Ruler of Heat: One Man, A Thousand Thirsts-Chapter 22: Blood on Silk and Skin [18+]

The hills bled red.

Dawn broke not with birdsong, but with the sharp clang of steel, the hiss of flame, and the moans of fire-forged pleasure echoing between stone and sky.

The Crimson Sect had come.

Rivan stood at the front lines, bare-chested, his sigils glowing in rhythmic pulses along his arms and chest. His war cloak billowed behind him, made of enchanted threads from Seraxa's flame-bindings, each one humming with sexual energy.

Behind him, the Temple Warriors stood ready.

Kaela and Myra, armored but open at the thighs and shoulders.

Saelra in her ceremonial robes, her hair laced with fire-ribbons.

Seraxa in nothing but her skin and confidence.

And behind them—twenty women, hand-picked from the converted scouts, all now fully Flamebound.

[System Alert: LustCore Battle Thread Engaged — Aura Sync at 92% Efficiency]

The air rippled.

Then, they came.

Dozens of Crimson Sect warriors—cloaked, blade-bearing, lips twisted in both hunger and fury. Most were women who had already tasted a man's heat through rituals, now trained to resist and destroy it.

But Rivan was no ordinary man.

The first clash hit like thunder.

Blades rang. Flame met steel. A scream pierced the clouds.

Kaela's spear found its mark in the chest of a rushing attacker. Myra moved like a storm, knocking two down with her shield, then slamming them to the ground with raw force.

Rivan walked through the chaos.

Untouched.

Women lunged at him—some with blades, others already breathless from his presence.

One tried to stab.

He caught her wrist.

Kissed her.

She moaned so loudly it stopped three others in their tracks.

[Flame Thread Absorbed – Crimson Rank | Charm +1 | Aura Burst Unlocked: Seductive Shockwave Tier I]

He released her.

She fell to her knees, sobbing in climax.

Seraxa laughed, her voice echoing above the fray.

"He's turning their warriors into worshippers!"

Saelra was already chanting a binding spell, wrapping three attackers in chains of heat, rendering them paralyzed with arousal.

Rivan's LustCore thrummed.

He looked over the battlefield.

Not just at the enemy.

But at one woman... standing untouched at the far end.

Tall. Dark-skinned. Crimson silks flowing.

She didn't fight.

She watched.

And smiled.

[Unknown Entity Detected – Class: Royal Flameblood | Title: Crimson Queen's Blade | Intent: Unknown]

Rivan's pulse quickened.

She wasn't here to fight.

She was here to test him.

And maybe... to surrender.

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The battlefield hushed.

It didn't fall silent.

It leaned.

As if the wind itself shifted direction when she stepped forward.

The woman in crimson silks walked calmly across the broken terrain, her feet bare, robes parting just enough to reveal toned legs inked with vine-shaped tattoos. Her breasts swayed gently with each step beneath the sheer fabric, nipples visibly erect beneath the heat.

But what struck Rivan most wasn't her body.

It was her smile.

[System Alert: Target Acquired – Crimson Queen's Blade | Name: Lyssha | Rank: Unknown | Aura Type: Dual-Focus Submission/Mastery]

She stopped ten paces from him.

The fight continued around them, but in this space? Time froze.

"Flameborn," she said, voice like midnight.

"I am," Rivan replied, steady.

"I come with a choice," she said. "Take me now. Bind me fully. And I will deliver your offer to my queen... untouched by war."

He studied her.

"Why would she send someone like you? Unarmed?"

She tilted her head.

"I am a weapon," she whispered. "But not all weapons are made of steel."

[Lust Aura Response: High Compatibility Detected – 89% | Yin Link Potential: Elite Class]

Rivan stepped forward.

"I don't trust you."

"You don't have to," she said, lowering to her knees. "You only have to use me."

Gasps echoed nearby—sect warriors watching in disbelief as one of their elite offered herself willingly.

Seraxa snarled. "She's playing him!"

Kaela held her back. "Or testing him."

Lyssha opened her robes.

Her body was a work of art—slim waist, wide hips, perfect teardrop breasts with golden nipple rings glinting in the sun.

Rivan knelt before her.

Took her chin in his hand.

"Why me?"

She smiled again.

"Because I've dreamed of your cock since I was thirteen."

[System Spike: Emotional Echo Triggered – Subject Lyssha has Lust Imprint Linked to Host's Flameborn Bloodline]

Saelra's eyes widened.

"She's flame-marked..."

