Chapter 193: Lady Sayuri’s Challenge
Queen Eli’s voice was taut with unease. "What is it?"
The medusa’s pupils constricted, her forked tongue flickering with fear. "They... they took Master Dan."
A shadow of dread swept across Queen Eli’s face, draining the color from her cheeks. For a heartbeat, she looked as if the world beneath her coils had been ripped away.
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Far away, back in the depths of the dungeon cave, Luke lay slumped against the cold stone. His face was grotesquely swollen, each bruise and gash a cruel testament to the beating he’d endured. It wasn’t just his face — his entire body looked like a canvas of pain, mottled with purple and black. His breath came in shallow, trembling gasps, and his eyes flickered like those of a man teetering at death’s doorstep.
Violet and Alexis stood frozen, horror etched across their faces. They had seen brutality before... but this? This felt personal.
Eros, however, didn’t spare Luke more than a passing glance as he walked away with Amanda and Ngozi at his side, their steps light and unhurried. Without looking back, he spoke over his shoulder to Violet.
"Make sure you bring him with you."
Violet hesitated, her brow furrowing. "Why not have your women carry him instead?"
Eros didn’t break stride. "My women do not touch trash." His tone was cold, final.
Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "We’re entering the deeper parts of the dungeon. If you want to survive the pressure there, drink the vial I gave you."
No further explanation. He simply continued forward, Belamorte leading the way, while the incubi trailed behind in an unnatural calm, their usual hunger subdued.
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Eventually, they arrived at a cavern that felt nothing like a cavern.
The air was thick with an intoxicating scent, sweet and faintly spiced, curling through their senses like invisible fingers. Soft, warm light bathed the place, filtering through swirls of pink mist that drifted lazily in the air. The stone floor was polished smooth, reflecting the glow like still water.
From the shadows, half-naked kitsune women moved with unhurried grace, their curves accentuated by delicate lingerie, fox tails swaying hypnotically behind them. Each step was a dance, each glance a promise. Their eyes shimmered with amusement and hunger, lips curling into knowing smiles as they passed by the intruders.
Even Belamorte swallowed hard, his usual composure wavering under the assault of beauty and temptation. The sight stirred something primal — though he knew the truth. Incubi could not feed from kitsune, just as kitsune could not feed from incubi. Yet the thought of simply possessing such creatures lingered stubbornly in his mind.
Then, music began — sudden, without source — slow, intoxicating notes weaving through the haze. The pink mist thickened, and more kitsune emerged, their crimson eyes glowing faintly. They danced with a predator’s elegance, weaving closer, letting fingers brush against arms and chests, each motion an invitation.
Violet herself felt her breath quicken. Even she — a woman — wasn’t immune to the pull of their allure.
One particularly voluptuous kitsune, her two fox tails swaying in perfect rhythm, fixated on Eros. She approached, her hips swaying like a tide, and reached to pull him into her world.
But the moment her gaze locked with his, something in his eyes shifted.
A faint glow — sharp, dangerous — ignited behind the mask. It wasn’t lust. It wasn’t desire. It was something far older, far darker.
She froze. A shiver raced down her spine. Then fear — pure and unreasoning — gripped her. She stumbled backward, collapsing onto the polished stone, her breath catching in her throat.
Violet’s eyes widened. Even Alexis was taken aback. For all the charm and supernatural beauty of the kitsune, none had resisted them like this. And now more than ever, Violet wondered — who was this man behind the mask?
The fallen kitsune stared up at him, her crimson eyes now trembling with uncertainty.
Eros spoke, his voice calm, cold, and absolute.
"Tell your madam to come out here... or you will not live to see the next ten breaths."
The air in the chamber seemed to thicken as a figure stepped out from the veil of pink smoke. Each step was unhurried, yet carried the rhythm of a predator who knew the world bent for her. Her hips swayed with deliberate grace, the tails behind her—three in total—curling and uncurling like serpents with a mind of their own.
Her hair shimmered like molten silver under a warm lantern glow, cascading over bare shoulders and framing a face sculpted with lethal beauty. The soft jingle of anklets whispered across the stone floor, each note in perfect time with the rise and fall of her steps. She wore little more than a filigreed golden corset and silk that clung where it pleased, leaving the imagination dangerously active.
Her gaze locked onto Eros with the heat of a brand. The same red eyes as the dancers before her, but sharpened—eyes that had seen centuries, devoured hearts, and never once lowered themselves. She tilted her chin, letting a smirk curve her lips.
"So..." she purred, her voice carrying the weight of velvet and the sting of a whip, "you are the one who conquered Belamorte."
Belamorte, to his credit, shifted uneasily in the background.
The kitsune stepped closer, close enough for her scent—sweet, intoxicating, with the bite of something dangerous—to reach him. "My name," she said slowly, "is Lady Sayuri." Her tails flared behind her like banners before a battle. "I will admit... I do not care for our current master." The way her mouth shaped master was almost a hiss. "But..." her smirk deepened, "...I am not one to submit to another man so easily."
Her words held more than flirtation; they were a challenge, coiled and waiting to strike.
Eros could feel it now—raw, dark soul energy pulsing from her in steady waves. It was a predatory aura, heavier and sharper than anything in the room. Without question, she was well within the Soul Master realm. Facing her in combat would be reckless.
But she had chosen a battlefield he was all too willing to fight on.
A knowing smirk touched his lips as he slowly turned his head. "Amanda."
Amanda’s lips parted into a slow, feline grin. "Of course, husband."
Alexis and Violet exchanged a look, their confusion mounting. But before either could ask, Amanda stepped forward and with unhurried hands, began untying the robe from Eros’s shoulders. The garment slid away, revealing his bare form, the firelight caressing the lines of muscle and the scars etched across his skin.
Violet gasped audibly. "What are you—"
She took a step forward, but Ngozi’s silhouette shifted into her path, twin daggers whispering into her hands. Her voice was calm, almost too calm.
"If you think you are stronger because of your higher cultivation," she said without blinking, "take another step... and see if your blood matches your name."
The room seemed to still.