Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 163: Don’t be jealous

The final day of the mission should have felt like a victory lap. Instead, Yu Xi moved through it like a ghost.

His body obeyed, but barely. Every step was heavier than the last, his limbs sluggish, his mind fogged. He had downed two energy boosters in the morning, and another by midday, but they barely kept him upright. His thoughts kept drifting, always back to Jian Ci.

Jian Ci’s health indicator updates on his communicator looked stable. There were no spikes or relapses. But Yu Xi couldn’t be rest assured. Not when he hadn’t seen him fully awake. Not when he didn’t know what Jian Ci remembered,or felt, after what happened.

And not when his own body was betraying him. His psychic field was frayed at the edges, like a net stretched too thin. He could feel it. His usual precision dulled, his instincts lagging. That night had taken more from him than he had realized.

They were only a few miles from the finish line when the air changed.

The temperature dropped. The wind stilled. The trees fell silent and then came the scream.

It wasn’t a sound. It was a psychic rupture, a howl that tore through their minds like claws. Yu Xi staggered, clutching his head as the world twisted. Colors bled into each other. The ground pulsed and someone screamed behind him.

The Ravager Spinehowl emerged from the treeline like a nightmare made flesh.

Towering, obsidian-plated, its body rippled with muscle and armor. A ridge of glowing bone blades ran down its spine, each one humming with psychic energy. Its eyes burned with a feral intelligence, and its presence distorted the air around it like heat off scorched metal.

"Formation!" Yu Xi shouted but it was too late.

The first volley of spines launched—dozens of them, each one curving mid-air, guided by the beast’s will. Yu Xi threw up a barrier, but it cracked on impact, shards of green light scattering like glass. He ducked, rolled, and countered with a psychic blast, but the Ravager’s armor adapted instantly, absorbing the force. Then came the howl again.

Yu Xi’s vision fractured. For a moment, he was back in the cave—Jian Ci above him, eyes glowing, breath hot against his skin. Then the image shattered, replaced by fire, by blood, by the sound of his own name screamed from far away.

He hit the ground hard. His teammates fought valiantly, but the beast was a tactical nightmare—regenerating, adapting, overwhelming. Yu Xi forced himself to his feet, teeth gritted, and launched another wave of energy. It barely slowed the creature.

They were losing time. And he was losing strength but he

Its mindshatter howl tore through the forest like a psychic quake, warping the air, bending light, and sending Yu Xi’s teammates to their knees. Trees groaned under the pressure. The ground pulsed with invisible force. Hallucinations flickered at the edge of their vision. There were phantoms of fire, screams, and blood. Yu Xi was the only one standing.

His breath came in ragged bursts, sweat dripping from his brow. His vision blurred, his body aching from the night, but his grip on Soulfarge Mantle never wavered.

The blade hummed in his hand—no, around him. It wasn’t just a weapon. It was an extension of his will, a construct of psychic resonance. Emerald light shimmered along its edge, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.

The Ravager’s obsidian-plated body shifted, its glowing spine bristling with bone blades. With a guttural snarl, it launched a volley—dozens of spines, each one psychically guided, curving mid-air like serpents. Yu Xi moved.

Soulfarge Mantle split into three, each blade orbiting him like a comet. With a flick of his fingers, they danced—intercepting the spines mid-flight, slicing through them with surgical precision. Shards of bone and psychic residue rained down around him. The Ravager lunged.

Yu Xi leapt, flipping backward, and sent one blade arcing toward the beast’s eye. It deflected off the adaptive armor, but the impact staggered it. Yu Xi landed in a crouch, eyes glowing, and summoned the blades back to him.

He was running out of time. His energy reserves were nearly gone. His body was screaming. But he had one shot left. He closed his eyes. Synchronize.

The blades pulsed, then fused into a single, massive construct—Soulfarge Mantle reborn as a greatsword of pure psychic force. It hovered above his head, humming with lethal intent.

The Ravager reared back, its howl building again. Yu Xi opened his eyes.

He surged forward, the greatsword following like a meteor. The Ravager launched another attack, but Yu Xi weaved through them, his body a blur of motion. The world narrowed to a single point—the glowing core beneath the Ravager’s throat, exposed for just a breath between armor shifts. He struck.

Soulfarge Mantle drove forward, piercing the core with a sound like shattering crystal. The Ravager screamed, its howl warping into a static-laced shriek, as psychic energy exploded outward in a shockwave.

Yu Xi was thrown back, tumbling across the ground and silence fell.

The Ravager staggered, its limbs twitching, then collapsed in a heap of obsidian and bone. Its glow faded and the air stilled.

Yu Xi lay on his back, chest heaving, vision swimming. The greatsword dissolved into motes of emerald light, drifting upward like fireflies.

He had killed it but darkness crept into the edges of his vision. The cost of this fight was high.

By the time they reached the extraction point and entered the spacecraft, Yu Xi was pale, drenched in sweat, and barely upright. His communicator buzzed with messages. Jian Wei and Jian Rui had already taken Jian Ci for a full medical scan. They couldn’t wait so they sent Xiaobao to get him.

She was waiting at the landing pad, bouncing on her heels, her twin buns bobbing with each step. The moment she saw him, she lit up.

"Brother!" She ran straight into his arms.

Yu Xi caught her, but a groan escaped his throat as pain lanced through his ribs. His knees buckled slightly under her weight.

Xiaobao pulled back, alarmed. "Are you hurt?"

"I am fine," Yu Xi said, forcing a smile. His eyes scanned the pad. "Where is he?"

Xiaobao frowned. "Why are you asking about him? He left with his brothers. They said he wasn’t feeling well, but he looked fine to me. You should be more worried about yourself. You look pale."

Yu Xi exhaled, relief washing over him. "Good. He’s safe."

He draped an arm around her shoulders. "Let’s go. I need to see him."

Xiaobao pouted, crossing her arms. "You care more about him than me."

Yu Xi chuckled weakly. "Don’t be jealous."

They climbed into the hovercar. As it lifted off, Yu Xi leaned back, pressing his fingers to his forehead. His temples throbbed. His vision blurred at the edges.

"Let Grandpa know I am fine," he murmured.