Chapter 96: Don't Be Gentle
Seo-jin didn't flinch. His emotions stayed level. No fear. No hesitation. Rotmark pulsed inside him, a faint vibration in his chest, steady and cold, reminding him his escape was a thought away.
He locked eyes with Lilid and saw the intent there...hunger, betrayal, wounded pride. He didn't look away. The answer had come to him clear and sharp.
Around them, the air was alive with chittering fangs. Lilid moved down from her web, her grin spreading, seeping green mist that curled across the ground like poison made flesh. The pressure in the clearing thickened until even the metallic leaves began to wilt and curl in on themselves.
He didn't run. Didn't speak. Instead, his forearms split open with a wet tear, skin peeling wide to birth the twin cleavers of Butcher's Wrath. The steel dripped with his blood as the blades slid from him, twitching like they wanted to feed.
Lilid went to speak, to taunt him—but froze.
All at once, her spawn recoiled. The air shifted.
Bloodlight poured from Seo-jin in thick, pulsing waves that bled through the clearing and refused to fade. The air warped around him, soaked in iron and heat. Muscles stood out in sharp cords beneath skin slick with scar and shadow. His long black hair hung in strands across his shoulders, the twin mouths embedded in his back splitting open to breathe in unison, grinning, snarling, and alive.
The cleavers in his hands burned red, veins of molten light running up his forearms where the flesh had split to birth them. Each movement sent rivulets of blood down his sides, hissing where they hit the ground.
The air trembled. The web vibrated. His killing intent didn't just fill the space, it crushed it. The spiderlings fell silent, suffocated by it, while the Queen's smirk faltered beneath the weight of something she felt was far older and hungrier than her own kind.
When he spoke, his voice was like knife being held against their throats.
"You play a dangerous game, queen of spiders. Did you really think I'd let this insult stand?"
The tone stopped her. For a breath, even her aura faltered.
He stepped closer, eyes glowing red, voice cutting through the dark like a razor through flesh.
"A price must be paid. Name it, or my blades will."
The silence hung sharp between them for a beat. Then Lilid laughed softly, voice trembling with something between amusement and fear.
"Every one of our children here. Would that be enough?"
He sneered outwardly, though inside, relief hit him like a lungful of air.
"This time."
She bowed her head, eyes closing.
"Forgive this one if we don't watch."
Her words cracked as she turned away. The sound of what followed filled the clearing...wet, heavy thuds, cleavers slicing through silk and flesh. The spawn didn't scream. They stood still, waiting, accepting.
Lilid's shoulders tensed, but she didn't cover her ears. Weakness wasn't an option.
Blood pooled through the web. The silence that followed was almost reverent.
Inside, Seo-jin was grinning.
'Whoo! That was intense! I fucking knew it. Bluff or not, I called it. Genius move, genius.'
[It was a fifty-fifty chance. You just didn't die this time.]
He ignored the jab, still riding the high. He'd gambled everything on a read—either she'd uncovered his deal with the dwarves, or she was testing him.
And he'd won.
He crushed the last spiderling's skull beneath his foot and nearly choked when he checked his UI.
[Level // 19]
[Exp // 12598/12665]
He'd been careless, half a thousand EXP gained, but another corpse or two and he'd have leveled up dead-center in Lilid's web. No bluff could have saved him from that. Demons shouldn't exude system light.
He wiped the sticky filth off the cleavers, drew the blades back into his torn forearms until the flesh sealed around them, and turned to the spider queen with a face like a slab of granite.
"Do not test me again. You will not like the results."
He stepped onto her web and halted a hair's breadth from her. Lilid lifted her head, eyes rimmed red, tears gleaming like bloody oil.
"Thank you for being quick. We swear—one will not doubt you again, Broodfather. It's just—"
Her palm found his chest. She leaned in; heat and the sweet scent of her slick skin pressed against him. Her other hand slipped lower, probing.
"You can forgive us, can't you?"
He didn't flinch. He leaned down, mouth grazing her ear to whisper.
"It's not time to eat. We have snakes to kill."
She faltered, then managed a ragged smile and backed off a little.
"Then you forgive us?"
"Yes. This once."
He released his aura and straightened.
"Now enough of this—have you drafted the contract?"
Lilid's lower lip pushed out in a petulant pout. Behind them, spiderlings dragged carcasses away in neat, squealing lines.
"We have. Simple is best. We will make a true contract—no outright deceit. Only… the ending will be written to favor us once our passage is secured. They won't notice the protections fall the moment we are free."
Seo-jin inclined his head, sounding patient and obvious as he agreed.
