Salvation Through Delusion C67

Chapter 67

“Are you planning to break the door with your sword?”

“Causing a commotion inside won’t matter if no one outside notices. We have to make Zab open the door himself.”

Then he pointed to the jewel embedded beneath the sword’s hilt. Upon closer inspection, I noticed an amber gem set in the center of a spider-shaped ornament.

“There’s tracking magic on it. Once the sword releases its aura, the magic in that jewel will activate, and Koon’s chief sorcerer will know exactly where I am.”

So it’s basically a magical tracker! Bringing Tyroc all the way here alive was actually worth it. For the first time, he seemed genuinely useful. Catching my gaze, he let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“You’re that happy over something so trivial?”

“Trivial? This is our only way out. But—why isn’t it working now? What’s wrong?”

He seemed slightly offended by my direct tone and fixed me with a stare that carried the weight of authority. Yet this wasn’t the time to bow my head. I met his gaze, urging him to answer quickly. He studied me for a moment, the corners of his lips twitching with a fleeting smile that vanished as soon as it appeared.

“It’s my problem.”

“I thought you said you were fine?”

Tyroc merely glanced at me and avoided answering. Ah—so he wasn’t fine after all. He could move and talk, but maybe he had been pushing himself too far. Taking a deep breath, he sat cross-legged on the ground, as if beginning meditation.

“What are you doing?”

“Training.”

Right now? Really? I couldn’t understand him.

“Can’t we just find another way? If you can still move, shouldn’t we focus on getting out first—”

“No.”

[No.]

What the—? Both of them rejected my idea in perfect unison.

“I might have taken it in by force, but once the Divine Beast’s power has entered my body, I can’t just let it go to waste. I need to use it properly.”

[Properly use.]

Oh, you two get along so well, huh? You were just snapping at each other five minutes ago.

“But we don’t have the time for that right now.”

“Time isn’t as important.”

[Time not important.]

Wow. Perfect harmony again.

“How long will it take then?”

He flexed his fingers open and closed, answering flatly, “A week.”

“…You do realize this place is a tomb, right?”

“I don’t have enough strength. With what little power I have, I need to maximize it just to be able to wield the sword.”

[Give power.]

The Divine Beast’s tail swayed between them. I glanced at its small, shimmering form worriedly. Its true body seemed trapped somewhere, only a fragment of its power leaking through.

“You can give him more power?”

Though I directed the question at the Divine Beast, Tyroc caught it and looked at me. But what followed wasn’t easy to translate.

[Big contact, big power.]

“Contact? What kind of contact?”

[Copulation.]

…You have got to be kidding me.

“No way!”

I shot to my feet, shouting. The tail wiggled again, unbothered.

[Why not?]

Why not?! Because—why the hell would I—?! Wait. If it’s “contact,” that could mean… I’d have to be on top of Tyroc instead…

“Ugh. That’s even worse!”

“What’s worse?”

“There’s… something. Just—don’t worry about it.”

“If there’s something worse, that means there’s something better, isn’t there?”

“There’s nothing better—”

I stopped mid-sentence as I caught his expression. Why was he smiling like that, like he already knew everything? I quickly straightened my posture and lowered my tone.

“There’s no other way, then. Just… train.”

“There is another way. You and I make contact. What’s so scary about that?”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

“It’s not fear—it’s disgust. I’m not afraid of anything in this world.”

“Oh, so the Divine Beast really did tell you to make contact with me.”

Damn it. He baited me. My expression must’ve given it away. Tyroc glanced down at where the Divine Beast floated, then lifted his eyes toward me again. His golden irises glittered like sand under sunlight.

“A week of training means nothing to me. But you—do you think you can endure that long?”

[Can’t endure.]

[He won’t endure.]

Both the Divine Beast and Mo chimed in with the same answer. I clenched my fists, betrayed.

“And if I can?”

“Then endure.”

Tyroc turned away, uninterested, and sat back down to meditate. For some reason, that annoyed me even more. Why did it feel like I’d lost? Mo and the Divine Beast didn’t help either.

