Haruto offered an apologetic, nervous laugh, desperately trying to wiggle his way out from under her grip. "S-Sorry, you know how it is..."
Before Lilith could press him any further for answers about his solo dungeon dives, a sudden, sharp knock echoed from the suite's front door.
Groaning in relief at the interruption, Haruto quickly slipped out from under Lilith and hurried over to unlock it.
When he swung the door open, he found Philo standing quietly in the hallway, fully geared up and looking like she was heading out.
Seeing her ready to leave, Lilith stepped up behind Haruto and crossed her arms. "Hold on, where do you think you're going?"
Philo blinked, turning back with a deadpan stare. "What do you mean? I'm leaving."
"And why would you do that?" Lilith asked, raising an eyebrow.
"To level up, obviously," Philo replied flatly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Haruto stepped in, scratching the back of his head with a worried expression. "Wait, Philo... what if we tried to broker a truce and get you and Daisy to patch things up?"
Philo stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly turned her head, fixing Haruto with a long, unreadable stare before a faint, bittersweet smile touched her lips.
"Nice thought, Haruto," she muttered softly, adjusting her cloak. "Really nice thought... but at the end of the day, a dream is just a dream."
Haruto watched her go, a thoughtful look crossing his face. She didn't even react with anger... that means the rivalry between them is still driven purely by that stubborn founder's ego.
With a determined sigh, he turned back to the group. "Fine. If words won't work, let's go see Daisy."
"Are you joking around right now?" Philo snapped, glaring at him. "That is a terrible idea."
"Just follow me," Haruto said, waving his hand as he marched toward the exit.
Lilith, Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra immediately fell in line behind him. They left Toya, Rutherford, and little Eterna behind in the suite to rest safely, heading straight back down into the private corporate sectors.
A short while later, they stepped out onto Floor 312 and marched right up to Daisy's private apartment door. Without a second thought, Haruto rapped his knuckles firmly against the panel.
The security lock clicked, and the heavy door swung open to reveal Daisy standing on the other side, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief as she stared at the crowd assembled in her hallway.
"Why on earth..." Daisy stammered, her voice pitching up in irritation as she glared at Haruto. "...are you people back here again?!"
Haruto stepped forward, maintaining a calm and steady gaze. "Can't the two of you just try to become friends?"
Daisy's face went completely silent, her jaw freezing as her brain struggled to process the sheer audacity of his question.
Sensing the incoming storm, Haruto quickly held out a hand, glancing back at Lilith and the rest of the group. "No matter what happens, you guys stay right here. Do not step inside."
Before Lilith could even reply, Daisy's expression twisted in absolute fury. She snatched a high-velocity tactical projectile loader off her entryway shelf, slapped it into her sidearm, and leveled it straight at Haruto's chest. Her voice dropped to an icy, trembling whisper.
"Get out."
Without flinching an inch, Haruto stood his ground. A split second later, a deafening crack split the air as a live round zoomed straight past his ear, scorching the air right beside his temple and embedding deep into the wall behind him.
"I'm not going to repeat myself twice," Daisy snarled, her eyes blazing with suppressed rage.
Haruto raised his hands slightly, refusing to back down. "Just tell me what the actual problem is!"
Daisy glared daggers at him, her hand shaking as she pointed a trembling finger past his shoulder straight at Philo standing in the back. "This girl... she is the problem herself!"
Before anyone could react, Lilith stepped forward, gently placing a hand on Haruto's chest. She offered a smooth, confident smile. "Sorry, Haruto, but here you're under my orders. I'm not about to let anyone put your life in danger."
Daisy scoffed, tightening her grip on her sidearm with a venomous glare. "Oh, please. I don't give a damn about your rules. As for you, princess—or whatever you are to Haruto—if you don't back off, I'll put a bullet right through you."
Lilith blinked, slowly looking around to left and right before pointing a finger at herself in mock disbelief. "Huh? Are you talking to me?"
"Who else?" Daisy snapped.
A dangerous, icy smirk flashed across Lilith's face.
Standing off to the side, Philo watched the exchange and muttered under her breath, a warning edge to her tone, "Don't trigger her, Daisy..."
Before Philo even finished her sentence, Daisy pulled the trigger, firing a high-caliber round straight at Lilith.
"No!" Haruto shouted, lunging forward.
In less than a split second, Lilith completely vanished from sight.
Before Daisy could even blink, Lilith materialized directly behind her. In the exact same breath, the bullet Daisy had just fired cleanly sliced through Lilith's residual afterimage, while a terrifying, razor-sharp shockwave tore right through the middle of the room.
A single strand of Daisy's hair drifted slowly to the floor, her breath catching in her throat. Lilith had moved with such impossible, terrifying speed that Daisy's advanced tactical targeting systems couldn't even track her movement for a single frame.
