An hour after Liyana left.
"Enough... enough... Xia Lun, please... I beg you..."
Only after Aina cried out for mercy for the third time did Xia Lun finally relent.
Before this, the mischievous Xia Lun had tried pushing further... only for an exasperated Aina to cast a sealing spell on him, leaving him immobilized on the bed like a wooden puppet for quite some time.
During that period, Aina had taken great pleasure in teasing him, keeping his blood boiling... as if taunting a starving man with a delectable cream cake just out of reach.
It had been a rather humiliating experience. To avoid a repeat, Xia Lun had since learned to carefully gauge his limits.
Aina's tolerance threshold lay between the third and fifth plea for mercy—beyond that, things could get dangerous. For safety's sake, Xia Lun always stopped at the third.
"Not... not bad, Xia Lun. As expected of my chosen warrior," Aina panted, her voice breathless.
"You're already spent. Don't act like we were evenly matched," Xia Lun shook his head. "I haven't even reached my limit yet."
"Heh... That just means I love you more, so I'm more affected by you." Aina wiped the sweat from her brow, twisting logic to suit her whims.
"Sure, sure."
Xia Lun affectionately stroked Aina's smooth back, wisely refraining from arguing further—lest the Demon Lord grow embarrassed and resort to overpowering him outright.
Haa—
Curled up on her side, Aina draped one of her wings over Xia Lun like a blanket.
"You seem quite fond of my wings, Xia Lun," she murmured seductively into his ear.
"Of course. I love everything about you."
"Then... how about I use them to help you...?" She flicked her tongue against his earlobe, her suggestion dripping with temptation. "They're quite dexterous, you know."
Xia Lun recalled how, a thousand years ago, merely touching her wings had earned him days of icy silence. Now, she was offering this?
"They're warm... and soft, Xia Lun. Just nod, and I'll take you to heights of pleasure beyond imagining..." Her whisper was devilish, her bat-like wings clinging tightly to him, radiating her body heat.
"Say yes... Come on, Xia Lun..." Her wings quivered with anticipation, their translucent crimson membranes tracing the contours of his muscles.
"But I refuse." Xia Lun suddenly turned his head to meet her gaze.
"Eh?" Aina blinked in surprise. "Why? It will feel good—I promise I can satisfy you..."
"Because I'm a traditionalist at heart. Fancy playstyles aren't my thing." Tightening his embrace, he rolled them both across the bed—eliciting a yelp from Aina—until she lay pinned beneath him.
"You're impossible, Xia Lun." Aina smirked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
Her wings enveloped them once more, cocooning the pair.
---
Meanwhile, Liyana swaggered down the street, Mo Lini trailing behind like a dutiful shadow—clutching a storybook with a slime perched atop her head.
Little Lan sat perfectly still, flattened into a disc-like shape. To the untrained eye, it might have resembled a peculiar, gelatinous hat.
"So, Musen, noticed anything unusual?" Liyana addressed the book in Mo Lini's arms.
"Nothing yet. Everything seems unchanged since my departure," Musen's voice echoed from the pages.
The surroundings were peaceful. Occasionally, robed clergy passed by, offering polite nods—no trace of the cultists' corruption to be found.
"Isn't that good? Maybe the Twilight Apostles haven't fully infiltrated yet," Mo Lini whispered.
"Or... the upper echelons of the Goddess Church were already replaced before Musen left," Liyana mused.
"But I sensed no anomalies back then either," Musen replied, uncertainty creeping into his tone.
"Hardly surprising. They're Twilight Apostles—who knows how those lunatics operate?" Liyana had crossed paths with them long before Xia Lun's revival. She'd wisely avoided their overtures—a decision that now seemed prescient.
"Did they never approach you?" she suddenly asked Musen.
Given that even she, Mo Lini, and Xia Lun had been targeted, it seemed odd.
"No... I never interacted with them while at the sanctuary," Musen answered after a pause.
Liyana halted abruptly.
Before them loomed the Grand Cathedral—a divine edifice of gleaming white stone, its spires piercing the heavens like monuments to faith itself.
"No unauthorized entry," intoned a guard clad in cutting-edge magitech armor, his massive magi-rifle barring their path.
Typical of the Goddess Church—even their security kept pace with the times.
The equipment wasn't cheap: the rifle packed the firepower of a siege cannon, firing explosive mana-charged rounds, while the armor combined formidable defense with unhindered mobility and enhanced strength.
Liyana spotted the insignia of the Olifandor Academy emblazoned on the gear.
Olifandor-made? Not unexpected—their magitech research was top-tier.
"Eh? No sightseeing allowed?" Liyana feigned wide-eyed innocence, playing the part of a starry-eyed tourist. "But it looks so pretty inside! Really no chance for a quick peek?"
"This is no place for casual visitors. Move along."
To their credit, the guards remained civil—perhaps swayed by the duo's harmless appearance.
"Tch—what a shame." Liyana lingered for a performative sigh before sauntering off with Mo Lini in tow.
"What now? If we can't get in, how do we investigate?" Mo Lini bounced on her toes, sending Little Lan wobbling atop her head.
She seemed oddly exhilarated, as if they were undercover agents on a covert mission.
"Obvious, isn't it?" Liyana snapped her fingers. "When in doubt, go home and let Xia Lun handle it."