Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)

Third Person's POV

But while Virelle was distracted, another presence was not as somewhere within the shadows, an indistinct figure cloaked in secrecy watched him intently.

Her gaze tracked every subtle motion and every faint shift in his expression, with a patience that was honed over the years.

Her concealment was so profound that even with Ethan's honed instincts and long-forgotten experience, not the faintest suspicion stirred within him as he was not able to sense her at all.

Beneath the folds of her pale cloak, the woman's lips curled in a faintly mocking smile as she observed his easy charm toward women.

In her mind, she had already placed him into a neat little category, and it wasn't a flattering one.

She could have walked past the barrier with the same effortless stride as the senior students without the blue semicircular barrier detecting her, but chose not to, as tomorrow would be far more… entertaining if she stayed.

When his hunger was finally sated, Ethan set aside the bone and turned toward Virelle.

His tone softened and carried a steadiness meant to reassure.

"You don't have to worry about me, Virelle. I will be fine. I have got Velcy and Lucy with me, and that is more than enough.

You can head into the Sanctum in the morning without hesitation, and I will definitely catch up to you before the day ends."

Listening to him and seeing his reassuring look, her stiff shoulders eased slightly, and she gave a reluctant nod.

Seeing that, Ethan's smile deepened faintly, and with a fluid ease, he leapt into the branches of a nearby tree and settled on a sturdy limb where the Blood Moon loomed large in the sky.

Its light bled across the canopy and cast silvered shadows over his form.

As the cold wind whispered through the leaves, his mind wandered, not to the upcoming trial, which he dismissed as a minor obstacle, but to faces from a life far more important.

His mother, his grandparents, and not to forget Aurelia, his innocent childhood friend.

The memories rose unbidden, like a bittersweet and vivid feeling, before it gave way to a single, unshakable thought that this so-called trial was nothing.

And what truly occupied his heart was the journey his Master would take him on next week, a return to his real home in this world, the place where he had been born and raised… until cruel fate tore him away at the tender age of ten.

As he thought such things, gradually his eyes weighed down and he drifted into a deep slumber.

...

Clear shafts of sunlight pierced through the foliage and struck Ethan's face and coaxed his eyelids to flutter open.

Sensing that dawn had arrived, a low yawn escaped him as he shifted slightly on the branch, but the moment his deep crimson eyes focused, they met an unexpected reflection.

It was an angular and sinister looking triangular green head staring back at him.

Instantly, he felt its cold and unfeeling amber vertical pupils regarding him without a flicker of emotion, their predatory focus unwavering.

The viper's forked tongue flickered out and almost brushed his skin while leaving behind the faintest whisper of air.

Its scales gleamed like polished crystal, the vivid green blending so perfectly with the surrounding leaves that, had it not been mere inches from his face, it might have been invisible.

Seeing this, Ethan's expression grew solemn, yet not a single muscle on his body twitched in response, and even his breathing slowed to the point of near stillness.

A cascade of possibilities surged through his mind, and multiple calculations unfolded in rapid sequence as he measured the danger.

Magic power coursed through the serpent's and formed iridescent ripples on its body, and he could sense that it was sharp, quick, and coiled for a strike.

In such a position, the viper's natural advantage in speed was undeniable, but Ethan's instincts told him plainly that if he chose to act, stopping it would not be too difficult.

Yet, just as he was about to make his move, something else caught his attention, and in the next moment, he discovered faint, deliberate footsteps breaking the forest's stillness.

As he naturally extended his soul sense, three distinct figures emerged in his perception.

The first was a spindly young demon, tall and unnervingly thin, like a stalk of bamboo swaying in the wind.

He wore rag like beastskin that only covered his lower private parts while a teeth necklace radiating magic fluctuations was worn around his thin neck.

Behind him lumbered a broad-shouldered but short brute, with his heavy build radiating pure brute strength, and at last came a tanned beauty, her figure a sultry contrast to the two men.

All three wore beast-hide garments striped like wild predators, though Ethan's perception lingered on the woman.

The thin scraps of hide she wore clung only where necessary, and beneath them… his soul sense suggested nothing but bare, warm skin guarding the forbidden places she flaunted without shame.

But just as he was about to probe further into her mysterious place and know her details, the viper green struck.

Its head snapped forward in a blur, but Ethan was far from unprepared as he had never lowered his guard in the first place.

Still, something in the bamboo-like demon's expression made him hesitate as he wanted to see something.

So, instead of dodging, he remained perfectly still and allowed the viper's fangs to sink into the flesh of his cheek.

The bite was deep, and soon venom flooded into him in a hot, pressurized surge, but the moment it entered, an unnatural cold awoke within his body.

The terrifying wave of freezing energy spread instantly, locking the venom in place before it could travel further, and then surged back through the serpent's fangs like an arctic tide.

It raced into the viper's skull and instantly crystallized its brain from within while giving no attempt for the snake to even react and save itself from its dangerous predicament.