(This chapter contains content related to NTR. While there are no explicit sexual scenes, if you are uncomfortable with such themes, please feel free to skip this chapter.)
A sudden smile escaped me. Of course—there were only two people in this space, so it was obvious whose gaze was fixed on me.
I glanced sideways, and sure enough, Han So-young was sitting there, her body twisted and chained, staring at me intently.
“……”
The constant glances made me feel strangely dazed. In the dim space bathed in a soft blue light, the image of a mature woman bound in chains and slumped down felt oddly raw—almost provocatively so.
“Mercenary Lord?”
Suddenly, a voice called out to me.
“Oh, sorry.”
Without thinking, I blurted out an apology.
What was I doing, letting my mind wander to strange places in a situation like this? Pathetic. Han So-young must have been baffled.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Huh…?”
Wait, did my sixth sense fail me? Maybe she wasn’t even looking at me.
“Were you having some kind of dirty thought about me?”
“…Sorry.”
So she knew all along. Of course she did. I was mortified.
Unable to hide my embarrassment, I bowed my head deeply. Then, a soft laugh drifted through the air.
Han So-young… was laughing?
Had she lost her mind? Or was there some other reason?
I hesitated, unsure whether to lift my head.
“Mercenary Lord.”
She called me again.
Her voice was much softer this time, so I cautiously raised my eyes. I had no idea how long I’d been trying to focus, but my eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness. The vague shapes around me were becoming clearer. Han So-young looked a little forlorn, but her smile wasn’t unpleasant.
“Do you… remember the promise you made to me before?”
“A promise?”
“Yes. You said you’d tell me everything once this was all over.”
“…Ah.”
Now that I thought about it, that sounded familiar.
No, Han So-young must have been curious about this for much longer than I realized.
‘Mercenary Lord… why have you been so kind to me?’
Probably since the Steel Mountain incident.
Honestly, a user like Han So-young couldn’t have missed the signs. She must have harbored doubts deep down, and entering the Law Domain only confirmed them. Her conversations with Ko Yeon-ju probably influenced her too.
“Well… I guess it’s not really over yet…”
“Are you kidding me?”
Scary. She suddenly turned so cold.
“Uh… um…”
Should I tell her or not? I hesitated deeply.
Honestly, it wouldn’t matter much now. She probably already knows.
But I didn’t know why I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
“Do you really want to hear it?”
“Yes. I have to.”
For Han So-young, that was unusually firm.
“Even if I don’t want to? Even if I have to force it out of you?”
Half-jokingly, I tried to back out, but she didn’t respond immediately.
Still, the silence didn’t last long.
“Yes.”
Han So-young nodded.
“Because… if not now… I don’t think I’ll ever hear it again.”
Her hesitant voice suddenly made me feel solemn. Setting everything else aside, compared to my hesitation over some trivial reason, Han So-young’s desperation felt much more real.
More than anything, the idea that this might be the last chance to hear it moved me. At this point, there was nothing left to hide.
But…
“All right. On one condition.”
“?”
“You have to promise me one thing.”
“?”
“That you won’t get angry after hearing it.”
“No.”
Before I even finished, Han So-young flatly refused.
“If there’s something to get angry about, of course I will. So I don’t want to make that kind of promise.”
She wasn’t budging an inch.
…Fine. Whether she gets mad or curses me out, it’s time to come clean. Honestly, it’s probably overdue.
“Then…”
Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to speak.
That’s when—
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed through the space.
Kim Soo-hyun, who was just about to speak, and Han So-young, who was quietly listening, both startled and turned their heads.
“Hmm? What’s so interesting that you’re chatting away like that?”
A mocking voice came from the entrance. It was low and dark, but with a seductive tone belonging to a woman.
Slowly, a figure emerged from the shadows. Behind her, huge bat-like wings spread wide, and her long, jet-black hair, flowing like willow branches, fluttered down to her ankles.
