EVE (1): The Fallen Queen
Lee Seol kept her eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding my gaze. I spoke to her gently.
“Seol. Mind if I take a look at the album?”
“S-sorry… I’m embarrassed about my childhood pictures.”
Rejection. My eyes sank a little deeper. As expected, she’s hiding something.
Pushing her would only sour the mood. Better to wait for another chance. The moment I closed my mouth, Lee Jun jumped in.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Just show the boy!”
“But there are pictures of you changing my diapers in there…”
“Ah… right. Sorry about that…”
Apparently there were photos too humiliating to show outsiders. Lee Seol slid the album back onto the bookshelf and patted her father’s broad back.
“Dad, honestly! How could you just drag Hyun here without warning?”
“Haha! Sorry, sorry.”
The father laughed heartily, happily accepting his daughter’s scolding. For a second I felt a sting of envy. They looked like the kind of family that only existed in fairy tales.
But the feeling passed quickly. Lee Seol walked over to me.
“I’m sorry, Hyun. You must have been startled when Dad suddenly showed up at the hospital.”
“No, I’m fine.”
If we were keeping score on surprises, you barging in and snatching the album was far more shocking.
“When I went to pick you up, they told me Dad had already taken you away…”
She shot her father a cute little glare. The kind of look fathers melted over.
“Yes, yes. Dad was wrong. I’d love to treat you to a proper meal and talk, but we’re short on time. Shall we head straight to the vault?”
“Yes, please.”
“Huh? Head where?”
“To pick out our son-in-law’s betrothal gift.”
“Whaaat?!”
“Just kidding. Kidding! Kwahaha!”
“Dad, you’re impossible!”
It was warm. Harmonious. And because of that—I’m jealous.
The unfamiliar ache kept pricking at my chest. I followed Lee Jun and Lee Seol down to the basement.
The Association’s massive vault. Lee Jun released the security with fingerprints, iris scans, and several other layers of strict verification. When the final door opened, a colossal chamber greeted us.
“Whoa…”
The sheer grandeur drew an involuntary gasp from me. It really did look like a Costco for treasures—shelves upon shelves of priceless artifacts and elixirs.
“Pick whatever you like. It’s a bit awkward for me to brag, but this is where we’ve gathered every notable elixir and skill stone in the country.”
“Is it really okay to open this place to someone like me?”
“Consider it our apology for letting Kim Seongho slip through our fingers. The staff all agreed, so don’t hold back. Choose freely.”
“Then I won’t refuse…”
I wandered around with my mouth half-open. Fuck. This is actually insane.
Every kind of legendary opportunity and miracle drug imaginable was here. I was searching for one thing in particular.
Is there no Hydra’s blood?
The key ingredient to awaken Eve. I’d assumed awakening an S-rank monster’s essence would be a distant goal, but here was the chance.
Not seeing it anywhere.
Maybe an S-rank monster ingredient really was too rare. I was about to give up and look for something else when—
“Dad, what’s this round thing?”
“That’s a bead made by compressing Hydra’s blood.”
What?
I whipped my head around. A black orb rested in Lee Seol’s hands.
That’s Hydra’s blood?
It looked nothing like what I remembered. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Right now, the only weapon that could dramatically increase my combat power was Eve.
I picked up the bead.
“I’ll take this.”
“That one? Wouldn’t this be better?”
Lightning Affinity
Extremely enhances affinity with lightning attributes.
I shook my head. The ring would be powerful, but right now this was more efficient.
“Can’t I take both?”
“Unfortunately not.”
Then this was the best choice. Yet Lee Jun kept trying to steer me toward the ring.
“Hmm… I really think the ring would suit you better than Hydra’s blood…”
He clearly wanted me to change my mind. Lee Seol gently chided him.
“Dad. Just let Hyun choose what he wants. I’m sure he has his reasons.”
“…Fine.”
After choosing my reward, we were about to head back to the dormitory when Lee Seol suddenly spoke.
“Ah! Hyun, sorry—I left my bag behind. I’ll be right back?”
“Sure.”
She dashed off. Lee Jun watched his daughter with a warm, satisfied smile.
“Our Seol has really grown up…”
“Pardon?”
“She’s never called a male friend by just their first syllable before.”
“……”
I knew that all too well. I’d heard it until my ears almost bled in the previous timeline.
“It feels like she’s finally leaving the nest. My heart’s all mixed up.”
“Just to be clear, Seol and I are only friends.”
“Heh heh. Sure, sure.”
Lee Jun chuckled, then lowered his voice, tone growing serious.
“Seonghyun. It’s not the Demon Sect, is it?”
“…No, sir.”
“Lately your uncle has fallen in love with those bastards. Can’t eat or sleep without thinking about them.”
“……”
A faint killing intent flickered around Lee Jun’s massive frame.
“Their movements have been strange lately. Be careful.”
