It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but after crying for a while, Linlin gradually began to calm down. The tears eventually stopped, though her head remained buried in his shoulder. Her body still trembled slightly, and every now and then she let out a small whimper while continuing to cling tightly to him.
Zechs gently stroked her back, waiting patiently until he felt her finally settle down.
Then, with a faint teasing smile, he said, "Linlin… the moment you saw me, you jumped over, sat on my lap, and started crying like this. Fufu… is this really the future Queen of the Seas… bawling like a little girl?"
"Shut… shut up…!" she scolded indignantly, her voice muffled.
Yet even as she said that, she tightened her grip around him, burying her face deeper into the crook of his neck and refusing to let go. It was almost as if she feared he would disappear the moment she released him.
Seeing her like this made Zechs smile, though he was also somewhat surprised. He had never expected Linlin to cling to him so tightly. The situation filled him with both satisfaction and happiness. The woman he intended to make his first wife was holding onto him like this after only a month apart; how could he not be pleased?
It meant that Linlin truly cared about him and had grown emotionally attached to him, which was exactly what he wanted from the women in his life.
"It's okay… I'm here," he assured her gently.
"Are you really here?" she asked uncertainly.
"Aren't I holding you right now?" Zechs replied. "Isn't that enough to prove that I'm here?"
"…." Linlin fell silent, unsure of how to respond.
Deep down, she wasn't completely certain that the person holding onto her in his arms was truly the real Asmodeus Zechs. Part of her suspected that this 'man' might not be real at all, that he might simply be a creation of her own mind, a hallucination.
Perhaps unable to accept the reality of his death, her mind had entered a state of denial and, as a self-defence mechanism, created this image of Zechs to comfort her.
And that is the Asmodeus Zechs she is clinging to.
She wanted to say this out loud, to ask him about it, to confirm her doubts whether he is really real or not, but she didn't know how. The possibility that he might indeed be nothing more than an illusion of her mind frightened her.
If it were true, then it would only break her heart even more.
No… she didn't want to know.
Even if the Zechs in front of her wasn't real, even if a part of her suspected that he might only be a figure her mind had created, she was willing to accept him as the real Zechs.
Because the other possibility, the reality that Zechs might truly be dead, was something she simply could not bear to accept.
Zechs couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he seemed to sense the unease and fear lingering in her heart. "Linlin… I'm right here, aren't I?" he said gently. "What are you still afraid of?"
"N-nothing…" she replied quickly. She didn't want him to realize what she had been thinking. Because if he understood, and if he truly wasn't real, then wouldn't he disappear?
She couldn't bear the thought of losing him again.
But her refusal to answer made Zechs pout slightly.
"You know it's not good to keep things hidden from your future husband," he said.
"It's really nothing…" she replied, unwilling to dwell on the matter.
"Even though I can sense the fear in your heart, you still want to deny it?" he said. Then, suddenly, he added, "Could it be… You cheated on me while I was gone?"
Linlin stiffened, caught off guard by the question.
"Cheated?" she repeated in disbelief. Of all the things she had been worrying about, that was the question he asked?
Indignation immediately flared within her. She lifted her head from his shoulder and glared at him with a scowl.
"Is that what you're worried about?" she demanded. "Do you really think I'm the kind of woman who would cheat on her husband behind his back?"
"Uhh… well…" Zechs stammered, unsure how to respond.
Deep down, a thought crossed his mind. 'After all, you're the woman who had forty-three husbands in the original timeline… can you really blame me for worrying?' Of course, that was something he could only think about, not say out loud. Saying it would only backfire on him.
"Relax, relax," he said with a chuckle. "I'm just joking… trying to lighten the mood a little."
In truth, he was indeed a little worried about it.
He didn't believe Linlin would easily look at another man in that way, since he had subjected her to a few of his traits, like Charm and Obsessiveness. But Linlin was also extremely strong mentally. If she truly tried, she might eventually overcome those influences, especially since it had already been over a month without any close or physical contact between them.
