My Eros System Grants Me Infinite Romance Routes
Chapter 11: The Succubus Bargain...
CHAPTER 11: THE SUCCUBUS BARGAIN...
Akira lay in his bed, staring at the Residence H-Scene Unlocked notification in fro nt of his eyes. Sleep wasn’t even comi ng.
The scent of new carpet mixed with something else... something tempting and unfami liar that seemed to be coming from across the hall... Ayaka’s presence.
He c ouldn’t i gnore the opportunity. The system wanted progress, and he also want to take every advantage he could ge t.
Quietly, he slipped out of bed and walked to the balcony. The apartment was silent an d only the quiet noise from the city below c an be heard. Cool air hit his face as he opened the gl ass door.
Then he froze.
Ayaka Shiratori was already in the hot tub, relaxing as steam surrounded her like a gentle mist. Her silve r ha ir fell over her shoulders, refle cting the moonlight and giving her like an almost magical appearance.
She was wearing a thi n silk chemise that hugged her body like a second skin. It was already soaked and now almost tra nslucent, showing her hard, dark nipples.
Steam curled arou nd her curv es. Her eyes... those unsettling, knowing eyes, l ocked onto his immediately.
"I kne w you’d co me, Akira-kun." Her voice was like wind chimes in a distant temple. "The demonic essence on you is intoxicating. It calls to me like a beacon in the dark."
Akira stepped onto the balcony, his initial surprise giving way to cauti ous curiosity. "You’ve be en waitin g for me?"
"Of course." She tilted her head, studyi ng him with interest. "The fire that destroyed your home... that was no accident, w as it?"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I can smell them on you, Akir a. Let me guess: you bonded with the essence, and now, it’s pus hing you toward something greater. Or something more dangerous."
Akira stepped onto the tiles and his heart beat fa st. "You know about the...?"
Ayaka rose s lightly until the water lapped her, revealing more of her pale shoulders. Her fu ll breasts strained against the silk, dro plets of water racing down her cleavage. "I know essences, Akira-kun. I am a Lesser Succubus Noble, se nt from the o ther realm to investigate the death of two Oni-demons in this city."
"And... wh at does that have to do with me?"
She pffttt’d. "You don’t have to pretend. I can smell it on you."
"SO... now that you are here?"
"I’m not here to kill you if that’s what you are asking. "
"Well, why are you here?"
"The Merge thr eat is real... Barriers between worlds are weakening. But you..." Her lips curved into a smile . "You’re something unex pected. Your powe r c ould be the key to my own ascension. I need acce ss to your concentrated essence to break the restraints placed on my rank and evolve."
"Seems you know a lot about this essence and its power."
"A lot, an d I’m willing to share if you are willing to."
The system flashed before his eyes: [ CHOICE TRIGGER ACTIVATED]
[A: DOMINANCE AND CONTROL - Ass er t authority over Ayaka through a binding contract]
[B: ALLIANCE AND MUTUAL EX PLOITATION - Form a partnership for shared benefit]
Akira’s mind raced.
A demon informant could be invaluable. She knew things about the supernat ural world he despe rately needed to understand. And if she was being honest abo ut needing him, that gave him leverage.
"An alliance, then," he said carefully, stepping closer to the tub. "You teach me how to use thi s power properly, help me understand what I’m dealing with, and I’ll help you ascend. But if you betray me..."
"You’ll what? " Ayaka’s laug h was almost melod ic but sounded dangerous. "Threaten me with your infant powers? No, Akira-kun . We both know you need me as m uch as I need you. Perhaps more."
"Maybe. But I’m le arning fast."
"That confidence..." She gest ured to the water. "Come. To share knowledge and power, we need a proper exchange. A rit ual of sorts."
Akira hesitated for only a moment before removing his shirt and stepping int o the hot tub. The water was almost unc omfortabl y hot, but Ayaka’s presence made everything feel charged with energy.
She moved clos er. "The artifact you’ve bonded with... it’s a catalyst for demonic essenc e manipulation. Most humans who encounter such power are consumed by it. But you... you’re adapting. Why is that, I wonder?"
"Ai said I have potential."
"Ai?" Ayaka’s eyes narrowed.