“Isn’t that classified? Should you really be telling me? What if I told someone else—”
Lee Jun grinned at me.
“Men who risk their lives to protect their friends usually keep their mouths shut.”
“……”
“Anyway, I’ve got work. Let’s have that meal together sometime soon!”
“Yes, sir. Take care.”
With a refreshing laugh, Lee Jun walked away. I let out a small, dry chuckle as I watched him go.
So he already knows.
During the Demon Sect raid, I was the one who shattered the black curtain with lightning. Yet he never told anyone else to recruit me into the Association.
Blood really doesn’t lie.
Consideration ran deep in his bones. Even from a man’s perspective, Lee Jun was one cool bastard.
Back at the dormitory, I locked the door first and took out EVE. Pure white blade, luxurious black hilt. A demonic sword that craved blood more than anything once activated, yet it looked like something a kingdom’s knight would carry.
A whore wearing a mask of elegance. That description fit her perfectly.
Will the awakening even work?
EVE was a sword forged from the soul of a vampire queen. In other words, the queen herself slumbered inside it. Feeding it the blood of a high-ranking monster would wake her—and that was when EVE’s true power would reveal itself.
“The problem is control will become much harder…”
Until now, offering blood had made the sword obediently lend me its strength. From now on, that obedience was unlikely. The sword would gain its own ego.
Whatever. Let’s just do it.
No point overthinking. I pressed the bead against the blade.
Vrrrrrm!
The pure white sword vibrated violently. It trembled with joy like a man dying of thirst who had found an oasis.
Bingo!
Compressed or not, it was still Hydra’s blood! The bead slowly melted into the sword. As it did, the white blade gradually turned a dark, bloody crimson. The elegant weapon transformed into something grotesque and horrific.
Then violent mana erupted from the sword and swallowed me whole.
“Here we go.”
EVE’s mental world. No matter how many times I came here, I never got used to it. Pure white light enveloped my vision, then a colossal palace rose before me. Its crumbling exterior made me hesitate for a moment, but I stepped inside.
A space devoid of any living thing. Only thick layers of dust and absolute silence existed here.
This place could drive someone insane.
I recalled an experiment where people were placed in a room with zero sound and eventually went mad. This palace reminded me of that.
After walking down a long corridor, a massive door greeted me. I pushed it open with all my strength.
Creeeeak.
A grand hall. An empty throne sat in the center. The queen who should have been seated upon it was nowhere to be seen. Familiar with the layout, I kept walking.
Right of the hall. At the end of the corridor, faint moans reached my ears.
“Haaauu…! This is it! This is what I need!”
The lewd, vulgar voice of a whore echoed down the hallway. Just hearing it made my cock twitch.
The closer I got, the clearer the voice became. A bedroom. The moment I stood in front of the door, her obscene cries pierced my ears.
“Ahn! More! Shove it in deeper!”
I cracked the door open and looked inside.
Still the same as ever.
Blindfolded, both arms and legs tied to the bed, she was masturbating furiously. A pink dildo made of faint blood mercilessly pounded her pussy and ass.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
“Auu! Ahng!”
Put any living creature in a room with zero stimulation and it will go mad. Especially someone like Eve, who couldn’t die even if she wanted to. So she had gone mad.
Into a hedonistic pervert chasing pleasure.
Her voluptuous ass trembled in the air.
“Kyaaht!”
Splash!
She squirted hard from her pussy, then collapsed onto the bed, panting.
“Haa… haa…”
After confirming she had finished, I opened the door fully.
Creeeeak.
“……!”
The door that should never have opened made her leap off the bed faster than light. But with both arms and legs still bound, she could only awkwardly lift her head.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence fell. I calmly untied the ropes she had bound herself with.
“Clean up and come out. I’ll wait outside.”
“Uh, um…? Y-yes…”
She wore the exact expression of someone whose private masturbation session had been caught by another person. Her face was pure panic.
You should’ve locked the door first.
Locking the door before happy time was basic common sense! Her mistake was assuming no one would come.
Though I couldn’t exactly lecture her.
I have a track record too.
I smiled bitterly to myself and waited for her in the hall.
About ten minutes later, she emerged wearing a dress. Ash-gray hair that reached her calves, deep crimson eyes, and a body so perfect it could be called the epitome of a slender figure. Her expression was now solemn and dignified. She clearly planned to pretend nothing had happened.
“Your Majesty the Masturbation Queen. You’ve arrived.”
“Wh-what?! How rude, human!”
“Should I call you Her Majesty the Fap Queen instead?”
“Y-you insolent—!”
The moment she reached out to grab my collar—
“Haaauuuung!”
Her waist arched the instant her fingers touched my neck.
Shssssht!
She hadn’t touched another living being in hundreds of years. As a result, Eve had become a female who climaxed from the slightest contact with skin.