Chapter 126: Cannot be controlled

"Women like you always need to be taught a lesson."

Zeka slowly raised the black pen in his hand. The red point of light at its tip immediately brightened, and the ancient symbols along its body appeared one after another.

"Kneel."

His voice was not loud, but the six Succubi standing around the magic chair nearly trembled at the same time. One lowered her head, while the woman to Zeka’s left went so weak in the legs that she had to brace herself against the chair to remain standing.

Velyss remained where she was.

She looked at Zeka, then lowered her head to look at her legs as though checking whether anything had changed. Several seconds passed before Velyss looked back up.

"Are you done?"

Zeka’s gaze immediately turned cold.

He looked at the pen in his hand. The device was still functioning, because the reactions of the surrounding Succubi could not be faked. Zeka sent more mana into it, and the red point at the tip became brighter.

The nearest Succubus gave a soft groan of pain.

Velyss still did not react.

She glanced at the woman, then looked back at Zeka.

"Are you trying to control me, or torture them?"

Zeka’s long nails slowly tightened around the armrest.

"It seems you are somewhat special."

Velyss raised one hand to cover her nose, her voice remaining even.

"And you still smell very unpleasant."

The hallway became so quiet that several nearby Succubi barely dared to breathe too loudly.

Zeka watched her for several more seconds, then lightly waved his hand.

"Capture her."

The six Succubi around the chair moved immediately.

Two rushed forward, while another woman took half a step back and fired out a barrage of mana threads. Velyss tilted her body aside to evade the first blade, twisted her wrist to lock the opponent’s arm, then used the woman’s own body to block the second attacker’s strike.

Velyss did not counterattack at any vital points. She merely knocked away weapons, locked joints, and pushed each person aside.

But Zeka did not lack people.

The two doors along the hallway quickly opened. More Succubi appeared, some holding swords, some using magic, all looking at Velyss with obvious tension.

Velyss evaded a wind blade and glanced at Zeka.

"Do you only know how to hide behind Succubi?"

Zeka replied indifferently:

"That is your place."

A woman closed in from behind. Velyss turned and struck her wrist with the hilt of her dagger. The sword dropped to the ground, but immediately afterward, two mana threads had wrapped around Velyss’s arm.

She jerked hard.

The caster was pulled toward her.

Velyss could have directly used her as a shield, but when she saw the fear in the other woman’s eyes, her movement changed slightly. She only pushed the woman aside, then cut the bindings apart.

"I do not want to kill you."

The Succubus bit her lip, her hands still continuing to form seals.

"I have no choice."

Velyss frowned faintly.

She looked at the number of people continuing to grow, then glanced at the metal door at the end of the hallway. The place she needed to reach was only several meters away, but if this continued, these Succubi would only be forced to rush at her in greater numbers.

"What a bother."

Velyss extended a hand.

A white-gray book appeared beside her, its cover completely blank and without words. The pages inside flipped rapidly on their own. In the end, a blank sheet separated from the rest and fell between Velyss’s fingers.

She flicked it lightly.

The sheet immediately folded itself.

Only a few seconds later, a small paper figure the size of a palm had formed. It fell onto the stone floor, its body rapidly expanding before turning into a white humanoid nearly two meters tall.

Zeka frowned.

Velyss drew out several more pages.

Dozens of small figures flew out one after another, falling into the hallway and growing larger. They had no faces and carried no weapons, but the moment they appeared, they all rushed at the Succubi in front of them.

One paper figure was cut in half.

The two halves of its body immediately turned into long strips of paper, wrapping around the sword and the wrist of the person who had struck it.

Another figure hugged the legs of a female mage and forced her to the ground. The rest crowded the hallway, constantly blocking paths and breaking apart the formation.

Zeka looked at the book beside Velyss, then at the completely useless black pen in his hand.

Two details quickly came together.

"Crescent Moon."

Velyss, who had been advancing toward the door at the end of the hallway, suddenly stopped.

Zeka looked at her.

