010: Burning desire

Thirty minutes into studying, Adam’s senses sharpened.

Something wasn’t right.

With a faint frown, he finally reached for his phone. The screen lit up to reveal the earlier text message—along with several missed calls.

That’s when it clicked.

No wonder the kid left so suddenly.

Guilt settled heavily in his chest.

Had he really not even given Liam the chance to explain himself?

Was he truly that heartless?

He checked the time.

01:17 a.m.

And the kid still wasn’t back.

Without wasting another second, Adam grabbed his trench coat and slipped it on, already heading for the door. If Liam wasn’t coming home—

He’d go find him himself.

Meanwhile, Liam had been walking for so long that the streets no longer looked familiar.

Somewhere between anger and self-pity, he’d taken too many random turns.

Now he was lost.

He ruffled his hair in frustration, clicking his tongue as he tried to figure out where the hell he even was.

*. *. *.

LIAM

Great.

Just.

Fucking.

Great.

The one time I try to be the good guy—do something nice for once—I’m the one who ends up lost.

Where’s Nathan when you actually need him?

The air suddenly grew colder.

Too cold.

The hairs at the back of my neck stood on end.

Something wasn’t right.

My senses never spiked like this without a reason.

Instinct kicked in.

I ducked.

A sharp whoosh sliced through the air above me.

A spiked tentacle slammed into the wall where my head had been seconds earlier, cracking the concrete.

Yeah.

Definitely not normal.

Following the attack’s source, my eyes landed on her.

A woman.

Dressed in a sleek black suit.

But from her back—

Eight grotesque, spiked tentacles writhed slowly, like living serpents.

The one that had attacked me retracted with a sickening scrape.

She smiled.

Cold. Amused. Predatory.

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the Second Prince himself,” she drawled. “I’d say it’s an honor to make your acquaintance…”

Her grin widened.

“…but I doubt the circumstances allow for formalities.”

Maybe… maybe I could work something out, I thought.

The idea barely lasted a second.

A tentacle shot forward—

CRACK.

It stabbed into the wall right beside my head.

Close enough that dust scraped my cheek.

I gulped.

And yeah—

I had every right to.

As the Second Demon Prince, maybe—maybe—I’d stand a chance.

But right now?

I wasn’t that.

I was just an incubus.

Worse.

Half of one.

Low-ranked.

Underpowered.

All my chances?

Deep in the negatives.

Ten minutes later—

I got launched straight into a pile of garbage cans.

Metal clanged loudly as my body crashed through them.

“—ghk!”

Trash. Smell. Pain. Everything at once.

Okay.

Yeah.

She was way stronger than I’d expected.

Fighting her head-on?

Not happening.

So…

New plan.

Run like hell.

From the corner of my eye, something caught my attention.

A torn bag on the ground.

Flour.

Why the hell there was flour in some random alley at one in the morning?

Didn’t care.

Didn’t question it.

Didn’t have the luxury.

I grabbed it and hurled it upward.

Poof—

The bag burst midair, exploding into a cloud of white powder that blanketed the alley like smoke.

Her tentacles thrashed blindly.

Perfect.

Exactly what I needed.

A distraction.

I bolted.

*. *. *.

Once the white powder finally settled—

The raven-haired boy was gone.

Not a single trace of him in sight.

But the female didn’t look annoyed.

Didn’t even hesitate.

Instead, one of her tentacles lifted something from the ground.

A torn piece of black fabric.

His jacket.

The edge was still warm.

Still scented.

She brought it to her nose and inhaled slowly.

A faint smirk tugged at her lips.

“That’s enough…”

More than enough to track him.

He couldn’t have gone far.

And there was only one decent hiding place nearby.

The abandoned warehouse down the block.

Meanwhile—

Liam crouched behind a stack of wooden crates, pressing himself into the shadows.

Splinters dug into his back.

Dust filled his lungs.

But he didn’t dare move.

Didn’t dare breathe too loudly.

This is bad… this is really bad…

He already knew hiding wouldn’t work forever.

She’d find him eventually.

This was just buying time.

Time he didn’t even know how to use.

Then—

Footsteps.

Slow.

Echoing.

Getting closer.

Each step heavy against the hollow warehouse floor.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

His heart matched the rhythm.

Louder.

Faster.

He clamped a hand over his mouth.

Don’t breathe. Don’t move. Don’t exist.

The large metal doors creaked open.

Moonlight spilled inside.

The female stepped in calmly, heels clicking against concrete as if she owned the place.

Not hunting.

Not rushing.

Just… strolling.

Like prey had already been caught.

She stopped at the very center of the warehouse.

Silent.

Waiting.

At the same time—

Adam’s car pulled up outside the cinema.

The engine died.

Silence followed.

He stepped out, coat swaying slightly in the cold night air, eyes scanning the streets.

Empty.

Too empty.

Shops closed.

Lights off.

