Incubus Awakening: The More I Lust, The Stronger I Become

"Koff, Koff, what happened?" Logan, breathless, wrenched his chest like he were searching for a hidden treasure.

Though, that may have been accurate considering his pulse ran dry just moments ago. Still, despite originally feeling for his heart, he found something else instead.

A familiar purple brand, shaped by a line running down about 6 inches with a single pair of wings sticking out by its sides.

A tail slithered from its base, a thick mark resemblant of the ace of spades hanging from its end.

"The same mark that appeared when I absorbed Pixel's mana?" he muttered, noticing the energy pulsing through its material.

Only once his attention affixed to the manifestation did its light dim, simmering into nothing after a couple seconds.

"W-what...? How?" Zack stammered, stepping back over a stone. Losing his balance, he fell to the floor. "There's no way. You should be dead! I made sure of it!"

Stillness breezed through the cafeteria like a calm wave, grasping every student's lungs and clamping them tight.

Only once the silence became uncomfortable did they rise up.

"Wooaaahhhhh!" the room yelled, tearing the air asunder. Logan gripped his ears, eyes closed from the intense stimulation.

It took everything he had not to scream at them to stop—and he might've, had his body not been so sore.

While a different number of students shouted, "how is he alive," and, "do you think it was his Gift," there was something most immediate to him. Something that he had to attend to now.

Justly, he looked to his side.

Sabrina was seated by him, eyes watery and lips curled. She just sat there, dipping her mouth into an even deeper frown.

"Logan..." Then, her arms flew through the air to wrap around him. "Logan, I'm so glad! I thought you were dead!"

He smiled. "Sabrina, I'm sorry for making you worried." Though his arms hovered awkwardly above her in the air, once her hold on him grew tighter, he decided to repay the physical contact.

Then, the eerie sound of fracturing bone. "W-wait, Sa—khhhkk! Sabrina, stop, you're hugging me too tight!"

She eased herself from him, raising her arms up hastily. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Logan! Are you alright?"

Falling to his back, he let out a throaty groan, eyes twitching from the pain. "Y-yeah, I think I'll live."

Her eyes glistened with intense care, bleeding into his own face in the form of a smile.

As she assaulted him with her many distressed inquiries, he simply sprawled himself on the ground, taking in the air. "Sorry, Sabrina, but could you give me some room? I'm tired."

She nodded her head, retreating from his space.

'But what happened? One moment, my face gets caved in by Zack, the next, the lights go dark, and I bear witness to the pearly gates. This doesn't make any sense.'

"Hey, punk!" a voice called out from the distance. "You should be dead after taking an attack like that from Zack. What sort of dark magic did you pull to come back like that?"

Although his hearing was muddled, Logan knew who it was instantly.

"I don't know, Tyler. You tell me," Logan answered with a joking snort.

Tyler, annoyed, stayed quiet for a second, taking the time to walk by Zack's side.

A third, distinguishable figure followed suit. It was Chase, noticeably distraught in both posture and gait.

Tyler lowered his hand to Zack, offering to raise him up from the ground. Zack looked to Logan just once, then smacked the hand away. "I don't need your support."

Nodding, he stepped back. Once Zack got to his feet, he brushed off his pants, staring into Logan's soul through the entire motion.

"Logan, are you okay!" another voice called, this time belonging to a girl. Logan had to look in its direction to locate the origin, finding it to be Amelia.

She had her hand stretched up in the air, waving back and forth.

He waved back. "Yeah, I'm all good."

Raising his thumb at her, he noticed Jasmine in close pursuit of Amelia. The two were enclosing the center of the crater, gliding down the jagged rock with all the elegance of Mary Poppins.

"Amelia, Jasmine!" Sabrina shouted, running forward to fall into both of their arms.

"Oh—Sabrina!" Amelia gasped, jumping from the sudden movement. Quickly, she lowered her arms to Sabrina to embrace her. "How you must've been worried."

Appearing stagnant and neutral, Jasmine wrapped her own arms around Sabrina. "Don't worry, Sabrina. We're here now."

Sabrina's face ruffled between the two's shoulder blades, hiding what might've been tears. The affection striking his chest was enough to make a grown man cry.

Groaning, Zack just crossed his arms, looking straight ahead. Past Logan, past a hanging broken pipe. Instead, there stood a single man.

Vice-President Solomon, as Logan recalled.

Logan had to shake his head at the sudden intrusion, even smacking his palms against his face.

Solomon stood without any commandeering aura, invisible. It was unsightly, especially for one esteemed to be among the strongest.

While the students of the school continued talking and Sabrina stayed within the embrace of her friends, Logan looked down to himself, realizing how pathetic he must've looked being laid out on the ground.

Slowly, he propped himself up from the ground, grumbling through the terrible pains.

Despite having seemingly revived himself with the help of whatever the brand on his chest was, it didn't get rid of the repeating flares in his joints, nor the bone-deep flames that stole his attention.

Still, it was better than being laid out on a stretcher, dead and without purpose.

'For that matter—Pixel!'

Logan ran his hand over the surface of his shirt, starting from the collar down to the arms, then the stomach. Eventually, he felt her slumped just above the waistband of his jeans.

Placing one finger on her neck, he felt a slow, yet very much alive pulse. Though, given the little reaction to his touch, he assumed she fell unconscious.

His mind filled with flashes of remembrance. How Zack had gotten violent, harmed Pixel, then essentially killed him.

Just as his mind inundated with information, so too did his heart—except, by something far worse.

Something black, animate and real. It clutched his very core, compelling him to commit acts before thought to be unspeakable.

"Zack...!" He grit his teeth, fists knit with fury. If he could use mana to empower them, he would.

Though he tried to hide it, Zack's face fell into one of genuine fear. After all, he'd just witnessed Logan seamlessly revive himself.

Spontaneously, a sharp ring hollowed through the cafeteria grounds. It lasted a couple seconds, then ended. Then another ring. Then another.

However, all it took was one careful glance at the air—the way it didn't react to Logan—to settle into a more laxed position. "What could you possibly want, loser? Lunch period's ended."

Sabrina, exhausted as she was, slammed her foot on the ground. "Logan, what do you think you're doing!? Get away from Zack now!"

Logan shooed her warning. "You, Zack. I want you to pay for what you've done."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" He asked sarcastically.

"An official duel. No pain inhibitor, and no faux weapons. We'll fight to the death."