Chapter 23: The Temple of Desire 7 (The Gooning Curse)
The moment Amelia’s blood touched his tongue, Minato’s body started reacting positively. His breathing became lighter, his fingers twitching as the blood entered his system. She held his jaw upwards gently, making sure he swallowed it completely.
=======================
[DING]
[VAMPIRIC RESONANCE DETECTED]
Host Vitality: 1%
(TRAIT INITIATED: Minor Blood Bond + 10)
===================================
Almost immediately, the wounds on his back began to close...not perfectly, but enough to stop the bleeding. The deep gashes faded into lighter scars and marks.
She looked at him closely, her voice trembling a little. "Come on, Minito, open your eyes. Talk to me."
Minato’s eyelids blinked twice before he slowly opened them; his vision was blurry at first. But then her face came into focus...worried, desperate, yet trying to stay calm.
He blinked a few times, confusion still clouding his face, then a little smile filled his lips. "For God’s sake, it’s... Minato, not Minito."
Amelia froze for a moment, then let out a shaky breath, half a laugh slipping through. "Moron, is that what you’re supposed to be worried about, correcting me now? After nearly dying?"
Minato gave a weak grin. "Well... someone has to say it."
Her shoulders dropped briefly. "You idiot," she muttered softly, though her tone carried more worry than anger.
Slowly, Minato tried to sit up but winced in pain. "What did you do to me?" he asked weakly.
"I gave you some of my blood," Amelia replied calmly, her tone careful, as she adjusted a strand of Minato’s hair behind his ear. "It’s something we vampires use to heal faster."
She brushed a bit of dried blood from his cheek with her thumb; her touch was gentle in the moment. "I didn’t know if it would work on you... But since you’ve inherited some of our vampiric abilities, I had to try."
Seeing him attempt to sit up again, she placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Don’t move too much. Your body isn’t ready for that yet."
Cough... cough...! (Not Minato)
Both of them turned their heads toward the voice.
It was the succubus. Blood dripped from her mouth as she struggled to move, her wings twitching weakly.
"She’s still alive?" Minato asked, glancing at Amelia.
Amelia’s eyes narrowed, her tone becoming more hostile. "I forgot to finish her off because I was busy patching you up. But don’t get close...she’s dangerous even like this."
Minato brushed off her warning, pushing himself up with effort. His body trembled, but Amelia quickly caught his arm, steadying him.
"I’m fine," he muttered, though his voice betrayed his pain. With her support, the two of them walked side by side down the destroyed temple passage until they reached Portal 1’s core chamber.
The succubus was still there, lying exactly where Amelia’s punch had sent her... half of her body was buried in rubble, and she was glaring at them with glowing yellow eyes filled with hate and fear.
Minato completely ignored her; all his mind and attention were on the big green core floating in front of the chamber. He let go of Amelia’s supporting hand. Now he could walk on his own.
Without hesitation, he formed a blood blade in his right hand, the red edges vibrating brightly in the atmosphere. Then, in one swift gesture and motion, he sliced the green core cleanly in two.
=========================
[DING]
[ONE OBJECTIVE COMPLETED: CLEAR AND DESTROY PORTALS]
[PORTAL 1: Northern District, Shibuya Riverbanks]
[SYSTEMATICAL CONDITION: STABILIZED] [DEMONIC TITANIC ACTIVITY: NEUTRALIZED]
[HOST PERFORMANCE: ABOVE EXPECTATION]
[FAMILIAR PERFORMANCE: SPECTACULAR]
[BATTLE DURATION: 19 HOURS 42 MINUTES]
↓
[TOTAL KILLS: 164 (INCLUDING ENENRA)]
[STATUS: PORTAL COMPLETELY CLEARED]
[THE ETERNITY SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY CALCULATING HOST REWARDS...]
↓
[ASSESSING VITALS — 62% STABILITY RECOVERED]
[ANALYZING ENERGY OUTPUT...]
[DATA SYNC COMPLETE.]
[PORTALS DETECTED: 3/3]
[CURRENT PROGRESS: CLEARED — 1/3 | REMAINING — 2/3]
[NEXT OBJECTIVE UNLOCKING IN: 24:59:59]
================================
The succubus now coughed weakly, her pink blood dripping from her mouth as she forced a laugh. "Even if you kill me... the elves and the others are still coming for you...and for your world," she said, her voice cracking up. "You think this ends with me? Foolish human..."
