“My children,” Monika raised her voice, “go gather the hearts and bring them!” she ordered.

Her eyes swept over the bruised but unwavering succubi. They immediately sprang with unfurling wings as they moved across the cavern floor. The succubi maneuvered and extracted the hearts from the gloths' lifeless bodies.

They then offered their harvested battle trophies with pride overlaid by reverence. Monika put her dark-blooded greatsword in her inventory and took each heart.

She closed her eyes to process the absorption. Her brows knit.

She would get 2 Karma per 5 rank 1 worms when she had a Karma of F.

Now that she had a Karma of F+, Monika could only get 1 Karma after absorbing 5 hearts. This was on average, of course, with the consideration that all the five worms were of the F grade.

In actuality, she got way less since half the gloths were of F- rank.

She first started absorbing at a threefold slower rate to observe Val’s reaction. Monika could discern the bewilderment his eyes held, which he had so desperately tried to hide from her. Yet to no avail since Monika had a terrifying perception—not just the skill she had recently acquired but a perception honed in countless years of position in power. She couldn’t go any slower as that would result in some of the hearts being wasted as their spirits would dissipate into the air.

What a waste of time. If one useless bastard wasn’t enough, now we have two.

Nocturne is no different from Hel. If anything, he’s only more arrogant. I’m genuinely disappointed by these fools.

Yeah, Nocturne and not Valentine since there’s like a 90% chance this guy or perhaps woman is the baron. Since 90% is more than 50%, it’s correct to assume that he’s a baron. So he’s Nocturne. Makes perfect sense to me. I’m not sure about you, Monika.

I used to hate gambling, you hear me? Why were you so into it? Now, it affects me. I’ve always used to presume and not assume. But now, my presumptions are my assumptions. I like it more. There’s always room for improvement.

This characteristic of yours is truly to my liking. Perhaps one of the reasons I lost the war was because I tried to avoid risks to the best of my abilities. But you know, I was actually one hell of an adrenaline addict when I was younger. I guess the age got to me.

Still, I can’t imagine how disrupted and disorganized the world is if such a guy holds the position of a baron—as disrupted and disorganized as we two.

But I’ll forgive him since he’s so hot. My heart palpitates as I watch Noct move through the cavern and observe my succubi. His presence is so intoxicating I can feel myself melt just from his persistent gaze—no, just from his presence—no, just from his existence.

I really, really want to fuck with him. Have a kid or two. Twins. Yep, I like the idea of having twins. One with blue and the other with a red pair of eyes. Huhuhu.

Girl, Bloodlust is such a powerful skill. It’s so powerful that it would make me want to eat Degloth’s shit. Oh, I’ve already tasted it. Nevermind. This skill can bend straight and straighten the bent.

I’m not interfering with it’s effect on my body. Why act when you can just be? This is on the off chance that he’s more perceptive than I’m giving him credit for. Even if I always assume, I still leave room for if I fuck up. There’s no room for doubt, but there’s still space for an escape route.

Why keep this bastard alive in the first place, you ask? Because why would I kill him? Noct is my sugar daddy. Is this the proper term you younglings use these days? Monika, are you listening?

Monika?

Monika?

Monica?

I dislike reticent people, Monika. You’re too shy. You ask me why and then just shut the fuck up. Where’s all the respect for the elderly, huh? I don’t like talking to myself. Don’t just narrate the stuff.

The thing is, Noct will freely help us fight our enemies. This guy is hella strong. Even if he hides his full strength like Hel, he’s still more helpful than these succubi.

He will help us reach the second rank and open Workspace. Not to mention the information this guy holds to. He’s a damn baron, after all. He must know a thing or two about this world. We’ll use him to the fullest before Hel tries to kill me.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

One thing I’m better at than absorbing Karma is making money. The sooner we unlock Workspace, the better. I’ll monopolize the market and rebuild the world's economy to my taste. Sweet dreams.

If there’s anything sexier than Noct, then it’s definitely money. Sweet money. Even a Lust skill of S can’t change my opinion. Even the threat of eating Degloth’s delicacy can’t bend my mind!

