Level Up Love Life System

Chapter 7: Chaos at Maximilianstrasse

Saddam swallowed hard as he watched a duplicate of himself emerge from the mirror. The figure looked exactly like him, but with a thick, dark aura and a cunning smile he never possessed. Felisa immediately pulled Saddam behind her back. Her ice sword glowed bright blue, emitting a cold air that began to crystallize the marble floor beneath their feet.

"Don't be fooled by this illusion, Saddam," Felisa hissed. Her voice sounded tense. "It's just a monster trying to mess with our heads."

Saddam gripped Felisa's shoulder, feeling her incredibly fast heartbeat through her silver armor. "I know, Felisa. But look, he's not just mimicking my face. He's mimicking my body movements."

The duplicate laughed, a sound that came out of its mouth sounding exactly like Saddam's own voice. He raised his hand and created a sharp shadow blade. Without warning, the duplicate lunged toward them. Felisa parried immediately. The clanging of clashing metal filled the mirror room. Felisa moved with the grace of an elite warrior, while Saddam continued to provide instructions based on the data provided by the System in his mind.

"Down low, Felisa! He's going for your legs!" Saddam shouted.

Felisa jumped and landed a hard kick that froze the floor, forcing the shadow figure back. However, the duplicate Saddam seemed to feel no pain. It attacked again, this time with even more brutal movements. Every time Felisa dodged, Saddam felt as if he were the one experiencing the attack. The synchronization effect caused Felisa's pain and fatigue to flow directly into Saddam's body.

"Damn, this hurts," Saddam grunted while clutching his chest, which felt tight.

"Hang in there! If you pass out, our bond will break," Felisa replied. She seemed to be struggling to hold off the duplicate's relentless barrage of attacks.

Suddenly, the duplicate Saddam stopped attacking. He looked at the mirrors surrounding them. His smile widened. "You think you love each other? You're just two lonely people bound by a ridiculous system curse. Look at yourselves. So fragile!"

The duplicate jumped onto the mirror wall and disappeared inside. The room suddenly became quiet, too quiet. Saddam felt something was wrong. He turned to Felisa, but her face looked pale. Felisa's hand holding the sword was shaking violently.

"Felisa? Are you okay?" Saddam asked as he approached.

Felisa looked at Saddam with teary eyes. The 50 percent synchronization effect caused Felisa's emotional defenses to crumble completely. She could no longer hide her vulnerability. "I'm scared, Saddam. I've killed hundreds of monsters, I've seen many friends fall on the battlefield, but I've never felt fear like this. I'm afraid of losing you."

Saddam was stunned. Those words hit his heart harder than any monster's attack. He reached for Felisa's cold hand, then slowly removed her armored glove. The skin of Felisa's fingers felt incredibly soft and warm. Unconsciously, Saddam pulled Felisa closer, letting their foreheads touch.

"You won't lose me," Saddam whispered softly. "We'll get out of here together."

The atmosphere in the mirror room suddenly changed. A golden light emanating from both of their Systems began to envelop the room. The reflections in the mirrors, which had previously shown horrifying images, now turned into shadows of the two of them sharing a warm moment. Zara, the succubus peeking from behind the mirrors, looked furious.

"Stop this romantic nonsense! Kill each other already!" Zara screamed from behind the shadows.

The mirrors in the room began to crack one by one. The floor beneath them shook violently. A large crack opened in the marble floor, revealing a deep abyss of darkness. Felisa stumbled and nearly fell. Saddam quickly grabbed Felisa's waist and pulled her away from the edge of the abyss. The embrace lasted a little longer than it should have. Saddam could feel Felisa's irregular breath right against his neck.

"Saddam," Felisa whispered in a voice that sounded very soft and full of restrained desire. "There's something I want to tell you if we survive this."

"Just tell me now," Saddam replied jokingly, though his heart was nearly leaping out of his chest.

"Not now," Felisa answered while trying to pull away, but her face was already bright red.

Exactly at that moment, the duplicate Saddam reappeared from the abyss. This time, the figure was not alone. He brought a swarm of small gargoyle monsters that kept emerging from behind the shattered mirrors. There were too many to fight with physical strength alone.

