DEMON KING'S Love Redemption

Chapter 14 Mana Pollution

Vann picked up a pair of chopsticks and held a piece of meat toward Freya's mouth. The entire cafeteria held its breath. This wasn't just breakfast; to them, it looked like a soul-offering ritual.

Freya stared at the morsel. The scent of cumin mixed with that dark energy somehow triggered her primal instincts. As a hero destined to face the darkness, she possessed a strange, innate attraction to such energy—something she didn't yet understand.

With a trembling hand, she took the chopsticks. She brought the meat to her lips.

"Don't, Miss Freya!" one of the academy guards shouted.

Nom.

The second the meat touched her tongue, Freya's eyes went wide.

The texture was remarkably tender, dissolving effortlessly on the tongue as a burst of spices exploded in a way that defied all human culinary logic. Yet, the most startling part was the energy it contained. Vann’s pure dark mana flooded into Freya’s body, not as a toxin, but as a soothing warmth that enveloped her exhausted mana core.

Freya felt her muscles go limp. The fatigue from her all-nighter of training and studying vanished instantly. However, the side effect was exactly what Vann had warned: Food Coma.

Freya sank back into her chair, her face slightly flushed. Her head spun from the sheer sensory overload. For several seconds, she could not even move her hands, left only to stare blankly at the bento box.

"Well?" Vann asked expectantly.

"This..." Freya whispered, her voice sounding raspy. "This is... criminal. You put something in here, didn't you?"

"Only affection," Vann replied flatly, though to anyone else, it sounded more like 'I have placed a curse upon your heart.'

Kael, unable to stand the interaction any longer, stepped forward and tried to snatch the box away. "I’ll prove this is poison! I’m confiscating this in the name of security—"

ZAP!

As soon as Kael’s hand neared the purple steam, a bolt of black electricity struck his fingers, sending him tumbling back several feet.

"Do not touch it," Vann said, turning toward Kael with a gaze cold enough to freeze a waterfall. "That is for Freya alone. Anyone else who eats it will suffer... extreme and prolonged indigestion."

The cafeteria erupted again. "Look! The food has an automated defense system!"

"Vann is completely insane! He made a meal that can only be eaten by his prey!"

Vann turned his focus back to Freya. "You look better now. Your breathing is more rhythmic. It seems my 'weakness' suits you well."

Freya swallowed hard. She felt utterly defeated. She wanted to be angry, to draw her sword and accuse him of mental sabotage, but her stomach was far too content. It felt as though she had just been embraced by a warm, comforting darkness.

"Vann... you really are a dangerous man," Freya remarked, discreetly taking a second piece. "But... I will accept this gift. Purely as part of my 'research' into your character."

Vann offered a faint smile. "Of course. I’ll bring warm cinnamon milk tomorrow night, if you’d like."

Just as Freya was about to respond, the canteen doors swung open. Professor Mordred marched in with a grim expression, followed by several church inquisitors. They stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the purple haze still swirling around Vann and Freya’s table.

"What is the meaning of this? The dark mana sensors in the watchtower are screaming!" Mordred barked.

Every student pointed toward Vann’s lunchbox.

Mordred approached, caught a whiff of the purple steam, and stared at Vann in disbelief. "Student Vann... you unleashed mid-tier Abyss energy just to... cook some lamb?"

"I wanted to ensure the nutrients were preserved, Professor," Vann replied innocently.

Mordred massaged his temples while the inquisitors began waving curse-detecting artifacts around the meal. "This is madness. This is a blatant violation of public magic use, and yet... technically, it wasn't an attack."

"It’s an attack on our sanity, Professor!" Kael shouted from the floor.

Vann remained silent, standing tall beside Freya. Amidst the chaos, he watched her continue to eat calmly, ignoring the inquisitors and the surrounding commotion. She seemed to be in her own world, savoring the 'poison' offered by her enemy.

For Vann, this was a major victory. He had successfully made Freya taste his power without a single drop of blood being shed. Though the entire academy now viewed him as a terrifying 'Demon Chef,' he didn't care.

However, amidst his satisfaction, Vann noticed something. The purple vapor he had released hadn't fully dissipated. A small trail of it was creeping toward the cafeteria vents, heading deep into the academy’s foundations as if drawn by something below.

Vann narrowed his eyes. He felt the same presence he had encountered in the library basement yesterday. Someone was watching them. Someone was laughing at his attempts to be a decent person.

"Freya," Vann whispered, catching her attention. "Finish up quickly. After this, don’t go anywhere alone. I get the feeling... this kitchen isn't the only thing heating up today."

Freya stopped chewing, her blue eyes meeting Vann’s dark gaze. She saw the gravity there—a profound sense of protection that went far beyond a mere meal.

"I know," Freya replied softly. "I’ve felt eyes on us since you opened this box."

The canteen incident ended with a partial evacuation of the students, as Vann’s purple steam was deemed 'mana pollution,' but for Vann and Freya, it was the start of a new realization. They were on a grand stage orchestrated by another entity, and that meal... was merely the appetizer for the true banquet of death.

As Vann walked out of the canteen, he glanced at the ceiling. There, hidden among the shadows, he saw a symbol of a closed single eye—the same symbol from the secret book—faintly etched into the pillar.

So you are here, aren't you? Vann thought, clenching his fist as a flicker of black flame singed his palm. Let’s see who ends up being the main course of this academy.

Little did Vann know that behind the canteen walls, Professor Mordred was holding a recording crystal, capturing every one of Freya’s reactions to the lamb. "The resonance is perfect," Mordred whispered. "The light begins to consume the darkness, and the darkness begins to shield the light. This destiny... is truly a thing of beauty."