The air stank of charred flesh and burning wood. Flames licked the ceiling like hungry tongues, and the floorboards groaned under the weight of collapsing beams.

Ren's eyes burned from the smoke, but he forced them open. Daichi lay half-buried under a toppled table, the left side of his body blackened and blistered. Molotov cocktails had shattered through the window moments ago, turning the brothel into a furnace.

"Daichi!" Ren shouted, voice hoarse. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the heat that seared his palms.

A shadow fell over him. Luxy crouched, her single remaining wing unfurling like a shield of white gold. The feathers shimmered, untouched by the fire crawling across the walls. "Stay with me," she said, voice steady despite the chaos. "My wing will protect you. Fire can't touch it."

Ren glanced at Daichi's trembling form. The man's lips moved soundlessly, eyes wide with agony. "We're not leaving him," Ren said. "I can heal him."

Luxy's brow furrowed. "Forget it. He's already burning. We need to go. He is going to be a burden."

"No." Ren's tone left no room for argument. "I said I can heal him."

Luxy hesitated, then nodded once. "Fine. But we do this fast."

Ren closed his eyes. Imperial Qi surged through his veins like liquid lightning. Golden threads erupted from his fingertips, snaking across the floor. They wrapped around Daichi's wrists and ankles, dragging the wounded man through broken glass and embers.

Daichi screamed as the threads pulled him free, his charred skin sloughing off in strips.

"Window's no good," Luxy said, scanning the room. "I can't carry both of you with one wing."

Ren hoisted Daichi over his shoulder. The man weighed less than he should have, half his muscle mass already ash. "Can you keep the fire off us?"

Luxy's wing curved around them like a dome. "As long as this wing holds, no normal flame will touch you. Don't worry but we got to be careful of things that are falling."

Ren kicked the main door. The wood splintered, revealing a hallway already engulfed. Bodies lay crumpled, women in silk kimonos, men in nothing at all who were doing their jobs, skin bubbling and blackening. The scent of burning hair made Ren gag.

"Back exit," he said. "Front's blocked."

Luxy led the way, her wing a golden beacon in the inferno. She slammed her heel into the back door. It flew off its hinges, revealing a narrow alley lit by flickering torchlight.

And chaos.

Seven women in black uniforms circled three bloodied figures on the ground. The attackers moved with lethal grace, their red dragon emblems flashing with each strike. Lan clan. Ren's stomach dropped.

So they were behind this attack. Ren immediately knew he was caught in something he shouldn't have been. It felt like bad luck that he always had the worst timing.

"Asashi dogs," one of the Lan women spat, driving her heel into a woman's ribs. "You thought you could hide in neutral territory?"

The Asashi woman coughed blood. "We didn't—"

A blade flashed. His protest died with him.

Ren muttered, "Bad luck doesn't even begin to cover this."

Luxy's wing folded slightly, ready to spring. "I'll handle them. You—"

"Protect Daichi," Ren cut in. He laid the burned man against the wall. Daichi's breathing was shallow, each exhale a wet rattle.

Luxy's eyes narrowed. "You're joking. You can't take seven Lan elites alone."

Ren grinned, the expression feral in the firelight. "Watch me."

He opened his system interface. The translucent screen hovered before Luxy's shocked eyes.

Name: Ren Arakawa

Level: 7

Blessing: Yandere Believer

Sex: Male

[Attributes]

STR: 4

AGI: 4

VIT: 6

INT: 4

CHAR: 10

**Available Points: 0**

[Skills]

Heartsteal – [Level 1]

Imperial Qi – [Level 2] - A noble, domineering aura inherited from the Lan family bloodline. Greatly enhances physical presence and recovery during intimacy or battle and the Imperial qi strands can be manifested.

Healing Grace– [Level 1] - A forbidden healing system that operates on one absolute law: "Nothing is healed without cost." The user can sacrifice any living or non-living entity possessing vitality or energy—from plants to humans—to generate a healing surge proportional to the life force consumed. The sacrifice disintegrates into green particles, reconstructing the target's body on a cellular level.

"Four points," Ren said, flexing his fingers. "Two in strength, two in agility. Been dying to test this."

Luxy stared. "You... you just—"

"Leveled up mid-firestorm. I kept them so I can use them in a situation like this." Ren cracked his neck. "If I start losing, jump in. Otherwise, keep Daichi breathing."

Luxy's lips pressed into a thin line. "Whatever you say, Ren."

