The Demoness Enters the Leggings
My footsteps echoed with unusual weight through the dark, humid corridor of the dungeon.
Across my arm hung two finished suits of clothing neatly folded.
The Abyssal Spider's Shadow Set — black as night, smooth as silk.
As I approached the barracks, sweat slid down my spine.
My heart thumped wildly.
Now it was too late to turn back.
I forced down a dry swallow and stopped in front of Illusia's barracks.
The goblin soldiers guarding the entrance sneered at the thin fabric dangling from my arm before opening the door.
"Kikigigi."
Inside the dim interior, Illusia still wore nothing but the thin cloth, seated on a massive chair and waiting for me.
Her crimson eyes flashed as they locked onto me.
"The time promised has passed, human. Have you brought the armor I demanded to endure my mana?"
I ignored her words and carefully unfolded the clothing, placing it on the table before her.
"It's complete."
Illusia's gaze dropped to the table.
The next instant, her face twisted with uncontrollable disgust and rage.
Weapons inside the room began to tremble violently from the explosive aura of fury she radiated.
"You truly wish to be torn apart and killed, don't you?!"
She hurled the clothing to the floor and shouted.
"You want me to march onto the battlefield wearing this pathetic scrap of cloth that leaves my stomach completely exposed and clings obscenely to my lower body?! This shameless outfit meant to humiliate me?!"
At any moment, the massive scythe beside the chair would be raised to sever my neck.
"And armor?! On top of thick leather layers, you dare present these flimsy scraps of cloth as the defense that could block the swords of my enemies?! You must think those thin strips could stop my blade!"
Illusia's fury was completely understandable.
Among the Demon King's army who worshipped crude, iron-thick survival, thrusting such gossamer sports bras and leggings as "armor" was an act of madness.
'This is insane... am I really going to die?'
Internal tears streamed down my face as I forced my chin up.
Backing out now would be the end.
I squeezed out the cold, arrogant voice of a genius artist who had once faced impossible VIPs back in my past life.
"Tsk. You were right — no help for fools. Do you truly believe that thickness equals defense?"
"What?"
"Steel blocks enemy sword qi through pure mass alone. When the impact surpasses the limit, it shatters and the force is transmitted straight to the wearer's internal organs."
"But this clothing is different."
I pointed at the discarded garment.
"These are not mere scraps. They are armor infused with mana-dynamics dispersion."
"Mana-dynamics dispersion?"
Illusia's eyes flickered slightly.
She hesitated for a heartbeat — the first time she'd heard such profound terminology — and her aura faltered.
I didn't miss the opening and accelerated my tongue.
"The diagonal weave combines with mana to form a tension barrier. When enemy sword qi strikes, it disperses the kinetic energy across the entire body and releases it."
"By dispersing the impact?"
"Exactly. Not by blocking — by deflecting it."
"If your overwhelming mana circulates perfectly through this clothing, not a single blade on the continent could pierce that thin membrane."
Of course, it was utter fabrication.
I didn't even understand what mana truly was, let alone mana-dynamics.
I had simply sewn functional, stretchy exercise wear.
But last night the System had certainly granted multiple stats and effects.
In the end, my bluff would become reality.
"Are you afraid?"
I pressed the point, taunting her.
"You plan to spend your life locked inside your crude iron shell, rotting away, just because you're afraid of wearing a single scrap of cloth?"
"How dare you toy with my tongue."
Illusia glared at the fallen clothing.
She was about to bisect me on the spot.
Her eyes lingered strangely on the garment.
'Swish.'
The moment her fingertips touched the fabric.
Illusia swallowed her humiliation and snatched the cloth roughly.
"Fine. If I wear this scrap and still feel my mana scattered, I'll tear you apart and throw your limbs to the monsters."
She slipped behind the thick velvet curtain in the corner of the room.
The rustle of fabric was followed by a sharp gasp from beyond the curtain.
'Hic!'
Behind the curtain, Illusia was struggling to contain her shock.
The instant the material kissed her bare skin, it began to contract in response to her mana.
It flowed along her curves like a living creature, molding perfectly to her skin with zero deviation.
"W-what is this..."
Illusia stared at her exposed stomach and naked thigh lines, her face flushing with shame.
Shame passed in an instant.
The moment her constricted core was released, the first breath tore deep into her lungs.
The rigid band across her chest physically seized the mana core.
At that exact moment, when the Abyssal Spider leather synchronized perfectly with her bare skin, a torrent of immense information crashed through her brain like a tidal wave.
It was the spiritual imprinting that occurred whenever supreme artifacts met their true owners.
Illusia instinctively read the astonishing power contained in this shameless scrap of cloth.
'Abyssal Spider's Shadow Set.'
A clear name materialized in her mind.
Followed by overwhelming sensations that quantified every nerve.
'Physical defense has surged dramatically. It surpasses the steel armor I once wore. My body feels as light as a feather, agility and evasion maximized.'
