Too lustful

'Rangyl, you idiot, what the fuck are you doing?!'

The moment this voice echoed in Rangyl's head, he stiffened, his transformation process coming to a halt.

In a matter of seconds, his scales disappeared, the tail that was about to emerge retracted into his body, and his black skin receded, returning to its usual white color—or rather, his face appeared even paler than usual.

'M-My go-'

'Can you explain what you were about to do?' the voice interrupted Rangyl.

Rangyl got silent, not knowing what to say. Their god had made it clear to him and others that, under no circumstances, should they take their true forms, as it would attract too much attention—an outcome they needed to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately, in the heat of his emotions, he forgot about that order and nearly transformed.

Just then, Rangyl remembered why he was about to transform, and all his worries disappeared. If he used the excuse that he transformed because he was about to gain that power, then surely his god wouldn't scold him too much, or not at all.

Alas, the moment Rangyl wanted to explain himself...

'Come back right this instant!' the god ordered.

'But I have-'

'Are you discussing my orders now?' the voice asked threateningly.

Rangyl fell silent. If given a few seconds, he could explain the current situation to his god, but he knew his god; should he not obey immediately and meet his god right this instant, then he would definitely be punished.

Rangyl is already going to be punished for the transformation blunder; he would rather avoid another one.

Rangyl stared at Amelia for a few seconds, burning her appearance into his mind, then vanished out of thin air.

The girls immediately went on high alert, fearing that Rangyl would appear out of nowhere to attack them. However, after several seconds, nothing happened, and they couldn't sense Rangyl's presence anymore.

"Uhh, did he leave?" Amelia wondered with a puzzled expression.

Anna lingered for a moment, then nodded her head hesitantly, "it seems so."

"But why?" Amelia confusedly observed their surroundings.

From the girls' perspective, Rangyl, who had been sitting leisurely on his chair while his colleagues were killed, suddenly stood up after witnessing Amelia's ability. He mumbled some nonsense, then exerted immense pressure on them, giving the impression that he intended to engage in a battle. Then, he vanished without a trace.

It didn't make any sense!

Suspicious, the two women remained on high alert for a few minutes, anticipating Rangyl's potential reappearance and attack. However, as time passed, they came to the realization that he had indeed departed.

"I don't know what is going on, but we should just take the girl and get out of here before he comes back," Anna proposed.

"Good idea, that guy looked dangerous," Amelia nodded.

The duo approached the table where the Drazen heiress was bound. Just as Anna prepared to release her, she sensed a warmth emanating from the talisman given to her by Alex.

Feeling the warmth, Anna breathed a sigh of relief, 'If he has time to use the talisman, that means they are safe,' she deduces.

Retrieving the talisman, she handed it to Amelia, saying, "Answer him; I don't have enough mana to do it."

Seeing the talisman, Amelia also breathed a sigh of relief, then took it to her forehead.

The instant she imbued mana into the talisman, Alex's voice echoed in her mind, 'Anna, are you alright?'

'That's Amelia, and yes, everything is alright. We are just about to rescue the Drazen heiress. How is it going on your end?'

'Sigh,' Alex mentally exhaled upon hearing that they were safe. 'We have defeated our opponents, and I'm currently entering the mountain,' Alex reported.

'Okay, let's meet at the door of the first chamber,' Amelia said and was about to take off the talisman when Alex spoke again.

'Wait, leave the heiress there, don't free her yet.'

Amelia was puzzled when she heard him. Weren't they supposed to free her? Why is he asking that they leave her here?

Thinking that he might have something planned, Amelia nodded. 'Okay.'

"You know, you don't need to nod your head since he can already hear your thoughts," Anna said after Amelia had removed the talisman.

"...."

"So, how are they doing?" Anna inquired after an awkward silence.

"They defeated their opponents and are entering the mountain."

Anna nodded, then turned her attention to the ropes binding the Heiress. Just as she was about to cut them off, Amelia informed her:

"Alex said to leave her here."

Anna stopped in her tracks, glanced at Amelia, and nodded.

"Understood."

She turned around, walked to the tables where the three other women were bound, and freed them.

"Why are you freeing them?" Amelia inquired while approaching her.

"Well, why would we leave them here? They are captives after all, plus..." Anna pointed to one of the women, "...I think this woman is the friend Cedrix's daughter asked me to save earlier."

"Mm," Amelia nodded and teased with a smile, "you are a very kind person, although one wouldn't think so with the constant cold expression you wear. And when you do decide to smile, it's either a polite one, a cold one, or a creepy one—never a genuine one. Apparently, the only one to witness your genuine smile is my brother-"

"And that will stay that way," Anna cut her off.