"You are one of Crescent Moon’s people."

Velyss turned around, her pinkish-purple eyes curving slightly.

"You only realized that now?"

Several Succubi nearby immediately changed expression. That reaction alone was enough to show that the name was far from unfamiliar.

Zeka lowered his eyes to the pen.

"Rahapt protects you?"

Velyss did not answer directly. She merely glanced at the object in his hand and said:

"At least your toy cannot control me."

Zeka’s gaze turned even colder.

Velyss did not want to linger any longer. Just as she turned back toward the metal door, a very faint sound suddenly came from deep behind it.

Clink...

Like metal chains being dragged across a stone floor.

Her movement paused.

The sound only appeared once, and then everything returned to silence.

But that was enough.

The information she had received was not wrong.

Something truly was being imprisoned below.

Zeka also noticed the subtle change in her eyes.

"You came for Winter."

This time, Velyss did not answer.

Zeka immediately ordered:

"Take her alive."

Other doors in the hallway opened at the same time. A wave of Succubus auras appeared, making Velyss realize she no longer had enough time to continue.

She looked at the door ahead one more time, then let out a quiet breath.

"Next time, then."

Velyss placed her hand on the book.

Fine white lines immediately appeared across her wrist, rapidly spreading up her arm, over her shoulder, and then throughout her entire body.

A Succubus rushed forward.

Her hand passed straight through Velyss’s shoulder.

Swish!

Velyss’s body instantly broke apart into hundreds of pages.

The pages filled the hallway, slipping through gaps in the doors and brushing past the Succubi standing around them. Zeka brushed one sheet from his face, but there was nothing on it at all.

Velyss’s voice slowly rang out amid the rustling of paper.

"I will return."

Immediately afterward, all the pages began to burn into specks of white light before vanishing.

No one could pursue her.

Zeka sat still.

His gaze remained fixed on where Velyss had just stood, but several seconds later, he looked down at the pen in his hand.

A Succubus beside him spoke softly:

"My lord..."

Zeka pressed down.

The woman immediately fell to her knees, both hands clutching her throat. The Succubi who had fought Velyss also went pale at once, several collapsing onto the stone floor from the pain traveling straight through their Contracts.

"My lord... we tried..."

"I know."

Zeka answered very calmly.

He increased it by another level.

Cries of pain immediately rang out.

"But she still escaped."

Two other Succubi stepped forward, trembling as they pushed the magic chair. Zeka no longer looked at the people lying on the ground. He only turned toward the door at the end of the hallway.

"Crescent Moon..."

He pondered for a moment before ordering:

"Take me to the meeting room."

...

The room Zeka entered lay deep within an area completely separated from the rest of the headquarters.

No windows.

No attendants inside.

Only a table and two men waiting.

The first wore an ancient suit of equipment with blue lines of light running along his chest and arms. He was Laviana’s former Partner, the man who had accepted this equipment in exchange for dissolving his Contract with her.

The other did not look much healthier than Zeka. His frail body was connected to numerous tubes, with two crystals behind him continuously supplying energy. There was even a small magic formation around his chest helping to maintain his heartbeat.

Laviana’s former Partner frowned the moment he saw Zeka enter.

"What happened?"

Zeka did not beat around the bush.

"One of Crescent Moon’s people just infiltrated the Council."

Both men facing him fell silent.

The man whose life was being sustained by machinery spoke first.

"Winter?"

"They did not reach her." Zeka placed the black pen on the table. "But the target was clearly what lies below."

Laviana’s former Partner’s expression turned cold.

"Those Succubi are becoming more and more audacious."

Zeka looked at him.

"More importantly, the Control Device had no effect on that woman."

The other man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Rahapt."

Zeka did not deny it.

The air in the room immediately grew heavier.

After a while, Laviana’s former Partner asked:

"Have we not already been working with those beyond the Great Ice Wall? If they all receive power from Rahapt, why is Crescent Moon still coming to ruin our plans?"

"Receiving power from the same source does not mean having the same goals."

