Rika's silhouette darted between the trees like a frightened hare.

Amon leapt down the church steps, eyes glinting with predatory focus. Behind him, Rita followed, cuffs still locked behind her back.

"Can't you go any faster?"

"If you took the cuffs off, maybe!" Rita clicked her tongue. "I'm having trouble running properly!"

Amon glanced sideways at her. She moved like a slithering snake, her hips swaying deliberately as she ran. Her succubus instincts were on full display, and every subtle motion was seemingly meant to draw his gaze.

"Doesn't look that way to me," he said, jumping over a fallen trunk with ease.

"I'm really trying here!" Rita shouted with a chuckle she couldn't quite stop. "Shouldn't you go on ahead anyway? Rika might get away at this rate."

Amon's gaze went back to the figure far in the distance.

"She won't."

His senses stretched out into the night, following the trail.

Ahead, Rika vaulted over a patch of rocks and, when her foot landed on the ground.

"Wha…?!"

She suddenly stumbled, tried to regain her balance, but ended up on the ground nevertheless.

"What the hell was that?" Rika whispered under her breath as she stood back up. She turned back, her teeth clenched from fear and anxiety.

Lowering her gaze to where she had stepped, the earth was completely normal. Yet, she could have sworn that she had stepped on something liquid. Into something liquid.

'It's useful.' Amon thought to himself with a nod. 'I can buy Rita some time by slowing down Rika.'

Upon devouring the first of Levia's Golems, the System had given Amon two choices, two Skills to choose from.

Most of the foreign energy required to use those Skills had come from devouring the Corrupted Draconic Spawn's Corruption. A tiny additional amount of Demonic and Corruption energy was necessary to awaken them, hence why he only received the choices upon devouring the first Golem.

Slithering Shadow was one of the two choices. A highly useful Skill that could be used in many different situations. As seen used by the Corrupted Draconic Spawn, it allowed the wielder to sink into shadows and move at greater speed. A perfect skill for stealth and sneak attacks. Amon wondered if it could also be used to spy on others by sinking into shadows and overhearing discussions, but the System did not share such information. The only way to know whether one's senses remained active while in the shadows was to try it.

Amon had decided on the second option, which he judged more adaptable.

Shadow Lacuna.

"So," Rita panted, her chest rising and falling as she tried her best to match his pace. Since he was adjusting his pace to hers, going slightly faster than her to remain a couple of steps ahead, this meant that they ran a bit faster every time. "What are you going to do with her? With Rika?"

"What do you think I should do?" Amon asked, his tone almost playful.

Rita shot him a sly look. "Just so you know, your theory of her being super scared of Vulkan is starting to make a lot of sense."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," She sighed. "We were both supposed to join Vulkan, well, infiltrate his side, I guess. I was scared too, but she felt me there alone. Whatever she was scared of, she left me to just that."

"Think she's going to Vulkan now that we're actively going against him?"

"That's possible. Though it would take a while for her to get there without Levia's help."

The forest thickened the deeper they went, moonlight piercing through the treetops in sharp silver streaks. The damp earth muffled their footsteps while Amon precisely activated and deactivated his Shadow Lacuna Skill, leading to Rika believing that she was simply slipping on mud, something that couldn't very well be avoided when running with one's wrists tied behind one's back.

"We're getting closer," Rita panted, her hair sticking to her flushed cheeks as she ran behind him. "You're doing something, aren't you?"

Amon turned around slightly to find her staring ahead with a smile on her face.

'Succubi might usually prey on males, but they're predators regardless.' He chuckled internally. 'She's enjoying this.'

Rita's smile grew wider the more the distance separating them from Rika decreased.

It was proof that she was on the winning side, that she had made the right decision, at least for now.

"Make sure you catch her," Amon said before speeding up. His voice had a predatory calmness that made Rita feel both uneasy and thrilled at once.

He made Rika slip one last time, veered to the left suddenly, and disappeared from Rita's field of vision.

"So you're going on ahead after all," Rita whispered as she panted. "Why am I made to run away? Magic is my forte…"

Stumbling, Rika's shoulder powerfully collided with a tree trunk. She used the collision to regain balance and continue running.

'Demon General, Demon General,' Rika thought desperately as she stood up. 'If I can get there first, I can-''

She froze.

"What the…?" Rika's whisper and self were filled with such despair that it was surprising she could remain on her feet.

Rita's running also came to a stop as she stared with wide eyes.

A wall of Crimson Corrupted flames barred Rika's path.

Amon casually stepped out of the darkness, his beastly features enhanced and highlighted by the flames and moonlight.

Rika clenched her teeth as she noticed him. "Y-you?! How-"

"Rita," he said coldly, not giving the Succubus an ounce of attention.

Before Rika could react, magical, nearly invisible threads in the night wrapped around her arms, thighs, ankles, and neck.

"What the hell was that?" Rita asked as she arrived by his side, still panting from all the running.

Amon turned towards her momentarily.

"Nothing much." Amon shrugged.

Bulging veins appeared on Rika's skin, her muscles contracting to fight the threads' embrace.

"You should probably stop." Rita mused almost sadistically as she stepped forward. "You know my threads better than that."

Just as those words were uttered, drops of blood started going down Rika's arms and thighs.

"You might have the strength to escape the threads and tear them, but with the bleeding left behind… You won't be able to fight."

The bound Succubus gulped as Amon and Rita stared sadistically.

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