After eating and drinking her fill, Starlight patted her slightly bulging belly with a look of pure satisfaction.
Leaning back in her chair, she let out a heartfelt sigh of praise.
“Ah, total bliss!”
How could anything in this world taste so delicious?
“The Deep.
I want Chinese food tomorrow too.”
*Did she really consider herself the lady of the house now?*
After taking a hot shower, Starlight changed into a pink silk nightgown.
Her fair skin glowed with a delicate youthful pink from the warm water, smooth as curdled cream, as if every inch of her yielded a faint, maidenly fragrance of daisies.
She patted on toner, rubbed on body lotion, and climbed into The Deep’s bed.
Slipping under the covers, there was none of the foul odor she had imagined, only the familiar scent of The Deep.
It was rich and thick, almost as if The Deep were lying directly on top of her.
“No…” she gasped softly.
The velvet duvet and sheets, with their subtle texture, felt like delicate little brushes sweeping across her sensitive skin.
Every pore on her body was brushed over.
“Don’t…” Starlight whimpered, biting her lip tightly.
In the darkness, she looked toward the bedroom door.
Only a single door separated her from The Deep.
She lay in the large bed inside, while he slept on the sofa outside.
She was afraid he might cross the line, yet staring at the quiet door left her feeling hollow, as if something were missing.
Until a click echoed.
The doorknob turned from the outside, the door swung open softly, and a familiar figure walked into the bedroom.
Starlight instantly squeezed her eyes shut, mentally reassuring herself.
*He’s just coming over to see if I’m asleep.*
A corner of the blanket was lifted.
*He’s just helping me adjust the blanket so I don’t catch a cold.*
*Creak!* The mattress dipped slightly as The Deep climbed straight into the bed.
Without giving Starlight any time to react, he pulled her soft, delicate body firmly into his arms.
The bridge of his high nose brushed the back of her neck as he took a deep breath.
Goosebumps broke out across Starlight’s entire back.
A blast of scorching breath hit her earlobe as The Deep whispered softly beside her ear, “Starlight, you are truly my angel.
Meeting you is like Moses being called by the Lord God on the holy mountain.
Your angelic beauty cleanses my filthy soul.”
No believer could resist words like these.
Least of all a devout believer like Starlight.
Only an angel could turn a demon back into God’s embrace.
At this moment, wrapped gently in the man’s arms, the young woman felt not a shred of panic.
Instead, her saintly impulse to redeem The Deep surged wildly.
*Oh!
My poor, helpless Deep, yearning for salvation.*
Starlight turned around to face him.
Beneath the silvery moonlight, the man’s facial features appeared even more defined, as if he were a piece of art sculpted by God’s own hands.
Both of their breaths grew heavy, small currents of warm air colliding between them.
A haze settled over Starlight’s green eyes, and her voice turned soft and sweet.
“The Deep, you promised me…
You said you’d sleep on the couch…”
The next second, her lips were sealed by his.
Effortlessly, he parted her teeth.
When a woman agrees to spend the night at your place, no matter how much she claims to detest you out loud, she has already prepared herself mentally.
She fears you crossing the line, but fears even more if you don’t.
Returning once again to the scene from the previous night, The Deep propped his hands on either side of Starlight’s head.
Looking down, he met her flushed, passion-filled expression.
“Starlight, my angel, are you ready to cleanse my sinful soul?”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave a gentle push.
Chanting like a holy psalm, she said, “You demon…
inflict all your filthy, vile acts upon me.
You are not allowed to harm any other innocent people.”
*Awoo!*
Glints of golden light burst from her green eyes.
…
[Target Starlight’s trust toward Host has reached 100%.
Congratulations to Host for acquiring all of Starlight’s superpowers and base stats]
[Strength: A] [Speed: A (SS in Water)] [Physical Durability: A+ (Absolute Weakness: Gills)] [Endurance: A+] [Vision: A] [Hearing: A] [Self-Healing: A] [Telekinesis: B] [Skills: Heart of the Ocean, Blinding Light, Photonic Impulse, Luminescence]
…
The next day.
Early in the morning, The Deep knocked on Queen Maeve’s office door.
Queen Maeve opened the door, staring at the man in the scaly suit standing outside in dazed confusion.
“Who are you?”
