Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)

Third Person's POV

They were gone, vanished without a trace.

While capturing the brute hostage, he had also searched the immediate area with his soul sense, but there were no signs of struggle, no blood, and no footprints that didn't belong to them.

Their small camp was exactly as it had been, with small bits of remnant firewood and totally empty.

That alone told him that something far stranger was at play here, and whatever had happened, it wasn't something he understood yet.

And if he was to uncover the truth, he would have to start somewhere—anywhere.

The stick-thin demon's bony brow lifted slightly at Ethan's demand, though his voice stayed even.

"And what's the guarantee," he asked, "that you will actually spare my friend's life?"

Ethan's lips tugged into a smirk, but there was no mirth in it, only a cold edge.

"There isn't one. You will have to gamble on my character."

The demon's sunken amber eyes narrowed, and his thin jaw tightened, but before he could speak again, a softer voice cut in from his side.

"Umm… if you don't mind, young lord," the sultry woman said with a timid tilt of her head,

"I would offer myself to you if you spare my friend. And… in return, we will also answer whatever questions you have."

Her tone dripped with innocence, but her eyes carried the gleam of someone playing a part.

She looked at him as though he were some cruel deviant forcing her into such a bargain, as she carefully painted a pitiful expression on her face.

Ethan's and the demon's lips both twitched, each for their own reason, as they knew exactly what game she was playing.

Ethan chuckled low in his throat and let his gaze drift lazily over her curves as he thought something.

She was undeniably beautiful, and her posture was designed to invite, with her clothing an open provocation.

But as he studied her, the thrill of conquest flickered and then dimmed in his mind as there was no challenge and no real fire here, and only a cheap performance.

"No thanks, young lady," he said at last, his tone firm but almost casual.

"I am not interested in sharing my bed with you."

Hearing him, her pitiful mask cracked instantly, and her embarrassment flared into anger, as a rush of red tinged her cheeks.

Her eyes were still sultry but now carried a hidden flash of venom as she regarded him.

Ethan didn't so much as blink, as his politeness was replaced by a blunt finality, and across from them, the stick-thin demon looked faintly surprised.

Also, the women around him were highly superior in both appearance and personality compared to her, and by no small margin, so he wasn't interested even a bit.

For all Ethan's youth, he had weathered the attempted seduction without so much as a stumble, and it was something the demon clearly hadn't expected.

If anything, it raised Ethan's evaluation in his mind. He gave a quiet, approving hum and then cleared his throat, ready to answer the questions Ethan had posed.

"First of all," he began in his cold and rasping voice that,

"This trial is meant for us newcomers, and the moment it started this morning, every older student who was still lingering in this forest was forcefully teleported back to the Sanctum.

As for the rest of us, we were scattered again, and each one of us was sent away from the others."

As he spoke, the stick thin demon's gaze drifted downward to the smoldered pile of firewood stacked beside the great tree trunk, the faintest curl of smoke still lingering in the air.

His eyes narrowed slightly in ridicule before he continued.

"From the look of it, you were separated from your companions… and haven't managed to reunite with them yet."

There was no smile in his tone, and no outward hostility either, but Ethan caught the subtle bite of disdain hiding beneath those words.

Inwardly, Ethan grimaced as it was true.

He had been too absorbed in his dreams and the happiness of reuniting with his family, such that he had been too careless to rise early or investigate the details of the trial beforehand.

He knew that it was a mistake born of his arrogance that this trial was nothing much, but still, hearing this explanation was something of a relief, as at the very least, it meant that Virelle and her brother were safe for now.

That thought eased some of the tension in his chest.

Yet his relief was short-lived, and the worry came rushing back with the memory of Velcy and Lucy, the two girls who were now wandering this dangerous forest alone.

He clenched his jaw and a storm of thoughts raced through his mind, though outwardly his expression didn't flicker.

Then another realization struck him that killing wasn't allowed within this trial, and the rules were strict, though the only real punishment for breaking them was permanent expulsion.

For some, that consequence alone was no deterrent at all, and his heart eased only a fraction, but his worry for Velcy and Lucy did not diminish in the least.

Resolving himself, Ethan's hand suddenly moved, and without warning, he tossed the injured brute he had been holding down at the feet of the duo.

His lips curved into an easy smile.

"Since we are already acquainted," he said warmly, as though the bitter confrontation moments earlier had never taken place,

"Why don't you tell me your name, brother?"

His sudden shift in tone left the sultry woman stunned.

Her painted expression faltered as she wondered how he could be so fearless in discarding the advantage of a hostage as if it had never mattered.

Even the silent bamboo-like demon was taken aback, and his sharp amber eyes studied Ethan for a breath before he gave a slight nod while his evaluation of Ethan went back up.

"I am Alrin," he replied crisply. "And you…?"

"I am Eryndor."