And there was always the possibility that the will of the world, or fate itself, might be trying to push events back toward the original timeline.
If he had been physically present beside Linlin, he would have been able to sense whether she had been with other men. But here, inside her plane of consciousness, that was impossible for him to determine.
"Hmph!" Linlin snorted, clearly believing he was only making excuses to hide his true thoughts.
"Ahem." Zechs coughed lightly to hide the awkwardness. As he slowly caressed her waist and sides, he asked again, "But really… what is it that you're afraid of?"
Linlin bit her lip once more, afraid to put her fears into words.
Faced with his dark red eyes watching her so intently, as if they could see straight through her, Linlin felt even more uneasy. She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze.
After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke in a quiet voice. "Are you… really real?"
The moment the words left her lips, her heart began pounding furiously. Her nerves tightened as she waited for his answer. She was afraid of what he might say. More than anything, she wanted him to say yes. Even if it was a lie… she would accept it. She just wanted him to say it.
Meanwhile, Zechs blinked slightly and repeated her doubt. "Am I… really real?"
It didn't take him long to understand what she was truly afraid of.
After a brief silence, he began to answer. "The me in front of you is not—"
Before he could finish, Linlin suddenly interrupted him. She pressed both hands over his mouth, sealing his lips as she shook her head, her body trembling. "On second thought, don't… don't say it…"
The few words he had already spoken made her feel as if she knew what the rest would be, and it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.
Rather than hearing the truth, she would rather leave the sentence unfinished. That way, the truth could remain uncertain.
Zechs looked into her eyes. For a brief moment, he considered playing along, following her fears, fooling her a little, and teasing her about it. But after thinking it over, he dismissed the idea.
She'd end up hating me if I played with her over something this serious, he thought.
With that decision made, he gently lifted his hands and grasped her wrists, moving them away from his mouth.
Linlin struggled, clearly unwilling to let him remove her hands. But he managed to do so anyway.
Tears gathered in her eyes as she shook her head. "Don't say it… please…"
Zechs sighed softly. "At least listen to me properly."
But she refused. She even tried to cover her ears to avoid hearing him.
The sight made him feel a little helpless, but he didn't allow her to block out his words. Holding her wrists firmly as she struggled, he smiled and said calmly, "While the 'me' in front of you isn't real… I'm not dead. I'm alive, Linlin."
"Why did you say it…? I told you I didn't want to hear that you're dead. I was afraid that I—" Her words suddenly stopped.
She froze as she realized what he had actually said. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at him in disbelief. "Y-you… what did you just say…?"
Zechs smiled and repeated calmly, "I'm not dead. I'm alive, Linlin."
"R-really?" she asked, blinking rapidly as tears once again gathered in her eyes, though this time for a different reason.
"Yup. I'm alive. There's no doubt about it," he replied with a confident nod.
Immediately, she began crying again as she threw her arms around him.
"Are you really alive…? Are you really?" she asked between sobs. "You're not lying to me, are you…? Woo… I was really starting to think you were dead…"
"It's alright… It's alright. I'm alive," he said, once again patting her back.
He felt somewhat helpless watching her cry like this and couldn't help but think to himself, 'Linlin… seeing you like this, your image as the terrifying Yonkō Big Mom has completely collapsed in front of me.'
Then again, he had already seen her in even more embarrassing and vulnerable states while he pinned her down beneath him and rammed her pussy or when he had her kneel between his legs and suck his cock.
So, in truth, that imposing image of the fearsome Yonkō Big Mom had long since crumbled in his eyes.
Linlin had no idea what he was thinking. She continued crying for a while, her tears and snot soaking into his shoulder. It left Zechs unsure how he should feel.
'It's fine… this isn't reality anyway… so it's fine,' he thought, trying not to get affected by the snot.
Meanwhile, Linlin kept crying, oblivious to her appearance. Between sobs, she demanded, "If you're alive… then what do you mean the you in front of me isn't real? And if you've been alive this whole time… and this isn't the real you… then where is the real you? Where have you been all this time…? Woo…"
"Alright, alright… I'll explain everything," Zechs said gently. "But first, stop crying."
