Unable to Resist Her Sleeping Form

Seeing her asleep like that, I just couldn't hold back.

In conquering the tower's trials, you often acquire 'skills.' Mine was Predatory Emotion. The ability to understand substances by eating them. Isana said she had a skill too, but she didn't rely on it much. Like her, martial artists who wield their own bodies as weapons don't depend heavily on skills. If they have one, they forget all about it until they see an arrow veer off course in some bizarre way and think, Oh right, I had some kind of blessing that blocks arrows.

...Estelle Argent's skill was Mana Sharing. Not sharing with other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people, but with objects. I used to think that's why she became an alchemist—to make the most of it. And someone who dives deep into just one thing... in an environment where it can be utilized, they're bound to shine.

"Massive Ray."

A pure white light burst from the tip of Estelle's staff. But calling it light was a stretch—its speed forward was pathetically slow. Anyone even a little accustomed to tower life could dodge it. But when that beam split into five prongs, it was a different story.

A laser with mass.

I watched Estelle's fight while loading magic bullets into Last Wish. The five beams of mass-bearing light restrained the grotesque giant. Their trajectory wasn't just straight-line; they even refracted, making them as flexible as chains of light... A long time ago, I'd gotten caught in them and lost an arm.

Being 'light,' they inherently carried intense heat. Once the giant's limbs were bound, the Heavenly Sword party sprang into action. The centaur called the 'magic archer' drew his bowstring, and a ghostly rider appeared beside him, mirroring his pose. A single arrow left the string, but dozens pierced the giant—an arrow storm.

-Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!

Not ordinary arrows; explosions roared out... Then the dryad, its feet rooted in the flowerpot and unable to move, frothed bubbles from its leaves. Heavenly Sword—Arachne—coated her blade with it and leaped. She wielded a single sword, not yet at Isana's 'formless sword' realm, but she swung it as if grasping thousands.

Web swing... Wherever the 'spider' passed, the giant's flesh tore into perfect cubes, raining down.

But the giant's momentum didn't wane. It snapped the binding light and flailed its eight newly regenerated arms wildly.

"No sign of it dying anytime soon."

"Wahahaha... A living target! This'll be fun to shoot!"

"Heavenly Tower Lord, any way to take it down?"

Estelle narrowed her rarely open gray-blue eyes, scrutinizing the grotesque giant she'd summoned.

You can't make something from nothing.

What the 'stars' told her were answers to problems, not omnipotent power. Estelle analyzed the giant from an alchemical perspective.

"...It's not regeneration—it's time reversal. Limited to its own body, rewinding time."

Infinite regeneration wasn't special in the tower. You saw abilities like that often enough during trials. Assuming there was always a solution, and this time no different, Heavenly Sword asked without surprise.

"How do we block it?"

"The giant itself is a massive alchemical tool... With fuel, it reverses via equivalent exchange. Cut off the fuel. And the fuel is..."

Estelle swung her staff, herding the giant with light.

"That black hole!"

The black hole the giant had emerged from. Heavenly Sword acted instantly. Her spider legs skittered as she charged. She shot webbing at the giant's arm, using the tension to arc in at explosive speed. The lumbering giant couldn't stop her. From Estelle's analysis to Heavenly Sword reaching the black hole took less than a second.

...But pure swords had limits. Even called Heavenly Sword, she was still just a martial artist who'd only reached floor 40—immature in her realm. She could cut souls with her blade, but not space-time.

The sword got sucked into the black hole.

"Can't cut it with my sword... Any other way?"

"We need to erase or sever the space itself."

"...Anyone who can do that?"

Estelle had even considered creating a barrier to isolate it from the outside... but too many difficulties in the moment. She turned her gaze to me.

For some reason, with my mana circle matching the red supergiant Betelgeuse, if anyone could neutralize the power that giant wielded, it might be me. Maybe I had a way.

I aimed Last Wish's barrel at the giant's head and fired.

-Bang!

It looked like a shot into empty air, but a purple sphere manifested precisely where the bullet passed, shattering the instant it formed—creation followed by destruction. Everyone's eyes locked on me, marveling at the foresight, insight, wisdom that predicted it all.

"How do we kill that giant...?"

I swallowed hard and answered.

"I think if I eat it, that'll do it."

"...What?"

"Did I hear that wrong?"

"...You mean swallow it with your mouth and digest it? That's the literal interpretation?"

"Yes. Exactly that. If I eat it... it'll be cut off from the black hole."

"Is this verified?"

It was a perfect excuse to fit the narrative. Not a lie, either. I'd really... eaten a 'star' before.

"Not long after arriving in the Tower World, I ate something like that black hole in the forest outside Gehenna. No giant back then... but anyway, it vanished."

"Eugh..."

"Is eating black holes normal on Earth?"

Estelle felt dizzy at the absurdity but decided to believe. She knew my tastes ran to slathering whipped cream on a woman's pussy and devouring it...

It's been a while since I last ate one.

The last time I'd eaten a 'star' was right after Isana became the Sword God. She'd slashed through countless falling stars... and seeing the infinite-regenerating bastards, I knew we needed countermeasures. Back then, there was an alchemist whose default was to shove anything questionable into his mouth.

Thought I'd never eat one again.

...I'd devoured that grotesque giant with its dozens of eyes, eight arms. And not just that—falling stars, even 'Betelgeuse' ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠itself, all digested.

That's when my mana circle got corrupted, and I stopped hearing the stars' whispers.

"...Trust me. I even have a skill related to eating."

"If it's a skill, no choice but to believe."

"Then our role is to protect you getting in there."

I nodded and charged forward.

