Power Thief's Revenge [BL]-Chapter 192: Need for Release

The light swallowed everything.

Hermes staggered, clutching Raphael’s hand. The world around them twisted, slowed, then stilled. The pink smoke froze mid-swirl, caught in the air like painted glass.

Hermes gasped, dizzy from the sudden silence. "It worked..."

Raphael’s golden eyes locked onto his. He nodded once, his breath ragged but resolute. "Run."

Somner looked around in disbelief. "The hell— Why does it feel like someone clicked the pause button on the world...?"

Ymir’s jaw tightened. "They froze time. Again."

Hermes forced himself to steady. "We don’t have long. Let’s move before it catches up."

Magni didn’t waste a second. He scooped up the vase cradling the Pleroman plant with both hands, holding it as though it were sacred. Raphael clutched the jar of solinium tight to his chest. Together, they pushed through the frozen haze, past the stiff figure of Shani standing near the door. His hand was half-raised as though reaching for them, but unmoving.

They burst out of the library.

Hermes’s breath hitched when he looked up. That strange, abstract green canopy he had noticed earlier wasn’t the rooftop at all. It was the world tree, its endless branches stretching outward and upward, creating a living roof over the campus. Its leaves glowed faintly, frozen mid-rustle, as if the whole world had been caught in a single held breath.

But beyond the tree’s reach, Hermes saw the horizon still shifting. Clouds drifting, wind moving. The rest of the world carried on.

"Shit," Somner muttered, pointing upward. "If anyone out there notices this.... Sees an entire damn campus just stop moving... They’ll know something’s wrong."

Hermes panted, still dragging Raphael along. "The freeze won’t last long. Hopefully anyone who sees it will think it’s their eyes playing tricks."

"Hopefully?" Ymir snapped, his face taut with frustration. "That’s the best you’ve got?"

"Better than nothing! If it weren’t for Raphael, we’d be porn material for some crazy scientist by now!" Hermes shot back, his voice harsher than he intended.

He forced himself to breathe, to stay steady. "Just keep running. The van’s close."

They sprinted across the campus grounds, their bodies heavy with the lingering curse. Every step felt like dragging chains. The unnatural heat gnawed at them, making their skin burn and their thoughts swirl. But the urgency kept them moving, teeth grit, hearts pounding.

When they finally reached the rental van parked at the edge of the frozen lot, Hermes fumbled with the keys. His hands shook as he shoved the door open and climbed into the driver’s seat.

The others piled in behind him, slamming doors, gasping for breath.

Hermes gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles whitened. His pants felt unbearably heavy. The curse had not lessened. If anything, being away from Khemia’s presence only made its hold clearer, like an ache without distraction.

Raphael sat in the passenger seat, his face pale, sweat still dripping from his temples. He held the jar tightly, his hands trembling.

Magni placed the vase carefully on the floor, steadying it with both legs as if guarding it with his life.

Somner leaned back, fanning himself with a shaky hand, his jaw clenched to keep his teeth from chattering. "This is... unbearable. If this doesn’t wear off..."

"It won’t," Raphael croaked, his voice low but firm. His golden eyes stared ahead, heavy with certainty.

"Not on its own. The only ones who can take it back are the Reverend or the Scientist. The Reverend’s Dogma works as if it becomes a part of your body since birth, something you need to function, something you can’t live without. As if it had been your destiny all along."

He added remorsefully: "That is why I’m still afflicted with the Courage blessing. It’s so powerful and I was even surprised that Dr. Khemia can remove it. But there’s nobody else I know of who can lift it, not even powers that can bend time and space like CEO Quasar’s Multitudes or Eirwyn’s Rewind."

The van fell silent.

"So we beg them to remove it? No." Hermes said immediately, his grip tightening on the wheel. "That’s not an option. I don’t trust either of them."

"The Reverend was the one who brought this curse in the first place." Ymir growled. His voice cracked with both anger and strain. "A preacher with his damn Dogma, punishing people for sins they didn’t even commit? No chance."

"And that bastard Khemia..." Somner spat bitterly. "Forget it. That freak won’t undo anything. He’ll just take notes while we fuck each other to death."

Hermes’s throat tightened. His mind flashed back to Khemia’s voice, calm and clinical as he spoke about experiments, about ’observing what life takes root.’ Rage stirred in him all over again.

No. They couldn’t go back.

But then... what?