***

The Lan women froze mid-kick when the back door exploded outward. Smoke billowed behind three figures who stepped into the back alley light like ghosts from the flames. A man with tousled black hair and a handsome face, a burned wreck of a human draped over his shoulder, and a one-winged woman whose feathers glowed like molten white gold.

One of the Lan thugs tilted her head. "No burns. Not even soot. What the hell?"

Another squinted at Luxy's wing. "That's not normal. That thing is not a normal woman. I have never seen a human with wings."

The leader, a tall woman with a scar across her lip, wiped blood from her iron pipe. "Doesn't matter. They're breathing. That makes them witnesses."

After talking things over with Luxy and deciding that Ren would be the one to fight, he stepped forward toward the women, who looked confused about what they were seeing.

Ren rolled his shoulders, cracking his knuckles. "Well, well. Seven lovely ladies in black. Listen I don't want know trouble. Please let us leave."

The Lan women exchanged glances. One with short crimson hair smirked. "Hear that, girls? The pretty boy thinks he's funny. He think we will let him go."

Another, thicker in the arms, twirled a gun. "Handsome face, nice voice. Shame we'll have to ruin it. Is he a Asashi prostitue? Can't we just you know...take him back."

Ren walked forward slowly, hands loose at his sides. "We're not with the Asashi. Just here for the usual drins and bad decisions. You know, brothel stuff."

The scarred leader laughed, a sharp bark. "Prostitutes, then? Perfect." She kicked the last kneeling Asashi guard in the stomach. The woman doubled over, gasping. "On your knees, boy. Lick our pussies in order or else..."

The iron pipe whistled through the air as the leader turned toward the last alive Asashi goon. It connected with the Asashi woman's temple with a wet crunch. Her head snapped sideways at an impossible angle, body crumpling like a broken doll. Blood pooled under her cheek.

Ren stopped walking. His grin vanished.

The leader wiped the pipe on her thigh. "One less dog. Now, you. Strip. We'll take turns. That wing-bitch dies first. We don't want no woman with us."

Another Lan woman licked her lips, eyes on Luxy. "Kill the bird. Keep the man.. Look at those eyes... I didn't know we would be having fun when I took this job."

Ren's voice dropped. "Does Meiling know her dogs are this degenerate?"

Everyone quickly fell silent at the mention of Meiling's name. The Lan goons were not just any ordinary thugs, they obviously knew about the Lan family members. All of them started second-guessing whether they should be doing what they were doing to this man.

Shit… if he actually knows the young lady, we're screwed!

The leader began to sweat a little, knowing the family didn't take sexual assault lightly toward anyone—it would tarnish the Lan family's good name.

The leader blinked. "You know the Young Lady?"

Ren didn't answer. Golden threads erupted from his palms, thin as spider silk, fast as arrows. They snapped around the iron pipe still dripping with blood. With a yank, the weapon tore free from the leader's grip and flew into Ren's hand.

"Does it matter? Come on! Do what you were about to do. Let me see if I'll be licking your pussies by the end of this fight or if I'll be standing on your bodies," Ren muttered, intimidating the women who didn't take him seriously earlier.

The Lan women stepped back, eyes wide.

"Awakened," one hissed. "Shit. He's one of the awakened male."

Ren spun the pipe once, testing its weight. "Took you long enough."

The crimson-haired thug laughed, but it was nervous now. "Boys don't fight. They spread legs. You sure you want to play hero? Come on!"

Ren's eyes flicked to the dead Asashi woman. "I'm sure."

He moved.

The nearest Lan thug, a wiry woman with twin braids raised her fists, smirking. "Come on, pretty boy. I'll catch that pipe before—"

Ren blurred. The pipe swung in a brutal arc, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle. It wasn't the lazy swing of a level 4 STR anymore, it carried weight, precision, and a raw surge of speed that felt almost alive. His grip tightened just as the momentum peaked, every muscle in his arm screaming with newfound power.

The woman's eyes widened, her instincts kicking in too late. She tried to lean back, maybe raise an arm to block, but the blow landed first.

CRACK.

The sound was sickening, like a tree limb snapping under pressure. The pipe smashed against her collarbone, sending a shockwave up Ren's arm and a spray of crimson through the air.

She gasped, coughing blood as her knees buckled, her body twisting to the side before collapsing. The impact had been so vicious that the metal pipe bent nearly ninety degrees, warping around the point of contact.

Ren looked at the twisted weapon in his hand, breathing hard. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, his nerves tingling with the addictive rush of stat increase.

Then he grinned. Tossing the bent pipe aside, he flexed his fingers and murmured under his breath, almost in disbelief. "This… is awesome. Come on, I want more!"

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