The stone floor of the cloister was cold, but Aria did not move. She lay where Jerkins had left her, her lavender skin glistening with sweat and the marks of his grip.
Her eyes, once sharp with demonic cunning, were now wide and vacant, fixed on the shadow-drenched ceiling. She was a blank slate, her every thought now tethered to the man standing over her.
Jerkins adjusted his coat, feeling the new weight of his power. The 100% energy threshold felt different than before. It was denser, humming with the stolen essence of the succubus.
His medical mind categorized the sensation as a heightened state of neurological arousal, a permanent adrenaline spike that didn't fade.
[Energy: 100/100]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Soul-Sight. (Basic detection of spiritual quality.)]
The sound of heavy boots echoed from the spiral staircase. King Aldric was descending, flanked by four armored paladins. Their capes were white, embroidered with the golden sun of Eldoria, but to Jerkins' Radar, they were stained.
The King's signature was a muddy brown of cowardice and desperation; the paladins were tinged with the gray of stagnant morality.
"Hero!" Aldric shouted, his voice cracking as he stepped into the torchlight. He stopped dead when he saw the scene. He looked at the slumped human guard, then at the naked, shivering demon on the floor, and finally at Jerkins. "What... what have you done? This is a holy place!"
Jerkins turned slowly. He did not put his glasses back on yet. He let the King see the fading white glow in his pupils. "I have done your job, Aldric. I found the infection and I excised it. While you were busy preparing a useless ritual, this thing was drinking your men dry."
One of the paladins, a man with a scarred face and a heavy broadsword, stepped forward. "You lay hands on a demon in the house of the Sun? And in such a... primitive manner? This is not the way of a Hero. You are supposed to purge them with Holy Light!"
"Holy Light didn't save the last ten years of your history," Jerkins said, his voice like grinding ice. "I am the Hero you summoned. If you don't like my methods, feel free to send me back. But we both know you can't."
The King looked at Aria. She sat up slowly, her movements jerky and unnatural. She didn't look at the King. She crawled toward Jerkins' boots and rested her forehead against his leather shoes.
"Master," she whispered, the word sending a visible shudder through the King.
"Command me."
"She is... enslaved?" Aldric whispered. "The Hero has enslaved a scion of the Abyss?"
"I have repurposed her," Jerkins corrected.
He looked at the Radar. The purple rifts in the sky were pulsing harder now. Something was coming through the main gates of the city. Something far larger than a Rank 1 infiltrator. "Save your moral posturing for someone who cares. Your city is under attack."
[Radar Alert: Rank 2 Threat Detected. Distance: 1.2 Kilometers. Direction: North Gate.]
[Objective: Neutralize the Breach. Reward: Void-Loom Material.]
Jerkins felt the 40% drain hit his reservoir as the Radar expanded to scan the city's defenses.
[Energy: 60/100]
"Paladins!" Jerkins commanded, his voice suddenly booming with an authority that made the soldiers flinch. "The North Gate has fallen. A Rank 2 Hellhound unit has breached the inner wall. If you want to keep your heads, follow me."
He didn't wait for their consent. He grabbed Aria by the hair, hoisting her to her feet. She didn't wince; she simply leaned into him, her body ready to be used as a shield or a tool. He threw a discarded priest's robe at her.
"Cover yourself. You're a soldier now."
They surged out of the cathedral and into the streets of Eldoria. The city was a nightmare of screams and fire. The "Abyss Leak" was visible here; the very cobblestones were sweating a black, oily substance that smelled of rot.
Human criminals—Harvesters—were taking advantage of the chaos. Jerkins saw a group of men in leather armor dragging a screaming woman into an alley. They weren't demons; they were Level 2 Bandit Leaders, the scum of Hypoxia.
Jerkins stopped. He needed more energy. The 60% was a dangerous margin if a Rank 2 boss appeared.
"Wait," Jerkins said to the paladins.
He turned toward the alley. The three bandits didn't notice him until he was at the mouth of the passage. One of them, a massive man with a jagged scar across his throat, looked up from the woman he was pinning down.
"Move along, traveler," the bandit sneered, reaching for a rusted cleaver. "This is Harvester business. The demons get the souls, we get the meat."
Jerkins removed his glasses.
"Wrong," Jerkins said. "I get the consciousness."
[Consciousness Vacuum Activated. Cost: 24 Energy. Current Energy: 36/100.]
The white light erupted, filling the narrow alley. The three bandits didn't even have time to scream. The shimmering mist of their identities was ripped from their lungs in a violent burst. Their bodies hit the mud simultaneously, their eyes turning into glass.
The woman they had been attacking scrambled away, sobbing in terror, but Jerkins didn't even look at her.
He inhaled the mist. It was foul, tasting of sour wine and unwashed skin. It wasn't as potent as the demon's essence, but it was enough to stave off the void.
[Energy: 55/100]
He looked at the three mindless husks. "Aria. Kill the men. Leave the woman."
Aria moved with a speed that blurred. She didn't use a weapon; she used her demonic claws, ripping the throats out of the bandits with a predatory efficiency that made the paladins behind Jerkins retch.
