Atsuku returned to his apartment and entered immediately.
Inside, Gaia was waiting for him in the hallway with a stoic look.
"Welcome back, Atsuku." She greeted him.
Having someone waiting for you after hard work felt rather good, even though the one who was waiting for him was a troublemaker. The exhaustion that Atsuku felt had recovered slightly as he smiled at the girl.
"Yeah. I am back."
He closed the door behind him and walked into the apartment, going to the living room where Yamada was still sleeping. Gaia followed him from behind, and they sat close to each other on the couch.
When they sat down, Gaia suddenly spoke.
"It's done for tonight. The next countdown won't appear shortly. The one above will also stay for a day before it disappears. So, what will you do, Atsuku?"
"For tonight? I want to rest. I'd like to offer you a spot beside Rio in my bedroom, but… unfortunately, I will take that space because I am pretty exhausted. And there is that negative effect."
"I understand." Gaia nodded, knowing what he meant by negative effect. "She just took Asmodeus inside her. So when she wakes up, she will certainly attack you. I can sleep in this room to look over Yamada if you are worried about him."
"Thanks. Anyway, I will take a bath and sleep after that. I met someone troublesome tonight, and there will also be a plan to move back to my house. So I want to have a rest when I can."
"Understandable. Have a good night, Atsuku."
"You too, Gaia. Good night."
Atsuku stood up and went to the bathroom that was connected to his room. He renovated it so he could take a bath whenever he wanted to without leaving his bedroom.
'An author's life was hard. Sometimes I can't even take a dump because of a deadline approaching.' He thought as he got undressed in front of a mirror.
His body gained more muscle in just a night. He became fitter, and somehow his height also increased a little to around 180cm. Not a noticeable difference, though.
Because there was another thing that changed in Atsuku's body, he noticed it when he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"Huh? My eyes' color turned yellow?"
Yes, his eyes changed from dark black to yellow. It even glowed a little when it reflected light, like a beast's eyes.
"I didn't notice it. Is it the effect of assimilating with Iblis this time? Is my body affected by Iblis because I wasn't prepared enough, and the Devil was even stronger than before? It had 60 horns instead of 30, twice as many as when I first saw it in Fantasia. Iblis' ability seems to be the same as before, but a little bit stronger."
Whatever it was, the change in his body was visible. Everyone who saw him would notice it. The fact that Yamada and Rio didn't bring it up was maybe because they thought the change in his body was normal.
'I will find out what change it brought eventually. Right now, I don't feel anything different yet.'
Deciding that he shouldn't think much about it, he took a quick shower and relaxed in the bathtub for a while. His tense body loosened, and the hot water cured his fatigue.
"It's bliss…"
After 5 minutes, Atsuku got up from the bathtub and dressed again. He wore a simple white T-shirt and black shorts. It was his outfit to sleep in, a simple but comfortable one.
When he exited the bathroom, he looked at the bed where Rio was sleeping. The girl's clothes were disheveled, and her body was filled with sweat. Even her cleavage was exposed.
However, Atsuku's focus was not on her sexy appearance but instead on the Arcane that began appearing in her body. It created a thin layer of pink around her skin and disappeared just a second after.
Still…
'Rio is really sexy. I have a hard time looking at her...' At that moment, his mind jolted a little bit, realizing what he had just thought about. 'My fucking teenager hormone! Calm down! You're not a virgin.'
Feeling that the forming of the core was running smoothly and shaking his head to throw away his impure thoughts, Atsuku smiled as he approached the bed to examine Rio.
"This is good. She will wake up around 3 AM in the morning if it goes on like this. I can have a good, nice sleep for a few hours."
Atsuku's bed was big. He bought a big one because he could sleep in various directions with a big bed. It was useful when he wanted to watch a movie on his computer while lying down on the bed.
It could even fit 3 people, so Atsuku still had some space, even with Rio sleeping on his bed. He casually went onto the bed and slept beside Rio as if it was natural. He closed his eyes and murmured.
"Good night."
***
On a cold night in a city formed by gears and Arcane, a young man with long, mane-like hair walked into a bar.
He opened the wooden door, a cigarette in his mouth. He looked around the bar a little before he approached a black-haired girl waving at him on the corner of the bar. She smiled at him as she opened her eyes, showing a captivating pink color that made the young man smile.
"Did you wait long?" The young man sat on the chair across from her, only separated by a small round table made from wood. On the table were two big glass mugs filled with golden liquid to the brim.
"No, I just arrived here. By the way, I ordered a beer for you. You don't mind, right?" The girl raised the glass and extended her hand toward the man.
"I don't mind." The young man took the glass and raised it, bumping it against the glass that the girl held. "Cheers."
"Cheers."
At that moment, the scenery suddenly got distorted and changed. The young man now became a man, covered in scars and wounds all over his body. The girl stood in front of the man, holding a long whip, and glared at the man with a seductive gaze.
Around them were blazing flames, burning the trees and grass, turning the greenery around them to black ash that killed the ground. However, both didn't even care about what had happened around them.
"Can you please spare me, John?" The girl called out to the man, calling his name affectionately. "You know I love you, right?"
"I know. But I won't allow you to live. For the sake of this world. And for my own sake." The man, John, answered. "So it is a goodbye, Eve."
"I see. I would like to see you again in the future. Once again, I love you, John."
The girl smiled weakly as the man swung a black sword in his hand, severing her head from her body in one stroke. The attack cut everything, including the fire around them, and it burned Eve's body in less than a second.
After that, a shadow appeared, and the scenery went black.
Then, Atsuku felt something hit his body.
"Ooof!"
He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Rio's bountiful breasts right in front of him. He tried to calm himself down. His mind was still a bit jumbled from earlier.
'A dream? It's been a long time. But, more importantly… Rio had woken up, huh?'
"Atsuku~" Rio's sultry voice rang right near Atsuku's ear.
It was at that moment she raised her body, moving back from Atsuku. Her light blue eyes glowed strangely, and her skirt was unbuttoned.
She looked sexy, and she put her finger on top of her lips. Her other hand went to her stomach, rubbing the area right above her crotch.
"Hey. I feel strange. My body feels so hot. Can you do something about it?"
'Oh, the negative effect from assimilating with Asmodeus has surfaced.'
Asmodeus was a Devil that was closely related to Eve. They were similar in regard to charm ability, but Asmodeus was a Devil that was better at illusion and controlling thread than charm and seduction.
However, the negative effect experienced by the host of Asmodeus or Devils that had charm ability was always the same. They would get aroused after they assimilated with the Devil for the first time, and it would surface many times until they were strong enough to control it.
Atsuku knew about it. That was why he slept together with Rio. If he weren't beside her, then she would probably rampage around until she found him, the person she loved.
"I can. But it will hurt a little."
"Yes~ I know what this is, and I want to do it with you, Atsuku. I love you."
"I love you too, Rio," Atsuku said as he raised his body and kissed Rio.