To keep that from happening, we needed to report the situation as quickly as we possibly could. We needed to make sure we returned home safe, so we could warn everyone. But...what would happen if one of us was unfortunately spotted by the high orc before we could escape? The answer was obvious: Someone would have to sacrifice themselves and act as a decoy to let the other escape.
So, which one of us was most suited to becoming the orc’s bait, the most suited to appealing to the orc’s healthy sex drive? That answer was also obvious.
“You’re the woman here, Iria,” I said. “And as such, it falls to you to save everyone and lead them to happiness through your noble sacrifice. C’mon, compared to serving as bait for the Lord of the Flies, your job isn’t going to be nearly as tough. The orcs’ goal is to procreate, so as long as you obey them, they won’t kill you...probably. And of course, I’ll make sure Raz knows about your heroic deed as well. I mean, knowing him, he’ll probably be the first to volunteer for the extermination team, so if you want to survive until you two have your tearful reunion, do your best to form a happy orc family!” I stuck my tongue out at her and bowed dramatically.
All tension, panic, anger, and distrust drained from Iria’s face as she looked at me. All that was left was the same hostility she’d regarded the orc with. “Just so we’re on the same page, you’re serious about this, right? This isn’t just some prank you cooked up to get back at me?”
I shrugged without replying. When she saw that, her voice became like ice.
“I see.”
A split second later...
“HAAAH!” With a sharp cry, her left leg abruptly flew toward me. There was no windup, making it difficult to predict the timing of her attack. The old me probably would have been struck in the chest so hard that I threw up everything in my stomach and passed out. But as I was now, a kick like that was child’s play.
I casually lowered my right hand and blocked her foot with the gauntlet I was wearing. The impact made my hand go numb, but her attack failed to breach my defenses. At least, I assumed so, but in the next instant, she used my gauntlet as a fulcrum to launch herself into the air as though she were completely weightless. The hem of her white undershirt billowed in the wind as she twisted her hips in midair.
“YAAAH!”
She delivered a sweeping kick so powerful, it could have easily decapitated anyone it hit. I used the gauntlet on my left hand to block this time, but the impact was at least three times more powerful than the first. If I’d taken the full brunt of the attack, it would have shattered my bones to pieces.
Claimh Soras had been the one to finish off the orc before, but I could now say for certain that Iria would have had no trouble defeating it on her own. It was no wonder she’d made it to Rank 6. Still, seeing as her first and second attacks hadn’t been too fast for me to handle, the outcome was already confirmed. With my free right hand, I grabbed the hem of her undershirt and yanked her straight down. Since she had nothing to brace herself with in the air, she slammed into the ground helplessly.
“Ow!”
“Jumping up into the air was a bad move. Then again, an attack like that would have finished the old me with ease.” I stomped down on the hem of her garment with my iron boot, pinning it to the ground. The force of it flipped her shirt up, revealing much of her body above her thighs. Iria gave me a death glare, but I didn’t even flinch. Covering her body with my own, I grabbed both of her wrists so she couldn’t move. She made every effort to resist, but she couldn’t do a thing against my vigor-enhanced arm.
“You pervert! Get off me! Get off now!”
“No, thanks,” I replied, sneering at her futile attempts to resist, and gradually brought my lips closer to hers. As though guessing my intent, her face screwed up in revulsion and she flailed her limbs madly, attempting to shake me off. But resistance of that degree didn’t break my restraint, so she shook her head—the only part of her body I didn’t have pinned down—frantically, hoping it would help her escape.
“You... You!”
“Now, now. I wouldn’t make too much noise if I were you. The orcs might hear you.”
“Shut your mouth! Unhand me this instant! The only one who’s allowed to touch me is Raz— Augh!”
When I put more power into my grip, enough to break both of her wrists, Iria’s face twisted in pain. Now that I had my opening, I quickly sealed her lips with mine and ate her soul.
I now knew much more about my soul-eating ability than when I’d first attacked Miroslav. I knew how to devour them efficiently, I knew the potential reactions my opponents would have and what I needed to do to get the reactions I wanted, and I knew the optimal way of keeping a struggling opponent down. So Iria had never had any chance of escaping. However disciplined in the martial arts she was, however much more of a fight she put up than Miroslav, it was all useless against my mastery of vigor manipulation.
Violently, forcefully, as though to trample her will to shreds, I gorged, gorged, gorged myself...and by the time Iria’s body had gone limp with exhaustion, I’d become Level 9.