Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 482 – You Like Me

Mari flinched.

”You called her defective. Profitable. Trash.”

She opened her mouth.

He didn’t let her speak.

”She’s a mermaid,” Lux said, voice low but heavy, resonating like old thunder. ”You kidnapped her as a child. You chained her. Forced her to cry. Enchanted her into pain just so you could polish it and auction it off.”

His eyes began to glow.

Not bright.

But deep.

Infernal red burning beneath layers of restraint.

And Mari?

Oh yeah.

She saw it.

Those weren’t the eyes of some rich boyfriend.

They weren’t even the eyes of a mortal.

Those were eyes that promised kingdoms would fall if you touched what he loved.

And beneath her shock...

There was fear.

And beneath the fear...

There was something else.

Lux saw it.

She tried to swallow it, to stand straighter, to not flinch when his gaze landed square on her.

But her body betrayed her.

Her knees tensed.

Her breath quickened.

Her pupils dilated.

Yeah.

Fear... and horny.

Lux’s lips curved.

A slow, knowing grin.

”You like me,” he said quietly. ”That’s adorable.”

Mari didn’t answer.

She couldn’t.

Because then Jeremy lunged.

”Bastard!!”

It wasn’t graceful.

It wasn’t noble.

It was just a man losing control.

He dropped the ring box and came at Lux with a swing that probably worked better on smaller, dumber prey.

Lux didn’t move much.

Just leaned slightly to the side.

The fist missed his face by inches and met nothing but air.

Jeremy stumbled forward.

Lux took a step back.

Casual. Calm.

”Really?” he asked, flat.

Guards surged toward him from both flanks, suits snapping as they reached.

Lux didn’t blink.

He didn’t fight.

He moved.

A slight shift of weight. A quarter pivot.

One guard tripped over the edge of the stage and went sprawling with a startled grunt.

The second swung a baton—and Lux tilted, barely a breath off-center. The baton missed and smacked the third guard in the ribs, sending them into a spiral of clumsy pain.

Lux sighed.

”Try coordinating next time.”

Someone in the crowd gasped. A few others began to whisper.

And still—

Lux never broke a sweat.

Sira remained seated.

Grinning.

”You look like you’re bored,” she called, not bothering to hide her amusement.

”I am bored,” Lux called back, voice echoing just enough to feel like a dare. ”He’s barely worth the misstep.”

Jeremy growled and charged again.

But this time, he didn’t come with fists.

This time, he opened his mouth.

And the world shifted.

The sound that poured out wasn’t words. It wasn’t a scream either. It was resonance—pure, vibrating command woven in mana. A weaponized siren song that hit like a mental jackhammer, tuned to disrupt concentration, rupture barriers, and tear down the willpower of anything within reach.

Mari’s eyes went wide.

”Jeremy, no!”

But he didn’t stop.

He was too far gone. Too humiliated. Too proud.

The air distorted.

The chandeliers above flickered wildly. The champagne in glasses trembled. Windows cracked. Two people in the back immediately dropped to the floor, fainted. Another screamed and bolted for the door. Panic rolled through the auction floor like heat through oil.

Sira stood at once, a golden shimmer flaring around her like a second skin.

Her barrier.

Perfect. Polished. Pride-forged.

The sound bounced harmlessly off her, scattering in ripples that made her gown flutter like wind kissed it.

Lylith, the Lamia queen, didn’t move. She didn’t have to. The dark ruby circlet on her forehead gleamed with faint light—an enchanted relic, probably ancient, possibly stolen, absolutely effective. It shielded her with ease.

Lux?

He didn’t flinch.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t even look up.

He just exhaled.

A quiet sound. Private. Almost tired.

Then—he flicked his wrist.

A pale, see-through barrier snapped into place around him, a thin disc of shimmering green-gold energy. It didn’t look impressive. No thunder. No sparks. No flame.

But when Jeremy’s voice hit it?

It shattered like water hitting stone.

Lux lifted his eyes slowly, calmly, as the resonance waves parted around him like a curtain of nothing.

The crowd watched—those still conscious, anyway.

Lux stepped forward, through the sound like it didn’t exist.

Then he spoke.

”Is that all?” he asked, soft.

Jeremy’s voice cracked mid-resonance.

And that’s when Lux moved.

He didn’t dash.

He walked.

Fast. Smooth. Direct.

Jeremy lunged again, hand glowing with siren-bound mana. A blade of condensed sound twisted from his palm. It crackled with the intent to maim.

Lux turned his body slightly. The blade whiffed past his suit.

Lux responded with a tap.

Not a punch. Not a strike. Just a light backhand to Jeremy’s wrist—redirecting the blow.

Jeremy spun on his heel, off balance.

Lux sighed. ”You fight like a merchant.”

Jeremy screamed.

”You’re ruining everything!”

He came again. This time two fists, charged with burstwave—an advanced siren technique that vibrated through bones.

Lux ducked.

Leaned.

Slid to the side like the fight bored him more than the stock reports on a Tuesday afternoon.

His fingers flicked again.

Jeremy tripped.

Flat.

Face-first into the auction floor.

Mari sprang forward with a sharp cry. ”Jeremy!”

She extended both hands, palms glowing ocean-blue.

Twin mana threads whipped forward, laced with siren enchantment. They twisted like living ropes, aiming to trap Lux’s ankles.

He stopped walking.

Turned.

Let the threads hit—

And shimmer uselessly off his barrier.

Lux raised a brow.

”Two of you?” he asked, almost disappointed. ”Now this feels unfair.”

Mari gritted her teeth. ”You’re dangerous.”

”And you’re poorly trained.”

He stepped toward her.

She retreated instinctively—then caught herself and raised both hands again, casting a shockwave that should’ve thrown him back.

It didn’t.

It hit his aura.

Froze.

Cracked like old glass.

Lux walked through it.

Jeremy, now panting and on his knees, gathered another burst of vocal resonance and shouted—screamed—at full force.

It hit Lux square in the chest.

And the only thing that moved?

Lux’s jacket flapping lightly.

He stopped walking, glanced down at his suit.

”...You wrinkled it.”

He turned back toward Jeremy, eyes glowing now—not fully flaring, but simmering with that restrained heat just beneath the surface. The kind that made people sweat without knowing why.