Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 218: Forced Proximity

By now, the Athenaeum was like the back of her own hand.

Cecilia knew its layout well. She could have navigated its corridors blindfolded, counting the bricks as a telekinetic exercise, mapping every turn and staircase with the ease of long familiarity.

But apparently, there were still things she wasn’t familiar with.

She found the student council office easily enough. A set of heavy wooden doors at the end of a corridor she had passed a hundred times. She knocked, polite and perfunctory, and reached for the handle.

The door swung open.

She stepped inside.

And the world clicked.

"A—"

A force pulled her in. Then, a sound came from behind her. A mechanical, sharp sound. She turned.

Click.

"Eh?"

Ka-click, ka-click.

"Huh?"

Ka-cli-cli-cli-cli-click—

She tried to turn and push, turn and push, each click a confirmation of her imprisonment. Cecilia stared at the door, a dawning realization settling over her.

Forced proximity.

Or, well, accidental forced proximity. Others might call it the ’locked room’ trope, where two characters were trapped together by circumstance, forced to wait until someone came to rescue them. A classic.

But apparently, this wasn’t a simple locked room trope.

"Haa—haa—aahh... sss... haa...."

Cecilia turned.

The sound came from the sofa. A low, rattling breath, rough with strain. A figure lay there, one hand pressed to his chest, the other gripping the wood hard enough to whiten knuckles. His uniform was rumpled, his tie loosened, his shirt damp with sweat at the collar.

Cecilia deadpanned.

Locked room trope with someone drugged with aphrodisiac inside.

Of course.

"Excuse me." Her voice was flat. "Mr. Dawnoro."

The man on the sofa opened his eyes.

And God.

Even in this state, flushed, panting, clearly fighting for control, Arkai Dawnoro was obscenely beautiful. His black hair, usually so carefully composed, fell across his forehead in damp strands, clinging to skin that glowed with heat.

His uniform, the crisp lines of the Student Council President’s attire, was in disarray. Jacket open, shirt untucked, the top buttons undone to reveal the hollow of his throat and the sweat-sheened skin of his collarbone.

His eyes, when they found her, were half-lidded, dark with something that was not quite recognition and not quite anything else. His chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven breaths, and every muscle in his body seemed coiled, taut, waiting.

What a feast.

Cecilia filed the thought away for later processing and pointed at the door.

"Mr. Dawnoro." Her voice remained steady. "Did you use magic to lock yourself in the room? The thing is, I could still come in. But I assume we can’t come out once we’re inside."

Arkai frowned when he saw her. A flicker of recognition passed through those dark eyes. It was brief, struggling to surface through whatever fog clouded his mind.

"It’s not..." His voice was rough, strained, each word an effort. "I didn’t... someone else... is... locking us... insi—haaa... sssshhh... mmm..."

His head fell back against the sofa cushion, a shudder running through his frame.

Cecilia’s eyes narrowed. Her eyelids dropped low.

Someone?

Who?

Cecilia knelt beside the sofa, her movements calm. She reached for his wrist, checking his pulse, the one with his hand grasping the wooden frame below.

"Y-you..."

The moment her fingers touched his skin, Arkai Dawnoro’s eyes closed. A violent tremor ran through him, his whole body shuddering as if she had pressed a live wire to his nerves. His hand moved instinctively, grasping hers, his fingers rubbing against her skin with a desperate, unconscious need.

"Please... stop touching me."

He said that.

While touching her.

He said that while slowly sitting up, his body coiling like a predator preparing to spring. His eyes, when they opened again, were darker, hungrier, barely holding on to whatever control remained.

"Who did this to you?" Cecilia’s voice was cold, untouched by his proximity or his state. "Did someone try to drug and rape you, Mr. Dawnoro?"

"Wha—"

Arkai’s eyes flew wide, genuine shock breaking through the haze of lust. What was this woman saying?

"If there’s someone attacking here... it’d be me—mmm... aaahhhsss..." He shuddered again, fighting for words, for control, for anything. "Lock yourself... in the cabinet... quick... before..."

He painstakingly withdrew his hand from hers, pulling away as if it cost him everything. But his eyes, those dark, fevered eyes, betrayed him. They roamed over her, tracing the lines of her chest, the curve of her hips, the long, exposed length of her legs.

Cecilia observed him, her expression didn’t change.

"I think... this is a fatal amount, Mr. Dawnoro."

She paused, reaching inward.

"System. Just confirming. I can’t use my inventory here, right?"

[We are sorry, Cecilia, you can’t use any item from the real world!]

Of course not.

"This... will pass." Arkai’s voice was rough. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Cecilia shook her head slowly. "I read in the library that these symptoms, protruding veins all over your body, flushing on your neck and chest, heart rate of 200 beats per minute, and a temperature of 104 degrees, are very concerning."

Arkai glared at her. Even in this state, even barely coherent, that glare held the unmistakable weight of a man who was used to being in control.

"Then... you must... also know..." His chest heaved. "The only way... to cure it..."

"Yes." Cecilia nodded, meeting his gaze without flinching. "Either you drink the antidote... wait it out and suffer brain damage... or have sex with me."

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I’m awake! This is the last update for today!

Thank you for the super gift, YorozuyaDanna. And I honestly doesn’t know how to say thank you except to panic write more Chapters before app daily reset.

The spike in number scares me. But it’s okay. The number will go down eventually when people un-collected the book from their libraries and my heart rate will start getting normal again 😭😂🎉

I truly don’t know how the elite authors handle these kinds of adrenaline rush while (I’m sure) also being severely sleep deprived. I’m being so high right now Idk how coherent I am.

Long story short, thank you for the heart attack yesterday. I’m crying. Apparently you guys can potentially kill with love and support.