The Way to Love in the Place of Dead

The world was divided in two. The sky of the chosen, Limpus. And the land of the abandoned, Willamere.

Kay, an S-rank esper born in Willamere, waits for the person he promised to reunite with, only to be abducted by a Limpus center that covets his abilities. After breaking out of prison at the risk of rampage, the one who appears before him is Aran Rapperd, bearing the very “face” of the person he has been waiting for all this time.

“Make a deal with me.”

Using his own face—identical to the person Kay has been searching for—as leverage, Aran borrows his strength and steps onto the battlefield. Their living environments until now, their values, even their personalities—not a single thing between the two fits together, yet damn it all, their bodies crave each other desperately.

A war that began with the android rebellion. Two who have lived in completely different worlds without a single point of contact. In this world where everything ends when you die, reduced to a grain of sand in the desert, can the two of them truly achieve the wishes that lie beyond the war?

∞ ∞ ∞

“Don’t let your guard down. These things share all their thought circuits.”

The murmuring voice was more serious than ever before, and the arm around his waist steadied his balance solidly, setting him upright.

“What you’re up against isn’t hundreds of separate machines. It’s hundreds of bodies with a single brain.”

Understanding that what Aran was trying to convey was information for fighting here, Kay nodded.

“Remember three things. One, each individual unit won’t stop until you destroy the <Core> inside. Two, they are a collective that all share one brain. And lastly.”

He threw the spear, stopping a machine that was bearing down on a soldier.

“No matter what it takes, survive.”

The hand that had been wrapped around him fell away, and his gaze turned toward him.

“Got it?”

Dismembering machines, irritably wiping the green oil splattered on his face—Kay realized that this current appearance was closer to his true nature. But even that was only for a moment.

“As a bonus, if there’s absolutely no way to survive, or if a critical situation hits.”

The guy’s eyes curved into a smile.

“Call my name.”

∞ ∞ ∞

Background/Genre: Sci-Fi/Futuristic/BL

Work Keywords: Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Fantasy, Guideverse, Love-Hate, Contract, Beautiful Top, Affectionate Top, Devoted Top, Smooth/Playful Top, Scheming/Manipulative Top, Beautiful Bottom, Strong Bottom, Prickly Bottom, Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove, Neat/Reserved Bottom, Powerful Bottom, Wounded Bottom, Rescue/Redemption, Superpowers, Serious Tone, Case/Mystery-Driven, War, Military

Top: Aran Rapperd – Limpus’s flawless hero and a Multi who possesses both Esper and Guide abilities. He makes a deal with Kay for something he can only obtain once the war ends.

Bottom: Kay – An Esper who has been wandering in search of his benefactor. He agrees to the contract when Aran offers to give him information about that person, but something beyond the contract keeps piercing his heart.

When to read: When you want a story about two people who never would have met if not for the war, whose love-hate intensifies, and who use each other to fill their own voids.

Relatable quote: “Because I believed you would protect me.”