After watching his wives return to the safety of the house, Judas spun around and sprinted across the farmland. His boots slapped the damp soil, crushing young sprigs beneath each long stride as he pushed his Agility attribute to the limit.
The familiar scents of his land—the freshly turned earth, the green aroma of barley, and the morning wind brushing through the paddies—barely registered in his mind.
All he could hear was the frantic pulse of the bond inside his head. Nibble was terrified.
He had been in mental contact with Nibble the entire time to check if the bonded monster was in actual danger. Through those panicked communications, he learned the capture was a woman.
Nibble also relayed information about the bad men it saw in the woods.
The bandits.
Judas narrowed his eyes as he ran. But that woman wasn't a bandit. Just like Nibble, she was also spying on those guys. That small detail made the panic in Judas diminish a bit.
She wasn't an ally of the bandits, rather she was hiding from them.
The gentle fields gave way to uneven ground. The grassy path leading toward the boundary of his land stretched ahead like a scar.
The Willow Forest loomed farther in the distance, its dark canopy shivering with the wind.
Nibble's signal was not moving deeper inside the forest. It was stationary, right at the edge. Which meant Judas was close.
Whoever took Nibble was actually moving toward him.
He slowed down only when he approached the edge of his farmland.
This was where the cultivated, tilled soil met the first scattered trees that eventually became the deep forest. The quiet here was unnatural.
Even the birds had stopped singing. Judas placed a hand on the iron sword hilt at his side.
His breathing calmed, his steps softened, and caution caught him as he moved forward into the shade.
A faint motion appeared between the trunks of two thin oaks. Judas narrowed his eyes. Someone was there.
Then she stepped out.
A woman emerged from behind a tree, her movements soundless.
Her appearance was striking enough to unsettle even Judas for a brief second.
Long red hair fell down her shoulders like flowing strands of blood. Her eyes were a deep, predatory crimson that glowed faintly beneath the forest shade.
She wore light assassin garments, black leather straps and thin armor pieces clinging tightly to her body, accentuating curves that were dangerous in more ways than one.
Hidden blades glimmered faintly on her hips and thighs.
She held something in her right hand.
A small iron cage.
Inside it, Nibble trembled violently. The small creature pressed both paws on the bars, its big round eyes brimming with desperation the moment it saw Judas.
The distress signal inside his head sharpened at once, almost painful in intensity.
Nibble did not make a sound. The little creature knew better than to squeak in the presence of a predator.
The woman lifted the cage slightly.
"Is this yours?" she asked, licking her rosy lips.
Judas did not answer immediately. He watched her, reading her aura, his hand tightening on his sword.
'Did my mysterious act fail?'
Suddenly, Judas heard a voice in his head.
His jaw almost dropped. He glanced at the woman, who was currently smiling with a terrifying, bloodthirsty confidence.
Yet her internal monologue was the exact opposite of the bravado she was showing now.
'My rune can't hold this monster much longer. What to do?' She stared at him, rubbing her chin to hold her composure. 'He looks strong. I need to bluff.'
Judas blinked.
'System. I can hear her thoughts. Does that mean…'
[Congratulations host! You have found a wife worthy of marrying.]
Judas almost laughed. He lowered his sword, ducking his head to hide the snicker that threatened to escape.
He listened again.
'It seems he's as scared as me,' she thought, inhaling sharply in her mind. 'I have to choose my next words cleanly. That will save my act.'
Judas raised his head. When he did, he forced tears to gather in the corners of his eyes, looking at her with a pleading expression.
"Put it down. Please," he begged, his voice trembling perfectly.
The derisive grin on her face cracked momentarily. She seemed taken aback by his sudden display of weakness.
The woman tilted her head, studying him as if he were some rare beast.
She walked a slow circle around him. Her boots did not make a sound, even on the gravel.
She inhaled lightly, as if testing the air around him, and her crimson eyes glimmered with a strange delight.
'His blood smells so good.'
Suddenly, every hair on Judas's neck stood up.
"For you to bond with a spirit monster, you might have an attribute, right?" she asked aloud. She sounded proud after saying that. Like an investigator who had just solved a difficult case.
Judas nodded his head slowly.
'See, System? I am smart. I can manipulate peasants, even if they also have systems.'
Judas froze. His own system warning flared in his mind.
[It's impossible for a dead god's blessing to sense me.]
'A dead god? There is a silent loophole, System.'
[But… there are no living gods either.]
'Then, what are you?' Judas asked his system.
[I-I don't know…]
'Are you sure he also has a system?' the woman continued speaking in her mind.
Judas sharpened his mind, focusing on her, hoping to hear the voice she was conversing with.
And he did.
{There are no details about this monster in my database. There is no way the Princess of the Abyss would be unaware of a monster. That means this monster is from the portals. Its owner might be someone from there too. Also, why the hell are you calling me system again? I AM ZEPHRIYA, PRINCESS OF THE VOID, RIGHTFUL HEIR OF THE FORGOTTEN CROWN…}
'What's the use of that much title, anyway? You are now just a parasite living inside me, Summer's head.'
{Consciousness. Not parasite.}
[Congratulations host! You have found another wife worthy of marrying.]
Judas blinked.
'Are you sure of it?' he sighed internally, watching the visible future wife and the invisible future wife bickering in front of him, both completely forgetting they had a play to act out.
'So she just guessed I have a system because Nibble is not from this world,' Judas noted.
In the future, he had to consider the possibility of others guessing this too. If a random assassin could deduce it, the Guild certainly could.
Meanwhile, the magic rune covering the cage flickered.
It failed.
Ping.
The lock snapped.
Nibble burst from the cage, spinning in the air with overwhelming momentum. The black furball was a blur of rage and teeth.
Before Judas could command anything, it barreled straight toward her chest.
{Summer… no…}
[Affection: -100]
[Affection: -100]
'Fuck…' Judas cursed.
He watched her body fly backward.
CRACK.
She hit a tree with a sickening thud and fell to the dirt, unconscious. A brutal wound marred her ribcage where Nibble had impacted like a cannonball.
Nibble once again bounced into the sky, directing itself toward the fallen girl, ready to finish the job.
"Stop it!"
Judas activated Intimidation.
The air grew heavy. The pressure slammed down on the small creature, stopping his overly indignant spirit monster from striking again.
Nibble froze in mid-air, then dropped to the ground. It looked at Judas in confusion.
Somehow, Judas understood its gaze perfectly.
"Why the hell do you think I am stopping you from killing her because I am horny?" Judas shouted at the ball of fur. "I have three beautiful women waiting back home! I don't need to save enemies for lust!"
He lowered himself to check the woman.
She was pale. Her breathing was shallow. The impact had shattered ribs, likely puncturing something vital.
'Draw a Rare Lucky Draw…'
Judas didn't hesitate. He wasn't stingy when it came to using one of his rare lucky draws.
He didn't want his possible wives to die before he even got to know about them.
* *
Authors note: [1]
[1] I have posted some character images. Don't forget to vote your favourite wifu.