Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1274: Adonis Mode Activated

Quinlan and Black Fang burst out of the portal in one motion.

Black Fang hit the snow first, boots planting with a thud. Quinlan was still horizontal from the midair tackle he’d used to drag her through, his shoulder jammed against her stomach, and his arms wrapped around her slender waist.

The moment they crossed, his body folded forward. A line of blood slipped from his mouth and pattered onto her armor.

His arms stayed locked even tighter around her body as he forced himself onto his feet. Or tried to.

His balance broke immediately. His knees dipped, then buckled under him.

"That rabid dog is still this much stronger, huh... I might’ve underestimated her a bit... This was very risky," His voice came thin, strained.

Then his face contorted as another sting rolled up his ribs. "Lightning..."

The moment the word left his mouth, something about it felt weird. Too soft. Too heavy. As if... he’d have to investigate. But not now, because his legs gave out again.

Black Fang caught him under the arms before he dropped. Her posture stayed rigid from Morgana’s earlier words, shoulders locked, jaw tight. But when she lowered her gaze to him, a faint shift softened the edge in her eyes.

"I am certain now. She might be stronger for now, but you will surpass her soon."

Quinlan let out a dry, short laugh.

It sounded more like air scraping out of his throat than amusement. He lifted one hand with effort and carved the air open, forming the second portal for Ayame, after which his hand instantly shot back to Black Fang’s lower back.

Truth be told, her words didn’t land too well thanks to the stinging inside him, caused by tanking two lightning strikes. With each breath, he felt the reality, the gap between his current self and the very peak of the continent.

Quinlan was already strong enough to put up a more than respectable fight against anyone, even people in their upper sixties and perhaps even lower seventies. But the few who reached the peak became so strong that they literally had to get nerfed by the so-called Heavenly Restriction...

They were his next targets. He had to surpass them, and soon. Or the plans he had for the near and far future would not be able to be brought to fruition.

Feeling the aftershock of two lightning blows still biting at every tendon, Quinlan ensured he’d not stop until he got there.

Black Fang watched his arms shake. He wrapped around her sides. A strange look crossed her lips, out of place on someone who usually held herself like steel cooled too long.

"You gave me a good chance," she murmured.

Quinlan’s head snapped up. The tone was wrong for her, too low, too unsure, too exposed. When he saw her expression, every pulse of pain fell silent inside him.

Opportunity detected.

Sights locked onto prey.

Adonis mode activated.

He straightened at once, drawing himself to his full height over her. Her hands had started to slip away the moment that he displayed that he was able to stand.

Quinlan didn’t give her the chance to step back.

He leaned forward as if he’d lost control of his balance again. His foot shifted, his weight tipped, and he fell into her. His arms swept around her waist, again, closing the distance in a firm, tight hold that looked truly accidental.

What she just said right now... Combined with her tone. It was almost as if she felt regretful for not being able to finish Morgana off despite him risking his life for the chance.

The warmth of her body pressed into his chest. Her hands, initially raised to steady him, froze against his sides. Her chin hovered close to his shoulder, and her scent filled the small gap between them.

Nothing frantic. Nothing wild.

Just two bodies held together, close enough for the heat between them to settle into something slow and grounding.

Quinlan let his forehead rest against her temple. "You have done well, Black Fang. You wasted no chances; you killed her... If not for that artifact. I bet she won’t have it the next time we meet. It was a monumental victory for us, I’d wager. This whole night was... We gained so damn incredibly much I don’t even know where to begin."

Black Fang did not move or react to his words.

Her arms stayed where they were, not replicating the hug. Her posture held steady as stone.

The only sign that she registered the closeness at all was the tiny dip in her shoulders that eased the stiffness she’d carried since Morgana’s words.

For a few seconds, she let him hold her.

Then her hands pressed lightly against his ribs. The touch was measured, neither abrupt nor hesitant. She slipped out of his arms with a smooth pivot of her hips, guiding his weight off her without hurting him.

A clean escape. A clean refusal. A clean proof that Quinlan had no right to think himself owning ’Adonis mode.’

And absolutely no reaction on her face.

She didn’t avert her gaze. She didn’t frown. She didn’t blush. She didn’t do anything a normal woman might do after being dragged into a warm, steady embrace with a man who was very obviously into her.

She simply stood tall again, the Venomborne Terror restored to her usual unshakable frame.

Quinlan watched her, ribs still aching, and the thought slipped through his head:

Cute.

Not girlish. Not flustered. Just... cute.

His attention shifted as a familiar presence closed in.

Ayame approached across the snow, steps light, expression unreadable. Her gaze moved from his stance to Black Fang’s posture, then back to him.

The exchange between them lasted only a second.

She had seen everything.

His stumble.

His deliberate lean.

His arms around another woman... again.

And Black Fang not kneeing him in the jewels, which surprised her more than his attempt at charm.

Ayame’s eyes narrowed slightly, but the edge wasn’t hostile, not even girlfriend hostile. More... observational. The kind of look that carried a reluctant nod buried somewhere behind it. Something like: I respect the attempt. Going for this with Black Fang took some serious balls. You’re lucky to have any left, too.

No actual words passed between them.

The samurai stopped at his side.

Ayame had remained on the field longer than he had.

When he went off to clash with Morgana, and Black Fang went to take up position, Ayame stayed in the residence to handle the rest.

Namely, cleaning up the scene, confirming the countess’s story now that she was their [Subjugated] servant, and preparing the countess for the role she would now play.

One might wonder, why was the count killed in the first place?

Quinlan didn’t believe that the explanation ’Devil came, but he was underprepared to go all the way, so he left before reaching the nobles.’

If he kept playing this card, so many questions would arise. At best, he’d be seen as incredibly incompetent, but most likely, considering that the people on the other side were not all morons, some hunches would begin to form.

Thus, the story was switched up. Sometimes they reached the nobles and killed them; other times they came unprepared and left.

And, of course, sometimes they did the job without being noticed. Those attempts were led by Blossom and Kitsara.

Quinlan hoped this would not make people raise eyebrows.