NOVEL WEB Chapter 136- Kino Control
[ Kino Control (Rank A+)..... ]
While moving through the corridor and looking at the screen of the systems displaying the achievements he had made through the hard work done throughout the night, Cruxius felt genuinely satisfied. His eyes narrowed as he looked forward at the hallway, while the morning rays illuminated the changes in his face, which held a smile.
This smile, though tinged with dissatisfaction, came from the fact that the flags he had placed on his journey to win the affection of Ytrisia were finally bearing fruit, in a way he had not expected; things had been smoother than he had anticipated as he had needed to plant these seeds slowly in her subconscious mind.
'Another question is, how much strength will this awakening give me?' Thinking about that, Cruxius looked around, trying to find a test subject on whom he could test the extent of his ability.
Given the upgrade in the kind of control he would be able to exert, he was capable of more than just small stints with a daily limit, bypassing that and achieving something more significant.
However, in order to confirm this practically, rather than just theoretically through the systems window, he needed to check if he could handle people who might suspect his standing as the potential candidate for the flag bearer.
'Here they are.'
Two tall figures clad in tailored night coats and wine-red sashes, with skin pale and eyes gleaming with an unnatural crimson light, were strolling down the opposite side of the corridor.
Their posture was languid, graceful like dancers, but there was an invisible aura that spoke of apex predators who didn't need to act to show who they were.
Cruxius didn't stop. He kept walking, hands still sunk in his pockets, shoulder lowered slightly.
One of them turned their face slightly, sniffed the air, and smiled with eyes narrowed to slits.
"Do you smell that?"
"Mmm... something tasty. No, not just tasty..."
The second vampire leaned in mockingly, baring his pearly fangs in a teasing whisper—
"It's almost delicious... and it's walking right past us."
Cruxius's feet paused mid-step.
He tilted his head slightly. His gaze didn't meet theirs, but the smirk on his lips made it clear he heard them naturally, as if waiting for this opportunity for them to use it against them, he mocked.
"Enough," he said.
A single word. Flat. Dry. Cold.
Like a switch being pulled in the middle of spring.
Both vampires froze for a moment before turning their heads in slow amusement.
"Oh? Did you say something, pocket-boy?"
"Who gave the food permission to speak?"
The shorter one chuckled as his foot moved forward—an inch, just an inch—but it was enough.
Cruxius's eyes narrowed. His right thumb inside his coat's pocket flicked gently, activating the surge.
[ Kino Control: Activated ]
There was no wind. No sound.
But in the next moment—
BOOM!
The shorter vampire's body crashed into the marble wall behind him, cracks spreading like spider webs from the point of impact. His mouth opened, trying to shout, but his breath had already been stolen by the invisible wave of concentrated force.
Before the other one could blink, Cruxius was already standing still, as if he hadn't moved at all.
"Tch—"
The taller vampire tried to raise his hand, but his knees buckled as a sudden invisible pressure gripped both his legs. Kinetic energy surged around his bones, compressed and exploded at the joints.
CRACK!
He dropped.
Eyes widened in disbelief as both vampires lay on the ground, unable to move.
"The Queen might've told you not to kill me," Cruxius said, finally raising his eyes to meet theirs.
His shadow stretched unnaturally across the corridor, swallowing the broken glass from a shattered light above.
"But she said nothing about me knocking you out."
"Stop, you will regret this!" Naturally, the reason the vampires didn't protest was simply due to the instructions from the Queen to not dare lay a hand on this man. Even if they were to get killed now, they would not attack him. That left them clearly enraged without the determination to retaliate.
With slow steps, he approached their twitching bodies and bent down—not to gloat, but to fish into their coat pockets.
'!'
"Y-you! Do you even—!" One of the vampires retaliated, his eyes widening at seeing Cruxius's intention to take out the emblem. But his eyes flickered as he felt a presence sharp enough to suppress his bloodline, causing beads of sweat to form as he lowered his gaze.
The sensation was of the Queen looking towards them as they shut their mouths and let Cruxius do whatever he wanted.
He pulled out two emblems. Both were insignias shaped like a rose bathed in moonlight—ornate tokens clearly holding value or purpose.
'She might be interested now,' Crooks observed their reactions, noting their body language tensed up. They realized that she was nearby and had already seen what he was doing, making him understand that he had just caught her attention, which was exactly the reason he acted this way, to get his hands on the emblems.
These emblems, in particular, were the keys to any room within this mansion. Using them gave him more authority.
Including entering the Queen's chamber.
So was he that daring to do that? Of course, he was.
