Rika's scream tore through the trees, high and piercing. Her expression and demeanor had completely changed, having gone from fearful, to slightly aroused, to agonizied.

Amon's hand had sunk through her sternum as easily as sliding into warm mud, thanks to the sharpness of his claws. "Don't just keep screaming like that," His voice was low, almost calm. "Help me find your heart."

Her breath came in panicked gasps. "Y-you…!"

"Rita," Amon said without glancing back. She shivered upon hearing her name called out. "Tighten them."

The invisible bindings immediately constricted, digging into Rika's limbs and neck. A fresh line of blood ran down her thighs where the threads cut into muscle. Rita had obeyed without hesitation, but her eyes lingered on Amon's hand buried in Rika's chest. Something about the scene unfolding in front of her made her throat dry. He wasn't as brutish as Vulkan, and yet…

Amon stared at the Succubus' pained face. "Why did you run?"

Rika whimpered, tried to twist away, but his hand shifted and she froze again, a choked noise escaping her throat. "I didn't! I was just-"

"Focus. You were going somewhere." His fingers flexed slightly, and she spasmed, blood bubbling between her lips. "Where?"

Her pupils darted left and right, desperately searching for an escape. Unfortunately, only a miracle could help her now. "I was… Vulkan! I was going to warn Vulkan!" she spat suddenly. "I was going to tell him everything! Can you blame me?! You…You're going against a Demon General!"

Rita's stomach clenched. She'd suspected it, but hearing Rika say it so plainly stung. To hear her say that she was planning on selling them out so easily, so quickly, made Rita's eyes narrow.

Amon's expression didn't change. "Now we're getting somewhere."

His thumb stroked against the beating heart, sending ripples of pain through her body. "What were you going to tell Vulkan?"

Rika hissed through her teeth. "Everything! Arrrgh…! I don't know!"

"You're alive right now, but that can easily change." His hand shifted slightly. "Vulkan isn't the one you should worry about right now."

The shifting of his hand caused her to scream and cough blood that hit his cheek. Amon wiped it away with his free hand and brought it to his tongue. "Not bad," Amon whispered after taking a moment to appreciate the taste.

Rita shivered. It was terrifying, and it thrilled some buried part of her. Amon was completely different from the Demon General who would have instantly crushed Rika's head. Amon was completely different, but also exactly the same.

"I don't know what I would have told him! That Levia betrayed him, that Rita has gone back to her, that they might have found some lead on Azaroth's Heart!" Rika shouted. "I would have lied and said anything to stay alive!"

"Yeah, that makes sense." He muttered. "So he's that way?" Amon gestured. "Vulkan?"

"He…" Rika's breath came ragged. "He… He is, I think! I was just leaving for now while following the direction that Levia had given us at the time!"

"Did you not even see Vulkan once?"

"No! I swear, I have no idea where he is exactly! The stories… What they say about him… It was enough to keep me away!"

'That tracks,' Amon thought, studying her face. 'It matches what Rita told me.'

"She's telling the truth," Rita murmured.

He slowly turned towards her before going back to Rika.

"Alright," Amon muttered and slowly withdrew his hand, coated in blood up to the wrist. Rika coughed violently and slumped against the threads, still bound, chest heaving. "You can't help me learn more about Vulkan, so…" Amon took a step back, his gaze sliding toward Rita. "All yours."

Rita stiffened. "What?"

"She's your friend, right?" he said casually, bringing the blood-coated hand to his mouth. "Do with her what you want. Free her, or whatever you choose."

Rika's eyes widened, darting towards Rita. "Please… Rita! I won't run, I swear! It was a stupid idea! Let me go, please!"

Amon stepped aside, leaving Rita and Rika to face each other.

The air grew colder. Rika struggled against the threads, panic overtaking her. "Rita! You know me! We… We survived together!"

Rita was confused for a moment. Was this a test as well? Were she to free Rika, would he kill both? There was no way to know. His expression was indecipherable, which is an extremely annoying thing for a Succubus to face.

Succubi are master manipulators, and constantly gauge their prey's reactions to know when to push, when to pull, when to step back, and when to go in for the kill.

An indecipherable expression or a good poker face were great weapons against Succubi.

