs that rattled under their steps, and hid behind rusty structures whenever they heard a noise.

Finally, they arrived in front of a large tal door.

Eun-woo didn’t know what was on the other side, but the way Rhys was squeezing his hand told him they were close to the exit.

Close to freedom.

Rhys broke free from his grip and walked to a panel with buttons, on the buttons were numbers and Rhys typed in a sequence.

Then the panel flashed green and the door creaked open.

Rhys held Eun-woo’s hand again and whispered in his ear.

"We’ll go outside, try not to get distracted."

Eun-woo’s breathing imdiately beca labored, his heart rate increased sharply, and his eyes widened. He was really going to get out of there, to see the outside for the first ti. It was so exciting.

When the door opened fully, the first thing that assaulted Eun-woo’s vision was daylight, then a wave of icy cold, ending with a bleak panorama. If he couldn’t see clearly thanks to the mask, he beca even less so when his vision was blurred by the fog.

He couldn’t see anything.

They started walking quickly, then Eun-woo’s feet left the comfort of the tile to agonize over the strange texture of the floor. He looked down and found a cluster of small pebbles.

Gravel.

In the midst of that white blanket, he could see a military truck, similar to the one that had taken him to the complex so ti ago.

In the back, there were many wooden crates, leaving a small space on the right side. Caelan dropped Rong Ye abruptly among the crates, and then Rhys helped Eun-woo climb in. He took a blanket from one of the crates and wrapped it around his body.

"Go to sleep," he asked him before closing the door and disappearing from his vision.

Eun-woo didn’t say a word.

The truck started to move and then he sighed.

Did that an he was safe?

Before going to sleep, he looked at Rong Ye with pity; the poor man had been dumped in that cold place as if nothing had happened. He took off the blanket and placed it over him.

Eun-woo was already used to the cold, he preferred to get sick than Rong Ye.

It was the best.