Thank you Benjamin Garrell for contributing to my support.

***

A dilemma emerged within the depths of the wailing Shinobu as her tension slowly dissipated while holding onto Nik's back, almost bruisingly. What to do?

To lose her composure wasn't an unfounded situation for the Insect Pillar. But the loss of calmness only occurred when there were no witnesses around. This was an embarrassing situation.

To remain oblivious of the fact that she just opened her heart to the womanising handsome scoundrel and bawled her eyes out while feeling compassionate under his embrace was something even Shinobu wasn't capable of committing. She simply wasn't THIS shameless. In other words, in such a situation, Shinobu simply couldn't harden her skin.

With tears still marring her perfectly oval face, Shinobu actually started mimicking her snivels to avoid the awkward situation but Nik's words only sent her already fragile and vulnerable heart into a massive frenzy of surging warmth and appreciation.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this."

Nik whispered while stroking her smooth back. Unable to find any sort of bandages on her back and the feeling of her rather modest breasts squishing against his chest made the experience morph from sombreness to passion. The wide expansion of her hips extending from her tight and supple waist made the embrace even more memorable.

But hearing his words, Shinobu felt even more terrified. What should she do? She was stuck. His very scent seemed to suck her soul towards him and made her reluctant to leave his side— Shinobu finally understood how Nik could have so many talented ladies on his side— but on the other hand, she really, really needed to quickly leave. She wasn't even properly clothed! Her entire body would have been bare and exposed if not for the light yukata. She could even feel Nik's palms stroking downwards ever so slowly. And finally, after she calmed down, the effect of booze grew even further, inducing a soft, crimson glow over her pale skin.

But still, Nik deserved her gratitude.

"Thank you..." Shinobu whispered softly but instantly broke the embrace when she felt Nik's hands almost cupping her butt cheeks, instantly revealing her tear-stricken face that pulled Nik into reality before the incubus relished the sight of somewhat dazed Shinobu with a crimson blush covering her body and two sweet, mischievous, erect nipples poking through her light dress. 

"I—..." She continued before growing silent. The cloud covering the moon had finally given leeway and the soft glow finally spotted the duo's location, making Nik's healthy, olive skin look a little pale and softer. His purple eyes, unlike her, glimmered in emotions Shinobu couldn't even comprehend and before she woke from her dazed stupor, Nik had already leaned in and taken her first kiss. 

With eyes opened wide in astonishment, Shinobu tried to make sense of the situation. That was the only thing she could do for her arms had, against her will, slithered back across Nik's broad back, tracing the lines of muscles carefully crafted and developed over a period of harsh training. A roguish tongue parted her lips and snaked into her mouth and finally, Shinobu felt her mind buzz in pure bliss as her momentary heartache was soon replaced by a sweet, bubbly sensation.

Finally, Nik took his lips back and smiled at Shinobu before letting his thumb wipe her cheeks tenderly.

"I don't accept gratitude in words. Consider this kiss as payment."

In a moment of compassion, Nik failed to observe a swift strike.

***

"Aren't you the blushing maiden!" Brian instantly cackled akin to a mad hyena as he observed the clear handprint on Nik's left cheek, making the incubus shrug in distress.

With Shinobu already making a swift retreat into her room, Nik could only come out of the backyard only to meet Brian sitting cross-legged while leaning against one of the Wisteria Trees present.

"Why up so late?"

Nik inquired while sitting opposite to Brian with a curious expression, making the Fiend sigh in reluctance.

"Something doesn't add up..."

Brian whispered and matched Nik's gaze while revealing a ponderous expression.

"Like?"

Nik's inquiry was a welcomed one as Brian finally whispered, "Infernal Bang... according to the information, Infernal Bang will require three strongest bloodline holder to unite and destroy the limitations and ascend beyond the capabilities of one's Bloodline.

That is it? I understand that there is almost no information besides a few rumours, but even the Infernal Guardian knew nothing about it.

And if this event is so beneficial then my ancestor shouldn't have been slain by his own father— The Ancestor of the Fiends— the strongest existence to remain alive till now.

And then... finally, the greatest puzzle is your existence, Nik. If the Infernal Bang is so important to the current pillars of the infernal, why would the Incubus Association make things a little different for you?"

Brian sighed deeply as Nik frowned and hesitated before keeping his doubts within and questioning once again.

"So... what are you trying to say is...?"

"What I am trying to say is— Things are complicated— more than what I ever could have imagined. I think, even Ray understands this fact and so do you. You have your own doubts that you are entitled to clear up...

But Nik...

Play things smart."

"Play things smart?"

Nik muttered in wonder while Brian nodded.

