Evolution Time (1)

Ramiel sighed in frustration. His amethyst eyes perfectly mirrored the heavy atmosphere in the air.

With the top of his hand, he ran over the strands of sky-blue hair cascading down his well-built chest.

Caera didn't take Ramiel's wake-up call well. A moment that was supposed to be filled with sweetness that makes you sick turned into the opposite. Letting out the anger and frustration that had been accumulated for a long time, the elfess gave vent to her emotions, screaming and beating Ramiel.

Finally, after several hours, she lost her strength, falling asleep on top of him. Despite the grief that filled her wounded heart, she didn't let go of the man even for a minute. Her arms held him in a tight embrace, leaving no room for the slightest movement.

Although Caera was angry with him as hell, she didn't want to leave him even for a second. She was afraid that if she did, Ramiel would disappear like the dream she had last night. Thus, Ramiel ended up trapped with no way out.

His fingers staggered in circles, caressing Caera's soft like puff cheeks. Pushing back strands of tear-streaked hair, Ramiel saw the elfess' eyelids reddened from crying. Her soft breath brushed against his bare torso, tickling him in the process.

" So... Seraphine told you everything? "

Asme nodded with difficulty. While Caera gave vent to her emotions, she took the lead in making Ramiel aware of the mess he had gotten himself into this time. Taking advantage of the time they had, she carefully recounted to him the events of the day he returned to the dungeon.

The horned beauty tried to wince and look the man in the eye, but she couldn't. Every time their gazes met, an indescribable feeling of loss filled her from the inside.

The awareness... that she might see him one last time terrified her. Besides, there remained the question of the ritual of loyalty. Without Ramiel, Asme couldn't exist. Even if she wanted to, the blood in her veins wouldn't allow it, devastating her from within.

" Asme... " 

A delicate hand suddenly covered Ramiel's half-opened mouth. With a complicated expression on her face, Asme stared at the figure of the injured man. Her eyebrows drew together, and her teeth bit her lower lip from the inside.

" Don't you think... it's a little too late to explain yourself? You could have thought of this earlier... " A melodious whisper, containing a hint of regret, left the cracked lips of the green-eyed woman. At the same time, despite the mounting anger, her hands tenderly cupped Ramiel's face, caressing the sunken cheeks. 

Only the steady breathing of the four could be heard in the silence that fell. After a moment that seemed to last forever, Ramiel's dry voice rang out into the void.

" Asme, will you promise me one thing? " In the words he spoke, one could sense the determination and seriousness of the moment, no less than that represented by his attitude. His eyes wandered thoughtfully to the gentle features of Asme's face.

Ramiel could admire the woman's beauty for years, and he would still never tire of seeing her. The delicate facial features, combined with full lips, white hair, and a pair of horns, gave her a mystical beauty. Although magic had its fingers in it, Asme was beautiful, extremely beautiful.

The succubus' charm was quite peculiar. In a way unknown to anyone, it involuntarily affected the other person's perception. In Ramiel's case, it worked with twice the force. The main reason for this was the oath of loyalty that Asme had taken to her lover.

It weakened the resistance to the other person, making her more susceptible to influence and stimuli. It was a kind of safeguard against betrayal. After all, no woman likes to share her man. 

" ... What is the point? "

Ramiel felt stressed. It was as if he had asked a girl out in middle school. Nervousness, intertwined with uncertainty, clasped his mind. He knew he would bring up a touchy subject... If it made Asme feel bad, he wouldn't feel good about it.

" Promise me that you will start a new life together with Caera... I know it's asking a lot, especially after I lied to you, but I really care about you and want you to be happy. "

Asme's lips tightened, forming an ugly grimace. The woman hesitated for a moment on her answer. She was aware that Ramiel's request was impossible to fulfill, but he had no idea and didn't need to know. For the same reason that the man didn't mention anything about his imminent death, Asme didn't make him aware of the full force of the vow he had made.

