Mind Demon's Path of Domination
Chapter 84: Bonding

The night in the city surrounding the Laboratory Dungeon was silent. Mark walked into the laboratory with his mind very… unsorted. The hamster was asleep above his head, and the rain had cleaned his wings of any remnant blood.

Now, though, the clouds had cleared up, and the whole city was covered with puddles. Frogs croaked, and some night birds flew around in the air.

Unlike the mega-dungeon, which was a scene of desolation, even though the city around the Laboratory Dungeon was abandoned, it still had a livelier vibe. Mark entered the lab through the main door and came face to face with a second door, and with his Soul Sense, he felt something scanning him up.

The door opened with a click, and he entered. Droplets of cool rainwater dripped on the warm floor, and the door closed with a click behind him.

"Take this and warm up." The Scientist threw a big, warm towel at him.

Mark didn't refuse and used the cloth to dry his hair and body.

"Thanks," he said, not only for the towel but for many things. Without her help, he wouldn't have been able to do what he did—she had distracted Hanmo and the others for him.

Yuri was seated on a comfy chair beside the multiple monitors, but she shook her hand dismissively. "Don't mention it."

He looked at her. Her short black hair was wet—she seemed to have just come out of a bath. She wore a simple black T-shirt and only her cute black panties today, and her slender white thighs and legs were clearly visible.

Her gaze seemed to be inspecting all of Mark's body for any changes.

"You are so wet. The rain is super heavy out there, huh?" she said, stifling a yawn. "No wonder it was extra cold inside."

Mark nodded. "It's rare to see you not be working," he said, looking at the two steaming cups of coffee beside her. She seemed well rested.

Yuri sighed, rubbing her brows gently and taking a sip from her cup. "I couldn't focus on anything after your call, so I decided to take a rest." She smirked. "Having warm coffee inside while cold rain is going on outside—that's the best thing anyway."

The demon nodded with a smile as he dried his horns.

She looked straight into his eyes. He didn't know why, but Mark felt that she was relieved to see him alive.

"In the end, what happened to Hanmo and the others?" she asked.

Mark smiled. "Hanmo and the others, well… that's a long story. Where's Dona?"

Yuri shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Since you are so casual, they must no longer be any threat to us. And Dona's still asleep in the room." She took a sip from her coffee. "I didn't dare wake her up—she'd probably kill me if she knew you were in danger. I have no way to control a powerful demon like her."

"Ah, no, she is not so violent." He chuckled; his hair and body were now dry enough. But then Mark looked at his feathers helplessly. Using a cloth to dry his big wings didn't sound reasonable.

He took a deep breath and shook his wings with a lot of his strength. A powerful wind made Yuri's hair rise into the air, and the coffee almost flipped to the side.

Cold droplets exploded from his wings all over the warm lab.

Yuri's brows twitched as she looked around. "My systems are waterproof, but my coffee is not. Argh, it's so irritating. Mark, argh, I should have sent you right into the bath!"

Her small face seemed really angry at him, and without any hesitation, she switched her own coffee cup for the cup she had left untouched to the side—since her body had shielded it, it didn't get much water in it.

Mark walked beside her and sat down on the ground. Even though she was seated on a chair, he could still talk to her eye-to-eye due to his nearly gigantic size. Smiling, without any hesitation, he pulled the scientist into his embrace.

She squirmed in an attempt to escape, but soon, she used Mark's lap like a chair and sat there silently. He could feel it unlike ever before. Her heartbeat was wilder.

"Don't say you are not relieved, Yuri," he whispered in her ears.

Yuri blushed and wrapped her hands around her legs. "Of course, I was worried for my partner and relieved that he is back," she said.

"Is it just that much?" He smelled her neck and felt it redden.

Her heartbeat was even more turbulent. She looked away from him.

"You can be honest with me, you know? I am unlike anybody you have encountered before."

He pushed her small, warm body on the floor and looked at her with his golden eyes. He clamped both her hands to the ground, and he could see the movement of her chest as she breathed.

She looked away.

Mark gently made her face him and his lips met her lips. Surprisingly, this time, she silently wrapped her hand around his face.

"Mark, please don't look at me," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just don't."

He buried his face on her neck, and he could feel her trembling slightly. Her hand brushed his hair.

She said, "I was afraid, Mark. I thought I would be all alone once more."

He whispered in her ears, "Yet, you seemed so calm in my calls. So you do care."

"I don't know how to express emotions," she said, tightening her trembling hand over his hair. "You can't expect me to be Dona."

"Well, you know, you seem really cold. It's hard to believe you care sometimes."

Yuri bit his ears. She seemed to be somewhat… irritated.

