What they were thinking was partly the reason Khal was not mad, but a big part was that he knew it was not their fault. Years ago, he was constantly on edge, and he sometimes vented that suppressed anger on his subordinates.

It was no wonder that everyone feared being reprimanded by him.

Khal did not ask any more questions after that; they spent a few minutes observing the esper through the walls before the three finally decided to enter the room and looked at it closely.

The two also followed them inside. But before that, they did not forget to put on the protective gear. As for Khal and Devion, they could naturally shield Ayen from the corruption themselves.

Once inside, Khal did not immediately order the enclosure to be lifted. They approached it and observed through it. Despite the protection of the enclosure, the man inside still leaked outside.

Ayen frowned at the repulsive feeling... He could not help but hold on to the two espers’ arms. Khal and Devion quickly glanced at him when they felt his touch.

"What’s wrong?" Devion leaned, and his warmth quickly surrounded Ayen, alleviating the pressure.

Khal did the same. Their attributes were polar opposites, and it should be uncomfortable being warm and cold at the same time. However, Ayen only felt relaxed because of this.

"It’s repulsive." Ayen’s frown remained, and he took a deep breath. "I feel horrible." His tone was weak, and his complexion had noticeably paled.

The two espers were greatly alarmed because of this and were about to leave the room with Ayen, but he stopped them.

"No," he shook his head, addressing the concerns in their heads. Without them verbally pointing it out, Ayen already understood it. "I’m not affected."

He was not affected by the corrupting mana, at least physically. Khal and Devion shielded him, and his own constitution also helped... So why would he?

"Then?" Khal asked calmly, but his expression showed that if Ayen’s answer was not satisfactory, he would not let Ayen inside the room again.

Devion showed the same expression as he waited for Ayen’s response.

"I don’t like it. The curse," Ayen honestly replied. His gaze went to the beast, resembling the body of a tiger. "I seem to have an extreme aversion to curses. I felt it when I looked into Devion’s, like... We’re mortal enemies."

Ayen paused, his darkened pupils trembling slightly.

"I hate it. It makes me sick."

The pure hatred in his voice even surprised him, not to mention Khal and Devion, who could not help but stare at him intently.

When he felt it with Devion, he was more focused on guiding him that he did not observe himself. And its form was in the subconscious.

With Georgina’s and Arstem’s, theirs were not pure enough, and as Devion said, it was like a stitch monster without real form.

However, the one in this esper contained the essence of a real curse. It was incomparable to the genuine curse, but the amount contained in her body was enough to trigger the disgust in Ayen.

"It’s disgusting," Ayen continued, his pupils darkening further.

Khal and Devion exchanged glances. They mirrored each other’s expressions, unsure whether to let Ayen remain inside.

"Are you sure... you want to stay?" Devion asked. In fact, he was not faring any better. Any type of curse, he was sensitive to them.

Slowly, Ayen snapped out of it, and he looked up and saw the concern in their eyes.

He took a deep breath and decided not to be stubborn anymore. Before he could control this feeling, which also caught him off guard, it was better not to remain here.

"I’ll wait outside."

Khal and Devion stared at him, waiting to see if he wanted to add something. Ayen stared back at them, and relief obviously washed over the two.

"We’ll talk about this later, hm?" Khal leaned and kissed his temple.

Devion rubbed Ayen’s back and also did the same thing.

"This won’t take too long," he assured.

Khal looked up at the other two people inside and nodded his head. The two quickly understood it, and they escorted Ayen out of the room.

Devion and Khal looked at Ayen outside, seeing he was already settled; the two exchanged glances before ordering the enclosure to be lifted.

The corrupting mana wafted out, causing the two to frown harder. Devion even grimaced, and his pupils turned red, activating his wavelength to suppress the curse on him.

Ayen also frowned. While the effect was not as excessive because of the barriers erected in the room, he sensed that repulsive feeling again.

Fortunately, he did not insist on staying inside, or he would not have known what would happen.

This was also what the two espers thought of and glanced outside where Ayen was. They saw their frown, but his complexion was not bad, and so they sighed in relief and continued.

Khal lifted his gaze and looked at Devion, and sweat began to appear on his forehead. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"How about you?" he inquired with concern.

As much as possible, Khal wanted to restrain his overprotectiveness, and so despite his instincts, he asked Devion first.

Devion did not downplay his condition either.

"It wants to... consume it," Devion whispered, brows furrowed. The whispers in his ears constantly entice him to consume the mana around the esper.

Its influence was not what it used to be. Devion found out that after Ayen successfully guided him last time, though he did not feel immediate effects.

He realized that the curse had not manifested in a long time in front of him. It seemed... It could not do so anymore. However, the whispers were still annoying, more than ever.

Khal’s jaw tightened.

"Will you stay?" he asked once more. "Will you be okay?" he added, already knowing Devion’s answer to his first question.

Devion’s hand twitched, and he clenched it, itching to touch his ears. Khal did not like it and would be triggered by such an action.

Still, Khal noticed anyway. Of course, he would.

"I’ll be okay." Devion did not let Khal ask any more questions or be more worried; he reached out and held his hand. "You’re here. I’ll be okay."

Khal did not say anything, but he held Devion’s hand tightly, a firm one like he always did. Devion bitterly smiled inwardly; no matter how things changed and progressed, some scars would remain forever.