Lala POV
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Even Peke wasn't humming in his usual proximity. That alone sent a chill crawling down my back.
I had just returned from a short walk through the neighborhood, trying to clear my thoughts after everything—the bond with Haruna, the strange pulse of emotions I hadn't expected, and him...
Scourge.
I didn't hate him. I should've. Part of me wanted to scream every time I remembered how easily he could read me, move through me, whisper things that Rito never would. But I also felt safer with him. More seen.
That scared me even more.
I stepped into the kitchen and froze.
Peke's voice was coming from the study—low, strained, almost mechanical.
I tiptoed closer.
"…Requesting immediate support from Devilukean Command. Subject has achieved multiple-host integration. Symbiotic growth curve is nonlinear. Threat index climbing. If I am compromised—"
My heart skipped.
He was calling for help.
"Peke?" I whispered.
Silence.
Then the feed clicked off.
Peke hovered backward out of the room, eyes dimming slightly as he turned to face me.
"Ah! Princess! Back already?"
I blinked, trying to hide the tremor in my voice. "What were you doing?"
"Diagnostics. You've been… different."
I smiled softly. "Is that a bad thing?"
He didn't answer right away.
But I noticed it. The faint flicker of plasma along his stabilizer fins. Peke was anxious.
Then—
[Hivemind – Internal Link Activated]
Haruna's voice echoed inside me.
"Lala… are you okay?"
I pressed fingers to my temple, steadying the rush of heat. The connection had grown stronger—faster—since yesterday.
"Yeah… I think so. Just—Peke's trying to call for backup."
"…About Scourge?"
"Yeah."
There was a pause.
"…Would that mean… they'd take him away?"
My breath caught. I didn't answer.
Because in that moment, I realized something.
I didn't want Scourge gone.
Not really.
And neither did Haruna.
We were changing.
Then his voice slipped in behind the link—low, warm, dark:
"I can feel you both."
We gasped in unison. Our link pulsed. Tightened.
"Don't fear me. I'm not here to harm you. I've never lied. All I ask is your choice."
Haruna spoke aloud through the bond, voice trembling: "Then why are we… scared?"
"Because you've never had something this honest inside you before."
The words weren't romantic.
They were true.
And terrifying.
I felt his warmth again across my back—like a gentle cloak forming, not to possess me, but to hold me.
Peke hovered a little closer, sensors blinking erratically.
"You're speaking with it, aren't you?" he said, voice rising. "Lala—Princess—you have to disconnect. Whatever it's offering you, it's not real!"
Scourge pulsed gently through the link.
"Then ask her. Ask if she wants me gone."
Haruna fell silent.
So did I.
Because neither of us answered.
Peke recoiled slightly. "No..."
His voice dropped into a whisper:
"…You've already chosen."
Scourge didn't gloat.
He didn't need to.
He had already won the one thing no defense could stop.
Trust.
And somewhere deep in the Hive, a system notification flickered.
[New Mission Unlocked – "Let Her Feel for You"]
Objective: Induce emotional loyalty through non-physical intimacy.
Reward: Lust System Tier 2 Access – Emotional Sculpting
Unlock: Gacha Ticket ×1
We didn't see it yet.
But we felt it.
And it had already begun.