TGIC Ch 97

Chapter 97

Even as I climaxed, Vasily’s hand continued to stroke along my shaft. Only once the last spasm faded did he release me and pull back.

“Hhh… hah…”

Gasping raggedly, I slowly became aware that the shaking had ceased. The building hadn’t collapsed. We had gotten through it safely.

Turning my head, I took in the sight of the room. Frost glazed the walls and coated the floor in a white sheen.

A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it. If Vasily had frozen only the building itself without harming the occupants, then all the guests inside must still be safe.

Relief barely settled in when his voice brushed my ear—cold, low.

“Guide Kwon Gidam. I think it’s time we had a talk.”

I flinched. That tone froze me where I lay.

By now, Vasily had surely realized why I had brought him here. That I hadn’t come for a ‘restful night,’ but knowing what would happen.

“…You’d been acting strange since this morning. I nearly let you fool me.”

“I…”

“Going to brush it off as coincidence again?”

The very excuse I had prepared—he cut me off with it first.

With that line blocked, I scrambled to invent another lie.

“I, uh—I overheard at the Association, something about signs a Gate would open around here—”

“You know very well,” Vasily said flatly, “that if that were true, I’d be the first they reported to.”

My mouth clamped shut. I had nothing.

“Come to think of it,” he went on calmly, “this isn’t the first time, is it?”

“…”

“I’ve let it slide before. I don’t think I can this time. So—how did you know you’d be compatible with me when you implanted that little device in your neck?”

Damn it. He’d gone straight for the question I could least afford to answer.

The red lights in my head screamed danger. Any of the past incidents—I could have glossed over them somehow. But this? What answer could I give him that wouldn’t unravel everything?

Should I reveal the truth—that I had died once and regressed? No. If I admitted that, then the story of how I’d first been killed by his rampage inside a Gate would come out. How would he react to that? I couldn’t risk it.

“Just this once… couldn’t you let it go?”

Hearing the cracks in my voice, I grew desperate, almost groveling.

Vasily finally released me, rising from the bed.

Was he really letting me off that easily? I looked up at him hopefully.

But the icy glare he returned said otherwise.

“Let’s go home. Can’t have a serious talk in a place like this.”

…So not forgiven after all.

He dressed swiftly, while I still sat catching my breath, the remnants of climax lingering in my body. Another few seconds, and—if not for the Gate—I might have lost control completely.

“Guide Kwon Gidam. Do you really plan to walk outside like that?”

I froze. In the middle of wiping my lips with the back of my hand, his gaze pierced me. I glanced down… and instantly flushed scarlet.

Still in nothing but a bathrobe. Legs carelessly exposed beneath its gaping folds.

And down below, sticky fluid was trailing down my thighs.

I yanked the robe closed in a panic, scanning quickly until I spotted my clothes neatly folded in a chair. Snatching them up, I dashed into the bathroom like a fugitive.

CRASH.

I’d barely stepped onto the frozen tiles when a new sound boomed from outside. Something had shattered. Heart hammering, I tugged my shirt into place and rushed back out.

Vasily stood by the window.

“What was that sound just now?” I asked breathlessly. “It sounded like glass breaking—”

“Are you dressed? Then come here,” he cut me off.

Clicking my tongue, I grumbled under my breath but stepped over to his side.

When I reached him, a cool breeze brushed my face. Only then did I realize—the glass was gone. The window, blown apart.

That was the sound earlier.

Outside, chaos reigned. Sirens pierced the night; ambulances already converged, their lights painting the dark streets in frantic red.

And beneath it all—there. Half-buried in the ice Vasily had spread, the Gate pulsed directly under the hotel.

No wonder, in the past timeline, the hotel had collapsed. If Vasily hadn’t frozen the building this time, history would have repeated itself.

“I’m going to jump us down. Get on.”

“…Isn’t there some other way?”

“No.”

His reply was absolute.

I swallowed thickly, forcing myself to peer down at the dizzying drop. No… there was no other option. Better to let him carry me than stumble into death on my own.

“Fine… I’ll hold on.”

Vasily bent, lowering himself, signaling me to loop my arms around his neck. After a second’s hesitation, I obeyed, clutching tightly.

