Seth remained motionless, staring at Esthair's body lying on the floor like someone staring at a broken object. The blood gushed out slowly, drawing dark rivers that spread across the white marble, filling the gaps with a brutal silence. Esthair's eyes were still open, fixed on some lost point on the ceiling... as if they hadn't understood the instant of their own death.
And yet Seth... felt nothing.
Not a trace of guilt. Not a spark of sadness. Not even surprise.
It was strange and frightening how easy it was to accept the death of someone who, until recently, had controlled part of his life. A man who had repeatedly humiliated him, who treated everyone below him like disposable garbage, now lay dead in the ground as if he had never mattered.
No glory. No resistance. Without even a last dignified breath.
He had simply... ceased to exist.
And Connie had killed him as if she were just blowing out a candle.
A snap of the fingers. A mental command. A bolt of lightning. And the end.
Esthair, the renowned Rank-A. Esthair, the unbeatable arrogant. Esthair... nothing.
Seth slowly bent down, touching the pool of blood with his fingertips. The liquid ran down his skin like ink. Red, warm, sticky ink... the ink of naked reality. He watched it like someone watching rain fall behind glass: distant, irrelevant.
"So that's what it's like to be weak..." he thought.
The image of Connie flashed into his mind, standing over him and killing him easily, glowing with fury and absolute power. The way she had summoned the lightning, how the destruction was just an extension of his desire.
That woman was not human... not in the ordinary sense. She was a storm disguised as flesh.
He couldn't take his eyes off the scene of death. But not out of horror. Out of fascination.
"That strength..." he muttered internally. His fingers closed into fists, still stained with blood. "I want to be strong like that..."
And then as if the system heard this unspoken wish, a blue screen flashed before his eyes, cutting through the darkness in an icy, mechanical light.
[Ding! Daily Mission Activated: Preparations to Become Strong]
[This system will support the Player's growth].
[Warning: Failure to comply with the System's instructions will result in appropriate punishments].
[Daily Mission: Preparations to Become Stronger]
[Push-ups, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)]
[Abs, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)]
[Squats, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)]
[Run, 10 km: Incomplete (0/10)]
Seth blinked. The sound of the ding still echoed in his mind, an absurd contrast to the sepulchral silence of the room. Esthair's body was still there, motionless, the blood dripping with the same calm.
Life had been taken... and a system appeared that said: congratulations, now you begin.
He shook his head slowly, trying to clear the confusing fog of thoughts. There were still too many unanswered questions, too many loose pieces inside him. Who was Connie, really? Why had she chosen him? What did she mean by "you forgot about me"? And now... this damned system, as if he were in some ridiculous game... An unusual second awakening.
But at that moment... none of these questions seemed as urgent as her presence.
The woman who had just killed a Rank-A like stepping on an insect was waiting for him.
Seth turned slowly and crossed the corridor to the bathroom. The ajar door let out hot steam, and the sound of falling water filled the air like a constant whisper.
When he entered, the steam enveloped him like a cloak. The glass of the shower was already fogged up, but her silhouette was impossible to mistake. Connie had taken off her bathrobe and was standing under the shower, naked, her long black hair sticking to her wet skin. Every curve of her body seemed sculpted with the same precision as a blade. Wild, lethal and stunning.
She turned to him slowly, her golden eyes sparkling in the steam. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but there was something more to it. Something between irony and desire. Perhaps... anger too.
She stared at him for long seconds. Then she spoke, her voice low, full of intent:
"Are you going to stand there? Or are you going to come in before I lose my temper... husband?"
Seth didn't answer.
Because, at that moment, he understood something.
Death wasn't scary. Weakness was... So he entered the pit with her.
Connie wasted no time. As soon as they entered the glass shower, she pushed him against the wall with a dominating force, her body glued to his, hot as the water that poured over them both. Steam filled the space, drowning out the sounds of the outside world. There were only the two of them - wet, naked and inflamed.
Her gaze burned. Anger, desire and something deeper vibrated in her golden eyes. She ran her sharp nails down Seth's thigh, leaving a red trail that burned in contact with the hot water.
"You make me want to hurt you," she growled, her voice hoarse with lust. "Make you beg... until I decide if you deserve my forgiveness."
