Fethan stepped into the castle and holed himself up in the library. He’d decided to research curses more thoroughly, hoping to find a way to mitigate their mental side effects. He was usually a diligent student, devouring textbooks with focus. But this time, he couldn’t concentrate.

  ‘Hot. It’s getting hotter and hotter.’

  Fethan was parched. His body temperature kept rising, like a fire raging beneath his skin. When he hit his limit, he staggered out of the room, bracing himself along the wall, his vision rapidly blurring.

  “Huh? Fethan, why are you out so soon?”

  Luminus had just finished training and returned to the library to deepen her knowledge. When she saw Fethan in that pitiful state, she immediately rushed to support him.

  “Whoa!?”

  Luminus nearly pulled her hand back. As a spirit, she couldn’t normally feel Fethan’s temperature or physical condition—at least, not outside of Everland. But now, his body was so hot, he could’ve easily been used as a frying pan for sunny-side eggs.

  “What’s going on?! Is this a side effect from the curse? Why didn’t you tell me?” Luminus furrowed her brows.

  No one in Everland could use holy magic, and there weren’t any miracle elixirs to ease curse effects. Fethan was the only one who could open the portal—and he was in this sorry state. Was he trying to die?

  “Sorry… I didn’t think it would get this bad. Take me to… my room.”

  “Got it.”

  Luminus summoned all her strength to carry him to the Lord of Everland’s bedroom, located at the top of the castle. It was a plain room, with no decorations besides a white king-sized bed. She dropped the man onto the bed as he’d requested, and watched as he gasped for breath, each exhale steaming like smoke.

  The Lord’s bedroom had the power to accelerate recovery from exhaustion and alleviate curse side effects during sleep. But it couldn’t remove the curse itself—the root problem remained.

  “Fethan… I’m going to ask the Reaper. It has to know how to treat this.”

  “W-wait. Wait…”

  Fethan stopped her.

  The pain in his eyes shifted—into hunger.

  He was battling his instincts. His hand reached up and unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time, exposing layers of lean, exercised muscle. The pain from the curse had transformed into something else entirely—something that shattered his self-control.

  “What’s wrong? Want me to wipe you down?”

  Luminus dipped a towel in water and reached out to dab his burning forehead. But his hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the bed. She hadn’t even registered it—her battle-honed senses dulled to uselessness. All she could see was his flushed face and hear his ragged, trembling breath. He’d slammed his hand against the bed to pin her under his arm.

  “S-sorry, Lumi… I can’t take it anymore.”

  Fethan felt like his body would explode. Luminus flushed deeply as she felt something twitching between her thighs. A shiver ran through her. The intense allure radiating from his healthy male body was intoxicating. Right now, he was like an overripe fruit begging to be picked.

  “You idiot… even on the brink of death, you still have the energy for this?”

  “It’s not my fault… it’s the room. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but the pain transformed into… that instead.”

  Fethan looked at her with an expression that said he might devour her whole. He was afraid of hurting her—but instead of recoiling, her expression changed. She gave him an expectant smile. Then, she reached up and undid her blouse, revealing fair, shapely breasts and a flat, toned stomach that invited his touch.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I thought we’d get to do this on Christmas, but everything went to hell. After that, we were too busy to think about it. Honestly… I’ve wanted to. A lot. I wanted to be pushed down by the powerful Fethan.”

  She whispered into his ear, then pressed her lips to his. The two exchanged saliva, breathing heavily through their noses.

  “This is your fault, Lumi.”

  Having received permission, Fethan no longer held back. He became a beast. Intense movement shook the castle’s bedroom.

  The residents of Everland were oblivious—until several hours passed. The Reaper squinted toward the Lord’s bedroom from outside the castle. The werewolf and Hellhounds waited nearby, clutching balls in their mouths, hoping Luminus would come play.

  “Chiid (It’s been hours already),” a sewer rat grumbled.

  “Woof (Lady’s taking a long time),” said one Hellhound.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Woof (Yeah, what’s the holdup?)” replied another.

  “Hmmr (I sense intense movement inside the castle. The master and mistress must be training hard. Truly admirable. We should learn from them),” the werewolf said, stroking his chin in thought.

  “…”

  Ricky the Lecherous Roach stared blankly. He locked eyes with the Reaper. Both of them thought the same thing. Unlike these dumb beast-spirits, they were once human. No sane person would train in the bedroom. There was only one reason for that kind of movement. But neither said a word—if they did, they’d face a tax increase of at least 50% the next day.

  Hours later, after the intense “training,” the once-dry bedsheets were soaked in sweat. The mixed scent of male and female bodies filled the room—not just the bed, but the door, the windows, and every spot marked by bodily fluids.

  Luminus was all smiles.

  Fethan, on the other hand, looked as if his soul had been drained. He cast a glance at the naked body under the blanket beside him—two mounds rising like twin mountains.

  Their eyes met.

  “Want to go another round, handsome? This time, big sis will be on top.”

  “Let’s save it for next time. My waist can’t take it.”

  “That’s why you need to train more, Fethan! Especially your waist! Waist strength is everything. From now on, I’ll take care of it. I’ll make you a personal training program.”

  “If you’re gonna make me a program, don’t focus only on that. But thanks… honestly, I thought I was screwed.”

  Fethan glanced at the burn mark on his right arm. It had faded into what looked like a light scar. Without Luminus’s help, he didn’t know how he would’ve handled the curse.

  He had to thank the room, too. Apparently, this place had a bizarre effect—it purged curses through sex. Should he be grateful…?