[Human contact needed.]

[The humans of Tuvine strengthen their life force through close physical contact. There are even records of them recovering from near-death by absorbing another’s energy. It’s still used today as a form of treatment.]

Great. Now I just sound like some kind of germaphobe.

[Would you like me to remind you of the past therapy sessions you attended for germophobia?]

Mo hit where it hurt. It was only a few sessions! Grumbling under my breath, I finally walked over to Tyroc.

“Let’s kiss, then.”

He opened his eyes and looked up at me, his gaze steady and unreadable.

“And you’ll try to shorten the process to a day.”

“You’re asking for a lot from a single kiss.”

“Let’s just say it’ll be a kiss worthy of that much.”

One of his brows arched upward.

“The rumor says the only thing you’re good at with your lips is sucking cocks.”

“…What a ridiculous rumor.”

“Based on experience, your kisses weren’t that impressive either.”

Ah, the maze garden. I remembered that moment and gave a dry laugh.

“It’ll be different this time.”

He tilted his head slightly, a spark of curiosity flickering in his eyes. Remaining on my knees, I added,

“Just one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Don’t fall for me.”

The disbelief on his face was almost comical. I ignored it and turned to the Divine Beast.

“Give the Duke your full strength.”

The tiny creature nodded solemnly.

[As much as possible.]

It must have been exhausting for it to maintain even that fragment of power, yet it still agreed to give more. Fine. Then I’d do my part, too.

‘Mo, start a ten-minute countdown.’

I ordered and then knelt before Tyroc. Because of our height difference, that alone brought us eye-to-eye.

Gods, he’s huge. I refused to avert my gaze as I placed my hands on his shoulders and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. He made no move to stop me, just watched, as if to say he’d leave everything to me—which was exactly what I wanted.

To close the distance further, I spread my legs, wrapping them around his waist. Between them, I could clearly feel the hard outline of his body. Damn—was it always that big?

To hide my surprise, I slipped my arms around his neck and turned my gaze aside. Then, rubbing my hips forward once, I pressed closer. The secret to an effective kiss was simple—heighten the tension through near, tantalizing contact.

Through clothing, through restraint—touch that never fully satisfied.

And it worked immediately. Heat flared where our bodies brushed. His erection throbbed against me, yet he still didn’t lift a finger to touch me. That restraint—exactly what I wanted.

I brought my face closer, whispering softly,

“Don’t move. Just stay still.”

A chilling glint flickered in his golden eyes, raw power shimmering beneath. But I didn’t flinch—true to my word, I wasn’t afraid. Instead, I felt a strange thrill. Tyroc was far more entertaining than I’d thought.

Then I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

At first, soft. Barely touching. My lips traced the shape, texture, and heat of his mouth like I was memorizing it.

Slow, deliberate movements—yet my hips pressed even closer. With my cock rubbing against his abdomen, the space between my thighs welcomed the hard, pulsing weight of his.

While my lips explored his, I rocked my hips slowly back and forth.

When I finally began to suck on his lower lip, drawing it between mine, a wet sound echoed faintly in the still air. The moist heat spread as saliva slipped between us, glistening.

He flinched. The muscles beneath my arms—his shoulders, his neck—reacted ever so slightly. But he still obeyed, unmoving.

I alternated pressure and pace, deepening the kiss little by little. When I parted my lips slightly, I let my tongue slip inside.

His mouth was hot, humid, like the air inside a sauna. The deeper I went, the more the kiss consumed us both. I gasped softly against his lips.

“Haa…”

Our bodies trembled together. His broad chest rose and fell sharply. Even that faint movement carried impatience, tension—desire.

I knew. I was taking my time on purpose. The slower it was, the more desperate it’d make him. The more he’d crave me.

That’s when it would be the most satisfying.

Tightening my grip around his neck, I pressed harder into the kiss. Then, to make up for what the lips couldn’t express, I began to move my hips in earnest—grinding, rocking, teasing—riding the rhythm between us.