No sign of Liam.

His jaw tightened.

“Come on, Adam… think,” he muttered to himself.

“If you were a troublesome demon… where would you be right now?”

Just then—

BOOM.

A deafening explosion ripped through the night.

Flames burst outward, lighting up the street like daylight and drawing attention from blocks away.

Smoke curled into the sky.

Debris scattered across the pavement.

“Oh shoot—”

Liam stumbled out of the building just in time.

The crates inside hadn’t been empty.

They’d been filled with flammable chemicals.

And when the fire hit—

Everything went up.

Fast.

Too fast.

With no time to think, he’d burned through the little mana he had left, throwing up a weak barrier to suppress the blast from reaching nearby buildings.

He crossed his arms in front of his face—

And took the full force of the explosion head-on.

The shockwave hurled him back several feet.

His jacket sleeves were scorched black.

Skin stung.

Ears ringing.

Then—

Pain.

Sharp.

Blinding.

From his side.

He looked down.

And froze.

A tentacle had pierced clean through him at some point during the chaos.

A gaping, bleeding hole stained his shirt crimson.

“…damn it…”

His hand instinctively pressed against the wound, trying to stop the blood flow—

But the pressure only made it worse.

It burned.

Not normal pain.

Not just injury.

Poison.

The spike had been coated with something lethal.

It felt like fire crawling under his skin.

He coughed—

Blood splattered onto the ground.

Not good.

Definitely not good.

A slow clap echoed behind him.

“I never thought I’d see the day the second prince would act so… holy,” the female mocked.

Her voice dripped with amusement.

Liam gritted his teeth.

His vision blurred.

His body felt heavier by the second.

I can’t pass out… not here…

He needed mana.

Now.

Last resort.

His eyes flickered—

Then shifted into a soft lilac glow.

The mark of an incubus.

Dark energy seeped through his veins, sluggish but enough.

The wound began closing slowly.

Flesh knitting together.

But the pain didn’t fade.

It lingered.

Burning.

Mocking him.

And with it—

Everything else surfaced.

The frustration.

Getting stood up.

Running around like an idiot.

Being hunted.

Cornered.

Weak.

All he’d ever wanted was freedom.

Just one normal life.

Yet somehow—

It always backfired.

Every. Single. Time.

His fists clenched.

Hard.

“If something stands in my way…” he muttered under his breath,

“I’ll crush it.”

Even—

That goddamn, heartless archangel.

The demon lashed out again, a tentacle slicing through the air toward his throat—

But suddenly—

She paused.

Just for a split second.

Her eyes widening at something she saw.

Something behind him.

Something approaching.

Then she regained her composure.

But it was too late.

The atmosphere had shifted.

Because now—

Both sides stood on equal footing.

Matched.

Level.

They exchanged blows, Liam narrowly dodging each strike.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the fire woke the city’s residents, putting him at serious risk of exposure.

So he had to end this fast.

He brought his hands together, fingers forming an ancient seal. His eyes slid shut as he began reciting an incantation—fully aware of the consequences of a demon performing an exorcism, especially in his current state.

But he did it anyway.

“Talisman skill… expel.”

In the blink of an eye, blue flames erupted outward, violently engulfing the female demon. Her dreadful screams pierced the night as the fire consumed her whole.

Behind him, the earlier flames still burned, spreading faster now that he was no longer suppressing them.

But that wasn’t his main concern.

His vision blurred.

His head spun.

His body burned from the inside out.

The heat—

The pheromone debt he’d accumulated—

It was catching up to him.

Just as some demons fed on fear or pain, incubi fed on lust… and the act of satisfying that hunger.

And right now?

He was starving.

He staggered forward, barely able to make out his surroundings.

Then—

Thud.

He bumped into something.

No.

Someone.

Liam slowly looked up—

—and came face-to-face with the very person who had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

Adam.

For some reason, the longer he stared at him, the hotter his blood boiled.

Adam took in the sight of the disheveled boy—the torn clothes, the blood-stained shirt, the exhaustion carved into his face.

Concern flickered across his usually cold gaze.

“Are you okay?”

That question finally made Liam snap.

“Am I okay?” he repeated.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

“Am. I. Okay?”

His fists clenched.

“Let’s see—I got stood up for three hours, got attacked by some random—though hot—demon, survived an explosion, had to exorcise it myself, got stabbed in the gut, and now I’m drowning in pheromone debt just to scrape together some mana.”

He exhaled sharply, chest rising and falling.

“So yeah… I’m totally okay.”

He wasn’t just mad.

He was pissed.

Hell—

fucking beyond pissed.

Adam noticed Liam’s agitation, but before he could come up with a response, the sound of approaching sirens cut through the night.

Fire trucks.

Being caught at a scene like this would draw far too much attention.

And putting out the fire himself would only raise more suspicion.

Left with no choice, Adam wrapped an arm around the other’s waist.

