Lewd System: Every Scream and Moan is EXP

Chapter 237: Chapter 237 : Pulling Strings From the Shadows

The spectators had watched Lilith go wild.

They had watched her power erupt. Watched her go berserk against students and even allies. Watched the broadcast capture every horrifying second.

And then they had watched everyone on that battlefield vanish.

Gone. In an instant. As if the ground had swallowed them whole.

Astrid was terrified. Just like the others standing beside her. Roxana, Elira, Seraphina. All of them wearing the same expression. Scared. Confused. Unable to process what their eyes had just witnessed.

Because they had seen more than the broadcast showed.

Before the teleportation, they had seen the dark mage professor performing some ritual. Hiding from the others. Working in the shadows while everyone’s attention was fixed on Lilith’s rampage.

And just behind her had been Jax.

Jax, leaning against a tree for support. His expression told everything. He was holding himself back.

Restraining every impulse to beat that woman senseless for whatever she was trying to do.

He had looked so angry that he had gripped the blade of his own sword. Not the handle. The blade. The edge had cut deep into his palm, blood running down his fingers.

But then, while Lilith was spiraling out of control, everyone on the battlefield had teleported in an instant.

Nobody knew what happened. It took several minutes for anyone to even begin processing it.

Astrid was the first to speak. ”What’s happening?”

No one answered. Because no one had answers.

Then the crowd gathered on the grounds began to move. Citizens. Nobles. Students. All mixing together into a single voice.

They were demanding Lilith’s execution.

The chants rose louder and louder. Every word. Every murmur. Every call for her head felt like a slap across the faces of all four girls.

They had never thought this would happen. Their friend. The weak, shy girl who blushed too easily and spoke too softly. Her life had come to this.

Then Elira spoke. Quietly. Connecting dots that the others hadn’t yet reached.

”Professor Jax knew all of this from the start.”

Astrid turned sharply. ”What do you mean by that?”

”Remember before the match started? He said something to Lilith. Something that felt stupid at that moment. Out of place. Unnecessary.”

They all recalled.

His hand on her head. His voice stripped of sarcasm. Those words about closing her eyes, finding the darkness, finding herself within it.

Realization spread across their faces one by one.

”No way.” Astrid’s voice dropped. ”He knew. But how?”

Then another realization hit her. Harder. Her voice lowered further.

”He’s the one behind it.”

Silence.

”He orchestrated all of it. He knew about Lilith’s power and planned to use it for his gain from the very start.” Her fists were shaking. ”He did it all just so he could win.”

Seraphina spoke calmly. ”I don’t think that’s the case.”

Astrid’s eyes snapped to her. ”Then explain.”

”Think logically, Astrid.” Seraphina met her gaze steadily. ”Do you believe he would put his own student’s life in danger for just a match? The same student for whom he would have made enemies with half the ballroom.”

Astrid’s fist clenched harder but no words came.

Seraphina continued. ”I think the ones who plotted this are the other academies. Why else would they team up so openly? They wanted to show the world that Astryx was hiding something dangerous. Otherwise it makes no sense as to why would they show that our academy was too strong, so they had no choice but to unite.”

Her voice remained measured.

”They would have known about Lilith as a high-ranked demihuman. They tied their hands together specifically to expose our academy as corrupted.”

Roxana nodded. ”She’s right. From the very start, I was observing the alliance. They gathered at a single point at the beginning as if they know the map and started eliminating other teams without interest. Just sweeping through anyone in their path.”

She paused.

”But when it came to our team, they were toying with us. They had multiple chances to defeat Lilith outright. But they didn’t take them. All they did was trigger her. Show her how weak she was. Provoke her until she broke.”

Her eyes narrowed.

”I could even sense words being thrown at her that we couldn’t hear due to broadcast restrictions.”

Astrid’s voice cracked. ”Then what Professor Jax did doesn’t make any sense. If he knew all of this, he could have told the others. He could have avoided this completely. He could have—”

She was breaking with every word.

Roxana said gently. ”Maybe it was the only choice. Or maybe it was his choice. But don’t worry, Astrid.”

”How can I not worry?!” Her voice rose. ”Lilith is in danger! I’m sure that demon-worshipping bitch did something to trap her! And even if she makes it out alive, I’m scared things will only get worse from here!”

Roxana sighed.

”If I were in your place, I wouldn’t be worried about Lilith.”

Astrid looked at her.

”I would be worried about Jax.”

