Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)

Third Person's POV

A blood-red aura crackled faintly around her as she glared at Declan and looked every bit like a predator ready to strike.

Even Velcy bristled from her spot as her teeth bared and her gray hair started shining as she was about to transform. She started crouching as she prepared to leap at a moment's notice.

But Ethan's calm hand smoothed over Velcy's head and instantly pacified her roiled emotions. His relaxed demeanor didn't falter for even a second.

Before Ethan could respond in return to his threat, Declan raised his hand and cut him off mid-thought.

"Unless..." Declan's grin widened wickedly.

"Unless you accept a challenge. One of my underli... Ahem, teammates versus you, right now, as your official ranking match."

He nearly slipped and said "underlings" but caught himself with a visible twitch.

Ethan immediately picked up on the ploy as it wasn't even subtle.

Even some of the younger adventurers watching with wide eyes understood that Declan was baiting a trap and the odds seemed to have been stacked against Ethan from the start.

Before Ethan could reply, that familiar voice echoed within his mind again.

'Be cautious, young master Eryndor,' the dark elf's voice warned.

'This brute Declan's companions are all seasoned Silver Rank adventurers. This group has prowled these lands for over a decade. Do not accept this on impulse and fall into his open trap.'

But Ethan's smile only grew. He didn't respond to the warning as he kept the strategy to himself.

Instead, he leaned forward slightly and locking his eyes with Declan, he asked with mock curiosity,

"Are you sure about this, Mister Broken Nose?"

Declan's jaw clenched in anger but it was all a facade as many thoughts ran inside his head.

For a moment, he hesitated as he carefully read Ethan's unnervingly calm posture.

Why isn't this brat flinching? His instincts twitched with a warning.

Ethan's demeanor didn't match the green, sheltered youths he was accustomed to bullying.

Why does he remain so calm even when I am threatening him?

He looks barely twenty, so how could someone like him possibly defeat one of my trusted men?

Am I losing my mind? But no, with that arrogant demeanor, he definitely seems like some young master from a powerful vampire clan.

But what does it matter? This is demon territory, and soon, I will be under the protection of Young Master Asher himself.

Even if he belongs to one of the three ducal clans, it won't stop me from leaving him broken and half-dead if he dares to try anything foolish.

And as for that woman… soon, I will have her beneath me, gasping out those soft sultry moans with that melodious voice of hers.

Declan's eyes briefly flicked to Virelle and his dark and depraved fantasies dulled the warning bells of his trusted instincts in his mind.

Without responding directly to Ethan, Declan barked at his brawniest lackey—Tyler.

The towering demon stood like a slab of stone and his muscles bulged under the strain of his armor.

"Tyler," Declan snarled. "Shatter every bone in his pretty little body, especially that stinky mouth and that smug face of this pretty boy."

Tyler nodded solemnly and cracked his knuckles audibly as he took a step forward.

Ethan gave a long and exaggerated sigh as if the entire affair was growing tiresome.

"Why does this mutt with a crooked nose bark so much?" Ethan said dryly.

"I haven't even agreed to the fight yet."

A ripple of laughter and gasps spread through the room as all eyes zeroed in on Ethan's next move.

Many in the crowd, especially those who nodded at Ethan's words shared the same thoughts with him.

The stronger ones among them even openly supported him.

Ethan, however, had crossed a threshold inwardly.

The moment the red-haired Demon's filthy gaze had lingered on Virelle, Ethan had already abandoned any remaining inhibitions he had earlier.

His mood was calm and he had already decided the red-haired demon's fate.

He would have to eventually cut the demon's head off as he had dared to lay his filthy eyes on his precious woman so there was really no need for any civility between them.

The demon growled lowly at Ethan's brazen words, but before his temper could erupt, Warden Leon's rat-like eyes flashed with a subtle but commanding glint.

As if on cue, Declan's fury was instantly quelled and his expression returned to that of calculated malice.

Ethan's sharp and strong innate soul senses honed over countless battles and detected something unusual.

That aura manipulation… It's aura flow control, a technique only those at the Sky Realm could master.

He furrowed his brow.

How could a mere warden have such control? Unless...

Then Declan's voice cut through Ethan's thoughts.

"What will it take for you to agree, you filthy mosquito?"

The insult which was likely aimed at Ethan's feigned vampire identity barely registered as more than childish provocation in his head.

Neither Ethan nor Virelle showed the slightest irritation, though Virelle's crimson eyes flashed momentarily beneath her veil.

Ethan chuckled dryly as he leaned casually into the wall behind him.

"Hmm… What could you possibly offer me, mutt?"

Declan snarled as his muscles visibly tightened.

"What do you want?

And I warn you that if you insult me again, I promise you that I will grind your skull into powder and your brain into a delicious brain soup.

I will drink all of it and will not even burp.

I don't care if I lose my rank after this.

I would prefer walking out of here as a nameless wanderer before I let you get away with that tongue."

Ethan sighed internally as he knew that this demon was not joking and he might really try to do that.

Though he knew Declan couldn't touch him under the Guild's protection, he also knew that once outside these walls, Declan would try something reckless.

Even though he was confident he could easily handle this arrogant demon, Ethan preferred to keep his true capabilities hidden.