Incubus Ascension

The dim torchlight flickered across the worn wooden table in the inn’s back room, casting long shadows that danced like uneasy spirits. Liam’s heart hammered against his ribs as he leaned forward, his calloused fingers gripping the edge of the table. Sweat beaded on his brow—not from fear alone, but from the raw, gnawing frustration of watching everything slip away again. ’Not this time,’ he thought fiercely. ’I’ve lost too much already.’

The princess sat across from him, her elegant features drawn tight with exhaustion, her once-vibrant eyes shadowed by sleepless nights. She wasn’t some distant royal anymore; in the short time they’d shared, Liam had seen the woman beneath the title—the one who laughed at his clumsy jokes, who fought with a fire that matched his own desperate need to protect what little he had left.

"Were they guarding the tomb entrance?" Liam asked, his voice low and steady, though tension coiled in his muscles like a spring ready to snap.

She nodded, glancing toward the door as if expecting Scorpion thugs to burst in at any moment. "They assigned two guards from the Scorpions to keep checking the tomb gate. They’ve been doing it for the past week. That was the reason I couldn’t get through either." Her voice cracked slightly on the last words, a flicker of vulnerability that hit Liam like a punch to the gut. He knew that feeling all too well—the helplessness of being blocked at every turn when the people you cared about were counting on you.

Liam’s jaw tightened. He could see the weight she carried, the same kind of burden that had driven him forward through every regression and every failure. "How about we get rid of the leader for you?"

Her eyes widened, a spark of hope igniting in them. She nodded quickly, almost jumping in her seat. "I would be happy if it means getting my money drained staying in this inn no longer."

A grim smile tugged at Liam’s lips. Action. Finally. "Is this leader staying in the temple headquarters?"

She confirmed with another nod, her posture straightening with renewed purpose. "His name is Vince. He’s the new leader of the Scorpions."

Without another word, they moved. Liam felt the familiar surge of adrenaline as they rushed through the shadowed streets toward the temple, the cool night air whipping past them. His mind raced with fragments of his past life—losses that still haunted him—but he shoved them down. This was for her. For them. For breaking the cycle.

They burst into the temple headquarters like a storm. Vince sat behind a heavy desk, poring over papers under lantern light. He barely had time to look up before Liam and the princess leaped forward. Liam’s blade struck true in one devastating blow, ending the man before he could even draw a weapon. The body slumped with a thud.

But something felt off. Liam’s instincts screamed at him as he stared at the corpse. The way Vince had moved, jerky and unnatural, like a puppet on strings. ’Not human. Not fully.’

He knelt, heart pounding, and grabbed the body, flipping it to check the back of the neck. His pulse thundered in his ears at the sight of the eye symbol etched there. "Damn it," Liam cursed under his breath. ’Didn’t I get rid of the eyes?’ But then the memory hit—the system’s cold message that he had only *escaped* them. They hadn’t vanished.

He inspected further, fingers tracing faint lines along the corpse. Thin, ethereal strings extended from the body, pulsing with dark energy. It matched the true demon’s signature perfectly. Liam tilted his head, suspicion sharpening into cold clarity. ’Were these two working together? Why assign Vince as the Scorpion leader now? Taking Ri’s house, blocking the gate—right when I needed to enter. This doesn’t add up.’

No time to dwell. They pressed on to Ri’s gate. The two Scorpion guards stood vigilant, but Liam dispatched them swiftly, his movements fueled by rising urgency. He stepped through the gate slowly, every sense on high alert. "Princess, take care and be alert for hidden traps," he warned, his voice a low rumble.

As he advanced, the ground gave way beneath his foot—a pit yawning open with deadly spikes glinting below. Before he could react, the princess yanked him back with surprising strength. Liam tumbled onto her, their faces inches apart. For a heartbeat, their lips met in an accidental kiss. Her eyes widened in surprise, but then she seized the moment, pushing her tongue inside his mouth with bold hunger.

Liam’s eyes widened at the fiery princess. ’This woman...’ Heat flared through him despite the danger.

An arrow whistled toward them. Instinct took over—Liam shoved her aside, rolling them both out of harm’s way. He scooped her up in his arms and ran, her body pressed close against his. New traps activated around them, mechanisms whirring to life in the ancient stone. ’How are these still working after all this time?’

He sprinted toward the main gate, carrying her effortlessly. During the frantic run, she used every chance to steal more kisses—nipping at his neck, pulling his face down. Seeing such a beautiful, fierce woman so eager, Liam couldn’t resist. He returned the passion in heated exchanges, their breaths mingling amid the chaos. But he kept it from going further. "Once we finish the necklace problem," he murmured between strides, "we’ll go back to the inn together."

She smiled against his lips. "It would be my first time." Liam nodded, his chest tightening with a mix of desire and fierce protectiveness. That promise would have to wait—until the curse was broken.

They reached the gate. Liam set her down gently. "Fill the gate with your blood again to open it."

She did, slicing her palm with a quick motion. The ancient mechanism groaned to life, the gate swinging open with a rumble that echoed like thunder in Liam’s bones.

Inside, the same five skeletons from before stirred at their entrance, bones rattling as they rose. Liam recognized them immediately. He inspected them, and the system overlay shifted:

**Skeleton of Trickery**

**Level: 700**

"Was this because I got stronger?" Liam muttered, noting how their colors had deepened to a more ominous hue. Even their presence felt heavier now.

He leaped at one, sword flashing, but found it far harder than expected. His high level helped, yet each clash sent shocks up his arms. Checking their stats revealed the truth—they weren’t simple foes. Their numbers were inflated, unnaturally high for the level. And they moved in eerie sync, like puppets linked by invisible threads.

Liam channeled dark energy into his eyes, piercing the veil. There—dark threads connected them, one leading back to the princess, others snaking out of the chamber, about fifteen in total.

"Why did you give such a necklace to the princess?" Liam demanded, circling the group.

The leading black skeleton burst into laughter, a hollow, echoing sound. "The necklace? Of course, you mean the brat I gave it to."

The princess shouted back, "No! What about the golden-haired lady?"

The skeleton shifted form fluidly, transforming into the golden-haired woman with an eerily feminine voice. "This is the form I use to trick people into taking the items."

Liam’s grip tightened on his weapon. "Why trick only the hero bloodline?"

"We needed conditions to appear more legitimate," the skeleton hissed. "The hero bloodline was the only one strong enough for us to keep draining while making all the tomb business seem true."

Rage boiled in Liam’s veins. He lunged at the leading skeleton, ignoring the others closing in. The clash was intense, blades and bones shattering stone around them. The force drove the lesser skeletons and even the princess momentarily out of the royal chamber to fight beyond. Liam landed a devastating blow—the skull exploded in a spray of fragments.

But before he could press the advantage, the pieces fused back together. The skeleton laughed maniacally. "You see the eye’s blessing on me? It made me so much stronger. Once I finish her task, I will finally get a flesh body!"

The hysterical laughter grated on Liam’s nerves. A new system notification flashed before his eyes:

**Quest: Stop the Skeletons from Indulging Themselves**

**Failure: Hydra City will be killed.**

Liam’s eyes widened, the weight of the words sinking in like lead. These weren’t heroic guardians—they were tricksters, sealed within, using the tomb’s legend to lure victims and boost their own power. ’They’re draining everyone...’

He glanced toward the chamber entrance, hoping fiercely that the princess was holding her own against the other four. ’She has to be alright. We started this together—we’ll end it together.’ The fight was far from over, but for the first time in ages, Liam felt the fire of true purpose burning bright. No more running from the past. Only forward.