EHG— CHAPTER 437 (Patreon)

Title: Talk

"Don't trust Mirage, huh?" Ray repeated Nik's request. Both of them sat on the roof of the estate with a can of cold beer in their hands. Ray even held a lit cigarette in his other hand and took a deep puff, letting the soothing smoke rinse within before exhaling in relaxation. "You really don't want one?" Ray inquired while raising his cigarette. His back leaning behind. "Been a long time since I used one. Anyway, Mitsuko is surprisingly strict against cigarettes."

"Man, I really need to meet the woman who is having your first child. You've been whipped."

"It must seem like that." Nik smiled. There are a few promises he doesn't have any trouble with keeping. Staying alive is the easiest one to agree to. Discontinuing smoking took some time and it reflected during his travel in the world of elementals but Nik didn't feel any cravings now. "So, you are saying that Ye Han is actually a woman in disguise?"

"Exactly. But we will leave that topic for now. Since you have already started the topic of our gracious ancestors, here, look."

Ray exhaled deeply while a dialogue box materialized in front of him.

[Host has been expelled from the Succubus Society. Command initiated by [Mirage]. Command effective from the moment the host appears in the paradise. The current advantages of society will continue until the current travel is concluded.]

"Mirage... actually removed you? Do you know why?"

"Who knows..." Ray groaned, "but my adventures just grew in difficulty. Anyway, why would you even try to create a feud in between me and my ancestor?" Ray inquired while gulping on her beer. "I didn't intend to. It's... just a feeling. And looks like, I didn't even need to warn you, right? So? What's your game plan then?" Nik inquired as he crushed the empty can and took out another one from his inventory.

"There's no more incentive to 'farm' hotties, so I'll take it slow from now on. I still get a passive boost every time I bed a man, so I would definitely capitalize on that. Since I am expelled from the society, surely, my bounty would get even infamous. Without Mirage's intervention, my personal details would have been leaked, too. So, I would be setting myself in a new homeworld."

"This one?"

"Nah," Ray shook his head, "With the system's limitation, I'd die, you know. That Demon Lord is already a major flag raise." Nik turned silent. "And, finally, I just lost my main backing, too. So, this dinner was supposed to be a major distraction for me. Thanks, by the way."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, I wanted you to bear Xiu's anger, but that won't be happening... ever. So, I guess I shouldn't be feeling guilty after all."

"I guess so," Ray replied while looking at the sky. He didn't like the direction his life is turning into one bit. "Oh, there is something we should discuss," Nik spoke up, "you should already know about your classmate, Nie Li, right? I think he is a champion, too."

Not stopping his flow, Ray puffed another round before asking out as smoke blew out of his mouth, "And you are telling me, why?"

"Well, he is a treasure trove of skills, but let's say that I can never think of controlling his mind based on my current skill," Nik's words instantly made Ray frown. Nik was only slightly less proficient than him in the art of illusion and mind control. "However, I have a few skills to cover this gap in proficiency. And... I am kinda into his mother. So, probably, there is a chance that I can use external stimuli to greatly shake him up and then control him."

"You could have done this without informing me anything," Ray retorted as Nik shrugged.

"As I said, I have a reason to doubt that he is a Champion of this world. He will gather your attention one way or the other. Instead of you making a move on him and alerting him, I would rather have us go patiently at this one. He will be worth the trouble, you'll understand once you have him in your harem."

"And why don't you just kill him to get the highest loot? You know, that hidden quest. You have awakened it, right?"

"Right. But as I said... with her mother..."

"Oh," Ray threw the cigarette butt close to his foot and pressed his boot against the smoke while tapping his forehead in realization, "You are a softy. I almost forgot." Ray giggled, making Nik furrow his brows as his gaze lingered towards his foot. "That wasn't a usual smoke, huh."

"Bingo!" Ray grinned. "My future just became so much more fatal... of course, I won't turn to the usual stuff."

"Never expected you to get high though..." Nik muttered when Ray grinned and moved closer to Nik, his pink pupils nailing Nik's violet hues. "Mr Incubus-"

"Lust Apostle," Nik corrected without any change in expression as he sniffed slightly and gazed at the city from the roof.

"Heh. Right. Mr Apostle, I dolled up just like you asked. Hmm? So do I get my reward?" Ray traced his fingers over Nik's stretched thighs, slowly twirling it over his pants while moving up with a soft, feminine groan escaping his lips. Still impassive, Nik narrowed his eyes and inquired once again, "Do I have your word about Nie Li? I am sure you have unlocked the hidden quest other than killing a champion. Once he is broken, you'll receive the same benefits as me, but if we don't co-operate, none of us might benefit much from it."

