Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)

Third Person's POV

Her hand slipped from his as her eyes went wide, and her thoughts went utterly blank.

Even Velcy, who had been secretly listening to their conversation with focused interest, couldn't suppress her stunned expression.

The three of them stared at one another in mutual silence and were unsettled by the same realization.

Only now did it hit them that they had completely forgotten about the blood slave.

Their minds scrambled backward to the moment they had first laid eyes on the Devil Abyss Mountain and the yawning circle of the Devil Abyss.

That had been the turning point. From then on, their focus had shifted and they had subconsciously ignored him.

They recalled crossing ropes, moving in silence, but the old driver who had guided them in their more than one month long journey had simply vanished from their thoughts as though he had never existed.

Ethan pressed his fingers against his temples as a sharp sensation throbbed in his mind.

It was as if a heavy fog had lifted, and clarity came crashing in all at once.

He exhaled sharply.

"I think we were placed under a subtle mind spell," he said, voice low and even.

"It must have worn off just now. Maybe its time limit had passed, or the spell's source lost its power."

The girls slowly nodded in agreement while Virelle's gaze dropped in thought.

"You predicted it before that he was my master's blood slave. And now that his task, which seemed to have been escorting us here, was complete, he left without a word, leaving no sort of farewell or trace.

Well, what can I say? As expected from a blood slave."

She sighed and a soft breath slipped past her lips while her expression was a mix of wonder and weariness that mirrored Ethan's own.

In that shared silence, they exchanged no words, but understanding passed between them like an unspoken agreement.

Ethan looked up again, and his eyes narrowed slightly as a quiet thought rose within his mind.

After a brief moment of consideration, he turned toward the girls and said in a low, decisive voice,

"Alright, let's rest for now. Tomorrow, we will finally leave this dangerous place behind."

Virelle and Velcy both nodded, and relief mingled with fatigue was evident on their faces.

Without further discussion, Ethan began walking toward a distant inn whose warm glow flickered dimly through the gloom like a solitary ember.

The moment they stepped inside, they were met with unexpected ease.

Contrary to what they had anticipated, everything went surprisingly smoothly as not a single staff member questioned their arrival, nor did anyone so much as raise an eyebrow at the unconscious blonde demon girl slung over Ethan's shoulder.

The silence and indifference of the staff only added to the eerie ambiance, as if such sights were far from uncommon here.

Ethan led the group toward the underground floor and descended into a quiet hallway that reeked faintly of damp stone and age.

Upon reaching their room, he pushed the door open to reveal a single, expansive chamber cloaked in darkness.

The air was cooler here, and the only light came from a flickering wall sconce.

A large bed stood at the center and was surrounded by sparse but functional furnishings that were nothing lavish, but were enough for a night's rest.

He stepped inside and exhaled slowly before heading straight for the bath. Cool water filled the basin, and the quiet splash echoed through the stone-tiled room.

He washed quickly and, feeling the cold water biting against his skin, he sighed in relief as he preferred it to be this way.

To him, it was a quiet comfort in the chilling silence of this place that grounded him in reality.

Virelle and Velcy followed after him and took their turn in the shower separately.

He didn't join Virelle—not this time.

With Velcy present, and the stillness of the place amplifying every sound, the idea of mingling intimately under such conditions felt far too brazen.

Ethan wasn't so thick-skinned as to shamelessly indulge in lewd moments while another girl sat just beyond the door.

He let out a dry chuckle under his breath at the thought. No, not yet… though, who could say what the future might hold?

A small smile lingered on his lips as he stepped out of the cool water and dried himself off, savoring the chill that clung to his skin.

It was yet another small step in aligning himself with the element he was slowly growing to embody.

He had come to understand that mastery wasn't just about wielding magic like a weapon.

It was about a personal connection and resonance that signified becoming what he wished to control.

To truly appreciate and bond with the elemental force, he needed to live in it, feel it, and let it shape his instincts.

His thoughts spiraled gently from one into the next, until the sound of soft footsteps announced the girls' return from the bath.

Both seemed too drained to speak much as their eyes were heavy with fatigue and limbs dulled by the day's journey.

The grueling climb up the spinal rope beneath the glaring sun had left them sore and aching, and the emotional tension from earlier events still lingered faintly in the air.

The blond girl was still in an unconscious, unmoving, and pale state.

Looking at her, he could clearly tell that her trauma ran deep and so deep that even now, she seemed to be resisting the pull of wakefulness.

Her mind seemed to retreat further into some unknown darkness and was unwilling to resurface.

Eventually, the girls slipped into a deep sleep with their breathing soft and even as they nestled against Ethan.

Their warmth spread over him like a shared blanket, but like them, sleep did not claim him, and his eyes remained open, distant, and alert.

He lay still for a while and let them rest against him before quietly disentangling himself from their arms and legs.