The curse clawed at him, demanding. His body felt like it was splitting in two, pulled between fury and desire. He couldn’t lead like this, not if it dragged on. His mind raced, searching. And then, a spark.

"Destiny... Shani." He whispered.

The others turned to him, baffled by the sudden mention of his friend’s name.

Hermes straightened, forcing his voice through the haze. "Shani’s power was related to karma. He said it’s like Hammurabi’s ’eye for an eye’. He said it punishes people with their own deeds. I’ve never really seen him use it but... If this curse is destiny’s punishment, maybe he can turn it back to Khemia or the Reverend."

Somner scowled, wiping sweat from his brow. "You really want to trust that guy? The way he looks at you... he’s too damn chummy. I don’t like it."

Ymir snorted, his head dropping back against the seat. "You’re just jealous."

Somner shot him a glare. "Shut it."

But Ymir’s expression hardened too. "He’s not wrong, though. Something about that guy... And he’s a lawyer. We already have alien boy tagging along, and now you want to bring Mr. Justice into this?"

Raphael flinched faintly at the jab but said nothing, his gaze still locked out the window.

Before Hermes could argue back, Aphrodite finally stirred. He had been leaning against the seat, eyes half-shut, his face pale and glistening with sweat. Now, his voice cut through the tension, soft but steady.

"There’s another option."

The van went quiet.

Aphrodite slowly raised his head, his violet eyes hazy but piercing. "We release our lust."

The word hung heavy in the air.

Somner’s jaw dropped. "You’re kidding."

Ymir stiffened, his ears burning red. "What the hell did you just say?"

Aphrodite’s gaze didn’t waver. "Think about it. The curse feeds on suppression. It twists our restraint into torment. But if we... release it, if we give it what it wants, maybe the hold will weaken. Maybe we’ll be clear-headed enough to call Shani and have him break it properly."

Magni cleared his throat, his usual booming voice softened by the weight of the moment. "It... does make sense."

"No, no, no." Somner waved his hands furiously. "That’s insane. You really want us to... With Ymir and the aliens too!? If it was just us, Ditee, it would have been fine. Like back then—"

"Back then!?" Ymir was incredulous. "What the fuck do you mean, back then!? Are you saying you, Aphrodite and Hermes..."

Magni then interjected. "But didn’t we three also...?"

Ymir punched his shoulder. "Why did you say that!? T-That one’s different! We were going to die—"

"Hold on! Hold on!" Somner started giggling. "I already know that Master did it with Ymir, but Magni too!? I thought Magni was fully loyal to Ice Prince over here. Master is really amazing, he managed to resolve a love triangle by sleeping with the rival too!"

Ymir cursed under his breath, tugging his collar down to get some air. His hands clenched against his thighs as he remembered the double blowjob he and Magni gave Hermes, shaking.

"Like I said, it was different! We had no choice! It was when we were stuck in the alien bastard’s crib in the crypt, and we needed to all have the Paragon power to escape!"

Aphrodite rubbed his chin. "But why didn’t you just drink each other’s blood?"

"It was Hermes’ idea! Said we were too injured... He’s the perverted one!" Ymir insisted. "And so are you all. I only do those things with him when necessary, while you two are head over heels for him and offer up your bodies easily!"

"Pfft, tomato tomato." Somner scoffed. "Don’t act like you don’t want to get plowed by Master’s giant icicle. He has really good technique too."

Magni’s eyes widened. "Truly? I should ask for Brother Modi’s tutelage then... It is settled! I will experience being plowed by this icicle in order to learn his secret techniques! Then I can properly pleasure His Highness—"

"DON’T YOU DARE!" Ymir smacked him hard on the face.

Raphael meanwhile looked like a boy who was watching his first mature movie, eating up all this drama about Hermes’ harem. He just listened to them spill the tea with morbid curiosity. All he needed was popcorn.

But as the group bickered, Aphrodite’s words lingered. Hermes could feel it. None of them wanted to admit it, but the idea made a cruel kind of sense.

He swallowed hard, his throat dry, his mind a whirl. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to them. Not here. But looking at his team, sweat-soaked, trembling, flushed... he knew they couldn’t go on like this. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Aphrodite closed his eyes, leaning his head back. "Anyway... You all know I’m right. It’s going to happen sooner or later at this rate. So... let’s just do it. Together."

The silence that followed was thick with shame and inevitability.

And in that silence, each of them realized it. Aphrodite’s suggestion might be the only way forward.