Her crimson eyes trembled.
But what truly thrilled her was the two special effects branded into her brain.
'Mana Core Release' — allowing her core to explode and absorb atmospheric mana to the limit.
'Second Skin' — completely erasing physical friction.
'That idiot's "mana-dynamics dispersion" was no empty boast. Perhaps I just harvested a magnificent captive.'
...
'Swoosh.'
The curtain was drawn back.
I swallowed hard at the sight before me.
I had personally taken measurements and crafted it, yet I never imagined such sensual form could emerge.
Illusia panted heavily, leaning on the floor.
Ecstasy from unleashed power spread across her shame-flushed face.
I forced strength into my shaking legs and stood straight.
And I looked down at the continent's mightiest legion commander with dry eyes.
"How does it feel? Does the sensation of mana-dynamics dispersion reach you?"
"Indeed. Wearing this myself, I understand your words weren't mere bluff."
At that moment, her crimson eyes met mine as she lifted her head.
Her gaze had changed.
Instead of rage or shame, a savage, unprecedented hunger and lust burned within — the raw, animalistic craving of a starving beast that had tasted the sweetest meat.
The instant I saw that look, a chill ran down my spine.
She wasn't here to kill me. It felt as if she would devour me for an entirely different purpose.
'Whoosh-whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh!'
The tension was shattered by a sharp war horn from outside the barracks.
'Boom.'
"C-Commander! It's an emergency!"
A goblin officer who had appeared bloodied from the dungeon earlier tumbled into the room.
"The elite detachment of the Human Allied Forces has circled behind and reached right in front of the barracks! It's a surprise attack exploiting the gap while the main force and vice-commander are absent from the front!"
"Their numbers are too overwhelming — the defensive line is about to break!"
The goblin officer, still reporting, stared in horror at Illusia's outrageous attire.
Illusia's eyes instantly froze.
"Pull your eyeballs out before I rip them out first."
"Hic! S-sorry!"
The officer frantically bowed his head to the floor.
Illusia relaxed every muscle and stood.
Donning her usual armor would have taken her attendants nearly an hour to strap on.
But now the enemy stood at her throat.
She bit her lower lip hard in shame and snatched the massive red commander cloak from the chair, slinging it over her body.
The fluttering cloak barely covered her naked figure.
"I'll go myself."
She lightly gripped the massive scythe lying on the floor.
In the past, she would have struggled to lift it with both hands, but now it sliced the air as lightly as a feather.
Before leaving the barracks, she glanced at me with her crimson eyes.
"Your life is on hold until I return."
As soon as her retreating figure vanished, my legs gave out and I collapsed.
My heart raced like mad.
'Go! Go prove just how awesome my clothes are!'
...
Outside the encampment of the Demon King's First Legion.
The battlefield was a one-sided slaughter.
The vanguard of the Human Allied Forces — the Golden Lion Knights — mercilessly butchered goblin and orc infantry.
"You filthy demon bastards! Die!"
The knight commander swung his heavy sword, boasting massive shoulder pauldrons.
The power they unleashed was beyond what even low-ranked demons or monster soldiers could endure.
The defensive line of the encampment was about to collapse.
'Kwaaang!'
A red comet struck the center of the battlefield like lightning.
The dust settled, revealing a woman with silver hair billowing in the night wind and crimson eyes flashing toward the knights.
"The Blood Butcher of the First Legion! Commander Illusia has appeared!"
The knight commander staggered back in shock.
Then he narrowed his eyes in bewilderment at the sight of her.
"Has that demoness gone mad? Selling her armor to buy one cloak and coming out like this?"
A cruel smile spread across the knight commander's lips.
"Arrogance reaching the heavens. Everyone, surround her! Cross formation! She's wearing no armor — just bare skin. We'll chop her into minced meat in an instant!"
The commander’s orders triggered dozens of knights to move in perfect synchronization.
They interlocked their man-sized golden shields into an impenetrable wall and thrust lances glowing with light through the gaps like hedgehogs.
Although individually weaker than demons, when their burning life force united them, the result was overwhelming force.
That was the destructive tactic the Golden Lion Knights were famous for.
Cross-shaped auras fired from all sides targeted her life.
Illusia did not dodge.
She slowly inhaled.
'Light.'
The crushing pressure that once squeezed her ribs in heavy armor was gone.
With every breath, atmospheric mana rushed wildly into her core.
Illusia twisted her waist powerfully, forcing strength into her wrist holding the massive scythe.
'Swoosh!'
The rough movements sent the massive red cloak fluttering like torn fabric.
Under the moonlight, her outrageous attire was fully revealed on the battlefield.
"Hah!"
The knights' eyes widened in awe at the power radiating from her.
The black Abyssal Spider leather enveloped her full breasts and toned thighs perfectly.
The sensual, shameless garment clung to her skin, mixing with the battlefield's blood stench to produce a bizarre aura.