Karma |F+| |177/225|

Oh, so you were busy absorbing the hearts? Is it finally over?

I watch as the last succubi approaches. Huh? Isn’t it Thorny?

She extends a large heart toward me. Haha, I remember her killing Degloth#3. What a gem.

Thorny then extends another heart toward me.

Wow! One more Degloth! What a surprise!

Then another one.

Wait, doesn’t it make this three? What the—

And another one.

…

Monika blankly stared at her as she absorbed the heart.

Thorny tilts her head. “Are you feeling bad, Mother?” she then extends one more heart. “This one is the last. Did I get too few? I promise I will double my efforts the next time! I won’t disappoint you anymore!” her eyes reddened.

Monika patted her head. “You did horribly. But I’ll forgive you just this once.”

Thorny nodded her head in determination. “Uh.”

The child didn’t know at the moment, but for the first time since reincarnating into this world, Monika was truly stunned, even bamboozled. Not because of the mighty baron, the failure of a revolutionary, or even the angry bull, but because of her child.

She narrowed her eyes as she watched Thorny.

Monika's face lit up with an unsettling smile as she beamed. She slapped her child with her eyes never wavering. Her expression froze with deathly stillness.

“Scram, kid. You underestimate me too much. There’s no line between arrogant and confident but a broad line between smart and knowing,” Monika said briskly.

Thorny turned away as she distanced herself from her mother. Her face was devoid of any emotion. If anything, there was a slight irritation that only Monika could feel.

Monika then saw Val draw closer toward her with the magnetic force of an irresistible allure. Her adoration-filled eyes followed his steps. His gaze, in turn, was unwavering and penetrating. Her body responded instinctively by leaning toward the fire of her love and devotion in a blaze brighter with each step he took.

Monika felt arousal sweep through her body. The heat of her feelings threatened to overwhelm her. Monika instinctively shifted her stance by pressing her thighs together tightly—a subconscious effort to maintain some semblance of poise. She felt warmth spread through her veins and settle low in the abdomen.

The archdemon wished to ride and rape the damned vampire. She was of the dominant type, after all. The slight pain of her biting down on her lip was a welcome distraction to ground herself amidst the clusterfuck of emotions.

“Monika,” the way he called her brought her inner po—

“Monika!?” Val was already accustomed to seeing her fly in the clouds.

“Yesss~” She met his gaze with fever spread across her forehead. “What is it?”

“Now that you’re finished with your Karma absorption, we should head deeper into the labyrinth,” He remarked.

“Uh.” Monika copy-pasted what Thorny did. More cutely. “How about I do a ritual with the runes I’ve gotten first?” she asked.

Val processed her words for a moment. “Sure, but hurry.” He was curious about the abilities the Akashic Records provided the candidates with.

“Interface,” Monika commanded.

—Obstruction |Rank 1|—

Self

Creation

Dungeon |X 999D 20H|

Workspace |X Rank 2|

Synthesis |X Rank 2|

“Creation,” she followed.

—Creation—

Summon

Alchemy

Craft

Inventory

“Alchemy,” she added. Monika could just command ‘Ritual’ from the very beginning. But she did it methodically to showcase the interface to Val.

“Ritual.”

—Ritual—

Esper

Offering

Invoke |X Rank 2|

Evoke |X Rank 3|

Convoke |X|

“Oh,” Val exclaimed. “Espers… Elemental Spirits. This will come in handy. You can now summon them from the Spirit World.”

“Spirit World?” Monika pondered aloud.

Val ignored her. “But we should now focus solely on the Offering.

Monika approved silently. “Offering,” she said.

—Offering—

Choose a Divine Entity.

“A divine entity?”

“The Demon Lords. Don’t mind it.” Val put his hand on her shoulder. “How many runes do you have?”

Monika melted, “Seven~,” she said as she secretly marveled at Thorny. “Seven Runes of Sin.”

“Good,” Val nodded his head in approval. “Use them all,”

Without further ado, Monika called “Demon Lord of Desolation.”