The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

”What the—!”

”Amar!”

”What’s wrong with him?”

The men inside the room reacted very quickly upon seeing their second-in-command suddenly fall face-first to the ground without apparent reason.

Although they were drunk and were enjoying themselves at the table, they had never ceased to keep their guard up, always on alert that even if a hundred military soldiers or a monster the size of a house were to befall them right now, they could fight back without problem and even win.

However, no one had anticipated Amar to suddenly collapse.

And the only person who was next to him was the woman their Commander brought into the room!

Aisha glanced around the room. The mood had changed. The idle conversation filled with laughter and spewing of hearty curses had ended. And their eyes burned like fire. The room had become a cage full of enraged beasts with the hair bristling on ends. The smell of murder permeated from their bodies like thick armor.

”That’s enough,” Nykos’ voice said.

He stood beside her, foot nudging Amar on the floor. After he was sure his second-in-command wasn’t dead, he finally glanced at his men.

The men lowered their gazes, toning down their murderous aura until it fizzled out into thin air as though nothing actually happened. They sat back down obediently and restarted their activity.

”Man, did he pass out drunk?”

Aisha saw the red-haired man with hooped earrings crouch down beside Amar. He poked the passed-out man with a finger, and when he realized that he wasn’t getting any reaction, a grin spread across his face.

’Pa’

Nykos’ face was stone.

”Vince,” he growled out, and the red-haired man named Vince looked up.

”Haha, sorry, Boss.” Vince grinned even more before he grabbed Amar’s sleeping figure off the ground. ”I couldn’t resist. It’s the first time he’s so unguarded.”

Ignoring him, Nykos turned to Aisha and asked, ”Did you do something to him?”

She glared at him. ”What?”

”He’s high on sensation. But... there’s no sign of a Rampage.”

Aisha eyed Nykos suspiciously. But he didn’t look like he was joking. Having increased sensation meant overuse of power and overload. The next would be a mental pollution that would then throw a Sentinel into the first stage of a Rampage. If they weren’t careful, they’d end up fully berserking.

And if they were unlucky, the miasma energy that was around would gather inside their mental landscape. It would invade their bodies and start to corrupt them, slowly devouring and taking over the body like a vessel. If the miasma gained control of a Sentinel, they would then become a threat that was similar to corrupted beasts, solely acting on their desires without emotion.

Dead within and out, only piloted by the dark energy within.

Nykos had been in luck that Aisha was around. But what Gaia’s planet did not know was that if she hadn’t stopped him from being swallowed up by the miasma that had taken root inside him because of being non-guided for several years since he awakened, then they wouldn’t only have to handle a Sentinel’s Rampage state. But also a creature of miasma that was made of an SS-ranked Sentinel with cataclysmic power.

The reason why Nykos told her this was that, in that brief contact he made by nudging Amar, he had felt the signs of a sensory overload from him, on the verge of a first-stage Rampage. But as though a bottle of soda had its cap screwed tight, the state of Rampage was contained. And that state of almost bursting had somehow calmed down.

And this was a form of mental guiding.

But Aisha shook her head and rebuked what he was suggesting. ”I did not guide him. I didn’t even make contact with him.”

And that only made things even more bizarre.

Without making contact with a Sentinel, a Guide couldn’t possibly do mental guiding or purify them. Thus, Nykos could only cross out the possibility that Aisha had noticed Amar’s dangerous state and accidentally guided him, knocking him out in the process.

”Apologies, little bird.” Nykos didn’t pursue the matter of his second-in-command passing out. ”How am I going to make this up to you?”

He didn’t mean his previous question or the possibility of her being involved in Amar’s collapse. Rather, he was apologizing because of the actions of his men. They’ve been rough and disrespectful in their actions.

”Can you help me get my brother?” Aisha asked shamelessly. She knew she owed him more than once now, but it didn’t seem like he’d mind it.

Naturally, she knew why that was. They both knew that the only way for her to repay what she owed him was through guiding. Nykos must have thought the same when he helped her.

There was no way for her to refuse his help either. He was more efficient and even gave her the answers she needed in less than half a day.

”For free?” he asked with an amused smile.

”No. I’ll repay you.”

Nykos paused at her words. He was reminded of what had just happened between her and her classmates. He felt the same frustration they were feeling when they heard that she was refusing their help because she couldn’t compensate them.

But he wasn’t one to wallow in frustration. He had thought of helping her for free...

But if she was going to be this stubborn about compensating him, he wouldn’t give the chance away.

A low chuckle rumbled out of him. ”Deal.”

He agreed too fast. That wiped away most of her concerns. Having a mostly feared SS-ranked Sentinel around who knew contaminated zones well was reassuring.

Before she could completely feel relieved, she saw him move.

It happened too fast for her to react. In an instant, Nykos stepped forward just inches away from her. His fingers hooked on the loose edge of her scarf and tugged it free from around her lower face in a single motion.

”!!!”

He was already leaning in, one hand cupping her chin with utmost gentleness, and then his lips brushed against hers. It was a light kiss that was gone before she could fully register what had just happened.

”Now, you’ve repaid me in full.”