"A succubus...? No, a lust demon!"
The instant the knights froze in panic, Illusia's toes slammed into the ground.
'Fwoosh!'
Her body literally evaporated into thin air.
'Second Skin' effect activated, eliminating air resistance and physical friction.
Speed near the speed of sound.
Only shadowy black remnants lingered in her wake.
"She's gone? Above! Raise your shields!"
The knight commander shouted in desperation, but it was too late.
Illusia's scythe fell into the center of the formation.
'Kwaaaak!'
Her forearm contracted softly and waist rotation power transferred to the blade without loss.
'Kaaang!'
The knight commander's lance met Illusia's scythe head-on.
Normally, the heavy recoil would have disrupted her breathing, but this time it was different.
'Sssak.'
The knights' lances, reinforced with gathered aura, split in two like paper.
The scythe blade did not stop — it sliced through the golden pauldrons and breastplates in a diagonal line.
"Kyahaaaaak!"
Blood sprayed.
The perfect cross formation was obliterated in a single strike.
"You monster! Die!"
Exploiting the gap, the vice-commander hidden on the flank rushed Illusia's blind side.
His sword aimed precisely for the side of her body — her fatal weakness from past heavy armor, where the pauldrons had twisted and left the area exposed.
'Hit!'
A triumphant grin spread across the vice-commander's face.
No matter how powerful a demon, a bare body wearing only a scrap of cloth was normal prey for a waist-breaking strike.
'Pwoooom!'
But the object that flew back was not Illusia — it was the vice-commander's own sword.
"...Huh?"
The vice-commander stared in shock at the violent recoil tearing his palm.
The moment his blade touched Illusia's side, the Abyssal Spider leather on her waist surface rippled like water, deflecting the strike.
The empty boast Ed had once uttered — "mana-dynamics dispersion" — had become reality thanks to the System's power.
A powerful tension membrane formed on the fabric's surface and dispersed the knight's kinetic energy across the entire body, flinging it into the air.
Illusia took not a single scratch.
'This... this is my power.'
Illusia trembled.
With every swing of the scythe, the diagonal weave of her lower garment assisted muscle expansion perfectly and recoiled.
Explosive mana drawn from her core surged without obstruction to the blade's tip.
'Swoosh! Kwaak! Thud!'
Golden decorative armor and shields were mercilessly torn away.
Blood and flesh rained down.
But what drove Illusia mad was not the joy of slaughter.
'Hic, ahh.'
Every time she swung the scythe and exploded her mana, the perfectly fitted clothing squeezed her muscles with maddening tightness, delivering an indescribable pleasure.
The bizarre sensation of mana flowing along the fabric's weave, caressing every inch of her body.
With every suppressed power released, a thrilling sensation raced up her spine, flushing her cheeks red.
Each heavy breath pressed the chest band in a pleasant, suffocating embrace.
"Look at that crazy woman's expression! A demon! A demon obsessed with blood!"
The surviving knights retreated in terror.
Under the moonlight, the demoness covered in blood, panting in ecstasy, wearing nothing but torn fabric — that was the primal fear they would never experience in their lifetime.
"Do not retreat! The God of Light is with us!"
The knight commander roared, vomiting blood and burning his life force to the limit.
A colossal pillar of light shot up above his sword, blinding eyes.
"Die, lust demon!"
A massive light slash cleaved the battlefield in half, striking Illusia's forehead.
Nowhere to run.
But Illusia had no intention of fleeing.
Instead, she curled the corner of her mouth upward, gripping the massive scythe with both hands.
Mana exploded from her core and coalesced into a swirling vortex of darkness on the scythe blade.
"Vanquish."
'Kwaaaaaang!'
The light pillar and black scythe collided head-on.
The earth screamed as it split in two.
But the balance of power did not hold for even a moment.
Illusia's strike, with her mana core fully released, ruthlessly tore through the knight commander's holy power like paper and erupted into the air.
"Ah... aah..."
Despair filled the knight commander's eyes.
With a cold voice, the scythe flashed.
'I am not a mere lust demon.'
'Pfuuk.'
The knight commander's head flew into the air.
Only twenty minutes.
It took that long for the entire vanguard of hundreds of Human Allied Forces to be wiped out.
...
The battlefield fell into eerie silence.
Among the corpses scattered everywhere, Illusia stood alone under the moonlight, drenched in blood.
She panted heavily, slowly running her fingertips over the black fabric still wrapped around her body.
The smooth sensation.
Even now, the tingling afterglow of mana flowing through her entire body made her thighs quiver slightly.
'I can't return.'
She understood intuitively.
She would never again return to that crude, painful iron shell.
Her body and mana had already become perfectly addicted to the overwhelming power and pleasure of this shameless, humiliating clothing.
Illusia's crimson eyes flashed toward the barracks.
A deep, uncontrollable possessiveness and smile curved her lips.
"Wait for me, human."