Chapter 161: Took Your Time…

“All of them,” Akira cut in.

Ai paused. “All three? That’s nearly ten thousand points.”

“Valerius is an Incubus Lord,” Akira reasoned, his eyes tracking down the descriptions. “His primary sustenance is draining essence. Reversal turns his biggest advantage into a suicide button. If he tries to drain me during a grapple, I feed on him instead.”

“And the others?”

“From what Satomi said, Valerius is an old-school demon nobility. Every instinct he has is rooted in hierarchy and bloodline recognition. If Lilithia’s Whisper makes him feel the Queen’s authority the second I activate it, that’s not just a combat advantage… it’s psychological. It rattles him before either of us throws a single punch.”

“The warning on that one is real, though,” Ai said, unusually direct. “Extended use will accelerate the Fragment. You’re already carrying a piece of Lilithia inside your essence from the festival. Every time you call on the Whisper, you’re borrowing power from something that wants to wake up and take over.”

“So I use it sparingly.”

“That’s the correct answer. I just want you to know you’re making that choice with full information.”

“Buy it. And Dual Essence Threading. Using 2 different essence type at once would be something they won’t be ready for.”

“You’re building a hard counter,” Ai realized. “You aren’t planning to survive him. You’re planning to humiliate him.”

“Exactly. Buy them all.”

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Essence Drain Reversal — 2,000 PP]

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Lilithia’s Whisper (Lv.1) — 4,000 PP]

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Dual Essence Threading — 3,500 PP]

[CURRENT PP: 27,270]

Akira checked weapons next. He looked at Hunger’s Lash and the Voidfang Gauntlet side by side.

The Lash was creative… spiritual damage, no kill, overwhelming pleasure as incapacitation.

In the right scenario, against a human target, it was almost too good. But it was a situational tool. It didn’t augment what he already had.

The Gauntlet did.

“Dark Fist is my primary strike against supernatural targets,” Akira said. “The Gauntlet doesn’t replace it; it makes every hit land harder and stay longer. Sixty seconds of blocked regeneration means anything I hit can’t heal itself mid-fight.”

“And the void scar works on essence constructs,” Ai added. “Barriers, summoned shields, demon armor reinforced with mana… you can grab and crush all of it bare-handed. That’s not just a damage upgrade. That’s an anti-mage function.”

“Exactly. The Lash is useful. The Gauntlet is necessary.”

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Voidfang Gauntlet (Right Hand) — 3,200 PP]

[CURRENT PP: 24,070]

Social tier. He looked at all four and felt Ai watching him think.

Scent Branding was good and passive; he’d use it eventually. Pleasure Echo was clever for management but not urgent. Seduction Mastery would be devastating in the right hands and was a genuine quality-of-life upgrade across the board.

But.

“Obsession Anchor first,” he said. Quieter now.

“Who are you thinking about?”

He didn’t answer right away. “All of them are over eighty. Mia especially. But honestly… Ayaka too, after last night. And Rina isn’t far behind.”

He exhaled. “It’s not about locking them down. It’s about making sure that when things get dangerous — when Valerius starts moving against me through the people around me — there’s no crack he can exploit.”

“The Anchor doesn’t make them blindly loyal,” Ai said. “You know that, right? They’ll still have opinions. They’ll still push back. It just means no one can redirect their feelings by playing at being a better option.”

“That’s exactly what I want it for.”

“Then it’s the right call.”

“Add Scent Branding to the list too.”

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Obsession Anchor — 3,000 PP]

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Scent Branding — 1,800 PP]

[CURRENT PP: 19,270]

He pulled up the Architect’s Compass next.

“This one’s overdue.”

He looked at the description again: enemy count, environmental class, guardian rank, all readable from outside the Gate. “We’ve been walking into every single one of these blind. We nearly died at the Frosted Inn because we had no idea what Shirayuki’s power class was until we were already inside.”

“In your defense, you handled it.”

“Barely. And the Gates are only going to get harder as Valerius turns up the pressure. If he starts sending things through specifically designed to kill me, I need to be able to read the room before I walk into it.”

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: The Architect’s Compass — 1,500 PP]

[CURRENT PP: 17,770]

That left one.

He had been saving this for last, though he wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was sentimentality, or the fact that he knew this one was different: it wasn’t a skill, a weapon, or a tool. This was a person… or an entity at least.

