Chapter 59: I’ll join

Thank you [UpUpDowndown] for your gift - A Dragon!! (^_^)

Thank you [Time_Dragonlord] for your gift - A Massage chair

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The air in the room turned cold.

Erik looked at the black device in Zeka’s hand, the anger inside him rising until he nearly wanted to tear apart everything in sight. What if he destroyed Zeka right now?

No.

Who knew how many devices there were? Who knew where they were hidden? Who knew how the mechanism actually worked? If he wanted to protect Elowen and the others, he had to understand the principle behind that thing, get his hands on one, and then render it permanently useless.

To catch the tiger, you have to enter its den.

Erik slowly relaxed his fist. "And what if I wanted to join the Council?"

For the first time, Zeka’s expression changed. "You?"

"What are the conditions?"

Zeka studied him for a few seconds, then smiled. "Very good. You finally understand. To become a full member, you must possess at least three Succubi at Platinum or above. After that, over the course of two months, the Council will evaluate your level of indulgence."

"Level of indulgence?"

"A noble man should not perform base labor himself." Zeka answered placidly. "Someone serves your meals, someone transports you, and Succubi complete your work. Your lifestyle must properly reflect your station."

Hearing that much gave Erik another headache.

"And if I meet the standard?"

"You will swear an oath before the Sun God of Men and be granted the right to use the device."

That was exactly what Erik wanted to hear.

He nodded. "Fine."

Zeka leaned back in his chair, his smile deepening. "I very much look forward to the day you learn to live as a true man."

Erik turned to go, but paused briefly before reaching the door. His gaze passed over the blood still unwiped on the floor, where a Succubus had died moments ago simply because her fingertip accidentally brushed Zeka’s shoe.

"I’ll see you in two months."

Zeka had no idea what was hidden behind that calm smile. He merely waved a hand, as though releasing another insect from his room.

"I’ll be waiting."

Erik didn’t head straight downstairs. He stood in the corridor for a long while, looking at the Succubi kneeling motionless along both sides. The calluses on their knees, the bandages soaked with blood, the fingers covered in wounds from bracing against stone, all of it made the anger inside him grow heavier and heavier.

One very young Succubus was trembling faintly from the pain. When Erik stopped in front of her, she immediately bowed her head lower.

"My lord."

"Lift your head."

She flinched, her shoulders going rigid at once. "I... am not permitted to."

"I told you to look up."

It was a long while before she cautiously raised her face. Pale purple eyes looked at Erik, full of fear and confusion.

Erik looked at the bandages on her knees. "Does it hurt?"

The Succubus went completely blank. It seemed she had never imagined a man would ask that. Her lips trembled, then she answered on reflex: "No."

"You’re lying."

Her face went pale instantly, thinking she’d made a mistake. "Forgive me! I shouldn’t have-"

"It’s all right." Erik raised a hand to stop her from bowing. "You don’t need to apologize for being in pain."

She looked at him for a very long time, unable to believe what she’d just heard.

Erik said nothing more. For now, there was nothing further he could do. If he tried to rescue them with a few comforting words, he’d only bring consequences down on them after he left. If he wanted these women to truly stand up, he first had to break the chain pinning them to the ground.

He stepped into the elevator.

The doors closed, reflecting his figure on the metal surface. The Contract Control Device wasn’t merely Zeka’s weapon. It was the secret foundation propping up this entire diseased order.

If what Zeka said was true, killing him wouldn’t be enough.

He needed to know how many devices existed. Who held them. Where they drew their energy from. Why the Ancient Contract allowed men to interfere directly with a Succubus’s soul.

’To find out, I have to get one of them.’

And to get one, he had to step inside the Council.

Two months. Three Platinum Succubi. Plus this so-called evaluation of his level of indulgence.

The first condition was difficult, but not necessarily impossible. Elowen had just awakened an Epic talent. Meira was a high-tier Healer to begin with. Carmilla had once reached Diamond, and her aptitude was extraordinarily strong. If he could restore or elevate them, three Platinum Succubi in two months wasn’t entirely hopeless.

As for the second condition...

Erik remembered the sight of Zeka needing six Succubi just to avoid lifting his own hands, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

’What a diseased test.’

Ding.

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. Two rows of Succubi were still kneeling along the corridor, and the woman who had intended to clean his shoes with her tongue was still beside the door.

The moment she saw Erik, she bowed her head.

"My lord."

Erik walked past. But he’d taken only a few steps when he heard a very small voice behind him.

"My lord..."

He stopped.

"Thank you."

Erik turned. "For what?"

She was quiet for a few seconds, then shook her head. "I don’t know. Just... thank you."

Erik looked at her, then gave a small nod.

"Mm."

He didn’t say anything like I’ll save all of you someday. Saying it now would be an empty promise. Without the power to break that chain, the more beautiful the promise, the more it would only deepen someone’s despair.

Erik left the building.

