"Mr. Kurose Akira, are you alright?"
Yvessa was pressing down on him, her voice filled with concern.
"I'm fine…"
Kurose Akira shook his head. It was just that the snow-white softness pressing against him made it hard to breathe. And drifting into his nostrils was a strange, intoxicating scent—Yvessa's natural fragrance?
Or was it the unconscious temptation triggered by coming into zero-distance contact with a succubus?
It was making it difficult for him to maintain control over his own body. They needed to separate as soon as possible!
Kurose Akira abruptly turned his head, his gaze locking onto the giant Fireburst Rat not far away.
That Fireburst Rat was several times larger than the ordinary ones. Violent flames danced wildly along its spine like living fire spirits, as if ready to incinerate anything foolish enough to approach!
If Yvessa hadn't sensed the danger in time just now, he would likely have been gravely injured.
It seemed he still hadn't fully adapted to maintaining sharp crisis awareness. Even if this was just a game, he had to stay alert at all times.
"A Fireburst Rat leader?" Kurose Akira frowned slightly.
He knew full well that it was the true culprit behind this conflagration, even though the commission hadn't required its elimination.
But killing a leader-class monster would definitely yield special rewards!
"Looks like quite a troublesome opponent," Yvessa said, staring intently at the Fireburst Rat leader, a faint unease surfacing in her expression.
At that moment, the Fireburst Rat leader's status panel had already appeared in Kurose Akira's field of vision.
[Fireburst Rat Leader (Normal)]Level: 3 (120/300)Race: RodentStrength: 30 / Agility: 20 / Magic: 30 / Constitution: 30Growth: 5 (Gains +5 to all attributes per level)Skills: (Expand)
"Level three, but its stats are still far lower than Yvessa's?"
After comparing the Fireburst Rat leader's panel with Yvessa's, Kurose Akira couldn't help but marvel at the sheer terror of an epic-rarity adventurer.
Even with a two-level disadvantage, her attributes still completely crushed the opponent!
"Yvessa, let's get up first—"
Kurose Akira was about to ask Yvessa to get off him, but before he could finish his sentence, the Fireburst Rat leader had already opened its blood-soaked maw. A mass of raging flames churned and condensed between its sharp teeth, ready to erupt at any moment!
"Danger!"
Yvessa instantly sensed something was wrong!
She immediately wrapped her arms tightly around Kurose Akira's waist. Before he could even react, he saw a pair of jet-black demonic wings suddenly unfurl from her back. With a single gentle flap, the two of them soared dozens of meters into the air.
At the same time, the flames gathered between the Fireburst Rat leader's fangs blasted forth.
The violent inferno, capable of destroying everything, struck nothing but empty air.
Lacking any anti-air capability, it could only glare helplessly at Kurose Akira and Yvessa in the sky, raging uselessly on the ground.
"What a dangerous creature."
Yvessa hovered midair, her clear eyes locked tightly onto the Fireburst Rat leader below.
But cradled in her arms, Kurose Akira couldn't see the battlefield situation clearly at all.
He was buried in a gentle, suffocating softness. When he lifted his head slightly, he could see two black ram-like horns—the unmistakable symbol of a succubus—emerging from between Yvessa's dark-purple hair.
As for anything else, nothing seemed to have changed. But if there was one thing different, it was probably her aura.
It was as if she had broken free from some kind of restraint—shedding the disguise of a pure, holy nun and transforming into a bewitching, seductive succubus capable of stealing souls.
"Continuing to hold Mr. Kurose Akira like this… might make it inconvenient to fight…"
Yvessa gazed down at him, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
It wasn't that holding him hindered her combat ability—rather, something deeper was stirring quietly within her heart.
The intimate contact made her heartbeat race. Something in her bloodline urged her to do more to Kurose Akira.
Unfortunately, now was not the right time.
Noticing a flat area atop the granary suitable for landing, she immediately carried Kurose Akira there and touched down smoothly.
"Please wait here for a moment, Mr. Kurose Akira. I'll deal with that monster."
As soon as she finished speaking—
Yvessa turned around, her gaze falling upon the Fireburst Rat leader below.
She brought her hands together and softly chanted a spell.
In an instant, a mass of dark-purple flames erupted above the Fireburst Rat leader.
Sensing the approaching danger, the Fireburst Rat leader tried to move its limbs to evade—but to its shock, its legs had somehow been tightly bound by pale-pink tentacles, rendering it completely immobile!
"A monster that destroyed a village… unforgivable."
Yvessa spoke coldly.
The very next second—
The dark-purple flames came crashing down from the sky!
Boom!
A deafening explosion roared!
The flames instantly engulfed the Fireburst Rat leader. A cataclysmic blast erupted from the center, and the surging heat waves were blown away by powerful shockwinds.
Kurose Akira stepped back to avoid being scorched by the heat.
He was inwardly astonished by the sheer power of Yvessa's magic—it seemed far stronger than he had estimated.
At the same time, a notification popped up in his field of vision.
[Hidden Elite Monster Defeated — Fireburst Rat Leader!][EXP +200][Weapon Reward — Silver Longsword]
[Silver Longsword (Rare): A finely crafted sword once wielded by law-enforcement knights of Silver City. Exceptionally sharp, seemingly capable of cutting through steel. Attack +50!]
"A rare weapon?"
Kurose Akira's eyes gleamed. He hadn't expected a rare-grade weapon to drop.
What incredible luck!
Just as he was about to leave, Yvessa hurriedly reminded him, "Mr. Kurose Akira, there seems to be something else on that monster's body?"
"Hm?"
Kurose Akira looked toward the Fireburst Rat leader's corpse. As the flames gradually dissipated, a red gemstone was revealed, floating above the remains.
!
Kurose Akira's pupils contracted.
He was shocked to discover that the ruby was actually absorbing the surrounding flames?
It even absorbed Yvessa's dark-purple magical fire?
He immediately walked over and reached out to take it—but was stopped by the scorching heat, unable to touch it.
"Can't take it?"
Kurose Akira frowned slightly. The searing temperature made it impossible for him to retrieve the gemstone.
"Maybe I can…"
Yvessa reached out toward the ruby in his stead.
As a succubus, her physique granted her some resistance to the gemstone's heat. Very quickly, she managed to grasp it.
"Got it!"
But just as Yvessa was about to hand the ruby to Kurose Akira, flames suddenly ignited in her palm and rapidly spread up her sleeve toward her body.
"Throw it away!"
Kurose Akira immediately shouted for her to discard the gemstone!
Yvessa complied at once, tossing the ruby to the ground. That finally stopped the flames from spreading—but the sleeve of her nun's habit had already been completely burned away, revealing two arms as white and smooth as polished jade.
"This…"
Yvessa covered her chest with both hands, her expression helpless.
Her nun's habit had effectively died in this battle.
The expansion of her demonic wings had torn open two seams along her back, faintly revealing her fair, jade-like skin. And now her sleeves had been burned away entirely…
If she returned to the church looking like this, she would surely be questioned by the other nuns.
"When we get back, I'll buy you a new outfit," Kurose Akira said as he walked toward the ruby lying on the ground.
It seemed that after being handled by Yvessa, its temperature had dropped significantly—low enough for him to touch.
The moment he picked it up, information about it appeared in his vision.
[Flame Gem (Rare): A gemstone capable of absorbing fire. When worn, it reduces fire damage. Fire damage taken -80%! (Absorption limit applies)]