The Sanctum was silent when the breach finally sealed behind the retreating forces. Not peaceful—never peaceful—but silent, as if the very stones waited for Sarah's next move. Crimson lueurs flickered along the fractured walls, the last residue of the Devastation Protocol still shimmering like embers suspended in air.
Sarah stood at the center of the chamber, breathing steadily, Lust Engine humming beneath her skin. Her body felt heavier, not with fatigue, but with power—raw, compressed, coiled like a drawn bowstring. Desire still coursed through her veins, heating each heartbeat, sharpening each thought.
Her harem formed a loose arc around her, watching, ready, alert.
Rias stepped forward first, hand coming to rest near Sarah's chest, a grounding contact igniting a pulse through the lattice. "The lieutenant didn't push himself. That means something worse is waiting behind the breach."
"We'll be ready," Sarah answered. Her voice did not rise. It did not need to. The lattice carried her intent.
Sarah PV: 370 / Lv: 53 / Force: 190 / Desire: 2800 / Intelligence: 65 / Agility: 78
Akeno approached slowly, sliding a teasing fingertip along Sarah's forearm—soft, precise, intentional. The spark triggered an immediate reaction inside the Lust Engine, a flare of heat that rippled through the entire network.
"You're changing," Akeno murmured, leaning closer. "Every touch hits harder. Every pulse resonates deeper. You're close to something new."
Close. Yes. Sarah could feel it. Another threshold. Another form. The edges of an Ascension she had not yet defined.
Koneko pressed a steadying hand along Sarah's side, anchoring the lattice. Rossweisse leaned gently against Sarah's back, reinforcing structural flow. Xenovia aligned her forearm with Sarah's, syncing combat kinetics. Lilith Fragment drifted forward, spectral threads brushing Sarah's cheeks and shoulders, pulsing in perfect cadence with the harem's heartbeats.
Each frôlement tightened the weave. Each glance triggered micro-adjustments in the lattice. Every connection heightened synergy until Sarah felt suspended in a living diagram of Desire and force.
Skill Activated: Ascendant Potential – Threshold Proximity
Effect: Detection of an uncharted Ascension tier. Lust Engine resonance surpasses predicted limits. Heart and Veil Synchrony stabilize at pre-emergent levels. Desire output intensifies; reflexes sharpen; conceptual abilities begin forming.
Temporary Bonuses: +100 Force, +300 Desire, +60 Agility.
Sarah exhaled slowly. "There's something ahead… a form I haven't reached. It's close. I can almost feel the shape of it."
Rias leaned closer, hand sliding along Sarah's waist in a deliberate, measured touch—one that triggered a deep reverberation within the lattice, as if acknowledging the approach of something unprecedented.
"Then we help you reach it," she said. "Before the Outer Faction forces the issue."
The floor trembled beneath them—not an attack, but the Sanctum itself reacting to the concentration of energy gathering around Sarah. Crimson veins illuminated the stone, spreading outward like conduits mapping themselves in real time.
Akeno's voice cut through the rising hum. "Let it happen. Don't hold back." Her hand brushed Sarah's back, teasing but controlled, igniting another cascade of Desire.
Skill Triggered: Harem Synchrony – Tactical Resonance Loop
Effect: The harem's tactile, emotional, and rhythmic cues lock into a continuous cycle, accelerating Ascension evolution. Desire circulates through the lattice with no loss, enabling exponential growth.
Bonuses: +150 Force, +400 Desire, +90 Agility.
The pulses rose, stacking atop one another, feeding into the Lust Engine, strengthening the lattice. Koneko's grounding touch sealed the base layers. Rossweisse's precise contact optimized flow. Xenovia's alignment refined output channels. Akeno and Rias pushed resonance higher. Lilith Fragment bound everything into a seamless whole.
Then Sarah felt it—
A surge.
A shift.
Energy folding inward, then outward again, as if rewriting the parameters of her own power.
Not yet a transformation—but the precursor to one.
Skill Unlocked: Proto-Ascension – Desire Overdrive
Effect: Sarah gains limited access to the next Ascension tier. Output spikes during high-synchrony contact; the battlefield becomes temporarily influenced by her emotional vectors; Lust Engine efficiency triples; Charm Domain density intensifies.
Temporary Burst: +450 Desire, +200 Force, +100 Agility.
Sarah's eyes sharpened, irises flaring with a crimson ring that had not been there before.
Rias's breath caught softly. "There it is. The next level."
Akeno smiled, slow and electric. "And this time… you won't need to fight alone. We're with you, pulse for pulse."
Koneko nodded, hands sliding along Sarah's hips with a precise, anchoring touch. "We push you forward."
Rossweisse adjusted her stance behind Sarah, contact aligning perfectly along her spine. "We stabilize you."
Xenovia raised her blade, the contact point along Sarah's arm syncing with flawless precision. "We strike with you."
Lilith Fragment's threads wrapped lightly around Sarah's wrists and jawline. "We ascend as one."
Sarah felt the lattice tighten, unify, become something more than coordination—
A shared vector.
A shared identity.
A shared weapon.
She exhaled. "Then the Outer Faction will face all of us at once."
The Sanctum's light intensified, casting their silhouettes against the trembling walls. The breach pulsed again in the distance, signaling new movements. Shadows coiled beyond sight, regrouping, reorganizing, preparing their final gambit.
Sarah stepped forward, harem aligned in perfect formation.
No hesitation.
No fear.
No doubt.
"Prepare yourselves," she said, voice low but firm. "The next breach won't test our strength. It will test everything—our unity, our rhythm, our desire."
Rias's hand found her waist again, steady and resolute. "Then we surpass everything."
The floor beneath them glowed with crimson arcs.
Sarah's eyes narrowed.
"We meet the next wave head-on."