The Incubus System Chapter 1446. You Just Want Confirmation
The Incubus System Chapter 1446. You Just Want Confirmation
Astra stood there silently for a few seconds.
Still.
Rigid.
Like if she moved too much, everything she believed might crack apart completely.
Then finally…
“I don’t believe it.”
…Yeah.
I didn’t like that tone.
At all.
Because it wasn’t confusion anymore.
It was rejection.
The kind people used when reality didn’t match the version they already decided to accept.
And the moment she said it…
I felt it.
The pressure.
Subtle at first.
Then heavier.
Angelic energy pressing down into the room like a storm building behind clear skies.
Puriel noticed too.
“Astra—”
“I know he manipulated you,” Astra interrupted sharply.
There it was again.
Manipulated.
Corrupted.
Brainwashed.
Honestly at this point I felt like I was starring in some religious propaganda documentary.
I watched Astra carefully.
The shift in her posture.
The way her fingers flexed slightly.
The tension gathering in her shoulders.
She was about to move.
Toward Puriel.
And something inside me snapped cold instantly.
Not rage.
Not exactly.
Something quieter.
Sharper.
Protective.
Astra stepped forward and reached for Puriel’s wrist and I teleported.
The room cracked softly with displaced pressure as I appeared directly in front of her.
My hand caught Astra’s wrist mid-motion.
Firm.
Cold.
The air changed immediately.
Because yeah.
This wasn’t the same Damian from earlier.
Not the one negotiating.
Not the one joking around trying to prove he was harmless.
No.
This was different.
The look in my eyes said exactly one thing.
‘Touch her, and I’ll snap your head off.’
Astra froze slightly.
Not from fear.
Recognition.
She looked directly into my eyes and went quiet for half a second.
“Oh.”
A tiny smile touched her lips.
Cold.
Sharp.
“Are we back to violence?”
I smiled back.
Slowly.
Without warmth.
I snapped my fingers.
“Devil Space.”
Darkness rippled outward instantly.
[You have activated Devil Space]
The world folded.
The room warped.
Reality peeled away like paper.
For a split second the lights flickered and then everything settled.
Same room.
Same bed.
Same furniture.
But different.
Quieter.
Heavier.
The outside world disappeared completely.
No humans.
No accidental collateral damage.
Just us.
Ruby immediately looked around and muttered, “Ooooh. We’re doing the serious version now.”
Puriel looked stressed instantly.
“Astra, Ethan, stop—”
Astra’s aura exploded.
Golden light surged around her body in violent waves, wings flaring outward behind her as divine pressure filled the room hard enough to shake the walls.
“You…” she hissed. “Demon.”
I smirked slightly.
“Cute. We already established that.”
Her wrist still strained lightly against my grip.
I didn’t release it.
Not yet.
“Listen carefully,” I said calmly. “You wanted to see Puriel. Hear her side.”
I leaned slightly closer.
“I gave you exactly that.”
Her jaw tightened.
“But you don’t actually want truth,” I continued softly. “You just want confirmation.”
“That’s not true.”
“Really?” I tilted my head. “Because every time reality doesn’t match your expectations, you immediately call it manipulation.”
Her aura flared harder.
I didn’t even blink.
“You’re dangerous.”
“Yeah,” I answered honestly. “But not to her.”
That one hit.
I saw it.
Tiny pause.
Tiny hesitation.
Then anger rushed back over it.
“You think I would let my sister stay with a demon?”
“Your dimension abandoned her.”
“She belongs with us!”
“Did you come for her before today?”
Silence.
Direct hit.
Astra’s expression hardened immediately.
“She is an angel.”
“And she’s also a person.”
That came out sharper than I expected.
The room went quiet again.
Because yeah.
That part annoyed me more than I wanted to admit.
Every single thing they said about Puriel sounded like ownership.
Duty.
Purity.
Status.
Never happiness.
Never what she wanted.
Puriel stepped between us suddenly, pushing lightly against my arm.
“You two stop it!”
I finally released Astra’s wrist.
Mostly because Puriel asked.
Also because if I kept holding her like that another ten seconds, this was absolutely becoming another round.
Puriel looked at Astra directly now.
“Especially you.”
Astra stared at her in disbelief.
“Why are you defending him?”
Puriel blinked. “Because he protects me?”
“No,” Astra snapped. “Why did you choose him?”
The room stilled again.
Astra’s voice cracked slightly at the end of that sentence.
Not loud.
Not obvious.
But enough.
“I’m your sister.”
…Ah.
There it is.
Not judgment.
Not politics.
Fear.
I leaned back slightly against the wall, crossing my arms while watching carefully.
Because suddenly this wasn’t about me anymore.
Puriel looked stunned for a second.
Then softer.
“Astra…”
“You disappeared,” Astra whispered. “Then suddenly rumors spread that you fell because of a demon.”
Her hands clenched tightly now.
“I searched for traces of you for centuries.”
Oh.
Oh that explains a lot.
The anger.
The obsession.
The immediate hostility.
Not righteousness.
Panic.
Puriel’s expression crumbled slightly.
“You searched for me?”
“Of course I did!”
That exploded out instantly.
Raw.
Emotional.
“I thought you were dead!”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
And yeah.
Suddenly I felt awkward as hell standing in the middle of this family trauma wearing my armor next to a half-dressed stalker.
Ruby quietly leaned toward me again.
“This got emotional fast.”
“…Yeah.”
“You still look hot though.”
“Thanks.”
Puriel stepped toward Astra slowly.
Gentle.
Careful.
“I didn’t know…”
“Because they erased you,” Astra said bitterly. “Most of the higher angels stopped talking about you after the incident. I tried to send some spies to the human world, but I failed.”
That made my eyes narrow instantly.
Puriel looked genuinely hurt now.
Not dramatic hurt.
Quiet hurt.
The dangerous kind.
The kind where someone suddenly realizes they weren’t just abandoned physically.
They were erased socially too.
Forgotten on purpose.
Puriel lowered her gaze slowly. Her fingers curled lightly against her sleeve while her wings shifted closer behind her, almost instinctively making herself smaller.
“…So that’s what happened,” she whispered.
Astra’s expression tightened immediately.
“I didn’t agree with it.”
“But you still stayed there,” Puriel answered softly.
Ouch.
Direct hit.
No anger in her voice either.
That somehow made it worse.
“I waited for someone to come,” Puriel continued quietly. “At first every day. Then every month. Then…” She gave a small laugh that sounded way too tired for someone who looked this beautiful. “Eventually I stopped counting.”