Kim Soo-hyun’s eyes widened in alarm, then narrowed into a scowl. It was a voice he didn’t want to hear.
“Lilith…!”
“Oh? You recognized me just by my voice? You must have been pretty interested in me.”
With a tinkling laugh, Lilith stepped forward confidently, leaning in close with a teasing smile.
“What do you think I’m here for? Hoho.”
Her slightly wet, shimmering eyes curved like crescent moons as she stared at him. Kim Soo-hyun met her gaze with pure hatred.
He hated all demons, but Lilith was special—especially so. The deaths of his brother and Han So-young in the first round were both directly connected to Lilith and Belphegor.
“Oh, look at those eyes. Do you hate me that much?”
Lilith delicately lifted her slender finger to rest under his chin. Kim Soo-hyun struggled violently to shake her off, but the smile on Lilith’s lips only deepened. It was as if she had found a very satisfying prey after a long time.
“I wish you’d just disappear. I have no business with you.”
“Hehe. Good. Keep being stubborn like that. That’s what makes taming you fun.”
“What?”
“And you’d better watch your mouth. Do you even realize your current situation?”
Kim Soo-hyun retorted, but Lilith hummed with delight.
“I heard if you stay quiet, they won’t touch you.”
“Oh, Satan did say that.”
Lilith nodded in acknowledgment.
“But I’m not exactly under orders. And since our job is done, all we have to do now is wait…”
Her voice trailed off.
“So it’s okay to tease you a little until then, right?”
She snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, the chains binding Kim Soo-hyun’s ankles loosened with a clatter and fell away.
Freed without realizing it, Kim Soo-hyun looked puzzled for a moment, but then understood why the chains had been removed.
Lilith was now licking her lips, which glistened as if stained with blood, her tongue flicking out like a serpent’s. One hand caressed her exotic pale-gray skin, while her hips swayed seductively, tormenting the man’s nerves.
As the self-proclaimed Queen of the Night, the decadent allure radiating from her slender frame was explosively intense.
But.
No man could resist such blatant seduction—except Kim Soo-hyun. Rather than arousal, he felt a wave of nausea.
Sure, he had forced himself on Lilith in the first round, but that was purely out of revenge. And there was no way he wanted to be forced like that in front of Han So-young.
“Get lost. I have no intention of doing anything with you.”
“Hehe. You seem to be mistaken. I’m not begging you. How many times do I have to say it? You don’t have a choice.”
Kim Soo-hyun growled in front of her, but Lilith just scoffed. She had been terrifying on the battlefield, but now he was just a captive.
“Don’t glare at me like you want to kill me. The more you do, the more I want to break you completely.”
“What did you say?”
“Hm? Didn’t I say? My hobby is exactly that—catching arrogant fools, male or female, who don’t know their place, and breaking them. That’s what satisfies me.”
“Ugh!”
“I just can’t stand it. Humans acting tough and noble! But when they finally realize their place, kneel down, and submit… oh, the pleasure of that moment! Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine!”
“Crazy bitch!”
Kim Soo-hyun shouted in rage, trembling as if caught in a trance. But Lilith found even his resistance adorable, pressing her lips to his with a soft ‘smack.’ In that fleeting moment, Kim Soo-hyun’s eyes sparked with fury.
“Ptooey!”
“Ugh?”
He spat forcefully, the saliva splattering across Lilith’s face.
A brief silence followed.
“Huh…?”
Was this more than just defiance? Lilith stopped abruptly, touching her cheek and letting out a bitter laugh.
“Oh my… so this is how it’s going to be?”
Her languid expression instantly turned fierce. Normally, she would just laugh it off, but this time her pride was deeply wounded.
“If you’re going to act like this, then I have my own plans too.”
After glaring at Kim Soo-hyun for a long moment, Lilith’s lips curved into a sharp, sardonic smile. She glanced sideways at Han So-young beside her, then sneered.
“I heard everything. You two are… you know, that kind of relationship, right?”
At that moment, the steady gaze Soo-hyun had been fixing on her wavered.