Zeka leaned back in his chair.

"Crescent Moon wants Succubi to completely break free of men. Some of them even want men to vanish from this world."

The man sustained by magic said hoarsely:

"And those beyond the wall want Succubi to vanish."

"Correct."

Laviana’s former Partner laughed coldly.

"Then let them kill each other."

Zeka glanced at him.

"If it were that simple, I would not have summoned you."

He did not say more about Crescent Moon, nor did he explain what Rahapt wanted. Even Zeka himself did not believe those factions truly understood the full intentions of the god they worshiped.

Right now, each side was only making use of what it could obtain.

The frail man looked at the pen on the table and asked:

"You think the balance is about to be broken?"

Zeka was silent for several seconds.

"There is another variable."

"Erik?"

Laviana’s former Partner immediately frowned upon hearing that name.

Zeka looked at him.

"It seems you still care very much."

"Laviana is with that man."

"That is precisely part of the problem."

Zeka raised a hand, and a mana screen quickly appeared above the table. Erik’s image appeared, accompanied by several brief pieces of information about Elowen, Meira, and Laviana.

The frail man looked over them.

"A Black Iron?"

"Do not look at his rank."

Zeka replied coldly.

"Look at the people standing beside him."

He pointed at Meira.

"After her Contract was broken, her strength did not decrease as expected. Instead, it became even more unpredictable."

Then Elowen.

"This woman has changed too."

Finally, Zeka looked at Laviana.

"And she would rather leave her former Partner to stand at Erik’s side."

The man wearing the ancient equipment immediately turned cold.

Zeka ignored his reaction.

"Recently, he has also appeared at the outpost. In just a short time, the Succubi there have begun to see him as completely different from other men."

The frail man asked:

"Only because he treats them well?"

"Precisely because of that."

Laviana’s former Partner laughed contemptuously.

"What is there to worry about with an idiot who indulges Succubi?"

Zeka looked at him.

"If a Succubus has believed all her life that every man is like you, she will accept many things."

The smile immediately vanished from the other man’s face.

Zeka continued:

"But what if she sees a different man?"

He did not need to explain further.

Elowen, Meira, and Laviana were becoming examples that were far too clear.

Erik did not need to openly oppose the Council. Nor did he need to call for Succubi to rebel.

As long as he continued existing as he did now, some Succubi would sooner or later begin asking questions.

Why could their Partner not be like him?

Why did they have to hand over all their resources?

Why could men not fight alongside them?

Why did Contracts only bind one side?

Once those questions began to appear, many things the Council had built would become harder to maintain.

The frail man slowly said:

"Crescent Moon will notice him too."

Zeka nodded.

"They may have already noticed."

Laviana’s former Partner was slightly surprised.

"Why? He is a man too."

"Precisely because he is a man." Zeka looked at Erik’s image on the screen. "If he truly proves that Succubi do not need to destroy men to have autonomy, he will also become a problem for some people in Crescent Moon."

The three men fell silent.

The same Erik.

But every faction had different reasons for not wanting him to continue growing.

Laviana’s former Partner slowly said:

"Hand him over to me."

Zeka shook his head.

"No."

"I can deal with him."

"You are angry because of Laviana."

Zeka spoke directly.

"I will not hand this matter to someone who wants revenge."

The other man clenched his hand but did not refute him.

The frail man looked at the two of them and asked:

"What about the plan with those beyond the wall?"

"Continue it."

Zeka answered.

"We still need them."

"You trust them?"

"No."

Zeka slowly picked up the pen.

"But we need to leave ourselves a way out."

He looked at the two men.

"As for Erik, for now, I will handle him."

No one objected further.

The meeting ended quickly.

The two men left, leaving only Zeka in the dark room. He opened the screen again, looking at Erik’s image for a while before shifting to the Succubi around him.

Meira.

Elowen.

Laviana.

Zeka slowly closed his hand around the black pen.

Killing a man was not difficult.

The difficult part was the women standing before him.