Chapter 278 277: Convictions

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Found motivation in the weirdest way lol

So, lotta people seemed confused and thought that the previous chapters all felt 'rushed' in terms of plot, and honestly... I understand that; IF I could go back, maybe I would flesh it out a little more, give more time to character thoughts and such to better explain everything, but...

Here it is, via the Author instead lol.

So, why didn't Chordeva(Marquess) send extra guards for Kat? Why didn't the others send extra guards for Kat?

For Chordeva, it's really simple: Nirinia kinda was THAT guard for Kat; she is already a Knight level warrior, and the Banshee was Jahi's guard; Chordeva and Ria thought that Nirinia could protect Kat and the others well enough.

Besides that, no one knew that the Justiciars were coming until a few hours before; on top of that, it wasn't confirmed if Julius, the strongest one, was coming either, so no one felt the need to focus on Kat.

As for sending and being alright with them being inside the Legion the Sariel's had just bought?

That was explained a little earlier, and the reason the Empress didn't act is because, while they may still try something on Jahi or the others, doing so labels the Sariels/Kameiels as Traitors right off the bat.

WPOmega also guessed at the reason the Sariel's struck out; they thought they could take out Nirinia, Adelina, and the Command Squad, effectively taking over the Legion and making the group Prisoners of War.

This would give them an entire Legion that was loyal to only them, and no one would know what actually happened on that battlefield; in theory, anyways.

Kat would be theirs, they would have Jahi as a bargaining chip until they removed the Soul Bond (remember, if Jahi dies, Kat dies too, but if Kat dies, Jahi goes about like normal; it's a Master-Servant bond), and the Princess of the Empire and Begum of the Sultanate could be theirs as well.

They are an arrogant, deluded family that believes they could take over and make themselves so indispensable to the Empress that she wouldn't act against them; again, delusional.

It all comes down to the crux of this; Nirinia 'was' Kat's guard, and the others thought that they didn't need to act.

Sometimes, people overthink something to the point of inaction, and this is one of those situations where it happens.

Was it forced and rushed?

Yeah, looking back, it probably was, but fuck it, here we are.

Could've crafted it better, but I didn't want to bog it down with excessive thinking and the like, but I probably should have, just so everyone could accept this 'new arc' better...

Anyways, yea, that's that.

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[What are you going to do about the Nymphomania skill?]

I froze, my thoughts halting as the system asked that question.

The [Nymphomania] skill that had been given to me at the beginning of this journey had a part built into that, so far, I had yet to ever even need to deal with.

For everyday that I went sexless, or remained 'chaste' and didn't get myself off, I gained a stack of 'Arousal'.

Each stack of 'Arousal', surprise, made me more aroused and began to warp my thinking.

When it reached twenty stacks, I'd be little more than a drooling, horny mess of a woman begging for someone to satiate my urge to breed; ironically enough, I would indeed be a bitch in heat.

Two days without either sex or masturbation grants me a single stack of 'Arousal', and I can only remove one stack a day by myself.

Before these last few days, I've never once gained a single stack of 'Arousal'; Jahi was incredibly active after our first time, and when Anput and Leone joined in, it was guaranteed that I would never even know what a stack felt like in my life.

Two days, in that house, without someone wanting to embrace me?

Impossible.

Now, however, I had no idea where I was, nor how far I was from Jahi and the others.

That meant that I would begin to accumulate stacks, and unless I took care of it myself steadily, it would grow and grow, until I...

I...

Gritting my teeth, I felt my anger flare again for a moment, thoughts of my promiscuous past resurfacing as I pondered the possibilities.

No.

Never again.

I was loved, I was needed.

I didn't need to search for validation through others; didn't need to undervalue myself just for momentary pleasures.

This life had been one of new beginnings, and I refused to return to those ways, to believing I wasn't worthy of love...

Kyoka ruined me in more ways than one...

But Jahi made me feel complete; she satisfied my every need, my every desire, and I loved her.

With my entire being, I loved that tall, arrogant Demoness; I loved her more than I loved myself, more than I loved life.

I was never going to betray her trust, betray her love.

She owned me in more ways than one, and I intended to stay true and 'pure' for her.

The thought of being sullied by a stranger made me scared; not because I feared the idea of having sex...

The skill I have speaks for itself.

No, I feared that Jahi would stop loving that sullied version of me, that she would toss me aside in disgust...

Was it irrational?

Maybe.

Maybe she would love me either way, but...

She was possessive; she told me multiple times that she owned me, that she loved me, and that I belonged to her.

Her golden eyes when she said those things to me let me know that she meant it, and I...

I had chosen this path; a path of being 'owned' by someone, being 'below' them.

There was no regret I my choice, no anguish that I wasn't 'free'.

I felt freer than I had ever felt in my old life; I was loved, cherished, and desired by a woman who, by all rights, should have never seen me as anything more than a plaything to toss away.

Maybe I had gotten lucky; after all, Jahi could have been like Julian.

Maybe I was stupid for risking my new lease on life on a whim, but I have no regrets...

So what am I going to do about my situation?

Letting out a tired chuckle, I stared up at the caverns ceiling above me and muttered "One step at a time, and take care of myself. I did it before, and I can do it again. That's what I'll do, system. For starters..."

I needed to get out of this cave, and get on my way to returning to my lover.

The Demoness who had stolen my heart from me.

The Vampire who burned her way into my body.

The Jackalkin who arrogantly claimed me as hers.

I was going to return to them, no matter what it took.