Mature Fantasy Power Invasion

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Bang!

Yan Huan's pupils shrank as he walked down the corridor—then, in a heartbeat, he felt it.

A hot current surged up his spine like lightning and detonated inside his skull.

For an instant his mind went white; his knees buckled.

"Ngh—!"

Huh?

What... what is this?

There's—

There's another expert?!

He staggered, almost dropping to the floor, and slapped a hand against the wall to steady himself.

Even the tiles felt fuzzy, as if he were pressing into cotton; the tingle raced up his arm and he snatched it back at once.

"Ha... ha-ha..."

Eyes wide, he panted, tiny tremors running through his body.

Just now—

He'd tasted something unspeakably pleasant.

His Resistance had filtered most of it, but without that shield—

He shuddered.

He didn't dare imagine!

Even so, the feedback was brutal. He glanced down—

"Mister Niu-niu, the teacher didn't call on you. Why are you standing up to answer?"

"Because I'm kind."

Yan Huan sucked in a sharp breath; a passing breeze cooled the sweat already beading on his forehead.

Fourth Modifier... is this its effect?

"Yan Huan."

Meow-chan popped into view beside him, worry written across her tiny face.

"You okay?"

"Fine—just—s-s..."

The aftershock rolled over him like a tide, not yet peaking but impossible to ignore. Bent double, he scanned the corridor; nobody in sight.

"The host of the fourth Modifier is somewhere in our school, but I can't see her," Meow-chan whispered.

"Wait, Meow. The Resistance I gave you just got partially pierced."

"Pierced?" Yan Huan stared, disbelief thick in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

Meow-chan pressed close, frantic.

"In short, your Resistance only worked at seventy percent. That Modifier's trait is special—it can ignore part of any defense, which is why it hit you so hard."

You... have armor-piercing now?!

A Modifier that can punch through Resistance?!

Yan Huan remained bent, too stunned to speak. Worse, today he'd worn loose black trousers—no idea why he'd chosen such an obvious cut—and the stubborn classmate downstairs refused to stand down, already shifting into "Gundam mode."

Before he could even look for the culprit, voices drifted up the stairwell.

"Hehe, Sakuramiya, when can I come over and see your kitty again?"

Yua Lina!

"Mm, Mitsuki's almost better. How about this weekend?"

Sakuramiya Hitomi!!

"Saturday works—I can come then!"

"Can't we do Sunday?"

"Ah, Sunday I'm going to the Linmen Game Expo. It's huge, super fun. Sakuramiya, wanna come with me?"

"Um, let me think about it."

"No thinking—you always say that and then nothing happens! Besides, Hashimoto and the President are going too. Didn't they tell you?"

"...Is that so?"

We're doomed—Sakuramiya and Yua Lina are back!

Yan Huan's eyes widened. A glance at his phone showed messages he'd missed; he'd silenced the group chat.

Sakuramiya: President, we'll be back soon. Let's discuss the upcoming Club Wars.

He couldn't let anyone see him in this... condition. One look and his career as Student-Council President would be over.

Hide in the restroom? Good idea—wait it out.

Problem: he and Spencer had only just reached the corridor opposite the office. To reach the top-floor washroom he'd have to double back past the office door—right where Sakuramiya and Yua Lina were climbing the stairs.

Only one option: crouch here until they went inside and closed the door, then dash for the restroom.

Hunched over, he shuffled into the blind spot of the corner and pressed his burning cheek against the cool tiles, willing the chill to calm him down.

Be good, classmate Niu, please behave...

But classmate Niu ignored every plea, the pent-up force impervious to reason.

In a flutter of Western-style frills, Sakuramiya Hitomi and the bouncy Yua Lina reached the top. Sakuramiya lifted a hand and knocked softly.

"President, we're back."

Silence.

Yua Lina tilted her head.

"Not in the office?"

She gave the handle a light tug; the door swung open to reveal an empty room.

"He really isn't here. Maybe he went to the restroom. Let's wait."

Yua Lina flopped onto the leather sofa, but Sakuramiya was never that casual. Her obsession with monitoring Yan Huan demanded answers—even if he'd only stepped out for a moment.

Her eyes flashed. Without entering the office or closing the door, she summoned a phantom screen.