Before the ravenhead could even argue—

They vanished.

Moments later, the fire brigade arrived and began extinguishing the fierce blaze.

They reappeared at the top of a nearby building.

Now Adam had one problem to deal with.

The attack hadn’t been random.

It had been planned.

Why else would a top-tier demon target Liam of all people?

The demonic essence from the fire would soon attract others, and in Liam’s current condition, he wouldn’t be able to fight.

Adam fell into thought.

First, the lust demon’s attack—which would’ve made sense if it had actually managed to break through the mansion’s barrier.

Then, a top-tier demon attacking without any provocation.

Something wasn’t adding up.

Why were they all targeting the ravenhead?

Was Hell trying to reclaim him?

But top-tier demons rarely associated themselves with the Demon Empire’s politics.

Up until now, Adam had been the one benefiting from the contract, while Liam had already sacrificed both his mana and his freedom.

Hell—

he’d even gotten hurt trying to surprise him.

The question echoed in Adam’s mind.

Are you going back to Heaven… or staying on Earth?

Even if he found the scroll, then what?

Return to Heaven—

a place where one wasn’t allowed to feel anything at all?

Or stay here—

in a world where he’d begun to feel something dangerously close to comfort?

Something warm.

Something human.

Adam stole a glance at the ravenhead, who was pacing back and forth, trying to suppress his unstable pheromones.

He’d been doing that for the past ten minutes.

With zero success.

Adam exhaled quietly.

To be a slave in Heaven…

or try something new?

Something that maybe—just maybe—

could reignite his already burned-out flame.

Adam’s fingers brushed against his rosary.

For a moment, he simply held it there.

Then he finally made up his mind.

He stepped down from the building’s ledge and slowly approached Liam, who was still pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

“Great, Liam. Just great,” he grumbled. “The one time you totally lose it, there’s no club in sight. Fuck, this hurts even more than that stupid demon’s stab. The one time I try to be a damn saint and this is the reward I ge—”

His words were suddenly cut off.

Adam kissed him.

Liam froze.

Every thought in his head short-circuited.

A kiss.

From the brooding angel of all people.

It was the last thing he’d expected.

And yet—

damn it—

it was… sweet.

God, is it just me, or is he getting way better at this?

Hold up—what the hell am I even thinking?!

Panicking, Liam pulled back.

But an arm tightened around his waist, keeping him in place.

“W–what the hell are you doing?” he stammered, his face burning red.

He expected Adam to let go.

He didn’t.

Instead, the blonde absent-mindedly traced Liam’s lower lip with his thumb, his amber eyes fixed solely on his mouth.

“What am I doing, you ask?” Adam murmured. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

The hell is wrong with this guy? I thought I was the one who did the teasing…

Liam tried to resist, wanting to stay angry—wanting to hold onto at least a shred of pride.

But the aphrodisiac-like heat spreading through his body only got worse.

His temperature rose.

His breathing grew uneven.

His lilac eyes darkened.

The incubus side of him stirred hungrily.

He tried to pull away again—

Only for Adam to gently lift his chin.

Their eyes locked.

Lilac meeting warm amber.

Steady. Calm. Grounding.

“Look, kid,” Adam said quietly, voice rougher than usual. “I hate this as much as you do. And yeah… I messed up.”

He tightened his hold slightly.

“But right now, we deal with the situation first. The longer you ignore your heat, the worse it’s going to get.”

His gaze softened.

“So drop that damn pride for once… and just listen to me.”

Liam stared at him, stunned.

How could someone so strict… so painfully holy… say something like that so casually?

But that wasn’t even his main concern.

“Are you even hearing yourself right now?” he snapped. “Why the hell would you give up your title as a freaking Archangel for some stupid one-night stand? I can just hire a stripper or something. You don’t have to act like you care.”

His voice dropped, quieter now. Bitter.

“As you said before… I’m just another demon.”

With that, Liam finally broke free and turned away, walking off without looking back—completely missing the way Adam’s fists clenched at his sides.

He pulled out his phone to call an Uber—

Only to remember it's battery was dead

“Seriously…?”

Before he could even swear properly—

An arm wrapped around his waist.

The next second—

The ground vanished.

“—What the—HEY?!”

He was suddenly slung over Adam’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Put me down! Are you insane?!” Liam kicked and wriggled, mortified.

The blonde didn’t even stagger.

It was like Liam weighed nothing.

“There’s no way in Hell,” Adam said flatly, “I’m letting you go get laid by some damn stripper and deal with the consequences later.”

He adjusted his grip and started walking.

“And that attitude of yours seriously needs fixing.”

“…Huh?”

Adam glanced back slightly, eyes calm but dangerous.

“You might wanna save your breath.”

A pause.

“Because you’re definitely going to need it later.”

“…?!”

And just like that, Adam carried him off into the night.

The rest, as we call it, was history.