Lucy's laugh rang out like silver bells dipped in gasoline. Loud. Bright. A little bit dangerous. She clung to me like I was a prize she'd hunted down through ten hells, and judging from the wild sparkle in her eyes, I wasn't getting rid of her anytime soon.
"Not insane," I corrected, licking a fang as I leaned closer to Lucy, our noses nearly touching. "Just horny. And you, my dear, are practically oozing lust. Is it me you want or Kat over there? Or both? Either way, I won't judge. I'm just here for fun."
"Oh, for the love of—ENOUGH!" Katerina finally exploded, her divine voice booming across the room, rattling glasses and making a few gods flinch. "We are here for Lora's trial, not to watch Morgana seduce every pest that crawls out of the gutter!"
"Every pest?" Lucy gasped, mock-offended as she tightened her legs around my waist. "Excuse me, Kat. I am a premium-grade pest. The best pest. Five-star, top shelf, collector's edition."
"Collector's edition?" I laughed, baring my fangs in delight. "I'll add you to my shelf, then."
Lucy's grin only widened, her violet eyes glimmering. "Yes, please."
"Grrr." Katerina looked like she was two seconds away from smiting us both.
"Sigh." Lora shook her head. "Why do I have such a hentai friend?"
"Fine... Fine." I sighed, pulling my hand away from Lucy's ass, earning myself a small disappointed sound.
"I'll behave, promise. For now." I continued, raising both hands in surrender.
"..." Katerina stared at me for a moment, trying to see if I was lying, but when she didn't find any hint of malice, her shoulders sagged in relief.
Soon, Lucy led us to a room-sized black cube. Inside was a wide, empty space that gods used for their rank-up challenges, and of course, challenges came in a variety of types.
As far as I understood it, anything can be a challenge, be it a game or a fight. And even a simple rock, paper, scissors game can work. Hell, even a staring contest can count.
The general rule is that as long as one god challenges another and both agree, the Nexus would recognize it as a rank-up trial and reward the winner with the medal needed, and if the lower-rank god loses, the other party would receive faith points as a reward. If they wanted a ranking medal, they must challenge a god of a rank higher than theirs.
"So, Kat," Lucy began. "Do you know what challenge you want to pick for Lora?"
"Hmm, well..." Katerina bit her bottom lip, thinking for a moment before she turned to Lora. "How about a simple drinking game?"
"!!!" Lora's green eyes widened. "I-I can't drink like you."
"It's fine."
"B-But what if I lose and—"
"Don't worry," Katerina cut her off, her blue eyes gentle. "I'll just pretend I lost. The Nexus will still give you the iron medal, or if you want, we could just do a classic fight, how about that?"
"..." Lora remained silent for a moment, her gaze low, but then she lifted her head, a look of determination on her face. "No... I want to fight. I can't always run and hide."
"Alright." Katerina smiled and nodded.
"So, Kat," Lucy grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. "Are you gonna use the new wine you created? The one you made especially for the gods?"
"Not against Lora." Grape juice smirked, shaking her head. "I plan to jump in later in the game and test it."
"New wine?" I asked, curiosity piqued.
"Oh, yeah. Kat created a divine wine specifically for gods," Lucy explained. "It's super strong. A single sip could knock even the silver and gold rank gods on their asses."
"Really?" I licked my lips, my crimson eyes flashing.
'A strong alcohol is the perfect way to spice things up.'
"So, how does this challenge work?"
"Oh, it's easy." Lucy waved a hand. "They go in, declare that they accept the challenge, any rule or conditions, and boom, the Nexus creates a contract and the fight starts."
"Interesting." I rubbed my chin, taking notes since I need to find an iron-rank god to challenge later.
"Well, are you ready, Lora?"
"Yes."
The three of us watched the two gods enter the cube, then we sat on a white sofa, waiting.
"Oh! By the way, can I sit next to Morgana?" Lucy grinned, politely asking Eir who was sitting next to me.
Eir's snowy-white eyes narrowed into slits, her lips pressed in the thin line of someone who had just bitten into a lemon. Slowly, deliberately, she shifted an inch closer to me, her arms crossing over her chest like a barrier.
"No." Her voice was flat as a grave. "You may not."
'Oh... do I smell jealousy?' I wondered, but then I realized this was the first time Eir interacted with other people outside of her sisters.
"Awww, come on, snowflake." Lucy leaned forward, her elbows perched on the back of the sofa as she smirked, still buzzing with restless mischief. "Sharing is caring, right? Don't be so stingy with your mother."
Eir's jaw twitched. "How dar—"
"Eir is," I interrupted smoothly, throwing an arm around Eir's shoulders and tugging her against me like she was my favorite pillow. "My lovely little daughter. My adorable white-haired valkyrie. And right now…" I shifted, patting my lap with a wicked grin. "…my lap is free real estate."
Before Eir could react, Lucy launched herself like a pink-and-blue missile, sliding neatly into my lap with the grace of a cat claiming its throne. She straddled me sideways, her head resting against my chest like she belonged there.
"Perfect fit," she purred, wiggling her hips just to test the seat. "See? Made for me."
"Get. Off." Eir's voice was ice.
"Make me." Lucy stuck out her tongue.
Eir's aura flared so violently the air shimmered, frost creeping across the sofa cushions as though winter itself had descended. For a heartbeat, I thought she might actually try to drag Lucy off with force.
Which was, of course, the exact moment I decided to fan the flames.
"Now, now," I crooned, stroking Lucy's hair with one hand and sliding my other arm tighter around Eir's waist. "No fighting, children. There's plenty of Mommy to go around."
Lucy simply laughed while Eir let out a long-suffering sigh. And surprisingly, after a few seconds, the two went into complete silence. Neither of them moved or tried to make a move. But of course, I can't sit quietly.
"So, Lucy. You're the goddess of games, right?" I asked, petting her pink hair.
"Yup," Lucy said proudly, puffing her chest against me like she was showing off a badge of honor. "The goddess of games and entertainment. The only reason half these bored gods don't slit each other's throats on sight is. I keep the Nexus fun, spicy, and just a little bit degenerate."
"Ohhh," I purred, my claws dragging lazily through her candy-colored hair. "So you have... spicy games?"
She tilted her head, violet eyes glimmering with a secret. The hint of a smirk pulled at her lips.
"Spicy is my specialty." Then she pulled out a pink, gold, and black-colored poster from nowhere. "Here, our premium access. For just 99 faith points a month, you can play the most deliciously depraved games known to gods."
I snatched the poster out of her hand before she could finish waving it, holding it up between two claws. The thing shimmered like it was alive—letters curling, glowing, rearranging themselves to spell things like NEXUS XXX ARCADE, SPIN THE ORGY, and BLOODSPORT BEDROOM EDITION.
"Ohhh… ohhhhhh," my grin stretched wide. "Now this is what I'm talking about. You mean to tell me that for 99 measly faith points I can play 'Pin the Tail on the Satyr' and 'Strip Horny Kombat'?"
"And that's just the beginner's tier." Lucy's eyes sparkled. "The premium deluxe package comes with toys, referees, and a safety word that costs extra if you actually want it to work."
"HAHAHA!" I threw my head back, cackling so loud the sofa rattled. "Gods, I love this city! Who even thought of this?"
"Me, obviously." Lucy crossed her arms, looking smug as a cat who'd just pissed in the milk.
"I run the Game Hub. I am the Game Hub." She leaned in, her lips brushing dangerously close to my ear. "And if you're interested… I can give you a 7-day free trial."
"Count me in."
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