Power Thief's Revenge [BL]-Chapter 191: Curse of Lust

The group was unraveling.

Hermes could feel it in the heat of their bodies, in the frantic way their breaths caught, in the trembling restraint that threatened to snap any moment. The pink smoke clung to them like a second skin, wrapping around their lungs, whispering to their nerves.

It was worse because of how they looked through the haze. Somner’s lips gleamed faintly with the gloss he always wore, soft and inviting. Ymir’s icy-blue eyes caught the light, sharp and unyielding, yet they sent a shiver down Hermes’ spine every time they met his.

Aphrodite’s pastel-pink hair curled against his slender neck so perfectly that Hermes’ hands ached with the urge to brush it back. Raphael’s body was like flawless marble, too perfect not to touch, like an ancient statue begging to be worshipped.

Even Magni looked sensual. His sheer size was overwhelming, his broad pecs straining his shirt. Hermes has always imagined what it would feel like to squeeze those man-boobs in his hands.

He swallowed hard, trying to steady his own pulse, but the curse pressed harder with every second.

"Damn it..." Somner cursed under his breath. His voice shook, raw. He leaned close, pressing into Hermes’s side like a moth drawn to flame.

His lips brushed against Hermes’s ear, and before Hermes could stop him...

He licked the curve of it, whispering hoarsely. "Master, I can’t... I’m sorry, I can’t stop myself..."

Hermes jolted, hands clenching into fists. Somner’s eyes were wild, apology and desire fighting in equal measure.

"Somner, don’t—"

But then Ymir stumbled forward, face flushed red, burying himself into Hermes’s neck. He cursed under his breath, the words muffled against Hermes’s skin.

"Shit... this is humiliating." His voice cracked. "I can’t... damn it, Hermes, I can’t control it either..."

Hermes’ shoulders trembled as he pressed closer, his pride crumbling in the haze of Khemia’s curse.

"No... Stay back, if you two are this close.... I can’t..." Hermes pleaded, trying to pry them both away, but Magni’s booming voice broke in.

"Do not blame yourselves!" Magni’s hand gripped Hermes’s arm, strong and shaking all at once.

His broad frame loomed behind them, his jaw clenched in furious resistance. "It is not you! It is this undignified curse!"

His grip wavered as if he wanted to pull Hermes or Ymir in too, but he held back, trembling with the effort. "Do not shame yourselves for what that bastard has done to us."

Hermes felt his chest cave in at the sight. His family, his companions, reduced to this. Even Aphrodite had collapsed onto the floor, breath shallow, face pale as though the weight of the smoke was crushing him more than the others. His violet eyes fluttered, unfocused.

And then there’s Raphael, who was suffering the worst.

The alien’s golden hair was matted, clinging to his damp face. He knelt at Hermes’s feet, hands trembling violently as if he was on the edge of collapse. His entire body quivered with a heat that made no sense, sweat running down his temples in rivulets.

"Water..." Raphael’s voice was hoarse, cracking as he tugged desperately at Hermes’s leg. "Please, I need water..."

Hermes froze. Water? That was impossible.

"Raphael.... You hate water. Water hurts you, right? So why...."

Raphael gripped him harder, his nails digging into Hermes’ pants. "I know, my Lord. But I think... I may be dehydrated. It does not make any sense for a creature of fire like me, but... It hurts... My throat... So dry... I need something..."

Hermes’s heart thudded painfully. Something about seeing Raphael like this, so fragile, his perfect composure shattered... sent an ache crawling into Hermes’s gut...

And his groin too.

Hermes hoped that nobody would notice, but everyone was in the same boat as him so they probably had no idea it was Raphael’s weakened state that turned him on even more.

"Please... I need to drink... I... it burns..." His voice dissolved into a gasp.

His hand moved shakily, reaching towards Hermes’s waist....

Then going lower.

Hermes’s eyes widened. He snapped back to himself instantly.

"Raphael!"

Before Raphael’s fingers could graze him, Somner and Ymir shoved the alien back at once.

"The hell do you think you’re doing?!" Ymir growled, his face red with both fury and shame. He kicked Raphael’s arm away harshly. "Acting all pitiful and then reaching for that?!"

"You’re thirsty for something else, huh?" Somner spat, shoving Raphael’s shoulder with a sharp glare. "No way can you drink Master’s cum first! Get in line!"

