Having deduced the power of corruption came from the kiss, that he had with Constance, Kole's dark eyes turned darker.
Looking at Constance, he couldn't help but frown.
It took him a moment to resist the corruption, and at that moment, Constance regained her composure to some degree, but her eyes were still hazy and filled with lust.
???... Question marks appeared above Kole's head as he analyzed Constance.
She leaned against him and tip-toed to kiss him again, but Kole pushed her away.
Why is she acting like a woman in heat? Or perhaps this is a part of her plan to get me corrupted?
Despite being pushed away, she crawled back to Kole, desperately clawing at his coat as if she had been drugged.
Kole frowned.
He could tell this woman was not right in the head.
In fact, from the very beginning, he felt something wrong with her but couldn't put his finger on it. Like approaching him without proper reason, holding hands, and pulling him away from the crowd into a secluded corner, and now the corruption…
Has she been lost and on the brink of becoming a "Bane"?
However, when Kole remembered her previous interactions, she seemed almost ordinary because she could effortlessly hold conversations like a sane being.
Suddenly Kole's brows knitted into a tight frown as he remembered that he had overlooked a crucial detail—Otto Moore!
Looking at the woman in his arms, whimpering softly, and desperately begging for a release, Kole sighed.
What a heartless man! Using some unknown methods, he even used his fiancée to seduce me, and corrupt me!... Kole felt chills coursing through his spine just imagining something like that.
The rapidly clashing thoughts in his mind reached one conclusion after another like a supercomputer… How did he do it? Did he hypnotize Constance?
Did he guess my nature? How did he know I'll make a move on Constance when left alone with her? Just how far does he know about me in one interaction?...
Moreover, Otto used his fiancée, and the most important point to take note of is that this girl is the daughter of Duke Houston.
He used such a person that could enable him to connect with the house of a Duke like a pawn… This level of callousness requires much more than simply brainwashing believers and turning them into cultists!
Kole felt like he wasn't fighting some 21-year-old Ascendant but a thousand-year-old undead grandpa for whom only their selfish objectives mattered.
When he thought more about it, he understood Otto's point of view—Pawns are meant to be sacrificed for the bigger picture!... And that realization gave him a feeling of incongruity mixed with excitement.
He could feel his nerves rushing when facing such a dangerous opponent.
!!!
It was then he heard a shuffling sound from behind.
Instinctively, Kole turned around.
A woman in a long black dress walked out from the shadows, and she said impassively, "Remove her dress."
Kole's mouth hung wide open.
"Mom…"
Did mother have the tendencies of a 'watcher'?... Kole chuckled inwardly, but when he heard Faneia's response, his doubts cleared into a puff of smoke.
"The gems embedded in her dress are a source of corruption. It needed a trigger to open the seals and let corruption run amok. And the trigger was a kiss on the lips."
Despite saying something indecent, Kole was amazed to see natural casualness on her impeccable face. She even continued further.
"If you both had kept kissing for a few more seconds, at least one of you might've turned into a Bane!"
Kole let out a sigh of relief. Thank Goddess, his reaction was quick enough!
Remembering something, he asked, "Has Otto left?"
Faneia snorted lightly, "He was the first to leave."
He wasn't disappointed. It was as he had expected.
Grabbing Constance by the waist, Kole vanished along with Otto's fiancée from the spot.
Appearing in a room somewhere in the large mansion, Kole placed the squirming woman on the bed.
He took off her long blue dress but didn't remove her white lingerie.
Kole admired her figure as his dragon turned semi-hard in his pants.
"You are lucky that I don't force women." With a sigh, he stood up, or at least tried to but noticed Constance held the corners of his coat, clearly unwilling to let him go.
With a snort, Kole held both her hands by her wrists above her head.
Concentrating a little, his rich black eyes shined with an arcane light.
Deep black crystals of ice materialized into existence and formed handcuffs that caged her arms. Kole did the same around her ankles.
Chortling to himself, he muttered, "That will keep you caged for a while, till I come back…"
…
Unknown, South Grovebourne.
Inside a dark dilapidated building, a half-giant-like man, in pristine white robes and wearing a white mask, was walking through the overgrown moss-covered decrepit hallway. The air was damp and murky.
Despite the poor condition of the environment, the man was full of vigor, but his eyes were hazy.
"My Lord… My Lord… My Lord…" The man muttered like a broken record.
Holding an ancient ivory coin made up of bones in his raised palm, he gently flipped it in the air and caught it.
On one side of the coin, an outline of an eyeball with a vertical pupil was carved, while the other side remained smooth.
Catching the bony coin, the man glanced at it with his deep blue eyes.
"Soon… My Lord… Soon…"
Moonlight shone through narrow crevices as the man appeared in front of an altar.
Flickering candles and burning incense placed on the ivory altar wafted a puff of smoke in the air. An arcane rune of sorts was etched, creating a sophisticated pattern.
Suddenly, the bulky man covered in white frowned.
He flicked the bony coin again.
As he looked at the coin, without even turning around, he muttered in a gruff tone, "Who are you? And What do you want?"
Quickly, his voice grew fanatical, "If you are here to receive Lord's blessing, then wait till tomorrow because I'm busy helping Lord's revival…" Without even having the need to see through his mask, it was evident his expressions were full of piousness.
"Oh?" A playful voice echoed from behind, "Then may I know how you do that exactly?"
Having breached the topic of the giant's interest, the voice quietened.
"I am his devotee. I am his chosen. I am his messenger." The giant replied with a proud light in his eyes, "And I also bear the fate of his servant!"
Instantly, the giant swept a mental storm toward the intruder to check his 'faith'.
"Good. Since you aren't a dog of Tempest and have loyalty toward my Lord, I can tell you the truth—I collect 'faith' from devotees in large amounts and sacrifice it to Lord Gradoz!
"He said in a revelation, the more 'faith' we can gather, the faster his recovery will be…"
"Interesting." The enigmatic voice echoed from behind, "But I don't understand why you keep saying I have faith in your Lord Gradoz.
With certain hidden suspicions, that voice continued, "I can understand that you can sense my loyalty doesn't lie with the Tempest, but when did I become a believer of Gradoz?"
The half-giant frowned. His deep blue eyes revealed a light of absurdity.
!!!
Suddenly the giant's eyes narrowed.
A man in a three-piece dark suit, wearing a long black trench coat with a half-top hat on his head and a dark face mask hiding his facial features, appeared behind the giant.
His hair was long and messy, and his eyes flashed with a dominating glint.
"You are finally here, Kole Akerse." The lips beneath the mask of the giant curved upwards.
Grabbing the bony coin in his hand, the giant turned around with a rapid sweep of his ankles.