The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 163: Missing Team Member

Chapter 163: Missing Team Member

The shockwaves from the sword shook the precipice, causing already fragile rocks to start crumbling. Lane waited, as the pieces slowly started falling around him, bumping on his head and shoulders... And then, just as the cliff was about to fall apart, he pulled out his sword and dodged to the side, accompanied by the surprised screams of the people above who suddenly lost their footing, and started falling down with the rocks...

Well, not exactly. Their ’fall’ didn’t last long, as they soon were caught by Nyla’s telekinesis, and started levitating in the air.

Of course, that was all within Lane’s plans. The trap wasn’t designed to kill them (although he most certainly wouldn’t mind if a certain middle-aged woman were to fall to her death! Even though a fall from this height probably wouldn’t be enough to kill an S-ranker anyway). He just wanted to distract them... And have an opportunity to snatch Oscar away.

As he successfully did.

"Is everyone okay?" Nyla asked, as she held everyone up in the air with her ability, trying to decide what to do next. The easiest option would be to turn back... But there were still angry T Rexes waiting for them there! So, what? Descend? She pressed her lips into a thin line, as she deliberated over it...

But a question soon snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Where’s Oscar?" one of the team members asked.

Nyla, as well as everyone else, looked around... But the man was nowhere to be seen.

"You didn’t catch him?" Gracie snapped at her, her tone harsh and fiery. "What are you doing!"

"I..." Nyla wanted to defend herself... But how could she, when Oscar wasn’t there? It was weird, since there were plenty of rocks still floating in the air, as Nyla just used her ability on a large scale, instead of picking up individual people... It should have helped her catch everyone quickly and ensure everyone was safe...

But she must have somehow missed the man, it seemed.

"Great! How useless," Gracie scoffed. "First you humiliate us in front of so many people by being incompetent, and now you lose one of your own people? Can’t you even stay focused? Have we not trained you well?!"

Nyla only lowered her head, remaining quiet.

"We’ll talk about it later. Lower us down first."

"Into the forest?"

"Where else?!"

The group started slowly descending into the forest below the cliff.

Meanwhile, behind some rocks not too far away...

"Mmmph! Mmmph!" Oscar struggled in Lane’s grasp, trying to call out for help, but unable to do so, as there was a hand pressed tightly against his mouth. Although Lane was a good three or four inches shorter than him, and had a much more slender frame, Oscar still stood no chance.

Such was the difference between the ranks.

Lane waited until the group disappeared among the trees below, and only then did he leave his hiding spot, escaping from the scene with his Sky Step, running away from both the Allen Guild and the T Rexes.

He landed in some quiet spot a fair distance away, and the first thing he did, was to grab the radio from Oscar’s pocket.. It had been screeching for a minute or two already, playing messages from Gracie.

"How annoying," he muttered, as he splashed it with Toxic Ooze. Luckily, although it was pretty sturdy, a bit of corrosive substance was enough to destroy it!

"Who, who are you?" Oscar gasped, now that his mouth was finally no longer covered. For a guy so large, his voice was surprisingly high-pitched. "What do you want?"

Naturally, Lane had no intention of answering. He just pulled up his sleeve, and slashed his wrist. "Drink it," he commanded, extending his arm.

"W-what?" Oscar stumbled back, covering up his mouth. Even though just a moment ago, he was fighting to have it uncovered... Of course, the circumstances were different, but still!

"Tsk," Lane couldn’t help but click his tongue, furrowing his brows in annoyance. Oscar was a strong A-ranker, so unless Lane caught him by surprise, it would be rather difficult to hypnotize him... So Lane didn’t want to waste his time trying it now. He already knew the man’s background - he was single, with no children, no siblings, and parents already dead - and the rest he could figure out later...

The only thing he needed now was to possess him.

Well, if Oscar wasn’t going to drink it, then so be it. Making the target swallow his blood was Lane’s usual modus operandi, but it wasn’t the only way. So, instead of trying to force the blood into Oscar’s mouth... He grabbed the man’s arm, slashed his wrist, and then made his own blood drip into the wound.

The first step was just to get his DNA inside the target, and how it was done, it made no difference.

"Wha-what are you- Yh!" Oscar groaned, his shoulders shuddering as he felt foreign wavelengths sweeping through his system. "Wait, are you a Guide? No, it can’t be... It’s not guiding... And just now you were-"

"So noisy," Lane muttered...

And then, his body went all limp, falling right into Oscar’s arms.

Oscar... no, Lane blinked, holding onto his own unconscious body. He wiped off the blood, both from himself and Oscar, and threw his (Lane’s) body over his (Oscar’s) shoulder.

Now that he possessed the body, it was safer to just leave. He needed to ’escort’ his real body back, after all, and he couldn’t stuff it in the spatial bag, unfortunately. He would just tell the Guild later that he got lost and stumbled upon someone who needed his help or something... Gracie would get furious with him, but so what? He was going to leave the Allen Guild soon, regardless of what his severance fee was, and then join the Association, where his boyfriend was!

With his mission having ended with success, Lane strolled back through the dungeon toward the Gate, humming happily under his nose.

It was time to return to the hotel and reunite with Damien!