The Astraea Academy Combat Arena was a massive bowl of white stone and magical barriers. Today was the "Strength Measurement," and the VIP box was filled with high-ranking elders.
Among them, hidden by a veil of light, sat Seraphine. Her heart was still hammering against her ribs from the encounter on the roof. She was the Queen of Heaven—she was supposed to be pure, untouched. But the way Dante had looked at her... the way he had claimed her as his "property"... it made her skin feel too tight for her body.
He's just a student here, she told herself, her fingers gripping her silver staff. A Level 1 trash.
Down on the sands, Dante stood at the back of the line. He looked bored out of his mind. He had a black mask clipped to his belt—his "Hidden Identity" for when things got serious—but for now, he was just the "lazy dropout."
"Next! Dante!" the instructor barked.
The crowd of students started snickering.
"Look at him. He'll probably break his hand just touching the Testing Pillar."
"He's got a nice body, but no mana. What a waste."
Dante walked up to the Obsidian Pillar, a massive black stone that measured raw power. He didn't use a stance. He didn't chant. He just stood there, looking at the pillar like it owed him money.
In the VIP box, Seraphine leaned forward.
She felt a sudden, familiar heat. Lilith was there too, invisible, leaning against the wall with a wicked grin.
"Watch closely, sister," Lilith's voice whispered in Seraphine's ear. "He's about to show you why I couldn't keep my hands off him."
Dante raised his fist. He wasn't going to show 100%. He wasn't even going to show 1%. He was going to show 0.001%.
Boom.
He didn't even swing hard. He just tapped the stone.
The pillar didn't just glow—it screamed.
White cracks raced up the obsidian. A shockwave of pure, dark pressure exploded outward, knocking the instructor off his feet and sending the skirts of the nearby girls flying upward.
The entire arena went silent. The pillar shattered into a million black diamonds.
Dante pulled his hand back, shaking it casually. "Oops. I think I hit it too hard. Do I pass?"
Up in the box, Seraphine's breath hitched.
The raw, masculine pressure Dante had just released felt like a physical touch on her skin. Her legs felt weak, and she had to press them together under her robe to hide her trembling.
Lilith appeared behind her, her hand resting on Seraphine's shoulder. "See that? Just a 'tap' and he broke the unbreakable. Imagine what he'll do to us when he's not holding back."
Seraphine wanted to scream at the demon to be quiet, but she couldn't speak. She was staring at Dante. Down on the sand, Dante looked up. Even though he couldn't "see" through her veil, she felt his silver eyes pierce right through her.
He gave a tiny, arrogant wink.
Suddenly, the alarms blared. A rift opened in the sky above the arena—a Void-Demon had tracked the surge of power. It was a massive, many-eyed beast, dropping toward the screaming students.
Dante sighed, reaching for his mask.
Finally. Some real entertainment.
He looked at the scared students, then back at the VIP box where the two Queens were watching.
"Hey, Seraphine," his voice echoed directly in the Queen's mind, deep and teasing. "Keep your eyes open. I'm going to show you how a real man handles a beast. And after that... I'm coming to collect a 'deposit' on our deal."
"Dante disappeared in a blur of black lightning. Before the demon could even land, a masked figure appeared in the air, his hand glowing with a terrifying, forbidden purple light.
Seraphine felt a surge of heat between her thighs that she had never felt in ten thousand years of holiness. She wanted him to stop. She wanted him to keep going.