Chapter 36: Spreading Wings
As the toxins were now a double-edged sword, Han didn’t dare leave Bellatrix’s side. Her presence alone handled the toxins invading his body. He also called Xena back to him, had Bellatrix heal her, then told her to pick up her clothes. She’d been naked this whole time.
"We’re leaving and starting a new Chapter in our lives. Excited enough to follow me into the depths of Hell?" Han asked, smiling.
Xena scoffed. "I’d be the first one to throw you straight into the pits of Hell!"
She turned and went for her clothes. Bellatrix simply listened to their conversation. Once Xena was gone, Bellatrix turned to Han and asked, "You’re always bullying her. Why’s that?"
Han looked at her lips since her eyes were blindfolded. "Do you want to join in the bullying, too? Honestly, I should start corrupting you. Xena hurt you, didn’t she? And you didn’t even make her pay for it. You could have made her suffer while focusing on healing yourself."
"That goes against my principles," Bellatrix replied, steady. Her fingers wouldn’t stop trembling.
Han chuckled. "That’s why I want to break that principle and corrupt you. Next time, answer her in kind, an eye for an eye. Understood?"
"Yes..." Bellatrix could only agree.
Han caught her chin and studied her face. The blindfold covering her scar gave her an enigmatic look; he could see it becoming part of her usual style, even if he were to heal her eyes. He didn’t want to use any Evolution on Xena and Bellatrix, since both outranked him. He had nothing suitable for them, and Hanna was already a Black Dragon Maid, so he didn’t want more of the same in his ranks.
"You paid a price to have such a scar," Han said, his finger tracing under Bellatrix’s chin and down her nape.
Even though his touch held no chill, Bellatrix shivered under his touch. She felt a tickle and goosebumps, as if a demon were toying with her.
"I did..." she replied, her breathing growing unsteady.
"Behind that molten flesh, your eyes are hidden, waiting to see the world again. But the world you’ll see in the near future won’t be the same. You’ll follow me, see the Underworld, and become one of mine," Han said, tugging at Bellatrix’s heartstrings.
His breath brushed her face and lips. For such a cruel man, his breath smelled so pleasant that Bellatrix’s small nose unconsciously flared as she inhaled more of it.
Han smiled as he noticed her reactions. "I can’t wait to see what will become of your Sun Essence. In the end, the Sun is a star of molten lava. It’s both good and bad for humanity. And its descent to this world would simply spell doom."
"Sun God won’t allow—ah!" Bellatrix opened her mouth, only to stifle a moan as Han grasped her breasts.
Don’t react. Don’t give him that.
"I don’t want to hear about any other male when I’m toying with you," he said as he weighed her large tits through the fabric of her robes from below, their heaviness both impressing and amusing him.
Han rolled his thumbs over them and found her nipples already hard. She had been refusing and preaching all this time, yet her body didn’t align with her words. That drew a boisterous laugh from Han. He let go of her breasts and turned around.
"It’s not time for fun, though I’ve already had plenty. Follow me. You have to detoxify my people," Han said, already walking out of the basement and up the stairs.
Bellatrix held her hands in prayer, yet no prayer came to her mind.
Why did I enjoy his touch? He’s cruel, selfish, and merciless. I should have never... I should have resisted him!
It hadn’t even crossed her mind to pray while Han preached. Could it be that she wanted to learn more about him, or had she already understood that it was futile? His corruption had already started working on her, and she didn’t know whether years of being locked in the Tenaxis Head’s Artifact made her so vulnerable or whether her past had already brought her closer to the dark side.
—
Han’s maids picked up everything valuable from the mansion and packed all of it into portable artifacts: small wooden boxes a maid could tuck into a backpack to carry the mansion’s contents. It would still look suspicious, so the maids split the small wooden boxes among themselves.
Then Han put on plain black robes. He didn’t show any of his dragon features and forced Hanna to do the same. All of them looked like simple wanderers or mercenaries. If those robes came off, anyone would see they weren’t ordinary.
"Everything has been packed and secured, Young Master Han. We’re ready to depart through the secret underground passageway leading out of Tenaxis’ territory," Hanna reported.
Han hadn’t known about any escape route and had planned to go through the forest. Now that he had a safer way to ditch his mansion, he acted as if he’d planned it from the start and nodded to Hanna.
"Lead the way," he said.
Xena sneered, "He doesn’t know where the secret escape route is."
"But I know where your black chain is," Han replied, reaching for her robes and tugging the black chain that drooped from her collar.
He forced Xena to bow a few times, making the collar chafe her neck.
Once he was done with her, Han followed in Hanna’s wake and entered the secret passageway. He spent around an hour underground, walking in darkness until a small light appeared at the other end. The light expanded when it sensed his presence. Outside, a small cavern mouth opened wide.
Two older maids peeked out and confirmed that no one was in the vicinity.
Han walked out and drew a deep breath, finally getting fresh air.
He looked around and saw nothing but trees, which seemed much more vibrant and pleasant to the eye. He was clearly out of Tenaxis’ territory, where dark mana seeped into nature itself.
Time to sort everything out, one by one.