I Kissed the Devil and He Won’t Let Me Go

He furrowed his brows, suddenly raising his fan and striking the person reporting to him. His voice trembled with irritation, "What?! The time's almost up, and you're telling me now that they’re not coming?!"

I was jolted by the abrupt shift in atmosphere.

His temper was a far cry from his usually refined and graceful demeanor.

His eyes narrowed, seemingly noticing something.

Suddenly, he turned and looked directly at me.

The moment our eyes locked, deep and dark like a bottomless well, I felt a shiver run through me.

I immediately shrank back, like an ostrich, hoping he wouldn’t see me.

In my mind, I repeated, "You can’t see me, you can’t see me…"

The sound of dry twigs snapping underfoot reached my ears, and I forced a smile, while inwardly cursing.

He kept walking toward me.

I slowly gripped my staff tighter.

Then, without warning, he clapped me on the shoulder, smiling brightly as he said, “Hey, you’re here alone looking at the scenery. How about joining me for the dungeon run?”

I tried to resist, pleading with wide eyes, “But I’m just a support character.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got your back, Summers has you covered. You just need to fill the numbers,” he reassured me.

I kept up the smile.

But seeing his gaze grow colder by the second, I weakly nodded, “Alright…”

The massive, twisted, flowered demon spread its tendrils, ensnaring many people.

A silver figure passed through, drawing his blade and piercing the demon’s body.

Under the heavy strike, the demon’s body oozed dark, poisoned blood.

I watched Summers’ moves with a sense of contemplation.

He was skilled, and his temper? Even more so.

He shouted to everyone, “Be careful! It’s entered its ultimate form!”

The demon let out a furious roar, charging into berserk mode and attacking indiscriminately.

Instinctively, I took several steps forward, raising my staff to strike.

But then, I froze.

I had forgotten that I was on my low-level alt character.

Seeing the demon’s health dropping to the red, it suddenly focused on me—the slowest and weakest in the group.

If someone dies during the dungeon, the challenge fails.

My heart sank. This was one of the highest-level dungeons, and my level was far too low for this.

Before I could react, the demon shot out tendrils at lightning speed, aiming to strike me down with a final blow.

I couldn’t dodge in time. I closed my eyes, bracing for the inevitable.

I expected to die, but when I opened my eyes, Summers had positioned himself in front of me, spitting blood out.

With one final strike, the demon’s body exploded into fragments.

I supported his body, “Are you alright?”

He gritted his teeth, glaring as he spoke through clenched jaws, “Does it look like I’m alright?”

I knew the pain was virtual, but it felt real to him.

I lowered my head, unsure of what to say, “I’m sorry…”

He seemed taken aback by my words, stiffening for a moment.

Then, he quickly masked it, patting me on the back with a laugh, “I’m fine, just kidding, you’re too easy to mess with.”

But I could tell he was holding it in.

A group of people rushed over.

A voluptuous woman shoved me aside, her face twisted in anger, “This is all your fault! If you’d died, everything would’ve been for nothing! Do you know how rare it is to encounter this demon?!”

It was then that I realized Winters was also here in this dungeon.

Her level was so high, she easily pushed me into the flower patch. I struggled to prop myself up, half-buried in the twisted vines.

Summers quickly reacted, bending down to help me up.

“You bitch!” He kicked Winters away, his tone laced with fury, “Who told you to touch her?!”

I silently watched as her body was half-buried in the earth.

Phew, glad I didn’t piss him off.

She shot me a hurt look, her gaze shifting to Summers beside me.