Asmodeus System: Stealing My Bully's Mother

​Ethan Valen stepped out of the Exclusive VIP Rest Room.

​Inside, the grand Archmage lay in a submissive slumber, her body utterly broken by absolute exhaustion and her complete surrender on the plush carpet.

​Click. The heavy steel door sealed shut, locking away the dark secret from the rest of the world.

​As Ethan strolled down the corridor toward the participant staging area, the very air around him underwent a drastic shift.

​Gone was the pathetic aura of a weak F-Caste youth. With his Sin Mana capacity upgraded to Rank C (Master), every step he took radiated a suffocating pressure.

​Yet, the most lethal weapon in his arsenal wasn’t the sheer density of his mana. It was the newly unlocked passive skill.

​[Lust Domain (Passive) Activated. Manipulates emotional frequencies within a 10-meter radius.] The Asmodeus System’s voice echoed in his mind, her husky tone dripping with seduction. "Anyone harboring a fragile ego or hidden desires will feel the Host’s absolute dominance."

​She was right. The moment Ethan stepped into the main waiting room, the bustling chatter died in an instant.

​Several noble candidates seeded in the quarter and semi-finals stared at him, their faces draining of color.

​His reputation for annihilating Kurt’s mana circuit without landing a single blow was terrifying enough. Now, the Lust Domain multiplied that terror, morphing it into an instinctual subjugation.

​For the male participants, standing near Ethan felt like staring down an apex predator. Their knees trembled. Their will to fight withered to dust.

​"I-I forfeit..." whispered his quarter-final opponent.

​The Iron Knight from a Marquis family instantly dropped his wooden sword the moment the officials called their names. He kept his head bowed, not daring to meet Ethan’s gaze.

​The same exact scenario played out in the semi-finals. Ethan’s opponent didn’t even have the courage to step onto the stage, averting his eyes and surrendering right in the tunnel.

​Ethan breezed through round after round without ever having to take off his silver coat, let alone break a sweat.

​Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the bracket, a completely contrasting spectacle was unfolding.

​KABOOOM!

​A pillar of ferocious crimson-gold fire erupted into the sky, nearly licking the ceiling of the arena’s protective ward. The extraordinary heat baked the oxygen, driving tens of thousands of spectators to cheer hysterically as they chanted a single name.

​In the center of the arena, where the obsidian floor was slowly melting into glowing magma, Kaelia von Ashford stood with fiery elegance.

​Her crimson hair whipped wildly like dancing flames. Her academy uniform was utterly spotless. Before her, her opponent—a high-tier Adept Mage—lay unconscious with charred clothes, having miserably failed to breach the Fire Queen’s defenses.

​"The winner of the Semi-Finals... KAELIA VON ASHFORD!" the Head Instructor announced.

​Kaelia didn’t smile. She waved her hand dismissively, extinguishing the magma pooling around her with a single snap of her fingers.

​Her piercing, eagle-like eyes swept across the arena before locking dead onto the staging tunnel. Right where Ethan stood casually in the shadows.

​She lifted her chin. It was an open, scorching challenge. Her glare practically screamed: ’Get up here and show me your cheap tricks.’

​Ethan simply met her gaze with a patronizing, crooked smirk.

​A few minutes before the final match was announced, Kaelia marched briskly down the staging corridor to grab a drink.

​Most students hurriedly scrambled out of her way, bowing respectfully to the Student Council President and the undisputed strongest mage of their year.

​However, one figure remained standing arrogantly, leaning against the wall right in the middle of the corridor. Ethan Valen.

​"Hah. So you didn’t run away," Kaelia noted coldly, stopping three meters in front of him. "I figured after getting a lucky win against that idiot Kurt, you’d take your borrowed ring and run out of the arena."

​"Lucky?" Ethan chuckled softly. He pushed himself off the wall and took a step forward.

​System, Ethan commanded internally. Focus the Lust Domain on her.

