I TRADE DESIRES FOR POWER

2

"Close the door! Hurry up, you bastard!" Vespera shrieked, her breathing coming in ragged gasps. Her trembling hands dug sharp nails into the mahogany wood of the cash desk. "Division 9 is right behind me!"

The heavy thud of tactical boots echoed outside the Blackfriars Lane alley, mixing with the barking orders of Division 9 magic hunters and the baying of magical tracking hounds.

Gavin didn't flinch. He stayed seated in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. "Inside here, outside laws don't apply. But if you want me to lock this door against their scanning magic, the market price is different."

"Dammit!" Vespera glared. Her blood-red eyes flashed in the dimness of the shop. "I'm suffering from mana leakage! My chest feels like it's going to explode! And you're trying to gouge me?"

"This isn't a charity," Gavin replied coldly. "You brought the problem. I bring the solution. Deal, or get out?"

"This old shop never changes!" Abraxas's voice buzzed happily from the chandelier. "Come on, pretty lady! Choose: pay this loan shark or get your chest pierced by Division 9 magic bullets outside!"

Vespera gritted her teeth until they squeaked. The sound of Division 9 boots drew closer behind the door.

"I'm pawning this!" Vespera ripped a silver necklace from her neck and slammed it onto the desk. Hanging at the end of the chain was a thumb-sized, pitch-black crystal radiating an aura of absolute darkness. "Crystalline Desire. The shadow magic core of an elite assassin from the Shadow Guild who died by my hand."

Red text floated above the crystal in Gavin's vision:

 

[Item: Crystalline Desire (Rank 3) ]

[Category: Intermediate Shadow Magic ]

[Pawn Value: High ]

"Is this enough to lock the door?" Vespera cried out in panic.

Gavin touched the crystal with his index finger. The Soul-Ledger vibrated, absorbing the item's data. "Enough to keep the door shut for ten minutes. But not enough to cure the Contagion Mana Poisoning in your body."

Vespera gasped, turning pale as a ghost. Cold sweat slicked the open slit of her red evening gown. "You... you know?"

"I can see your aura blistering from the inside," Gavin said flatly. "You absorbed mana from a filthy commoner. That mana rotted in your magic pathways. If it isn't purged in five minutes, your Magic Core explodes and you die a pathetic death right in front of my desk."

Vespera leaned her body against the counter, her breathing growing heavier and shorter. Her full lips trembled. The succubus pheromones pouring from her skin grew thicker, filling the room with a sweet, blood-heating scent.

"I don't have any human money left..." Vespera whispered, her eyes softening as she looked at Gavin. "I only have this body and the magic poison trying to kill me."

Gavin tilted his head. "Meaning?"

"Carnal Mana Union," Vespera hissed, staring intensely at Gavin with her remaining strength. "Suck the magic poison out of my body through intimate contact. But you need a strong Magic Core to hold the poison back... and your own Magic Core looks completely shattered."

"My magic core is shattered," Gavin said, standing up slowly. He angled the Soul-Ledger toward Vespera. "But this shop has a filter."

"A filter?"

"This book will filter your mana poison, turning it into pure mana to repair my damaged Magic Core," Gavin said. His hand gripped Vespera's chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. "You get your life back. I get the shadow magic from your crystal, plus your purified mana poison. Deal?"

Vespera stared at Gavin's hand, traced with black rune lines. There was hidden danger in the man before her—physically weak, but with eyes as cold as an executioner's.

"Do it, you bastard," Vespera hissed. "Before I freeze to death."

"Sign." Gavin pressed Vespera's finger onto the parchment of the Soul-Ledger.

WHOOSH!

Red fire flared across the book's page. The parchment recorded the contract: Mana Poison Healing via Dual Cultivation & Acquisition of the Crystalline Desire.

Gavin didn't waste time. He pulled Vespera by the waist, lifting the succubus's slim body and sitting her directly onto the thick mahogany desk.

"Agh!" Vespera whimpered as her already torn red evening gown parted further, revealing smooth thighs covered in dark bruises from the mana poison.

Gavin pressed over Vespera's body on the desk, pinning her hands against the cold wood. "Endure the pain."

"You're the one who should endure it, kid—"

Vespera's sentence cut off as Gavin smashed his lips onto hers.

BOOM!

