The heat in the room was suffocating, heavy with the scent of vanilla and raw desire.
Lux's hand was deep beneath Elara's skirt, his fingers working their magic against her inner thigh, inching dangerously close to the center of her heat. Every stroke sent a jolt of visible pink energy into her skin, chasing away the black frost of the curse.
"Nngh! Master... Lux... more..." Elara arched her back, her nails digging into his shoulders. Her eyes were glazed, completely lost in the sensation of her nerves thawing after five years of numbness.
[Curse Suppression: 48%]
[Target is nearing the breaking point.]
[Prepare for Dual Cultiv—]
CRASH!
The sound of splintering wood tore through the heavy atmosphere like a gunshot.
Lux froze. Elara's eyes snapped open, the haze of lust instantly replaced by a razor-sharp, terrifying clarity.
Grrrrrrr...
A low, vibrating growl echoed from the hallway.
"Get behind me," Elara hissed.
Despite her half-undressed state—her blouse torn open, her skirt hiked up around her waist—she moved with liquid grace. She rolled off the sofa and placed herself between Lux and the darkness of the hall.
Lux scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding. "System! Scan!"
[Enemy Detected.]
[Species: Dread-Fang Wolf (Mutated)]
[Rank: E+]
[Status: Starving / Frenzied]
[Count: 3]
Three pairs of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the shadows. These weren't normal wolves. They were the size of ponies, their fur matted with black sludge, their jaws dripping with acidic saliva.
"They smelled the mana," Lux realized. "My healing flared your aura. We rang the dinner bell."
The leading wolf—the Alpha—lunged.
It was a blur of fangs and muscle, aiming straight for Elara's exposed throat.
"Master, stay back!" Elara shouted. She raised her hand to summon a dagger of ice, her signature magic.
Fzzzt.
Nothing happened.
The curse was only suppressed, not broken. Her mana channels were still clogged. She couldn't cast spells.
The wolf was mid-air.
"Elara, dodge right!" Lux screamed, his [Vitality] stat allowing his eyes to track the movement just a fraction of a second faster than a normal human.
Trusting his command blindly, Elara twisted her body to the right. The wolf's jaws snapped on empty air, missing her neck by an inch.
She didn't have magic, but she still had the body of an elite assassin. As the wolf passed her, she drove her stiffened fingers into its eye socket like a spear.
YELP!
The wolf crashed into the wall, thrashing.
But the other two didn't wait. They split up. One lunged for Elara's legs, while the other—a scarred, mangy beast—locked eyes with Lux.
It saw the weak link. The "prey."
It charged.
"Lux!" Elara screamed, trying to turn, but the second wolf bit down on her forearm, dragging her down.
Lux stood alone against the charging beast.
He had no weapon. No combat skills.
Just a butter knife he had pocketed from the carriage and a pair of hands that could generate heat.
'Think! Use the System!'
[Skill: Aphrodisiac Hands (Active)]
[Effect: Generates intense heat and sensitivity.]
"Heat..." Lux gritted his teeth. "Close enough to fire!"
As the wolf leaped, jaws wide to tear out his throat, Lux didn't dodge. He stepped in.
He raised his left arm, sacrificing it.
The wolf's jaws clamped down on his forearm.
"ARGH!"
Pain exploded in Lux's arm as teeth sank into flesh.
But Lux didn't pull away. He grabbed the wolf's lower jaw with his right hand.
"Burn, you mutt!"
He activated the skill at maximum output.
[Aphrodisiac Hands: Overdrive]
Usually, this skill was meant to pleasure. To warm cold skin.
But against a sensitive nose and mouth? Against raw nerves?
The pink light flared into a blinding red.
HOWL!
The wolf released him instantly, screeching in confusion. The heat wasn't burning its flesh, but it was overloading every nerve ending in its face with agonizing, disorienting sensitivity. The air touching its nose felt like sandpaper. The drool in its mouth felt like boiling oil.
It thrashed backward, clawing at its own face.
Lux fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding arm. "Elara! Now!"
Elara had just kicked the second wolf across the room, shattering its ribs with a sheer physical strength kick. She saw Lux bleeding.
Something inside her snapped.
The "Maid" vanished completely. The "Black Widow" surfaced.
She didn't need magic. She grabbed a rusted iron poker from the fireplace.
She moved like a phantom.
Crunch.
The poker went through the skull of the wolf Lux had disoriented.
Snap.
She spun, throwing the heavy iron bar like a javelin. It caught the Alpha wolf—the one trying to stand up—right through the neck, pinning it to the wall.
Silence fell over the hall.
Elara stood amidst the carnage, her chest heaving. Her camisole was soaked in wolf blood, mixing with the sweat of her earlier arousal. Her hair was wild, her eyes glowing with a terrifying, protective fury.
She turned to Lux.
"Master!"
She dropped to her knees beside him, her bloody hands hovering over his bitten arm. tears welled in her eyes. "I... I let you get hurt. I failed. I—"
"Shut up," Lux hissed through his teeth, the adrenaline fading into dull throbbing pain. "You killed three E-Rank monsters without magic. You didn't fail."
[Combat Encounter Ended.]
[XP Gained: +150]
[Level Up! Level 2 -> Level 3]
[New Feature Unlocked: The Shop (Basic)]
Lux leaned back against the sofa, breathing hard. He looked at Elara. She was a mess of blood, torn clothes, and beauty.
"But," Lux groaned, looking at the boarded window where the cold wind was now blowing in. "The mood is definitely ruined."
Elara looked at his wound, then at his face. Her expression hardened.
"The wolves hunt in packs, Master. Those were the scouts." She stood up, ripping a strip of cloth from her skirt to bind his arm tight. "We are not safe here. We need to barricade the cellar."
She looked down at him, her eyes dark.
"And once we are safe... I am going to finish what we started."
Lux blinked. "Finish?"
Elara tightened the bandage, making him wince.
"You bled for me. My blood is boiling, Lux. If I don't give this body to you tonight, I think I might go insane."
[System Alert]
[Target 'Elara' has entered state: 'Obsessive Devotion'.]
[Next Intimacy Event will have 100% Success Rate.]
Lux smirked, despite the pain.
"Then lead the way, my Widow."