Zhang Rui stepped closer, his eyes scanning her face for any injuries, though the blood and bruises painted a grim scene. With a slow, deliberate motion, he tugged the hood of his invisibility cloak down. The shimmering fabric fell away, revealing him in full.
"See?" he said quietly, his voice steady. "I'm… human."
The woman's trembling intensified. Her wide eyes flickered between disbelief and shock. Then, as if the dam inside her broke, she collapsed into tears, shivering as sobs wracked her body.
Zhang Rui crouched beside her, letting his hands hover lightly, unsure where to touch, trying to offer comfort. "Hey, it's okay… You're safe now. I've got you."
She shook her head violently, wiping her face, though the tears continued to fall. "No… you don't understand," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I'm… ruined. Nobody… nobody could ever want me now. Look at me… I'm… I'm…
I've… I've lost everything that makes me… me."
Zhang Rui's eyes hardened, his calmness sharpening like a blade. "That's not true," he said firmly. "You're not ruined. You're still… you. You just have to hang in there. Believe me, you're not worthless."
Her tear-streaked face tilted toward him, voice trembling, a small, bitter laugh escaping her lips. "Prove it," she murmured. "Prove that I'm not ruined."
Her fingers found the straps of his tang jacket, tugging lightly as if testing him. Zhang Rui felt his chest tighten. A strange heat rose through him—his body reacting before his mind fully registered.
He leaned forward instinctively, and before either could speak, his lips pressed to hers.
The kiss was sudden yet natural, carrying more questions than answers and more raw tension than tenderness. Her eyes, wide and fearful just moments ago, slowly narrowed. A sly, almost predatory smirk curved her lips, and her irises shifted into slits.
She pulled back just enough to whisper against him, voice low and teasing, "So… you think you can prove it, huh?"
Zhang Rui's pulse thumped in his ears, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he let the warmth of the moment anchor him, his hands settling on her shoulders—not to restrain her, but to reassure them both.
Her smirk widened—sharp, knowing—mischief and hunger glimmering in her eyes as she leaned in, daring him without a word. He closed the distance and kissed her again. This time, she kissed him back. Her hands slid over his body with growing urgency.
The hood of his cloak slipped, falling back over them as he lowered her onto the floor. The invisibility shimmered to life, cloaking both their bodies from sight.
What's wrong with me? His thoughts flickered wildly. Is it because I'm in this body? Is Yuren's body really this corrupted… this perverse?
Her legs curled around his hips, drawing him in.
"I… I don't want to feel dirty," she whispered, voice trembling with seductive vulnerability. "Show me I'm not… please."
One of her arms slid beneath the folds of the cloak, pulling him closer. The other drifted lower, caressing his abdomen before slipping into his pants.
Haa… haa…
His breathing grew ragged as her hand wrapped around his shaft, stroking his hardening length. This isn't right… he thought, but his body refused to pull away. His eyes locked onto hers as he activated his trait again.
Her aura flickered—white, then orange.
His pupils contracted.
[This human is so easy to manipulate.]
The surface thought flashed through her mind like poison.
He began to turn his head toward the piles of goblin corpses—but her hand shot up, cupping his face. She stopped him just before his gaze could land on the arrow-pierced mannequins lying where they should have been.
She made him look at her instead—eyes gentle, soft, innocent—while her hand continued working him below the cloak.
Zhang Rui froze—not because of her touch, but because of her surface thoughts.
[This human is so easy to manipulate.]
A trap.
His grip tightened unconsciously. She buried her face in his neck as if seeking comfort, pretending to tremble—yet her aura pulsed with hidden hunger. A predator playing victim.
He knew it. He knew it was a setup.
And yet… he didn't stop.
A dark, simmering heat spread through his limbs. His heart hammered—not in fear, but in something rawer. Lust. Overpowering, invasive, coiling through his blood like a curse. Worse, he recognized it.
Ever since coming into this world, this had become his prominent characteristic; he wanted to blame it on Yuren. But that wasn't possible; he hadn't written him to be lustful. Was this just his original personality? That isn't it either… maybe I'm not expressing only my own feelings but a combination of mine and Fang Yuren's character, and that was what created my heightened libido…
His breath deepened.