Hearing that, Linlin gradually calmed down. She lifted her head again and looked at him, waiting for his answer.
"Let me first explain what happened after I went after Pudding-chan to save her," he said.
"Pudding-chan?" Linlin blinked in confusion.
"That's the girl's name," Zechs replied casually.
Linlin nodded, and he began explaining everything.
He told her how the two of them had been swallowed by powerful ocean currents, and how he had struggled desperately to fight through them despite the severe injuries he had already suffered during his battle with Kong. He explained how he had pushed himself to save Pudding, eventually finding a way out of the raging waters.
Afterward, he had managed to tame a Megalodon shark using his Conqueror's Haki and used it to carry both of them out of the sea. But soon after reaching safety, he lost consciousness.
He then described how he had remained unconscious for many days, forcing Pudding to care for him alone in the wilderness. Even after he regained consciousness, his body was still badly damaged, and it had taken several more days for him to recover. Even now, he admitted, he had not fully healed yet, though he was close.
He deliberately left out the details of how exactly he had healed. Some things were better left unsaid, for now.
Finally, he explained why he had never contacted her during the past month.
"That island had no signs of human civilization, and even my transponder snail had been destroyed in those waters," he said. "There was simply no way for me to reach you. I was completely stuck there and had no choice but to focus on recovering before I could even think about doing anything else."
Linlin hadn't expected Zechs to have gone through something like that. But when she thought about it, it made sense and explained why he hadn't been able to contact her.
Still, it left her confused.
"Then… how are you able to contact me now?" she asked. "No… I'm really confused. This isn't the real you, but you're still able to reach me… without a Transponder Snail or anything. And like this… inside what you called my plane of consciousness."
She frowned slightly. "I don't understand what's happening. What exactly is going on?"
"As for how I'm contacting you directly through your plane of consciousness…" Zechs said as he began to explain.
…
Let's turn the clock back a while ago—
On the island where Zechs and Pudding had been stranded, the morning sun had begun to rise.
Inside the cave they had been using as shelter, the bedroom area was in complete disarray. Two naked figures lay tangled on the bed after a long night of sex, the sheets and even parts of the floor stained with white fluid.
"Too… too much… Zechs-sama… I… I can't take it anymore… I'm tired…" Pudding panted heavily, feeling sore all over.
Her face was pressed against the bed while her ass was still sticking out. Both her hands were restrained behind her back by Zechs's tail, leaving her to support herself only by her knees. In that helpless position, her entire body trembled as her knees buckled, threatening to give out beneath her. All she could do was moan weakly and beg.
The sight was intensely erotic. If Pudding's supposed fiancé from the original story, Vinsmoke Sanji, the man she would eventually fall in love with, had witnessed such a scene, he would have completely lost his mind. His blond hair would have instantly turned green from jealousy, just like his younger brother Yonji's. In fact, if he had seen this, he might not have even needed the Raid Suit; he might have awakened his Germa genes on the spot just to seek revenge.
Unfortunately for that scenario, it could never happen. At this point in time, the world was still thirty-nine years away from the birth of Vinsmoke Sanji. In this era, Zechs was the one pounding Pudding, who had fully embraced her role as his maid.
"Fufu…" Zechs chuckled softly. "I'm still not satisfied, Pudding-chan… let me fuck you for two or three more rounds."
As he spoke, he slapped her ass cheeks, which had long since turned red, large handprints already covering them after being bullied throughout the entire night. Even as he struck her, he kept thrusting his hips, driving himself deep into her every time.
"Ahhnn… y-you are… Zechs-sama… hhnn… a… a beast…" Pudding complained weakly.
How could she not complain? He had been pounding her all night and had already climaxed inside her multiple times. Although it was true that she had been the one to beg him for it in the first place… this was simply too much. By now, her pussy had swollen red from the relentless pounding. Not only her ass cheeks, but the rest of her sweaty body as well was covered with marks, bite marks, red palm prints, and other signs of their rough night together. Her entire body trembled from exhaustion.
