Lewd System: Every Scream and Moan is EXP-Chapter 247 : Freedom Isn’t Free

The understanding hit everyone at once.

Jax was right. Before he had even laid out his reasoning, every person in the dungeon had assumed he would simply ignore Lilith’s wishes and do as he pleased.

But his logic was airtight. There was no escaping the truth he had presented. Cleenah’s sins would come to light the moment the recordings surfaced. And if they didn’t surface, Lilith would take the fall instead.

Either way, someone dies.

Lilith processed it for a few seconds. Then spoke.

"There has to be a way to avoid it. A way where she doesn’t have to die."

Jax’s response was flat. "Sorry. But there is no way."

"But—"

Cleenah cut in. A teary smile on her ruined face.

"It’s okay, Lilith. I’ll happily accept my fate." Her voice was steady despite the tears. "He’s right. I don’t see a way out."

She exhaled.

"And even if there was one, I don’t want to live my life hiding. Running. Protecting myself from the consequences of what I’ve done."

Lilith’s heart sank. Her eyes moved to the only person who had ever pulled miracles from impossible situations. The light that had always brightened her darkest moments.

Jax.

He was deep in thought. Eyes closed. Brow furrowed. The gears behind his skull grinding through something only he could see.

When he opened his eyes, Lilith was staring at him. Those pleading eyes that carried the weight of everything she had just fought for.

Not only hers. Everyone present in the dungeon was looking at him. Seris. Ava. Celestine.

Even Cleenah, who had already accepted death, found her gaze drifting toward the man who seemed to hold every outcome in his hands.

Jax sighed. "There is one way."

Lilith’s eyes brightened instantly. Even Cleenah’s expression shifted, a flicker of something she had no right to feel passing across her face.

"I can help her live," Jax continued. "Help her make an escape from this mess. And let her walk around freely without the fear of getting caught."

Cleenah’s voice and Lilith’s collided in the same breath.

"Ho— how can you do that?"

"Really? You can do that?"

Jax nodded. Then looked directly at Cleenah.

"However. In return, I want you to be a slave. Forever."

Silence.

The spectators’ minds shifted again. Of course. Of course he wouldn’t let this slide so easily. They knew it. He was definitely going to squeeze every drop out of this situation.

Before Lilith could open her mouth to protest, Jax spoke again.

"I want her to be a slave of Lilith. Forever."

Lilith blinked. "What?"

Jax’s expression didn’t change. Cold. Calculated.

"I will help her only if she is useful and makes my effort worth something. I want her around you at all times. To protect you from the dangers that will follow once the truth comes out."

He crossed his arms.

"Also you haven’t mastered your powers yet. So she would be the best help in that regard as well. Her holy energy can restrict you if things go wrong again."

His eyes narrowed.

"And what I mean by slave is that she takes a mana oath to serve you. Bound by magic. Unbreakable."

Lilith started. "That’s totally—"

"That’s my unshakable condition." Jax didn’t let her finish. "I don’t trust her. Not a single bit. So the oath is necessary."

Cleenah reached out and touched Lilith’s hand. Gently.

"It’s fine." Her voice was quiet. Resigned but not defeated. "I don’t know what to do next. My purpose in life seems to have hit a dead end. But maybe this way I can find a new one."

She looked at Lilith.

"Maybe I can help you in yours. Protect you."

A pause.

"I know it will never cover what I’ve done. But I promise you, Lilith. This is what I want now."

Lilith opened her mouth. "But..." Nothing followed. She didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what she could say to a woman volunteering for servitude as penance for murder.

Cleenah turned to Jax. "Is it really that simple?"

Jax grinned. The kind of grin that Lilith and Seris caught immediately and cataloged under ’extremely suspicious.’

"Yeah. That simple. You just have to do some favors for me. And you get your so-called new life."

Seris stepped forward. Her voice carried the sharpness of someone who had been watching this man operate for long enough to know when the cards were being stacked.

"Professor, you’re up to something, aren’t you? You aren’t planning to take out your frustration on her?"

Jax’s grin widened. "What makes you think that? Do I look like some evil person?"

Seris’s reply was immediate. "Of course not." The sarcasm was thick enough to cut with a sword. "But I can feel it. I can see through you. The hatred in your eyes hasn’t faded."

"Then you’re wrong. Because I don’t hate her." His voice was casual. Dismissive. "I don’t keep these types of people in my mind."

