Chapter 890: Honey and Golden Silk
Asmodeus stood atop the ruins of Grigor’s clifftop after spending time soothing his harem’s anger. Some of them remained grumpy, leaving for the capital instead of waiting for him to return with them.
’Phew, it seems I pushed myself too far...’
The moment he clenched his fist, a dull ache shot through his muscles like lightning. From his abdomen to his chest and upper arms, there was a lingering jolt.
"This isn’t good..."
No matter how hard he tried to summon his divine or abyssal energy, his cores remained silent, though they continued to rotate and gather energy. He couldn’t access it. ’This must be the punishment for me overworking my body...’
"Honey, what’s wrong?"
A charming voice came from outside.
Her several long white limbs pushed open the wooden door, revealing the tender beauty; her nine ruby eyes glistened in the night’s torchlight. Her pale cheeks slightly reddened as she stepped past the boundary line.
’Wow... she’s like a fairy tonight.’
"Lumina... are you alright?"
Unlike when in battle or serving as his most trusted knight, her body lacked the usual thick, white carapace of her exoskeleton. Instead, she wore the most delicate golden spider-silk dress that fluttered in the faint breeze.
A dress so fine and delicate that he could almost see her tantalising figure within the fabric.
Lumina stopped several steps away from him, enough that her sweet fragrance, which resembled honey and vanilla, lingered in his nose.
’Normally she wouldn’t come at a time like this...’
Despite the softness of her appearance, the way her ruby eyes shifted across his body carried the same sharpness she always did. Three focused on his face, two watched his hands, while the others inspected the faint tremors running through his arms.
"Honey?"
Asmodeus loosened his fist.
The moment his muscles relaxed, the pain faded slowly, leaving behind a dull throbbing sensation inside his bones.
"It’s nothing serious."
Lumina’s expression remained blank, her porcelain complexion completely unchanged.
"Don’t lie to me, honey... I am here for you. No one else."
"Haa..."
Asmodeus stared back at his loving wife, a woman he once hated fervently; now she was the mother of four beloved little princesses.
’Lumina wouldn’t miss this... who am I kidding?’
"You’re right, sorry for trying to lie, Lu—"
Before he could finish speaking, Lumina had stepped closer.
Her white limbs unfolded from behind her back, moving with delicate precision as two settled against his shoulders and another touched the centre of his chest. The remaining limbs hovered nearby, ready to catch him if his body suddenly failed.
"Don’t apologise, or try to explain... I am not some foolish maiden, my dear. We all saw what you endured and fought against. Even when I was at my strongest, there was no chance of victory against that monster.... ah?" Her voice became softer, like silk flowing in the wind the more she spoke. "Your pulse feels unstable."
One of her pale fingers pressed against his abdomen, gently circling his muscles as she glanced up at his face.
After he fused with Leviathan’s energy, Asmodeus could no longer return to his human form, as if he’d finally become a tangible existence in this world.
Asmodeus’s long hair, a mixture of platinum gold and silver, dangled just below his waist, with huge horns growing from his forehead. He glanced down at his wife with an affectionate gaze. His bronze skin glistened under the amber flames of the lantern beside them, illuminating the markings on his chest, thighs and arms.
"That feels kinda good, don’t stop, Lumina."
The way her finger sank into his muscles with just enough pressure, massaging and caressing across his belly, sent a comfortable heat through his entire body.
He wanted more, for all her fingers to touch him this way.
"You?!" Lumina’s cheeks flushed red as she froze at his words, before earnestly following his wish. She closed her ruby eyes one by one before leaning her face against his shoulder, barely able to reach his neck. "...What have you done to your body to be like this?"
"Hahaha, well... maybe I overworked myself a little?"
"Foolish man!"
Though she spoke harshly, he could feel the rapid beat of her heart.
’This girl doesn’t change...’
"I used too much abyssal power, then demonic energy, then divine energy. After that, Axiom consumed Leviathan’s core and pushed the remains into my body."
Lumina stared at him in silence.
The breeze moved through the broken doorway behind her, carrying the scent of saltwater, smoke and damp stone into the ruined chamber.
Finally, she spoke.
"You are an idiot."
Asmodeus blinked before slowly wrapping both arms around her delicate, bee-like waist.
"I didn’t expect that from you."
"Hah, even if I am not human, do you think I don’t hear this kind of thing from your wives on a daily basis?"
Lumina moved closer until the golden fabric of her dress brushed against his legs.
Her hands pressed against his chest.
