"A favor? But that's no reason to try and seduce me right off the bat. What do you take me for?" Raven said with disdain, though his eyes remained fixed on a certain spot.
"I am truly sorry, but I honestly didn't know what other value I could offer," Touka apologized, quickly lowering her head.
Having guarded her purity for years, she thought, Since I'm going to die anyway, why not use this as leverage to ask Raven for help? She was quite confident in her looks, believing no man could resist her.
"Tell me, what exactly do you want from me?" Raven had a rough idea, but he asked anyway.
"I want everything related to Amagi Kureshima to vanish from this world," Touka stated, every word laced with an intense, burning hatred.
"Oh?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like you really hate them. Tell me the reason," Raven said, gradually relaxing, no longer as easily distracted by the sight of the snowy-white body before him.
"I grew up in the Zawame City Children's Nursery... until we orphans were selected by Yggdrasill personnel."
Touka quickly began recounting everything related to Yggdrasill and the Kureshima family.
The orphans back then were selected and groomed as talent. Some became leaders and scientists, like Ryoma Sengoku. Others were reduced to human experimentation subjects. Touka, while outwardly a maid, was secretly trained as a spy and carried out many covert missions. She also witnessed her childhood companions die tragically due to Yggdrasill's human experiments. All of this was the work of Amagi Kureshima, the father of Takatora and Mitsuzane.
The seed of hatred had thus germinated and grown in her heart.
Recently, she had accidentally acquired the Forbidden Apple Lockseed and a Sengoku Driver. She used this power for revenge, but unexpectedly, before she could even reach Zawame City, her body had already been severely eroded by the power. Moreover, her primary target, Takatora Kureshima, was incredibly powerful.
"I think I understand your situation," Raven replied calmly. A thought of pity for her talent arose in his mind.
Touka was trained from childhood and possessed a wide range of skills, serving as both a maid and an agent. It would truly be a pity if she died just like this. His shop needed help, after all.
"Don't worry, I would have intervened even if you hadn't asked."
Raven wasn't lying. Not to mention the existing conflict with Takatora, the traitor Mitsuzane truly couldn't be left alive. He constantly betrayed those around him, ultimately aligning himself with the Over Lords of Helheim and betraying all of humanity.
However, Raven felt it necessary for the guy to expose his twisted personality first before eliminating him. As for Takatora, even if Raven didn't make a move, others would certainly try to kill him.
A flicker of pleasant surprise crossed Touka's eyes upon hearing Raven's answer. She immediately lunged from the water and tightly embraced Raven.
"Thank you."
She then blocked Raven's lips with her own.
Raven's hands were left awkwardly resting on her back.
Since the situation had already come to this, there was no reason to retreat.
Soon after, the sound of splashing water filled the bathroom.
Afterward, looking at the reddened bathtub, Raven felt a sense of novelty. For someone her age, it really was her first time.
"Raven-san... I..." Touka was resting in Raven's arms, just about to speak.
Her body instantly began to convulse in pain again.
"My time... is running... out," Touka said with great difficulty.
"Hold on," Raven said, considering what method to use to neutralize the erosion from Helheim's power.
The main reason he could use the Apple Lockseed without trouble was his incredibly strong body. But Touka was different; she was purely human.
Raven thought that the only way to save her now was to modify her body.
"I have a way to save you, but I don't know if you're willing," Raven told her.
While groaning, Touka managed to say, "I... I'm willing... to try."
She wasn't going to live for more than a few days anyway, so how much worse could it get?
"Here I come."
A glint flashed in Raven's eyes. He immediately bit down hard on her soft neck.
At that moment, lytic cells continually flowed through the wound and his teeth into Touka's body.
That's right, he was going to turn Touka into an Amazon. However, unlike his previous method of having them drink his blood directly, this was merely an infection via his teeth. Touka's human body couldn't withstand his blood; contact would cause her to lose all reason. Infecting her with a small amount of Amazon cells through his teeth, however, would have a less drastic impact.
As expected, Touka quickly stopped groaning.
Her body had already begun the process of transforming into an Amazon. However, this change was minimal, not even enough to achieve a Kaijin form. This was because the limited Amazon cells were partially canceled out by the power of Helheim.
The power of Helheim was eroding her body, while the Amazon cells were trying to save her by converting her. In the end, a subtle balance was struck within Touka's body.
"Hah... Hah..." Touka recovered from the sudden change. She realized she was no longer in pain. The spot on her neck where Raven had bitten her had already healed.
"What is happening to me right now..." she asked curiously.
"You're alright now," Raven told her. "At least for now, the power of Helheim can no longer erode you." Raven rose from the bathtub, intending to rinse off under the shower head nearby.
"Although I don't know exactly what happened, I truly don't know how to repay your great kindness." Touka also rose and stepped out of the bathtub, suddenly kneeling before Raven.
"Please allow me to serve at your side from now on."
Having been granted a new lease on life, her loyalty to Raven had grown even stronger from the bottom of her heart.
As she spoke, she raised her head and slightly opened her mouth.
Gulp.
Raven was momentarily stunned.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]