Chapter 634 - Payback
Chapter 632 of "Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem" unveils a new twist: If I may be honest, I didn't care much whether I was 'allowed' to carry... See what happens!
If I may be honest, I didn't care much whether I was 'allowed' to carry her or not. I'd just finished touching Vex all over the place—save for her no-no spots—and I also had a harem full of gorgeous babes. As such, even though Raika was a true beauty whose wild combative nature was right up my alley, I was no longer the same desperate man who offered Ayame a piggyback ride with the main driving force behind my decision being the opportunity to touch her thighs back on day 2 of my transmigration.
As a result, I merely returned Raika's gaze, resulting in the two of us entering a staring contest. Perhaps she sensed my nonchalance about the whole ordeal because a second later, she nodded her head, choosing me as her carrier.
I stepped closer to her prone form and crouched. However, instead of lifting her, I first had something to ask. "Would you like me to remove the ink?"
A mild surprise could be seen in her dark eyes, clearly not expecting my offer. "She uses a special ink, simple water won't do the trick." It was my turn to be surprised, it was the first time I heard this woman speak like a normal person.
However, my surprised state of mind didn't last long, as the expression on my face was replaced by one of pride, or primordial arrogance as Ayame liked to put it. "Simple water? I might be weaker than you for the time being, but you should stop underestimating me so badly."
She didn't say anything in response, prompting me to begin the cleaning process by lifting my right hand to her face.
I called upon my element. Water coalesced at the tip of my thumb, forming a thin, nearly invisible blade. It was made of compressed force, a pressurized edge. I dragged it against her skin with precision, applying the same method one would use to scrape away dried blood or grime.
If Raika was a normal woman, I couldn't have used this method. At least not without getting a lot of practice in beforehand. But because of her high Vitality stat, her skin was no longer that of a typical human's—the term 'superhuman' fit people like her, and even us at this point, much better.
I continued by running the edge across her upper lip. A thin layer of ink peeled away while her skin remained smooth and spotless.
But as soon as I lifted my hand to check on the progress, I saw the problem.
The mustache was still there. Or, to be more accurate, it regrew.
My brows pulled together.
Behind me, Vex giggled coyly.
"Oh my… Maybe you really do command only 'simple water,' Mister Devil."
I glanced at her annoyedly. "Don't you carry a single normal item on you, woman? Every item you pull out has some damned quirk to them."
Vex replied with a fair bit of smugness in her tone as she said, "I've been fighting, killing, and looting for nearly two centuries, why would I carry mundane objects with me? I deserve luxury. I don't settle for anything but the absolute best there is, future hubby." She put a heavy emphasis on her last two words, implying I shouldn't act like I had her in the bag already. Her being mine wasn't a done-and-dusted deal.
Instead of replying, I turned back to Raika. This time I wasn't just looking at the ink, but studying it.
There was something wrong.
I sharpened my senses, pushing my elemental connection deeper. Water wasn't just a weapon—it was an extension of my will. I let my magic slip beneath the surface, examining the ink at its most fundamental level.
And then I saw it.
This truly wasn't normal ink. It had bonded to her skin.
Tiny, threadlike veins had seeped into her pores, weaving through the outer layer like a parasite. No wonder a simple water blade hadn't worked, and now I also understood why Vex was so smug about it.
But if she thought I'd be stumped by this, she was about to be disappointed. I hadn't just upgraded my elemental powers in the last primordial trial, I greatly deepened my understanding of them. To become the Avatar of the Elements, merely having good elemental affinity wasn't enough.
I placed my hand over Raika's upper lips again, this time letting my water flow in its purest form. Not as a blade. Not as a jet. But as an essence.
Water was adaptability. It was patience. And, when necessary, it was the greatest solvent known to existence. Given enough time, it could erode mountains, carve through the strongest stone.
I knew I couldn't just wash it away, I had to dissolve it.
To that end, I sent my magic deeper, slipping through the microscopic channels where the ink had latched onto her skin. Instead of attacking it outright, I merged with it, and let my essence seep into its structure. The ink tried to resist by tightening its enchanted bonds, clinging to her pores like roots in the soil.
I didn't fight back. Instead, I simply gave it something better to cling to—my current.
Water slithered into every crevice, every thread of enchanted pigment, wrapping around it with the patience of the tide. Then, like a river stealing loose earth, I pulled.
The ink didn't just wash away. It bled out of her skin, unraveling, fragmenting. Its composition broke apart on a level beyond sight.
As a result, tiny droplets of black liquid rose from her face. They were suspended in the air before I used wind manipulation to sling them directly at Vex, who was all too flabbergasted by my performance to dodge in time, letting me paint her gorgeous face with black dots and lines.
"Prrt!" the target of my strike spluttered, trying to remove the substance that landed on her lips. She was unsuccessful, however, as the parasitic ink seeped into her skin, taking deep roots in their newfound home.
"Future hubby!!" Vex cried with complete disbelief, unable to believe I'd done just that.
On the other hand, a never-before-seen, fulfilled smile emerged on Raika's face as she cutely snickered. For the first time since I met her, she wasn't happy because she'd triumphed over a mighty enemy, but simply because of seeing her bully of a big sis get her dues. I had to admit, this gorgeous smile of hers would be hard to forget.
"Get it off!" The white-haired beauty demanded while glaring deep into my eyes.
"You don't have an eraser?"
"No!"
"… What a rookie mistake, I can't believe this. Aren't you like… Never mind," Seraphiel spoke up, but she elected not to finish her statement, knowing how combative Vex could get about her age.
"Always carry your poison's antidote with you," Aurora nodded sagely.
"Why do you not have the eraser substance on you?" Ayame asked with a great deal of curiosity.
Vex impatiently stomped on the floor, "I don't need it!"
"Don't you use this ink to write letters? What if you make a spelling mistake and want to erase it?"
"I don't make mistakes!"
A large number of amused eyes observed this eccentric woman before I stepped closer, deciding to put her out of her misery.
With Raika's carriage being selected, it was time to go meet the leaders of the beastkin race, igniting a large-scale war in the process.