Location: Hijirigasaka Academy - The Way Home
Time: 4:30 PM
Raiden walked down the street, flanked by Mio and Maria. Basara followed a few steps behind, acting as the rear guard.
Raiden was eating a crepe.
"Too much cream," Raiden critiqued. "Not enough strawberries. The sugar is overpowering the fruit."
"You complain, but you're on your third one," Mio muttered, clutching her school bag. She glanced at the pedestrians who stopped to stare at Raiden.
Thanks to his [Passive Skill: Charm of the Sovereign], men and women alike were turning their heads. Raiden didn't need to do anything; his mere existence now broadcasted a signal of 'Alpha'.
"Raiden-san," Maria whispered. "Please dial down the pheromones. You're causing traffic accidents."
"I can't help it," Raiden finished the crepe in one bite. "It's like sweating. But instead of sweat, I leak charisma."
Suddenly, the air shimmered.
The pedestrians vanished. The sounds of the city cut out.
A purple barrier dome erected itself around the block.
"A Bounded Field?" Basara drew Brynhildr instantly. "We're trapped!"
Raiden stopped walking. He sniffed the air.
"Perfume," Raiden noted. "Heavy, musky, flowery perfume. And... desperation."
From the shadows of the alleyways, five figures emerged.
They were women dressed in revealing bondage-style combat gear. They had bat wings and tails.
High-Level Assassin Succubi, sent by Zolgia.
"My, my," the leader, a woman with long purple hair and a whip, purred. "So this is the target? He's quite handsome for a stray."
"We are here for the girl," another succubus licked her lips. "But Zolgia-sama said we can have fun with the men before we kill them."
They released a cloud of pink mist.
[Succubus Art: Aphrodisiac Fog - Level 8]
Basara coughed, covering his nose. "Don't breathe it in! It's a neurotoxin that destroys your reason!"
Mio and Maria felt their knees buckle instantly. As demons, they were susceptible to higher-ranking domination magic.
Raiden stood in the middle of the pink cloud. He took a deep breath.
Inhale.
"Raiden!" Mio cried out. "No!"
Raiden held the mist in his lungs.
He looked at the succubi.
His eyes didn't glaze over. They sharpened.
"Cotton candy," Raiden exhaled. "Fluffy. Sweet. But no nutritional value."
The succubus leader blinked. "He... he inhaled the concentrated lust of five high-class succubi and he's critiquing the flavor?"
"Plan B!" she shouted. "Charm him directly!"
The five succubi moved with blinding speed. They surrounded Raiden, dancing around him.
They cast illusions - visions of Raiden's deepest desires.
Usually, a man would see wealth, or a harem, or power.
Raiden saw... a giant steak the size of a mountain.
"Oh," Raiden reached out. "Medium rare."
The illusion shattered as he grabbed the succubus leader by the throat instead of the steak.
"You're not meat," Raiden looked disappointed.
The leader gasped, unable to breathe. "Let go! [Charm Eyes: Enslave!]"
She fired a beam of pink light point-blank into Raiden's face.
Raiden didn't blink.
The beam hit his eyes and was absorbed by the golden ring around his pupils.
[Lust: Absorption]
[Mana Restored: 5%]
"Is that it?" Raiden asked.
He released a pulse of his own aura.
[Lust: Sovereign's Command]
The air turned heavy. It wasn't the crushing gravity of a Dragon; it was the knee-weakening pressure of an Absolute Master.
The four other succubi froze mid-air. Their wings stopped flapping. They crashed to the ground, panting, their faces flushed.
They weren't injured. They were overwhelmed. Their instincts screamed that the male in front of them was the apex of their species.
"You try to use Lust against me?" Raiden pulled the leader closer, his voice dropping to a subsonic rumble.
"I am the concept you worship. You are trying to drown the ocean with a cup of water."
Raiden dropped the leader. She fell to her knees, trembling. She didn't try to run. She couldn't. Her body refused to disobey him.
"Basara," Raiden called out, not looking back. "Put your sword away. They aren't enemies anymore."
"What?" Basara kept his guard up. "Raiden, they're assassins!"
"Not anymore," Raiden looked down at the women. "Right?"
The succubi looked up at him with glassy, heart-shaped eyes.
"Master..." the leader whispered. "Please... punish us... use us..."
Raiden sighed. "I don't need five more mouths to feed. But you might be useful."
He activated his Gluttony.
Darkness swirled in his hand.
"I'm going to take a bite of your loyalty."
He placed his hand on the leader's head.
[Skill: Soul Override]
He didn't eat her soul completely. He just ate the part of her contract that bound her to Zolgia.
Snap.
The connection to Zolgia was severed and digested.
"You work for Mio now," Raiden ordered. "Guard the house. Do the laundry. And if any other assassins come... deal with them."
The succubi bowed, their foreheads touching the asphalt.
"Yes, Supreme Master! We live to serve!"
Mio watched in horror. "He... he just hijacked the enemy squad by being too hot?"
Maria pulled out a notebook. "Writing this down. 'Strategy: Be so dominant the enemy defects out of horniness.'"
Location: Zolgia's Laboratory - Secret Base
A crystal ball shattered.
Zolgia, an elderly demon with a twisted face, stared at the fragments.
"My squad... disconnected? In seconds?"
Beside him stood Lars (Takigawa).
"I told you," Lars said, nursing a headache. "He has a Unique Skill. It's not just power. He enslaves minds."
Zolgia cackled. It was a dry, rattling sound.
"Marvelous! A specimen that combines Dragon Power and a Superior Lust Skill! If I can capture him... if I can dissect him... I could create the ultimate bio-weapon!"
Zolgia turned to a massive tank in the center of the room. Inside floated a grotesque mixture of demon flesh and machinery.
"Prepare the Gigas. And... bring out the CursedSword. We need to separate the Dragon from the Girl."
Location: Naruse Residence - Dining Room
The dinner table was crowded.
Raiden sat at the head.
Mio, Maria, and Basara were in their usual spots.
But now, five succubi in maid outfits (which they had conjured out of nowhere) were standing behind Raiden, fanning him, refilling his water, and offering him grapes.
"This is uncomfortable," Mio slammed her chopsticks down. "Raiden! Make them stop!"
"Why?" Raiden ate a grape from the leader's hand. "They're efficient. And the leader - what's your name?"
"Succubus A, Master!"
"We'll call you... Sakura. Because your hair is pink."
"It is the greatest honor of my life!" Sakura wept tears of joy.
"See?" Raiden shrugged. "Happy staff makes for a happy home."
Basara looked at the succubi. "Raiden, Zolgia won't stop. These were just scouts. Next time, he'll send something that doesn't feel lust. Like constructs or golems."
Raiden paused.
"Golems?"
He remembered the Machine God from the DxD world.
"If they are made of stone or metal... I can eat them."
He looked at the new crest on his hand - the mark of the King of Lust.
"But if he sends living things... I'll just add them to the pile."
He looked at Mio.
"By the way, Princess. Tonight is the full moon."
Mio froze. "S-So?"
"Succubus magic is stronger under the full moon," Raiden's eyes glowed gold. "The pact we made... the energy flow is going to be intense tonight."
He stood up.
"Maria. Prepare the basement. We need to drain the excess mana before Mio explodes."
Mio turned red. "Drain?! How?! Not the ritual again!"
"No," Raiden smirked. "Just simple... feeding. I'll eat the excess desire directly from your aura. It tickles. Try not to scream too loud; the neighbors will complain."
Mio put her head on the table and groaned. "My life is over."