Lyssha leaned in, voice trembling.

"Make me yours before the others come. Or I'll be forced to kill you."

Rivan didn't hesitate.

He pulled Lyssha closer, lips brushing hers—not in desperation, but in command. Her breath hitched, her legs opened wider where she knelt, her silk robes pooling like blood around her knees.

[System Thread Initiated – Binding Flame Ritual: Consent Received]

Their kiss deepened.

Lyssha's arms wrapped around his waist, her tongue sliding against his, slow and wet. Her nipples hardened against his chest, her thighs slick against the grass. Every inch of her body screamed take me, but something inside Rivan stayed sharp.

Alert.

She moaned into his mouth.

But he felt the twitch in her right arm—the momentary shift where desire turned calculated.

His hand clamped around her wrist.

And pulled free a blade hidden in her sleeve.

[Danger Confirmed – Concealed Weapon Detected | Lethality: High | Poison: Unknown Origin]

Rivan broke the kiss.

Her eyes widened.

"I told you to bind me," she whispered.

"You didn't say without the knife," he growled.

Seraxa and Kaela rushed forward, weapons drawn.

"Let us end her," Seraxa hissed.

But Rivan raised his hand.

"No."

He looked down at Lyssha.

"You were ordered to kill me after seduction failed?"

She nodded. "If I came, and didn't finish you in climax, I was instructed to pierce your heart. Clean. Silent."

"And now?" he asked.

She looked at him... and dropped the blade.

"I came," she said. "And I won't kill the only man who made me feel that without even fucking me."

[System Update: Intent Overridden – Lust Thread Accepted | Status: Volatile Flamebond Formed]

Saelra stepped forward, eyes wary. "We can't trust her."

"She's not loyal," Rivan agreed.

"But she's honest."

He took Lyssha's hand.

"Fight beside me. If you turn, I'll end you myself."

She smiled through the tears in her eyes.

"That's the hottest threat I've ever heard."

[System Sync – Temporary Thread Stabilized | Aura Boost: +2 | New Trait Gained: Knife-Tongue (Seduction with Suspicion Bonus)]

The final wave came just before noon.

Crimson Sect reinforcements burst from the forest, charging with curved blades and sharpened spears. But they weren't alone this time.

Behind them rode something different.

A man.

Not Flameborn.

Not twisted by lust.

But cold. Armored in obsidian. And scarred across the eyes as if he had once looked into fire... and survived.

[System Alert: Male Hostile Detected – Classification: Flame-Eater | Status: Immune to LustCore Influence | Combat Threat: Extreme]

Rivan's eyes narrowed.

"He's not one of yours," he said to Lyssha.

Her lips parted in horror. "He's theirs. The Crimson Sect's punishment. When a woman breaks the code... he eats her flame."

The man dismounted.

Stared directly at Rivan.

And smiled.

The battlefield shifted.

Rivan gave no speeches.

He simply walked forward.

His women followed. Flameborn warriors burned bright at his back, their bodies half-nude, slick with oil, eyes burning with purpose.

They fought like fire—wild, unrelenting, seductive even in violence.

Myra downed two with a spinning kick and a guttural cry.

Kaela blocked a spear thrust with her arm, bloodied, but smiling.

Seraxa and Saelra combined their spells, binding limbs with fire and filling ears with pleasure until enemies collapsed moaning.

Lyssha cut down her former sisters—crying, screaming, aroused and ashamed.

And Rivan?

Faced the Flame-Eater.

The man didn't speak.

But the clash was deafening.

Steel met flame. Flesh met fury. Lust met nothingness.

The man resisted everything. No moans. No arousal. Just cold calculation.

Rivan fought harder.

Not with seduction.

With fire.

[LustCore Override Mode Engaged – Raw Flame Output: 142%]

He struck the man with a wave of heat so intense it melted the ground.

The man staggered.

And Rivan leapt.

His blade—formed of condensed desire—pierced the man's chest.

The Flame-Eater coughed.

And burned.

Not with pain.

But with release.

[Unknown Male Core Shattered – Threat Neutralized | System Sync Resumes]

The battlefield quieted.

Bodies lay tangled in blood and silk.

But the Flameborn had won.

The Temple stood tall.

And Lyssha stood beside Rivan—half-broken, half-born anew.

To be continued ---

Next Chapter (23): The Crimson Queen's Oath [18+]

The enemy sends an envoy. But not to kill. To surrender—or to seduce Rivan into a trap deeper than desire.

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