[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 338 & 339. (Patreon)

Chapter 338: Intermission - Mila vs the Spirit.

Mila was late that day because she had to stay up until 3:00 am the previous night. She was texting with Oliver at around 9:00 pm when her stupid, stupid boyfriend had to ask her if she had finished the assignment they had for the next day. When Mila asked ‘what assignment?’ Oliver told her then completely stopped talking to her. Mila had to stay up late to finish the damn thing.

She let out a grumpy yawn as she parked her car in the school’s parking lot. It wasn’t like being at school 30 minutes before classes started could be considered being late, but… Sarah’s car was there and so was Grace’s. Noelle and Alice didn’t come to school by car, but they were usually early anyway. That meant she was missing out on time to be with her friends, and that in turn meant they were probably doing lewd things with their boyfriend without her!

Mila began to make her way to the club room. Her fast walk was just short of a jog. It was too early to be running. She let out another yawn and rubbed her eyes. It was when she moved her hands away that she saw him, standing there by the end of the hallway.

Mila smiled and her chest filled with warmth. She didn’t know why Oliver would be here instead of the club room, but it didn’t matter. The laziness she felt went away and she jogged towards her boyfriend.

“Oliver, good morn-”

Mila stopped dead in her tracks. Something was… off. No, more than just off. Something was very wrong.

Oliver smiled at her and waved, not saying anything. That in itself wasn’t weird. Even now Oliver was a quiet guy. It was just his nature. However, the closer Mila got to him, the more strange things she noticed.

For starters, there was the way he was standing. A hand in his pocket, the other arm high up to wave at her, his chin slightly raised. Then there was his expression. His smile lacked… warmth, as did the way he looked at her. All things combined, Oliver looked… cocky instead of sweet.

Most telling, however, was the absolute silence. Mila slowly walked closer to Oliver, and yet she felt… nothing from him. Normally, she felt like she could read his feelings, his state of mind. Every morning when they met, Mila could tell Oliver was happy to see her. She felt it directly in herself and it warmed her heart every time. Now, though… there was nothing. Not just a lack of reaction, but absolute silence.

She swallowed. “Oliver… Are you okay?” she asked him. Worry made her heart beat faster in her tightening chest.

“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. Why? Do I have something on my face?” he asked. His voice… It sounded like Oliver alright, but his tone… It was too… cheerful? No. Smug? Closer. “God, you look beautiful today,” he said, very noticeably checking her out.

Mila blinked. Why did that compliment sound so… empty? It wasn’t like Oliver never told her she looked beautiful, but this felt like something he thought she wanted to hear more than something that came from the heart.

“T-Thanks…” She very nearly phrased it as a question.

Oliver then stepped closer and began to lean in for a kiss. How many had they shared up until now? How many hours had they spent just in each other, making out like nothing else mattered? It was one of Mila's greatest pleasures. So why was it that when she saw him coming closer she felt the urge to step back?

Oliver, however, was faster, almost desperately so. The first thing he did was get an arm around Mila’s waist, and that was when she decided this was not her Oliver.

She felt disgust. The moment his hand touched her, Mila felt repulsed by him.

She was willing to let Oliver fondle her breasts whenever he wanted. Oliver could kiss her out of nowhere and she’d melt, and hell, he could even get his hand between her legs and she’d spread them for him. But whoever this guy was, it wasn’t her boyfriend.

Mila stepped away forcefully before those lips could touch hers. This was all sorts of wrong, but… Mila forced herself to remain calm.

Whatever she was seeing, it looked and sounded exactly like Oliver, but it wasn’t Oliver. If the spirit living in Oliver’s head hadn’t proved that the supernatural existed, Mila would’ve been at a loss. Regardless, she was scared and unsure of what to do.

“S-Sorry, I just… had some garlic bread for breakfast,” she said, chuckling emptily and covering her mouth.

‘Oliver’ seemed to buy that and stepped away.

“I… see…” He cleared his throat. He looked disappointed, bitter, offended. “Well… I have to go to the restroom now. See you in class.”

‘See you in class’? When there were 30 minutes left until the bell rang? When they spent virtually every morning hanging out at the club room? When there was a restroom close to said club room?

Mila almost sighed in relief. This proved to her that this guy truly wasn’t Oliver. She hadn’t dared to even entertain the thought that maybe Oliver had just… changed overnight. That was far scarier.

“Hm? Just use the restroom at the club room, silly,” she told him.

“Ah… R-Right.”

Mila watched the guy’s face carefully. His expression was changing, contorting. He was conflicted, cornered. Then all of a sudden, he glared at her. It hurt. Even if she now knew this wasn’t Oliver, seeing Oliver’s face glaring at her hurt.

“The truth is… I don’t want to see you right now, Milana. Please leave me alone.”

So that was his approach now? What was this guy even trying to do? Also… Milana, huh?

‘Oliver’ turned his back to her and began to walk away. Mila pulled out her phone, typed at the speed of light and sent the message to their group chat. Then she ran after the impostor and grabbed him by the hand.

“What do you mean you don’t want to see me?” she asked, faking shock and pain. “W-What did I do!?”

She noticed something else. He looked and sounded like Oliver, but his hands… they lacked Oliver’s calluses.

“...I’ve grown tired of you, that’s all.”

It was very possible that hearing Oliver’s voice saying that would give her nightmares. Thankfully, she didn’t need to continue buying time. She heard many footsteps coming closer. She and the imposter turned to look down the hallway.

Grace, Alice and Noelle were running at the back with Sarah a few more steps ahead of them. But at the very front was Oliver, her real Oliver, rushing towards them as fast as his legs could carry him.

