Strongest Incubus System

Damon leaned against the wall for a few seconds, catching his breath. The conversation had been brief, but maintaining control over his own core the entire time had demanded far more effort than any physical training. The challenge wasn’t just answering Seraphine’s questions; it was ignoring everything stirring within him while she spoke. With every carefully chosen word, it felt as though she were trying to locate the cracks in his mind. Fortunately, during that encounter, she hadn’t found any large enough to slip through.

Elizabeth approached slowly as the servants began moving through the hallway again, pretending nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. She watched Damon lean back against the wall and waited a few seconds before speaking.

"You did exactly what was needed."

Damon let out a soft, weary laugh.

"I survived."

"That, too."

"That, too?"

"But that wasn’t what mattered."

He looked up.

Elizabeth kept her voice low so that only the small group could hear her.

"You made Seraphine answer more than she asked. She walked into that room expecting to size you up. She left having to hide her own reactions."

Morgana crossed her arms as she stared at the closed door of the meeting hall.

"It was a small thing."

"It was enough," Elizabeth replied. "People like her thrive on controlling the pace of a conversation. Today, for a few seconds, Damon set that pace."

Damon remained silent.

It didn’t exactly feel like a victory.

In fact, it felt like just the beginning of something much bigger.

And he didn’t like that feeling.

Ester immediately sensed the direction of his thoughts. Before Damon could even open his mouth, she pointed toward the corridor leading to the bedrooms.

"It’s over now."

"Over for today."

"No."

She looked him straight in the eye.

"It’s over for you."

Damon sighed.

"You really aren’t going to let this go." "Not at all."

Aria appeared right behind them, carrying two small wooden boxes that had been retrieved from the belongings of Seraphine’s delegation. She set both of them down on a side table before speaking.

"The boxes remain completely sealed. Ingrivid stationed four knights at the door of the room where they were being kept."

Elizabeth nodded.

"No one gets in."

"No one has left, either."

Morgana stepped closer to the boxes without touching them.

"Have the rest of the belongings been checked?"

Aria nodded.

"Everything."

"And?"

"Nothing similar."

Damon frowned.

"That bothers me."

Elizabeth looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because Seraphine never bets everything on a single piece."

The group fell silent for a few seconds.

He continued.

"She knew there would be an inspection. She knew the objects might be confiscated. She knew there was a chance she’d lose that bell. Yet, she brought it anyway."

"And you believe that was part of the plan."

"No."

Damon slowly shook his head.

"I believe losing that bell was never an issue."

His words made Morgana glance back toward the meeting room door.

She knew that kind of reasoning all too well.

When a clever opponent accepted the loss of something...

It usually meant they were protecting something far more important.

...

A short while later, Damon finally agreed to return to his room.

"Agreed" was a relatively optimistic word for it.

In reality, Ester practically escorted him there while Aria walked close behind, clearly amused by the situation.

"You realize this looks like a kidnapping?"

"I do."

"And yet you keep doing it."

"Yes."

"Ester."

"Yes?"

"You’re terrifying."

"Thank you."

Aria laughed. "I think that was the most sincere compliment you’ve ever paid me."

Damon looked at her.

"You’re a huge help."

"I do what I can."

As soon as they entered the room, Ester immediately closed the door and quickly checked his pulse again. His temperature remained low but stable. The internal freezing hadn’t spread during their conversation.

That was a good sign.

Much better than she had expected.

She only let go of his arm once she had finished her assessment.

"Sit."

Damon obeyed.

Without arguing.

Which caught the two women’s attention.

Aria raised an eyebrow.

"He’s actually obeying."

"Strange."

"Mark the date."

Damon just shook his head.

"I’m too tired to argue."

"That is exactly the state I wanted."

A few minutes later, Elizabeth entered the room carrying several documents.

She closed the door behind her and spread the papers out on a small table.

"We need to organize what we know."

Morgana entered right after.

None of them seemed inclined to rest anytime soon.

Elizabeth separated three different sheets.

"Nera."

Another one.

"Seraphine."

Another one.

"The Heart."

She took a slow breath.

"So far, these three lines seem independent."

Damon looked at the documents.

"But they aren’t."

"Exactly."

Elizabeth pointed first to Nera’s name.

"She possesses information that Seraphine cannot allow to be revealed."

Then she pointed to the Heart.

"The ritual performed in the mines depended directly on that structure."

Finally, she pointed to Seraphine.

"And she knew exactly what she was looking for."

Morgana placed both hands on the table.

"The problem is, we still don’t know what."

Damon thought for a few seconds.

Then he spoke.