"Use the collaborative skill!" Saddam shouted, pointing toward the swarm of gargoyles.

Felisa nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering all the mana left in her body and channeling it to Saddam through their skin contact. Saddam felt an incredible power flowing through his body. It was the strength of a Valkyrie combined with the survival instincts of a street courier.

Saddam pointed his hand forward. A massive explosion of ice light erupted from his palm, destroying dozens of gargoyles in an instant. However, the side effect of the attack made Saddam's body feel like it was about to break apart. He fell to the floor, his breath coming in short gasps.

Felisa immediately knelt beside him, ignoring the remaining monsters. "Saddam! Don't overexert yourself!"

"I'm... I'm okay," Saddam replied with a weak smile.

However, Zara would not let them be at peace. The succubus finally revealed herself fully before them. She stood on the ruins of the mirrors in an elegant black dress. She looked at the two of them with a gaze full of hatred.

"You're truly disgusting," Zara said, snapping her fingers.

In an instant, the room was filled with a black mist that caused both of them to lose their bearings. Saddam couldn't see anything. He could only feel Felisa's hand still gripping his tightly.

"Stay close to me," Felisa's voice sounded very near.

"I'm always right here," Saddam replied.

Suddenly, a cold hand grabbed Saddam's shoulder from behind. It wasn't Felisa's hand. Saddam tried to turn around, but the mist grew thicker. He heard Zara's laughter echoing in every corner of the room.

"You'll learn what it feels like to be betrayed by your own feelings," Zara said.

Instantly, the mist vanished. Saddam found himself no longer in the mirror room. He was in a place that looked like an interrogation room at the Valkyrie headquarters. But in front of him, it was no longer Zara standing there. Felisa stood there, but her silver armor had turned pitch black, and her eyes were no longer clear blue, but glowing red like a demon's.

"Felisa?" Saddam called out with a trembling voice.

The red-eyed Felisa drew her ice sword, which was now also black. She looked at Saddam with a cold gaze he had never seen before. "You think I actually care about you, you lowly courier? You're just a tool for me to awaken my true power."

Saddam was paralyzed. Was this Zara's illusion, or had Felisa truly changed? He tried to approach, but Felisa swung her sword at the ground, creating a wall of ice that separated them.

"Don't come any closer," Felisa said in a very flat and terrifying voice. "If you dare take even a single step, I won't hesitate to take your head right here."

Saddam stared at his System screen. It now displayed a text that was deeply unsettling.

[Warning: Synchronization is being manipulated by an external entity. The target's mental state has been overtaken by a succubus curse. Alignment levels have dropped to 10 percent. Immediately initiate emotional physical contact to restore the target's consciousness!]

Saddam knew he had to take the risk. He had to break through that wall of ice and reach Felisa. If he failed, Felisa would remain Zara's slave forever, and Saddam himself would die at the hands of the woman he loved. He took a deep breath, gathering every last shred of courage he possessed, and lunged forward into the sharp ice wall, disregarding his skin being sliced by the cold, jagged shards.

He reached Felisa, who was still holding her sword high. Saddam didn't stop. He threw himself forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, ignoring the black sword that was positioned right against his chest.

"I know you're still in there, Felisa!" Saddam cried out as he held her as tightly as possible. "Whatever Zara told you is a lie! I know you, and I know your heart isn't like this!"

Felisa went still. Her black sword slowly began to lose its luster. Her crimson eyes flickered, trying to return to their original blue. However, Zara suddenly appeared beside them and gripped Saddam's neck with her long claws.

"You're quite a brave man, courier. But bravery won't save you from death."

Zara pulled Saddam away from Felisa, while Felisa's black sword rose once more, ready to strike Saddam without a moment's hesitation as the curse's influence intensified. Saddam stared at Felisa, hoping she would see him just one last time before the blade fell. Felisa seemed to be fighting against Zara's control, the muscles in her face tensing violently, yet the sword continued its descent toward Saddam's heart. In the final second before the blade's edge could touch his chest, Felisa let out a soul-shattering, grief-stricken scream that shook the entire dimension until it fractured into tiny shards of light.