Chapter 30: Tie me up

The entire wall on the side was smashed open. A black silhouette burst through in a cloud of shattered bricks and dust—more accurately, it was the door itself, already under the influence of the illusion.

An iron-hard hand clamped around her arm and yanked her backward. Before May could even process what was happening, she was dragged into a room.

Click.

The door locked from the inside.

She was pressed against the door panel. In front of her was a broad chest covered in dust and brick fragments. She looked up and met Ray’s eyes.

"B-Boss...?"

Ray didn’t speak. One hand braced against the door, he completely enclosed her in his shadow. His breathing was heavy—rough and rapid—hot puffs striking the top of her head with every exhale.

"Don’t make a sound."

May obediently fell silent. Outside the door, the soft shhh-shhh continued, growing closer.

Then it stopped right at the threshold. Something knocked.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Ray’s hand tightened on her shoulder, fingers digging in hard enough to hurt. The knocking outside ceased.

Immediately after, the entire door began to shake, as if something were trying to force its way in. The frame creaked and groaned. Dark-red viscous liquid started seeping through the cracks in the wood.

May’s eyes widened as she watched the fluid trickle down the door seams, drip onto the floor, then burrow into the carpet as if it were alive.

It’s sealing the door.

Ray saw it too. He scanned the room and pulled her back two steps.

It was a presidential suite—not small, but the windows had been sealed shut. The only exit was the door currently being swallowed by flesh-and-blood vines.

May watched the paint on the door surface begin to bubble. Something was writhing underneath—long, thin shapes that looked like blood vessels.

"Boss, we’re trapped."

Ray loosened his collar. His Adam’s apple bobbed once. His voice sounded wrong, as if something were stuck in his throat.

"I know."

She looked up at him and finally noticed how off his face was. Not the kind of off that came from injury—it was flushed. The redness climbed from the base of his neck all the way behind his ears. Even the whites of his eyes were shot through with blood vessels. Veins stood out at his temples, pulsing hard. His entire body was trembling—not from cold, but from a heat that seemed to burn outward from his bones.

"Boss, are you...?"

He turned his head aside so she couldn’t see his face.

"I’m fine."

Yet the hand on her shoulder never left. His palm was scorching, the heat burning straight through the thin flight-attendant uniform fabric and into her skin.

May’s mind buzzed.

[System, what’s wrong with him?]

[Ding. Strategy Target No. 1 "Ray" has inhaled a large quantity of Skinwalker Demon hallucinogenic pollen. The pollen contains neurotoxins and a powerful aphrodisiac component. It has already entered his bloodstream.]

[Symptoms are expected to peak in three minutes.]

May sucked in a sharp breath.

Three minutes.

She and Ray were locked in a room with no way out.

Outside the door: a Skinwalker Demon.

Inside the door: a man poisoned by an aphrodisiac, muscles rigid with pain, every breath trembling.

She shrank her shoulders a little, yet a strange spark of excitement flickered through her chest.

Ray’s hand tightened further, pinning her in place.

"Don’t move."

His voice dropped even lower, so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"That thing outside can sense living body heat and heartbeats. The more you move, the more accurately it tracks you."

May froze, not daring to shift a muscle.

But her heart hammered out of control—thud-thud-thud—every beat announcing her location for her.

Ray lowered his head until his forehead rested against the top of her hair. His forehead was terrifyingly hot.

"Your heartbeat’s too fast."

May felt close to tears.

Boss, with you pressed against me like this, how am I supposed to slow it down?

The door let out a strained, agonized scream. The impacts from outside grew heavier one after another. Foul-smelling dark-red fluid continued to drip through the cracks, sizzling where it hit the carpet.

Ray braced one hand against the wall; the other stayed locked on her shoulder. The heat of his palm burned through the thin uniform and sank straight into her bones. His breathing was ragged, the rise and fall of his chest alarmingly deep. Every inhale carried a tremor of extreme restraint.

Those eyes that normally regarded life and death with indifference were now bloodshot, threaded with crimson veins, fixed unblinking on her.

"You..." A low growl rolled from his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut. Sweat slid down the hard line of his jaw and dripped onto her collarbone, making her flinch at the heat.

"Hey, why is your face so red?"

May tilted her head up, blinking those large, watery eyes and looking more innocent than anyone had a right to.

[System notification: Aphrodisiac toxin in Strategy Target No. 1 "Ray" is taking effect. Rational defense integrity at 80%.]

She understood it all.

The Skinwalker Demon’s pollen was far too potent. If nothing was done, this wild beast was going to turn into a wolf and tear her apart.

Then again... it didn’t sound entirely bad. The setting of this room was already intense enough.