"Who are you?" I ask aloud, even though I'm alone in the hallway.
"Why are you helping me?"

[[ AHAHHAH! SO YOU'VE NOTICED, THEN! AFTER ALL, SHE HASN'T DONE MUCH TO HIDE IT! ]]

"Reveal yourself."

[[ DO YOU WANT THE STAR TO TAKE THE STAGE? ]]
[[ >YES
      NO ]]

Of course, I select yes.

Time freezes.
Everything around me is still.
The clouds, the plants, the people.
From the window of the Academy hallway, I can only observe and wonder at this inexplicable phenomenon.

Before me appears a stunning woman dressed in a black tailcoat, with purple accents on her attire.
Her tie and pocket square match the same shade of purple.
The color complements her deep, unnaturally violet eyes, while framing her flawless face are long, fiery-red, wavy hair.

"Who is the crowd that peers through the cage, as we perform here upon the stage? Tell me a lie in a beautiful way, I believe in answers just not today." She recites poetically, "She loves that song, it represents a bit of our troubled existence, our unstable, precarious, and ephemeral situation, don't you think?" she asks me.

"Who are you?" I ask coldly, unimpressed by her antics.

"Well met, She's Raqahela. Very much at your service," the woman introduces herself with a bow, referring to herself in the third person.

Although I remain on guard, I am unimpressed and stay silent, waiting for her to continue. It doesn't make sense for me to introduce myself; I'm sure she already knows who I am.

"She's a silent observer, a passionate spectator, now ready to break her silence. She should have remained an impartial observer, but she couldn't resist. You are too amusing, dear reincarnate," she says.

The woman twirls with a pirouette, gracefully swaying and then stopping next to me, staring me straight in the eyes.
I struggle to maintain eye contact.

"She knows what you're thinking. Who is she? A friend? Potentially. An adversary? Plausible. But if that were the case, why would she have helped you? No, she is your guardian spirit, your savior, your ally," she says.

Her words leave me confused, but it's evident that she's behind my powers. "Are you behind this system?" I ask her directly.

"You overestimate her, although she enjoys that. The system is something too vast to believe it's the product of a single individual, no matter how powerful they may be. The system is like the air, like fire, like water, like earth. It was here before us, and it will be here after us. As you humans say? Raqahela doesn't like it; the term is not very elegant, but she believes it best represents the idea. Raqahela 'hacked' the system," she explains.

Raqahela's response raises further questions in my mind.
"What is your purpose?" I inquire, eager to know the intentions of this mysterious woman.

"To entertain herself in this harrowing, decadent and magnificent spectacle called life, existence, non-death," Raqahela declares with a mischievous smile.

"Are you a demon?" I attempt to verify my suspicion.

"Yes, you could define her as a demon. For the sake of details, Raqahela is a succubus," she proudly declares.

I feel a shiver run down my spine, but I don't believe she's telling me the whole truth.
"I don't think you're just a simple demon," I voice my doubt.

Raqahela laughs. "Strauss Wagner: Reincarnated, Ventures, Alchemist, Cleric, Curse Crafter, Corrupted Demonic Bishop of Lust, and now a demon expert!" she lists grandiosely.

Then she snaps both her fingers.

Suddenly, we're in another place.
We are no longer in the academy.
We're in a vast hall worthy of a royal castle.
The room is lavishly decorated with gold, jewels, and on the walls hang artworks of indescribable beauty.
In the center of the room is a table set with a high-class banquet that could feed an army.
I try opening and closing my eyes to make sure this is real.
It's not the only thing that's different.
Raqahela has changed her appearance.
She no longer wears the elegant tailcoat in which she first introduced herself.
In its place, she wears a provocative outfit that leaves little to the imagination: a black leather babydoll that barely covers the most scandalous parts.
But the most shocking thing is the two bat-like wings sprouting from her back and the two horns on her head.
She has revealed her true form.
Terrifying, yet at the same time, wondrous.

"What's better than a demon? An archdemon? No, a demon you know. She stands before you in all her glory."

She speaks in riddles, but I want answers. "What do you want from me?"

Raqahela approaches me with a seductive smile. "Fun," she whispers in a tempting tone.
"She wants you to unleash your creativity with the powers she granted you when you chose the class she offered. So far, you haven't disappointed her, but she knows you can do better. She wants you to burn the world with passion, with your perverse love, with her lust of which you are the bishop."

"Very interesting, but it all seems rather vague to me. You say a lot of words but little that's concrete. I don't think fun and entertainment are sufficient motivations to 'hack' this system, as divine as you define it," I tell her skeptically.

"Do you want clarity? Do you want a simple, direct, banal, boring answer? What do the gods want? What do demons want?" she recites with a melodramatic tone and particular emphasis. "Souls. It's that simple. That's the simple and boring answer to your question. They want souls. The source of their power and what allows their existence. Souls. Pure, evil, corrupt. It doesn't matter, although Raqahela admits to having a particular passion for the latter."

Raqahela gets even closer, our faces just a few inches apart. Her eyes shine with mystical lust as she speaks with a seductive voice.

"Corrupt and spread your seed. Transform pure souls into corrupted slaves addicted to lust. Raqahela will reward you, and as you've already seen, her gifts are precious."

The system screen appears before me.

[[ CORRUPTION POINT:
By corrupting a soul, you earn these points that can be spent to get enhancements, new abilities, items.
More information in the details section.]]

"The ability she gave you when the Church's paladin had you on the ropes is not a gift. How do you humans put it? Another inelegant expression: 'Free Trial.' Raqahela requires a [CORRUPTION POINT] from you. Don't feel rushed; you have all the time you need. But you will have to settle the bill. If you wish, you can use your own soul..." she says mischievously, always emphasizing her words.

Perhaps I was too reckless in accepting that help.
"I don't like having debts. How do I corrupt souls?"

"You do it by spreading your seed and indulging in lascivious acts, but it takes time. Also, you already know one of the best methods."

"The Master - Servant Contract," I think aloud.

"Exactly, but that book was written by ignorant humans who don't understand how the ritual works. Raqahela will explain it to you. She will teach you how to harness its power. In return, you'll make offerings at her altar."

[SCAN EYE]

[SCAN EYE]
{{ STATUS

RAQAHELA
AGE: ????
LEVEL: ????
RANK: ??SSSS?????g?O?(D)?
CLASS: ?????
MAX HP: 666666?????
MAX MP: ?????666666
STRENGTH: ?666???
DEFENSE: ??666??
AGILITY: ???666?
INTELLIGENCE: ?666???

ABILITY:
?????
?????
?????
?????
?????
?????
?????
STATUS}}

"What the hell is that?!"
I'm astonished.
I imagined she would be extraordinary, but she's literally out of this world.

"Her dear Strauss, it's impolite to peek into a lady's private places! Raqahela is not pleased. But for this once, she forgives you," she says with a smirk.

I'm terrified by what I've seen, or rather, what I haven't seen.
I can't take this lightly.

"For today, the curtain falls. You have much to think about. Raqahela can't wait to witness your first Master-Servant contract ritual. See you soon, her beloved."

Raqahela blows me a kiss with her hands and then bows.
She snaps her fingers.

I'm back in the academy, alone, and time has resumed its flow.