CHAPTER 20 - [SYSTEM — LUST V2.01: GENESIS] — BIRTH OF A HAREM

I closed my eyes.

Not to rest. Not to dream.

To open my system.

I summoned it mentally. A single thought. A single inner word: "Show me everything."

And it obeyed.

A pulse struck my nape, like an invisible finger crawling under my skin to hit directly behind my eyes. Heat spread through my skull. And before me, in the trembling red air of the Demon Continent, the interface appeared.

Clean. Stable. Unreal.

[SYSTEM — LUST v2.01: GENESIS]

Access granted.

— Status

— Missions

— Linked Persons

— Shop

— ???????? (locked)

My eyes lingered on the last line.

"???????? (locked)."

Grayed out. Inaccessible. But there. Like a loaded weapon in a transparent case. This system wasn't just active... it was still hiding things.

I smiled, without even realizing it.

Behind me, I felt Sae shift slightly. Not a word. Just the slide of her naked skin against the black sand. I didn't even need to turn around to picture her pose: still on her knees, white hair falling over her heavy breasts, legs slightly parted without thinking. Offered, but without play. Present, but silent.

Fuck.

I forced myself to focus back on the interface.

— Status.

A new window opened instantly. The lines wrote themselves out, crisp, luminous.

Name: Sora Veldross

Race: Human

Level: 3

STRENGTH: 42

ENDURANCE: 44

SPEED: 36

INTELLIGENCE: 60

PERCEPTION: 28

CHARM: 31

SEXUAL EXPERTISE: 27

Stat points to allocate: 9

My breath caught.

Sixty in intelligence. Twenty-seven in... sexual expertise?

A chuckle escaped me, low.

— You really want to turn me into a monster, huh...

Every stat spoke to me. I could feel their weight. Their effect in my body. My breath deeper. My thoughts sharper. My lower body more... charged.

The system wasn't bluffing.

No. This time, I was going to become the threat. The predator.

My gaze flicked briefly toward Sae. Her body still glistened with a fine sheen of moisture. She didn't take her eyes off me. With every stat increase, it was as if my nerves vibrated in her direction. As if... the soul link physically tied me to her.

She felt it. I was sure of it.

I returned to the screen.

Nine points to spend. Three per level gained, I assumed.

I didn't need to use them right away. Not now. This wasn't the time to gamble. First, understand the rules. The structure. The goals.

I moved on to the next menu.

— Missions.

The screen reshaped with a sharp beat. Like a hot breath between the dunes. Red lines appeared, etched in the void like commands branded in iron.

Conquer the 6 Demon Generals without triggering internal war (0/6)

Reward: ???

Failure: Death

Become the true Demon King of this era

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

Kill the anomaly of this era: Aedan, the Hero (0/1)

Reward: ???

Failure: Death

I stayed silent for a moment.

Then I smiled. Not out of confidence. Out of clarity.

This wasn't a game. Not a challenge to overcome. It was a fucking lethal equation.

Miss... and you die.

And not a soft death, no. A true end. A total disappearance. The system whispered it to me. I felt it in every word.

Failure: Death.

I slowly raised my head.

Sae had straightened without a sound, still naked, sitting on her heels, legs perfectly aligned. An almost ritual posture. Her smooth stomach rose with each breath. Her moist breasts followed the rhythm. But that wasn't what I was looking at.

It was her eyes.

Clear. Uncertain. But full.

As if she understood that what I was seeing now... was going to change the world.

My eyes dropped back to the lines.

Kill Aedan. The fucking Hero. The one who executed me. My former friend, my executioner. The "good guy". The one the world wanted to protect, glorify, worship.

And me?

I had to bring him down.

That was the core mission. The nucleus.

And the second? "Conquer the six Demon Generals without triggering war."

I understood. They weren't to be destroyed. They were to bend. Submit. By my will, my sex, my power. No open conflict. Through infiltration. Through cunning. Through seduction. Through corruption.

A harem... of demonic queens.

I bit the inside of my cheek.

— No room for error, I whispered.

No second chance. The Lust System doesn't forgive.

I looked at it again. The system. The lines. The goals. I knew. It wasn't an interface. It was my rope around the neck. And I fully intended to use it to strangle the whole fucking world.

I slid my finger through the void. Another warm breath crossed my skull.

— Linked Persons.

A single entry lit up. A profile. A name.

Name: Sae

Race: Modified Elf (Type ∞)

Link: Active Soul Mark

Stats: Dynamically adapted to the bearer

Status: Subject to parallel evolution

[System Note: As the bearer grows, linked persons gain power accordingly.]

I exhaled slowly through my nose.

She wasn't just a companion. Not just a consolation prize. She was...

— ...a lever, I murmured.

My level rose? She got stronger. And it wasn't limited. Infinite type. Parallel evolution. A logic of duplication. A propagation mechanic.

I rose. She rose. They would all rise.

It was more than a system. It was an army. A fucking war harem.

Behind me, I heard the faint sound of a body shifting on the sand.

I turned.

Sae had taken a step forward. Still naked. Her white hair, clinging in shiny strands to her back. Her hips naturally tilted back, her heavy breasts swaying slightly as she walked, and her eyes... god, her eyes.

