"Not at all! ...Mmph, ahaha... Stop it, it’s slipping! Mirror October, huff huff... Mmph, why did your art style suddenly change like this—!" Lu Xiu’s face flushed crimson under Mirror October’s practiced caresses. She rolled her eyes—this skill could only come from intimate experience with many women, no way it was "self-taught"!
Mirror October never lacked female company. What was interesting was his attitude: neither fawning over them nor deliberately cold. He accepted desire with calm neutrality—neither resisting nor obsessing over it—just as his detached nature dictated.
"So," he murmured, "do you like it?"
A woman’s body was far more honest than her words. (Though some mouths were just as truthful. Thinking of his sister Liuhua Jing, Mirror October’s lips twitched into a faint smile. His hands slowed slightly.) Flirting was basic training from his days as a male host—second nature by now.
"I don’t... dislike it," Lu Xiu retorted, lifting her stubborn, tsundere chin. Her eyes shimmered with liquid tenderness, but her words stayed sharp. She’d never admit the unprecedented pleasure Mirror October’s touch sparked deep in her soul—the pure joy of being with the one she loved.
"Be honest. Just say you like it." His fingers traced the lean, S-Class physique of a Justice Knight, savoring its resilient strength. Finally, he gave a firm squeeze to the generous curves hidden beneath her coat before withdrawing his hands. "Why do you never wear a bra? Just a breast wrap?"
A question that had always puzzled him. Since they first met, this aloof girl had skipped bras entirely—dressing in daringly cool outfits. Back then, it was tight shorts and a wrap; now, just an added trench coat.
"Hey! That’s incredibly rude!"
"If I offended you, I sincerely apologize. But I’m genuinely curious~~"
He pulled her close, his blood-gem eyes glinting with pure, untainted curiosity. A gift, perhaps—Mirror October always knew how to wield his understanding of human nature. Different words for different people: Mumu, Liuhua Jing, Ruosui Jing... and now Lu Xiu.
This flawless tenderness was no illusion. Before shattering his own warmth, Mirror October had laid everything bare to her. He wouldn’t withhold this gentleness—but never mistake it for his true nature.
"I’ve always worn binding cloth under wraps... Didn’t you... once say... it looked good on me?" The blush returned to her cheeks. This must be love. She’d remembered a flustered boy’s offhand praise all these years.
Four years of waiting.
"It *is* beautiful. Perfect for you." He gently turned her shyly averted face toward him. Under his gaze, Lu Xiu felt like the most cherished person in the world. He wasn’t lying—her icy, noble aura truly suited that bold trench coat style.
Yet Mirror October’s conservative instincts flared. Though he admired her athletic form, seeing her coat hang open made him want to scold her like a reckless child: *Dress properly.*
"Hehe, I knew you’d love this look! That old hag Lan Xinyi called it shallow and depthless. Hmph. I’ll give her a piece of my mind later."
Pleased by his praise, Lu Xiu’s thoughts turned to her rival—the Ice Queen Lan Xinyi. Just imagining that mature, seductive beauty made alarm bells ring. Among all the women who’d surrounded Mirror October, Lan Xinyi was the most threatening. Her allure seeped into her bones—a ripe, nurturing beauty who embodied the perfect wife and mother.
"Time’s running short. Your Heroic Power is nearly depleted. If we delay further, I won’t be able to save you." Crimson particles seeped from his spotless white gloves. Mirror October’s already pale face turned ghostly.
The harmless facade vanished. As he manifested the Mirror Flower Node, his crimson pupils flickered with suppressed, feral cruelty.
"This is...!"
Lu Xiu recoiled instinctively—a primal terror flooding her veins. It felt like facing...
The Dire Calamity!!
"The past holds far more buried truths than you know, Xiuer." The man holding her now seemed less human—a disaster wearing skin. Mirror October presented the Mirror Flower Node, forcing Lu Xiu to suppress her urge to annihilate it. She stared at him, eyes swirling with grief and resignation.
"I call it the Mirror Flower Node—a transcendent power diametrically opposed to Heroic Power. Accept it, and your strength will undergo a complete metamorphosis. You’ll be reborn, Xiuer!" To walk the path of justice with evil power—Mirror October endured the constant urge to bury the world in ruin. He used this torment as his anchor, like an ascetic Saint of the Church Extension, clinging to his conviction in endless agony.
"The Central Bureau always suspected Saw could create super-villains. So this absurd theory was true. If I accept this... will I become your sworn knight~~?"
"Xiuer," he whispered, "you already are. Then, now, always."
Beneath the stern Justice Knight’s coat beat the heart of a girl yearning for love. Mirror October’s cool, tender words dissolved her last resistance.
"Hmph. For you? I’ll take this power. From today, there is no Justice Knight Lu Xiu. I ride only for freedom—I am Solitude! I swear the Knight’s Oath to you! Mirror October—my liege, my love, my confidant! Accept my vow!"
