Kurenai exploded forward.
She didn't run; she launched herself off the steel grating, leaving a crater behind her. Her speed was terrifying. In a fraction of a second, she closed the distance, her crimson nodachi swinging in a deadly, horizontal arc aimed right at Yuto's ribs.
Clang!
The sound echoed like a church bell. Kurenai's eyes widened in shock. Her blade had struck Yuto's bare, unarmored forearm—and stopped dead.
Because Yuto's Vault was sitting at 89% capacity with over 60 unspent Code Fragments, his baseline physical density was mimicking the properties of a reinforced bunker. The recoil vibrated up Kurenai's arms, making her teeth chatter.
"What the...?" Kurenai growled. She didn't retreat. True to her Oni blood, she dropped her sword entirely and went for a grappling takedown. She grabbed Yuto by the collar, swept his legs with a devastating kick, and slammed him backward onto the metal grating.
Crash!
Yuto hit the floor, and Kurenai immediately straddled him, pinning his arms above his head with her terrifying physical strength. She leaned in close, her feral eyes glaring down into his, her chest heaving as she bared her fangs.
"Got you," she hissed, her face mere inches from his.
[System Prompt: Mating Duel Domination Detected! Opponent: Kurenai. Claim 10% Vitality Bonus for Submission?]
Yuto's brain stopped working.
He was pinned to the floor by a wildly attractive, aggressive Oni-girl who was practically sitting on his lap. The scent of ozone, sweat, and cinnamon filled his nose. The System UI flashed violently in red, screaming at him to just click the button and accept the intimate rivalry milestone.
Look at the ceiling. The ceiling is made of steel. Steel does not have feelings. The multiplier is at 148%. I am a rock. I am an emotionless rock, Yuto chanted in his mind, sweating so profusely he looked like he was melting.
"You're shaking," Kurenai mocked, pressing her weight down further. "Scared?"
"No," Yuto choked out, his voice strained from the sheer, agonizing effort of keeping his finger away from the [CLAIM] button. "I'm just... profoundly bored."
Kurenai blinked. "Bored?"
"You said you'd snap me in half," Yuto said, forcing his face into a mask of cold, deadpan indifference. "But you feel as light as a feather. Are you done?"
Using the absurd, gravity-defying weight of his hoarded stats, Yuto simply sat up.
He didn't use a martial arts technique to break her hold. He just sat up, lifting Kurenai right off the ground along with him, completely ignoring her leverage. He stood on his feet, with the fierce Oni-warrior still awkwardly clinging to his jacket, her feet dangling in the air.
He gently pried her hands off his collar and set her down on the floor like a misbehaving cat.
Ayase watched in sheer awe from the sidelines. "Incredible. He didn't even strike back. He defeated her with nothing but the impenetrable fortress of his absolute zen focus."
Kurenai stood frozen, staring at her own hands, then up at Yuto. Her face flushed a deep, violent shade of red. In Oni culture, absolute, immovable physical dominance was the highest form of courtship.
"You..." Kurenai stammered, her brash confidence completely shattered. "You didn't even try. You just took my strongest attack like it was nothing."
She suddenly dropped to one knee, retrieving her sword and planting it into the ground.
"I yield," she declared, her tail flicking nervously behind her. "You are the strongest Alpha I've ever met. I'll help you kill the boss. But in exchange... you have to let me fight you again. Every day. Until I break your defenses."
[System Prompt: Rivalry/Courtship Pact Formed. Vaulting Milestone... Current Multiplier: 149%.]
Oh god, there are two of them now, Yuto wept internally, staring blankly ahead. I'm not going to survive.
"Fine," Yuto said aloud, his voice perfectly stoic. "Let's go kill a boss."