Chapter 372: The Beginning Of The End [XXXIV]

Almost instantly, Aestrea felt a chill run up his spine.

‘…This…’

‘Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu?!’

He didn’t get frightened because of her voice, which suddenly turned colder, but because of the way she looked at him.

It was a look filled with killing intent that wasn’t locked onto him, but filtered, as if being saved for when Lunara met “that” person.

But the look she was giving him… actually him, was like a goddess of judgement who had already read his sins.

“Is. Your. Friend. A. Woman?” she asked again; however, this time it was in a much slower way, uttering word by word.

To make sure that he had heard her.

Aestrea could already feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and so, he took a deep breath before exhaling deeply.

He was going to be sincere…!

Sincere enough to survive, at least.

But before that… he needed to actually test something about Lunara.

‘Sorry, James… but I’ll continue borrowing your dumb personality for a while… since it’s probably the most close to melting icebergs…’

“Well,” he began carefully, “no. Definitely not. Not even a little.”

“No?” Lunara’s eyes narrowed slighly.

“No,” he repeated firmly.

“My friend is… really manly. Incredibly manly. The type of guy who could wrestle a divine bear even if he were a normal mortal. Or a mountain… actually, probably both at once!”

“A mountain?”

Lunara’s eyebrow twitched at how obvious he was lying.

“Yes. A muscular mountain. With a beard. A thick one. Very impressive,” he nodded frenetically.

She stared at him in complete silence.

Aestrea felt sweat gathering at the back of his neck, but he pushed onward, smiling too wide to be natural.

“You should see him. The beard alone proves he’s a man. A very masculine man.”

“Aestrea… you’re clearly lying,” Lunara muttered with a deadpanned expression, causing him to flinch slighly.

He froze at her words.

“What? No. I would never!”

“You are.”

“No.”

“You are.”

“No!!!”

But then Lunara stepped closer, making their faces only inches apart, then she lifted her hand and gently traced his cheek, making him feel her cool skin.

“If you keep lying… it’ll be bad,” she whispered.

Aestrea tried to lean back, but there was nowhere to go.

“Well… maybe I exaggerated about the beard,” he admitted quickly.

“So it is a woman?”

“No! It’s… not. I mean… uh, she’s not a woman woman. She’s… uh… my friend? A friend who happens to have… some… feminine qualities…!”

Lunara’s hand moved from his cheek to his chin, tilting his face upward.

“Does your friend have breasts?” she asked calmly.

“LUNARA!” Aestrea choked.

“What? Answer.”

“I… Listen, it’s not, ah… she’s not… this isn’t!”

He tried stepping back again, but Lunara followed automatically, her gaze never leaving him. Every step he took backward was matched by her stepping forward.

“You’re avoiding the question,” she stated, her voice gradually turned much flatter than before as the pressure from her eyes didn’t diminish a little.

“I’m not avoiding it! I’m strategically approaching the truth.”

“That means avoiding.”

“No, it doesn’t!”

“It does.”

“Lunara, I’m very serious abou—”

He tried to finish his words, but before he could do that or retreat even further, his back suddenly met cool stone.

“Fuck…” he stiffened.

Lunara had cornered him against the wall of the divine hotel. Her lips curled up coldly as she leaned in slightly, her hair brushing his cheek, her breath warm on his skin.

Her eyes were unreadable as ever, except for that never leaving killing intent.

“Aestrea~” she called out to him in a strangely intoxicating tone.

Rustle~

Her index finger slowly traced the back of his neck.

“Look at me…”

“Gulp…!”

He swallowed and stupidly obeyed. She lifted her other hand and placed it on the wall beside his head, boxing him in completely.

“Tell me the truth,” she whispered.

“Who is this friend of yours?”

Aestrea opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He had a panicked face as if his brain was scrambling for excuses.

And at the same time, he was deeply analyzing Lunara’s character.

‘…Ugh, my luck with women really is… rare, to say the least. If the Lunara from my memories came back… she’d probably try to kill herself on the spot just because she kissed me,’ he sighed inwardly.

‘But well… I should only worry about meeting Luna for now. Although she isn’t the possessive type… Lunara… is still her sister, and that can cause a few problems for her, I think.’

Honestly, he was feeling quite bad about the fact that Lunara had fallen for him.

After all, Luna was preparing herself for the incoming wars to help him against Chronos and the other Upper Gods… and here he was, on a date with her sister.

‘…Well, there’s no use thinking about that. As always…’

He smiled inwardly.

‘Fuck my future self!’

With that, his lips parted slighly.