A burning sensation exploded instantly in Gavin's throat. The hot, thick succubus mana poison spewed from Vespera's mouth across Gavin's magic pathways. Vespera's body arched rigidly over the counter, her eyes rolling back as she gripped Gavin's shoulders so hard her fingers tore through his shirt fabric.

"Ughh!" Gavin groaned heavily.

His chest felt as though it were being flooded with molten mercury. But before the poison could destroy his internal organs, mystical chains from the Soul-Ledger coiled around Gavin's heart, acting as a giant filter. The incoming black poison was instantly filtered, transformed into thick, silvery strands of mana that stitched together the cracks in Gavin's Magic Core.

CRACK!

One fracture in Gavin's Magic Core fused back together.

Vespera gasped loudly amidst their kiss. Her breathing turned hot and frantic. The succubus's hands crawled to Gavin's neck, pulling the man's head deeper. Their bodies rubbed fiercely against each other over the cash desk—skin touching skin directly, channeling a current of pure magic that made the air in the room crackle with tiny sparks.

Smut-magic exploded between them. The heat from Vespera's pheromones drove Gavin's heartbeat faster. Every time Vespera's thighs clamped around his waist, a surge of wild mana flowed faster, sucked dry by the Soul-Ledger and channeled straight into Gavin's chest core.

"Nghh... slower... slower, Gavin!" Vespera choked out a cry, her head tossing back as Gavin moved his bites and kisses to her neck and chest. Pure succubus pheromones now completely merged with the pawnshop's magic.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

A heavy strike suddenly rattled the front door of No. 13 Blackfriars.

"Open this door in the name of Division 9 Scotland Yard!" barked a heavy voice from outside the alley. "We detected traces of a succubus in this area!"

Vespera froze. Her eyes widened in terror beneath Gavin's body. "They're... they're outside..."

Gavin didn't stop. He gripped Vespera's hips tighter, driving the final mana-cleansing energy deep into the woman's magic pathways.

"Let the dogs bark," Gavin whispered in Vespera's ear. His voice was hoarse and filled with dominance.

WHOOSH!

The Crystalline Desire crystal on the desk shattered into black dust and absorbed straight into Gavin's palm.

 

[Mana Purification Complete.]

[Magic Absorption Successful: Crystalline Desire absorbed.]

[New Ability Acquired: Shadow Step Level 1.]

[Magic Core Restored: 5% Total Operational Capacity.]

Vespera collapsed weakly onto the counter, her breathing turning to light, ragged pants. The black poison stains on her thighs and neck vanished entirely, replaced by smooth white skin flushing with health once more. Her wild pheromones came back under control.

Gavin pulled back, stepping away by a single pace. He wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand. The rune lines on his arms now radiated a stable, faint black aura.

Outside, the voices of the Division 9 officers sounded again.

"No active magic in this building, sir. Just an empty old shop with dead magical resonance."

"Search the next alley! Move!"

The sound of heavy footsteps slowly receded and vanished, swallowed by the heavy Soho rain.

Vespera slowly sat up on the counter. She adjusted her sagging red dress, staring at Gavin with a mixture of shock, wonder, and a strange tremor in her eyes.

"My poison... it's completely gone," Vespera muttered, touching her own chest. "My mana pathways are pure again."

"This shop never disappoints a customer willing to pay," Gavin said flatly. He flipped the page of the Soul-Ledger, which now recorded Vespera's name as an active pawner.

Abraxas chuckled from the ceiling. "Good! First transaction went smoothly! And you got a new skill, kid!"

Gavin closed his eyes for a moment. Inside his mind, the knowledge of how to manipulate shadows for instantaneous teleportation was perfectly etched. The lethal weakness in his chest had drastically subsided. A 5% recovery of his Magic Core was enough to let him stand straight without wincing anymore.

Vespera stepped down from the mahogany desk. Her legs trembled slightly as they hit the floor. She stared sharply at Gavin.

"Who are you, really?" Vespera asked. "An ordinary wizard wouldn't be able to handle a succubus's poison without going mad."

Gavin looked back at the woman coldly.

"My name is Gavin," he answered shortly. "And starting tonight, you owe daily interest to this shop."

Vespera curved her lips into a faint smile—a dangerous, trademark succubus smirk now filled with lingering curiosity. "Daily interest, huh? If paying the interest means doing that again... I wouldn't mind falling behind every single night, Pawnbroker."

Gavin didn't respond to the tease. His eyes shifted back toward the front door, which had grown quiet once more.