Minato stayed silent, glaring down at her bruised and battered body.
She laughed louder, mocking him. "You don’t understand anything, do you? You’re just a pawn... just like all the others."
Then her voice changed... low and echoing, as she started shouting in a strange language he couldn’t understand. The atmosphere around them trembled.
"Shut up!" Minato shouted, his anger boiling over. Before he could even realize it, his blood control surged on instinct. A red blade formed in his hand...and in one swift gesture and motion, he swung his blade sideways.
Slash!
Her head hit the ground like a golf ball, her pink blood splattering across the chamber floor.
===============================
[DING]
[CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEFEATED A TITANIC-CLASS DEMON — AN ENEMY TWICE YOUR CURRENT LEVEL.]
================================
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Amelia’s eyes widened. "Minato, look!" she shouted.
He turned, confused, only to see the ground glowing bright pink. The succubus had drawn a strange symbol with her blood...one that pulsed like a human heartbeat.
Before Minato could move, the symbol flared. His entire body stiffened. His heart pounded violently, his breathing became erratic, and every nerve in his body went sensitive all at once.
==========================
[DING]
[STATUS ALERT: ANOMALY DETECTED IN HOST’S SOUL NETWORK]
↓
[IDENTIFIED SOURCE: DEMONIC ENTITY.... SUCCUBUS SPECIE]
[HOST HAS BEEN CURSED]
[CURSE DESIGNATION: "ETERNAL LUST"]
[TYPE: SPIRITUAL CORRUPTION / EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION]
[EFFECT: WEAKENS WILLPOWER TOWARDS SEXUAL URGES, PERVERTED DESIRES, AND INCREASES VULNERABILITY TO DEMONIC INFLUENCE]
[DURATION: TEMPORARY]
[CONDITION FOR SURVIVAL: HOST MUST ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIARS.]
[CONDITION FOR REMOVAL: HOST MUST SURPASS THE CURSE OWNER IN LEVEL OR POWER TIER] — [ RANK A]
[WARNING: LACK OF SEXUAL EXPOSURE TO THE CURSE SOURCE MAY RESULT IN PERMANENT BONDING]
====================
"What... a gooning curse... are you guys for real?."
That was Minato’s only reaction as his eyes scanned the glowing system notifications in disbelief.
Amelia stepped closer, concern written all over her face. She reached out and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
The moment her skin brushed against his skin, a strange, sweet sensation surged through Minato’s body... warm, addictive, and terrifyingly pleasant.
He jerked away, stumbling back like he’d been burned.
"Minato, what’s wrong?" Amelia asked, confused.
He swallowed hard, his pulse rising. There was no way to explain it...not without making it sound insane. So instead, he closed his eyes briefly, neural linking the system interface directly to her vision.
===========================
[FAMILIAR LINK ESTABLISHED — DURATION: 30 SECONDS]
============================
↓
==============================
[DING]
[STATUS ALERT: ANOMALY DETECTED IN HOST’S SOUL NETWORK]
[IDENTIFIED SOURCE: DEMONIC ENTITY.... SUCCUBUS SPECIE]
[HOST HAS BEEN CURSED]
[CURSE DESIGNATION: "ETERNAL LUST"] [TYPE: SPIRITUAL CORRUPTION / EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION]
[EFFECT: WEAKENS WILLPOWER TOWARDS SEXUAL URGES, PERVERTED DESIRES, AND INCREASES VULNERABILITY TO DEMONIC INFLUENCE]
[DURATION: TEMPORARY]
[CONDITION FOR SURVIVAL: HOST MUST ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIAR.]
[CONDITION FOR REMOVAL: HOST MUST SURPASS THE CURSE OWNER IN LEVEL OR POWER TIER]
[WARNING: LACK OF SEXUAL EXPOSURE TO THE CURSE SOURCE MAY RESULT IN PERMANENT BONDING]
============================
Amelia’s eyes widened as the system data streamed before her. Then she gasped, shouting, "Minato... What in the God of damnation, am I seeing!"