Just looking at her like this, anyone could easily imagine how wild Zechs had been throughout the night.
But even when Pudding called him a beast, Zechs didn't feel offended in the slightest. If anything, he felt a sense of pride and readily admitted to himself that he had been a little too wild throughout the night.
'After all… It's been almost a month since I last fucked a woman,' he thought.
Although Pudding had serviced him frequently during the past few weeks with her hands and mouth, the sensation of an actual pussy was an entirely different matter. The last time he had buried himself in one had been nearly a month ago, so now that he was doing it again, he couldn't help feeling a bit crazed. And other reasons were fueling his excitement as well: Pudding being his step-daughter, his maid, a heroine from the original story, and Sanji's supposed love interest. All of it only heightened his arousal, leaving him with no desire to hold back.
His hips moved more vigorously as he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her petite body from behind. His hands reached out to grope her large breasts, which hung downward, swaying and brushing against the bed.
"Ahhnn~! Nghhhhh…! Haannnn~!"
Instantly, Pudding's moans grew louder. Beneath her disheveled brown hair, her expression had turned openly lewd, her tongue lolling out as saliva dripped from it, while her three eyes rolled back in pleasure.
By this point, she didn't even bother complaining anymore and simply let him pound into her. Complaining was pointless. It was better not to interrupt him, better to just moan and let him finish a few more times so that he would eventually stop and she could finally rest.
And that was exactly what happened as Zechs straddled her and fucked her like a dog.
Plap!
Plap!
Plap!
The sharp sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed through the cave and Pudding also moaned like a bitch with flushed cheeks, "Ahnn~! Ahnn~! Zechsss-shamaaa~! Cu-cummingggg~!!!"
Squelch… shhaa… shaa… gush…
Even as she climaxed, the pleasure refused to fade. His large cock continued thrusting in and out of her small, swollen pussy, pushing through her orgasm without slowing. Each time he drove deep, a slight bulge formed on her stomach, the sensation sending fresh waves of madness through her body. Her breasts swung freely in the air, slapping softly against her chest every time his hips snapped forward.
As the pleasure built to its peak for him as well, he groaned. "Guhh… me too… I'm about to cum… get ready to take another load, Pudding-chan…"
With a powerful thrust, he buried himself deep inside her once more and released, his rapidly refilled balls emptying in heavy waves.
Spurt! Spurt!
Even after climaxing inside her, with liquid spilling out from the force of it, he didn't stop moving his hips. He continued to thrust into her through several more rounds, releasing into her again and again as time passed.
Before either of them realized it, more than an hour had gone by. By then, Pudding had grown so exhausted that she no longer had the strength to remain conscious. Her body finally gave in, and she fainted from sheer fatigue.
Seeing that, Zechs, still not completely satisfied, reluctantly finished one last time. After emptying his balls again, he finally took pity on her. Pulling his cock out, he decided to let her rest.
Left behind was her twitching, gaping pussy, from which a considerable amount of white liquid slowly dripped out.
"Haah… haah…" Gasping for breath, Zechs slowly stepped out of the bedroom. Without bothering about clothes, he walked outside toward the lake to cool himself off.
'A bath after a night of intense sex feels good, right?' he thought as he spread his wings.
Within a few minutes, he was already in the water, dipping into the cool lake and washing the sweat and other fluids from his body.
While bathing, he didn't forget to address his System. "Miss System… how about showing me the rewards I obtained for fucking Pudding-chan?"
He hadn't received any special rewards over the past few days, aside from the usual Bloodline Points and Attribute Points, despite repeatedly engaging in sexual activities with Pudding. At first, he had assumed the reason might be that Pudding didn't truly belong to this era and he had summoned her using a Summoning Card, or that she simply wasn't relevant to the plot during this time period. That possibility had left him disappointed.
But just when he had begun to lose hope, something changed the previous night. While he was thrusting into Pudding, several notification chimes had suddenly echoed in his mind.
