All three were now sitting on a couch while feeding Erica's beasts.
Echidna, looking at the magical beast on her lap, had only one thought: "Cute!" But she quickly regained her composure and said, "How come you have a garage for your little pets, while we had to leave Zephyra at the Beast Pavilion?"
Erica, who was feeding the Tigress, laughed. "The rules are clear—no contracted beasts in the apartments, but nothing about private property bought with this."
She then took something from her bag. It was some kind of document. "This is a license given to all users of contracted beasts who participate in riding and beast care classes. It allows me to get tax discounts when buying properties to accommodate the beasts and lets me ride around the city with my beasts," she said, pointing to the tigress.
Dex, who had finished feeding the large white crow, looked at Erica. "So shall we go riding on her?"
"Yes, she's very fast."
"That's good, because I'm not sure if you remember the store lunch hours," he said, pointing to a clock on the wall. 11:16
Lunch time in the city of Seraphis starts at 12:30 and ends at 14:00. During this one and a half hour, all shops in the city are closed; the only places open are restaurants and cafés.
So, they only had an hour to get to the shopping mall, buy and try bikinis for Echi, buy trunks for Dex, and buy two towels for both of them.
Erica, seeing the time, stood up abruptly. "We have to go!"
She then grabbed the heads of her two little pets and kissed each. "Behave yourselves!"
Then she mounted the tigress swiftly and gracefully. "Get on quickly and hold onto my waist so you don't fall!" she told them.
The two then climbed on the tigress, Dex in the middle of the two girls.
And so they set off after Erica quickly closed the gate.
The tigress was fast and could cross blocks in seconds, yet the mall near the beach they were going to was still far. "At this speed, we should arrive in 10 minutes."
"Besides bikinis, trunks, and towels, do we need to buy anything else?" asked Dex, his arms wrapped around her devilish waist.
"We'll need sunscreen, and as far as I remember, nothing else," she said thoughtfully.
But our sweet Echi had something to say. "Snacks!"
The two laughed hearing their favorite hungry one. "Of course!"
They quickly arrived at the shopping mall.
It was by the seashore and had hundreds of shops both outside and inside the main building. Currently, our protagonists were inside looking for a store that Erica claimed had the sexiest bikinis of all.
"I'm telling you, there you can find absolutely everything—from the most conservative to the most provocative, you'll find whatever you want that will make all men look at you with desire." But then, as if realizing she might have said something that would anger Dex or make him jealous, she fell silent and looked at him.
Dex then smiled. "I don't mind that she wants to look the most beautiful and sexy possible to others; after all, who doesn't like to be exalted with the looks of others as if you were a perfect, beautiful, untouchable god..." Then slowly he formed a devilish smile. "... desiring the impossible is a gift, but in this world, miracles and gifts are all mine!"
Both Echidna and Erica felt excited hearing his possessiveness over them. But Erica also had another feeling: the happiness of being accepted as she truly is. 'He doesn't mind that we like to be desired even if it is by others?'
She could hear her own heart beating rapidly. An ancient voice spoke deep in her consciousness so faintly that even she wouldn't hear it: 'He is different from all the others, isn't he, father?'
They then arrived and entered the store Erica recommended. They entered while Dex stayed outside looking for some good trunks for himself, since he was never a fan of shopping for clothes with women.
"What do you think about this one?" Echidna asked, showing one of the tops she liked. It was black and gold and looked like it would suit the young dragon's body very well.
"That's good, but where's the bottom part?"
"Well, I only found the top."
"Then we can't buy that."
"But who said we are going to buy it?" said the perfect woman as she lowered the top of her dress to reveal her breasts.
"What are you doing?!" Erica said, seeing her beloved undress in public like that.
But when she finished, something was revealed. A top matching the bikini one she still held was worn on her breasts. "I didn't come here to buy, just to copy."
So she went to look for a part that could match the piece she already had.
When they finally came out, they were greeted by Dex, who was wearing black and gold trunks to use at the beach and a white shirt. In his right hand, he had a paper bag from a pharmacy.