Raphael gasped, curling forward with tears in his eyes. "No... I swear... I’m not..." His voice broke into a hoarse cry. "It’s the curse! I need it to stop the burning! I swear!"

Hermes threw himself between them before it could escalate. His hands shot out, steadying Raphael as he shook.

"Stop. Stop it, both of you!" Hermes snapped, glaring at Somner and Ymir in turn.

His own throat was tight, his body screaming at him to give in to the heat. "Maybe he’s telling the truth! Maybe this curse... it’s making him feel like he needs..."

His words trailed as shame crept into his face. "...my essence. To quench it."

Somner and Ymir exchanged a look of disgust and disbelief, but Hermes pressed on.

"You saw how he suffers with water. What if this is his body’s way of twisting it, making him believe this is the only way to soothe it? We can’t just accuse him without knowing."

Aphrodite’s voice broke in, weak but sharp. He raised his head, hair falling over flushed cheeks.

"Why... why didn’t I see this in Khemia’s mind?" His words rasped, edged with frustration. "Why didn’t I see that this was his plan?"

Dr. Khemia’s voice cut through the haze, calm as ever. "Because I hid it."

The blind scientist stood at his desk, hands folded behind his back as though nothing were amiss. His cataract-clouded eyes didn’t waver.

"You think I do not know your powers?" His tone was flat, but his lips curled faintly. "The moment I saw you, I recognized every one of you. So I used my Alchemy. I separated my thoughts. The surface, the ones you read... and the depths, hidden behind them."

Hermes’s eyes widened. "You... split your own thoughts apart?"

Dr. Khemia nodded once. "Like bubbles in water. The deeper ones drifted just behind the surface. From behind, you would have seen them. That is why I never turned."

The words sank into them like lead. Hermes felt his stomach twist with unease.

Then Khemia picked up his phone. The quiet beep of his camera recording a video filled the room.

The group froze.

"You—" Ymir growled, his hand twitching toward his daggers. "You sick perverted—"

But Dr. Khemia only raised his phone calmly. "I have no interest in your bodies. Do not flatter yourselves. I am a scientist. This is documentation of a phenomenon never before observed. Mating potential between alien and man. A man who can create life inside any vessel."

His lips twitched, neither a smile nor a sneer. "Do you think I would waste the opportunity to record it?"

"You old freak!" Somner snarled, spitting venom. "You think you can treat us like—like lab rats?!"

Hermes’s chest heaved as fury burned in his gut. "You won’t get away with this."

His voice cracked like thunder, startling even himself. "We won’t give you the satisfaction."

He turned to the others, desperate. "Don’t give in. Don’t let the curse rule you. Humans... humans have resisted lust for centuries. We can control it! Just endure!"

The group, shaking and flushed, rallied faintly at his words. Magni gritted his teeth and straightened, pulling Ymir with him. Somner forced himself away from Hermes, knuckles white. Even Aphrodite stumbled upright, one arm wrapped around his stomach.

Slowly, agonizingly, they began to move toward the door.

Their legs shook. Their breaths came uneven. But they moved. Step by step, as if dragging themselves through fire.

Hermes clung to the thought like salvation. Just a little further. Just hold out a little longer—

A sudden warmth pressed against his lips.

Hermes’s eyes flew wide. Raphael was kissing him!

The world around him stuttered. Somner screamed like a banshee. "Raphael, you bastard!"

Ymir grabbed onto Hermes’s shoulder, trying to pry him away. "Get off him!"

Aphrodite gasped, covering his mouth, violet eyes wide. "Raphael... why would you—"

Magni stood frozen, blinking in confusion. "What... what is happening?"

But all Hermes could feel was being electrified. Not figuratively. Literally.

There was a surge that lit every nerve in his body, igniting his veins, setting his skin alight. His heart thundered in his ears. He felt Raphael’s entire being crash into his own, golden heat meeting mortal flesh.

Somner lunged forward again, but the blinding light cut him off.

FLASH!

Blinding, searing light engulfed them. The group cried out, shielding their eyes, staggering back. Ymir swore, Somner screamed, Magni tried to hold them steady. Aphrodite crumpled to the floor again.

Through it all, Hermes felt Raphael’s lips twitch against his. Felt him bite his own tongue.

And in the blazing silence, Raphael whispered, his voice trembling but clear.

"Let’s use Rewind together."

Hermes’s breath caught. He understood instantly.

They joined hands. Everything in this room began to go in slow-motion, except for their group.

And then eventually, time stopped once again.