“Well… she’s…”

“So it is a she,” Lunara cut in immediately.

Aestrea winced dramatically.

“Technically she is, but not in the way you think! I mean, she’s not someone I…”

“Do you like her?”

“No!”

“Does she like you?”

“I-I have no idea!”

“Aestrea.”

“I REALLY DON’T!”

‘I’m fucking sure she’s obsessed with me,’ he added inwardly.

Lunara’s eyes narrowed further, and her fingers brushed against his jaw, tracing it softly… almost too softly.

Thump!

Aestrea’s heart thumped hard enough to shake his ribs.

“Lunara, just listen to m—”

“—no.”

Her eyes narrowed coldly to the point of her aura leaking out of her body, causing Aestrea to blink in surprise.

Then, before he could react, she leaned in suddenly and pressed her lips against his.

“Mhm!♡”

Of course, it wasn’t the normal kisses that they gave each other before, but one filled with possessiveness and frustration and an unmistakable warning.

Aestrea’s breath caught, his hands instinctively gripping her shoulders as her lips deepened the kiss, tasting his mouth with sharp intensity, as if she was trying to pull the truth out of him with her tongue alone.

“Chu~rup, mwah♡! Slick~”

Her teeth practically scraped his lips forcefully, as she used her hand to press the back of his head more into her.

Her entire body pressed lightly against his, firm enough to cage him, soft enough to make him feel her assets, clearly declaring one truth:

He belonged to her.

“Pwa~”

When Lunara finally pulled back, a thin string of breath lingered between them.

Her lips hovered a mere breath away from his, eyes half-lidded and glazed with satisfaction, possessiveness, and a heat that bordered on dangerous.

“Sweetheart…” she called him by his pet name, looking intensely into his eyes.

“Now tell me. Who. Is. The girl?”

He stood still for a moment.

‘…Confirmed. She’s the same type as Christina, but not exactly on her level. Now, I know how to act towards her.’

And then, before she could lean in again, Aestrea’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

The change was quite noticeable, as the visible panic in his eyes vanished, the awkwardness on his face evaporated, and his whole demeanor had turned much calmer.

Then, without warning, he gently pulled Lunara into his embrace.

“Ahh?”

His hand instantly slid down to her curvy waist, his fingers sliding down her back as his other palm cupped the back of her head.

Their eyes met for a brief moment before Lunara suddenly felt herself being pulled towards him.

“Mwah~♡!”

Aestrea leaned in and gently kissed her pale red lips.

Lunara’s eyes widened, then fluttered shut as her knees nearly gave out. This kiss wasn’t the flustered, cornered Aestrea she had been toying with a moment ago.

“Slurp…! Chu♡ , churup, ~nguruh! Mnn~!”

His lips claimed hers with a heat that made her divine power ripple uncontrollably, her fingers curling tightly in the fabric of his clothes.

Her breath hitched, her body melting before she could even react.

“Aha~… huff…!”

“Haah…”

When they finally pulled apart, a faint trail of saliva lingered between their lips.

Lunara staggered back half a step, completely flushed, her heartbeat thundering like a divine drum.

Her eyes darted over Aestrea’s face, and confusion washed over her.

He looked… calm, and had a steady, gentle smile tugging at his lips.

As if nothing had happened… as if he hadn’t just kissed her senseless.

“…Aestrea?” she breathed out, still dazed by his sudden hot kiss.

He reached up and gently brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger against her skin.

Then he cupped her cheeks softly, the warmth of his palms grounding her even more.

“Don’t worry about it, love,” he said quietly.

Her breath caught again.

Then he leaned forward and pecked her lips playfully, before his mouth brushed her cheek.

And then he gently bit her.

“Chomp~”

Just a small nip, barely more than pressure, but Lunara’s entire body jolted. Her mind blanked completely.

Before she could even process what had happened, a divine breeze rippled the air, and Aestrea had already vanished from her sight.

He was gone, leaving only the sound of the wind.

She stood frozen for nearly ten full seconds, her mind still trying to reboot.

Slowly, unconsciously, her hand lifted to the cheek he had bitten. Her fingertips hovered over the spot, trembling slightly.

“That bastard…” she whispered under her breath.

Her cheeks reddened even more.

“Was he faking that childish personality just to calm me down…?”

She swallowed, her heartbeat refusing to slow down.

“…Just to cheer me up…?”

Her hand pressed harder to her cheek, and despite herself, a tiny smile threatened to curl her lips.

“That man… is going to drive me insane,” she whispered, feeling her face burning.

But her eyes softened with unmistakable affection.

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