"Trust no one, first of all. Not even me. Take this advice extremely seriously. I will be honest with you." Brian took a deep breath and continued, "I have no intentions of harming you. Never have, and I expect, I never will. But there are many techniques that can make me harm you, or even Ray, without my intentions."

Nik's expression grew serious as Brian pursued, "If I should suggest, then in the future, you should get a skill than can ensure the loyalty of your Harem. At least, that way, you will have a place to retire and relax.

But never, ever will you place your trust in me. While I think you are loyal to your friends, if you have any, from now on, I am declaring that I do not have my trust in you, or Ray.

Only Loyalty.

A loyalty than stretches a little shorter than my own life."

"Enough..."

Nik finally whispered and smiled back.

"I understand your concerns, Guild Master. Trust no one, soldier up, right?"

Nik grinned lightly before his [Pheromone Illusion] expanded rapidly and the scene in front of him wrapped into reality. The scenery remained the same but Brian's existence was instantly morphed into that of a grey-haired youth with inverted pupils who still sat with his legs crossed.

"I'll keep your advice till I die." Nik nodded seriously while calmly observing the opponent. The furry ears extending all towards his head made Nik have a little inkling to who the enemy might be, but the pale skin and almost demon-like tattoos that looked a bit similar to Yuriko's made Nik flounder a bit.

As Nik spoke, the youth did not come up with any reply, but his inverted pupils shone a florescent glow while Nik felt his mind being pulled into a hypnosis-like effect once again. 

"Good. Now—"

Before the 'Brian' completed his words, Nik broke the illusion gingerly and controlled his own domain to get control over the enemy's mind while also informing Brian about the situation but specifically asking him to stay put until the opponent escapes his grasps.

By now, Nik was already proficient in illusion and mind control to understand the essential difference between the two. Mind Control is easy to detect but Illusion isn't. Illusion evokes deepest subconscious thoughts of the target using some sort of trigger. It could be a rustling sound of the leaves or a touch to the shoulder.

While Nik had tried to mix mind control and illusion countless times, his training barely bore any result, only making him a little bit more proficient in the two arts. But as Nik activated the pheromones surrounding the grey-haired youth as a trigger to pull him into a trance and get into his mind, the youth's eyes instantly widened and he let out an outraged snarl.

What? Only you can control other's minds?! Take this!

Nik let out an indignant howl within himself and instantly, stomped on the ground. Towards enemy as frail-looking as the thin youth, Nik won't hesitate to use every measure to his disposal. After all, the frailer you look, the more dangerous you are. Especially, in such a— eat human— world.

To respond to Nik's stomp, the ground beneath the youth instantly dug itself as the youth fell down with a visible emotion of surprise surging through his expression while Nik did feel a bit reluctant in destroying the scenery. The moment the youth almost reached the dug amount, Nik instantly clasped his hands in front of his chest and the ground actually 'slid' against each other, catching the youth and crushing his bones simultaneously.

'This... was easy?'

Nik frowned but his body did not lose its tension. As the illusion stated— Never believe anyone blindly.

This statement wasn't unfounded. Nik was cautious, deep down, it was the truth. No matter how chummy he grew with Brian, Nik simply couldn't truly bring himself to trust the Fiend completely. And trusting the defeat of the enemy in such a simple attack was something Nik wouldn't dare commit even in his nightmares.

"Kukuku, you are just like me, aren't you? Great at illusions but weak at physical attacks?"

The youth cackled while slowly sliding out of the hole akin to a toothpaste being pushed out before his body turned into a slimy glob of flesh and then slowly restructuring itself in front of Nik's astounded eyes. The process was slow— took a few minutes that Nik could have used to attack the enemy— but still kept his hand.

Finally, the naked, scrawny youth looked at Nik and narrowed his eyes before inquiring with a confused look.

"How did you know?"

His inquiry wasn't baseless. To pull oneself out of such a natural illusion was something that only someone well-versed with the art of Illusion and Hypnosis could perform.

Or someone who happens to be extremely cautious and tries to find his own trust within the underlying details.

The youth simply wished to pull out a definite answer from Nik's mouth so that he could approach the situation with an appropriate tactic.

Smiling, Nik opened his hands wide and proclaimed loudly.

"I am the millenium genius, kid. To pull my humbly Godly self into such a stupid—"

"I don't like bullshits!"

The youth cursed and extended his right, glowing palm and aimed the face of his palm towards Nik only to find his arm slowly diving down with a clean cut separating the shoulders and the arms.

"Didn't my colleague say he is a Millenium Genius? A talent that even gods bow to? You should have agreed with him...

Now, I am furious."

Unlike Nik's expectations, the furry-eared youth did not scream in pain— after all, Nik would have wailed akin to a banshee with one of his arms removed— making Nik feel grateful at his own wisdom to call in the back-up in the form of an overpowered Temporal Fiend actively looking for fights.