"The system. I named it ’Ai’."
"The artifact demon speaks to you? Interesting. She must see somet hing valuable in you. Demons are notoriously selective."
"What do you see?"
Ayaka reached out, her fingers barely grazing his chest.
Akira felt a jolt of energy, li ke st atic electricity, but warmer and more invasive. "I see raw potential. Unrefined power that could reshape this city or destroy it. I see ambition and pain in e qual me asure. A nd I see someone who w ill do whatever it takes to claim what he believes h e deserves."
The system pinged:
[ESSENCE RESONANCE DETECTED .]
[INITIATING POWER TRANSFER PROTOCOL.]
"This ritual," Ayaka conti n ued, her voic e dropping to something almost hypnotic, "requires tr ust and surrender, not submission. I’m not asking you to kneel, Akira-kun. I’m asking you to open yourself to the flo w of demonic essence. To let me guide your energy while you learn to guide mine."
"And what exactly does th at involve?"
"Physical contact. Focused meditation. Energy channellin g th ro ugh the seven chakra points." She placed her hand over his heart. "Your essenc e is wild, chaotic. It needs structure. I can teach you to weaponize it, to draw from it without being consumed. But you must trust the process."
Akira met her gaze. Despite the danger he sensed fro m her, despi te every instinct screaming caution, he nodded. "Show me."
What followed was intense and disorienting. Ayak a guided him through breathing exercises that seemed simple but left him fe eling dizzy with power. She taught him to visualise his energy as flowing water, then as roaring fire, t hen as silent shadow.
Her hands moved to different p oints on his body: his forehead, his throat, his solar plexus, and each touch sent waves of sensation through him that had nothing to do w ith physical pleasure and eve rything to do with awakening something dormant inside.
"The demon e ssence feeds on transformati on," she explained a s her fi ngers traced symbols on his skin that glowed faintly before fading. "Every conques t, every domination, every moment of control... it converts that into essence you can harness. But raw essence is dangerous. It needs to be refined, channelled, directed."
"Like you’re doing now?"
"Exactly. I’m creatin g pathways in your energy body. Think of it as ... installing infrastructure. Once complete, you’ll be able to consciously dra w on your accumulated power instead of letting it happen randomly."
The water around th em began to glow faintly, and Akira realised the steam was taking on strange patterns, almost like symbols or writing in a language he didn’t recognise.
"Is that normal?"
"It’s the ritual mani festing visually. Your power is connecting with mine. Don’t break conce ntration."
Time blurred. Akira felt his mind grow, l inking with something huge an d dark outside normal sight.
He saw flashes of other worlds: demon realms where reality bent to different rules, wh ere power and desire were the only currencies that mattered.
Final ly, Ayaka pulled back, breathing heavily. Her eyes were brighter than before, almost l uminescent. "It’s done. You’ve received your first true lesson in essenc e manipulation."
The sy stem exploded with notifications :
[RITUA L COMPLETE]
[REWARD: ESSENCE SIPHON (LVL 1) ACQUIRED]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: DEMONI C MEDITATION]
[+50 PERV-POINTS]
[AYAKA AFFINITY: 65 (STRATEGI C ALLIANCE)]
[WARNING: RITUAL D ETECTED BY NEARBY ENTITIES]
Akira blinked, trying to process the flood of information. "What does Essence Siphon do?" he asked in his mind.
"It allows you to actively draw power from intimate connections instead of passively accumulating it. You can now consciously extract essence duri ng moments of emotional or physical intensity."
"You talking with the demon?" Ayaka asked, having noticed the distant look on Akira’s eyes .
"Yeah. I was about to as k about th e probability of nearby entities sensing the ritual."
Ayaka’s expression darkened. "The ritual created a power surge. Anyone sensitive to demonic energy within a few bl ocks w ould have felt it. That includes other demons, spirit mediums , and..." She paused. "Certai n humans with awakened abilities."
"Like wh o?"
"I don’t know yet. But we should..."
Just the n, the sliding doo r burst open . Ri na stood there in an oversized T-shirt, her face blotchy and tear-streaked, mascara running down her cheeks. She looked between them with wild eyes.
"What the fuck were you two d oing?"