Chapitre 81: Who Can You Trust in Hell?

Ru and Misha were locked in a tight embrace. But their moment of silly was abruptly interrupted. Kaero in cat form leaped from the tree and landed with a thud on Ru. The cat's claws dug into his skin, and its hissing filled the air.

"Hey, stop! Don't!"

Ru, startled and in pain, tried to shake the cat off. But Kaero was relentless, its fluffy weight pinning him down. With a yelp, Ru tumbled to the ground, his body thrashing wildly as he fought to free himself.

"Hey Kaero, calm down," Misha said with a chuckle.

Meanwhile "Kitty, kitty," a soft voice called from the entrance.

Kaero let go of Ru and darted across the room, jumping into the arms of the woman in the witch's hat and black lace dress.

Misha's face twisted with irritation. "You witch! What are you doing, impressing my friend?" she snapped, venom lacing her voice.

Anaxarete smirked, stroking Kaero's fur as the cat purred in her arms. "My natural state, darling. You know I'm a witch, and animals adore me."

Kaero with his little paw adjusted her hat decorated with dried roses and skulls.

Misha shot her a jealous look. "Well, I can't deny that you're attractive," she muttered, a begrudging hint of respect in her tone.

Heise, who had been observing the scene with mild disinterest, sighed dramatically. He pulled out his silk fan, flicking it open with a flourish to cool himself. "I said the apocalypse is happening, yet here you all are—flirting. How is this even possible?" He waved his fan lazily, unimpressed by the chaos.

Without warning, Ru sprang to his feet and lunged at Heise, fury written all over his face.

Heise calmly sidestepped, barely moving as Ru missed his target and tumbled face-first into the snow-covered ground. Ru's legs were in the air, his dignity buried under a layer of frost.

"Such anger," Heise commented, snapping his silk fan shut and giving a casual wave in Ru's direction. "Try to stay calm, bad boy."

Misha, now cradling Kaero in her arms, shook her head. "How do you expect him to be calm after you planted those perverted nightmares in his mind? I know you put all this effort into learning the genie's name, Heise."

"Tsk, tsk, such a shame," Anaxarete quipped, her voice dripping with false sympathy.

Ru pushed himself up, brushing snow from his clothes and fixing Anaxarete with a hard stare. "Oh, shut up!" His hat sat askew on his head as he spoke through gritted teeth. "What right do you have to sell me out to the genies?"

Anaxarete sighed dramatically, flicking a strand of hair from her shoulder. "I didn't sell you out, sweetie. We've been over this." Her tone was as casual as if they were discussing the weather.

Ru clenched his fists, fury bubbling in his chest. "Then where is that genie? I swear I'll kill him."

Heise raised a brow, intrigued. "Where is he?"

"Who knows where?" Anaxarete asked. And she lit a cigarette, her lips curling into a smug smile as she blew out the smoke. "Besides, since I've already signed the game contract, I'm under the protection of Lord Dekaris Zharqasti." Her eyes gleamed as she turned toward Heise, her tone more pointed now. "And according to the rules, dear Heise, you can't lay a finger on me."

"Oh, you sure don't know," Heise said sarcastically. He immediately cursed under his breath and gave Misha a frustrated look.

Anaxarete narrowed her eyes, studying the two of them. She then turned back to Ru, taking his arm with a sudden gentleness. "Honey, you really should sign the contract soon," she cooed. "Any further delays, and you'll enter the game damaged. I'm warning you." Her eyes flickered with a mixture of warning and affection, briefly lingering on Heise and Misha.

Ru reproached, "I've already taken damage."

Anaxarete smiled sweetly and touched his cheek, her fingers cold against his skin. "Oh, who knows what they've done to you," she said softly. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"

Ru, finding strange comfort in the witch's unexpected tenderness, allowed himself to be led away. They left the conservatory behind, venturing into the dim, winding corridors of the mansion. For a while, neither of them spoke, though the tremors continued to rumble through the ground in faint aftershocks.

A particularly strong quake hit, and Anaxarete stumbled. Ru caught her before she could fall, his hands instinctively steadying her.

"Thank you, dear," Anaxarete purred, planting a red-lipsticked kiss on his cheek.

Ru winced at the touch, immediately raising a hand to wipe it away. But Anaxarete stopped him, her expression soft yet serious. "That kiss will protect you from influence spells," she said, "at least until you sign the contract."

Suspicion flickered in Ru's eyes. "You've been thinking about me an awful lot lately."