The torn arm, on the other hand, once again turned into a goo of grey flesh, wriggling a little with two distinct appendages forging out from either side of the blob. The mass of writhing flesh only served to further the disgust within Nik's and Brian's heart when it struck Nik.

The blob was a trigger!

This fucker was still trying to pull a Hypnosis on the duo, making Nik admire his courage and lament his foolishness. After knowing Brian for a little time while keeping his Pheromone activated, Nik understood a single truth.

He still wasn't proficient to put Brian into a mind control.

As expected, the glimmering black war-axe with the face of a raging Ashura inscribed on the hilt that was caught by the massive hands featuring bulged veins that seemed to be running on steroids moved.

And the owner of the blob of flesh was torn into two. 

"Kuku, it won't work! I am neither a demon, nor a human. I have ascended after taking Muzan's blood. 

Don't you understand?

I am not here to fight. But to extend a—"

"Poaching my very own Vice-Guild Master. Good..."

Brian whispered and finally, for the first time, the furry-eared youth felt his non-existent spine-shivering in fright. The tiny fur of his ears instantly stood up and the youth's neck turned a bit slimy before rotating the face to match the abomination behemoth that Brian currently looked like. A height that would the Pillar of Stone in shame and muscles so ripped that the veins were the thickness of an adult's index finger.

"Temporal Acupuncture."

Brian whispered and instantly rotated his war-axe. The end of the pole of the axe extended out to a thick needle. It would be unfair to call it a needle. In fact, it looked like an extremely sharp... dildo.

This was what Nik's debauched mind could come up with.

And under Brian's masterful experience, the extravagant pin instantly pierced the body of the mass of flesh that the youth was slowly turning into almost seven times. Something told Nik that Brian moved a lot greater than seven times, but Nik's senses only caught seven distinct strikes into the goo that finally paralyzed the man to fall down with his legs already transformed into the goo and his body still humanoid.

But, the look of mock terror on the man's face failed to achieve the destined effect as Nik instantly covered the glob of goo turned from his arm with a raging inferno.

As Brian narrowed his eyes while observing the opponent's stiff face turning into creases of despair, the fiend took a deep breath and smiled.

"I guess, I can have my fill of hunt after all."

His body returning to its normal state while he gazed at Nik silently. Caution visible in his eyes as Nik shook his head.

"We are not under any illusion."

Brian nodded and decided to send a message to the Succubus of his guild about the situation when he received a startling report.

[Only one? I just sucked dry three of them. Don't just stop now, Boss, since they decided to strike, let's gobble them up!]

Brian could visibly feel the happiness radiating out of the message as he showed the contents that made Nik's lips twitch.

Looking at the small area of destruction, Nik extinguished the fire and filled up the hole before looking at the dazed and stiff opponent.

"Is he...?"

Nik inquired softly as Brian shook his head and smiled.

"He cannot live longer. But no, he isn't dead... his body is paused."

Nik nodded and unceremoniously covered the body in fire and turned the opponent into the ash while lamenting at the thought of explaining the events that occurred leading to marring such a beautiful garden.

"What are you going to do?"

Brian's war-axe disappeared, pulling Nik out of his thoughts before he looked at the strange message in front of him.

[Host just killed another host. A Red Medal is sent to your inventory.]

"For rewards?"

Brian shook his head and smiled.

"This world contains the variation of the Blood Fiends. Although, I wasn't willing to hunt them, now that a few hosts have turned into fiends, I might as well reduce the potential members of the Fiend Society.]

Nik frowned at his words and refuted.

"We know nothing of them. Why don't we just follow Ray and help him escape if things go bad? That way, we can also analyse the potential of the enemy and maybe, their motives."

It was Brian's turn to frown when a mild chuckle broke them out of their conversations.

"As they say, the youngest are the smartest."

In a haze of pink mist, the silver-haired Ray in his pink onesie appeared and shrugged.

"In fact, my Succu Clone is devouring their essence as we speak." He spoke before directing his gaze towards Nik with a heartbroken expression.

"And... isn't that a bit sad to use me as a bait?"

"Not at all." Nik shook his head.

"If I were that heartless, I would have stabbed you in the back while you deal with the enemies." Nik shrugged and continued, "And you, as a Succubus, should know that my interest lies in mating instead of fighting."

Puckering his lips, Ray snorted softly. Nik's words were true, Ray knew this for he was similar to Nik in nature.

"Oh, well, I guess, I can believe you this one time. Now, shall we get going?"

***

Alternative Title: Embarrassed Shinobu=Waifu,  Fiendish Back-up, Why Fight when you can drain?