A Hero In The House of Horrors (Starboy vs ???)

[DSX93]

That initial silence was sobering. Her antics had plucked another powerful reaction from him. The man playing Starboy.

Emilia really thought it was that easy. Just went and turned her brain right off. Not even for a second did she consider that the reason that he was so still was because she was just that overwhelming. That terrifying.

Again.

His stillness made it feel even worse than the first time. That time, she'd been pushed off and the guy, someone else she'd seen in her past, ran away. And avoided her whenever their paths crossed on the college campus. His friends stopped talking to her, going back to the dirty looks they regarded her with before they started dating. They'd put on appearances, but they would never become mutual friends. She'd accepted that. Was rather used to it, actually: Eveline's friends and hopeful paramours were much the same. Though if they made the mistake of making that known, her sister would cut them off.

A lot of things changed when the Morasanu Sisters grew up, but that was one thing that never did: They're a package deal. If you can't get along with one, you can forget about sticking around the other.

But here...This man was so scared of her that...Was he just going to let her do whatever to him? Was she that bad?

She was certainly a fool to dive in that deep, that quickly. And so glad that there weren't any cameras nearby that were in an adequate position to capture how her internal struggle was playing out on her face. On one hand, she was aware that this was a match, not a date. The show needed to move on. But there was just no getting right over sharing something that was so intimate to her for millions to see, losing herself in the experience, just to see that she was the only one enjoying it.

Or was it not as bad as she thought? Things started changing a few seconds after they looked at each other. She didn't know what to make of it, but there was some softening in his eyes. When he spoke, it became clear: They were in the same boat. It was a very good question: "What now?"

Two very simple words. His voice hadn't even been raised, but to a dedicated actress like her, it was as alerting as a scream, nonetheless. Starboy was gone. And in his place was a guy who was completely out of his wits. He had to be, for that kind of slip to occur. But most importantly, at least immediately, he needed direction.

Taking advantage of how her hair was hanging in such a way as to obscure her features, she met him there in the middle with her

spoken at a volume low enough to miss the microphones, though he could still hear her clearly. "Well, we've still gotta these people a show, so...Why don't we make a game of this?" Emilia was making up this plan as she went. "I put you into different holds for three minutes, and if you can endure that, I'll give you a clue about where the key is. If you can't..." The smile that formed had an edge to it -- the vampire was coming out again -- though it had been dulled. This felt like a strong yellow. A plea to bring it down, and she was trying to figure out by how much.

"I'll figure something out."

[Jaystar]

Starboy knew very well that there was a concept of a vampire turning their victims - and truthfully, that was something that had pretty much just happened. In some way, at least... No, he wasn't feeling like suddenly having the blood of the undead running through his veins. In fact, he was feeling surprisingly neutral. But that "neutrality" came with the cost of also his mind having been defaulted to its natural, confused state... And a complete lack of understanding regarding where to take things from here. How to behave, how to present oneself... And that defaulting came with the cost of the Lonely Superhero needing to break his character, and letting the question that revealed his cluelessness to come out.

It wasn't that he would have been particularly afraid. It wasn't that he would have been majorly put off in any way. It wasn't that he would not have appreciated the villainous, supernatural element of the adversary he was facing. He was simply just overwhelmed. Stunned.

And that's what precipitated his simple question. What now? It was a very genuine one, and one that revealed his true inner thoughts and emotions.

It didn't take long for Jens to realize that he had fucked up though. He had broken character. He wasn't playing as Starboy. And Daeva's words that followed, combined with the marked change in her tone too, revealed his failure to him in a very stark way.

Of course, his error hadn't perhaps been catastrophic in any way. And even Daeva seemed to be with him with his thoughts, giving a response that was fully in line with his astonishment. Likely, his reaction was nothing she would have been unprepared for. And if he could tell, she was also breaking character now as a result of his own little mishap with it - it was fully evident by the change in her tone.

And truthfully, Starboy did begin to feel a little bit guilty. Had he not become so overwhelmed himself, he could have continued spotlessly keeping up his heroic role... And Daeva could have never needed to change her tone to the more "normal" one. But she had... And after all, the words she chose, were only strengthening the mental bond between them. Somehow, Star got the distinct feeling that she knew what he was going through, she knew how to react to it, and she knew that they were in this together.

Yes, they still needed to give everyone a good show. Yes, her suggestion made sense.