She let the words settle.

”Judging by his expression before they vanished, he wasn’t just watching. He was pulling the strings of the entire board while the others convinced themselves it was their game.”

Her voice dropped.

”And what scares me is that same expression. I have a feeling he has already done something irreversible by now.”

Then Roxana looked at the students around her. Their faces were painted with sadness. Fear. Helplessness andon realization--Hope.

She gave them a smile.

”Don’t worry. As long as he is with her, he will bend reality to his will.”

She laughed softly.

”He’s a truly twisted person. He doesn’t care about others. He won’t even glance at a dying stranger on the road. But when it comes to certain people written in his book?”

Her eyes grew distant.

”He can go to any length. Astrid and I have experienced that feeling before. When he had those same eyes.”

She looked at Elira and Seraphina.

”And even from the partial stories you’ve shared about him, I think you understand where I’m coming from.”

Elira and Seraphina nodded. They understood.

Even Astrid, despite the fear still eating her alive, knew Roxana had a point.

She was hoping with everything she had that every word would prove right.

Back in the dungeon, Jax found himself inside Lilith’s body.

For a brief instant, he had control. The Soul Thief skill had connected. His consciousness had merged with hers.

But then the pressure hit.

Sheer, crushing force from every direction. He was an anomaly inside a system that wasn’t his. Her body, her mind, her soul recognized the intrusion and pushed back with violence.

He was drowning. Being expelled. Shoved out of existence within her.

But then the pressure shifted, and he found himself in an unknown space.

Empty. Vast. Dark in ways that had nothing to do with the absence of light.

In front of him stood two figures.

Two Liliths.

One was chained. Wrists bound. Ankles locked. Sobbing on the ground with tears carving rivers down her face.

The other stood freely beside her. Arms crossed. Expression somewhere between mockery and wicked amusement. Feeding the chained one whispers that sounded like poison dressed as wisdom.

As Jax stepped forward, both of them looked at him.

The chained Lilith’s sobbing intensified immediately. Her voice was desperate. Panicked.

”No. No, no, no. Get out. Please get out. You can’t be here. She’ll kill you. She’ll—”

The demon Lilith didn’t wait for the warning to finish. She raised her hand. Jax felt the pressure slam into his body instantly.

Every step became heavier. Every movement dragged through invisible chains of her making.

But he didn’t stop. He pressed forward through the pain.

Demon Lilith’s voice erupted. ”I said GET OUT! You don’t belong here! This is OUR mind! OUR pain! You have no right—”

”I have every right.” Jax’s voice cut through the pressure like a blade.

”Because unlike you, I actually care whether she lives or dies.”

Demon Lilith’s expression twisted with fury. ”How DARE you! You think I don’t care?! If I didn’t care, she would have died years ago! If I wasn’t there, this coward wouldn’t have made it this far!”

Meanwhile, outside Lilith’s soul, the situation had grown tense in a different way.

Cleenah didn’t know what was happening. One moment the fight was progressing as planned. The next, Lilith had collapsed to her knees. And in front of her stood Bruise Lee. Jax’s summon.

Analyzing her every movement. She could feel his muscles coiling and readying with each breath she took.

It wasn’t that he could defeat her. She knew that. But the situation was deeply awkward. A standoff that served neither side.

Lilith was on her knees. The demonic fire around her body was surging and fading in violent cycles. Growing massive one moment, then shrinking to almost nothing, then erupting again. Unstable. Unpredictable.

And Jax lay on the ground. Unconscious. Unmoving. Body covered in burns, bites, and blood.

Ava spoke from behind Cleenah. ”What is going on? What happened to Jax?” Her voice carried genuine concern. ”Should we interfere now? Things are looking really bad.”

Celestine shook her head. ”No. Not right now.”

She closed her eyes briefly, sensing.

”I can feel him. Jax is stable. His body feels perfectly fine despite those injuries.”

She opened her eyes. ”Something else is happening. Something we can’t see.”

Then Cleenah spoke. Her attention had shifted entirely from Lilith and the summon.

She reached to her waist and pulled out a dark crystal. It pulsed with cursed energy. She held it up for the two girls to see.

”You two.” Her voice carried authority. ”Gather all of these from the dead ones here. The dark mage professor distributed them before the match. Same that I gave you beofre”

She looked at Celestine and Ava directly.

”Bring them all to me.”

She smiled.

And so did the two because they knew it will soon be over.