"I've been thinking about you since the very beginning, darling," she replied. Her voice was teasing, but her gaze held an intensity that made Ru uneasy. "Why do you keep running away from me? Because I'm a witch? If that's the case, why throw yourself to the wolves?"

Ru scowled. "You sold me out, and now you're fucking with a genie."

Anaxarete sighed, her voice tinged with exasperation. "First off, it's not about you. I entrusted Almighty Ru to a female genie. So, I didn't sell him. I couldn't handle the demons myself, so I did what I had to. The only place the demons couldn't find him was in the Nines Sky Dimension."

Ru's lips twitched, and he let out a little chuckle as he said, "Oh, this is a shitty scenario. You received a powerful artifact in exchange for the Great Ru."

"This wasn't a bargain, my cookie," she said, her tone defensive. "I purchased that artifact because I was aware that the demons wouldn't cease their pursuit of me until they found Almighty Ru. And the genie I entrusted him to was a female, not a sultan or prince—a witch."

"So the witch sold me out?" Ru asked, his voice darkening.

"I don't think so. She was reliable. Something else must have happened in the genie realm, but I don't know what. Don't blame me," Anaxarete pleaded, her tone softening.

Ru crossed his arms. "Then why did you take the genie? And where is it now? Is it in my brain?"

Anaxarete sighed again. "I drew the genie out of you, but it seems you were caught in Heise's trap and summoned it."

"How do you know all this? I mean, the last ones, it was all in my head," Ru stammered. He was still not sure where to look because feeling embarrassed.

"My lamp is empty, and the police officer is dead," she said quietly.

Ru froze. "Oh... shit."

"Forget that perverted genie. You know, only by forgetting can you prevent him from remembering everything, sweety," Anaxarete said, waving it off. "You need to make your deal and place yourself under Lord Dekaris' protection. His only concern is his sister."

"Yeah, and that's why he keeps asking for my blood," Ru grumbled.

"Don't overthink it, just give it," Anaxarete said.

Ru's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

"Yes, give it," she repeated calmly.

"You want me to just hand over my blood and become a vampire's slave?" Ru demanded, his voice rising with disbelief. "Tell me, witch, what did Lord Dekaris offer you in exchange for my blood?"

"Nothing, darling," Anaxarete said, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. "I just want to see what happens next."

Ru narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Giving your blood will bind Lord Dekaris' twin sister to you. An unbreakable bond. Just think, honey, you own a beautiful vampire girl. So, she'll be yours. What more could you want?"

Ru stared at her, confused. "What the fuck?"

Anaxarete's smile faded slightly. "She was burned in the sunlight, Ru. There's no way to bring her back permanently unless she's fed a special kind of blood—yours."

Ru's stomach churned. "And if she comes back to life, what then? She'll feed on me for eternity?"

"That's the key, darling. Your blood is special enough to bind her to you. I'd give a drop of my blood to every vampire I met, if I could, just to create my vampire harem," Anaxarete giggled.

Ru stared at her in disbelief. "You're not serious."

"I am." Anaxarete shrugged. "What have you got to lose?"

Ru's mind whirled. "This girl... You said she was burned by sunlight. Who burned her?"

Anaxarete's expression darkened. "Priests and witch hunters, of course. Who else?"

"And what if she's dangerous? What if she turns me into her slave?" Ru asked with worry.

Anaxarete shook her head. "She's a good girl, Ru. Maybe the only innocent one among us. Her only crime was being bitten by her brother and turned into a vampire."

"So the Dekaris Family isn't pureblood," Ru sighed, glancing away. "Let me think about it."

"Don't think, honey. Just do it," Anaxarete urged.

Ru hesitated. "But I can't trust you. Not completely."

"You don't have to trust anyone," Anaxarete smirked. Then she turned to Ru and adjusted his hat with both hands. Looking into his eyes, she murmured, "Are you not trusting me but trusting Misha? That's a problem, darling. A big problem."

Ru slowly pushed her hands away and said, "Misha saved me from Heise and the Sultan."

"Misha entered your mind at exactly the right moment to 'save' you from Heise. Quite the coincidence, don't you think?" Anaxarete asked, biting the tip of her nail and batting her long eyelashes.

Ru's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

Anaxarete smiled slyly. "Kaero told me."

Ru blinked in surprise, then cursed under his breath. "Ah..."

"You know, animals adore me," Anaxarete purred.

"I need to think about what to wish for, at least," Ru said, his voice quieter now. "Can you take me to my room?"

"Of course, darling." Anaxarete wrapped her arm around his as they continued down the dim corridor.

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