Asmodeus System: Stealing My Bully's Mother

Amidst a dirt road swallowed by the dense, ancient pines of Valen, the black rented carriage ground to a dead halt.

The crack of dawn still held the sky hostage in bruised strokes of dark blue. Thick fog crawled greedily across the bulging, giant roots. The freezing air outside was sharp enough to slice through one’s lungs.

The forest was dead.

No flutter of wings. No chirping birds. The silence was only shattered by the hysterical whinnying of the horses. Up front, the old driver poured every ounce of his remaining strength into yanking the reins, fighting desperately to keep the panicked beasts from bolting and overturning the carriage.

”Easy... easy now, you damn beasts,” the old man grunted, his breath ragged. His weathered hands gripped the leather straps so fiercely that his veins bulged.

The horses continued to thrash and stomp the ground. Their eyes rolled back in wild terror. The metallic stench of blood riding the wind made their primal instincts scream.

”Gods... whatever is lurking out there, please let us pass,” the driver muttered under his breath, bordering on despair.

Inside the dim cabin, the tension was suffocating.

Miya sat completely frozen. Her white medical coat was rumpled. Blonde hair clung to her cold, sweaty forehead, framing a face as pale as a sheet. Her pointed Elven ears drooped limply, while her light purple eyes stared at Ethan with unconcealed terror.

Ethan didn’t say a word. His eyes—still holding their dark brown hue—pierced straight through the carriage window.

”Wake Elara. Now,” Ethan ordered in a low whisper, signaling with a slight shift of his gaze.

Miya swallowed hard. Her trembling hand reached out, touching Elara’s shoulder with a forced, practiced gentleness.

Beneath the heavy mound of woolen blankets, the tiny figure stirred.

Her eyelids, glazed with a milky-white film, slowly fluttered open to stare blankly at the cabin ceiling. Elara frowned slightly at the carriage’s violent jolts. Her pure innocence served as an absolute shield—she was completely oblivious to the suffocating killing intent radiating from the outside.

”Hmm... is the road bumpy again, Miya?” Elara mumbled sleepily.

Seeing his sister safely awake under Miya’s watch, Ethan stood up. His black shirt was slightly ruffled, but his expression was as placid as a frozen lake.

Without bothering to answer, the young man pushed the door open, allowing the metallic tang of blood to assault his senses, before pulling the door tightly shut from the outside.

Effectively locking the two girls in a bubble of absolute safety.

The moment his boots hit the frozen dirt, Ethan’s gaze instantly swept toward the darkest pitch beneath the pine canopy.

$$Eye of Desire$$

activated.

The world shifted instantly. Grids of crimson energy flooded his retinas. Twenty meters ahead, lurking behind a massive tree trunk, a dark red silhouette pulsed rhythmically.

Data streamed into his mind. Serpent Bane. Low-Tier Demon. Threat Level: Rank A. Structural Weakness: Sluggish left flank due to the anatomical weight of its tail.

”Hah... utter trash,” a raspy, heavy voice scoffed inside Ethan’s head. The Asmodeus System let out a condescending chuckle.

”A lowly sewer rat daring to bare its fangs at my physical vessel? Tch, how truly pathetic. Tread carefully, lest you actually die a foolish death at the hands of this brainless beast.”

Ethan ignored the mockery. He knew his limits perfectly well. The Demon King’s Aura within him couldn’t fully manifest yet. His current physical vessel capped out at Rank A.

As for the starving beast before him, its ravenous killing intent had entirely eclipsed whatever primal fear it had left.

CRACK!

A massive branch snapped. Emerging from the thick fog, the grotesque form of the Serpent Bane crawled into view.

Its four limbs were bundled with wire-like muscles, supporting a carapace resembling dark grey volcanic rock. Viscous black drool seeped from jaws caked in dried blood. Behind it, a long, whip-like tail tipped with a jagged bone spike lashed menacingly.

Without warning, the demon lunged. Its explosive speed completely defied its massive bulk.

Ethan didn’t flinch. The calculations of his

$$Eye of Desire$$

had already locked onto its attack trajectory.

Pivoting smoothly on his heel, he sidestepped by a hairsbreadth. The monster’s jaws snapped shut on nothing but the foggy air.

Seizing the momentum, Ethan raised his hand. He delved deep into his Mana Circuits, forcibly drawing upon Miya’s Light Element magic.

Inside the cabin, Miya’s body violently tensed.

The Lust Brand on her left thigh flared with scorching heat. The deeper Ethan siphoned her power, the stronger the searing warmth spreading through her veins. The Elf girl immediately squeezed her thighs together, desperately fighting the tremors that began to overwhelm her nervous system.

Don’t... don’t draw too deeply... Miya pleaded inwardly, panic setting in. I... I have to hold it in... Elara is right here...

”Ngh—” A suppressed moan nearly slipped past her lips.

Miya hurriedly bit down hard on her lower lip. Her eyes watered as she fought back the overwhelming, shameful sensation.

Hearing the strange noise, Elara shifted slightly. ”Miya...?”

”I-it’s... nothing, My Lady...” Miya stammered out. ”Just... the carriage... hitting a bump...”

Elara gave a small nod, settling back into the cushions.

A pale crimson spear of light erupted from Ethan’s palm.

BOOM!

The blast of light slammed directly into the monster’s flank. However, Ethan let out a dissatisfied ’tch’.

It merely left a shallow gash and a charred bruise. The maximum output of his borrowed magic was still hard-capped at Rank A. To completely pierce a demonic stone hide that had evolved to resist Holy magic, a single strike wouldn’t cut it.

