Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 211: Fighting or is it flirting?

This was one of the reasons they kept breaking up but she kept coming back to him like a moth to flame. Like a fool.

Leane’s eyes flicked back to the post. The comments were already piling up, speculation, half-truths, and one name that kept surfacing.

Leane’s jaw tightened. She remembered the next morning vividly. Jian Ci had returned to camp with a strange look in his eyes. He was no longer brushing her off as usual. Something had shifted between them, subtle but seismic.

Leane clicked into the thread, her fingers finally moving. After the exam she has asked Elias questions about what he had eaten or drank during the past 24 hours.

Elias had listed a lot of things. Ge had eaten a spicy wrap, a bottle of mineral water, nutrient packets and Jian Ci’s juice."

Leane learnt that he had taken a sip and with a look of disgust he said It was so sweet it was like poison. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

That was it. That sentence hit her like a lightning strike. Her mind raced, pieces clicking into place with terrifying clarity. Elias hadn’t been the target.

He was collateral damage. The scheme had been aimed at Jian Ci.

Leane made her way to the recycling collection for their team and dug through the trash. Finally, she found them. They were three identical bottles, all with the same brand and flavor Jian Ci favored. No one else drank them.

She bagged them carefully and sent them to a discreet lab. The results came back two days later. Inside one of the bottles was a compound banned in Virelia. A neurotoxin which would trigger an Esper into a mental riot. It was potent enough to bring down a high-ranking wild-class beast in under a minute. The concentration was lethal.

Leane stared at the report, her hands trembling. How Jian Ci had drunk this and came out unscathed still amazed her.

For years, she’d kept this to herself, unsure what to do. Alarna’s family was powerful and untouchable, even. And Jian Ci had never shown signs of knowing.

But now... now things were shifting. She leaned back in her chair, eyes fixed on the floating screen. The forum post was still trending, an anonymous account tearing into Alarna, accusing her of manipulation, of orchestrating the rumor about Jian Ci’s "condition." The tone was too sharp, too personal.

Leane checked who this anonymous account belonged to on the system. She found that it was Yu Xi.

She rubbed her top lip, thinking. He was the key, she realized. He was the one who can burn that bitch to the ground.

A smirk curled her lips. The weight she’d carried for years lifted, just a little.

Then a notification popped up.

Elias: Tomorrow I fight in your honor, babe. Sweet dreams.

Leane rolled her eyes, exasperated. "What an idiot," she muttered.

But she couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at her lips.

She typed back: Don’t do too much. I will be cheering you on no matter what.

***

The arena was in a frenzy, a storm of cheers and stomping feet that shook the steel foundations. The semi-finals had delivered the most electrifying mech battles the Imperial Academy had seen in years. One by one, the names and faces of competitors blinked out on the floating screen, their portraits dimming to black as they fell in defeat.

Jian Ci stood at the center of it all, his mech gleaming with residual pyschic-flare, the violet and silver plating still humming with energy. His match against Vigil had been brutal but brief. Twenty seconds. That’s all it took.

He’d smirked the moment the match began, like he already had Vigil cornered. And he had. Vigil had fought hard, but Jian Ci was holding a grudge, and he was petty as fuck. Every strike had been precise, punishing, personal. The crowd had barely caught their breath before Vigil’s mech was down, smoking and twitching on the edge of the platform.

Yu Xi had been no different. Every opponent he faced ended up sprawled on the ground, overwhelmed by his speed, his control, his terrifying calm. He moved like a phantom, struck like lightning, and left no room for recovery.

Now, the floating screen above the arena flared to life once more. Two faces appeared, side by side, Jian Ci and Yu Xi. The toughest espers in the academy. Their expressions were stern, unreadable, but the tension between them was electric.

The crowd roared.These two were known for being inseparable friends. But today, they stood on opposite sides of the battlefield.

Today, they would fight for dominance. Jian Ci turned to Yu Xi, a grin tugging at his lips. "I am going to kick your ass."

Yu Xi laughed, low and easy. "When I beat you, just don’t cry. Too many people are watching."

Jian Ci scoffed. "We will see who’s crying between us."

The arena doors hissed open, revealing the final battleground.

"Together?" Jian Ci asked, his voice softer now, but no less charged.

Yu Xi nodded. "Together."

They stepped forward in unison, walking side by side toward the platform. The landscape had changed no longer a flat arena, but a maze of dusty stone pillars, some crumbling, others towering like ancient ruins. Shadows stretched long across the sand, and the air shimmered with heat and anticipation.

The final match was about to begin. And only one of them would walk away victorious.

The signal blared across the Arena, and in a surge of light both mechs erupted onto the platform. Yu Xi’s emerald-and-gold titan shimmered like a beacon, aura blazing with regal fire, while Jian Ci’s violet-and-silver war machine loomed cold and majestic, its edges gleaming like blades under moonlight.

Yu Xi struck first, his mech lunging forward with a plasma rifle raised, emerald bolts streaking across the platform. Jian Ci met the assault with precision, his plasma shield flaring violet as it absorbed the blast, sparks scattering like falling stars. He countered instantly, his own rifle roaring, silver streaks cutting through the air.

The clash was relentless. Plasma guns barked, rifles thundered, shields flared and cracked under the pressure. At times Yu Xi pressed Jian Ci back, emerald aura blazing as his mech’s strikes hammered against the violet defenses. At other moments Jian Ci’s cold precision turned the tide, his silver mech slicing through Yu Xi’s guard with terrifying speed.