​[Command Acknowledged. Concentrating Asmodeus pheromones on Target: Kaelia von Ashford.]

​Ethan’s gait appeared completely casual. Yet, to Kaelia, every time the boy’s boots clicked against the floor, a bizarre wave slammed against her chest.

​The distance between them rapidly closed. Two meters. One meter. Half a meter.

​Suddenly, Kaelia felt all the oxygen in the corridor evaporate. Her natural heat as a fire elementalist unexpectedly rebelled.

​But this wasn’t the heat from her mana. It was a searing flush that made the hairs on her arms stand up. It originated at the nape of her neck, shooting straight down to pool hotly in her lower abdomen.

​"Ugh..." Kaelia bit her lower lip.

​Unconsciously, she squeezed her thighs together as the strange sensation made her knees tremble for a fraction of a second. Her typically arrogant, icy composure flushed a deep, feverish crimson.

​W-what’s happening to me? This scent... it’s so intoxicating... Kaelia panicked inwardly. Her eyes widened slightly as her gaze fixated on Ethan’s broad chest.

​She felt her aggressive instincts melting away, forcibly replaced by a shameful, primal urge to throw herself into the arms of the young man standing before her.

​Ethan leaned his face in closer. He stared intently into Kaelia’s golden eyes, which were now slightly hazy under the influence of his Lust Domain.

​"You have a truly beautiful fire, Kaelia," Ethan whispered. His husky, deep voice resonated perfectly with the erratic beating of the President’s heart. "But a fire this massive... needs a master to tame it. Otherwise, it’s only going to burn you from the inside out."

​Kaelia gasped sharply. She forced herself to stumble a step back, her breathing ragged.

​Anger and utter humiliation exploded in her mind. How could she—the Fire Queen of the Ashford family—suddenly feel so weak and boneless just from being intimidated by a low-caste male?!

​"D-don’t push your luck, Valen!" Kaelia hissed, glaring daggers at Ethan in a desperate attempt to hide how weak her legs felt.

​Small sparks of fire crackled wildly at her trembling fingertips. "I am going to burn that arrogance of yours to ash in the arena. I swear it!"

​With hurried steps that looked dangerously close to fleeing, Kaelia spun around and marched off, fighting tooth and nail to save her sanity from the intoxicating aroma.

​Ethan watched her retreating back, a dark smirk stretching across his face.

​The seed of dominance had been planted. The Lust Domain proved to be the absolute weapon to tear apart the ego of a mage of Kaelia’s caliber.

​GONG! GONG! GONG!

​The main bell of the Coliseum chimed once more, vibrating the stone walls of the academy. The Head Instructor’s magically amplified voice echoed across the massive stadium.

​"ATTENTION TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE! WE HAVE REACHED THE CLIMAX OF TODAY’S EVENT!"

​Tens of thousands of spectators rose from their seats in unison. Deafening cheers erupted. The tension hit its absolute boiling point.

​"On one side, the greatest miracle of the year! The eternal ice anomaly from the VIP Track... ETHAN VALEN!"

​Ethan stepped out of the dim tunnel. The crimson glow of the late afternoon sun washed over his face.

​The sapphire on his Ice Rose Ring emitted an eerily calm blue glow, a stark contrast to the psychological terror he had just orchestrated behind the scenes.

​"And on the other side, the unrivaled genius! The sole heir of pure fire element... The Student Council President... KAELIA VON ASHFORD!"

​From the opposite side of the arena, Kaelia stepped forward. Her eyes blazed with undeniable killing intent.

​Crimson-gold flames roared to life, wreathing her arms like a pair of furious dragon wings. The scorching heat and the absolute zero frost immediately clashed in the center of the obsidian arena, birthing a dramatic, swirling vortex of steam.

​Today, in front of tens of thousands of watching eyes, the Fire Queen was prepared to fight to the death to defend her throne.

​Completely unaware that the Devil had already secretly prepared a golden cage to tame her.