Free Web NovelChapter 103: _Take Your Hand Off Him
The moment Gabriel’s words landed, chaos erupted throughout the chamber. People stood up, yelling over each other, most of their words aimed at the SS-Rank.
"You reassured us that your Spatial lock can hold!" Someone snapped.
"I knew the US couldn’t handle this."
"What’s the use of him being here anyway? Now how’s he going to fix—"
"Just quiet already!" Gabriel snapped, space around the hall trembling with his voice. He rose to his feet, eyes locked on Aileen. "We don’t have much time. A few hours at best."
"It’s... not just cracking. Something is eroding it from the inside. My suspicion is the humanoid entity—if they get out before we can contain them..."
Aileen’s face turned grim. "... Then we lose our chance to implement Valentine’s plan," her jaw flexed, eyes sliding to the Necromancer. Hesitation lingered on her features for a beat before she sighed.
"All available forces should deploy Hunters to Norfolk immediately. Time is of the essence. We’ll need to have faith in Hunter Valentine and hope his breach plan proves fruitful."
Ambrose was in his seat while all this happened, fingers still steepled from the initial shock that came with Valentine’s announcement.
Now they were talking about... going straight into a full-blown attack on the Rift?
’No,’ his mind halted. ’This isn’t merely an attack.’ his gaze travelled through every corner of the chamber, his chest tightening. ’This is war.’
"South Korea is sending its elite forces." A representative yelled out just then.
There was a pause at first before other countries started chirping in.
Ukraine. Spain. The European coalition. South Africa. Heck, even Russia and China offered immediate action from their top available Hunters.
Aileen nodded, spreading out her palms on the table in front of her. "It’s settled then. As Council speaker of the International Hunters Council, I pronounce this the beginning of the second Norfolk Echo Rift raid. Hopefully it’s also the last."
The meeting was brought to a close as everyone went on the move, making calls and barking orders to people in their respective countries.
While all this went on, Ambrose glanced back at Valentine. The older man had gotten up, adjusting his sunglasses. As he began easing past the seats and down the steps, Ambrose couldn’t contain himself any more.
"Hey!" He shot up, ignoring the stunned looks Devon, Viktor and the others gave him. "Mr? Mr Lockwood!"
The Esper paused, barely looking over his shoulder at him as he brushed past seats and people. Valentine smirked. "Oh, hello."
When Ambrose got in front of him, he gnashed his teeth, unable to tear his gaze away from his stupid sunglasses and that amused expression.
"Why?" Was all he managed to start with, his voice lowering to a whisper. "You know how dangerous a mission like this can be. I—"
"Precisely," Valentine shrugged. "Yet last time I saw you before this meeting you were right there in Norfolk. Sure, you were battered and barely holding up... but still."
Ambrose couldn’t hide his irritation, ignoring the massive power disparity. "Is this a game to you? Is my life a game? I can’t—"
"You know what’s actually funny?" Valentine lowered his head, his face only a breath away now. "It’s that somehow I think you would’ve still found a way to involve yourself in this mission too. Even without my interference."
The words made Ambrose’s pulse stutter, his cheeks burning with embarrassment and anxiety all at once. He was able to sense Devon, Viktor and even Magnus and Irina staring at them curiously.
Probably wondering when the heck someone like him got so close with an SS-Rank like Valentine Lockwood.
Meanwhile, the latter was enjoying how genuinely shaken Ambrose seemed. He caught his shoulder, pulling him in until their bodies almost bumped into each other.
"Don’t think I still can’t smell that delicious scent of death around you," he murmured, breath sending chills down his spine. "It’s grown even stronger. I know something has changed about you... and maybe, just maybe—this raid will reveal what I need to know."
He pulled back, patting Ambrose on the face. Then he gave Gabriel a quick look, signalling him to walk with him.
The space king was hesitant at first, eyes narrowed with suspicion. As he got off his seat and hurried beside Valentine, he angled his head to Ambrose.
The Guide quickly remembered how Gabriel promised to ’have his eyes on him’ and instantly felt cornered, lowering his head.
Devon didn’t hesitate.
The moment Valentine and Gabriel disappeared into the crowd, he was already moving, closing the distance between himself and Ambrose in a few long strides.
"Ambrose." His voice was lower than usual.
Ambrose stiffened but didn’t turn immediately. "What?"
Devon stopped in front of him anyway, forcing eye contact. His brows pulled together, gaze scanning his face like he was searching for something broken beneath the surface.
"How are you feeling?"
A simple question. Too simple.
Ambrose’s lips parted, but before anything could come out—a hand slid around his waist.
Viktor.
"Now, now," the ice Prince drawled, amusement laced heavily in his tone as he pulled Ambrose slightly back against his chest. "Can’t you see he’s overwhelmed?"
Devon’s expression snapped.
The shift was instant.
His eyes flared as aether bled into the air around him, thick and suffocating. "Take your hand off him."
Viktor only smiled wider. "Or what?"
The temperature between them spiked, invisible pressure cracking against the space as people nearby instinctively stepped away.
Ambrose’s breath hitched.
This was too much. Way too much.
The noise. The tension. The eyes.
His chest tightened, pulse erratic as the weight of everything—Valentine, the mission, the kill—crashed back in all at once.
"I..." He slipped out quietly.
Before either of them could react.
"Don’t start something you can’t finish," he muttered under his breath, not even sure who he was talking to as he moved down the steps.
He needed space.
Air.
... Orion!
He needed to see the boy before he was whisked away into a mission he wasn’t even sure he could survive.
His thoughts raced as he exited the chamber, weaving past hurried officials and Hunters flooding the halls of the Apostolic Palace.
’Think... think. There has to be a way out of this. I can’t just walk into that Rift—’
A sharp chime rang in his head just then.
He froze mid-step.
[Special Mission Activated]
[OBJECTIVE: Survive the Echo Rift.]
[PENALTY: Obvious death.]
Ambrose’s stomach dropped. "...You’ve got to be kidding me."
