The air in the Hunting Hall froze solid. Lucifer's knuckles dug into Lin Xi's cheek until it turned pale and blue, the savage fury churning in his crimson pupils nearly solidifying into flames.
"What did they find?" he repeated, each word grinding out between his fangs.
Lin Xi felt her jawbone emit a faint, mournful creak as chaotic energy surged restlessly beneath the contract mark. Forced to tilt her head back, her vision narrowed to those all-consuming crimson eyes. "A single... provocation," she managed, struggling to keep her voice steady. "Nothing more than the whimper of a defeated dog."
"Whimper?" Lucifer yanked her loose, drawing the dagger "Bone-Eater" from his waist. Its dark blade, engraved with suppression runes, slammed into the throne's armrest between them, mere inches from her thigh. "Look at me."
Lin Xi gasped, staring at the trembling blade before lifting her gaze to meet his.
"My domain, my throne, all possessions I've marked—" He ripped open his chest armor. Amidst the crisscrossing old and new scars on his bronze-toned pectorals, a dark gold wolf pattern—identical to the mark on her collarbone—glowed fiercely with his rage. "Defiled by the filth of the Blood Clan, marked by vermin on what belongs to me."
He bent to grasp the dagger's hilt, channeling dark gold energy along its blade into the throne. The entire obsidian seat hummed and trembled, swirling with countless flowing runes that completely imprisoned Lin Xi within its energy field.
"Now," he drew the dagger, slapping her cheek with its icy flat, "repeat that bastard's words. Every single word."
Lin Xi trembled faintly under the energy suppression, her Chaos power completely locked deep within her meridians. Staring at the blade mere inches from her face, she suddenly twisted a blood-stained sneer: "Your Majesty, would you prefer the truth... or the answer you wish to believe?"
Lucifer's eyes flared crimson.
"It said..." She met his boiling murderous intent, slowly and clearly reciting the original words in the blood clan's secret language: "'Vessel... we have found you.'"
The moment the word "Vessel" left her lips, every torch in the Hunting Hall extinguished! Only the contract marks on their bodies glowed with piercing light in the darkness. The Alpha pressure erupting from Lucifer shattered the nearest stone pillar with cracks.
His low, twisted laughter echoed through the darkness.
"Very well."
Leather gloves seized the long hair at the back of her head and yanked it backward violently, forcing Lin Xi to expose her entire neck. Lucifer's fangs pierced the wound that had previously healed. This time, it was no longer a warning bite—dark golden energy, fueled by fury, forced its way in, like molten lava scouring every nerve ending in her body.
"Ugh—!" She arched in agony, her nails scraping the throne with a shrill screech. Chaos energy, under absolute suppression, fought back frantically, clashing violently with the invading Alpha energy within her body.
"Pain?" Lucifer licked the spilling blood, pinning her firmly to the throne. "Remember this feeling. Remember who is making you suffer!" He pressed against her trembling knee, the coarse fabric of his combat suit rubbing against her thigh. "The Blood Clan wants a vessel? Then I'll dye theirs completely in my color!"
The contract mark burned brightly in the darkness, greedily absorbing the mingling blood and energy. Lin Xi gasped, her head thrown back amidst the excruciating pain and strange pleasure, her vision narrowing to only his burning crimson eyes.
[Warning: Alpha Forced Marking Progress 71%]
[Cognitive Barrier Remaining 19%]
When Lucifer finally released his jaws, Lin Xi collapsed in the throne like a broken doll. Fresh wolf-pattern tattoos spread from her neck to her collarbone, dark gold light surging ceaselessly within the lines.
He wiped the blood from his lips and tossed the "Bone-Eater" dagger into her lap.
"Take it."
Lin Xi grasped the cold hilt in a daze.
"Next time you hear the barking of vermin," Lucifer said, wrapping his cloak around her trembling body, his voice tempered with eternal frost, "use this to nail their tongues to my throne."
Sudden, hurried footsteps echoed outside the hall. The Captain of the Guard knelt on one knee:
"Your Majesty, the main force of the Blood Clan has breached the Eastern Gorge! Frontline sensors have detected... 'Bone-Eating Grass' dust!"
Lucifer glanced at Lin Xi, still trembling faintly in his embrace. His fangs flashed coldly in the darkness.
"It seems our guests couldn't wait for the new moon."