"Immediately, Lord! Follow us!"

  The interior of the fortress was a stark contrast to the exterior. Outside, it was a hellscape of purple mud and demons. Inside, it was a military machine. Soldiers moved in tight formations, their eyes seemed dead but focused. The air was filtered and purified by arrays just in case.

  Li Yu was escorted to the central command tower. It was a spire that overlooked the massive rift. When the heavy doors to the Marshall’s office opened, a wave of heat hit him in the face.

  It smelled of jasmine, musk and burning wood.

  The room was lavish. Thick red carpets covered the floor. Tapestries depicting scenes of fire and war hung on the walls. A massive fireplace roared on one side, though the fortress was heated through formations.

  Behind a curtain was Grand Marshal Signe. She ordered the soldiers escorting Li Yu here to leave. Once they had left, she then flickered to standing by the window. She was looking out at the purple rift.

  She turned to look at Li Yu. Li Yu blinked. She was... unexpected.

  Signe was a woman of striking and aggressive beauty. She had hair the color of a blazing inferno. It was cascading down her back in wild waves. Her skin was slightly tan, a stark contrast to the pale northerners Li Yu was used to.

  But it was her attire that was most shocking.

  In a fortress surrounded by freezing sludge and demonic winds, Signe wore a dress of thin, shimmering red silk. It was cut low, dangerously low, revealing the deep valley of her chest and the curve of her hips. A slit ran up her thigh, exposing a long, muscular leg.

  She radiated heat. Her cultivation base was 9th Stage Soul Formation, like the two other Marshalls and felt like a contained volcano.

  "So," Signe said to him. Her voice was smoky, rich and laced with a strange resonance. "You are the crab they sent me."

  She walked toward him. She didn't walk like a soldier. She walked like a predator stalking prey, her hips swaying with a hypnotic rhythm.

  "Grand Marshall Signe," Li Yu bowed politely and kept his expression neutral. "I am Li Yu. Grand Marshall Thyra sent me."

  "Thyra," Signe laughed. "Dear, sweet, frozen Thyra. She worries too much. She thinks I am lonely out here. In danger and need help."

  Signe stopped inches from him. She was tall, right at Li Yu’s height. The heat radiating from her was intense and carrying the scent of an exotic perfume.

  "Are you here to save me, little Crab?" Signe asked while reaching out to trace a finger down Li Yu’s chest. Her nail was painted black and sharp as a talon.

  Li Yu didn't flinch but his mind went on high alert. He was wondering what she was doing but then he sensed it.

  'Demonic Qi.'

  It was faint and hidden beneath the overwhelming aura of her Fire element. But without a doubt it was there. A sickly sweet undercurrent within her aura.

  "I am here to help," Li Yu said while taking a subtle step back. "I heard you have a pest problem. The demons keep coming and you could use more forces."

  "Pests," Signe sighed after Li Yu stepped back. She turned away and walked to her desk. She didn't sit behind it. She sat on the edge of it, crossing her legs. The silk robe slipped, revealing more skin. "Demons are pests. But pests can be... entertaining."

  She looked at him and her eyes flashed with a strange light.

  "I heard you killed those creatures that were plaguing the north recently." She said softly. "Strong soul. Very strong soul. I can smell it from here. It smells like the deep ocean."

  "I have been told I have a certain depth," Li Yu said while keeping his tone light.

  "Depth is good," Signe murmured. She stood up again and closed the distance. "It gets so cold here, Li Yu. Not the ice outside. The cold inside. Fighting these things... day after day. Watching them crawl out of that rift. It hollows you out."

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  She placed a hand on his shoulder. Her skin was burning hot.

  "Sometimes," she whispered as she was leaning in close, "a woman needs something to fill that hollow. Something warm. Something strong."

  Li Yu felt a ripple in the air. It was subtle. A wave of red invisible energy washed over him. It wasn't an attack. It was a Charm Art. He was highly sensitive to such arts after his failure with it before.

  Influence. Seduction. Desire.

  The technique sought to latch onto his mind and to find the cracks in his will. It was to also amplify his lust and lower his guard.

  Li Yu felt it hit his Spirit Sea.

  Inside, the Koi didn't even bother to look up. The charm energy dissolved the moment it touched upon his soul realm. It was like throwing a snowflake into a furnace.

