Deviant: No Longer Human

"..."

Wang Xiao remained silent, his stoic facade betraying none of his thoughts.

Elara pondered in dismay, \'How was he immune to my poison?\' A question mirrored in Aurora\'s equally perplexed look.

Then, breaking the heavy silence, Wang Xiao extended his hand. Elara, misreading the gesture as a sign of accord, reflexively brightened with a relieved smile and reached out.

But the smile shattered as swiftly as it had formed.

Pakh!

A sharp crack echoed as Wang Xiao\'s hand met Elara\'s cheek rather than her outstretched hand, sending her reeling several feet away.

Bang!

"You?!" She landed, crouched on the ground, her hand clasped to her stinging face, a look of utter bewilderment in her eyes.

...

Wang Xiao\'s eyes narrowed with unexpected disdain as he locked his gaze on her. "Fool," he spat, striding towards her with purpose.

He crouched down, bringing his eyes level with hers. "Do you still cling to the belief that your lord lives? He is dead! The only master you serve now is me. Either scurry away and gather everyone inside here, or I\'ll slice you into pieces and toss you into this fountain, to accompany your lord to the underworld."

Hiss!

Elara\'s body shook with a sudden jolt. She sucked in a sharp, frigid breath, as if the harsh reality she\'d been evading had finally caught up to her.

She had been aware of the conflict, but the notion of Asmodeous actually perishing had seemed inconceivable.

Now, with the enemy forces advancing before her, and her own defenses failing, she was compelled to accept defeat.

Despite her trembling legs, she rose and staggered back to the palace, determined to rally everyone.

As Elara retreated, Wang Xiao\'s eyes narrowed further in contempt. "What kind of dim-witted creature give birth to her?" he mused aloud, prompting a suppressed smile from Aurora.

"She seems remarkably loyal to her lord," Aurora observed, her voice tinged with intrigue. "I wonder what that man eating monster Asmodeous did to earn such trust from a Poison Maiden."

Wang Xiao\'s interest was piqued by the term. "You mentioned she\'s a Poison Maiden; what does that mean?" he asked, turning his attention to Aurora for an explanation.

Aurora\'s response came laced with the weight of ancient knowledge and real-life myth. "She descends from a clan that started three millennia ago, worshippers of serpentine deities, Medusa among them, and revered the healing and destructive powers of snakes, akin to the ancient cult of Asclepius."

"This reverence was not misplaced; their deity was believed to embody the dual nature of venom—capable of both harming and healing."

"After their downfall, the survivors dispersed. They had a practice of feeding venom to their young girls, aiming to create an army immune to all poisons. But the result was not just an army."

"It was a generation of women who could survive any toxin, much like the serpents they worshipped, rising from the mountain of their predecessors\' corpses....A single touch from these women could consign a soul to the underworld, laden with such deadly poison."

"These women, their beauty as deceptive as the serpents of their worship, proved far deadlier than their delicate appearances suggested."

"They avenged themselves on those who subjected them to such terrors, and formed their own tribe....Utilizing their lethal touch, they became assassins, their very presence as toxic as the poison coursing through their veins, toppling monarchs and seeding chaos."

"Their legend grew, drawing parallels with the Hashshashin (order of assassians during 11th century A.D) and the Borgias, families and orders that similarly wielded poison as a tool for control and assassination — Until an emperor, grieving the loss of his two sons to such poison maiden, set out to annihilate them, erasing them from existence and even from the pages of history, as if such vile creatures should never roam the land!"

Wang Xiao pondered, "Is it even possible for them to have survived for three thousand years?"

Aurora smiled, a tinge of bitterness in her expression. "The tribe didn\'t survive; it went extinct. Though it seems they have left descendants who retreated into seclusion. Even if they managed to endure thousands of years in hiding, their numbers must be exceedingly small."

"Still, a tribe full of poisonous women who can\'t be touched? How did they manage to have descendants?" Wang Xiao inquired, his curiosity piqued.

Aurora fell silent, her gaze locking with his, before she spoke again, albeit with hesitation and a note of guilt. "Women don\'t need penetration to become pregnant... Only the essence of a man is necessary."

Wang Xiao nodded, processing the information. Unexpectedly, Aurora continued, "I considered extracting your essence while you were asleep, if not for Mimi guarding you..."

Her words hung in the air, casting an awkward silence over the surroundings.

Both fell into a wordless exchange.

"..."

"..."

Aurora avoided Wang Xiao\'s stunned gaze with a faint sense of guilt. After all, she had always found the idea tempting, desiring only a child at first.

However, Mimi was residing within his body, and she couldn\'t risk awakening that evil spirit, which could potentially submerge several more continents \'accidently\' beneath the ocean.

______

Half an hour later, the courtyard of the castle was alive with an unusual sight.

"Who is he!?"

"Shh!"

"Quiet!"

Under the cover of night, the castle\'s courtyard was a mosaic of women, each bearing distinct ethnic backgrounds and allure. Their hair, varying in color, shimmered under the moonlight. Among them were faces both oval and heart-shaped, from slender models to enchanting beauties and independent divorcees—nearly every type imaginable.

Some appeared youthful, while others carried the grace of maturity, but a singular trait unified them: undeniable beauty.

Witnessing such a gathering, Wang Xiao was utterly astonished. The courtyard was awash with their presence, easily numbering in the hundreds.