Lilith rested a hand lightly on Daisy's shoulder from behind, leaning in close with a cool, mocking whisper. "If you had even a shred of tactical awareness, you'd realize I didn't use a single drop of magic just now."
Daisy froze, her jaw tightening as cold sweat beaded down her neck. "Y-You..."
"Imagine what would happen if I actually started using my magic against you," Lilith continued smoothly, her voice dangerously calm before Daisy could even process a retort. "Now... can we finally talk like civilized adults?"
Daisy stood completely rigid for a long moment, struggling to steady her breathing. She closed her eyes, forcing her racing heart to calm down as she reminded herself that Lilith was only acting this way to protect Haruto. Gritting her teeth, she let out a slow, heavy breath and gave a stiff nod, finally lowering her weapon.
Turning her head slightly, Daisy muttered an awkward, forced apology to Haruto for pulling the trigger. Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, flushing red and waving it off.
Off to the side, Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra crossed their arms, exchanging exhausted, done-with-this-drama looks. Deciding they'd had more than enough excitement for one day, they asked Haruto for permission to head back to the hotel suite. Haruto nodded, letting out a massive sigh of relief.
As they turned to leave, Ivory gave Haruto one last pointed look, extracting a strict promise from both him and Lilith: no more chaotic incidents, no more sudden stunts, and absolutely no more fighting.
Daisy stared at Lilith, her tactical instincts still reeling from how effortlessly she had been outmatched. She finally broke the tense silence, narrowing her eyes. "Hey... what level are you, anyway?"
Lilith smirked, casually puffing out her chest and tapping her status interface to project her glowing holographic profile right in front of them. Level 4.
Daisy's jaw dropped, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief. "Impossible..."
"We just hit differently," Lilith replied with a smug, effortless shrug.
With the immediate hostility diffused, Daisy and Philo finally sat down with them to clear the air. As they talked things out, the truth finally came to light: Daisy had harbored a deep grudge, believing Philo was trying to break the core city laws and shatter the sector's protection. Daisy had carried the heavy burden of keeping the city stable all by herself, swearing she would never let anyone tear it down.
Philo let out a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "It was all just a huge misunderstanding... though it took me way too long to realize it."
Haruto smiled softly, leaning back against the couch. He looked over at Daisy. "Hey, remember what you told me before? That if it was meant for everyone to be together, you'd be the first one to accept it?"
Daisy looked away, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she crossed her arms. "That option expired a long time ago—especially considering she tried to assassinate me three separate times."
Haruto looked over at Philo, raising an eyebrow. "Did you really try to assassinate her three times?"
Philo crossed her arms, looking slightly away with a deadpan expression. "I mean... yeah, I did. But I never had any intention of actually killing her! I just thought she wanted to rule the city tyrannically, so my plan was to defeat her and force her to step down."
Daisy let out an incredulous scoff. "Right, because trying to overthrow me totally counts as a friendly disagreement."
Lilith smirked, leaning forward with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Why don't the two of you just go clear the air? Go take a walk together. You can clear out your lingering tension, hit up your old favorite spots, and reminisce about the good old days."
Daisy immediately shook her head. "No way—"
She stopped dead in her tracks the moment she caught Lilith glaring at her with a terrifying, zero-tolerance stare. Swallowing hard, Daisy reluctantly bit her lip and gave a stiff nod.
Ten minutes later, both Daisy and Philo found themselves throwing on heavy tactical coats, concealing masks, and stepping out into the neon-lit corridors for a mandatory walk.
As the two rivals headed out the door, Lilith leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms and raising her voice so they could both hear her clearly. "Just a heads-up! If either of you tries anything funny or causes another incident, I'm going to be extremely unhappy."
Without looking back, the two of them stepped out into the night, heading down the quiet sector path together.
Haruto blinked, glancing around the room. "Wait..."
As Lilith locked the bedroom door with a sharp click and turned around with a bright grin, she took in her surroundings. "Wow... is this Daisy's bedroom? It's so clean and surprisingly neat! Though all these tactical guns and heavy weapons give me a bit of a weird vibe."
Her eyes drifted toward the large, perfectly made bed in the center of the room. A mischievous sparkle danced in her eyes. "Wait, is this the bed where the two of you used to sleep together?"
Haruto immediately shook his head, holding his hands up defensively. "No way! Daisy slept on the bed, and I just laid out a mattress on the floor down below!"
Before Haruto could take another step back, Lilith lunged forward, grabbing him by the arm and flinging him backward onto the plush mattress. She loomed right over him, crossing her arms with a mock-hurt pout. "... there is no way I'm letting you sleep on the floor."
Haruto stared up at her, completely bewildered. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Lilith's expression softened, a genuine hint of hurt and longing flashing in her eyes as she leaned down closer to him. "I haven't seen you in almost two months... and now that I finally found you, you're trying to dodge and ignore all of this? Come on, cut me some slack! I'm human too, you know—I have feelings!"
