The fortress echoed with steel and smoke.
Today was no training day.
Today, the Southern Empire's third warfront returned—bloody, battered, and victorious.
The outer gates trembled as war banners passed through them. Lines of battle-sisters rode hellbeasts and warbeasts. Captured prisoners marched in chains behind them. And at the front of the procession, cloaked in black and red, rode a woman known by many names.
But one name struck silence across the House.
General Kaela Veyra.
> System Alert: New Candidate Detected – Kaela of the Bleeding Blade
Rank: Yandere Commander / Execution General
Emotional Profile: Obsessive, Possessive, Volatile
Virgin Soul Status: CONFIRMED
Harem Bond Risk: EXTREME
Compatibility: 84%
System Note: Do not lie to her. Ever.
Ryon watched from the inner balcony, heart thumping in his ears.
She had long dark hair braided with severed charms. Her armor was sleek, blackened steel with jagged red lines pulsing like veins. Her eyes—crimson and sharp—swept the crowd until they stopped.
On him.
Even from a distance, it felt like being pierced.
Seyna, beside him, stiffened.
"Damn it," she muttered. "She's back."
"You know her?" Ryon asked.
"She once made a lover remove her own heart so she could keep it," Seyna said without blinking. "I fought under her once. Never again."
"…She's looking at me."
Seyna cursed. "Then don't blink. Don't smile. Don't even breathe weird."
Too late.
A Blade With a Smile
That night, a messenger girl found him.
"You're summoned. General Kaela wants you in her chamber. Now."
Ryon tried to refuse.
The messenger only repeated: "Now."
Kaela's war chambers were dim and silent, lit only by glowing red glyphs. Her weapons lined the walls—blades, chakrams, cursed axes. At the center was a long table and a chair that looked suspiciously like a throne made of spine bones.
She sat cross-legged, polishing a dagger.
"I've been watching you," she said without turning.
Ryon stepped cautiously closer. "I figured."
"You're the curseborn. But you walk like someone who doesn't care. That's… charming."
He stayed silent.
She finally turned.
Kaela's beauty was terrifying. Flawless skin, curved lips, and eyes filled with the kind of madness that could love and kill in the same heartbeat.
> System Prompt: Kaela Bond Initiated
Obsession Level: Dormant (Waking…)
Attraction: 91%
Threat Level: CATASTROPHIC if mishandled
"I like sharp things," she whispered. "But I like fragile things even more."
"Because they break?" Ryon asked.
Her smile widened. "Because they fight not to."
She stood.
And then, slowly, placed a dagger in his hand.
"Cut me," she said.
Ryon blinked. "What?"
"Cut. Me."
> [System Dilemma: Responding truthfully may deepen bond. Complying unlocks darker route.]
Options:
A) Refuse — Risk offending Kaela
B) Obey — Unlock Obsessive Path
C) Deflect — Attempt logic or seduction
Ryon tightened his grip on the dagger… then stepped forward, raising it to her collarbone.
"I don't hurt women for fun," he said softly. "But I'll scar your soul if that's what you're asking."
Kaela's breath caught.
And then she laughed.
A sound like silk unraveling over a blade.
"Perfect," she whispered. "You're not afraid of me."
She leaned closer, so close her breath kissed his ear.
"That means I'll have to keep you."
> System Surge: Kaela Bond Initiated – 5%
Lust: 77%
Obsession Triggered: Phase I
Virgin Soul Detected – Seal Status: Cracked
Side Quest Update: 3 / 30 Souls Identified
WARNING: Psychological Instability Detected in Target
As Ryon left the room, the dagger still in his hand, the System's voice came cold and clear:
> You have awakened the Sleeping Blade.
Kaela Veyra has set her mark upon you.
Escape: Impossible.
Seduction: Extremely Effective.
Survival: Questionable.
He muttered, "Why do I attract the worst kinds of love?"
Behind him, a crimson smile burned in the shadows.