Feeling the connection again was a short-lived relief, for what Mila felt coming from Oliver was pure, hot fury. She pulled away from the impostor when Oliver reached them.

Oliver grabbed the impostor by the collar, lifted him up like it was nothing and pushed him against the wall.

“I warned you,” he seethed. “I fucking warned you, Jenkins!”

Mila blinked. The image of the fake Oliver became blurry until she saw the real person behind it.

Julian Jenkins was about to piss his pants.

************

Chapter 339: Intermission - Spirit to Spirit.

It wouldn’t have happened if either of them hadn’t agreed to it, at least not with their power and their skills. Frey could tell. This Spirit of Envy was, at a minimum, not stronger than she was.

The two shadowy figures, one resembling a sexy, curvy woman and the other a tall, lanky and bald man, floated in a white space facing each other. Frey had her arms crossed, glaring at the spirit before her. On the opposite side, the Spirit of Envy struggled to keep his trembling from being noticed. Frey stopped herself from smiling.

“Let me guess. You didn’t know who you were messing with, right?” Frey asked.

“It’s my rotten luck, it truly is…” Envy lamented with a shaky, tired chuckle. “I should’ve noticed something was wrong. A man walking around and claiming to have five girlfriends like it’s normal… You’re quite the enchantress, aren’t you?”

“Drop the flattery. You’re done. We know what you’re up to now, we know what your host wants. You’re not taking anything from me.”

Envy laughed defensively. “Okay, so I screwed up this time. Your host is going to beat the living crap out of mine. You think that’ll make us give up? My guy will be even angrier and will want his revenge. You’re not Ishtar, girl. You can’t stop me.”

Lady Ishtar. One of, if not the strongest Spirit of Lust. No, Frey couldn’t begin to compare. She didn’t need to, though.

“Your bluffs are as weak as you are.” Frey spoke confidently, with poise. “You’re weak from the illusions you casted. You banked it all on your host getting what he wanted, but you both fucked up. You have nothing now. Are you sure you want to try something against me?”

Frey’s shadowy silhouette began to ooze a thick, purple aura. Seeing it made Envy flinch, his dark, flowing face contorting into something like a grimace.

“I’m not Lady Ishtar, but neither are you Leviathan.” Envy was taken aback by the uttering of that name.

There was a whole world of magic out there that Oliver wasn’t aware of, one she would rather the boy had no part in. Underground dealings, combat magic, power struggles, ancient history… Her boy wasn’t cut out for it. He had enough on his plate working to be the person he wanted to be. It was an unilateral decision, but she was going to keep him away from all that as much as she could. Both because the boy deserved a simple, happy life and because… Well, Frey had found herself enjoying said simple life. She hadn’t expected that seeing her host grow as a person would be as fulfilling as the energy from an orgy with five women.

There was a time when Frey wanted to be stronger for the sake of someone, for the sake of Lady Ishtar. But her lady was already surrounded by strong, trustworthy allies. There was no place for a weakling like Frey. She left in search of strength, yet found a life she could feel happy living. After making her mind and deciding to live with Oliver, she would not let anyone get in her way. Thankfully, there were other ways to protect oneself aside from raw magical power.

“Leviathan, king of all doppelgangers. Oh, I’m sorry. You prefer mirrorkin, don’t you?” Envy’s vague face now contorted in horror. “Does it surprise you that I know your history?”

Frey knew things of ancient history that most didn’t. In the same way that Spirits of Lust were once incubi and succubi, Spirits of Envy were always born from mirrorkin, the most prolific shapeshifters.

“I’m surprised you’d come out of hiding. I guess I’m in luck. The amount of money people will pay for information on you would probably have us set for the next couple of years.”

“NO!” Envy shouted. He dropped all bluffs, all pretenses. His entire form exuded fear. “P-Please, don’t! I’ll… I’ll never target you again, I never should’ve done it to begin with! P-Please, just keep quiet about me!”

“I won’t,” Frey said coldly. “I will tell everyone that wants to know. I’m not risking keeping you around. They will take care of you for me, use you for whatever ends they deem profitable and reward my host in the process. I wonder if you will have time to plot your revenge against me while you try to run away again.”

Mirrorkin, pursued for generations due to their unique talents and magic, now in hiding. Frey was aware that information on them was in high demand.

“I’ll leave!” Envy said. “I’ll leave this host and never come back again!”

“You better go far away, then, because people will be looking for you. In the meantime, I will continue gathering energy, becoming stronger, strengthening my defenses to protect what is mine from you or anyone else. And if no one else takes care of you, I’ll do it myself.”

Frey knew her intimidation tactics and her own bluffs worked because Envy knew the fear of being pursued. She was taking advantage of it without hesitation. Why? Because if it did come to some sort of fight, she wasn’t sure she could win without putting Oliver in danger. Frey wasn’t strong, and neither was she a fighter. She currently had an energy advantage, but that was it. She wasn’t going to risk it.

Later, she would focus on their defenses. She would create enchantments that protected Oliver’s loved ones, strengthen their links so that they’d be able to see through those illusions, protect them from mental interference, stuff like that. She would use every bit of energy she had if she needed to.

“...I’ll leave. You’ll never see me again,” said the Spirit of Envy. It sounded defeated. It had completely surrendered.

Slowly, the white world around them began to crumble. It was nothing more than a visual representation of the temporal, telepathic connection they formed to communicate. As they both severed said connection, their surroundings, too, started to fade.

It was a good thing it all ended the way it did. Frey didn’t actually have anyone to tell of this spirit’s existence, so it would’ve been troublesome if he had decided to stick around.

Thankfully, he never did bother them again.