Another week later, the door to Kane's inner sanctum opened once again, and he stepped out calmly. An aura of power hung around him that wasn't there before, quickly identifying him as a second stage Mystic.

Unfortunately, having now entered the Core Formation stage, his cores were all back at rank one, but a first rank, second stage core was still far more powerful than a fifth rank, first stage one.

In other words, he was now more powerful than ever. Plus, since the beginning was easy, he'd already raised his blood core to the second rank.

He was ready to continue facing whatever this world had in store for him.

Behind him, was a glowing Luna with a happy grin. Although still in the Core Awakening stage, her cores were now all at the fifth rank. Through 'intense effort' on both their parts, Kane had managed to boost her blood and soul cores by two ranks in a mere four weeks.

Such was the power of his lust rune.

After stepping out of the meditation room, they found themselves in the study, or council chamber. In the middle of the room still stood Kane's chair, and in front of it, Ella had already folded out the table into its council meeting position.

Thus, the commander's chair was at the table's head, and six smaller chairs were surrounding it. Kane had asked her to prepare this, while also asking Aelia, Anna, Lyra, and Mira to come meet him.

That is why he was surprised when he noticed only a single person was waiting for them. A rather nervous and anxious person, in fact.

As soon as Kane and Luna entered, Anna was forced to gasp and take a step back. Fear and lust intermingled in her gaze, proving she continued to be affected by Kane's redirecting efforts. If anything, it'd gotten worse. She nearly started to hyperventilate already, despite still being several body lengths away from him.

"Anna?" Kane asked curiously, having some consideration for her discomfort by halting in his footsteps and not closing the distance between them any further. "Where are the others?"

Instead of Anna, it was Ella who answered him, after appearing next to him in holographic form. "She asked if she could meet with you alone, Master, ahead of the others."

Her transparent body began to blush slightly, "Y— You were still b— busy with Luna at the time, so… I just told her you probably wouldn't mind…"

Despite having born witness to four weeks of intense lovemaking, Ella had yet to grow any more comfortable around it. Perhaps she'd need to experience it herself first. At one point, she'd admitted that she blocked Kane's senses during that time, so she still had no idea how it felt.

For a moment, Kane grinned at Ella's blush, shortly considering teasing her about it, but then he shook his head, and focused back on Anna. "Well, you were right, I don't mind," he nodded slowly, while looking at Anna curiously. "Can I assume this is about my offer?"

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Before answering, Anna panned her gaze towards Luna with obvious intent. Unfortunately, a steadfast Kane shook his head. "You're a beastling, Anna. You should know a Valkyrie is like an extension of the Lord's body. I won't send her away."

Anna pouted slightly, but nodded to communicate her understanding. She didn't ask the same thing about Ella, because she knew it was pointless. Inside this base, Ella was everywhere, all the time. Meanwhile, Luna looked understandably pleased and smug.

So, Anna gulped and told him her reason for being there. "I— I'm sorry…" she stammered nervously. "I— I'd like to refuse your offer." At the end of her words, she closed her eyes and flinched back slightly, as if afraid of his response.

Kane looked at her with genuine surprise. Although, whether that was due to her refusal, or her obvious fear was unsure.

But he quickly recovered and realizing something. Chuckling softly with amusement, he continued walking towards his large chair, and shook his head. "No, you don't," he told her with surprising confidence.

"W— What?!" Ella and Anna both exclaimed at the same time. The hareling's eyes snapped open, and both she and Ella now looked at Kane with wide eyes. As for Luna, she was indifferent, and simply followed her master to his chair. There, she leaned against the armrest, and followed the situation like an amused spectator.

"Y— You're going to force me!" Anna accused. She pointed at him with trembling hand. Her eyes were filled with sadness, betrayal, and anger.

Meanwhile, Ella looked at him with uncertainty. "Master…?" she asked softly, unwilling to believe he would actually force his decision on Anna.

Yet, a displeased Kane pursed his lips as he frowned. "I can somewhat understand with you, Anna, but even you have so little trust for me, Ella?"

"I… N— No," Ella quickly shook her head and poked her index fingers together nervously. Her eyes flew around the room as she pouted, "I was just… caught off guard… sorry. I know you wouldn't do that."

Feeling her sincerity, Kane nodded, a little more pleased, and then turned to Anna, who looked far less convinced. "I'm not going to deny your decision, Anna. I meant you don't want to refuse my offer. You're just not sure if you can trust me."

Seeing the frustrated expression on Anna's face, he knew he'd struck gold, and continued with a small grin. "You don't know if you want to put your very sanity in the hands of someone you barely know. You've realized that, considering the amount of control I have over your lust, I can effectively own you, so long as you stop resisting your lust."

Anna's eyes became a little wet, and her expression turned more hopeless, but Kane went on mercilessly. "If you accept my offer, you'll be effectively giving up much of your autonomy, in return for an easier life. It's a difficult decision, but you already know what you want to do."

He leaned forward in his chair, "You just want to make sure you can trust me first, so you're baiting me. If I bite, you'll know you could never trust me to begin with, and your decision wouldn't have mattered anyway. If I don't, you would have turned around and accepted after all, because at least you'll know it would have been your decision."

Leaning back, he smirked at Anna confidently. "Am I in the ballpark?"

The hareling looked at him with a combination of frustration and helplessness. She'd retreated as far as she could, her back now being against the wall, and she was anxiously grasping the hems of her tunic. "S— So what?" she muttered desperately.

"So, I don't like games," Kane shrugged, indifferent to Anna's turmoil. "I like you, Anna, but I don't need you. There's no reason for me to force you into anything, but neither is there a reason for me to play your game. Now, choose. Be my woman, and never suffer due to your lust again, or go back to the way you were before."