"Maybe even ice blocks end up caring about the men who stole their virginity," she said but then grew silent. She was worried more than even she herself expected to be. Since she learned he was in danger, she couldn't stop her hand from trembling.

Mark pressed his weight gently against her. He could feel her shaky breath, see her micro-expressions of relief.

He suddenly had an intense desire to make her acknowledge that she loved him deep down, or atleast liked to be around him.

What a cute expression.

"Yuri," he raised his face and looked at her. She, for once, looked back at him. "Do you know, from the moment I met you, I've admired you very much."

She started. "...Me?!"

He pressed his forehead against hers. "Yes, you. You are more meticulous than anyone I know, more proffesional than them, too. In fact, you are my role model. I look up to you. I want to be like you in following my own dreams."

Her fingers curled up, and she struggled to replace words.

"Why would anyone look up to… me?"

"Why wouldn't anyone?"

Her somewhat frightened face shifted from him, and she gulped to calm down.

"I am not a lovable person. In fact, even I hate myself sometimes. If it's about my science acumen, there should be more people at my level… there is… nothing going for me."

From a young age, she had never even had a true friend, not to mention any deeper connection. People either avoided her because she was a genius, or they tried to exploit her. She was not a lovable person. It was easy to hate her. Love, impossible.

Mark frowned. "Well, I didn't think my Yuri had such an image of herself. To me you are very lovable, at least."

"...'Your' Yuri?" she smiled funnily at the words.

"What? Are you not mine?" He asked, seeming irritated. "I consider you mine."

She looked at his frowning face and, after a while, chuckled. "You say that, but deep down, we both know you would never see me with nearly the same importance as you see Dona. Aren't I just some fun for you while you are in this world?"

Mark looked at her, this time, very seriously. He sat back up and made Yuri sit on his lap. He said, "Yuri, from now on, you are mine."

Yuri leaned back against his chest. She could never trust anyone's words—not words that meant they liked her, of all people.

Why would anyone like her? It was so hard to like her, herself. No, she didn't like herself.

Just lies.

"Dona is mine, yeah. You are mine, too just as much as she is."

Yuri took a sip from her coffee. Well, she was relieved to see Mark alive to lie at least. Around him, she did feel safe. Around him, she could follow her dreams without any worry. In fact, he was very reliable.

Only around him had she ever felt like there was a shield around her.

There had been a time for her before Mark came around. At that point, she had many contracts with dangerous people like Choi Sung. If she failed to accomplish them—which was always a gamble considering she was experimenting most of the time—she could only die at the strong people's hands.

But with Mark, Choi Sung didn't even dare to speak loudly to her. She could follow her dreams without any fear.

As if someone was pushing her along. Nobody had ever done it for her.

Mark asked with genuine confusion, "Yuri, do you really not believe me that much?"

She remained silent, and he didn't push it anymore. He just wrapped his wings around her and gave her a very warm hug.

She closed her eyes.

…warm.

"So many people must have made you feel like this, Yuri," he said. "They must have made you feel so unlovable. They are wrong. They are idiots. Who says you are unlovable? I can't believe I am the first person ever to tell you something nice.

It's kind of hilarious."

Yuri shrank. She had expected not to cry again anytime soon.

Tears leaked down her eyes unwittingly and the demon touched the liquid with his hand gently.

"...Mark, you are evil," she said.

He smiled. "Well, if making a woman I like cry is evil, I should be called evil now."

She chuckled.

Maybe she wasn't so unlovable after all.

"...Can you hold me like this for a while?" she asked. "I mean, if you are not busy with something else."

"What can I be so busy for I can't afford a hug?"

He didn't say anything else, and just like that, a lot of time passed and Yuri began to move inside his wings.

Before they knew how long had passed, Dona had woken up and was poking at Mark's wings that were wrapped around Yuri like a cocoon.

He opened the cocoon and winked at the demoness.

Yuri stood up, her clothes roughed up, her lips moist after intense kissing, and cheeks tear streaked.

She had kissed Mark before but never had her heart beat like today. Never had she wanted something to last a bit longer so much.

She stretched her body and yawned.

"The coffee's cold..." she said with pity.

"Make me another, please," he said.

Yuri looked back at him and shrugged, a smile wide on her face.

At least, I don't want to part with him.

"I've never drunk demonic coffee. Why don't you make one for Dona and me while we rest for a while longer, maybe as a reward for me saving you from A-Rank Hunters, of all things?"

Mark smirked. "Why not?"

[Demonic Heart]

[Desire:

Make Yuri accept that she is mine. (Completed)

Reward: 3 Years of Longevity (Claim)]

Even though she didn't say it, her actions spoke for itself. She liked him; wanted their intimacy to last longer.