CHAPTER 146: [WANTED MY FIRST KISS]

"I..."

Eli’s voice came out smaller than he intended, barely louder than the sound of dripping water around them.

His face felt hot—too hot— as if all the warmth that had left his body underwater decided to return just to humiliate him now.

He honestly didn’t know what kind of excuse he could possibly give.

There was no logical explanation for kissing someone in the middle of a fight to the death. Not one that wouldn’t make him sound insane.

And the truth— the real reason— wasn’t an option.

Still, he needed to say something.

Anything.

Especially since Kairo was still standing there, silent, patient, and impossibly calm, like he had all the time in the world to listen to Eli squirm.

Eli’s thoughts scrambled for an excuse, one that would also explain the blood that followed the kiss— because, knowing Kairo, that question was coming next.

’I can’t believe I’m going to say this.’

His entire mission was to seduce Kairo and Caelen— that was literally how the system had written it. And yet saying anything remotely close to that right now would be a death wish.

So, he settled for the only thing he could say without wanting to drown himself out of embarrassment.

He took a breath, forcing himself to meet Kairo’s gaze for a second before looking away again. His cheeks burned even redder— Elione’s body was too expressive, too quick to betray him.

"I... haven’t had my first kiss," he whispered.

The words hung in the air between them, quiet and awkward, echoing faintly off the cavern walls.

Eli wanted to disappear. To vanish into thin air.

Because Kairo was still looking at him. Not blinking. Not reacting. Just staring.

Eli’s stomach twisted so tightly he thought he might be sick.

’God, this is humiliating.’

"I was afraid..." he continued, voice trembling slightly. "When I came to, I felt guilty— because I realized I’d been mind-controlled and... made things harder for you."

He hesitated, covering his face with both hands, words spilling out faster now, as if saying them quicker would make them hurt less.

"I’ve been feeling like a burden, like I can’t do anything right. So I decided I wanted to do something useful. To give more blood— even if it killed me."

His throat tightened; the next words cracked.

"Before I did that, I just... I wanted to at least have my first kiss. And who better for it to be than..."

Eli’s breath hitched. His heart was pounding so hard it hurt. He lowered his hands, eyes darting up just long enough to meet Kairo’s before looking away again.

"...than you?"

The silence that followed was unbearable.

Eli wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

How many times had he wished for that since ending up in this cursed situation? He couldn’t even count anymore.

Probably too many.

But this one—this moment—felt like the one that might actually kill him from sheer mortification.

His ears rang with the pounding of his own heartbeat, every thump echoing loud in the cavern’s still air.

His chest twisted painfully, each breath short and shaky.

’Why isn’t he saying anything? Say something, damn it!’

He didn’t know if the silence was better or worse than rejection.

Kairo wasn’t the type to pause.

He was the type to act, to command, to cut through chaos with a voice that could split stone. But now—now he was silent.

Too silent.

Eli couldn’t tell if that was a good sign or the worst possible one.

Because what good could possibly come out of this?

There was no reality, no alternate universe where this ended positively.

Not when he’d just admitted something that sounded like a confession and an apology and an emotional breakdown all in one breath.

Seconds dragged.

A minute.

Two.

Almost three.

Eli’s hands were still covering his face, but curiosity—and maybe fear—finally won over shame.

Slowly, cautiously, he peeked between his fingers, expecting to find an empty cavern, maybe just the echo of footsteps where Kairo had walked off to pretend none of this ever happened.

But—

’Oh.’

Kairo was still there.

He hadn’t moved.

He stood exactly where he’d been, boots half-submerged in the water, droplets still trailing down the line of his jaw from the fight.

But he wasn’t just standing there.

He was frozen.

His expression — usually composed, sharp, controlled to the point of intimidation — was caught somewhere between shock and something Eli had never seen before.

And then Eli saw it.

The faintest tint of color spreading across Kairo’s cheeks. A flush—light, subtle, but there.

Eli blinked once. Twice.

’No way... no way in hell—’

But there it was.

The great Crimson Shadow.

The Silent Reaper.

The S-Class Hunter known for showing no emotion even while slaying monsters twice his size—

Was blushing.

Actually, blushing.

Eli’s brain short-circuited. Every rational thought in his head scattered like startled birds.

He wanted to scream, to hide, to crawl back underwater and never resurface again.

But all he could do was stare.

And, faintly—through the pounding in his ears, through the humiliation, through the disbelief—he swore he saw Kairo’s jaw clench just slightly, like the man himself was realizing it too.

Kairo was blushing.

’Did I... break him?’ Eli thought, his pulse skyrocketing so violently it was all he could hear.

The silence between them stretched, thick and unreal. Kairo still hadn’t moved—still standing there with that faint, uncharacteristic color dusted across his face.

Eli stared, frozen. Should he say something? Apologize? Crack a joke? Pretend he didn’t just say the stupidest reason for kissing the guy underwater?

But before he could even decide, pain slammed through his skull like a spike.

"Ah—!" Eli hissed softly, clutching his head. His knees nearly buckled as his danger sense flared to life again, sharp and chaotic—like alarm bells ringing straight into his brain.

That movement, that tiny sound, was enough to snap Kairo out of whatever trance he’d been caught in.

The hunter’s composure snapped back like a blade being drawn. His shoulders squared, his black eyes sharp once again, the faint blush gone as if it had never existed.

"What is it?" Kairo demanded, voice low and edged with focus. His hand raised instinctively, crimson energy flaring faintly at his fingertips, the water rippling around his feet as the beginnings of a blood sword formed.

Eli forced a breath, still holding his head. "It’s—"

"CAPTAIN, AHHHHH!!!"

The scream cut him off like a thunderclap.

Zaira.

Her voice was raw and desperate, echoing through the cavern with enough force to make Eli’s blood run cold.

A second later, the ground shook.

The water rippled violently beneath them as the entire cavern trembled. Small rocks dislodged from above, clattering into the flood with hollow splashes.

Both of them turned toward the sound—Kairo instinctively stepping forward, Eli struggling to steady his vision through the pain hammering his temples.

And there they were.

Zaira. Mio.

Both of them standing several meters ahead, soaked, bruised, panting—but alive.

Relief flickered across Kairo’s face for half a second before his expression hardened again. His grip on the sword tightened.

But something was off.

Because standing behind them—taller than any building, blotting out the faint cavern light—was it.

The octopus.

Its enormous body pulsed with an oily, black sheen, its eyes glowing a sickly blue. Dozens of its tendrils coiled and uncoiled behind it like serpents tasting blood in the water.

"Mel?" Kairo muttered, his tone tightening as his eyes flicked toward the third figure beside Zaira and Mio—broader, barely standing.

Eli followed his gaze—and his breath hitched.

Mel was there.

Or at least... what looked like him.

His skin was pale, eyes empty, movements sluggish—like a puppet barely holding its strings.

And behind them, was the reason they were screaming.

’It’s the octopus!’

Fuck.