It turned out the lack of special rewards earlier wasn't because Pudding was irrelevant to the plot in this era. The real reason was that their previous encounters hadn't gone far enough. Handjobs, blowjobs, vaginal teasing, and other anal training hadn't been sufficient. To trigger the rewards, he had to go all the way.
And since he had finally done so the night before, taking Pudding's virginity, Miss System had granted him the rewards.
The moment he asked, Miss System's voice echoed clearly in his mind.
[Ding! Achievement Unlocked. Engaged in Sexual contact with a key character from the main plot.
Target: Charlotte Pudding.
Character Description: Charlotte Pudding is the 35th daughter and 76th child of the Charlotte Family, an officer of the Big Mom Pirates, and a hybrid between a human and a member of the Three-Eye Tribe.
Character Relevance: Gold Class.
Calculating rewards…
Reward Earned: 1,040 Attribute Points; 5 Bloodline Points; Bloodline Level-Up Card (Silver); Three-Eyed Tribe Bloodline Card.]
"These rewards… they are quite skewed towards bloodlines…" murmured Zechs, looking at the list of rewards.
Putting aside the standard Attribute Points and the Bloodline points… he has received two main rewards… that being the 'Bloodline Level-Up Card (Silver)' and the 'Three-Eyed Tribe Bloodline Card.'
Looking at the descriptions of the two rewards, Zechs quickly understood what they were. The Three-Eyed Tribe Bloodline Card would grant him the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tribe and awaken the third eye. The Bloodline Level-Up Card (Silver), on the other hand, could instantly raise a bloodline by two levels at once. That result surprised him slightly; he had not expected there to be such a straightforward way to upgrade a bloodline.
Still, he frowned. "Miss System… giving only a Silver-grade level-up card from Pudding-chan, isn't that a bit too low?"
After all, Pudding is a descendant of the rare Three-Eyed Tribe, yet the reward is only a silver-tier card. In his opinion, that felt somewhat underwhelming.
[Host, that is because Charlotte Pudding is not a pureblood…] Miss System replied casually.
"Ah… I see. So that's the reason?" he murmured, accepting the explanation. Then he asked, "I can use this Bloodline Level-Up Card on my existing Incubus Bloodline, right?"
[It is usable.] Miss System confirmed.
"Then let's use it," he ordered.
[Activating Bloodline Level-Up Card (Silver)… Activation in 3… 2… 1…]
While waiting for the upgrade to take effect, Zechs looked again at the Three-Eyed Tribe Bloodline Card and shook his head.
'It's useless for me…'
Although the card carried the potential to awaken the Voice of All Things, Zechs had no desire to grow a third eye in the middle of his forehead.
[Host, didn't you say you found Charlotte Pudding's third eye cute and beautiful? So, why not get yourself one too… I am sure she'd feel more love towards you if you do] Miss System asked.
"Miss System… just because I like my women to have big tits doesn't mean I want a pair myself," he replied bluntly.
[…] Miss System fell silent for a moment before responding, "Double standards."
"Say whatever you want. I'm not interested in growing a third eye, especially one that doesn't even disappear," he said with a shrug.
If the bloodline had been something else, like that of the Merfolk, Lunarians, Vampires, or even Giants, he would have been a bit interested. But the Three-Eyed Tribe? No. That didn't appeal to him at all.
As for the ability to use the Voice of All Things, he simply thought, 'There will probably be other chances to obtain that ability later.'
With that in mind, he asked the System another question. "By the way, Miss System… can I give this card to someone else?"
[It is possible.] Miss System confirmed.
"That's good," he said, satisfied with the answer as he waited for the bloodline upgrade to finish.
Soon, two notifications sounded in his mind.
[Ding… Incubus Bloodline has leveled up. Level 9 → Level 10]
[Ding… Incubus Bloodline has leveled up. Level 10 → Level 11]
Along with the two level-ups, he also awakened two new Incubus Bloodline traits.
[Awakened Trait: Dream Walk (10)]
[Awakened Trait: Medicine (11)]
"Dream Walk… and Medicine?" he murmured as he looked at the Level 10 and Level 11 traits.
