Chapter 548: Even More Uncomfortable

A huge roar echoed from the sky.

Ilya looked up—

The massive azure fox was slowly fading away.

The Flame on its body grew dimmer and finally turned into countless specks of light, vanishing into the air.

On the other side, the golden giant was also slowly disappearing.

The lightning subsided, the massive form became increasingly transparent, and at last only a few specks of golden Lingering Aftertaste remained.

The sky returned to Calm.

It seemed that the earth‑shaking battle that had just occurred was merely an illusion.

Ilya was stunned for a moment, then shook her head.

She now had no time to worry where the fox had gone, nor could she care about who the giant was.

She had only one thought—

Find Zhigengniao Jiejie.

It must be fast.

Otherwise…

She didn't dare to think further.

Ilya clenched the ruby and sprinted toward the direction she sensed.

Perspective shift.

Sunlight streamed through the floor‑to‑ceiling window, spreading a warm patch of light across the floor.

It was a luxuriously decorated hotel suite.

The living room was spacious, with off‑white sofas, a glass coffee table, abstract paintings on the walls, and several potted plants in the corner.

Beyond the floor‑to‑ceiling window lay Dongmu City's skyline, which in the afternoon sunlight appeared especially tranquil.

But the scene in the center of the living room was completely at odds with this tranquility.

Robin hovered in mid‑air, her whole body wrapped layer upon layer by violet‑black tubes.

The tubes extended from the void behind her, coiling around her wrists and ankles, fixing her in an immobile posture.

More tubes slithered over her like snakes; some wound around her shoulders, others looped over her thighs, and two—sealed her mouth, covered her eyes, and blocked her ears.

Sight, hearing, and sound—were all stripped away.

Only the sense of touch remained.

She could feel the tubes bound to her body, and sense them tightening slightly as she struggled.

Strangely, the tubes were not icy—they were warm, bearing body heat, like living things.

That made her even more uncomfortable.

She didn't know how long had passed.

The tube covering her eyes suddenly loosened.

Light flooded in, and Robin instinctively squinted, waiting to adjust before seeing clearly—

Ailixiya was sitting on the opposite sofa, legs crossed, one hand propping her cheek, her crimson eyes full of a teasing smile.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window behind her, bathing her silhouette in a warm‑colored glow.

Her long violet‑blue hair fell over her shoulders, the tips reaching her waist, shimmering softly in the light.

She wore a form‑fitting violet‑black dress, its neckline low, revealing delicate collarbone and a small patch of fair chest.

The skirt fell to mid‑thigh, her long legs crossed, dazzlingly white in the sunlight.

Her face was so delicate it seemed unreal, the corners of her mouth holding a half‑smile.

Pointed elf ears peeked from her hair, the tips glowing faint pink in the light.

"Awake?"

Her voice, as always, carried that lively, musical quality, as if she were in a good mood.

Robin stared at her.

In those lake‑green eyes was no fear, only Rage.

Ailixiya tilted her head, admiring the emotion in those eyes.

"Tsk tsk, that look—like you're going to eat me,"

She rose, stepped in high heels, walked to Robin's side, and circled her once.

The violet‑black tubes automatically moved aside as she walked, leaving her ample space.

The white dress, wrinkled by the bindings, outlined her slender waist and long legs.

Her cheeks flushed faintly, and her lashes trembled slightly from Rage.

"So beautiful."

Ailixiya stood before Robin, her gaze sweeping from top to bottom, "That face, that figure, that outfit—tsk tsk, among Servant there are few as refined as you."

Robin gave no reply.

Her mouth was still sealed, unable to speak.

But the Rage in those eyes grew stronger.

Ailixiya extended her hand, her fingertips lightly touching Robin's collarbone.

Robin's body instinctively recoiled, but the tubes held her fast, preventing any movement.

"Your skin is wonderful."

Ailixiya's fingers slid down the collarbone toward the shoulder, "You've taken good care of it, huh?"

Robin bit the sealing tube on her mouth and let out a muffled "um".

Ailixiya laughed.

"Want to talk?"

She asked knowingly.

Robin glared at her, nodding firmly.

Ailixiya tilted her head, as if thinking.

"Sure."

She raised her hand, reaching toward the tube that sealed Robin's mouth——

Robin's heartbeat skipped a beat.

(As long as the mouth can speak, as long as one can use the Noble Phantasm——)

But that hand, at the moment it was about to touch the tube, suddenly veered, directly touching her ear!

Robin froze.

That warm hand gently pinched her earlobe, then slowly stroked upward along the auricle, fingertips making a circle at the tip of the ear.

Robin's ear base instantly turned completely red!

"Mm——uh——!"

She wanted to curse, but her mouth was blocked, so she could only make a muffled sound.

Ailixiya looked at her embarrassed and annoyed expression, laughing even happier.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

"Stop dreaming, little bird."

Ailixiya leaned to her ear, her breath spraying on the auricle, "You want to use the Noble Phantasm, right? You want to sing, right?"

Robin's body stiffened.

How does she know?

Ailixiya's hand lingered on her ear, pinching the earlobe, rubbing the auricle, even gently pulling it.

"I'm not the kind of fool who's easily tricked."

Her voice full of smugness, "Your weakness is this mouth; once it's blocked, you can't do anything, right?"

Robin fell silent.

Indeed.

Her Noble Phantasm requires song to activate, her Magic requires chanting.

With her mouth sealed, she's essentially half-disabled.

Ailixiya withdrew her hand, satisfiedly looking at Robin's embarrassed, annoyed, and helpless expression.

"Really cute."

She commented, "This feeling of wanting to resist but being unable to, so utterly fragile, is really cute."

Robin closed her eyes, not looking at her.

But that fully red ear base has already given everything away.

Ailixiya walked back to the sofa, crossing her legs again.

She picked up a grape from the coffee table, put it in her mouth, chewed slowly, her eyes always fixed on Robin.

Robin felt uneasy all over being stared at by her.

The tubes entwined around her body started moving again.

Not tightening, but…… moving.

One tube slowly slid from her waist to her thigh, looping around there.

Another tube slid from her shoulder to her arm, then to the back of her hand, finally slipping between her fingers, intertwining with them.

The most deadly thing is, those tubes are warm.

That temperature, like another person's body heat.