“Guardian Manifestation: Shirayuki.”

“She’s been dormant inside your essence since the Frosted Inn,” Ai narrated. “She’s aware of everything. Every Gate you’ve cleared, every fight you’ve been in, every girl you’ve added to the harem. She’s watched all of it from the inside.”

“I know.”

“She’s going to have thoughts about that.”

“I know that too.”

“Still buying?”

Akira almost smiled. “She’s been trapped in there this whole time, watching me nearly die repeatedly, with no way to help. Yeah. I’m buying.”

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED: Guardian Manifestation: Shirayuki — 2,000 PP]

[REMAINING PP: 15,770]

—

A cold pressure spread through his entire body, making him pause a bit to get himself together.

Then, a different sensation hit entirely. This one was deeper, like something inside his chest stirred awake.

“Darling,” Ai said softly. “She’s ready.”

Akira stepped into a narrow gap between two buildings, away from foot traffic, and exhaled.

“Shirayuki. Come out.”

The air dropped ten degrees… not in a dramatic way though. A shimmer of pale blue light gathered in front of him slowly, and the light condensed into a shape until Shirayuki was in front of him.

She had silver-white hair, a very pale face that was nearly translucent, and she looked at him with eyes the color of frozen ocean water… sharp and completely awake.

She looked at him for exactly one second.

“You took your time,” Shirayuki said in a quiet but very clear voice. “I watched you nearly die at that festival from the inside, and you never once thought to call me.”

Akira opened his mouth.

“Don’t apologize,” she cut in. “I’m not asking for an apology. I’m establishing the record.” She folded her arms and let her gaze move across him once, cataloguing. “You look terrible, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“You also smell like two other succubi and someone’s green tea.” A pause. “So I assume last night was productive.”

“It was necessary.”

“Mm.” Her tone was flat, but her eyes weren’t. They were watching him with a particular intensity that he recognized by now… the thing Shirayuki did instead of showing warmth directly. “You’ve grown since our last encounter. Significantly.” She said it simply, without sarcasm.

“I know.”

“That’s why I trust you.” She let the cold air settle for a moment between them. “Are you summoning me for a purpose or just to see if this worked?”

“Both.” He met her eyes. “Valerius Ashford is moving. I may need you in the field soon.”

Something shifted in her expression… not fear, but a sharp focus. “I’ve heard that name from inside your essence pool,” she stated. “The Incubus Lord is older than he looks and smarter than he acts.”

“Then you’ll be useful.”

“I’m always useful,” she said in a perfectly even tone. “Don’t forget it.” She glanced up at the lightening sky. “I won’t maintain form much longer out here due to the low essence density. Dismiss me now, and summon me properly when you require the combat form.”

“Understood.”

She dissolved back into blue mist, the cold easing out of the air. She was gone, but not absent.

He could feel her presence settling back into the folds of his essence like something slotting into place.

“She missed you,” Ai observed.

“She’d never say that.”

“She said everything except that. It’s the same thing.”

He stepped back onto the main street and kept walking toward Rosewood.

—

The apartment was empty when he got there. He let himself in, grabbed a bag, and started pulling together clean clothes for Ayaka and Rina. He was halfway through when he heard a door open.

Mei-san stepped out of her apartment like she’d been listening for his footsteps. She looked him over once, the way she always did when she was deciding how much to say.

Then she crossed the distance and pulled him into a hug. Both arms, no preamble.

He hugged her back. “Sorry for worrying you.”

“Mia called me twice.” She pulled back and looked at him properly. “Was anyone hurt?”

“Everyone’s fine now.”

She studied his face, then let it go. “You should eat something. You look hollow.”

“I’ll grab something on the way.”

She gave him the look. “My place… now!”

In less than five minutes, Akira was in Mei-san’s kitchen, eating rice. As he did, she talked about something small and ordinary, and he let the normalcy of it all wash over him.

He was just standing to leave when a door at the far end of the hallway creaked.

Mia appeared in the doorway; her hair was messy, her eyes looked a little sleepy, and she was wearing an oversized shirt that kept slipping off one shoulder. She blinked at him.

Then her eyes sharpened.

“Akira.” It wasn’t a question, nor was it a greeting exactly.

“Morning, Mia.”

She crossed her arms slowly, leaning against the doorframe with a look on her face that was doing a lot of careful work to appear casual. “You were gone all night.”

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