  'A Charm technique?' Li Yu thought while keeping his face blank. 'On me? Is she testing me? Or is this something else…’'

  He looked at Signe. She was undeniably beautiful. In any other circumstance, a person might be flustered. But Li Yu knew himself. He was average-looking. He wasn't the type of man that a Grand Marshall. A woman who commanded armies and touched the peak of power would throw herself at within minutes of meeting.

  'This isn't attraction,' Li Yu realized. 'This is hunting. Vorgnir was right. There is something going on here. But for it to affect the Grand Marshal?! This problem is much more serious than Central Command knows.'

  "Marshall," Li Yu whispered back. He was feigning a slight tremor in his voice. "I... I am just here to gather resources. To help where needed."

  "Resources?" Signe laughed softly as she was walking around him. She was trailing her fingers across his back. "You are a resource, Li Yu. The best resource I have seen in a year."

  She stopped behind him and was leaning her body against his back. He could feel the softness of her curves and the heat of her cultivation.

  "Don't be shy," she whispered with her lips brushing his ear. "Thyra sent you here because she knows I need help. But help comes in many forms."

  Another wave of charm energy hit him. This one was powerful. Probably strong enough to affect those at the peak of Soul Formation. It hammered against his mental walls. It was demanding submission, demanding adoration.

  'Strong,' Li Yu critiqued internally. 'But she’s so bold and confident. Like nothing could escape it.'

  He sensed the Demonic Qi spiking. It wasn't coming from her dantian. It was coming from inside her flesh. It was a parasite. A separate entity living under her skin somehow.

  ‘If others are affected as well, I might be fighting against the entire army. Or perhaps it's only a certain few that are affected like this. If that is the case, she would just call upon her army that I am attacking her and I would still have to fight this army.’

  He decided to play the game. If he fought her now, he would be fighting a Grand Marshall in her own fortress. He needed to know what she was before he struck. To better understand the situation before fighting.

  Li Yu let his eyes glaze over slightly. He relaxed his posture and was allowing his mouth to open slightly.

  "Marshall..." he stammered and turned around to face her. "You are... very beautiful. I am ready to serve however you like."

  "Am I?" Signe smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was a hungry smile. "Then stop fighting it, Li Yu. Let me warm you up. The North is so cold. So lonely."

  She reached up and cupped his face.

  "Your soul calls to me," she whispered. "It's so bright. Let me taste it."

  Li Yu didn't resist. He stumbled forward and was allowing himself to fall into her embrace. Signe wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled his head down. She was burying his face in the ample, exposed cleavage of her chest.

  To an observer, it looked like the start of a passionate tryst. To Li Yu it felt surprisingly comfortable but he couldn’t enjoy it. He was completely on edge and waiting for what was going to happen next.

  With his face pressed against her skin, he sensed it clearly. The heartbeat was wrong. There was a second, faster rhythm beneath the first.

  "Your soul," Signe whispered into his ear. Her voice changed. It became double-layered, a human voice overlaid with another. "It smells... delicious."

  Li Yu kept his hands limp at his sides. "I... I want..."

  "Yes," Signe whispered. "Give it to me. Give me everything."

  She tightened her grip around him.

  'NOW.'

  Li Yu’s spiritual sense, honed to a razor's edge, felt the shift in reality. From Signe’s back, from the very skin of the Grand Marshall, a shadow erupted.

  It wasn't a shadow. It was a creature. A Charm Demon.

  She emerged from Signe’s body like a spirit possessing a host. Her lower half still fused with the Marshall’s spine. She didn't look like a monster. She had pale human skin. It was smooth and flawless but her eyes were black pools of malice.

  The Charm Demon held a dagger in her hand. It wasn't made of steel. It was made of solidified dark energy, a black shard that throbbed with a curse.

  Signe held Li Yu tight. She was pinning his arms and keeping his face buried in her chest. The Charm Demon raised the dagger high. Her face was a mask of ecstatic hunger. She aimed for Li Yu’s neck.

  "Sleep, little Crab," the Charm Demon whispered silently.

  She brought the dagger down. Li Yu’s eyes snapped open. They were clear. They were cold. And they were mocking.

  'Gotcha.'