“Fine, whatever. If Satan says so, I’ll leave you alone. But here’s the thing—you told me not to mess with you, but that girl? She’s a different story.”
As soon as those words hit, a grinding sound like teeth cracking escaped Lilith’s mouth. She knew exactly where this was going.
“Ha. How’s that? Do you get your place now? No? Maybe when that woman’s been passed around and covered in semen, laughing like a fool, you’ll finally come to your senses.”
“You…!”
Of course, Lilith was only using this as a threat; she had no real intention of going that far—yet.
“Hmph. You should’ve just accepted it when I was still being somewhat generous. Then you’d be happy, and so would I. You stupid fool.”
“Lilith!”
But to keep Soo-hyun’s spirit crushed for now, Lilith pretended to turn away without hesitation.
“So just wait quietly, alright? I’ll call them over right now. Bet there’ll be more than a few with bloodshot eyes rushing here.”
Then—
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Suddenly, a deafening roar exploded repeatedly,
Clank, clank!
Chains screeched like they were screaming in protest.
“Liliiiith!”
Was this how a beast howled?
Startled, Lilith whipped around, inwardly horrified. Soo-hyun’s eyes blazed with a fierce, burning intensity, as if she was ready to snap her chains and tear Lilith apart.
‘W-what the hell?’
The murderous aura radiating from Soo-hyun made Lilith falter.
But from Soo-hyun’s perspective, this was a natural, explosive fury.
Han So-young was being hurt—again?
No need to say more. It was one of the deepest traumas from the first round, a memory Soo-hyun usually tried hard not to think about. Though unintentional, it had struck the absolute core of her wrath.
Lilith struggled to steady her trembling breath and regain composure. After all, her arms were chained, her limbs restrained by bindings, and even a Thanatos shard embedded in her body—there was no way she could break free.
Finally forcing herself calm, Lilith hurriedly spoke.
“F-fine. If you insist on refusing, so be it. But if you obediently meet my expectations, I’ll leave that woman alone.”
Meanwhile, Soo-hyun hung limply from the chains like a fish caught on a hook, breathing heavily.
Seeing that, Lilith regained her composure—and a flicker of confidence. She had a rough idea of how Soo-hyun felt about that woman.
‘Just as I thought.’
With a faint smile, Lilith spoke again.
“I told you, right? Taming people like you is my greatest pleasure. So why don’t you stop acting so tough?”
“Grrr…!”
“Keep struggling all you want. But honestly, even though I say that, you’ll enjoy it too. If you just listen to me quietly, I promise you pleasures you’ve never experienced before. Truly.”
“Huff… huff…”
After a moment, Lilith’s hands brushed subtly against Soo-hyun’s hips. The dark silhouette covering her lower body slipped away, revealing slender, toned thighs, sensuous hips, and a perfectly smooth, hairless intimate area.
Lilith then moved closer, placing a hand on Soo-hyun’s shoulder. Soo-hyun flinched briefly, but that was all. Aside from a trembling sensation, her resistance was weak. Lilith’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“Hohohoho. Good. Very good. You’re such a good girl. You can look forward to this. Do you think I’m called the great temptress and queen of the night for nothing? There are countless men in the realm who’d kneel just for a chance to sleep with me. Consider it an honor.”
Lilith laughed, her voice flushed with excitement.
“So then.”
Suddenly, her expression turned serious.
She tightened her grip on Soo-hyun’s shoulder, forcing her down, then pressed her own body close to Soo-hyun’s face, her voice dropping to a low, commanding tone.
“Suck.”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Kim Soo-hyun: Enduring Seraph’s nagging and buying the Ring of Essence was all for this moment…!
Originally, I was going to title this episode “Revenge Trip,” but that felt a bit too blunt… ^^;
July 27th (Monday) will be a day off.
Nothing special—just giving my mind and body a rest.
See you again on July 28th (Tuesday).
Wishing all readers a peaceful end to your week. :)