Chapter 60: Natasha!

Jax did not move for several minutes after waking, instead just leaning back there and thinking about what happened while the world resettled around him.

Serika’s breathing was slow and even against his chest, her warmth familiar, grounding. The room was still very quiet and relaxed, yet Jax’s mind was anything but those two.

Kayle’s smile lingered like a blade left resting on the throat.

’I claim.

Jax exhaled slowly through his nose.

Gods, sisters, rivalries older than the modern world itself… and him, caught squarely in the middle like a living chess piece everyone suddenly wanted to move.

“…Troublesome,” he muttered again, softer this time.

He carefully shifted Serika, easing her back onto the pillows. She murmured once, tail flicking faintly, but did not wake. Jax rose, bare feet touching the cold obsidian floor, shadows instinctively wrapping around him like a cloak.

He dressed without summoning armor. Looking in the mirror as he decided to accept the rewards he earned from having Sex with Hydra.

[ Host had Sex with Hydra – Rewarded 2 Lottery Tickets ]

[ Host has creampied Hydra – Rewarded 1 Lottery Ticket ]

[ Host currently has 3 Lottery Tickets – Do you want to draw? ]

[ YES ][ NO ]

Jax immediately clicked yes.

[ Thank You for your Patronage. ]

[ Host has acquired Ring of Aphrodite – Rings blessed by a Goddess of Love. There is 1 Main Ring ( Host’s ) and endless subordinate rings to give to the Host’s lovers, which allows him to always sense their health and share power. ]

[ Thank You for your Patronage. ]

Jax immediately summoned the primary ring, which was a stunning sapphire ring that perfectly fit around his fingers. He didn’t feel any change in his powers, but he now could sense the endless subordinate rings he could give to his lovers.

Putting that in the back of his mind, he walked down the halls of the Cathedral.

Guards who saw him immediately bowed, but he waved them away, not wanting any assistance from them as he headed to the dungeon far below the ground, where light was optional and hope went to die.

“Natasha’s been screaming again.” Jax muttered as he heard her raw, hoarse voice before he reached the final corridor.

“I’LL RIP YOUR HEART OUT. YOU HEAR ME. DEMON FILTH—”

Chains rattled violently, metal screaming against runes as she thrashed. The cell was layered, physical restraints, magical suppression, conceptual dampeners keyed to divine signatures.

Overkill, on purpose just to toy with her.

Jax stopped just outside the cell door and he listened.

“…YOU THINK YOU’VE WON?” Natasha shrieked, “YOU THINK YOUR LITTLE KINGDOM WILL LAST? SHE’S COMING. THE LIGHT WILL BURN YOU ALL.”

Jax opened the door. Natasha lunged the instant she saw him, chains snapping taut, silver-blessed metal biting into her wrists and ankles. Her hair was wild, eyes bloodshot, face twisted into something feral.

“You,” she spat. “You disgusting, heretical thing. I can’t believe someone from Earth is such a pathetic loser like you,”

Jax stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The sound echoed like a verdict. He did not speak at first. He walked to the center of the cell, boots stopping just beyond the reach of her chains, and looked at her.

Really looked.

A noticeable amount of time had passed since Natasha had been captured. Her aura, once blazing with sanctified certainty, flickered like a torch running out of oil.

Natasha noticed his silence and it definitely unsettled her.

“What is it you fucking creep?” she snarled, “No clever speech? No threats? Going to kill me already?”

Jax tilted his head slightly.

“No,” he said calmly. “I decided that would be a waste.”

Her lips curled, “Afraid? Killian will eventually kick your ass you bastard,”

He smiled.

“No,” he replied, “I think it’s time I put you in your place, that’s all,”

That landed harder than any slap.

Natasha recoiled as if struck, eyes flashing with rage, “You’ll die screaming. You and your whores and your false gods, ”

Jax raised one finger and the dungeon quieted, her voice cut off mid-word, throat locking as if the concept of sound had been revoked. Natasha clawed at her neck in panic, eyes wide.

Jax stepped closer.

“I don’t need you quiet,” he said evenly. “I need you listening.”

He lowered his hand. Her voice returned in a ragged gasp.

“You think you’re strong because you scream,” Jax continued. “Because you insult. Because you cling to hatred like it’s armor.”

He met her eyes.

“But hatred is what people reach for when certainty starts to crack.”

Natasha bared her teeth, “Lies.”

Jax nodded. “Good. Hold onto that word.”

He gestured casually.

The wall behind her shifted.

Images bloomed in the air like reflections on black glass. Burning villages. Civilians cut down by Heroes bearing radiant sigils. Children screaming as sanctified fire consumed stone and flesh alike.

Natasha froze.

“What… what is this?” she whispered.

“Your work,” Jax said gently. “Or at least, the work of the people you believed in.”

She shook her head violently. “No. No, those were necessary purges, collateral, ”

“Executed without mercy,” Jax finished. “On Kayle’s orders.”

Her breathing quickened.

“You don’t get to judge us,” she hissed. “Demons don’t understand sacrifice. The Demons are cruel evil entities spawned to destroy the world. We need to purge them, they’ll eventually devour you too the more you work with them,”

Jax leaned in, close enough that she could feel the pressure of his presence, the sheer gravity of him.

“Oh,” he said softly. “I understand it perfectly.”

The images shifted again, this time Jax showed her illusions meant to crush her spirit.

Heroes kneeling and praying. Being discarded. Burned out. Consumed by their own blessings when they outlived their usefulness.

Natasha’s eyes trembled, “She wouldn’t,” she said weakly. “The Goddess is just, ”

“A strategist,” Jax said. “An inevitable force. Sound familiar?”

Her silence said all Jax needed to know.

“You came here believing you were chosen,” he continued. “Special. Protected. That if you died, it would mean something.”

He smiled faintly.

“Tell me, Natasha, do you think she’s even noticed you’re gone?”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. That was the crack and Jax pressed it.

“She summoned multiple Heroes at once,” he said calmly. “You were one of many. A number. A resource that is expendable,”

He stepped back, giving her space to feel it.

“I, on the other hand,” he continued, “was summoned once.”

Natasha’s head lowered.

“No…” she whispered.

Jax crouched to her level.

“You call me evil,” he said. “But I know exactly what I am. I don’t pretend my hands are clean.”

His eyes burned gold.

“Can you say the same?”

Her shoulders began to shake as she heard that, denial setting in.

Jax stood, “I’m not going to torture you, at least in the way you think” he said.

“Then just kill me, let me die here,” Natasha roared, “Or else when Killian catches you, you’ll wish you died. I promise, he’s out there, finding a way to crush you beneath his feet,”

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, overwhelmed by her and despair. However, Jax didn’t get fooled by her words. It was less about wanting to die and more about feeling utterly hopeless.

“Well, that’s not my concern. Killian won’t accomplish shit, trust me,” Jax said, grabbing Natasha by the throat.

“From now on, just be obedient and I won’t treat you too bad, I’m sure you understand what I mean,”

Natasha looked at him with trembling eyes, resignation appearing on her face as she understood what was about to happen.

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