Chapter 40. Gaze of the Seven

Chapter 40: 40. Gaze of the Seven

Before Ryn could press her with another question, the heavy wooden bathroom door swung open.

Brianna stepped into the living area, her damp green hair slicked back and her skin still carrying the fresh scent of her shower.

Dean followed close behind, settling a leather harness across his broad shoulders.

"Everyone is ready," Dean said with a brief nod toward Ryn.

"We should leave before the market fills up."

The group collected their gear and left the house, stepping out onto the cobblestone streets of Grayhollow.

Morning sunlight washed over the wooden storefronts while adventurers and merchants moved between the stalls.

Ahead of the others, Ryn and Dean walked side by side, speaking in low voices about dungeon routes and the supplies they would need.

A few paces behind them, Kael walked between Brianna and Tina.

Tina carried herself with her usual graceful composure.

The fitted leather armor she wore emphasized the high line of her waist and the rounded shape of her hips.

A faint flush still lingered on her dark cheeks, and her crimson eyes drifted toward Kael more than once.

Beside her, Brianna’s green eyes held a sharp edge of jealousy.

Her gaze moved between Kael’s hand and the curve of Tina’s waist, her jaw tightening as she remembered the thick length that had filled her throat only a short while earlier in the washroom.

’He was just inside me,’ Brianna thought, shifting her weight as she felt the residual wetness between her legs.

’Why is he still touching her like that?’

Kael paid little attention to the quiet tension building on either side of him.

With a quiet shift of focus a translucent interface opened before his eyes, visible only to him.

[Lust Dominion System - Shop]

[Available LP: 1180]

[Quick Step (Movement) - 1,300 LP]

[Weapon Mastery: Blade - 1,500 LP]

[Mind Fortress (Mental Resistance) - 2,500 LP]

’Over eleven hundred points,’ Kael calculated as he scanned the list.

’Quick Step and Weapon Mastery are nearly within reach. Once I gather a little more from these two, I can take Mind Fortress and handle heavier mana strain without trouble.’

-------

Far to the north, deep inside the Demon Continent, the scene shifted to a cold chamber of black crystal.

Heavy shadows clung to the obsidian pillars that framed a massive stone table.

Isolde De Thorne sat at the head of the chamber in her dark, revealing battle dress, her sharp eyes moving across the high council gathered before her: the Seven Deadly Sins.

"We will invade Grayhollow Town," Isolde declared, her voice cold and absolute as it echoed off the crystal walls.

"Envy, you will lead the vanguard troops. Pride has other business in the capital."

Envy, a woman with pale skin and sharp, resentful features, leaned forward with a twisted grin.

"Grayhollow? But aren’t two of your daughters and your husband there?"

Isolde drew a small pentagonal box from her belt and placed it at the center of the stone table.

The artifact pulsed with pale blue mana light, casting realistic projections of her daughters and Kael into the dim air of the chamber.

Envy stared at Kael’s sharp jaw, smooth blonde hair, and striking features.

A hot wave of bitter jealousy rose in her chest.

’Why does she get to marry a man who looks like this while I remain alone on this continent working like a servant?’ Envy thought, her fingernails pressing into the stone edge of the table.

Beside her, Lust leaned closer to the projection.

She sat sprawled across her stone seat, completely bare from head to toe.

Her pale skin was entirely hairless, a slick toy buried deep in her pussy while a heavy stone plug filled her ass.

Her inverted pink nipples stood out against her chest, and she made no effort to conceal any part of her body.

The moment Lust took in the sight of Kael’s face, a sudden heat flared through her lower belly.

Her pussy throbbed with sharp pleasure and released a wet spray that dripped onto the stone beneath her seat.

"Isolde, I should be the one leading the troops," Lust purred, her fingers tracing lazily along her own thigh as her body reacted to the image.

Isolde’s eyes narrowed into sharp lines as she looked across the table.

"Keep your mouth shut, Lust. You would exhaust the entire army before they ever reached the town gates."

Pride, a mature, full-figured woman in polished armor with a sheathed sword resting across her lap, sat upright with complete confidence, as if the rest of the room existed beneath her.

She gave Kael’s glowing projection a single dismissive glance.

’A handsome face means nothing if it cannot protect itself from a scar,’ she thought, already turning her attention elsewhere.

Near the edge of the table, the drowsy female demon known as Sloth rested her chin in her hands, heavy eyelids drooping as she studied Kael’s smooth complexion.