His eyes sharpened.
Slowly, a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"…Fine," he murmured, voice rough with heat and something darker. "If that's how it is—"
He seized her hips and ground against her, making her gasp. Her tail flickered into existence beneath the cloak, betraying her excitement. She thought he was hers now—caught, trapped, pliant.
She had no idea.
Zhang Rui lowered himself over her, lips brushing hers—not tenderly, but with deliberate possession. Then he bit down sharply, drawing a startled moan from her throat.
She clung to him eagerly. Victorious. Deceived.
His pants fell around his thighs as he slid into her. Her eyes fluttered shut in pleasure.
That was her last mistake.
Because while she arched beneath him, lost in the illusion of control, Zhang Rui's right hand reached back, silent and precise.
Fingers closed around an arrow from his quiver.
Her eyes reopened—just barely—confusion flashing.
"Wha—"
He didn't let her finish.
With one brutal thrust of his arm, he drove the arrow straight through her skull.
CRACK.
Her body jerked violently as blood sprayed across the broken tiles. Her pupils shrank into pinpricks—shock, disbelief, and fear frozen in her dying gaze. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"Manipulation works both ways," Zhang Rui whispered coldly against her ear, holding her twitching body down as the light drained from her eyes.
The hood of his cloak slipped back, revealing the scene in full.
"Y-you—" her expression twisted with fury, "how dare you, human!!!"
Her arms warped grotesquely into demonic claws and slashed toward his chest.
SCREECH!
Sparks flew as her talons scraped against his chestplate. She struck again, but Zhang Rui moved first—he yanked another arrow from his quiver and parried her swipe, then rammed the iron-scaled arrowhead straight through her palm, pinning her left hand to the ground.
She snarled but didn't scream—if anything, her eyes gleamed with cruel amusement.
Her legs suddenly coiled around his waist, locking him in place like a vise. She leaned forward, lips twisting into a dark smile.
"Ahahaha… You're really something else. I didn't think you'd see through my disguise," she purred. "But you've failed to escape… my trap."
With one hand still pinned, she reached up with the other—fingers digging into the arrow buried in her skull—and ripped it free. Flesh knitted back together, blood evaporating in a haze of demonic energy.
A pulse of violet corruption leaked from her skin, slithering over his body like chains of smoke. His instincts screamed—he tried to move—but his muscles locked in place as a force far beyond physical strength seized him.
A cold mechanical chime echoed in his mind.
[Trait Detected: Succubus Imprint]
Status: SLAVE MARK – Active
Class: High-tier Demonic Curse
Bound Entity: Sarythra the Crimson Whisper
Condition: If the user fails to satisfy the succubus, everyone within the marked territory will be executed.
Timer: 00:09:59
Escape: None
Resistance: 0%
Penalty for Failure: Soul Domination (Death) + Area Sacrifice
Another screen flickered into view—this one a live feed.
Lin Qiao and Zhao Ren were bound by chains of violet runes, frozen in place like puppets caught mid-motion. Their eyes trembled in horror—but they couldn't even scream. Above them hung a massive demonic sigil, pulsing in rhythm with the timer now ticking down at the top of Zhang Rui's vision.
00:09:58
00:09:57
Sarythra leaned close, dragging her tongue across the blood on her lip as she smiled.
"Nine minutes," she whispered. "Let's see if you're a real man… or if I should paint these walls with human brains."
Zhang Rui's expression darkened.
A shimmering screen of light materialized in front of him—an enforced vision. Lin Qiao, Zhao Ren, and every other human hiding in the mall—or captured by goblins in the surrounding sections of the mall—appeared frozen in place. Paralyzed. Vulnerable. Their lives were now linked to the succubus wrapped around him.
Another line appeared.
Succubus Territory Collapse Condition: Survival hinges on submission.
The succubus giggled sweetly, dragging her tongue slowly across her lips as she stared at him.
"Now then… Let's play, human."