Haruto let out a soft sigh, raising his hands in surrender. "I get it, I really do—"
Before he could finish, Lilith gently grabbed his hand, guiding it up and placing it flat against her cheek. Her eyes softened as she looked down at him. "Tell me... have you ever seen anyone as breathtaking as me?"
Haruto blinked, offering a dry, deadpan response. "No. But that's probably because you're the reincarnation of the Goddess of Beauty. It's literally in your genes."
Lilith let out a light, melodic laugh, leaning her face further into his palm. "If you know that, then why do you always try to dodge me? Whatever crazy fantasies or wild ideas you have in your head, I'm more than ready to make every single one of them come true."
Haruto groaned, staring up at the ceiling. "Oh man... please, just spare my life."
Lilith giggled, shaking her head. "Not a chance."
Without giving him another word, she let out a content sigh and collapsed downward, curling up right beside him on the plush mattress. She wrapped her arms securely around his waist, pulling him flush against her in a tight, unyielding embrace.
For all the chaos, fighting, and running around they had done over the past twenty-four hours, the overwhelming weight of exhaustion finally caught up to Lilith. Her breathing slowed and deepened almost instantly as she drifted off to sleep, holding onto him as if she were terrified he would vanish the moment she let go.
Haruto tried to shift slightly to get comfortable, attempting to gently loosen her grip, but she only pulled him closer with every tiny movement he made, fast asleep and completely dead to the world.
A little while later, Lilith fluttered her eyes open, waking up to find Haruto staring right back down at her from where she lay curled up at his side.
"Oh, hey," Haruto whispered.
Lilith smiled sleepily, her voice soft. "Hello..."
"What is it?" Haruto asked, sensing a sudden shift in her mood.
Lilith tilted her head, her gaze turning intensely affectionate. "Stay with me."
"Will you finally let me go after this?" Haruto asked cautiously.
Lilith's expression turned dead serious, a playful yet terrifying glint in her eye. "In this lifetime? Never. I'd rather chain you to me forever."
"Hey, don't say scary things like that!" Haruto protested.
Lilith pulled him in close by the collar, whispering right against his lips, "Deal with it."
"Come on, be reasonable," Haruto pleaded. "You can't just keep me locked up here forever."
Instead of answering, Lilith let out a soft, mischievous hum. She leaned in closer, fluttering her eyelashes shut for a quiet moment before slowly opening them again, staring up at him with a look that made Haruto's breath hitch.
A deep, genuine blush crept up Lilith's cheeks, her usual teasing demeanor faltering as she mumbled, "H-Hah... it's not like I do this all the time..."
"Right," Haruto replied dryly. "Sure you don't."
"Fine! I promise I won't pressure you ever again after this," Lilith sighed, her resolve melting. Then, a playful spark returned to her eyes. "Alright, how about a deal? Grant me this one wish, and I'll let you go for good."
"Where do I sign?" Haruto muttered.
"Stop moving around so much," Lilith scolded, her face flushing crimson as she gripped his shoulders. "The tension in here is already driving me crazy!"
Haruto froze, trying his absolute best to stay completely still, but as they shifted, their breathing began to sync up, and the close proximity made their hearts race.
Haruto let out a long sigh, staring down at her. "Fine. What's the deal?"
Lilith's eyes lit up with a mischievous spark. "Just give me one kiss."
Haruto immediately crossed his arms, leaning back. "Yeah, not happening."
"Look, I swear on my life, after this I will never bother you again!" Lilith pleaded, pouting.
"No way—"
"Oh, come on!" Lilith whined, applying full physical pressure as she leaned in close, trapping him between her arms with an irresistible, pleading gaze.
Haruto stared at her, his brain working a mile a minute. Screw it, he thought, letting out an exhausted sigh. Just get it over with, give her a quick kiss, and get the hell out of here.
Seeing him finally give in, Lilith's expression melted. The mood in the room instantly shifted, growing heavy, warm, and electric. Deep down, Lilith was ecstatic—to her, this was all she had ever wanted. With a gentle, trembling hand, she reached out and cupped his cheek, closing the distance between them.
Their faces drifted closer and closer until they were mere millimeters apart, their breathing mingling in the quiet air.
Ding-dong!
The sharp, sudden chime of the doorbell ripped through the suite like a gunshot.
Both of them froze completely, turning to stone in the middle of the bed.
Before Lilith could even register what was happening, Haruto scrambled backward, hit the master lock release, and bolted for the front door. He yanked it open just enough to peer out into the hallway.
"Sorry, Lilith!" Haruto blurted out, a massive wave of sheer relief washing over his face. "Looks like today just isn't your day!"
Yes! Yes! YES! he screamed internally, ducking past the threshold and making a break for freedom before she could catch him again.