"Hmm, well, I've got a feeling something like this would surface eventually," Kousuke said with a sigh. He had just learned from Morgan that she found traces of the Demon God while investigating the Old Satan Faction. In the end, she couldn't uncover the sealing location of Trihexa in the Underworld. At the very least, it wasn't on the surface layers, or it was too well hidden.
When Morgan first appeared during the Peace Treaty, Kousuke had been skeptical of her. However, as time went on, he reached an irrefutable conclusion, it was inevitable. The Demon God was already considered an irregular existence in the Otherworld, THEY had first been referred to as a foreign invader. Because of its corruptive energy, even normally docile creatures were twisted into ferocious monsters. Orc, Goblins, Ghoul, all of those was once normal creatures.
If THEY could manipulate the Otherworld enough to summon a Hero like him, then the reverse wasn't out of the possibility either. Kousuke recalled the time Morgan had suddenly vanished years ago; he'd spent weeks searching for her, only for her trail to end abruptly, as if she had simply ceased to exist. There were no signs of battle, no traces of struggle at all. It was as though she had been taken before she could even react.
When they finally reunited not long ago, she revealed the truth. And now, his old suspicions had been confirmed.
"I've had an itching suspicion that the Demon God might have actually originated from my world," Kousuke admitted, frowning deeply. "But to think it's connected to something as ominous as the Beast of Apocalypse... I wonder if my current strength would even be enough."
Sensing this invisible threat made the Hero within him restless. He knew he had grown countless times stronger since his Otherworld days, yet a part of him whispered that it still wasn't enough. Trihexa, the Beast of Apocalypse, even the name alone was enough to unsettle anyone.
He had lost many people back then, and each of them had taken a small piece of him with their passing. Kousuke didn't know if he could endure another loss. Maybe that was why he'd instinctively surrounded himself with more companions, even when he used to believe in devoting himself to only one partner. Perhaps, deep down, he wanted to create enough new memories to overwrite the trauma that haunted his sleep.
His chest tightened at the thought of losing even one of his current lovers. The very idea terrified him, he feared that if it ever came to pass, it might break his mind for good. At that point, would it even matter whether the world fell to Trihexa... or to a Fallen Hero who had nothing left to lose? It all led to the ultimate in the end.
Before his thoughts could spiral further, a familiar warmth enveloped him. Morgan wrapped her arms around his neck, gently pulling his head against her chest. Her heartbeat was steady and strong, each rhythm gradually calming his anxious thoughts.
"You're thinking too much, my dear husband," she whispered softly, her hand tenderly patting the back of his head. "We're not certain yet if this Beast of Apocalypse truly has ties to the Demon God. It could just be a red herring."
"Even so, this Trihexa sounds dangerous," he replied quietly, regaining his composure. He was about to pull away, but she kept his head nestled against her chest. Deciding not to resist, he sighed and continued, "Perhaps I should find its sealed location and make sure nothing happens to it. Maybe Michael or Sirzechs might know something."
Kousuke turned to look at the sleeping figure on the bed, it was Akeno. She was completely spent after they'd gone up to the seventh round. Even now, her body would occasionally tremble in her sleep, as if the sensations still lingered. Seeing her rest peacefully brought a gentle smile to his face.
"You're really not holding yourself back, huh? If she were an ordinary girl, you could've turned her stupid," Morgan muttered with an amused look while glancing at Akeno. She knew full well how good his stamina was, even back when he was still weaker than goblins. It was the first sign that had made her fall for him. While others treated her like she'd murdered their entire family, his casual attitude and stubborn determination were what eventually won her heart.
"That wouldn't happen. I have plenty of workaround options in my inventory," Kousuke answered nonchalantly. Whether potions or enchanted items, he had them all. As an RPG addict, he'd never hesitated to spend a few coins to get rare or unusual items in the Otherworld's markets. He even collected cursed items, as long as they looked interesting, or were too dangerous to be left in the wrong hands.
"You and your compulsive shopping disorder," Morgan muttered with a wry smile. She recalled one particular situation in the past when that very habit had actually saved them. They had once fallen into a strange trap that sealed them inside a barrier with no visible escape. She'd tried every spell she knew, but none had worked, until he pulled out a miniature statue of an unknown woman from his inventory.
Apparently, the ruins they'd stumbled into had once been an abandoned church dedicated to a forgotten deity. The barrier dissolved the moment he placed the idol on the altar. They'd been trapped for hours before that, and she still remembered his smug grin when they finally escaped.
"Call it an investment," Kousuke said with a wise nod. "Stupid or not, everything comes in handy one day, sooner or later."
He leaned closer, pressing his face against her chest. Her scent was familiar, soft and nostalgic. It was the same 'perfume' she'd used back in the Otherworld. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd recreated it here using Earth's flora. The main ingredient had been a rare flower that only bloomed under moonlight and intense saturation of mana once every few years. She had called it her "natural aroma," and he couldn't deny that it didn't overwhelm his sharp sense of smell like most perfumes did.
"Ngh..." Morgan let out a faint, involuntary moan as his hands began to move. When Kousuke looked up, she didn't appear embarrassed at all. Their eyes met, and he could see a flicker of longing and hunger in her light-blue gaze. Maybe it was the lingering scent of sex in the room, or maybe it was simply how much they'd missed each other, but Kousuke felt his body respond instinctively. Without another word, he leaned up and captured her lips in a deep, hungry kiss.