ROAAARR!

The monster roared in pure fury. Its spiked tail initiated a sweeping horizontal strike, slashing viciously toward Ethan’s waist.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed as his mind raced.

$$Abyssal Stride$$

? Too risky. This dense fog was generating optical illusions. A blind spatial blink would only drain his Sin Mana and risk a fatal materialization overlap.

Opting for a physical dodge, Ethan launched himself backward.

The very split-second his boots touched the dirt, he activated his innate magic.

$$Aroma Manipulation$$

—supercharged by his Sin Mana.

A concentrated, toxic scent violently expanded through the freezing air, invading the monster’s olfactory senses.

The effect was instantaneous.

The Serpent Bane staggered violently. Its apex hunting senses were abruptly short-circuited, plunging its brain into severe disorientation. The beast went on a blind, thrashing rampage, toppling two massive pine trees in a single swing.

However, that sheer panic made its movements entirely erratic and unpredictable.

Just as Ethan moved in to exploit its sluggish left flank, the monster’s thrashing tail ricocheted off a fallen trunk, whipping back at an impossible angle.

SLASH!

Ethan couldn’t fully evade. The jagged bone tip tore through his black shirt, carving into his left shoulder.

Fresh blood instantly welled up, trailing down his arm and dripping from his fingertips.

A searing, burning pain flared up, but Ethan’s expression remained as stoic as carved marble. He didn’t retreat. He didn’t even hiss. He stood his ground, accepting the injury as an absolute law: the road home always demanded a toll paid in blood.

Tch. So this is the welcome I get, Ethan thought coldly.

The fatal opening finally presented itself when the demon roared once more, rearing its upper body back as it lost its footing.

Ethan didn’t waste a single millisecond.

He violently compressed his pure Sin Mana with the remnants of Miya’s Light Element. In his right hand, the volatile fusion spun furiously, resembling a terrifying, drill-like vortex.

With the explosive agility of a leopard, Ethan sprinted up a slanted pine trunk, launching himself high into the air.

The Serpent Bane jerked its head up. Its sluggish left side reacted far too late.

From above, gravity and sheer momentum combined. The spiraling spear of light plunged straight between the monster’s glowing red eyes—its absolute blind spot.

SQUELCH!

The Rank A magic, hyper-focused into a singular point, finally shredded through the stony carapace. Pure, destructive light pierced its skull, vaporizing the demon’s brain in a fraction of a second.

The massive beast stiffened before collapsing heavily into the earth. The frozen ground violently quaked beneath the impact.

The forest fell dead silent once again. Only the sound of Ethan’s slightly ragged breathing remained.

”Wounded by low-tier abyssal trash? Fufufu... you are a profound disappointment, My Lord,” Asmodeus mocked in his mind.

”Tch. This vessel is only at Rank A. Don’t expect me to act like a god before my time,” Ethan retorted coldly, ripping his spear out as it slowly dissolved into fading Mana particles.

After scanning the perimeter with his

$$Eye of Desire$$

to confirm it was clear, Ethan turned back toward the carriage.

His left shoulder was still bleeding profusely, staining his black shirt a glossy crimson. Yet, his imposing posture didn’t waver. He carried the gaping wound as if it were nothing more than a scratch from a twig.

Inside the cabin, Miya was hovering on the edge of her sanity. The petite Elf trembled violently. She was deathly pale. Her thighs were squeezed tightly shut as she endured the terrifying, overwhelming surge of Sin Mana, leaving her entirely drenched in a cold sweat.

Yet, the dedicated Healer succeeded. She had swallowed every single scream, flawlessly maintaining the illusion of perfect safety for her patient.

Elara remained calmly nestled against her pillows. The blind girl was entirely oblivious to the fact that her brother had just bathed in blood to protect her.

”It’s really cold out there... isn’t it?” Elara murmured softly.

Miya turned to her, forcing a smile. ”Yes, My Lady. But Master Ethan is keeping us safe.”

A fragile smile graced Elara’s lips. ”I know he is.”

The moment the handle clicked open, the lingering warmth of the cabin welcomed Ethan back.

The young man took his seat. Immediately, Elara’s tiny fingers fumbled through the empty air, finding Ethan’s uninjured right arm and clinging to it tightly.

”Brother... are you back?” Elara asked with pure innocence.

Ethan gazed down at his sister’s delicate fingers. He deliberately angled his torn, blood-soaked left shoulder into the shadows—ensuring that even if she could see, she would never witness the carnage.

”Yes, El. I’m right here,” Ethan replied softly.

The sharp snap of the reins echoed outside. The carriage lurched forward once more, putting distance between them and the kill zone.

As the wooden wheels resumed their rhythmic clattering through the forest, the suffocating fog slowly began to lift. The pale rays of morning sunlight finally broke through, illuminating the frozen dirt road.

Ethan cast his gaze out the window.

In the distance, the silhouette of a humble settlement greeted them. Snow-blanketed thatched roofs, wisps of grey smoke rising from stone chimneys, and a simple stone house standing quietly beneath the barren branches of a grand old oak tree.

The Valen Village.

An impoverished, isolated backwater that held absolutely zero value in the eyes of Zenithar’s elite. Yet, for the young man sitting inside this carriage, that exact place was the center of his entire universe.

Ethan remained silent. All the political intrigue, the bloodshed, and the searing pain in his shoulder completely evaporated, swallowed by the sight before him.

Even the perpetually cynical Asmodeus System quieted down, leaving only a single, slow whisper devoid of any mockery.

”Welcome home, Lord Valen.”