She lifted the three unconscious women, threw them over her shoulders, and began walking towards the corridor.

"Hey, wait for me!" Amelia exclaimed while chasing after her.

*****

'Thankfully, they are safe,' Alex sighed in relief as he removed the talisman from his forehead.

Now that he heard that the two women were safe and they had accomplished their missions, he finally allowed himself to slow down his pace.

As he slowed down his pace, and the sound of the air no longer filled his ears, Alex heard Lilia, whom he had strapped to his back using his torn shirt so that he could retrieve the talisman, mumble something in her sleep.

"You can go....harder..."

Alex nearly tripped when he heard what she said.

Sending a glance over his shoulder, he saw a slight blush on Lilia's cheeks and chuckled in amusement.

'What is this woman dreaming about now?'

Shaking his head, he resumed his course while the unconscious Lilia continued mumbling obscene words.

Soon, Alex spotted two silhouettes sitting on the ground.

'Let's hope Lilia won't be saying any words about sex, or else, she is going to be so embarrassed,' Alex laughed internally.

Just as he approached them, the large metallic door behind the two silhouettes opened, and Anna and Amelia walked out while carrying three unconscious women.

'Who are they?' Alex wondered as he walked past Cedrix and his daughter seated on the ground, heading straight to meet his two wives.

"I hope it wasn't too difficult to rescue them," Alex said with a small smile on his face as he approached the two women.

"It was fine," Anna answered him with a smile of her own.

'Is he that Lord Alex dad had been talking about?' Anita wondered as she stared at Alex's back, 'who is that woman? And why is he shirtless? Don't tell me he is an exhibitionist.'

'Even though, I have to say, he is quite in shape,' Anita commented internally.

As Anita scrutinized Alex from behind, Anna walked next to her and placed down the two unconscious women that she was carrying.

The instant Anita noticed that the women Anna was placing down were Mina and the nun, she sprang up from her sitting position.

"Mina!"

Anita crouched before the nun with a worried expression.

"Don't worry, she is fine, she had just been drugged, that's all," Amelia reassured her while placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I see..." Anita sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, Cedrix stood up and greeted Alex, "Lord Alex, thanks to the gods, you are safe."

"Mm," Alex made an acknowledging sound, glanced over the old man's shoulder to the crouching figure of Anita, and smiled, "I see that you have reunited with your daughter; that's good."

Cedrix nodded his head with a grateful smile on his face, "it's all thanks to you."

"Not necessarily, if you hadn't come looking for my help, she wouldn't have been rescued," Alex replied as he untied Lilia from his back.

Crouching, he gently set her down, leaning her against the wall.

"Is Lady Lilia..."

"Nah, she's alright... I think so," Alex replied while carefully brushing away the few strands of hair that covered Lilia's face.

"You think so?" Amelia asked from behind him.

Alex glanced back at his sister, then shrugged, "Well, I'm not a healer."

"I'm going to check on her," Amelia said, pushing him aside.

Alex nodded and stood up, just in time to hear, "Thanks for rescuing me!"

'Hm?' Alex lowered his gaze and saw a woman, Cedrix's daughter, bowing at him.

"Don't mind it, I just did..." Alex's words trailed off when the bowing woman raised her head to stare at him.

'What a beauty,' he thought in a daze.

As Anita's eyes met the face of the man whose back she had been staring at the whole time, her mind seemed to glitch, just like his did moments ago.

Unbeknownst to her, Anita's eyes began sparkling with a peculiar blue light the instant her gaze locked with Alex's.

Completely forgetting their surroundings, the two of them kept staring at each other, neither of them in a rush to avert their gaze. In fact, it was doubtful if they even wanted to tear their sight from each other.

'What is going on here?' Cedrix, who was observing the scene of his daughter and Alex staring at each other, frowned.

'Why is she looking at him like that? That brilliance... it reminds me of... no, no, no,' Cedrix suddenly felt a foreboding sense of unease.

Cedrix knew what the brilliance in his daughter's eyes meant since it was the same brilliance the eyes of his wife emitted each time she looked at him.

'No, no, no, not Lord Alex,' the old man's eyes reddened in distress.

In a strict sense, Cedrix liked and respected Alex. He was grateful for everything the young nobleman had done for him, from healing his wounds to saving his daughter. From his point of view, Alex is a kind and benevolent person.

Knowing this, his daughter's interest in Alex should have gladdened him. Yet, he felt a sense of dread as he could see attraction budding in his daughter's eyes.

The reason for that dread was simple:

'Lord Alex is too lustful'

Just as he had this thought, Alex started licking his lips, a predatory glint in his eyes as if he had just identified his next prey.

'No,' Cedrix's expression sank.