The Incubus System Chapter 1405. Thinner

The Incubus System Chapter 1405. Thinner

“Anyway, don’t ever think I will surrender myself like an idiot,” I said, sipping my tea again.

I let the warmth sit on my tongue a second longer than needed. Calm. Steady. Casual.

“Except if one of them is hot enough and wants to sleep with me.”

The joke slipped out before my brain could filter it.

Silence.

Not normal silence.

The kind that makes your spine itch.

I looked up.

Death stares.

Celia’s eyes narrowed like she was calculating how many ways she could throw the cup at my head. Puriel’s expression went flat in that very angelic disapproval way. Foxy’s tails stiffened. Red stopped wagging. Shadow’s ears flicked back. Even Buni looked personally offended.

“…It was a joke,” I said quickly. “Okay? A joke. Stop being tense.”

No one laughed.

I exhaled and rubbed the back of my neck. “Their target is me. You all know that.”

That part wasn’t funny.

The air shifted slightly.

I glanced at Celia.

“You have to be careful.”

Her posture changed immediately. The sarcasm softened. Her fingers tightened around her cup just slightly.

“And you too,” I added, looking at Puriel. “They might come for you. You’re not exactly low-profile.”

Puriel nodded slowly. “I know.”

That “I know” wasn’t casual. It was heavy. It carried awareness.

I drained the rest of my tea and set the cup down with a quiet clink. “I guess that’s—”

Puriel’s hand shot out and caught my wrist.

Not hard. But firm.

“Wait, Ethan.”

The room stilled again.

I looked at her fingers around my hand.

I sat back down slowly.

“Go ahead.”

She straightened slightly, her wings not visible but I could almost feel them tense behind her back. Her expression shifted into something sharper. Focused.

“It’s about the energy in the borders between the three worlds.”

My shoulders loosened slightly.

Ah.

Now we’re talking.

“You might have felt the escaped demons getting fewer in the human world.”

I nodded once. “Yeah. I noticed.”

“I investigated.”

Of course she did.

Puriel doesn’t “feel something” and then ignore it.

She leaned forward slightly. “It seems like the border between the demon and human world is getting stronger.”

“That’s a good thing,” I said automatically.

“Supposed to,” she corrected quietly.

That word.

Supposed to.

I leaned back again, eyes narrowing slightly.

“But?” I prompted.

She hesitated a second, choosing her words carefully. “But I felt something else. The holes in the energy flow… they’re shifting.”

My chest tightened slightly.

“Shifting how?”

She clasped her hands together in her lap. “The energy stream that forms the border isn’t static. You know that. It flows. It balances.”

I nodded.

“Right now, the density between the demon and human worlds is increasing. But that energy isn’t disappearing. It’s redirecting.”

Redirecting.

“To where?” I asked quietly.

Her eyes met mine.

“Between the light world and the human world.”

That landed heavier than I expected.

I didn’t speak immediately.

The pets shifted subtly around the room. Red’s tail stopped completely. Rave tilted his head.

“So… you’re saying…” I started slowly.

“The border between the human and angel world is thinner now than the one between demon and human,” Puriel finished.

That got my full attention.

“That can happen?” I asked.

I genuinely didn’t know.

She nodded. “You know how border energy works. It moves like a stream. Pressure in one area redistributes elsewhere. And then the explosion happened…”

Beel’s core explosion.

The memory flickered in my head.

“That blast destabilized everything,” she continued. “The balance between dark, light, and human realms hasn’t stabilized properly.”

I leaned forward now, elbows on my knees.

“So the energy is mixing.”

“Yes.”

“And if the energy is thinner between light and human…”

“They can open rifts easier,” she said softly.

The room felt colder.

My mind moved fast now. Calm. Not panicking. Just calculating.

“If the angels wanted to expand presence,” I murmured, “they could use that thinner barrier.”

Puriel swallowed slightly. “Yes.”

“And if they’re pushing energy intentionally?”

A new voice cut through the room.

“They could open something bigger.”

We all turned.

Ruby.

Of course.

She was descending the stairs like she owned the place. Graceful. Composed. Femme fatale energy in the morning. Which meant she absolutely did not come through the front door.

She almost never did.

She probably climbed through a window.

Again.

“…Ruby,” I said slowly.

She walked into the dining room like this was a perfectly normal entrance. Cute outfit. Hair perfect. Expression calm.

“Or an army,” she added smoothly.

My jaw tightened slightly.

The word hung in the air.

Army.

I watched her carefully.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

She smiled faintly. “Long enough.”

That meant too long.

She stepped closer to the table, leaning one hip casually against it.

“If the border is thinning,” she continued, “it’s not for one or two angels slipping through.”

Her eyes flicked toward Puriel briefly.

“It’s for numbers.”

Celia stiffened beside me.

Red growled softly.

I leaned back slowly, crossing my arms.

“You’re sure?” I asked Puriel quietly.

She hesitated.

“I can’t confirm intent,” she admitted. “But the energy pattern is deliberate. Not random fluctuation.”

So.

Demon border stronger.

Angel border thinner.

Energy redistributed after Beel’s core explosion.

Army-level access possible.

My brain didn’t spiral.

It sharpened.

I felt the shift inside me. That quiet focus settling in.

Not tragic hero mode.

Strategic mode.

I looked at Ruby again.

And then noticed something white peeking out from her pocket.

“…Is that my underwear?”

She blinked.

Looked down.

Looked back up.

“Yes.”

The room froze.

She nodded calmly. “You don’t use it anymore, right? Let me have it.”

Celia made a choking noise.

Foxy’s ears went red.

Red the dog barked once in confusion.

I stared at Ruby.

“Did you break into my room again?”

She tilted her head. “Break is such a violent word.”

“You climbed through the window.”

“Allegedly.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“We are literally discussing potential angel invasion and you are stealing my underwear.”

“It’s sentimental,” she replied smoothly.

“Sentimental?”

“Let me have it okay? I want to sniff it every night.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

And I cringed internally. So hard.

Celia gave me a stare like I was the most pitiful man in this world.

Puriel looked away awkwardly.

I exhaled slowly, deadpanned.

“Give it back.”

“No.”

“Ruby.”

“No.” She smiled slightly. “I’ll cherish it,” she offered helpfully.