MTLNOVEL Chapter 209: Real Thing?
Mira stared at her glass for a second. Then, in a much quieter voice than he'd ever heard her use, she asked, "Only that? I mean… shouldn't you be shocked or something?"
Lux flicked his gaze to her again. "Why?"
She gave a half-scoff, half-sigh and muttered, "Because it's the hardest thing I've ever said."
His smile faded—slowly, respectfully.
"I never get interested in people," she added, looking anywhere but at him now. "It's… annoying. Unproductive. Distracting."
Lux leaned in slightly, his voice low. "So I'm your first?"
She turned to the side, visibly flustered now, cheeks tinged a rare, unmistakable shade of pink.
"…Yeah," she muttered. "And I don't like it."
And for once, he didn't smirk.
Didn't tease.
Because that? That honesty was worth more than gold.
"I get it," Lux said, his voice gentler than usual. "You know—"
But he didn't finish.
Not because he didn't want to.
Because the System cut in.
[System Warning: Demonic presence detected]
[Type: Hostile]
[Rank Estimate: Low to Mid Tier]
[Count: Fifteen]
[Status: Approaching fast]
[Pocket Dimension: Stabilizing…]
[Danger Level: Escalating]
[Time to Complete Dimensional Fold: 7 seconds]
His breath hitched.
Shit.
His eyes flicked to the corner of the restaurant. A ripple of static warped the air, dulling the lantern lights. The koi pond beneath their feet stilled unnaturally.
A pocket dimension was blooming—dark, tight, suffocating. He could see the aura already starting to fold over the room like a cursed silk veil.
He hissed through his teeth, standing up quickly.
"I need a bathroom break," he said, voice sharp and unnatural.
Mira looked up, confused. "Now?"
"Urgent," he muttered, trying to keep his tone light. "Be right back—"
But her hand shot out.
Not dainty. Not hesitant.
She grabbed his wrist.
"Lux," she said firmly. "What do you—"
And then the dome sealed.
A hollow boom echoed across the restaurant, but outside, time twisted—stilled—grayed out like someone had smeared chalk across reality.
Everything beyond the silk screen froze.
Servers mid-step.
Lantern flames frozen mid-flicker.
Even the koi below were trapped, suspended in eerie stillness.
But inside the dome?
It was chaos.
"Stay behind me," Lux said quickly, pulling Mira closer without hesitation.
"What the hell is this?" she demanded.
"Ambush," he snapped, eyes flashing with molten gold.
Then came the first strike.
A shadow burst from the silk screen like a ruptured abscess, claws bared and screeching.
It wasn't tall—barely five feet—but hunched and twitching like an overgrown sewer rat wearing ragged robes. Its face was split down the center, jaws cracked open unnaturally wide with too many teeth. Multiple tails flicked behind it.
Then two more dropped in from the ceiling beams.
And a fourth from under the koi platform.
"Four now," Lux muttered, raising one hand.
Then eight more blinked into the shadows.
[Hostiles: Confirmed — Fifteen]
[Subspecies: Shadow Rattok Demons]
[Threat Class: Scavenger Hunter / Swarm Type]
[Objective: Terminate + Extract Corruption Signature]
[Warning: Intent Level – Blood Contracted]
"Of course they're blood contracted," Lux muttered.
The first rat-lord lunged.
Lux reacted faster.
His hand moved with infernal clarity.
Not to block.
To kill.
In one fluid motion, Lux reached into the space between seconds and summoned his dagger.
By the time the rat-demon lunged, mouth open and claws ready, Lux was already moving.
Fast.
Unreasonably fast.
The blade slashed upward—not cleanly, not mercifully—but through.
The dagger tore across the demon's stomach in a jagged upward arc, splitting it open like rotten fabric. Black ichor sprayed across the wall in a steaming arc as its spine cracked under the force of Lux's follow-through.
Then—he twisted the blade.
Hard.
The scream wasn't even a proper sound.
It was a shriek dragged from somewhere primal, something that didn't know pain until now.
The rat-demon's body convulsed—then collapsed into smoke and filth.
Mira's eyes widened.
That wasn't a block.
That was brutal.
Efficient.
Deliberate.
And Lux?
Didn't flinch.
Didn't breathe hard.
The other demons hesitated—but only for a heartbeat.
They were smarter than typical cannon fodder.
Lux pulled Mira against his side with a hard tug and drew his other hand up, read to weave a barrier glyphs around her.
"Lux," she said, voice shaking—but not from fear. From fury. "What. Is. Going. On?"
"I'll explain later."
"No, now!"
Another demon lunged—
He kicked the table sideways with one fluid strike, the wood and jade flipping up as a shield as he dragged her down behind it.
Glass shattered.
A barrier snapped into place over their heads like a rippling shield dome.
He turned his head just slightly.
"Mira."
Her breath was sharp.
"I need you to breathe."
"I am breathing—!"
"Slower."
She glared at him—but obeyed.
Good.
He could see the arcane signature of the dome now, fully formed.
They wanted him.
And they were willing to risk a high-profile attack in the middle of a sealed dining ward to do it.
Insane.
"Cowards," Lux muttered. 'Of all those clones yet, you are targeting me?' he screamed internally.
Mira was scanning the edges now, her pupils narrow slits, a faint green shimmer building behind her irises.
"You're used to this," she said, dead calm now. "Aren't you?"
"…Unfortunately."
She met his eyes. "What are you?"
Lux exhaled slowly, blade dripping with the remnants of the rat-demon he just disassembled like bad paperwork.
"I told you before," he said, voice calm—too calm for the chaos around them. "I'm Hell's CFO."
The air cracked with magic. Somewhere to their left, a wine rack exploded into flaming splinters.
"I'm a demon."
Mira blinked, eyes narrowing. "That's a real thing?"
Before he could answer—they came.
Three more rat demons burst through the torn veil of the pocket dimension, squealing like war drums. Clawed limbs skittered over the walls, their misshapen bodies twitching with twitchy, undead speed. They weren't clean monsters. They were infested. Shadows clung to them like curses. Greed-soaked. Frenzied. Not just summoned. Contracted.
Lux gritted his teeth.
No time to explain.
No time to be subtle.
He summoned his second dagger.