Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 310: Eros vs Thaurion

The two forces clashed in the lounge, the palace itself groaning under the weight of their collision. And in the center of it all, Yu Xi stood unyielding, his eerie calm a blade against Thaurion’s burning hunger.

The emerald and the gold collided again, two storms dancing in a narrow corridor of air. Yu Xi’s teeth grit, but beneath the grit lay a patient, calculating tide. He had learned that restraint could be the sharper blade. He was Eros’ descendant, after all, and his power carried the weight of a lineage that demanded more than brute force.

A gust threw Yu Xi toward the window. He crashed through the glass, pain blooming along his forearms, skin scraping against cold stone. The world spilled outward in jagged crescents of neon and night. Through the fracture, Yu Xi saw Thaurion leap after him, their energies snapping like vines around their legs as they tumbled into the palace grounds.

On the ground, Yu Xi rolled, bringing the fight to a grind of dirt and wind. Thaurion rose first, head tilted, eyes gleaming with a predator’s calculation.

Yu Xi stood up, wiping the corner of his mouth, emerald light pooling at his palms. They charged again, a storm of green and gold colliding with the sound of distant thunder.

Thaurion pressed hard, a tactic to infiltrate Yu Xi’s nerve endings, to disrupt the flow of his psychic current. Yu Xi fought back, a river against a dam, each movement precise and deliberate.

Suddenly his attendant’s voice cut through the roar calling out, "Your Majesty!" Thaurion knew that he would never disturb unless something was truly wrong.

Thaurion signaled his shadow guards and they moved with silent authority, shooting repressants toward Yu Xi.

The sting found the back of Yu Xi’s neck. His fingers curled around the syringe buried beneath his skin before he could register the prick. His vision tunneled, the world narrowing to the glint of Thaurion’s smile as the poison pressed its cold promise into his veins. He staggered, breath snagging in his throat, and looked up through a veil of black to hear Thaurion’s cold words.

"No need to fight it," Thaurion whispered, stepping closer with lethal calm. "I will make you my empress and your man will be forced to watch."

***

Thaurion’s voice thundered through the room. "What do you mean all of the labs?"

The attendant trembled, bowing low. "All of them, your majesty. They were attacked and raided at the same time."

Thaurion’s aura flared, the air thickening with his rage. Who had the audacity to orchestrate such an attack? No one in this empire had the power to go against him. Not the vanguards, not even Seraphyne’s disbanded Vanguard could gather such a force strong enough to burn the labs he funded in secret.

The attendant swallowed hard, then held out a small device. "Your majesty... they left a calling card."

The holo-screen flickered to life. The raids were being live-streamed across StarNet, broadcast for the entire Orion Drift to see. There were massive explosions as masked men attacked and the guards falling in droves. And stamped across the feed was the unmistakable sigil. It was the calling card of Eros, the most wanted criminal in the Drift.

Thaurion stared for a moment, then laughed. A deep, amused laugh that echoed off the walls. "Eros. Of course. I knew this attack had to do with the Jian brothers, but how did they get him on their side?"

His mind flicked back to years ago, when he had tried to recruit Eros himself, back when he plotted to take his brother’s throne. Eros had spat in his face, told him to go fuck himself, then vanished into the shadows of the Drift. For years, no one had seen him. And now, here he was standing with Seraphyne’s sons.

"Who would have thought," Thaurion murmured, his smile sharp, "that my sons would partner with him."

He turned to the attendant, his voice cold and commanding. "Establish contact. Let him know that whatever they promised, I will give him double."

"Yes, your majesty." Within ten minutes, the encrypted channel lit up. The holo-screen shimmered, static clearing to reveal a figure leaning back in a chair, shadows cloaking his face. Eros’ eyes gleamed with amusement, his smile crooked and dangerous. His voice was sharp and venomous.

"What the fuck do you want?"

The attendant swallowed, forcing composure. "We saw your calling card. We are calling to negotiate."

Eros sneered, his lip curling. "Negotiate? I want to speak to the one at the top."

And with that, he hung up.

Less than a minute later, the line buzzed again. Eros answered, and this time the voice that came through was one he knew all too well. It was Thaurion.

"Now why," Thaurion drawled, his tone heavy with restrained fury, "would you go and fuck up my business?"

Eros’ teeth ground together, his jaw tight. "Because you took my daughter from me."

Thaurion’s brows furrowed. Impossible. He would never be foolish enough to let his men kidnap the daughter of a prestigious family, least of all Eros’ daughter. That was a sure way to expose their operations.

"One of my subordinates must have fucked up," Thaurion said smoothly, masking his unease. "I will help you get your daughter back and give you a proper explanation."

Eros laughed. At first it was sharp, mocking. Then it grew darker, more sinister, until the sound filled the channel like a storm.

This had been the scheme from the beginning. The raids and the calling card, it was bait. They knew someone at the top would reach out. They hadn’t expected it to be Thaurion himself.

"My daughter already died," Eros said, his voice low, final. "So there will be no negotiation. I am out for blood."

He hung up.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Fuck!" Thaurion roared, sweeping everything off his desk in a violent crash. Papers, crystal, and steel clattered to the floor. His chest heaved, his aura flaring with rage. He had thought he had a handle on the labs, thought his subordinates would follow orders. But now it was clear they were against him. And worse, he had provoked someone he had never wanted to fight.

"Initiate all emergency protocols," Thaurion snapped, his voice cutting like a blade. "Set up a meeting with all the Vanguards."

"Yes, your majesty," the attendant stammered before fleeing the chamber.

Thaurion stood alone, his laughter breaking free and maniacal, echoing through the palace halls. War was coming to him whether he liked it or not.

But he still had one advantage.

Jian Ci was in his possession. And in his hands, he held what Jian Ci valued most.