’Does he sleep well to keep skin like that...?’ she wondered lazily before her eyes slipped shut and she drifted half-asleep again.

Across from her, Greed, a gaunt male demon, burned with quiet resentment.

His gaze locked onto Kael’s floating image while bitter jealousy twisted in his chest at the knowledge that he was not the one married to Isolde.

’I will need to find a way to remove him without Isolde ever learning of it,’ Greed planned in silence, already turning over dark possibilities.

Gluttony, a small bored boy resting his chin on his hand, glanced occasionally toward the chamber doors in the hope that food might arrive.

He gave the projection a brief look, decided it held nothing edible, and turned away with an annoyed sigh.

Wrath, a battle-hardened male general, grinned as his eyes studied Kael’s form with a martial spark.

’He looks like an ordinary ranker, yet he is married to the queen. There must be some potential in him. I will test it when the chance comes.’

Isolde’s cold tone cut through the chamber and left no space for further argument.

"Envy, prepare the forces. We march within weeks. Do not harm a single hair on my daughters’ heads. And do not touch Kael."

As the council began to disperse, Lust’s hand slid between her legs, feeling the slick wetness there while she continued to stare at Kael’s floating image.

’That face, those jawlines, those eyes, that hair...’ Lust thought, her tongue sliding across her lips.

’He should belong to me, not to some woman playing queen of the demon continent.’

Isolde turned her sharp gaze toward Pride before the high council could fully leave.

The blue light from the pentagonal artifact dimmed slightly, throwing deeper shadows across her features.

"Pride," Isolde said, her voice dropping into a lower, heavier cadence.

"How is the search for the Black Hearts progressing?"

Pride adjusted the heavy blade on her lap, holding herself with effortless authority.

"My Queen," Pride answered, her tone full of poise and devotion.

"Our scouts have searched the border regions, yet the lingering miasma of the old bloodline makes precise tracking difficult. However..." She paused, sharp eyes lifting.

"We recently uncovered an ancient ledger. It suggests that one of the Black Hearts, or at least the key to its location, lies within the grounds of the Royal Academy."

Isolde’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing deep within them. The mention of the academy brought an unwelcome weight to her thoughts.

’As long as that woman remains near the academy, investigating the grounds will be nearly impossible,’ Isolde thought, her jaw tightening as she recalled the formidable presence that guarded those borders.

’She watches the area like a hawk.’

She smoothed the dark fabric of her battle dress, composure returning at once as she addressed Pride again.

"Keep your division focused on the border of the capital, " Isolde commanded.

"Do not engage too. We cannot risk alerting the empire until Envy’s vanguard has secured Grayhollow completely."

’It’s time I made contact with my daughter in the Aetherion Empire.’

"Understood, My Queen," Pride replied, inclining her head before turning to leave the obsidian chamber.

As the remaining Sins filed out, Lust lagged behind, her hand still resting near her wet, aching center while she stole one final glance at the fading residue of Kael’s projection.

’A Black Heart, the Royal Academy, and a face like that...’ Lust thought, her breath catching as her fingers twitched.

’Everything is about to become deliciously chaotic.’

Back in Grayhollow the morning sun climbed higher over the busy guild district.

Unaware of the vast demon army gathering far to the north, Kael walked with the Crimson Path team toward the stone gates of the West Dungeon.

His gaze moved over Tina and Brianna as they adjusted their gear.

Tina’s slender dark-elf form looked sharp in her fitted leather armor, the tight material following the lines of her body and hinting at the soft heat Kael had already claimed earlier that morning.

Beside her, Brianna moved with a full, athletic stride, her light green skin carrying a healthy sheen.

The subtle shift of her hips betrayed the lingering sensitivity between her thighs, where his earlier load still rested deep inside her.

’With the West Dungeon ahead of us, I can keep pressing their limits,’ Kael thought, cool eyes studying the dark entrance of the cavern.

’Every touch and every boundary I break brings more Lust Points. I need to raise my combat skills before the academy entrance exam.’

He had no knowledge that his wife’s army was already preparing to march on Grayhollow within weeks, nor that the Seven Deadly Sins had begun to turn their attention toward him.

For the moment his focus remained sharp and lustful.

He adjusted the weight of the cursed mulberry sword at his hip, a faint smirk touching his lips as he fell into step behind the two women, ready to turn the coming dungeon run into another opportunity for progress.