Room Boundary—activate!

Review past footage.

The image showed Yan Huan seated at his desk, reviewing documents. Then came violent thuds—someone kicking the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Who is it?" the President asked.

"It's me—Spencer."

That girl?!

Sakuramiya's pupils narrowed as she watched Yan Huan rise and head for the door.

The door opened. Beyond the office lay territory her Boundary couldn't reach; she couldn't see Spencer's face, only hear that grating voice.

"I'm here, President~"

Even calling him "President" sounded nauseating, dripping with hidden meaning. Sure enough, Yan Huan's face twisted in disgust. Yet he glanced back at the office, pointed outside, and said,

"Let's talk out there."

"Okay~"

Out there?

Sakuramiya dismissed the illusion and frowned at the corridor.

So right now the President is alone with that Spencer girl?

"Still not back?!"

"Sakuramiya, I need your black tea."

Yua Lina's voice yanked her back to reality.

"Mm."

Sakuramiya Hitomi answered without looking up, brows knitted.

Yua Lina, cheerfully pouring her drink, noticed Sakuramiya still hovering in the doorway. "Aren't you coming in?"

"Bathroom run."

"Kay~ Heh-heh, Sakuramiya's black tea."

Ignoring the singsong behind her, Sakuramiya shut the council-room door and stepped into the corridor.

Yan Huan, certain everyone had gone inside, started to rise, but Meow-chan hissed, "Freeze, Yan Huan—Sakuramiya's still out here, meow."

Sakuramiya?

He sank back down, thighs too shaky to crouch any lower.

At the T-junction ahead, Sakuramiya paused and pulled out her phone.

She opened Plane, tapped Yan Huan's chat, and hit call.

Luckily Yan Huan had muted his phone. He sat on the floor, the last tremors of that wave still licking at him, a bead of sweat rolling off his forehead as he pressed the lock button.

No answer, no decline—just ringing into the void.

Beep...beep...

The unanswered call sharpened her worry.

What on earth is Spencer... saying to the President?

She turned toward the restrooms, calling softly, "President! Are you in the bathroom?"

From his hiding spot Yan Huan gave a wry smile to Meow-chan. "Told you she'd come looking."

"Meow~"

Across the hall, the disaster-maker An Le shrank deeper into the shadows.

She had watched Yan Huan stagger, hands braced against the wall, and couldn't bear to look again.

Crouched beneath the railing, arms locked around her knees, she whispered frantically to the white serpent beside her, "W-what do I do? I didn't mean to make Xiao Huan like this—I only wanted—"

"."

Xiao Mu Zi was speechless.

The plan had been perfect: give him a taste, let him love the Modifier's rush, then dial it up gradually.

Where did it go wrong?

It didn't—she just botched the dosage!

Dammit, I told you to give him a drop, not the whole bottle! You flood-loaded the President!

You think this is one of your weirdo dating sims?!

Now she's traumatized and probably won't touch the Modifier for months!

Ugh, why did I pick this host?

So there they were—

An Le and Xiao Mu Zi—one ready to cry from guilt, the other ready to cry from second-hand embarrassment.

Before An Le could decide what to do, Sakuramiya's call rang out again.

"President! Are you in the bathroom?"

An Le's tear-bright eyes blinked; she and the despairing serpent exchanged glances.

Sakuramiya waited outside the restroom, then glanced down the empty hall and stepped into the ladies' room.

Nothing.

She narrowed her eyes and marched straight into the men's room.

Only student-council members ever came up here; no one else used this floor.

Stalls open, sinks dry—nobody home.

"."

Not in the restrooms.

Sakuramiya returned to the junction, replaying the scene in her mind.

She had seen Yan Huan point and say, "Over there."

Which meant whatever happened was on this floor.

If not the restrooms, then...

Her sharp gaze swept toward Yan Huan's hiding nook; she lifted her foot.

"Yan Huan! She's coming!" Meow-chan squeaked, tail bottle-brushed.

But Yan Huan only closed his eyes, murmuring:

"Frozen through the ages, all is still; calm heart, calm breath, alone with the divine..."

"What kind of incantation is that, meow?"

He exhaled, opened his eyes; though the afterglow of pleasure still clung to his cheeks, a glance downward confirmed that Mister Niu-niu had finally stood down—peacefully conscripted into the Tao.