He paused.

"And as for what I need her for, it’s part of a plan I have in mind."

Seris pressed. "And what’s that?"

"It’s called none of your business."

She went silent.

Jax clapped his hands as if concluding a business meeting. "Looks like everything is settled. So why don’t we get back to the game? You all have been slacking for a while. Go on. Your mentors will join you soon after some discussion about the plan ahead."

Lilith didn’t move. "We will. But first promise me that you won’t hurt her."

Jax met her eyes. "I promise that I will help her out of this mess. And I will make her your personal servant after all of this is done."

Every person present noticed the gap. He had promised to help. Promised to make her a servant. But he had very carefully, very deliberately, avoided promising not to hurt her.

He was definitely up to something.

But nobody wanted to push his mood further into the abyss. So the silence accepted what his words offered and swallowed the rest.

Lilith turned to Cleenah. Took her hands.

"Take care, big sis." Her smile was fragile but real. "If Professor hurts you, tell me. I will..."

The sentence trailed into nothing. Because she didn’t know what she would do.

After some time,

The mana oath was performed. Cleenah knelt before Lilith and pledged her service. The magic sealed itself around both of them like invisible chains made of promise and consequence.

After that, Jax distributed two teleportation shards. One to Seris. One to Lilith.

Cleenah walked them through the activation process, explaining the sequence.

The four girls stood together for the farewell.

Jax bowed his head. Slightly. Just enough to carry genuine gratitude without sacrificing his pride.

"Celestine. Ava. Thank you for your help. It would have been much harder for me if you hadn’t accepted. If you hadn’t understood what I meant."

Ava waved her hand dismissively. "Oh come on. Why are you making it sound like a quest? Aren’t we the closest of friends?"

Celestine tilted her head. "Because you made it feel like a quest. Didn’t you ask for a reward in exchange?"

Ava smiled brightly. "Oh, about that. Jax, we will be waiting for our rewards."

Lilith and Seris stared at the exchange. Their eyes bouncing between the three of them with expressions that screamed ’what the hell are they talking about.’

Celestine caught Lilith’s stare and said casually, "By the way, don’t you feel like what Jax promised seems really impossible? I don’t really think—"

Lilith cut her off. "If he promised, then it’s already settled."

Celestine raised an eyebrow. "You sure are confident about him."

Lilith clutched her chest. Inside her mind, his words echoed. The promise that he would erase every darkness standing before her. That he would stand for her until the end.

And he had delivered. Every word. Every syllable.

"I am."

The shards activated. Light consumed the four girls and pulled them out of the dungeon. Back to the battlefield. Back to the world that was waiting to judge them.

Jax and Cleenah remained.

The dungeon fell quiet. The enchanted trees swayed gently in a breeze that had no source. Lanterns flickered against stone walls stained with blood and memory.

Jax turned to Cleenah.

"Now strip off."

Her face went blank. Then red. Then pale. All in the span of a single heartbeat.

"WHAT?!"

Jax’s expression didn’t shift. "Did I stutter? Let me say it again. Strip yourself off. Because I am going to wreck you badly."

Her voice cracked. "What do you mean?"

Jax moved before she could retreat. His hand caught her wrist, twisted it behind her back, and locked it in place. His body pressed close enough for his breath to brush her ear.

"Do as I say if you want freedom. Because freedom, because peace, always comes with a price."

His grip tightened.

"And that price here will be your pussy."

She didn’t fully understand his intentions. But she knew with absolute certainty that things would not be right for her.

He released her arm. Stepped back.

She stood still for a moment. Then her trembling hands reached for the clasps of her armor. One by one the plates came off. Shoulders. Gauntlets. Chest piece.

Each piece hitting the stone floor with a hollow clang until only the runic gear she wore beneath remained. The tight fabric hugging her frame.

Jax watched. Then spoke.

"As I said before, your body is valuable as a Celestial. And that value will reward me with something I can use to actually help you."

A pause.

"And on top of that, I get to release my anger on you."

His sword moved.

The blade came down in a single stroke. The runic fabric split cleanly from the chest downward, the cloth falling open.

Well. Not entirely cleanly.

Her nipples were bleeding. The edge of the blade had dealt an intentionally harsh blow, cutting fabric and skin alike.

The pain was sharp. Immediate. The kind that made the body scream before the mind could process what had happened.

But instead of concern or hesitation, Jax just grinned as it was just the start for the assault.