Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 286

Chapter 286: EX 286. Mutants
But even those had done little beyond leaving her body feverish, her womb tingling with dull heat and no true craving.

Yet… back in that room, with Leon standing there fresh out of the washroom, hair damp, that mark glimmering faintly on his arm, something inside her had sparked.

Not just warmth. Hunger.

Her throat tightened as she remembered it. ‘I clearly felt like eating him back there.’

The thought alone made her ears redden. She let out a quiet breath, half flustered, half fascinated. ‘So that’s what lust feels like.’

The air outside the quarters was cooler, helping her steady herself as she continued down the hall. There would be time to think about this later, maybe even… test it, if she dared. But right now, she couldn’t afford distraction.

They were heading out soon. And whatever awaited them in Harlot’s Paradise would demand every ounce of focus she had.

****

In the infirmary, the faint scent of medical herbs hung in the air, sharp and sterile. Lancelot adjusted the straps of his chest plate, wincing slightly as the movement tugged against freshly healed skin. The healer had done well, the bruising along his ribs was gone, and the dull ache that had plagued his jaw since that fight had faded to a mild throb.

“Alright, Lieutenant,” the healer said, setting aside a glowing vial. “You’re clear to leave. Try not to get yourself half-killed again.”

Lancelot gave a polite nod, grateful to be dismissed. Samuel had left earlier, thank the heavens. The man could talk the ears off a stone statue. For someone who valued order and discipline, Samuel’s endless chatter was a curse worse than injury itself.

He was halfway to the door when a shadow blocked his path. The tall figure standing there carried an aura that made the air grow heavier. Lancelot froze immediately, recognizing the man before him, Commander Markus, the head of the Imperial Guards.

The memory of a heavy blow flashed through his mind, and his cheek tingled in phantom pain.

He straightened, placed his fist over his chest, and bowed slightly. “Commander, sir.”

Markus didn’t respond. His expression was as unreadable as the marble walls around them, but his silence carried weight. Lancelot didn’t take offense; he knew well enough that Markus had every reason to be displeased. His own rash decision earlier had nearly killed the one person the empire could not afford to lose.

The commander’s voice came, sharp and direct. “You’ll be following the boy out.”

Lancelot blinked. “The boy, sir?”

Markus’ gaze hardened. “Leon. You’ll follow all his instructions, without question. He’ll be in charge of the expedition.”

Lancelot opened his mouth, but Markus cut him off before he could form a word.

“And if I hear you caused even the slightest problem for him,” Markus said, stepping closer, “the infirmary will be the least of your concerns.”

The warning was clear. Lancelot swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. “Understood, Commander.”

Markus studied him for a heartbeat longer before turning to leave, but paused at the doorway. “Oh, and make sure to apologize to him properly and thank him.”

That made Lancelot hesitate. “Thank him, sir?”

Markus turned back slightly, his gaze sharp as ever. “If not for him, you’d be in the Emperor’s bad books, or worse.”

Lancelot’s breath caught. “He… what?”

Markus nodded once, then explained briefly what had transpired earlier, how the Emperor had personally appeared, how Leon had downplayed the entire incident, and how the matter had been laid to rest only because of that.

By the time Markus finished, Lancelot was staring at the floor, disbelief flickering in his eyes. The fact that the Emperor himself regarded Leon with such importance was staggering. But what truly unsettled him was that Leon had intervened on his behalf, after everything.

‘Why would he help me?’

Markus gave him one last look. “Make sure your apology matches the favor,” he said, then turned away, his boots echoing against the polished floor as he left the infirmary.

Lancelot stood there at the entrance, his mind a storm of thoughts. The commander’s presence faded down the hall, leaving him alone with the weight of what he’d just learned.

‘He saved me… even after what I did.’

He clenched his jaw, determination flickering behind his eyes. ‘Then I’ll make sure this mission goes perfectly. I owe him that much.’

****

The squad’s preparations were nearly complete. The city they were heading to wasn’t one of peace, everyone knew that much. It had been marked by corruption, its streets now steeped in silence that didn’t feel natural. Even from miles away, something about that place felt wrong.

Far from the capital’s bustle, deep within the heart of that very city, another kind of noise filled the air.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound of skin meeting skin echoed through the dimly lit room, accompanied by the rhythmic creak of a bed frame. It went on and on, until it ended with a sharp, breathless cry, a sound that twisted from pleasure into agony.

Moments later, a body hit the floor with a dull thud.

The room’s door opened, and from within stepped a woman draped loosely in a silk robe. Her hair was a cascade of black, her skin pale and faintly glowing under the faint red hue of the corrupted sigils etched along the walls. Her lips curved lazily as she spoke, her tone soft yet chilling.

“Clean up the place.”

From the dark corridor ahead, something stirred. A towering silhouette emerged, its steps heavy and deliberate. It entered the room and began dragging out the remains. Not one body, but dozens, men whose lifeless, paper-thin forms barely resembled what they once were. Their essence had been sucked dry, leaving behind little more than husks.

The woman walked past them, unbothered. Her bare feet made soft sounds against the cold floor as she moved down the corridor.

“When will more snacks be brought to me?” she murmured, her voice almost playful.

She wasn’t human. Not anymore. She was a succubus, a mutation born from the corruption that had infected this land. Once, she might’ve been human, but now she was something else entirely, a guardian of this environment tether, a twisted being bound to its core.

It was a detail the Emperor had conveniently left out when briefing Leon and his team. The guardians weren’t just monsters, they were mutants that had once been living souls, warped by the influence of Pandora’s corruption.

The woman paused, turning her head slightly, her crimson eyes gleaming through the gloom.

“I hope the next one can fill me up better,” she whispered with a low laugh.

Then, with a step into the shadowed hall, her form dissolved into darkness, leaving behind only the faint scent of blood and the echo of her laughter as it drifted through the hollow, haunted house.

****

A/N: Thank You for reading ^^