Chapter 716: Behave

"Knock, knock!" said Arthur as he tapped the wall. Lyle, Spider, and Rain were standing behind him as if he was performing a magic show. "Ahem, this man doesn"t seem to fancy knock-knock jokes."

"I can"t see any artifact," said Lyle with confusion. "Are you sure there is someone hidden in this wood tile?"

"Don"t be too hasty, as I promised I would give you this rat. However, it seems he has been attempting to contact, but the separate s.p.a.ce has been locking him."

"There is no way that you could just tell that while standing beside us," said Spider with doubt. Arthur shrugged and placed his palm on the tile, making runic lines appear on them.

"I can feel things more fundamentally than just mana distortion. For example, I can tell what each of you is feeling at the moment. Lyle is feeling hope, you are feeling doubt, and Rain is feeling… never mind. Anyway, stand back."

Arthur pulled his arm back as if tearing a poster off the wall, and the runic lines followed and spread over the room. Then, the blanket of runes spewed out a man who sprawled on the ground.

As soon as the smuggler appeared, he activated a communication device before he started shouting into it. "Your Imperial Majesty! The ship has been seized! The traitor is the woman named Rain, and the one who attacked us is…."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" shouted Spider before she threw her arm at him, making the man freeze without being able to move a muscle or talk. "Dammit, we should have prepared for such a possibility."

"I mentioned that he was trying to communicate before I took him out," Arthur said before crouching beside the man. "You did well, but unfortunately, this is useless. The runes never activated, and no one heard your message."

The smuggler looked at him with both fear and recognition. Arthur didn"t mind because he tapped the man"s head and sent him into a deep slumber.

"Well, now we are done here," Arthur said before rising. "Lock this man inside one of the cells since he"s a valuable resource for information. But, don"t worry, I have a way of making him speak."

"What will we do with the ship?" asked Rain. "How about we keep it? Arthur and I will clean it from any remaining trackers, and we can reuse it for other purposes."

"I understand," nodded Lyle as he picked the smuggler and turned toward Arthur. "Thank you for the help, Arthur Silvera. Let"s return to Helios before we plan anything further than this. Please follow us to make sure no one notices us."

***

Arthur was not helping them out of the goodness of his heart, although he didn"t mind lending a hand. However, Ilios was his enemy since the day he chose to trust the silver. In a sense, their enmity was inevitable since he was the outsider.

The Rebel Army returned to its ships and let Arthur control Goaty. Although it was attacked, it was far from being unable to fly. This ship was as st.u.r.dy as the Scholar"s Mansion, and Arthur had just as much control.

"Did they leave you here as my babysitter?" asked Arthur while standing on the ship"s figurehead, Goaty. He was addressing Rain, the only other person on this ship.

"I"m your guide, nothing more. So we have no reason to mistrust you," said Rain as she stood behind him. "Since I know special methods to find trackers, I decided to stay behind."

"I can think of more than one to disbelieve my ident.i.ty, though."

"You have exhibited more than one ability, just like Arthur Silvera. If any Arthur Silvera wannabe had so many abilities, the world would fall into chaos. Your strength is your ident.i.ty."

"I"m flattered," said Arthur as he pulled on empty air as if he was pulling a bowstring, and lights gathered on his fingertips. "Now, for autopiloting ship, we need to set a target for it to follow."

Light shot from his fingers after Arthur released the imaginary bowstring. It shot toward the giant ship that The Rebel Army boarded and stuck to it like glue. Then, Arthur jumped from the figurehead and landed in front of Rain.

"There is no more left for us to do than clean the ship from everything that can be a tracker," said Arthur. "Well, I think you have other things in mind. I refrained from mentioning your feelings on the ship, but…."

"It"s embarra.s.sing, but I have nothing to hide," said Rain with a seductive smile. "However, I have a reason for always feeling like this. l.u.s.t is my…."

"Ability," interrupted Arthur. "I found it weird that you made a move on a man you just met, but it makes sense after I thought about it for a while. Your l.u.s.t never decreased, but your self-control seemed to come in waves."

"When I awakened my ability, I slept with several men before coming to my senses. I was horrified because I had never touched a man before that. However, I then realized that I grew stronger after this episode."

"Just like a succubus, who feeds on men"s desires, you gain strength from bedding them," said Arthur as he leaned on the railing, giving his back to the morning sun. "This almost reminds me of something."

"What is that?" asked Rain as she folded her arms. Her eyes were clear, reflecting the light coming from behind him. Arthur stared into them for a long time before he shared his thoughts.

"The Fallen G.o.d, Amelio, came out from Avarice Dungeon. His greed made him kill millions, but it was never sated. Does that mean… that the other six dungeons of sins have corresponding calamities?"

"Are you accusing me of being a calamity?" asked Rain while laughing at the absurdity. "I"m a human, nothing else."

pa(nd)a novel "Amelio was a human too. It might have slipped from you, but that awakening story is not something a human would have. Physical traits, personalities, and memories might change with awakening, but never like your situation: a complete blackout from reality to satisfy a single desire, l.u.s.t. This is almost as if… this ability owns you, not the other way."

"I retained self-control even after being subjected to the pleasure you gave me," said Rain with a shrug. "It should sound absurd even in your ears, Arthur."

"It does, as I never thought a calamity would be someone like you," replied Arthur. "As for your point, it"s quite the opposite. I expected this to be a punishment since normal humans would be desperate for more pleasure. However, you have been fine, almost seeming more relaxed than before. I can only a.s.sume that I sated a desire that didn"t belong to you, but it"s slowly building up inside you."

"Are you always this sharp?" asked Rain with genuine surprise. "These are all, almost unnoticeable, clues. This is not a confirmation, of course. I"m just amazed."

"Regardless of your ident.i.ty, I want to know something. Does your ability have a limit of how many men you can use to strengthen yourself?"

"The only limit is the strength of the target and my ability to take their strength," said Rain with a smile as she walked toward him, pressing her body against his. "How about it? Are you interested in such a trade?"

"I said it before," replied Arthur without breaking eye contact. "The question is whether you can handle what I give you?"

"How about you try me?" asked Rain as she placed her hand on his chest. "We have this ship to ourselves, and we can do whatever we want. As long as you can imagine it, then it"s doable."

"Is this how you con men into giving you their manablood, or do you do it without their knowledge?" asked Arthur with interest as he grabbed her forearm.

"It depends on who I do it with since most of them are far from being n.o.ble. I would steal when I feel like a good person, but does that make me… a bad girl?"

"We would have to see," said Arthur before he twisted her forearm behind her back and pushed her over the railings. "Not even resistance?"

"Lucky for both of us, I like it rough," said Rain with a grin as she turned her head toward him. "Are you going to do it just like this?"

Her voice was filled with l.u.s.t, almost tempting Arthur, who thought he couldn"t be tempted. However, it was far from enough to make him give up his strength for momentary pleasure. Thus, Arthur grabbed both her arms and pushed them on the railings.

"Someone is eager," said Rain while heavily breathing as Arthur was right behind her, his hands pushing hers on the railings. "I thought you would walk away, Arthur Silvera."

"I am, but you are not," said Arthur as he let go of her. Rain was confused as she looked back and tried to move, but her hands didn"t budge. "I will keep your arms cuffed to the railings until you calm down. If you want to be released, then behave."