Rika froze, staring at Rita's narrow eyes.

"I'm sorry that I let you go to Vulkan alone! I'm sorry, I was scared! I would never…"

Rita could barely hear Rika's pleading.

'It's not a question of what he would do if I freed her,' Rita thought. 'It's a question of whether or not I want to free her in the first place. She betrayed me once and left me to face a Demon General alone. Now, she betrayed me again, aiming to sell me out.'

"Rita… Please-"

"Sorry," Rita said with a cold voice and facial expression that proved she didn't mean it at all. "I just can't picture myself trusting you again."

"NO! WAIT…!"

The open and cuffed hand behind Rita's back tclenched, and the threads around Rika's neck tightened sharply. The latter's body jerked, a choked sound leaving her throat. The threads dug deeper, slicing into Rika's flesh, blood streaking down her chest.

"YOU… YOU FUCKING…!"

Rika's last breath came out as a strangled scream as the threads cut clean through her neck.

Sever-

Drop-

Rita slowly lowered her gaze towards the decapitated head, staring emotionlessly.

"Cold-hearted," Amon whispered.

"She… She would have turned on us."

"I know," Amon said simply.

Rita frowned. His tone almost seemed disapproving.

"Wasn't this what you wanted? I proved that you can trust me."

"I don't know about that." Amon shrugged before crouching by the Succubus' corpse. "You killed a friend begging for her life. That doesn't scream trustworthy."

Before Rita could retort, the Black Stone pulsed as his palm reached for the corpse. Black tendrils spread like veins, crawling over her skin.

Rita watched, transfixed, as Amon's hand twisted and morphed to cover Rika's entire body.

She gulped, guessing that this wasn't something he would want the Fox or the Hobgoblin to see.

The fact that he was doing it in front of her meant that she was either about to die, or that he trusted her enough.

The idea that it might be the latter quickly grew on Rita, turning this into an intimate experience.

"This is what you meant…" Rita whispered, unsure if she had the right to talk or not. "By getting a taste."

A slow smile crept across his face. "Yes."

"So, you wanted her to die… Right?"

Amon straightened back up. "Not necessarily, though now I have a good excuse for Levia."

"A good excuse?" Rita blinked. "Right…" She pursed her lips. "You made me do the ugly part."

"I'm sure Levia won't be mad at you. You killed a traitor."

"She would be even less mad at you, had you done it!"

"Well… What can you do?" He shrugged with a smile. "Too late now."

Rita swallowed hard. "So," she whispered. "What happens now?"

He stepped toward her once. She didn't move back.

Rita instead tilted her chin upward to meet his gaze.

He didn't say a word. Amon simply stared.

Rita's legs trembled, fear and anticipation mixing.

"What did you have in mind?" Amon asked.

Rita stared for a moment, before lowering herself slowly and deliberately until she was on her knees again, her eyes never leaving his. "Like I said," She murmured, licking her lips. "I don't mind getting a little dirty."

The moonlight caught her flushed cheeks. Her chained wrists rested behind her back, emphasizing her submission.

"Right after killing your friend, huh?" Amon whispered as he caressed her cheek. "You're a whole different kind of twisted."

Rita moved closer, and Amon didn't step back. He loomed over her, the faint glow in his eyes making her heart skip. His silence stretched, thick with possibility.

Rita leaned forward slightly, thighs pressed together, breathing unevenly. She wasn't pretending now. It was a logical, manipulative ploy anymore. At least, not entirely. Something about the way this had all gone down... It stirred something in her. She wanted to be close. Closer.

Her knees shifted in the dirt, and she tilted her head back slightly. "Do you want me to…" Her voice trailed off as she blushed.

While her previous shyness had been nothing but an act, her current timidness was anything but.

Amon's gaze dipped down to meet hers. His expression didn't change, but his eyes lingered for just long enough to make her skin prickle. "You're quite eager to get to it, huh?" he said softly.

Rita bit her lip. "I… I guess I am." She answered with a stutter, as if just realizing.

"I'm a nice guy so," Amon smirked. "Do with me what you want,"

Hearing that was all Rita needed. She leaned forward, used her teeth to grab his pants, and pulled down.

"Okay~"

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