...Among these superhumans who moved in the blink of an eye, an alchemist's dash was like a snail's. It swung arms to block, but the Heavenly Sword party's stars protected me. The centaur's arrows shattered limbs; the dryad blinded it with green smoke. The werewolf pinpointed weak points, severing shoulder tendons; Heavenly Sword sliced the grasping hand like a master chef.

The tower summit wasn't vast. Flying debris became obstacles, blocked by tentacle-like light beams. Recognizing Estelle Heavenly Tower Lord's handiwork, I opened my mouth toward the black hole right in front of me.

-Gulp!

A black hole that swallowed anything. A person caught in it would get sucked in and vanish, naturally.

...But my mouth was different. After predating 'Betelgeuse,' with my mana circle warped into an outer god's, my body was another star. And stars' fates were to explode or be devoured by greater stars.

First time, my stomach was reinforced to eat a star... but with precedent now, should be fine.

I chewed the black hole in my mouth... Sweet and chewy, like chocolate. It thrashed going down my throat. From esophagus on, it rampaged, horrific power bursting from within. By the time it hit my stomach, it hurt—but not for long.

Finishing the predation, I looked around. The grotesque giant collapsed, no longer regenerating, and Heavenly Sword and the others aimed weapons at me.

"You... alright?"

"Let's poke him first. Guys who eat stuff like that always turn out villains."

"No way a human eats that. He'll mutate into a monster later—cliché!"

I raised my palms awkwardly, then suddenly dry-heaved.

"Urk!"

"See? Trouble after eating!"

"...Ah, no. Not that."

"You sure you're okay?"

"No issues."

Lots of secrets and questions, but they reluctantly lowered weapons... They had the skill to execute me on the spot if I showed immediate anomalies from my weird power.

"Speak up if anything's off... I'll find a way to help."

But the one needing help wasn't me. Estelle Argent, who'd controlled her duplicate, suddenly collapsed.

All eyes turned to her.

"Estelle?"

"Heavenly Tower Lord!"

"Hold on... step back."

I strode over and checked her pulse at the wrist... Amid the steady heartbeat, something alien mixed in. Only one person knew what it was.

Did it get her first time?

Looking back on a future that might come—or a past already passed.

Estelle Argent was the Star Bishop, infected by the star beast, harboring its parasite. She'd thought of it as her child, trying to protect the placenta... But morally, as an alchemist, I couldn't stand by. A tower resident blessed by the tower combined with a star—unimaginable results.

And alchemists don't favor unpredictable outcomes. If risk exceeds forecasts, scrap it.

...So I shot her. Deeming her child lost, Estelle cursed me and took her own life.

I didn't want to repeat that.

This time... I'll stop it.

@

I hurriedly borrowed alchemy materials and the workshop at the Heavenly Tower. The alchemist who'd provided them eyed me suspiciously.

"Um... sorry, but the materials you requested... aren't they, uh, used for... toying with women?"

"Do I look like the type to drug a weakened woman for sex?"

"...Ah, no, not that."

"Combining them does make something for that purpose. But change your perspective. It raises body temperature, stimulates parasympathetic nerves, massively boosts metabolism... That's what the Heavenly Tower Lord needs now."

A Nebula alchemist said it. In the Heavenly Tower, rank was everything. Short or long career, my alchemy knowledge was superior. The alchemists entrusted her to me.

Alright then... let's begin.

The ultimate aphrodisiac from top-grade materials. Never imagined making this right after qualifying as an alchemist, but no choice.

This was life-saving too.

...Might leave trauma, so finish before she knows her body's state.

I approached Estelle, demurely asleep on the bed. Slipped off her possibly uncomfortable heels, peeled down the tight stockings clinging to her legs halfway. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As her pale thighs emerged, resisting the urge to bite and suck, I slipped my hand between them.

"Wh-what... are you, doing?"

Estelle awoke, grabbing my hand. Mistaking it for assault, her usually hidden eyes snapped open wide, resisting fiercely. I hurriedly shoved into her panties, inserting the gripped pill into her vagina.

"Eh? Wait... Han Do-yoon? This is too... Nngh!"

"No choice. Bear with it for my sake a bit."

Still groggy, her resistance weak. Stimulating her clit with my palm, she twisted her lower body away.

"Don't! This is... Hnng! S-something's wrong! N-no! Not like this!"

I overlaid her upper body, hugging tight. My free hand kept tormenting her pussy. Legs kicking, hips dodging my touch—but only for a moment.

"Hiiik! Hnngh! No... tastes! N-nooo... something weird... Hnng! Hnngh! C-cumming...♡"

-Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!

-Slurrrrp!

"Haaaaang!"

Her body went limp, squirting love juices freely. Resistance gone, I withdrew my hand from her panties.

"Sorry. Forcing you to cum like that. But no choice."

I spoke, hiding her condition.

"...Seeing the Heavenly Tower Lord asleep, I couldn't hold back."

The drug taking effect, her lower body starting to writhe. Legs splayed frog-like, she noticed my gaze and shrank back.

"D-disappointing. Even so, an unconscious person...?"

"Didn't you want to be taken by me too, Heavenly Tower Lord?"

"Eh... what do you."

Hitting the mark, Estelle fell silent. I licked the love juices from my palm and replied.

"You watched from start to finish as your disciple got fucked by her teacher... then hit on me the next day."

"H-hit on you...?"

Her surveillance busted, she closed her eyes, avoiding my gaze in shame. Neither denial nor affirmation.

I interpreted freely, wedging between her stockings.

"N-no! Not now, not in the mood... Hiiit♡"

Panties shoved aside, feeling my soft tongue invade, she thrashed wildly.