A faint web of golden energy spread beneath her fingertips, travelling over his skin before sinking into his body. The threads passed through his damaged muscles, wrapped around his bones and reached the three rotating cores buried within him.
’It feels so warm and comfortable~’
He tried to stifle the moan trapped in the back of his throat as she continued to spread such a pleasant wave of energy through his body.
Yet the moment she reached his abdomen, her body stiffened before glancing up at him with nine eyes opened wide.
"Hm?"
"What is it?"
"N-Nothing, it’s just... I thought there would be more damage."
The golden threads shifted deeper.
Lumina closed several of her eyes, concentrating on his body, while each of her arms clung to his back and waist, keeping their bodies close together.
Asmodeus grit his teeth, struggling to calm the raging blood inside him. The moment her ample breasts pushed up against his chest, there was a sudden surge inside his abdomen, like a raging tide.
’What the hell!?’
Though similar to the rush of hormones he felt as a teenager first seeing a naked woman’s body... it was different. There was something, deep within him, screaming for him to devour her.
’Why am I so horny!?’
Lumina’s expression suddenly changed as she seemed to notice something.
A thick, hard mass pressed against her stomach through the delicate silk separating them, hot enough that she could feel the heat of it spreading into her abdomen. It throbbed continuously, as if in pain, with each pulse sending tingles through her body.
All nine of her ruby eyes opened.
"H-Honey..."
There was a slightly awkward moment as she glanced up at him, yet he remained in the strange state as the desire grew larger and larger with each second they touched.
"Don’t move, just... stay there." He spoke in a whisper.
Lumina’s hands remained pressed against his chest while her longer white limbs tightened around his back and waist. The warmth she had been feeding into his body continued flowing between them, soft golden threads sinking through muscle and bone.
But now every ounce of her concentration had collapsed.
Her gaze slowly lowered.
The thin fabric of her dress did nothing to hide where their bodies met.
Asmodeus glanced down as well.
There was no way to hide it as it pushed up her dress, revealing her creamy white thighs with the softest skin.
"Hm."
"That is all you have to say?"
"What would you like me to say?"
Lumina’s porcelain cheeks flushed so deeply that even the delicate skin beneath her smaller eyes turned pink.
Before she could make a joke or speak, Asmodeus grabbed her soft cheeks, his large hand spreading them slightly as he lifted her off the ground. The moment he leaned into her neck, Lumina’s breath became heated as she moaned down his chest.
"I want you."
"Y-You... are injured...." She tried to protest, but the large mass pressed against her only drove to stir her hunger. The strange heat within her body was a sign, one she knew well... the source of her four treasures. "I am..."
Asmodeus laughed.
The vibration rolled through his chest and into hers, making Lumina hold her breath, no longer finishing her sentence and rather holding onto him tightly.
"This thing appears to be functioning perfectly—it wants you."
"Haa....!? D-Don’t..."
Though embarrassed, she turned away, her cheeks burning, unable to deny the deep desire and hunger within herself.
"Honey!"
Lumina tried to step back, but her own limbs clinging to his back and waist betrayed her, and instead of releasing him, she pulled closer. The hard heat between them pressed more firmly against her stomach. She made a small sound and immediately sealed her lips.
’Oh? She’s soaking wet...!?’
Asmodeus thought she might not want to do it, but the moment he pushed his leg between hers, a damp, clingy warmth kissed his thigh.
He leaned down, blowing gently on her ear. "I know you want it as bad as I do."
"N-No way... how could I do that? You’re injured."
One of his hands slid slowly along the small of her back.
The golden spider silk felt smooth beneath his fingers, so thin that the warmth of her body seeped straight through it. Lumina trembled as his palm settled against her waist.
Her nine eyes scattered in different directions.
None of them looked at him.
"How strange," Asmodeus murmured. "You were quite confident a moment ago."
"I am still confident."
"Your face says otherwise."
"Shut it!"
Lumina struck his shoulder with one of her pale hands.
The blow carried no strength. Instead, her fingers slowly traced the dark markings across his bronze skin while her golden energy pulsed inside him again and again, just like the long mass pressing against her.
Lumina parted her lips with a hot sigh and no longer pretended to ignore his or her arousal.
Her lower hands slipped around his hips, holding him in place as she leaned closer and pressed her cheek against his chest.
"You should be resting," she whispered.
"Your body gives me the ultimate comfort thought."
"Tsk, why are you so impossible?"
Despite her complaint, the arachne lifted herself onto the tips of her feet and kissed him.
The kiss was soft, careful and slow until she whispered something in his ear, with the tiniest voice she could muster.
"Then... let’s close the door."