The Terrified Observer
After resolving my pent-up lust and regaining my senses, the place was an absolute disaster. Luna lay there panting, basking in the afterglow, while the Minotaur's corpse lay cold in front of her. Scarlett had passed out—whether from dehydration after squirting so much nectar or from the overwhelming pleasure, I couldn't say. I pressed the switch to check on her, but got no response. It must have broken when Luna ripped the door open. I thought about smashing the wall outright, but flying debris hitting Scarlett would just cause more trouble. Even my Aura of Emptiness couldn't budge it—this was a special wall that repelled aura entirely.
"Master should be fine. She's beyond human limits," I muttered to myself, convinced she'd recover naturally. I'd originally planned to ravage her too, but gave up on that. In her current state, even a superhuman like her might shatter if I plunged into her.
It's only been less than a day, but...
Thanks to the Minotaur, the path to the next area was clear. Sneaking through like this might violate the rules, but what did it matter? The ruin had probably already branded us as intruders the moment Luna barged in—not legitimate challengers anymore. By defying its special mechanics outright, it would pull out all the stops to eliminate us now.
I'll conquer this place before it can throw a tantrum.
I slipped my clothes back on and picked up the sword I'd hurled at the Minotaur. I wiped the monster's blood from the blade and sheathed it. As I took a step toward the next section, a hand grabbed my sleeve.
"Together."
"You sure? Aren't your legs still shaky from losing your virginity?"
Luna had been moaning and writhing just moments ago, a total mess. But now she stood steady as ever, gazing at me with clear, bright eyes. Her natural recovery seemed even better than Scarlett's.
"I'll wait, so get dressed first. Can't have you wandering around naked."
"True, but my underwear's soaked from the seawater..."
"No choice, then." I shrugged off my outer jacket and draped it over her shoulders. It didn't cover everything perfectly, but if she clutched it closed, only a teasing glimpse showed. Better than strutting around nude.
"Smells like Alvin."
"It's my jacket. Anyway, let's move—long road ahead."
"Yeah!"
Leaving Scarlett behind tugged at me a bit, but I wasn't too worried. She still gripped her spear tight. Sure, I'd seen her rub it frantically against her pussy at the end, but that wasn't why she held on. Even unconscious, she never dropped her knight's vigilance. Remembering how she'd crushed that intruding orc in her heat haze, I figured any real threat would snap her awake. I'd even set up an alarm spell for intruders as a precaution.
I pressed on with peace of mind.
"By the way, I never got to ask—how'd you sense my presence?"
"Like your master—a hunch!"
"No joking."
"Then... the power of love?"
"...Let's just call it a hunch."
She wasn't telling the truth, clearly. A village girl tracking me from hundreds or thousands of meters away, swimming across the sea? Ridiculous. I'd known she wasn't ordinary back in Origin Village, but now I was dying to know her real deal.
Empress's shadow knight? Nah, comparing her to one would be an insult.
No point overthinking—I'd learn by traveling with her. Clues might surface along the way. The silver lining? She felt more than friendly toward me—straight-up affectionate.
"Got any way to protect yourself?"
"I'm happy you're worried, but isn't it weird to ask that now?"
"Fair point."
She'd nullified the ruin's mechanisms barehanded and overpowered the Minotaur's brute strength effortlessly. Her body was the weapon. Plus, even naked, she'd shown total NTR immunity—no need to fret.
"Still, call for help if things get dicey."
"Got it!"
Luna clung to my arm with a beaming smile. Her origins were a mystery, but her beauty outshone any original game's heroines—no contest. That made me wonder why her childhood friend role had been so sidelined in the story. She even had that pure-love vibe the others lacked. Though it bordered on obsession... yet she'd never once visited? Bizarre.
...
Best not dwell. Guessing about her just piled on more questions, no answers in sight.
"Alvin, look over there."
"Skeletons."
Like the ones at the first fork. The new corridor was piled high with bones.
I could guess what happened here easily. Scarlett's room required eating the TS Fruit. Ogres showed up soon after—natural progression. Arousal-locked women couldn't resist; they'd be toyed with as playthings until exhaustion killed them, then dumped outside. Those who took the left path just had to endure 24 hours. They made it to the next stage before dying, their bones stacking up along our route.
The right might be for women only, left for men...
In a twisted way, a horrific trap. Men had to watch their women get railed by ogres, helpless. If it were two guys, maybe just a interspecies sex show. But if the woman was a lover, wife, or someone precious? Pure NTR hell.
Given the skull count, that scenario had played out plenty. Snap too early, hit the switch, and boom—Minotaur appears, kills the guy.
NTR game tropes everywhere you look.
Scarlett snapping the ogre's neck felt even more impressive now. Luna smashing the trap deserved praise too, but how'd she enter the men-only left path? Another mystery added.
"This room's empty?"
"That bullhead was probably the gatekeeper."
The next chamber felt devoid of presence. Just a chair big enough for a hulking brute, flanked by two braziers.
"You're right."
"Onward."
I reached for the door behind the chair.
Vmmm—!
Unfamiliar runes glowed on the door as it slid open automatically. A gimmick to let only Minotaur-slayers pass—blocking cheaters who skipped the fight.
"This corridor welcomes us enthusiastically."
Amorphous slime monsters blanketed the entire hall—no foothold anywhere.
Slimes were easy enough to carve through, but something nagged at me.
"Luna, ever seen purple slimes?"
"...No."
She paused, then shook her head. Neither had I—at least, not inside this ruin.
"Whoa, a pussy!"
"Alvin?"
"No, seriously—it looks just like one."
And the moment it sensed me, it morphed into a woman's vulva. Ignoring this freakish abomination felt wrong.
"I'll clear 'em all at once—stay back."
I channeled my Aura of Emptiness into the blade. Wanted to spare one for study, but Luna's stare burned. Fine, total wipeout it was.
"Huh...?"
The slimes recoiled in terror at the aura, sprouting spines and fleeing. They slithered desperately toward the next room, squeezing through the door crack. The corridor emptied in seconds.
"What the...?"
No clue. I dashed after them and flung the door wide, revealing a vast cavern.
The fleeing slimes clustered around a pitch-black sphere in the center, merging to form... something.
"Human, praise. Space, arrived."
A voice that chilled me to the bone emanated from the mysterious, coalescing orb.
"Question, purpose. Human, wish. Mutual, exchange."
"Roughly: state your business here. Got a wish? Pay the price, and it'll grant it?"
No sooner had I spoken than a grotesque eyeball snapped open at the orb's core. Its piercing stare planted seeds of dread in my heart. I debated looking away—
Then it glanced between me and Luna beside me. Its pupil quivered violently.
"Ur, urgent! Wish! Absent...! Return!"
"What?"
"Terror! Terror! Terror garb!!"
Dude, why are you glitching out?