"That isn't necessary," Hisha whispered back, pulling her hand out and making sure there was enough distance between them.
Pesa stood in disbelief at how adamant he was about not engaging with her.
"I don't want to leave anymore." She blurted out.
[What are you doing, host?]
'Shhh! I have this under control.' Hisha assured.
"I'd love to see how well you can keep up that stance," Hisha replied with a smirk.
Pesa searched her thoughts, contemplating what he had meant by those words.
Her head whipped up as soon as it dawned on her–the tournament and her ability to convince him she had truly changed!
"My lord..." Pesa's voice had Hisha stop in his tracks.
Looking over his shoulder, he raised a brow at her reluctance to complete her sentence.
"How far do we have to go to be specifically chosen by you?"
'Technically, my system did choose a succubus for me.' Hisha had wanted to debunk her thoughts on the process of selection.
[One of the best choices you had been gifted]
HTC countered, recalling all that Alta had done for him up until his current time.
"All I want is for all of you to show your prowess and loyalty. I will not be held back by my harem." He warned, feeling he needed to be specific with his aim.
Pesa thought about it for a minute and nodded her head in understanding.
Inhaling and exhaling, Hisha's mood lightened up.
Pointing at his crotch, he nodded to emphasize his point, "if you insist, you could have a feel of this."
Pesa's lips broadened with a grateful smile as she walked up to him, getting down on her knees.
*****
In Gad's quarters,
Knock!
Knock!
Adjusting to his side, Gad looked at the door and tried to voice out his concern about who it could be.
"Could I come in?" Kritz's voice called out from the other side.
'Sure.' Gad replied to his thoughts, disappointment washing over him due to his inability to respond well.
After his attack by a feral Kritz, his wounds and broken bones were still in their healing process.
The memory of what had transpired still flooded his thoughts and had him close his eyes in denial.
Zzt!
Gad's eyes jolted open at that familiar sound, his mouth covered to prevent him from screaming.
"Was there a monster in here?" Kritz innocently questioned, withdrawing his hand from Gad's mouth.
'The only monster is you!' Gad responded as he hyperventilated, trying his best to lean on his back.
Assisting him, Kritz suspended him in motion with his Sux and fluffed his pillow.
"There," he gently placed Gad's head on it and had a big smile. "That should be more comfortable."
Never breaking eye contact, Gad furrowed his brows and gathered enough strength to whisper and blow a transparent fluid-looking slime.
Kritz took a few steps back, weary about the substance but also intrigued enough to stare, hard and long at it as he watched him release it so it hovered a few feet above.
~It's best you watch out for drops~ Gad conveyed as its first warning.
Raising a brow at the words he had heard from the fluid, he watched as a bit dropped to the wooden floor, eating its way into it with a sizzling sound.
Kritz's jaw was slightly ajar, taken aback by the revelation.
"You have developed your ability since the last time we dueled." Kritz commended with a grin.
Using his brows to signify that he looks up at his transmitter, he coughed and covered his mouth.
~Fuck you! You had almost killed me, red eyes! Is there any way to speed up my healing process?~
As soon as the message was completed, Gad clenched his finger and hardened it so it took the form of a ping-pong ball.
Clak!
Clak!
They both watched as it rolled towards Kritz's feet and stopped in motion.
Gad flashed a nervous smile, unable to explain that it was merely his way of countering the acidic effect of releasing the slime just like some of its drips.
Kritz burst into a chuckle, shaking his head at the chipped insult. "You sure have some balls, sheep brain."
With a nod of his head, he channeled some part of his Sux to his palm. "Let's just say this is a thank you note for not dying."
Slap!
Gad's face was forced to his right, and his mouth opened in disbelief.
"What in the actual f–" Gad paused in his words, the moment he understood he had said that out loud.
"You're welcome!" Kritz nodded, raising his chin in pride.
Trying his best to sit up straight, he was assisted to lie back down.
"Just because I allowed your face to heal rapidly doesn't mean I would do the same to every part of your broken ass body!" Kritz grimaced at the thought.
"It's best you wait it out so the rest spreads in due time and you can have full health back–one, I could make you miserable again!"
Gad glared at him immediately after he said those words, before bursting into a low chuckle. "I wouldn't want your disgusting hands on me."
"Mind if I take back the stain on your cheeks?" Kritz countered.
With the look of horror in Gad's eyes at the thought of resorting back to communicating with his slime, he shook his head.
"I thought so too," Kritz responded, looking about the room for the first time, remembering how he had originally planned not to establish any form of interaction with Gad and just be a listening ear.
It was a small but cozy building, with its walls made out of blue bricks and various weapons holstered onto the wall.
"Do you even need these weapons? Weapons are for weaklings!"
Gad scoffed, "says the one who can bare his claws, what do you call that?"
Kritz rubbed his chin, tracing his hand around the blade of an ax, "this looks too heavy, even for you."
"Would you stop with the mockery?" Gad sighed.
Shrugging at his request, Kritz intentionally kicked on some heaps of dirty laundry that were scattered on the floor. "I had thought even if your ability is disgusting, your hygiene wouldn't."
Gad internally had a facepalm at his comment, feeling his words wouldn't make a difference even if he tried.
Clink!
Kritz paused and had his leg frozen to a spot after kicking at numerous piles, his shocked gaze on a silver necklace studded with Austrian crystal, platinum plating alloy. The purple tulip pendant got his attention in an instant.
"Kritz? Is there an issue?" Gad questioned with worry, observing Kritz's strange pause.
Kritz's mood darkened at the thought of what it signified, staring at it wasn't going to convince him, instead he opted out of picking the pendant, feeling its authenticity.
'How is this possible?!' He thought with wide eyes.
The moment he turned around the dangling pendant glistened with the little ray of moonlight augmenting its beauty.
Gad gasped in shock as he stared at the pendant, but was quick to revert to his stoic expression. "Where did you find that? I have been looking everywhere for it for some time now."
Kritz narrowed his eyes at the silly cover-up, "tell me with all truthfulness, I wish that this doesn't blow up in your face."
Gad furrowed his brows at the threat he had perceived from Kritz's words.
"I assure you, I was–"
Gasp!
Gasp!
Kritz held him by the neck, tightening his grip. "As much as I consider you a friend, don't you fucking lie to me!"
"T... t... th... this... isn't... how... you... treat... someone... in... my... shoes!" Gad managed to cough out, gasping for breath the moment Kritz let go of his neck.
Coughing profusely, Gad's eyes were shut before he opened them once more.
Kritz's red eyes were glowing as they scanned the pendant. 'This had been one of the clues lord Hisha had been searching for, but how did it–'
Raising his head so he peered into Gad's eyes, he saw nothing but fear and confusion.
"Where did you get that?" Kritz questioned calmly, hoping for a favorable answer.
Blinking his eyes, Gad stared at Kritz, "get what?"
With his brows twitching, Kritz stared at Gad in disbelief, wondering if it was possible to develop amnesia in just a few hours of interaction.
Pulling on Gad's collar, his fangs protracted as did his claws. "You can't pretend after what you just said earlier!"
Gad stared at him with shock and fear, "I don't understand why you're making such a big fuss and you just tried killing me!"
Kritz searched Gad's eyes, clutching tightly in his palm the pendant. 'Something isn't right.'
*****
A/N
¶ That went from 0-100 real quick (●__●)
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