"Hmm? What if I want something now in exchange for my promise?" Ray raised his head and whispered into Nik's ear as he almost felt his defenses crumble and his control over his erection falling apart. Breathing deeply, Nik smiled. "Sure, as long as your interest matches my physical description, you can ask anything."

"Hey, I didn't ask to be born a guy! You're no fun, you know. When will you start exploring your options?" Ray mumbled with his stare turning flat while his index poking against his cheek. "Ow," Nik groaned while snorting, "Why? Don't I get a say which type of woman I wanna make out with? I am being perfectly reasonable here." Nik sighed internally. It would be hard getting a definite answer from Ray now that he is, in fact, high.

"Well, I am practically a woman." Ray proclaimed while sitting back on his butt as his gaze turned slightly sad.

"-Practically- wouldn't cut it. I don't like jiggling cocks when I hammer, you know."

"That's an awful analogy."

Nik pursed his lips. The current Ray seemed slightly strange. Maybe the situation affected Ray way more than it should have.

"Is it that big of a deal? You can gain strength with alternative options, too. Now, at least, you don't have to keep up a pretentious nature with Mirage—"

"It isn't about Mirage. I don't care about strength or any mystical background that is shifting the gears around me, too," Ray muttered with a sad smile, "I am just... worried about my sister. She should be alive, it's a gut feeling. Mirage knows her location, too. Once again, a gut feeling. But now... I am practically back to square one in this department."

'Ah, Carla...'

Nik recalled Ray's elder sister. They practically looked twins, at least, from their facial features.

"Sorry."

Nik whispered as Ray lied down with his hand behind his head.

"Don't be," the succubus whispered. "It's not like you can do anything about it."

"Nik, don't—" Asmodeus hurriedly warned Nik but he cut the communication off. He needed silence at the moment.

"We'll figure something out. I think Brian will have strong feelings against the infernal societies from now on."

Nik accompanied Ray and lied down, too. Nik was practically double the succubus' size.

"So, if I doll up without the jeweled wand in between my legs, I'll get my reward?"

"Probably."

"Every day?"

"Now you're pushing it."

Ray's giggle turned softer by the second when a pink mist erupted from Ray's body, morphing into the demonic Yar.

"Hey, Stud. Miss me?"

"Very much so."

Nik greeted Yar with a smile as she pointed at Ray, "He wanted me to take charge and bring him back home in two conditions, one, he is too high to move. Two, he doesn't get a share of your bed."

"Two boxes checked," Nik chuckled as Yar soured up slightly and picked up Ray into her arms and walking past Nik with a cold snort. All things said and done, everything Yar is today, it is because of Ray's unconscious thoughts. As a familiar, she is fiercely loyal to Ray, and seeing him rejected so ruthlessly made Yar furious. "Ray is way too good for a pretentious freak like you." She stated with a gloomy expression as Nik frowned.

"How is that pretentious? I don't mind Ray if he is actually a she."

"Yeah, Ray might be high, but I ain't. I can see the sheer control behind your gaze. Must be hard, always trying to hold onto your current relationship without having any courage to move forward."

"Yea, yea," Nik smiled, "I don't need lectures on relationship from a sole-minded freak yourself. Move along, if it wasn't for Ray, I would have made you my servant by now."

Sneering, Yar turned around.

"Likewise."

Meanwhile, with a blissful smile on his face, Ray continued to poke at the super-large doughnut floating in the orange sky.

'I should check everything I have missed by now...'

As the succubus pair left, Nik waved his notification in front of him.

[Bounty added to the host's identity. Bounty rank— B. The details can be checked on the guild missions page.]

[Ravager's Magic— Ravager's Blessing, activated. Synchronizing with the current mentality of the Host. Sync complete. Blessing selected— Purification. Magic Seed added. Purifying...]

[Harmful substance detected. Purifying [Harem]... the harmful consciousness removed.]

[Harmful substance detected. Purifying [Flesh Slaves (Type: Skills)]... the spiritual parasite is removed. Skill seed discovered. Soul discovered. Judged harmless.]

[Harmful substance detected. Purifying [Battle Arts]. Purification failed. Requirements not met. Carrying forward.]

[Harmful substance detected. Purifying [Transmigration Mark]... Erro—]

[Purification concluded. Spiritual World purified and mutated. The Blessing is concluded. Please pray to the nearby Ravager to activate another session of Ravager Magic.]

"I'll... deal with all this after my stage appearance," Nik grunted in annoyance. Even he wanted to look at notifications that weren't complicated and the ones in front of him were an exponent of the word— troublesome.

"Here it is!" Nik smiled as he took out the gaudy underpants and stood up. With Ray taking his leave, Nik can finally enter his royal mode and... well, as usual, fuck.