And even if Starboy might have been better off not appearing so putty in front of Daeva, he had absolutely no reason to disagree with, or refute anything that she was saying.

If she wanted a game, he could be a player.

The rules of the game might not had been particularly advantageous for him though. It was just too bad that he wasn't in the mental state to really think them through. All he needed, and all his mind could handle at the moment, was knowledge of the way forward. What would happen next, what should he do, and what was Daeva going to do.

Of course, he didn't have a clear idea of what Daeva was actually going to do. But "different holds for three minutes" was at the same time specific enough, and vague enough to do for the Lonely Superhero.

"I'm game for..." Jens began, before suddenly realizing that his tone was still somewhat off the mark. "Yeah, I'm game for that." Starboy then concluded, in his more heroic tone, probably sounding like he was actually ready to face what Daeva was about to bring to him... But truthfully, he was still way too stunned and overwhelmed by the vampiress bite to his neck to really be capable of assessing his opportunities in a realistic way.

[DSX93]

Emilia tried her best not to look it, lest this thing fall apart entirely, but she was doubting herself the moment the words had left her mouth. The logic behind them was sensible enough: So far, he's shown himself to like the submissive role, and that he wasn't adverse to a little pain. But she probably should have figured out a concrete punishment for failure. Yeah, she could've at least done that.

She would normally hold awkward moments like this up as reasons why she doesn't like to just talk. But whereas in other occasions this would be the start of the "leave me alone", whether subtle or overt, there was something different going on here. He never broke eye contact. If anything, she was starting to see more vulnerability.

Vulnerability. After that. Of all things. Now it was her turn to be stunned, up until she heard him speak. Starboy's back, and he's game for this!

Okay!

"Then let us begin." It was an easy slip back into the dark, mysterious seductress, like flipping a switch. But there would be something that wouldn't be as easy, however. "But what shall I do with you first?" She wanted to go with something a little more intimate to help get his head back into this. The image of a reverse headscissor came to mind, but she dismissed that immediately. Everybody and their mother does those. For good reason, but she wanted to do something different. Something that he'd remember.

Her mind revisited the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons she took with her sister some years back, along with the practice she got in with Phoebe. There was a lot that she could do, but the problem was being quick to pick something out of that hat. She'd keep Starboy in suspense for a moment, but it was important not to fall into choice-based paralysis.

Then it came to her, bringing an impish little grin to her countenance. "Oh, I know!" It would take some maneuvering. Too much for her to have any real shot at pulling it off if they were actually fighting it out, most likely. But

Maybe it wasn't the most conventionally sexy option, but Emilia still felt that there were waters to test. The mounted Gogoplata didn't seem like the worst thing she could've chosen, still leaving her on top and in an unquestionably dominant position, and it still brought breathplay into the mix. If a little bit of cleavage could have guys asking her to set up an OnlyFans, she was certain that they'd pay for this. Such was the logic.

Daeva was careful not to press or crank too hard or for too long. She wanted him conscious, and the pain was intended to be in "hurts so good" territory.

[Jaystar]

What did actually happen to victims who had gotten bitten by vampires? What did the "turning" mean? Was his mouth supposed to start growing fangs? Was his skin going to start growing fur? Nah, those had to be Werewolves. Or was he supposed to get somehow corrupted? Starboy tried to think. For some reason, the question kept bothering him. Obviously, he wasn't expecting to suddenly find out - he didn't believe in anything supernatural, after all - but perhaps he was just so grown used to living out his own, special role that those kind of questions remained central to him.

In reality, the reason was probably just the intense emotional, and physical experience that he had just gone through. It was overwhelming his senses in so many different ways, that the capacity for coherent thinking had certainly gotten compromised for the moment. But it wasn't all gone, as evidenced by the response he had managed to give out, subsequently corrected to the correct tone even... It just hadn't processed all the implications of the question and the answer properly yet.

Starboy still felt very much like being game though. The succulent way in which the words "Then let us begin" reached his ears, and other senses confirmed it. This villainess was one that he was getting increasingly intrigued by. Someone, meeting whom he had, no matter if fully unconsciously, been waiting for for a long time. "But what shall I do with you first?" Hearing those words from right in front of him, the disturbed air from them reaching his skin, sent tingles up his spine. And in a good way. He was waiting for this - even if he knew he shouldn't respond anything.

Perhaps this feeling was what it meant to be turned. Accepting his fate, embracing his conqueror. The hero fell almost like into a trance...