The Deep gave her a look of utter disdain that practically read, *Are you an idiot?*
“Who else could I be?
I’m your daddy.”
Simple foul language, ultimate satisfaction.
*Bam!*
Before he could even step inside, Queen Maeve slammed a heavy punch straight into his abdomen, sending his entire body flying back.
*Blegh!*
He spat out a mouthful of yellow bile.
She had literally beaten the bile right out of him.
The Deep wiped his mouth and wore a look of pure relief.
“Feels good!”
Queen Maeve rolled her eyes, increasingly convinced he was a closet masochist.
*Bang!* Slamming her office door shut, Queen Maeve didn’t start the beatdown right away.
She cupped his clean-shaven face with both hands, her brows furrowing.
“Why’d you shave your beard?”
The Deep cackled slyly and spread his hands.
“I only kept that look before so you wouldn’t feel insecure, to spare you the shame of comparing yourselves to me.
But who would’ve thought it would only net me distance and contempt?
The mask is off—I’m laying all my cards on the table.
This…
is my true face—face…”
*BOOM!*
Queen Maeve smashed an uppercut straight into his jaw, instantly shattering it.
The move looked eerily like a signature attack from an anime he had watched as a kid—the Rising Dragon Uppercut—except he was the villain taking the hit.
*Pfft!* The Deep spewed blood in midair, arcing in a perfect trajectory before slamming heavily onto the floor, bouncing once.
“That’s all?” Queen Maeve sneered.
Grabbing him by the hair with one hand, she lifted him off the ground and grinned wickedly.
“Today, we’re practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.”
Reversing her grip into a tight bearhug from behind, her arms locked onto him like reinforced steel bars, slowly compressing inward.
*Crack!
Crack!
Crack!* A series of bone-snapping sounds echoed, accompanied by The Deep’s agonized wails.
The excruciating pain of having your bones broken one by one in plain sight was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
Even someone who hated The Deep with a passion would probably feel satisfied seeing this.
Queen Maeve felt much the same.
She didn’t bear any deep grudge against him; she just thought he was sleazy and perverted, which made her dislike him.
However, after two days of training, her impression of him had taken a complete 180-degree turn.
Though The Deep possessed the face of a pretty boy, he was officially the toughest man in The Seven—certified by Queen Maeve herself.
Not just anyone could survive under her heavy fists.
Over these past two days, she didn’t know how many of his bones she had broken.
He would hurl the filthiest insults at her, crying and wailing in agony, but he had never broken down or begged for mercy.
The Deep’s blood coated the entire training room, turning the plain white studio into a living hell.
The two sat in the center of the training room, their cumbersome hero costumes stripped off and tossed aside long ago.
Maeve wore only a sports bra that barely covered her chest and a pair of black sports briefs.
The Deep traveled even lighter, wearing nothing but boxer shorts.
Looking at the deep fist imprint she had smashed an inch into his belly, Maeve smirked.
“The Deep.
You’re strong.
I used a full twenty percent of my strength on that punch.”
“What?
Twenty percent?
Maeve, are you trying to fucking kill me?” The Deep lay on the floor like a dead dog, cursing while blood continuously bubbled out of his mouth—a rather hilarious sight.
Just as Maeve was starting to feel a twinge of guilt, thinking she might have been too harsh on him, she noticed his tent springing up inside his shorts.
His eyes were locked right onto her sports briefs.
With a loud gulp, he swallowed the mixture of blood and saliva down his throat.
*A leopard can’t change its spots.*
Maeve let out a cold snort and sprang up gracefully, resting her fair, porcelain-white foot on his body.
Smiling radiantly, she said, “The Deep, I want to test your self-healing factor.
If I crush it with one step, do you think it’ll grow back?”
Just as Maeve was deciding how to teach him an unforgettable lesson, the door was pushed open from the outside.
It was Ashley, PR manager for The Seven.
“Maeve, I just heard from Starlight that The Deep is over here with you—” Ashley asked as she opened the door.
The moment she stepped inside, Ashley was met with this absurd, compromising scene.
She froze on the spot, tongue-tied and wide-eyed.
After a long pause, she swallowed hard and forced an apologetic smile.
“The Deep, Maeve…
could you two continue playing later?
Madelyn wants to see The Deep.
It’s pretty urgent.”