  “My spirit power’s surged like crazy. I feel amazing. Think it’s the room’s effect?”

  Luminus had just used a cultivation technique and found it easier than ever to gather energy. She thought of ancient training methods—dual cultivation where man and woman shared power to grow stronger together.

  Fethan sat in meditation and opened his status window. He thought Luminus was imagining things—but his own spirit energy cultivation rate had also increased dramatically. It was on par with using the training room.

  ‘Is this some kind of hidden function? If Lumi finds out, she’s gonna demand we sleep together every night. No way—I need to get in shape! I can’t let that damn catgirl keep dominating me.’

  He felt shame as a man. He’d had the upper hand in the first half, but lost all ground when stamina and strength came into play. Luminus had turned into a beast and drained him dry.

  This beautiful, demon-slaying woman with fans across the country was secretly a mischievous succubus in bed. A side of her even her father or brother, Shiel, didn’t know. If they ever found out, Fethan would have some very awkward moral questions for them.

  The two dressed and restored their clothes. But Luminus wasn’t about to let things slide.

  “Fethan, we need to talk. About the curse. I trust you, but you need to be more careful. Don’t use it unless absolutely necessary. There’s a reason curses are forbidden magic. Most dark mages didn’t die because they were killed—they died from their own curses.”

  “I understand. I’ll be more careful.”

  “Good. Anything else you’ve been hiding from me?”

  She asked slyly.

  Fethan furrowed his brows—then remembered.

  All the chaos from last night had made him forget to explain. He reached into his bag and pulled out something—Gamo’s dark arts journal and the Map of the Dead.

  “I’ve seen this map before. But the book… You really hid it well, huh?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t know how to bring it up. I’m not sure if my family’s clean. I mean, this is the Dark Magus’s journal, and it was just in my house.”

  Fethan hung his head. The woman in front of him had died because of a dark mage. And now his own family might have deep ties to Gamo.

  “I knew my dad was with the Demon Slayers, but even so… I didn’t want to tell you. There are too many unknowns.”

  “Yeah, I get that. If it were me, I’d be confused too.”

  Luminus nodded seriously. She pointed to Gamo’s journal with a stiff expression.

  “My dad told me once—the government stored Gamo’s real journal in the Demon Slayer HQ. They went all out protecting it. So this has to be the real deal, right?”

  “My Reaper Eyes say it’s genuine.”

  “Then that’s bad news. Because if this is real, what the government’s guarding… is a fake. And the real one’s in your house—a Demon Slayer’s house. That’s suspicious as hell. If I were Shiel, I’d interrogate your entire family tree.”

  “Cough! Please don’t bring him up.”

  “Speaking of which—Shiel’s cold, isn’t he? His adorable, brilliant little sister is right here in Everland and he doesn’t even visit. Did you really tell him I’m here?”

  “I did.”

  Fethan nodded. He’d told him clearly, even before leaving the hospital. But he and Shiel didn’t get along. Not one bit. To this day, they hadn’t spoken again.

  “Are we sure the book at HQ is even real? Can’t they tell the difference? And if it’s fake, why didn’t they destroy the real one when they caught Gamo?”

  Fethan quickly changed the subject.

  “Because it’s not something you can destroy. High-grade magical artifacts can’t be broken by normal means. Toss it in the sea, and you’ll just create a cursed spirit. The best way is to store it somewhere safe—out of reach. Believe me, even if you shot it into space, some dark mage would go find it.”

  “They’re that obsessed?”

  “You don’t get it. Dark mages love hiding their legacy in personal items. This thing probably has something every dark mage wants.”

  Luminus stared at Gamo’s journal.

  Fethan’s eyes darkened.

  He knew exactly what it was.

  He’d read this disgusting book cover to cover. If used for evil, it could do irreparable harm to humanity.

  If it couldn’t be destroyed, then it had to be hidden—forever.

  “I seriously want to know why your dad had this. I don’t know the law, but if the Demon Slayers find it, it’s a death sentence. This thing is a ticking time bomb.”

  “It’s a mystery to me too. I want to ask him why. And about Stella—how she was born as a Doom Vessel. He wasn’t just some random Slayer. Even Jonathan said system powers don’t come from nowhere. Maybe my father played a role in me getting the Eternal Dominion.”

  Fethan had thought about it ever since speaking to Jonathan. If it wasn’t just luck that gave him an SSS-rank system, then what was the real reason?

  He used to think it was chance—until he found out his half-sister had a similarly freakish talent.

  “There’s no such thing as coincidence… That’s what Dad and Shiel always told me. If events align too neatly, even if it seems absurd—it’s not a coincidence.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But hey—if this ties into my own death, that’d be hilarious.”

  Luminus said it as a joke, but Fethan took it seriously. He’d lived for over twenty years, and his system never activated—until after she died.

  ‘Was it really just my power awakening? What if Lumi’s death… triggered it?’

  He could only wonder.

  He opened a portal back to his house.

  The clock said 7:00 AM.

  “Stella? You awake?”

  He called out to his half-sister.

  She usually woke early—6:30 sharp—already cleaning vegetables. But today, not even a shadow.

  He was about to head upstairs to knock on her door—until he saw the paper pinned to the wall.

  “The child is with me. Bring the book and map to the cemetery at midnight. Come alone. Tell no one—or the kid dies.”

  “....”

  Killing intent erupted in Fethan’s eyes.

  This was the third time… that a dark mage had touched someone he cared about.