" Fine... but I have one condition. Seraphine mustn't accompany us. I can't stand the presence of this woman. " At the mere mention of the necromancer's name, the blood in Asme's veins boiled.

For a brief moment, Ramiel saw the green eyes of the horned beauty shine with bloodlust. In his mind, he asked himself one question. How complicated things had gotten while he was unconscious.

" This is going to be tough... "

Before Ramiel could finish, Asme interrupted him with an exasperated voice.

He felt her slender tail tighten more tightly around his body. He decided not to pursue the subject further. He had already sufficiently tightened the steel rope, whose fibers could break at any moment.

" No, this won't be tough. She may be stronger than us, but I won't let her travel with us. We won't get along with someone who looks at us like worms. Caera is of the same opinion. "

Ramiel remained silent, trying to find the golden mean. He had a tough nut to crack. With all his might, he wanted to avoid leaving his women alone. In this case, Seraphine seemed to be the best possibility.

There was only one drawback. Seraphine wasn't friendly toward people who, in her eyes, weren't worthy of it. She saw Asme and Caera as spoiled brats who needed constant care and babysitting. Serving them was beneath her competence and dignity. She did so solely because of the slave bond that bound her. If it weren't for the ties of her oath binding her, the souls of both women would have long since joined the necromancer's modest collection.

" How about this? Seraphine won't interact with you directly but will act as your guardian angel from hiding. That doesn't seem like such a bad option, does it? "

Under the entreaty painted in Ramiel's eyes, Asme softened in agreement. Despite her dislike for Seraphine, she had a weakness for the man lying in her lap. After all, she wouldn't be traveling with them anyway.

" If you want it so badly... I guess I have no other choice... But I can't decide this alone. Caera must also agree, and it is you who will tell her, not me. "

The smile that adorned Ramiel's handsome face faded even faster than it had appeared. He could have fought to the death against the most dangerous creatures created by the dungeon without the slightest hesitation, but confronting the wronged elfess scared him to the marrow. Just imagining her sad face caused a stabbing heartache.

" I will deal with it somehow... but now... aren't you uncomfortable? "

Ramiel patted the spot next to him. He didn't mind lying on the comfortable pillow that was Asme's thighs, but he longed for the warmth of her body.

The horned beauty tilted her head to the side, pretending to ponder Ramiel's proposal. After a brief moment, a lazy sigh escaped from her lips.

" That doesn't mean I forgive you. " Asme, trying to look reluctant, snuggled into the man's damaged shoulder. Although she looked angry on the outside, her soul was bursting with joy.

Ramiel wanted to scream out in pain, but he didn't. As befits a real man, he gritted his teeth, suppressing the shattering feeling.

Asme, pretending to be unaware of Ramiel's efforts, squirmed, intensifying the man's pain. After five minutes, recognizing that he got what he deserved, she stopped torturing him.

" Are you satisfied now? " Ramiel's cool eyes glared menacingly at Asme, smiling from ear to ear. Pride rippled from inside the little devil. For once, she could take revenge on him without any consequences.

" Yes. Now it's like this. " A roguish smile adorned the face of the beaming Asme.

Ramiel cursed himself for the stupidity of his past self. He felt as if he had sold his soul to the devil. Not that there was anything left of it. With optimistic predictions, Ramiel should survive 14 days, however, but those are very optimistic predictions.

Ramiel tried to put his arm around Asme but quickly gave up. A searing pain that paralyzed his entire shoulder prevented him from doing so.

" Asme, there is one more thing we should talk about. "

He wanted, in a very careful way, to address the one thing he had subconsciously ignored earlier.

" Are you pulling some rabbit out of your sleeve again? "

A small snort escaped the man's lips but was very quickly replaced by an ugly grimace.

With cold blood in her veins, Asme pressed the bruised spot on Ramiel's chest. Tormenting him, she felt an unprecedented satisfaction. The amount of dopamine her body was producing was astronomical.

