Chapter 109: Caught Like a Rat
"What the hell is this?" Yuki muttered, walking back toward the door and pressing his palm against the icy metal.Did I just walk into a trap, or is this what the demons do down here?
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" a voice called out from the gloom—a voice nothing like the soft, melodious tone that had just beckoned him inside.
"I’m Yuki," he said, turning around to face the direction of the voice. "I was told I was supposed to meet you."
"Meet me?!" Rixsa replied, her tone dripping with annoyance.
"Why would you meet me? I don’t know who you are! Did the Black Cross send you here to kill me? Is that it?!"
"No, not at all," Yuki replied calmly, still unable to see who he was talking to since she remained hidden behind a heavy silk curtain."Then why exactly did they send you here?"
"Well, you see—"
"You’re not who you say you are. Come here," she demanded, her voice tinged with genuine anger.Yuki sighed, stepping across the chamber until he was standing directly in front of the grand bed.
A small figure stepped out into the emerald glow of the green lanterns. She stood barely under five feet tall, but her compact frame was wrapped in absurd, voluptuous curves—a true short-stack demoness.
Twin neon-green horns curved upward from her gradient silver and neon-green hair, and a spade-tipped tail flicked lazily behind her.Rixsa leaned against a heavy stone pillar, crossing her arms tightly under her chest to emphasize her stacked frame.
She flashed a sharp, toothy grin, her heterochromatic red and green eyes locked onto Yuki with pure, predatory amusement.
"So many months down in these ruins, and they finally send me a fresh one," Rixsa chuckled, taking a slow, swaying step toward him. "You look a little lost, little Inquisitor. Did those tin cans in the hallway tell you I was friendly?"So she knows I’m an Inquisitor?
Yuki thought, his jaw tightening. I guess that means the knights know too. I need to get out of here and find Elena.Yuki narrowed his eyes, assessing her threat level. "Lady Rixsa, I presume."
"In the flesh," she smirked, her spade tail curling greedily toward his ankles. "And lucky for you, I’m feeling merciful today. Surrender your energy peacefully, and I might just leave enough life force in you to walk out of here... eventually."Before the last word left her lips, Rixsa lunged. Her movement was a blur of green mana, her clawed hand sweeping directly for Yuki’s throat to pin him down and initiate a demonic energy drain.
Clang!
Rixsa’s eyes went wide.Instead of slamming him to the floor, her strike hit his chest as if she had just punched a solid block of enchanted granite.
The shockwave of her own attack bounced back through her arm, making her wrist throb painfully. Yuki hadn’t even flinched; his Rank 1 physical endurance held him completely root-solid.Yuki looked down at the 4’10" demoness clinging to his chest, his expression deadpan.
"Are we done, or do you want to try that again?"
Rixsa swallowed hard, her sharp, confident, toothy grin evaporating into sheer disbelief."Of course they send a freak like you here! Why wouldn’t they?!"
She scoffed, stepping back and rubbing her sore wrist. "Tsk! Every time I think I get an easy meal, they pull this shit! How are you so strong?! Wait..."She leaned in slightly, her small nose twitching. Sniff, sniff."...You... you’re a Player?!"
"That I am," Yuki said casually. "I’m guessing that means you’re also a Player?"
"Yes! Are you from this world originally?"
"No, I’m not."
"Tsk! No wonder you’re so strong! Those damn gods are always picking favorites! Giving you all branch abilities before Rank 1 is such bullshit! Everyone else has to reach Rank 1 inside here just to get one, unless they’re a mage or use their race’s innate powers!"
"Like the ability of the succubi to drain life energy from people?"
Yuki asked."Yes, like that!" Rixsa sighed in total frustration, throwing her hands up before slumping back down onto her bed. "I need to get out of here. I don’t know what the Black Cross is planning, but if you’re here, that means the other Inquisitors will be here soon too.""Very much so," Yuki responded."Well then, do your thing and get us out of here!"
"...Excuse me?"
"You know—use your abilities and get us out!"
"I don’t have a spatial branch ability active for this room, and my pocket dimension entrance cube won’t work," Yuki explained, shaking his head. "I’ve been trying to summon it ever since I stepped through that door."
"Then you’re telling me we’re STUCK?!" Rixsa shrieked, clutching her head. "For fuck’s sake, man! I am starving, and I miss the sunlight! This place sucks!"
"How do you not know how to get out?" Yuki asked, frowning.
"Aren’t you succubi supposed to control this floor?"
"I can use my accumulated lust energy to open the door, except if I do that right now, I’ll literally die from a lack of essence! They only send one sacrifice every two weeks, so I’ll run completely dry before I can even finish the channel! Plus, look at the absurd amount of energy we need to open this specific door!"
Yuki turned around to look back at the steel barrier and immediately saw the absurdity of the situation.
The energy requirement display was astronomical compared to the previous doors.
Looking down at his own status, he also realized that the temporary mark he had received from the sex cult was completely gone, he had been reclassified by the floor’s system as a raw sacrifice.
Suddenly, Yuki’s instincts flared.Without turning his head, he whipped his tail backward, snatching Rixsa by the wrist just as she tried to pounce on him again, slamming her short body hard onto the cold stone floor.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Yuki growled down at her.
"I’m trying to feed!" she gasped out, squirming under his grip. "I’m fucking starving! As a demon, you should understand that!"
"I’m not a demon."
"...Then what the hell are you?!"
"I’m a Pureblood Vampire."
"What the fuck is a Pureblood Vampire?!"
"Why are you so vulgar?"
Yuki sighed, looking down at her in disgust. "Can’t you say a single sentence without cursing?"
"Go fuck yourself, you bastard!" Rixsa snapped, pushing off the ground and clawing wildly at his face.Yuki countered effortlessly. He whipped his tail around her thighs, binding her legs together, while grabbing her throat with his right hand and pinning both of her wrists with his left.
Lifting her off the ground, he slowly tightened his grip on her throat, cutting off her airway. Rixsa gasped frantically for breath, her spade tail thrashing wildly as tears of desperation welled up in her heterochromatic eyes.