The sunlight outside hit his face, making him draw an unconscious deep breath. He’d been inside for less than an hour, yet it felt like stepping out of a room with no air in it. He turned back to look at the golden sun emblem atop the building, at the figure of a man with arms spread wide as though bestowing light upon everyone.

’A god?’

Erik’s gaze went cold.

’I want to see how long you can keep playing god once that toy is taken away.’

The sound of an engine reached him. A black car sped toward him and braked right at the edge of the plaza. The door had barely opened before a white figure came flying out.

"Elowen?"

Before Erik could react, she had thrown herself into his arms. Both arms locked around his waist, her face buried in his chest, her shoulders shaking violently.

Erik immediately knew something was wrong. "Elowen?"

She didn’t answer. He reached out and tilted her chin up, finding her emerald eyes flushed red, tears streaming down without pause.

"Who’s been bullying you?"

Elowen shook her head. "No one."

"Then why are you crying?"

She didn’t answer, only holding him tighter. Erik looked at Sarna in the driver’s seat. The black-haired Succubus wore a tense expression as well.

"What happened?"

"After we left, Elowen refused to go back to the hospital." Sarna said in a low voice. "She made me stop on the road behind the building."

Elowen’s head whipped around. "Sarna!"

"I’m telling the truth."

Erik looked down at the girl in his arms. "You stayed here the whole time?"

"I... couldn’t stop worrying."

"I told you to go back."

"I know." Elowen bit her lip, and after a moment continued through her tears. "But our Contract is still there. I didn’t know what was happening inside, but at one point I felt you become absolutely furious. I was scared they’d do something to you. And I was scared that... when you walked out, you’d have become someone else."

Those words softened the anger inside Erik a little.

He wiped the tears from her cheek. "Silly. It’s not like I lost an arm or a leg."

Elowen didn’t smile. "I was scared they’d pull you away. Scared you’d listen long enough that you’d start believing those things were right."

Erik looked at her for a long moment, then drew her into his arms again. "I’m still me."

The strong heartbeat against her ear finally eased the tension out of Elowen’s body. Erik opened the car door and settled her into the back seat. Sarna didn’t start the engine right away, clearly waiting for him to say something as well.

After a while, Elowen finally asked: "What happened in there?"

Erik leaned back against the seat, looking at the Council building through the window. "I met the one who runs it."

"Zeka?"

"You know him?"

"Only the name." Elowen’s expression immediately soured. "God Zeka."

Erik’s face twitched again. "You seriously call him that?"

"That’s his title."

"I’m just feeling like there’s still a lot about this world I need to adjust to."

The brief lightness that had appeared vanished quickly when Elowen asked: "What did he say?"

The image of the Succubus dying at Zeka’s feet surfaced in Erik’s mind. The black device, the threats, the names of Elowen, Meira, Felyn, Carmilla, and Sarna.

He couldn’t tell her all of it yet. At the very least, not somewhere he wasn’t sure was free of surveillance.

"He wants me to change how I live."

Elowen’s hands clenched. "You refused?"

"Mm." Erik paused a beat. "Then I asked about the conditions for joining the Council."

The car went silent instantly.

Elowen slowly turned her head, the little color that had returned to her face draining away fast. "You... want to join?"

"Yes."

The hands wrapped around his arm slowly went slack. Elowen bowed her head, her silver hair falling forward to hide her face. Tears dropped onto the back of her hand again.

"I see..." Her voice was barely audible. "I understand."

Erik frowned. "What exactly do you understand?"

Elowen tried to wipe her tears, but the more she wiped the more came. "A man like you... maybe in the end you really should live as a noble man. I’ll learn to serve you better. I won’t embarrass you in front of the Council. Even if you don’t want me hugging you whenever I feel like it anymore..."

Her voice broke. "I’ll try my best."

Erik immediately understood what she was thinking.

’This girl is overthinking again.’

He took hold of Elowen’s chin and forced her to look up. Those emerald eyes were blurred with tears.

"Look at me." Erik said seriously. "I said I’ll join the Council. I never said I’d become one of them."

Elowen blinked.

"There are some things I can’t explain right now. But you only need to remember one thing." Erik leaned down, his forehead resting lightly against hers. "Trust me."

Those same two familiar words again.

Elowen looked into the calm dark eyes right in front of her. A long while passed before the fingers that had let go of his arm slowly gripped it again.

"Really?"

"Mm."

"You won’t turn into someone like Zeka?"

Erik thought of those half-meter nails, and the corner of his mouth immediately twitched. "Even if I lose my mind, remember to cut my nails first."

Elowen blinked. Sarna up front couldn’t hold back a laugh, and Elowen laughed through her tears too before throwing herself into Erik’s arms once more.

This time, she held him even tighter than before.

Erik patted her back gently, his gaze passing through the window at the building slowly receding behind them. The smile on his face gradually faded as well.

Two months.

He had to have three Platinum Succubi, pass the Council’s evaluation, and then take one of those devices with his own hands.

Let’s see how long this so-called power of the "Sun God of Men"...

can actually hold up once it’s laid out on the operating table.