The Incubus System Chapter 861. Not A Masochist
Ethan's PoV
I lounged on my couch, phone in hand, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Strong, he said." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
My gaze stayed glued to the phone screen, thumb tapping out a response. I contemplated throwing some shade his way, maybe a sarcastic comment, but I held back.
Sure, he was strong, I acknowledged that much. Stronger than a human had any right to be. If our paths had crossed back when I was just a regular guy, I'd be cheering him on like a fan at a rock concert. But now, after my incubus transformation, things were different.
I had to admit, Larry looked like a freaking superhero, and not the cheesy comic book kind. He fought with a finesse that made me question if he was the same Larry I once knew. Maybe he'd been hitting the gym and reading martial arts manuals in his free time. Or maybe, just maybe, there was more to Larry than met the eye.
'Ah, I forgot to ask why he got that skill,' I mused internally, my mind circling back to the mysterious ability Larry possessed, a skill that echoed my late dad's. It nagged at me. But even if I mustered the courage to inquire, what good would it do? Demon hunter's skill, a legacy from my old man. What was I supposed to do with it, other than marvel at its existence?
The idea struck me. 'Maybe I need to ask him to punch me once with that skill,' I thought. Not because I was some kind of masochist. I just need to grasp the strength of the skill, to understand why my old man, in his prime, earned the title of the strongest demon hunter. It was about lineage, about connecting the dots between his past, this skill and me.
After a snort that betrayed my amusement at the audacity of my own plan, I decided to cancel my Evil Eye skill. The screen of my phone was locked and lowered. In that split second, my eyes shot up, and there they were, Celia, Jill, Foxy, and my pets, lined up like a jury. Eyes full of curiosity, like they'd just uncovered the secret to the universe.
Jill, with her impeccable clothes, ready for Mrs. Clea's pickup, had been waiting patiently. But thanks to this unexpected incident, Mrs. Clea's ETA had been pushed back. The whole gang stared at me, waiting for an explanation.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I blurted out, feeling a twinge of awkwardness. My eyes darted from Jill to Celia to Foxy, then landed on my pets. Seriously, why did they all have that expectant gaze, like I was about to drop a feast in front of them?
"Because your expression looks strange," Jill chirped, her voice innocent but her eyes gleaming with mischief.
I furrowed my brow, genuinely puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Celia jumped in with her two cents. "You look serious. But then you smile strangely. You looked annoyed, then smiled again. You then turned serious, but then you looked disappointed." She said it with a cringe, her eyes boring into my face like she was trying to decipher an ancient rune.
I couldn't help but scoff at her accuracy. "Okay, Sherlock, calm down with the psychoanalysis."
Celia tilted her head in mock curiosity. "Does that conclude your love journey in the past? Before you turned into the current you?" she teased, a sly grin playing on her lips.
I rolled my eyes, realizing that they had turned my mundane expressions into a soap opera plotline. "Love journey? Really?" I chuckled, shaking my head. "Can we not dissect my every facial twitch like it's a mystical prophecy?"
"Besides, my previous love story wasn't as bad as that, you know," I griped, hoping they would cut me some slack.
Celia shot me a flat stare, her curiosity practically oozing out. "So what was that about?" she prodded, like she was on the brink of unraveling the world's juiciest secret. Foxy and my pets, with their wide-eyed innocence, joined the inquisition. Their gazes screamed, 'Spill the beans, master!'
I hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of the revelation. "It's about Larry. He already knows who I am," I finally admitted. There was no burden, no emotional baggage attached to that statement. It just hung in the air, waiting for their reactions.
Shock registered across their faces.
Celia closed her mouth abruptly and leaned back, as if my revelation had sent her off balance. Foxy raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed by the unexpected twist. Meanwhile, my pets blinked with what seemed like a mixture of awe and confusion, their little eyes reflecting the upheaval in the soap opera they'd unwittingly become part of.
Jill looked like she missed a crucial plot point. Confusion etched her features, and she kept glancing left and right.
Of course, they were surprised. Larry was a demon hunter, while I was a demon lord. It was like a sitcom setup gone haywire, and the confession I just dropped had the potential to nuke our friendship into oblivion.
A beat later, Celia did her signature move and leaned in, close enough that I could practically feel her curiosity radiating. "Then what did he say? Does he hate you now?" she asked, genuine concern knitting her brows.
I rolled my eyes, half amused by her immediate leap to worst-case scenarios. "Hate might be a strong word, but let's just say he's not throwing me a surprise party anytime soon."
Celia interjected. "Did he go all superhero on you? You know, the 'I must rid the world of evil, and you're on my list'."
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