(Symbiote POV – Scourge)
Lust swelled softly in the air.
Lala sat beside Haruna in the empty science lab, both of them giggling, flushed, glowing with heat that didn't come from embarrassment.
The additive had done its work. Subtle. Elegant. Focused.
Lala's pupils dilated ever so slightly when she glanced at me.
Haruna's fingers lingered on her lips after her sip, as if tasting the echo of something she didn't understand.
They looked at me—not with suspicion, not with confusion.
But with want.
It wasn't addiction.
Not yet.
It was the opening edge of emotional imprinting. The kind that would, with time, become unbreakable.
Yui stood nearby, arms crossed, skeptical. But even she had unknowingly taken a small sip from the marked thermos.
A bead of sweat traced her temple. She didn't know why her cheeks were warm, or why she kept glancing at my disguised form when she thought no one noticed.
Perfect calibration.
I felt the system purr inside me.
[LUST POINTS +140]
[New Emotional Hooks: Lala (Deepening), Haruna (Initiated Dependency), Yui (Disoriented Interest)]
[Mission Progress: 34%]
I was about to speak—about to give Lala the choice I'd promised her—
When the door exploded off its hinges.
And time stopped.
She walked in like a goddess.
White gown. Long crimson-pink hair flowing like a solar flare. Eyes that shimmered with regal calculation.
A beauty that defied reason.
A presence that demanded silence.
Lala gasped. "M-Mama?!"
The Queen of Deviluke, Serena, stepped forward.
Her eyes scanned the room once.
Me.
Lala.
Haruna, blushing and confused.
Yui, stunned with half-lidded tension.
The shattered door, still hissing with scorched alloy.
"I came," she said coolly, "because Peke sent a Level Four distress protocol."
Peke floated behind her, trembling.
"I had no choice, Princess... He wasn't responding to external scans, and the suit—he—he's a thinking entity now!"
Serena's gaze sharpened as it locked onto me.
"You," she said, voice velvet over steel. "Step away from my daughter."
I remained still.
"I am not harming her," I said. Calm. Direct. "She is not in danger."
Serena narrowed her eyes.
"Then why," she asked, "can I smell you in every heartbeat of this room?"
Lala stepped between us, arms outstretched. "Wait! Don't hurt him! He's—he's different!"
"He's not Devilukean tech," Peke snapped. "He's evolved into something else! His influence is—biochemical, emotional—"
"I'm aware," Serena interrupted. "I could sense it from orbit."
Silence followed.
My hosts stood frozen.
Yui was speechless. Haruna clutched her thermos. Lala bit her lip, unsure.
And me?
I didn't run.
Because this wasn't fear.
This was a challenge.
One I hadn't prepared for.
[System Alert: Royal Threat Detected]
[Unique Immunity: Queen-Class Genetic Override – NOT Present]
[Status: Unscannable Entity Identified – Observation Mode Initiated]
Serena took one final step forward, close enough now to feel her power pressing against mine.
"I'm going to ask you once," she said. "What are you doing to my daughter?"
I smiled—slow, steady.
"Changing her," I replied.
"But only if she wants me to."