Hard muscle met my arms and chest as I leaned into him. Then—his grip shifted, a solid arm under me, lifting me cleanly off the ground.

My feet left the floor. My body tilted, center of balance gone. Terror jolted through me and I clung harder.

“I-Is this really safe—?!”

Before I could finish, his foot crossed the threshold—and we plummeted.

“—ugh!”

The drop was fast, undeniably so. And yet… strangely stable. The wind screamed against my face and ears, proof enough of our descent. I dared not open my eyes. If I did, I’d faint for sure. I clenched them shut, clinging desperately while the darkness reeled.

Thud.

Shoes struck solid ground; the gale cut out instantly. Air whooshed from my lungs in one great release.

“Ahh…!”

Staggering free of Vasily’s hold, I nearly keeled over, dry-retching. My stomach churned violently as if my guts had been left somewhere mid-fall—but when the nausea ebbed, I realized everything was miraculously in place.

Vasily steadied me with a hand.

“Before things get noisier, let’s head home.”

“…Excuse me?”

I stared at him.

“What about the people trapped in the hotel?!”

“They can either break through the ice themselves or wait for the emergency crews.” His voice was cool, matter-of-fact.

“And you—what—! You’re not going to raid the Gate either?!”

“Why should I?” he snapped back, irritation flashing.

“B-because that’s your job as an S-class Esper—”

“There are plenty of others who can handle a Gate. If anything, when I return from one, it feels like my Guide is about to run the moment I turn my back. Or am I imagining things?”

“….”

His words hit hard. Truth was—I had considered fleeing. And because of that, I couldn’t even meet his stare.

“You should give up on that hope,” he said coldly. “I have no intention of entering that Gate tonight.”

And true to his word, he did not.

Instead, Vasily commandeered one of the Association cars left by staff responding to the incident, leaving his own at the hotel. By the time anyone recovered it, the place would be sealed off anyway.

Back at home, he dragged me inside—literally. His grip on my arm was vice-like, as though he feared I might bolt on the spot.

In his room, he threw me onto the bed.

“Ugh!”

I tumbled like paper, landing sprawled in the blankets. The softness caught me, but my body froze at once when I looked up into his gaze—cold and sharp as a blade.

“Now that I think about it,” he said slowly, “you’ve done suspicious things more than once. How exactly do you know when Gates will open?”

“It’s just coincidence—”

“This time, you won’t cover it with coincidence. Choose your answer carefully, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

His tone was a growl, like thunder brewing low.

The excuses I had always relied on—useless now.

I pressed my lips shut. If I said the truth, he would think me insane—or worse, we’d fall straight back into the twisted relationship we had before my regression. Both fates were intolerable. Silence was the only option left.

“So you won’t answer.”

His hand seized my chin, wrenching my face up. I narrowed my eyes and glared back, rebellious—until he smiled. Coldly.

He brushed a thumb over my lips, prying them open.

“If you’re going to keep that mouth shut… why don’t you use it to suck my cock instead?”

“What…?”

“Don’t know if you’ll do it well. But if you manage to satisfy me, maybe I’ll let this slide.”

My mind reeled. It was absurd, degrading—monstrous.

I tried to speak, tried to reject—only for his thumb to shove into my mouth, pressing cruelly down on my tongue.

“Mmph—!”

He rubbed inside roughly, smearing saliva across my cheeks as it trickled down my jaw.

I tried to bite, but he forced in deeper, jabbing down my tongue until my throat gagged. Tears pricked my eyes as the air cut short.

Even as my chest heaved, my mind was racing.

I couldn’t dodge him forever. ‘Coincidence’ had run dry. Telling the truth was suicidal.

That left only one path: endure humiliation.

‘…Damn it. Not like I want this.’

Abruptly, I slapped at his wrist, shoving his hand away, the finger pulling free from my mouth with a wet pop.

For an instant, he seemed to think I would run. His grip clamped down on my shoulder like an iron band.

But instead of resisting—I slowly lowered myself to my knees before him.

His chuckle rang low and cruel.

“…So you finally made up your mind?”

His lips twisted in satisfaction.

I gave no reply. Instead, my hands rose—and unfastened his belt.