Until the "Oh, I know!". It was a little bit too abrupt, and awoke the hero from his trance a bit - especially when combined with the fact that the girl promptly began pulling the two into a pretty intricate position. The main take of it though was the fact that he was, admittedly, enjoying immensely over the view he was seeing in the clutches of the sexy vllainess...

...Until the pain fully hit him. And almost instantly, earned a few grunts and pained moans out of him - the little that he could air with the suddenly restricted airflow. But ironically, as his oxygen level started depleting again, the alertness level of his brain began finally increasing... What exactly had he just agreed to go through? Go through this kind of pain for... Three minutes? This specific one, or different ones for three minutes at a time? And who was even taking time??

And perhaps most importantly of all... What if he could not endure this???

[DSX93]

Emilia was taking notes of his reactions, reaffirming her previous observations as the tone shifted back to the more comfortably kinky dynamic they were settling into after she got him on the ground. It was during these few moments that she was beginning to understand: Maybe he hasn't delved that far into the abyss. Not experience-wise, at least. Not that she was very far ahead of him, if that were true.

Her mind was a darker and filthier place than the world's nastiest gutter, at least as she viewed it. There was all sorts of debauchery that she knew that she was into. Twisted fantasies that she's dying to make a reality in LAW, with the right partner. But only a few of them have been lived out, and looking back at her reactions to the intimacy and sheer, primal passion she got out of her matches against Keira Robinson and Black Severin...she gets it. It wasn't the same, but it was still in that ballpark of "overwhelming".

He was still trusting her with his body, so what she'd see was that it wasn't a matter of the bite itself. She'd just done too much, too soon.

It was done on the inside, but nonetheless, she doesn't think she's ever breathed such a deep sigh of relief in her twenty years on this earth. And that thought made her realize: She should probably be questioning that feeling more than she is right now. She doesn't even know this guy. But Eveline's previous mentions of exchanging so much with mere glances were suddenly making a lot of sense. She was starting to really understand what happened with her and Serina. She thought she had before, possessed of an imaginative mind that could certainly grasp the concept, but now she realizes that she'd only seen the tip of that iceberg.

She let out a quiet chuckle that she could pass off as a natural reaction of Daeva's, allowing her to say to herself that this is just her sadistic side taking pleasure in the hero's suffering, finding another way to feed her Beast. But really, she just found it funny that they were both finding themselves somewhat lost in their own thoughts as they settled back into their established roles. She was curious.

What's going on in that handsome head of yours, Guy Playing Starboy?

Daeva would watch him with something akin to a scientist's regard, like he was an interesting experiment. When he appeared to be reaching his breaking point, she'd show mercy, not releasing him from the hold, but letting up on the pressure. A question had popped into her head, and she wanted him able to answer it.

"Is it really the key that you want now? My curse flows through your veins, but it didn't take the burial of fangs into flesh to enthrall you. Don't waste any time trying to deny it: Even without words, far too much has been said at this point." Her tone was teasing, coupled with a softer expression that was closer to...coy? The attraction was expected, but at the same time, she was more than flattered.

The possibility of vanquishing her, let alone continuing on to do the same to the other vampire he had yet to face, was intentionally ignored, like it simply wasn't a concept, let alone an option.

"Do you still seek freedom? Or would you rather I point you deeper into my depths?"

She wouldn't explain exactly what "pointing him deeper into her depths" meant. Let his imagination run wild with that one.

[Jaystar]

If this hold had a name, Starboy was totally oblivious to what it was.

He was quickly coming up a few suggestions though.

Vampire's Embrace? He felt like, kinda getting embraced, not least by the view he was being treated with, but just in a twisted, painful way. But no... What he had experienced just prior was a much fitting position for such a name, even if it had included getting embraced by a pair of fangs to his neck.

Vampiric Trap? Quite fitting... But if this was indeed a trap, it hadn't taken much luring for the hero to walk into. Or, perhaps more accurately, get sucked into. A trap had to be more clever and devious than this.

Challenge of the Vampiress? That was effectively what this was... But Starboy was pretty sure that it wasn't a suitable name for this particular hold. He had the distinct feeling that after this, there was still more to come... Especially as he could feel that she wasn't going constantly full force. She must have wanted him to survive this particular one... Only to get to throw something more at him later.

Breaking a Hero's Arm? A tad too... Blunt, bland, and descriptive. And hopefully untrue.