The Level 11 trait was easy to understand. The description of the trait further explained it as it made his bodily fluids, especially his semen and saliva, into medicine, capable of healing wounds like a healing potion.
The Medicine trait differed from the Level 9 trait, Beauty. While Beauty focused on removing scars and imperfections, making the women who consumed his semen more beautiful, attractive, and refined, the Level 11 trait Medicine was purely for healing injuries. It could heal diseases, mend wounds, repair bones and organs, and even regenerate lost limbs.
"Hmm… this is indeed good," Zechs nodded, clearly satisfied with the trait. With this ability, none of his women would ever lose an organ or a limb. Combined with Beauty, it would ensure that they remained both unharmed and beautiful.
Like his other traits, however, Medicine only worked on women. It had no effect on other men, including himself.
In any case, he had no intention of letting another man try to use his semen as medicine. The thought alone disgusted him, let alone the act itself. After all, he is not gay, and has no interest in men like that, and he certainly would not use it on himself either.
Setting aside the Medicine trait, Zechs found himself far more interested in the other ability he had awakened.
"Dream Walk…?" he murmured, frowning slightly, though there was also a hint of anticipation in his expression. "Is it what I think it is?"
With that, he opened the description to check…
…
"So… you're using this trait called Dream Walk to speak with me in my dream right now?" Linlin asked, beginning to grasp the idea.
"Yes," Zechs nodded.
The Dream Walk trait worked largely as he had expected. It allowed him to enter the dreams of others, particularly women.
The effectiveness of this ability depended on his level of connection with the target. The deeper his interaction with a woman, the easier it was for him to enter her dreams, and the clearer his presence and communication would be. Conversely, if the connection was weak, entering her dream became more difficult, and his form and voice would appear vague or indistinct.
There was another factor as well; the more a woman thought about him, the higher the chances of successfully entering her dreams.
In Linlin's case, their connection was already strong, and she had been thinking about him intensely. Because of that, he was able to enter her dream without much difficulty.
In some ways, the trait resembled Imu's power to communicate directly within people's minds. However, unlike Imu, Zechs could only do so through dreams.
'Or maybe I should say that this Dream Walk trait of mine is somewhat similar to Uta's Uta Uta no Mi?' he wondered.
But after a moment, he shook his head.
Dream Walk is somewhat similar to Uta Uta no Mi's powers, but not exactly the same. Unlike Uta, he couldn't make people fall into sleep/dreams. All he could do was enter the dreams they were already having. The conditions for activating the ability were also different. And, unlike Uta, he could only invade one person's dream at a time. Dream Walk isn't a trait that allows him to affect multiple people simultaneously.
There was also another limitation. While he was using Dream Walk, his real body remained completely motionless, almost like a corpse, leaving him vulnerable. That was not the case with Uta's ability. She can still move however she wants in the real world.
That said, his power shared one major advantage with hers: it was not limited by distance. And since its activation didn't depend on something like the target hearing his voice, it didn't matter how far apart he and Linlin were. He could still reach her through her dreams.
"Your Incubus race… it really is special, isn't it?" Linlin murmured, finding this trait even more remarkable than 'Physique Alteration.'
"Haha… yeah, I guess so," Zechs murmured with a laugh, rubbing his nose.
While his Incubus bloodline was indeed special, what truly made it remarkable was the way he could continuously level it up and awaken new traits, something made possible thanks to Miss System. Without that, he might not have been nearly as impressive.
But that aside…
"Anyway, now you know what happened to me and why I couldn't contact you until now," Zechs said. Then he asked, "Now tell me about your side. What happened with the Marines? And Admiral Kong… is that bastard still chasing you?"
Linlin hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded and began explaining what had happened on her end, "As for what happened on my side…"
.
.
.
.
PS Goal: 60 PS within 24 hours. Help me reach it.
And don't forget to leave comments and reviews to keep me motivated.
Of course, if the readers wish, they can certainly read up to 25 advanced Chapters on p-a-t-r-e-o-n: Knockturn_Alley