She finished the task in seconds and returned to his side, her robe splattered with hot, human blood.
"Done, Master," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.
"Good. Move to the gate," Jerkins ordered.
They reached the North Gate just as the wood splintered inward. A Hellhound, the size of a carriage and covered in flaming black fur, tore through the wreckage. Its eyes were molten gold, and its breath melted the iron hinges of the gate. Behind it stood a woman in obsidian armor, her skin a deep charcoal and her hair a mane of living serpents.
[Target Identified: Rank 2 Temptress (Field Commander).]
[Target Identified: Rank 2 Hellhound (Beast Class).]
The paladins recoiled, their shields trembling. "A Field Commander! We need the High Priests!"
"You have me," Jerkins said.
He felt the 36% energy remaining in his gut. He needed a massive surge. He looked at the Temptress. She was beautiful in a terrifying, statuesque way. Her armor was minimal, designed to distract and entice before she struck.
"So, this is the new Hero?" the Temptress laughed, her voice vibrating in Jerkins' bones. "He looks like a clerk. Tell me, little man, do you want to die screaming or do you want to serve a real mistress?"
Jerkins didn't answer. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Aria.
"Aria, distract the beast. I'm taking the Commander."
Aria lunged at the Hellhound, her small frame dwarfed by the flaming monster. She was faster, weaving through its snapping jaws, drawing its attention away from the gate.
Jerkins walked toward the Temptress. She raised a whip made of barbed soul-wire, snapping it against the ground. "Come then, clerk. Let's see what's under those rags."
Jerkins took off his glasses. The white light flared, but the Temptress was Rank 2; she threw up a barrier of black flame, shielding her mind. The Vacuum hit the shield, draining Jerkins' energy but failing to breach her core.
[Warning: Energy Critical. 15/100.]
He needed a recharge, and he needed it now. He didn't have the energy for another Vacuum. He had to do it the manual way.
Jerkins sprinted. He didn't move like a hero; he moved like a man who knew exactly where the pressure points were.
He ducked under the whip, the barbs grazing his shoulder and drawing blood. He felt the pain, but he used it to fuel his focus. He slammed into the Temptress, using his weight to tackle her to the blood-slicked ground.
"You dare!" she shrieked, her serpents snapping at his face.
Jerkins didn't hesitate. He jammed his thumb into a nerve cluster in her neck, a medical strike that paralyzed her vocal cords and her right arm. He flipped her over, pinning her face-down into the mud and debris of the shattered gate.
"I told you," Jerkins hissed into her ear. "I am a doctor. I know exactly how much pain a body can take before the mind breaks."
He didn't wait. He tore the obsidian plates from her hips.
The paladins watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as their "Hero" ignored the battle around them to claim his prize in the dirt.
Jerkins entered her with a savage, rhythmic violence. He wrapped his hand in her serpent-hair, pulling her head back until her neck was taut, his other hand choking her just enough to keep her on the edge of consciousness.
The Temptress fought at first, her demonic strength thrashing against him, but Jerkins was relentless. He slapped her face into the mud, his movements cold and mechanical. He needed the energy. He needed the 40% back.
As he forced himself into her, he felt the familiar surge. Because she was Rank 2, the energy wasn't just a stream; it was a flood.
Her Serpents began to hiss in a dual rhythm of agony and forced, demonic pleasure. Her body, built for lust, couldn't help but respond to the brutal friction, even as her mind screamed in outrage.
[Recharge Initiated: 20%... 45%... 70%...]
"Scream for me," Jerkins demanded, biting into her charcoal-colored shoulder until he tasted the bitter, black blood of the Abyss.
The Temptress let out a long, shuddering wail that silenced the Hellhound's barking. Her power was being siphoned through her very skin, flowing directly into Jerkins. He felt his muscles knit together, his vision sharpening.
[Recharge Complete. Energy: 100/100.]
[Bonus: Rank 2 Temptress Essence Absorbed. Intelligence +5. Charisma +3.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Void-Loom Stitching.]
Jerkins finished with a final, dominant thrust that left the Temptress limp and sobbing in the mud. He stood up, his eyes glowing with a permanent, faint white light even without removing his glasses.
The Hellhound, sensing its commander's defeat, hesitated. Aria saw the opening and drove her claws into the beast's throat, tearing out the glowing core of its neck. The hound dissolved into ash and black ichor.
Jerkins looked at the paladins.
They were staring at him as if he were a monster.
"The gate is secure," Jerkins said, wiping the black blood from his mouth. He looked at the Temptress. She wasn't hollowed out like Aria—he hadn't used the Vacuum—but she was broken.
He reached down and gripped her hair, dragging her toward the city center.
"Aria, get the skin off the hound's remains. I need a new coat."
Jerkins looked toward the palace. The Radar was pinging again. The King wasn't just a coward; he was hiding something in the basement of the throne room. A Level 4 signature.
"The night is young," Jerkins whispered. "And I'm still hungry."
He dragged the sobbing Commander through the streets, the citizens of Eldoria backing away in terror as their savior walked past, covered in the blood of both men and demons. He wasn't their hero. He was their new master.