Seth swallowed. His body responded instinctively to her touch, his nerves on alert between fear and excitement. But even though he was cornered, he decided to play her game. "Are you going to kill me if I don't remember you?"
She let out a cold, humorless laugh. "No... I'm going to torture you until every cell in your body remembers my name."
Without warning, she kissed him. A fierce, possessive kiss. Her tongue invaded his mouth savagely, demanding, dominating. Her hands roamed his body, scratching, squeezing, pinching and marking him. She pressed her hips against his, their sexes meeting, skin against skin.
Seth moaned against her lips. Her touch was cruel and delicious at the same time. He knew it wasn't just desire. It was something more. A revenge, a repressed need, a wounded love transformed into fury.
"Do you want me?" she asked with her eyes shining, holding his throbbing member firmly.
"Yes..." he moaned, unable to hide how much she inflamed him.
"Then beg," she whispered with a cutting smile. "Beg to fuck me until you remember who I am."
He opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by another intense kiss. Her tongue plunged deep, while her hips rubbed against him with a provocative rhythm. Every movement, every touch, was designed to destroy him from the inside.
Suddenly, she pulled away and pushed him down, forcing him to his knees in front of her. Without hesitation, she lifted one leg and rested it on his shoulder, pulling his head to her wet, throbbing intimacy.
"Show me you still belong to me," she growled. "Make me remember why I once loved you... even though you've forgotten me."
Seth didn't hesitate. With his hands firmly on her thighs, he sank his tongue between her moist lips, exploring, licking, sucking her clitoris with devotion. He wanted to please her, to prove his worth, even through submission.
Connie moaned loudly, her fingers digging into his hair. She rolled against his mouth with intensity, without mercy, demanding pleasure like a goddess demanding offerings.
"That's it..." she whispered between moans. "Don't stop. You owe me that. You owe me everything."
Seth didn't stop. Even when he was short of breath, even when she was pushing him too hard. He wanted more. He wanted to see her come. And when she finally climaxed, shaking violently, he felt the hot taste of her release filling his mouth.
She pulled away, gasping, her eyes glazed with pleasure and unresolved anger.
"Don't you dare forget me again," she growled. "Because if you do, I'll destroy everything you are... and then rebuild you with my own hands."
But instead of backing down, Seth smiled. The anger inside him was beginning to grow, mixing with his hard-on. He wasn't just her toy.
On impulse, he pushed her against the wet wall, holding her wrists above her head. The water continued to fall on them like burning rain.
"Do you think you can control me like that?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "I'm not just your little toy."
She smiled mischievously, unflustered. "Prove it, then."
Seth kissed her furiously, biting her lower lip. His hands roamed her body, marking every curve, every sigh. She welcomed him with wild pleasure, responding with scratches, bites and moans.
Turning her onto her back, he lifted her up so that her legs were entwined around his waist. And then he penetrated her hard, in a single movement, making her scream with pleasure.
"Ahhh~...!" she moaned, clinging to him with her arms and legs. "That's it... fuck me like that... no mercy..."
He held her tightly, each thrust striking deep. She encouraged him with hoarse moans, gasping dirty words in his ear.
"You're mine... only mine..." she whispered. "Show me what you're made of..."
But Connie never liked to lose control for long. With a sudden push, she made him slip and fall onto the wet floor of the shower room. She mounted him with a victorious smile and began to ride him, her hands on his knees, her body moving like a wild dancer.
"You like it, don't you?" she said between laughs and moans, feeling him all the way inside her. "So deep... so hard..."
"You're so fucking tight..." he growled, grabbing her waist. "But I'm going to show you who's really in charge here."
She leaned back, her breasts bouncing with every movement, her eyes shining with pleasure.
"Enjoy it while I let you..." she teased.
Seth was too close to the edge. But he still refused to come. With a grunt, he lifted her into his arms again, stepping out of the glass shower, their bodies dripping, and threw her onto the bed in the next room.
"The night is just beginning," he said with a grim smile, climbing on top of her. "And I'm going to make you cum until you forget your own name."
Connie smiled, biting her lower lip, ready for war.
"Then come... my Darling."