Guilty Daydream of The Lonely Superhero? Perhaps accurate... But certainly forbidden to say out loud.

And no, it wasn't as if this particular hold would have been one that Starboy would have been so enticed with. In fact, it was more her who he was getting so enticed with... A sexy, devious, cute girl who could play a villainess probably better than anyone he had faced before... And showing some serious wrestling skills too. And it wasn't as if the villainess would have simply been super big or incredibly muscular, capable of an obvious squash... But she was still strong, skilled, and obviously clever enough to control him, overpower him, dominate him...

How could have a brave, well-natured superhero not dreamt of facing an adversary like her?

Incidentally though, the more Starboy was getting to hear Daeva's words, the more awkward listening to them was becoming... Because she already seemed to have a clue. Perhaps Starboy wasn't unique, perhaps she had encountered opponents like him before... And perhaps that was the reason why she knew exactly how to push his buttons.

But obviously, if that was the case... She also had to know that Starboy could not simply admit it.

Luckily, the tricky hold and position meant that Star could convincingly escape the need to actually produce a verbal response amidst his pained grunts for quite some time... And quite conveniently, just as the pressure to actually produce a response became unbearable, Daeva had already provided him with just the right question to answer to. And to do so in as defiant and heroic tone as possible...

"Well... For the next three... Or two and a half minutes... I can't seek freedom... Can I....?"

[DSX93]

Maybe she should put this hold to use more often, when the opportunity arises. For her, it was kind of comfy, once settled into. It didn't require any overt amount of precision to refrain from injuring the opponent. And it was perfect for eye contact, leaving them no choice. They couldn't turn their heads.

There wasn't any hiding the reverence that was shining through. Reverence. For her. When she's still a newcomer to this entire thing. Now she knows how Terrell feels. About his Hentai escapades in general, but especially those where he got to bring his newly discovered dominant side to the forefront. Daeva nibbled at her bottom lip, basking in her dominance as Starboy helplessly endured. And Emilia was absolutely giddy on the inside.

Daeva would receive his defiance with a mysterious little smirk, like his response had said so much more than he'd intended. And she would say nothing as she shifted her position on top of him, lifting the leg that restricted his airflow and moving it to straddle him, setting her hands down on either shoulder. Then slowly, so he could see exactly what she was about to do, she leaned down, eyes locked on his as her soft lips touched his skin again. Collarbones, one for each. Again for his lean pecs, then lower from there, crawling to give herself better access to all the flesh that the over half-naked, Lonely Superhero had on display.

She breathed a low, hot sigh over his abs before pecking at each one. And then she laughed as the irony set in: "So much flesh to touch and taste. And the night is ours, yet time is of the essence. Such irony I have cast, no?" And indeed, she kept a middling pace, using just her lips. Tongue and teeth can come out to play later.

Her eyes shifted to his trunks once she'd reached those bottom two abs, and....he'd definitely donned material that kept his..."Southern Star" from view. A hot choice, really: Something she could feel when they're right up against each other in the heat of the moment, if not in its roaring entirety, but would be unable to observe. Assuming that the rest of this goes well, she would ask him about that later: How intentional was that design? Made for every match, Hentai or no, or specifically for this, his first venture in this aspect of the sport?

But for now, Daeva slipped one leg over and in between his, then brought her curvaceous, temptress frame down to an intimate press his lithe, heroic build. Resting her cheek on his stomach, eyes closing with seeming content while wrapping her arms around him, almost like they'd just finished a session of lovemaking and her next desire was to end the night cuddled up next to him.

A dangerous ruse, as Starboy would discover only a few seconds later if he wasn't already aware, after she lifted his hips from the mat, taking that

and bending her outside limb into a figure four under the ankle. She would be very careful about the weight she brought down on his leg, not wanting to actually wreck his knee.

He would be tested her in more ways than the one, with one of her soft hands slithering up his thigh, noting the muscle underneath on the way up. Up to the lonely star he had on his trunks, fondling what she could not see, but...Oh yes. With her hand so close, there was no way that it would fail to notice anything.

"Endure, Superhero." Daeva would fix another sultry stare upon him. "Endure, and your reward can be twofold. You'll have your clue to where you can find the key to your salvation, and your journey will be a little less...Lonely."

