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

"Hey, Pixel, what do you think my chances of winning are, here?" Logan's head was lowered to his chest, mouth muffled beneath his hand.

As a result of all the chaos in the stands and the jagged stare from Zack, he finally broke his composure.

Pixel caught wind of his nonstop shaking.

"Look, Logan, I'll tell you it how it is. Right now, if you were able to perceive the mana coming from Zack's core, you would know the answer to that question," she said bluntly, laid up on his shoulder. "If this duel is a fight to the death like you said, then we both will lose our lives here."

His face fell. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. In that case..." His lips stopped, vibrating against the words caught in his throat. "Thank you."

"For what?"

Ignorant to her raised eyebrow, Logan took the time to steal her from his collar, tugging her deep into his pocket—much to her dismay.

"You gonna stop talking to yourself like a creep?" The one to speak was Zack, standing upright with all the pride of a colossal lion.

Although Logan had known him for all his life, this was the first time that such a feeling sprouted from deep within him.

It bubbled, disbursed, and weakened his limbs. Each hair along his skin went straight, preluding the bile rising in his throat. Though he hadn't meant to think it, a thought engulfed his mind: 'I'm... scared...?'

Logan held one arm with the other, turning his gaze away. "Hm, I suppose that's what it looks like to you. Although, I don't think Sabrina ever saw me that way."

Zack grunted, his expression darkening. You... don't you dare talk about—"

Despite wrestling with the urge to expel Logan of his life, he stopped. Instead, a smile appeared.

"Even now, you're taunting me." With a raised hand, he pointed to the audience—to Sabrina. "But, you know, for someone who talks such a big game, you lack the true experience to back it."

Hoping that he was wrong, Logan stepped forward, arms thrown in front of him. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, come on, you should know. After all, you're a guy. A boy and a girl in a relationship, not to mention, in their late teens? It's completely natural."

The smug look on Zack's face was like an emotional detonator to Logan, ready to eviscerate his reason. "You... you're lying, right?"

"Logan, you know me—or, knew me. I don't lie." Zack, persistent in his theatrics, rounded his palms and caressed the air. "I mean, I know this is a bit hypocritical coming from someone who's actually experienced it, but imagine it. The soft, cushy feel of her breasts; the warmth of her breath; the tight, welcoming embrace of her... well, you get the picture. She's mine, buddy, so you should stop going after my sloppy seconds."

Off in the distance, Sabrina scoffed to herself. "Why—the lying pervert!"

Jasmine and Amelia both laughed.

Logan, though, was far less entertained.

"ZACK, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" His limbs went hard with rage, veins punching his skin.

Like a wild beast, he slammed his feet against the ground, fists gripped tight. He was approaching Zack, intent on giving him a terrible thrashing.

Zack didn't break his bold posture, sneering at Logan's rage. From a certain angle, it may have even looked like he was laughing.

Thud!

Logan's fist smacked against hard flesh. It was Solomon, his hand stretched out to stop Logan's attack. "Stop this! The domain has not been implemented yet, so we can't start the duel!"

Once Logan saw himself—the way he was fighting against Solomon's firm grip, he stopped, retreating to the other side of the battle station. "I... I apologize."

Solomon sighed. "Sure, but if you try something like that again, you might have to face suspension."

"...Alright."

This time, he kept to his side, watching as Solomon surveyed his watch, then pulled out a microphone from his pocket. "Okay, guys. This time, we won't have any interruptions. Are both sides ready?"

"More than," Zack said.

Logan looked down to his pocket, where Pixel rested. "U-uh... yeah, I'm ready."

"Then the domain will be deployed. May Kathria bless you." Just seconds after Solomon spoke, he exited the battle station, standing just outside its perimeter.

His arm shot in front of him, incurring a sudden transformation.

Translucent black arose like a bubble from the very center of the battle station, oscillating out to encompass the entire area.

For a few seconds, it waved vigorously. Then, like a guitar string quelling its vibrations, settled as a rectangular prism, enshrouding the two fighters.

"What is that?" a girl asked—the one who sat next to Elias in the A-rank section.

"What do you mean? Have you never been in an official duel before?" Elias asked back, trying best to divide his attention between her and the fighters below.

Taking just one look at her unnaturally colored hair, he smiled. "Ah, never mind. If you must know, then that black barrier you see there is called a 'domain.' Useful magic for enforcing rules on those inside."

"I understand. Then they're the human equivalent to a manifestation."

Elias lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, sure? I don't know where you come from, but they're just called domains here. This one in specific makes it to where any damage accumulated inside its field is discarded once out. Although, if you die, then not even a domain can save you."

The girl bobbed her head agreeingly. "I see."

Elsewhere, Sabrina was smiling.

"What has you so happy?" Jasmine asked, eyeing her confusedly. "You shouldn't take Amelia's words so literally. The result of this match is obvious from a single glance."

Sabrina turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"You should be able to sense it. Zack has far more mana than Logan, and his Gift—though inferior—is far more developed."

Shaking her head, Sabrina brought her hand to her chest. "You're way too shallow, Jasmine."

"What?"

"This duel isn't about who has more muscle or mana, but about will."

'What are you talking about—"

Sabrina closed herself to the power surging from Zack. Instead, she recalled the warmth she felt in the courtyard when she'd met Logan. "As long as Logan puts his mind to it, I just know he'll win. Of that, I'm sure."

While the students continued to talk amongst themselves, Solomon raised his fist to the sky. "On the count of three, this duel will start," he proclaimed.

Logan looked down to his pocket again. "Pixel, I don't know if it's safe for you to be here..."

She shuffled, but didn't speak.

"One." Solomon's index finger went up.

"Logan," a voice interjected, coming from the opposite side of the battle station, "I just want you to know that once I kill you, you won't have to worry about Sabrina being sad."

"Two." Solomon's middle finger went up.

"Why?"

"Because I'll console her nice and long—if you catch my drift." Zack pulled his right foot back, forming daggers of warm air all around him.

Logan didn't care, clenching his fists. "ZAAAAACCCCKKKKKK!!!"

"Three!" Solomon's ring finger went up.

Thwam!

Zack had both leaped from the ground and lodged his fist directly up Logan's gut. Gallons of air gusted through the battle station, trying its hardest to follow the body ragdolling in the air.

In an instant, Logan slammed into the hard domain, splayed on its hard surface.