She didn't understand what I saw.

But she felt it.

She approached again. On her knees, half seated, legs folded under her. The sand clinging to her thighs, her stomach, highlighted the moisture on her skin.

— What you're looking at... she murmured. Is that... what brought me back?

Her voice was soft. Dreamy. Lost. As if she still floated in a world between worlds.

I didn't answer. Not out of disdain. Out of caution. Because that look she gave me... it wasn't the look of a mere companion.

It was the look of a creature born to follow me. Serve me. Obey me. And maybe, one day... devour me.

I closed the tab.

Her hair slid over her breasts as she lowered her eyes. A drop of sweat ran between her collarbones, slid down the full curve of her chest, lost between her breasts.

Refocusing on the system, I clicked on the [Shop] tab.

A shiver ran up my spine, like an invisible hand gently tugging my backbone. The air warmed around me, and lines of text, plain and efficient, burst into the space.

As I browsed the shop, I made my choice, five items, each costing 10 points.

Category: Utility Items

Tactical Black Outfit (fitted, light, slit – +2 INT)

Unit cost: 10 points

Book of Knowledge (permanent bonus: +1 INT)

Unit cost: 10 points

Category: Weaponry

Mind-Summoned Bow (arrows generated by thought)

Unit cost: 10 points

X2 Curved Dagger – Effect: Light Bleed

Unit cost: 10 points

Current total: 50.

I didn't hesitate to use all my points.

— Buy: all five.

The space vibrated for a second. Then, without any flash, without flourish, the items appeared. Laid out before me, on the burning sand. As if they had always been there.

I reached for the black outfit. A strange fabric, half-organic, half-synthetic. The texture clung slightly to my fingers, like warmed skin. I turned to her.

Sae.

Still naked.

Sitting on her heels, legs together, hands on her thighs. She stared at me. Not a word. Not a move. Her breasts rose with each breath, heavy, glistening. The heat made her white hair stick to her shoulders, and a bead of sweat slid slowly down her temple, following the curve of her cheek before falling on her chest.

I held out the outfit.

— Put this on.

She blinked slowly. Took the garment. The fabric seemed to glide over her skin as if it recognized her. She slipped it on without shame, without hesitation. And yet...

Every movement tortured me.

When she raised her arms, her breasts lifted one last time, free, before being enveloped by the dark corset. When she bent over, a slit opened along her right thigh, revealing the taut softness of her skin up to her pussy.

When she finally stood straight, dressed, her nipples still poked through the too-thin fabric.

I had to look away.

Fuck.

— It's... strange, she said, placing a hand on her stomach. As if... it was made for me.

— It was, I replied.

I tossed her the dagger, which she caught without flinching. The blade vibrated for a second between her fingers, recognizing its new owner.

Then I handed her the book.

She pressed it to her chest without even asking what it was. I picked up the rest.

A black bow, sleek, without a string. But the moment I grabbed it, a faint red glow appeared between the ends, like a mental thread. I pulled. A light arrow emerged, tangible, sharp.

— Arrows on demand... I murmured. Perfect.

I strapped the bow across my back, kept the dagger in hand. And remained naked. Completely naked.

Sae watched me. She stepped forward. Then another. Her gaze slid over my chest, down to my abs... then lower. A long silence.

She didn't look away.

— Don't you want clothes? she asked.

— I used all my points, it's not the priority right now.

She gently pressed her lips together. Her hand rose to her collarbone, brushed her clavicle. She had no idea what she was doing. No filter. No shame. She moved like a nymph unaware of her power.

I approached, slowly.

Our eyes met. She didn't pull back. She raised her head toward me, extended a hand to my chest. A simple touch. But burning.

— You're... different. I feel it deep inside me, she whispered.

— I'm the same. But this time, I've got what it takes.

I placed a hand on her hip, just for a second. An electric tension climbed her spine. She closed her eyes. Her lips parted.

She was one breath away from begging me.

I stepped back.

— Not the time, I said. Not yet.

She lowered her head. Not ashamed. But submissive. And something in that silence made me harder than all the fantasies in the world.

She was ready. She was dressed. Me... I was a naked weapon, tensed, aimed at a single goal.

Silence fell again.

A light breeze made Sae's slit skirt ripple, briefly revealing her bare thigh up to the hip. Her gaze never left mine. There was no more fear in her eyes. Just that strange light. As if she was waiting for me to say what came next.

I lifted my head.

There, on the horizon, a shadow split the red sky. A black mountain, solitary, gnawed by frozen lava flows. It looked like nothing else. Its silhouette sliced through the landscape like a blade.

I recognized it.

I had seen it before.

— Over there, I whispered. That's where it all began.

Sae furrowed her brow slightly.

— What is it?

I took a step. Then another. Naked, bow slung, dagger in hand, skin burning and muscles tense. A soldier without armor. A king without a crown.

— It's the place where I almost died. Not because of Aedan. Not this time. Because of them.

I pointed to the horizon with my chin.

— The demons.

I turned to her.

She nodded. A simple gesture. Without hesitation. And she followed me.

We left, slowly, across the organic sands. Two silhouettes. One naked, the other too clothed for what she inspired.

To the south. To the place where I almost died in my first life.

But this time... I'm going back to rule.