But not right now; he just made his way out of that place without doing anything extra to the vampires, considering it might bring unwanted reactions from the Queen.
.
.
.
.
The corridor had long since quieted.
With both emblems now resting loosely in his palm, Cruxius moved ahead, turning past a towering silver-framed archway until he stood in front of a door unlike any other in the palace.
It didn't scream power—it whispered it.
A dark mahogany finish that absorbed light rather than reflected it, bordered with intricate carvings of roses and serpents entangled mid-embrace. There was no handle.
Only a circular indent at the center of the frame, shaped precisely to hold the moonlit emblem he now carried.
He didn't hesitate.
Clink.
The first emblem slid into place with a metallic click.
Clink.
The second followed, and with a silent hum that felt like a breath being held, the door began to part—not open, part—like curtains of smoke being gently pulled away by unseen hands.
A faint chill crept out from inside, not the cold of temperature, but the cold of stillness.
Cruxius stepped in.
The room was vast, velvet-draped, dim yet soaked in hues of moonlight from a wide open arched window above the bed. The walls shimmered with soft enchantments woven into the stone itself—silent, breathing, living.
In the center of it all, there she lay.
Evangeline.
Her body reclined on a massive four-poster bed layered with sheer curtains that fluttered without wind. A thin, white nightgown like mist wrapped around her form—modest in intent, but betraying every curve of her flawless skin beneath as if the gown itself didn't dare hide too much.
One of her arms rested behind her head, her dark silver hair splayed across her pillow like silk threads, lips slightly parted in the illusion of sleep.
Cruxius walked to the lone, cushioned furniture placed deliberately at the corner of the room. A lounging chair—not too close to the bed, but not distant either. The kind of distance that invited a decision. Or a temptation.
He didn't speak.
He sat.
And just… looked at her.
No smirk now. No ambition, no calculation—just watching. Letting his eyes linger over the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Over the way her eyelashes trembled—barely—as if resisting the urge to open.
'She's awake.'
Of course she was.
She wanted to see how he would react. What he would do in this space. Her space.
She could sense emotions, even heartbeats. She could feel tension, lust, hunger, anger, reverence. She could feel it all the moment anyone stepped into her domain.
But all she would feel from him… was stillness.
Because unlike her, he didn't act.
He simply was.
He leaned back against the chair, one leg crossed over the other. Arms resting lazily. And that slight curve at the corner of his lips—not quite a smirk, not quite a smile.
Relaxed.
Unbothered by her silence. Unintimidated by her allure.
Not because he didn't feel it.
But because he refused to let his body react.
Seconds passed. Minutes.
And without a word, Cruxius slowly closed his eyes… and fell asleep.
Right there. In her chamber. In her presence. As if daring her to make the first move.
He was naturally aware of her ability and that to pull this stunt off, he could not just start acting. He needed, in particular, to simply sleep.
'She might just suck me off.'
With a smile, he fell asleep.
----
A flutter.
Not of wind.
But of his eyelids.
Cruxius stirred—slow, sluggish.
His breath came first, shallow and drawn.
Then awareness, like a tide washing over his skin.
Numb.
There was a strange warmth nestled on his lap. A pulse pressing lightly against his hips. A faint weight upon his chest.
And then—
Pain?
No.
Not quite.
Something sharper. Softer.
The sensation of skin breaking—but not violently. Not tearing.
More like… a sigh being drawn from his flesh.
He blinked, and the first thing his half-lidded eyes saw was silver.
Her hair.
Evangeline—was above him.
Her knees bracketing his thighs, nightgown pooled loosely over her hips, back arched ever so slightly, revealing the pale skin of her shoulders illuminated in the moonlight.
Her face… was so close.
Closer than dreams permitted.
Her lips were pressed to his neck, parted slightly as her fangs remained inside him, drinking. Drinking without shame, without haste. Her hands, cold and firm, rested against his chest, holding him still—not with force, but a strange kind of intimacy.
And she didn't stop.
Even when his eyes fluttered open.
Even when he exhaled sharply at the realization.
She kept drinking.
Only when his gaze met hers—when she felt the shift in his heart rate—did she slowly… very slowly… pull back.
Her eyes were half-lidded, lips tinged red, a drop of blood trickling down her chin and sliding along the curve of her throat.
She looked—
Not seductive.
Not dangerous.
But confused.
"…An hour," she said quietly. Her voice was breathless, like someone waking from a trance. Her eyes scanned his expression as she sat there, legs still astride him.
"I've been sucking for an hour," she muttered, brows furrowed faintly.
"Why… does it keep coming?"