"Keep it plain. If you try to snake them with clever words, the dwarves will smell it. We shouldn't wait any longer then. Send one of your children to the spot where we lost contact; a band of dwarves will be waiting there for word."
She went still, eyes clouding for a moment as she linked with her spawn. When she came back, her grin was sharp enough to cut.
"Done. We will meet them on the northern shore, halfway between our territories, at sunrise."
Her fingers dragged slow across her skin, tracing down her ribs before her gaze drifted low, and that same wicked smile returned.
"The morning sun is still hours away. Plenty of time for a light snack. Wouldn't you agree?"
'Shit...'
[This is gonna be good. What cha gonna do, lover boy?]
'Fuck off.'
He tried. Really tried. But his brain refused to deliver an excuse that wouldn't make her suspicious.
'My first is gonna be with a spider. Perfect. Should've fucked Lynn before I left. Would've been better than this.'
His eyes flicked to the massive thorax behind her...wet, pulsing, still faintly twitching. And there it was. A glimmer of hope.
"A snack sounds perfect, but I don't think our bodies are exactly... compatible. Unless you—"
He stopped cold.
The human half of her shuddered, and the thorax behind her began to collapse in on itself. The husk shriveled, folding inward as if devoured from within. Rows of teeth stitched shut along her spine, sealing the mass beneath her skin.
"Now…"
She stepped forward, hands sliding up his chest. Her voice a whisper.
"Change your form. We want to suck on your tail while you hurt us."
Her lips hovered a breath away from his.
"Don't be gentle."
He felt heat crawl up his neck. Before he realized it, she had his pants halfway down. He forced the shift to start before his blush showed. Bones creaked, tendons split, horns pushing through his skull as his skin hardened and darkened.
A smirk formed despite himself.
'Well... might as well enjoy myself.'
Azakh-Tur rose into his full form, horns curved, tail swaying, bloodlight crawling beneath his skin. Every muscle tensed and rippled, veins pulsing with molten heat. Thanking his FLH stat, he focused, willing his body to obey, and his cock took shape.
Lilid's breath hitched, her eyes glassy as she stared, lost somewhere between awe and hunger.
When he finally looked down, her gaze followed...and widened.
He caught her by the hair, tightening his grip until her breath stilled, and pulled her close.
"Knees."
She trembled, half in fear, half in devotion, then obeyed.
And then he punished her for it.
----
Hours later, the night sky frayed at its edges, a thin line of gray cutting through the black. Seo-jin lay still beneath it, the cold air drying the sweat on his skin. Something inside him felt off—changed. From Wohan's memories, he knew humans had a saying for this kind of shift. Becoming a man.
He glanced at Lilid. Her pale body was painted with dark bruises, silk hair tangled across her face. For a moment, pride stirred low in his chest.
Looking down at himself, he almost laughed.
'Damn... if I'd known it would feel like that, I wouldn't have waited.'
[You're lucky she's a demon. A human would've died.]
He snorted. His whole body throbbed. Cuts ran down his arms and ribs, still steaming as they sealed under the steady burn of a fully stacked Demonic Will. A few of his nails were gone. His tail hung limp, split in two places. His health had taken a pounding, but it was worth it.
When he finally stood, his bones popped like gunfire. Flesh crawled and folded as he shifted back into his human form. The air hissed through his teeth as he stretched.
Lilid stirred beside him. Her voice came soft, hoarse from exhaustion.
"Why do you keep changing? You look better as a demon."
Cracking his neck, he didn't bother looking back. His tone stayed flat.
"Keeps enemies guessing. Besides… my human skin isn't so bad."
He stepped down from the web, bare feet pressing into the sticky silk. Each strand gave under his weight with a wet pull. His aura leaked without effort, faint red vapor rising off his back like steam.
Pulling on his discarded pants, he motioned to her chest.
"It's time for the meeting. You should cover up."
Lilid's sigh cut the air. She didn't argue. A soft clicking echoed from the dark as her children emerged—dozens of small, black shapes that climbed her body in silence. Thin threads spilled from their mouths, weaving a dress of silk that shimmered in the moonlight, nearly transparent.
She turned, her grin lazy.
"Satisfied?"
"Never."
Her laugh was quiet but sharp enough to carry. It followed him as he took the path north, the night bending around his steps. Her bare feet clapped faintly behind him, matching his rhythm.
'Everything's moving smooth. Soon… soon.'
Bloodlight rippled under his skin, his pulse heavy in his throat. Once the contract was sealed, the war would begin.
The spiders and dwarves against the Snake Tribe.
Against the bastards who hurt Grimm.
His fingers twitched, already remembering the feel of flesh giving way. Soon his fangs would taste their blood.