"By the time you see a simple bikini, I went to copy some trunks with a shirt and still bought sunscreen."
Echidna laughed hearing him. "Yes, we know you are the fastest man alive!"
Erica heard the comment and could only laugh while Dex rolled his eyes.
Erica then said, "Since you're so fast, why don't you buy the snacks on the third floor while the two of us go buy the towels?"
"Okay, that can be a good challenge."
Dex then approached Erica and gave her a light kiss on the lips as a farewell.
Dex, looking at shocked Erica, smiled teasingly. "Want some too?"
Erica blushed but said nothing as she approached him. Dex, seeing her blush and approach, thought, 'Cute!'
He then also approached and wrapped his arm around her waist and gently planted his lips on hers. She opened her eyes and widened them only to realize her beloved had already disappeared.
Pov Dex Solo:
"It's really strange not having her in my head," he thought, torn between happiness and sadness.
"But what would be the best restaurant to buy snacks?"
At that moment, he was at the entrance of the food court on the third floor. This food court was surrounded by nearly a hundred restaurants that seemed to emit various kinds of smells that would make Echi drool.
But someone, whom he knew very well but had only seen once in his life, approached him. "You scalies finally came down from your little mountain?"
The wolf-woman seemed to have stepped out of a living painting — her pale skin with a slightly pearly tone captured every ray of light in the corridor. Her long, straight hair fell in a silver cascade with blue-gray streaks, resembling the surface of a lake under the moon.
Her eyes, a deep blood-red, observed with the cold precision of a hunter, yet there was a curious sparkle that broke the rigidity. Her confident expression contrasted with delicate features like a fine nose, softly contoured lips, and a youthful touch that hid no confidence, even confronting a supposed descendant of a dragon.
Her body was athletic, shaped by training and beast lineage, with well-defined shoulders and a slender waist that descended to firm hips. She wore a simple but provocative outfit: a short graphite-toned light fabric blouse that exposed part of her abdomen, and a black leather skirt with an asymmetrical cut, accompanied by high boots that emphasized her long legs.
Dex, hearing the wolf's remark, felt his lineage stir. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Lyra, but I have no idea what you're talking about regarding that mountain." He then added at the end, "And I wouldn't advise calling a dragon scalie… that is, of course, if you want to stay alive." He said this without showing any expression.
Yet she ignored him. "Do I look like I know you, market dragon, for you to try to threaten me?!" she said angrily.
"Market dragon..." He then approached her and unleashed his entire aura on her without holding back. Even unintentionally, he released Sin's Authority imbued with his primordial demon dragon lineage.
She felt the wrath of a being that could torment anyone, but she did not falter; in fact, her heart raced.
Watching her fall to the ground, Dex had no words until he saw the crown tattooed on her hand, showing him what had happened.
System of the Ruler of the Sins - Sin of Wrath: Lyra
Name: Lyra Ironfang
Age: 21
Race: Beastwoman
Titles:
Status:
Strength: E+
Intelligence: F+
Speed: E-
Resistance: E
Vitality: E-
Charm: S-
Aura:
Wrath Aura - Soul not yet formed.
Class: Knight
Sub-Class: Berserker » Ruler of Wrath
Abilities:
Dragon's Wrath Aura - An aura that received a mutation due to forced awakening; when fighting, the user can partially transform into a Wrath Dragon.
Furious Regeneration - As long as the user has the desire to keep fighting, the body will never succumb to death by mere wounds. - Weaknesses: Soul, toxins, and hunger.
Furious Colossus - Can temporarily grow in size and strength, transforming into an enraged giant, but this form reduces mobility. - Warning: Losing control with the Dragon's Wrath Aura active carries the risk of transforming into an uncontrolled Colossal Wrath Dragon.
Unlimited Combo - Based on the user's intelligence, limits the number of hits for a one-second combo that doubles in strength with each hit. - Cooldown: 5 min - F+ = 3 hits; SSS+ = 27 hits
She was looking up; her eyes, once cold and calculating but now corrupted by desire and resistance, her tail—once always tense—now wagged from side to side.
"Why is my heart beating so fast?"