Am I becoming a sadist? - thought the woman.

A strange thought and a pleasant thrill didn't give her peace of mind.

" Ow... I understand stop... " Ramiel gave up. He realized that he wasn't in the right position for any jokes or negotiations. He should be glad that the women didn't burn him alive or torture him in the most fanciful ways.

" Well... what did you have in mind? " Before Ramiel had any chance to defend himself, Asme's finger circled menacingly around his damaged ribs.

" I wouldn't advise lying ~ I don't know if you've noticed, but tormenting you is terribly enjoyable... ~ " Ramiel decided to take the advice to heart. He was convinced by the passionate flames dancing in Asme's eyes. If the woman likes it... hard days await him...

With a pale face, he began. " Do you remember my strange ability, thanks to which I can enhance monsters? "

" The one you call the real cheat? "

" Yes, exactly that one. "

Asme's eyebrow lifted curiously. Ramiel had managed to get her interested. Her wagging tail betrayed her even if she didn't want to show it.

Of course, this didn't escape the man's attention, but for his good, he remained silent. Contrary to the impression he created, the man didn't like to suffer pain.

Feeling Asme's touch on him, Ramiel thought of the ability to evolve. Six beams of light appeared in less time than it took to blink his eyebrows.

Three of them were barely visible, shrouded by a gray fog capable of engulfing the entire world. After devoting a few seconds to them, Ramiel's attention shifted to the others.

Two were of similar size. Their diameter didn't exceed five centimeters. The color of one of them resembled white fluffy snow. Ramiel could tell, at a glance, its connection to the ice element. The chill emanating from it only confirmed it.

The other ray had to be linked to the succubus' natural charm. Ramiel felt a strange attraction to it, linked to Asme's strong scent. In addition, the pink color of the ray of light seemed to be hypnotized by its very appearance.

Ramiel had to focus all his attention to avoid being tempted to pick it out.

However, what impressed him most was the last of the light rays, which consisted of two elements. Its diameter ranged around ten centimeters. The scarlet color that the path of evolution emitted resembled a blood-red color with free-falling snowflakes in the center.

Ramiel was perplexed. He wasn't quite sure what it could mean. While the presence of the ice element was clearly perceptible, he couldn't make out the other part. If he had to bet on something, he would bet on blood, but an element with such an attribute didn't exist. At least, that's what Ramiel thought. He had never heard of such a thing. But if the element of necromancy existed, then what stood in the way of the element of blood?

" Asme, you have three paths to choose from... "

It took Ramiel a good half hour to explain everything in detail. He didn't want to make a decision for Asme that would define her future. If Rascal were in her place, he wouldn't think twice about choosing the biggest ray.

" This... are you limited by time in some way? " Doubts tore Asme. On the one hand, she had already decided to finish with herself after Ramiel's death, but on the other hand, she doesn't want to waste precious resources that could be useful for Caera's development.

Maybe they managed to collect quite a large supply of monster cores over the past month, but that's just it. There is always the possibility that all of them will be sacrificed.

" As far as I know, there is no such thing as a time limit. There are clearly defined conditions when it comes to unlocking certain paths, but nothing beyond that. "

" Can I sleep on it until tomorrow? "

Ramiel laughed under his breath but quickly corrected himself as he felt Asme's deadly gaze on him. The image of her finger clipping a sensitive spot was still fresh in his mind.

Khm!

Under the watchful eyes of the horned beauty, Ramiel simulated a cough. Maybe he was a good actor, or Asme took pity on him, but he managed to avoid trouble.

" Of course you can. After all, it directly affects you. " Ramiel added after a short while. " However, it would be nice if you would hurry up. I don't want to put any pressure on you, but I really don't have much time... "

" ... "

" Ouch... "

" ^.^ " - Asme

" Just wait... Ygh... "

" ^.^ " - Asme

" You said something, darling? ~ "

" No, you seemed... "

Thus, a very dark period began in Ramiel's life.