"I think I have some idea."

Everyone looked at him.

"She wasn’t just looking for energy."

Elizabeth made a small gesture for him to continue.

"The ritual in the mines was too massive."

"Yes."

"But it was also... specific."

Aria tilted her head.

"Specific how?"

Damon tried to organize his memories.

"The Heart reacted to me."

"It reacted."

"But it didn’t try to kill me."

Ester crossed her arms.

"That still bothers me." "Me too."

He slowly rested his hand on his chest.

"If that had been merely a massive source of uncontrolled energy, it would have destroyed everything indiscriminately."

Elizabeth nodded.

"But it responded."

"As if it were searching for something."

The room fell silent.

Morgana was the first to speak.

"And you believe Seraphine knows this."

"Yes."

"And you think that ’something’ is you."

Damon slowly shook his head.

"No."

Everyone frowned.

"It isn’t me."

He took a deep breath.

"It’s the root."

The words made Ester go completely still.

She had already considered that possibility.

But hearing Damon say it aloud was different.

Very different.

"Do you really believe that?"

"More and more."

He looked down at his hands.

"Ever since I woke up from the coma..."

His voice dropped lower.

"I’ve had the impression that she wasn’t trying to wake Damon up."

"Then?"

"She was trying to wake something else up."

Silence returned.

Heavier this time.

Elizabeth slowly closed one of the documents.

"That changes a lot."

"It changes everything."

Damon replied immediately.

"Because if Seraphine is looking for the root..."

"...she was never interested only in the mines."

Elizabeth finished the sentence.

Morgana took a slow breath.

"So Arven was just one step."

"Probably."

"And the ultimate goal?"

Damon shook his head.

"I have no idea."

...

The conversation continued for nearly an hour.

During that time, they organized practically everything they had discovered since the incident at the Arven estate.

The former Duchess was dead.

Havelock was imprisoned.

Much of the financial network had been dismantled.

The surviving children were under protection.

The duchy’s debts had been largely renegotiated.

The territory was slowly beginning to return to normal. But just when everyone believed they would finally catch their breath...

Seraphine had appeared.

Like someone stepping into the role left by the previous enemy.

Only far more prepared.

Far more intelligent.

Far more dangerous.

When the review was finished, Elizabeth slowly gathered the documents.

"We managed to resolve one crisis."

She looked directly at Damon.

"Now, another one begins."

He offered a humorless smile.

"I’m noticing a pattern."

Aria raised a hand.

"Can I ask a question?"

Everyone looked at her.

"Why did Seraphine come in person?"

Silence.

No one answered immediately.

Because that was precisely the question that troubled them most.

A woman in her position would normally send subordinates.

Representatives.

Messengers.

She would never personally set foot in potentially hostile territory.

Unless...

Damon spoke almost without realizing it.

"Because there was something only she could recognize."

Elizabeth slowly turned her gaze toward him.

"What?"

He answered honestly.

"I don’t know."

"And that’s what worries me the most."

...

Early in the evening, everyone finally left the room.

Except Damon.

And Ester.

She remained seated by the window, organizing some medicine bottles.

Damon watched for a few minutes.

Until he finally asked.

"Are you actually going to sleep tonight?"

She didn’t even look up.

"Maybe."

"That means no."

"Probably."

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he slowly stood up.

Still struggling a bit.

He walked over to her.

And gently took one of the bottles from her hands.

Ester finally raised her head.

"What are you doing?"

"Negotiating."

"No."

"You haven’t even heard the offer."

"I don’t need to."

Damon smiled.

"You sleep for four hours."

"No."

"Three."

"No."

"Two."

"No, either."

He crossed his arms. "One?"

She stared at him for a few seconds.

Then she answered.

"Two."

Damon smiled faintly.

"Deal."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You look too happy."

"I won."

"No."

She picked up the vial again.

"You earned two hours."

"That’s exactly what I said."

She slowly shook her head.

"You really learned how to negotiate from Morgana."

"She’s a good teacher."

"I disagree."

They both remained silent for a few seconds.

For the first time in a long while...

It was a peaceful silence.

No shouting.

No explosions.

No mines.

No battles.

No bloodshed.

Just an ordinary night.

Even though neither of them truly believed that tranquility would last long.

Because in another wing of the mansion...

Seraphine was still staying there.

And Damon was absolutely certain of one thing.

That afternoon’s conversation hadn’t been the real confrontation between them.

That had been merely the opening move.

They had sized each other up.

Measured one another.

Tested each other.

Now, both knew a little more about the other.

And precisely because of that...

The next encounter would be far more dangerous.