Yan Huan straightened his clothes, let Perfect Expression Management slide the mask back on, and stepped around the corner just as Sakuramiya reached it.

They nearly collided.

He blinked, then smiled.

"Sakuramiya."

"President?"

She looked up, scanning his face: quickened breath, a sheen of sweat.

What happened?

Alarm bells clanged in her head, but her voice stayed level.

"You didn't pick up when I called. Where were you?"

"Ah, the call?"

He feigned surprise, pulled out his phone, glanced at the screen, and offered an apologetic tilt of the head.

"Sorry—study-group stuff. I didn't notice."

"Study group?"

Sakuramiya's gaze flicked to the empty corridor behind him. Classrooms stood open; maybe he'd been inside one.

More importantly—

The President looked... post-workout?

Why the exhaustion, and that lingering... satisfaction?

And then she spotted it: faint traces on his face, the kind of afterglow that slips past even partial resistance.

The realization hit like a thunderclap.

Satisfaction?

What on earth could leave him satisfied?

He had left with Spencer perfectly fine—and returned like this?

Wait—

Sakuramiya Hitomi's mind went blank, but her heart gave a nervous flutter.

"President, the study-group business—does it have something to do with Spencer?"

"Spencer?"

Yan Huan blinked.

"She did stop by just now, but she left almost immediately."

Even as he said it, something felt off.

Hiss.

Wait—why did this scene feel so familiar?

A girl sneaks off alone with a blonde delinquent, and when the hero finally arrives he finds her disheveled, pleasure-addled, yet pretending nothing happened.

Could this pleasure be part of Spencer's modifier?

If so, that thing was ridiculously overpowered—mind manipulation, reality-warping, and now even piercing his own resistance.

Unlikely.

Yan Huan privately believed the attack had come from a different host's system.

Looking at the worried Sakuramiya, he grew genuinely afraid of what Spencer's power might do to her.

After a moment's thought, he offered a reassuring smile.

"I argued with her. She doesn't want to join the study group, so things got ugly. We don't get along. It might be better if Hashimoto helps out."

Sakuramiya's eyes widened.

"President, let me help too. I'll take charge of her."

"Of course you can help, Sakuramiya, but maybe divide the work with Hashimoto or me. Handle some of the other students instead."

"Why?"

Yan Huan smiled at her.

"She even made me lose my temper. I don't want you upset, that's all."

"Eh...?"

Sakuramiya's eyes rounded; she quickly looked away.

"What about Hashimoto? Won't he get upset too?"

"Exactly why we're both helping. We're easy-going; it's just another school assignment. If Yua's grades keep improving, maybe she can tutor Spencer herself—might work wonders."

Sakuramiya laughed softly behind her hand, then fell into step beside him as they headed for the Student-Council Office.

"Maybe Yua could be our secret weapon."

"Good idea."

From farther up the corridor came the low murmur of voices.

An Le finally lifted her tear-streaked face and peeked around the corner.

What she saw froze her.

Yan Huan and Sakuramiya—an impossibly handsome couple—laughed together, eyes only for each other.

He looked at Sakuramiya as if she were the whole world, and Sakuramiya, cheeks flushed, laughed behind her fingers.

An Le's teary eyes widened.

A perfect match...

Beside her, Xiao Muzi flicked its tongue, glanced at the couple, then at the dazed girl.

A wicked plan took shape.

"Aiya, looks like everything's fine. Thanks to Sakuramiya, even if it hurts him, as long as she's there it doesn't matter."

"Eh?"

An Le turned to the snake, which tutted softly.

"Seeing them now, they're actually a good fit."

A... good fit?

Xiao Huan and Sakuramiya...

An Le's face drained of color. Shame surged up, threatening to bury her alive.

But the snake's voice came again, soothing.

"Don't give up. She doesn't have powers like yours. Make Xiao Huan happy next time and you still have a chance."

"R-really?"

An Le clutched the lifeline, eyes pleading.

"Of course. Why would I lie?"

The white serpent sighed and looked straight at her.

In its crimson gaze An Le's reflection twisted and darkened.

"You are the chosen child of this world.

Do what you want... and take what you want."