Chapter 270

Chapter 270: 270

Neo nodded. "Yes. I’ve finished."

Alvina gave a short nod of her own and turned. She led him out of the training arena without another word. Their boots struck the packed earth in steady rhythm as they left the open grounds behind. The air still held the faint heat of Neo’s earlier practice, but Alvina’s pace was quick and purposeful. She did not look back until they reached a quieter corridor deeper inside the compound.

"Zira has been cursed," she said at last. Her voice stayed even, but the tightness around her mouth gave her away. "A heavy one. They call it the Blinding Lamp Holder. It appears at random among barbarian women. First the eyes go dark. Then the darkness spreads until it takes the rest of the life with it."

Neo’s steps slowed for half a beat. His eyes widened. "What do we do to heal her?"

Alvina kept walking. "The stories say the curse began with the first barbarian man. He found his lover cheating. He cursed her. That curse rode her bloodline down through every woman who came after. Most of us carry it now."

Neo’s jaw set. He had no patience for cheaters. The system had even granted him the title Cheater’s Breaker after the long road through the Demon Realm. The words still sat clean and hard in his status window.

"So how do we break it?" he asked.

Alvina glanced sideways at him. "Simple. Find the first woman who received the curse. Heal her. Once her curse is gone, it vanishes for every woman tied to her blood."

Neo nodded once. "Where is she?"

"In the Lust Forest. She’s become a succubus queen. You’ll find her at the center."

He took the exact directions from her without further talk. Then he turned and left. The compound fell away behind him. Trees closed in. The Lust Forest lived up to its name—thick scent of musk and ripe fruit hung in the air, and the light filtered red through the canopy. Neo ran straight for the heart of it.

A shape blocked the path.

A humanoid wolf stood there, taller than any man, black-furred, arms long enough to drag the ground. Its mouth stretched wide in a permanent grin full of fangs. Neo’s stomach tightened. The system flashed a status alert: Intense Fear. The effect hit hard, cold and heavy, trying to lock his muscles.

He pulled holy pyro mana into both hands. The clean fire burned against the fear, pushing it back enough for him to move. He spun his spear, poured more pyro into the shaft until the metal shone pure white, then gathered stardust in the other palm until it hardened into a second spear of glowing grit. He fused the two. The result was a single massive weapon—Heaven’s Punishment.

He hurled it.

The wolf caught the spear in one long hand and crushed it. Fragments of light and dust scattered. The creature’s grin never changed.

"Is that all you have?" it said. "I would be disappointed."

Neo shook his head. He pulled a sealing box from his storage, flooded it with stardust until the seams strained, and threw it straight at the wolf’s face. The box detonated on impact. The blast tore the head apart. Flesh and bone sprayed. For a second the body stood headless.

Then new flesh knit itself together in a rush of black smoke. The head reformed, eyes already open.

"You finally made me use reserve energy," the wolf said. "Not bad."

Neo scanned it. The system named the creature Wolf of Fear. It fed on fear itself. That was why the regeneration had been so fast—the earlier status effect had fed it.

Neo exhaled once, then stepped into Lord of the End mode. His palm opened toward the sky. Swords formed one after another—Natural Embrace, Energy Sword, the blade that carried TBATE energy, and five more, each drawn from a different source. He fused all eight into a single weapon: the Sword of Birth.

He closed the distance and cut.

The blade bit deep. This time the wound stayed open longer. Regeneration still happened, but slower. Neo pressed the advantage, striking again and again. Every joint, every thick limb. The wolf’s arms and legs finally gave way under the constant pressure. It dropped to the ground.

Neo did not pause. He hammered the Sword of Birth down in rapid, precise slashes until the creature stopped moving for good. Sweat ran down his face and neck. He wiped it away with the back of his wrist and kept running.

The center of the forest opened into a small clearing. A wooden house stood there, low and plain. Neo pushed the door open and stepped inside. The smell hit him at once—thick sex, spent seed, and something sweeter underneath. His nose wrinkled.

On the bed, under a thin blanket, a woman slept. Brown skin. Heavy breasts that rose and fell with each slow breath. A thick, wide ass that pushed the blanket into a high curve. Fertile hips that spread the mattress. Black marks covered her body like tattoos.

Neo approached. The system identified her at once: Sin, first barbarian woman.

She snored softly. He pulled the blanket aside. She lay completely naked. The marks stood out clear against her skin. Her eyes snapped open.

"A great cock!" she said, voice still thick with sleep. One hand shot out, grabbed the front of his pants, and yanked them down. His cock sprang free—thick, heavy, already half-hard from the sudden contact of her fingers.

Sin’s eyes locked on it. From her view the man standing over her was broad through the shoulders, arms corded with muscle, legs solid and powerful. Sweat still shone on his skin from the fight. The cock in her hand was long and thick enough to make her mouth water. She felt the heat of it against her palm and the pulse that ran under the skin.

Neo saw her the same way—full breasts tipped with dark nipples, the soft fold between her legs already glistening, the heavy curve of her hips and ass that looked built for holding a man deep. The scent of her arousal mixed with the older smell in the room. He felt her fingers tighten around him, warm and eager.

He slapped her hand away hard enough to sting.

"What is it?" he said. "I didn’t come for sex. I came to take your curse off."

Sin sat up. The heavy breasts shifted with the motion. She looked at him with open curiosity.

"Really? You’re the first man who ever tried to remove it. I wonder how you plan to do that."

"I know a way."

Neo set both hands on her shoulders. Holy fire rose under his palms, clean and white-hot. He pushed it into the marks that covered her skin. The black tattoos flickered, resisted, then began to peel away like ash in a strong wind. Minutes passed. Sweat beaded on Neo’s forehead again from the steady output of power. Sin’s breath came faster as the curse loosened its hold.

At last the final mark vanished. Her skin was clear.

Neo looked down once more, confirmed the system no longer showed the curse, and stepped back. He did not speak to her again. She had been the source of Zira’s problem. Removing the curse helped Zira. That was all that mattered.

He teleported.

The room around him changed. Soft light. Quiet. Zira lay where he had left her. Her expression brightened the moment she felt him near. Neo leaned down, took her face gently between both hands, and rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks in slow, careful strokes.

The door opened.

Alvina stepped inside. She looked from Neo’s hands to Zira’s face.

"What are you doing?"

"Simply checking on Zira," Neo said. "I’ve taken care of the curse."

Alvina nodded.