[Jaystar]

While it had probably sounded rather rhetoric, or perhaps simply stating out the obvious, the question Starboy posed was at least half-genuine. The hero was trying to find out exactly what was going through Daeva's mind, and he was actually hoping for some kind of answer... But none came. At least, not in the form of words, or in any other way that would have been easy for Star to interpret.

What he did end up concluding though was that at least Daeva was having him right where she wanted him... She simply began shifting her position, which was initially good news, as it was a rather painful one for the hero, and began pinning his shoulders down more firmly against the mat. But then it was her lips that began exploring more of his body instead... And this time it wasn't for going for a bite. This was for some completely other purpose.

One could have been forgiven for thinking that this was something that Starboy would have much preferred over the more painful hold he had just been put in. And one would have been sorely mistaken.

While Starboy wasn't in any substantial physical pain right now, mental pain was a whole another story. And even that pain was mainly stemming from the forbidden seduction that was being applied on him by the deviant vampiress. She had to know exactly how tempting all of this must had been for the Lonely Superhero... And how conflicted he must had felt with it. He must had tried so, so hard to maintain his composure and not give in to the temptation... He had to go through all of that mental pain... And it certainly was one hell of a thing to endure.

Deava's words weren't helping at all either. Oh, he wanted to be her prey. He wanted to give his flesh for her to touch and taste. And heck, he might have even longed for returning that favor. But yes, there was certainly irony. Because he had to deny himself all that.

Somehow, Starboy knew that Daeva knew exactly all that. There was no other logical reason why she would have simply wrapped her arms around his body, and rested her cheek on his belly. Just caressing him, all content, with the ruse of having to endure this... Without any pain at all-... "Gahhhh!!!"

Well, that had certainly been a ruse after all. Suddenly, Star had to gasp from pain as his leg was locked by the voluptuous pair of her own wrapping around it, bringing his knee to its limit. It was a clever hold... With such targeting of the knee, the hero was in real danger of having to wrestle handicapped for the rest of the duration of the match...

However, the other side of the double-egded sword that Daeva was applying soon also became evident for the hero. Her hand was sliding up his thigh, and all the way on top of his attire... And this was a very, very dangerous position for an honorable and innocent hero to find himself in.

Cue, panic mode.

Daeva's words may had encouraged Starboy to endure, but inside, the hero was terrified. The pain, and the position themselves weren't anything that he couldn't have technically endured... But it was the heat of the moment, that became too much for him to cope with.

Luckily, he could once again lean into his heroic role to try espacing the situation in at least somewhat of a credible and honorable way.

It didn't take more than five seconds after finishing her words before Daeva could feel Starboy tapping rather sternly against her upper back. And if there were any doubts over his intentions, his words should have cleared those out. "Pfft! I'm a... Brave, honorable, and... Clever hero! I don't need any clues to find any keys!" the hero declared... But his tone was probably sounding much more blushing and mentally overwhelmed than the choices of his words might had suggested.

[DSX93]

It was amazing, really. Emilia could feel him tapping out before he actually did, just by observing his countenance. The way he looked at her. Evelyn would hear of this later. Not of this: Of the predation she's visited upon this man. But rather, just how much truth there was to her words. She almost couldn't wait to talk to her about it. It will be the first thing she does, when Daeva and Starboy are done here.

And she could tell: It wasn't the pain that did him in. He was struggling long before she applied the slightest bit of pressure to his knee. She could see the "corruption" spreading, urging him to forsake his role. He twitched in her hand, and just seconds later, the taps finally came, bringing to mind a certain song from

as he fell back onto -- no, more like clung onto the hero act for dear life. But he wasn't going to be fooling anyone with that reddening face. To say nothing of the desire that twitched in her hand again, more lively this time, as though it had ears and was trying to protest. "Don't listen to this fool! He doesn't speak for both of us!

"I know you want to, but you can't say yes..."

If she were Renee or Angelica right now, she'd likely sing that to him. But a knowing, mysterious grin would have to suffice for now. Something that would clue him into machinations working out in her mind, but what was she thinking, exactly?

Daeva was a little slow in releasing him from the hold. Not out of sadism, but so as to refrain from making any movements that could do him serious harm. She kept her hand on him until she pulled back however, parting with a little slide across the length of him before she rose, pressing down first with fingers, then her palm, right along the underside of him.

"Honorable', you say? Then I should be able to trust you to stay put until I return. Your punishment will require certain...tools."

Another tease. Another thing that she would leave hanging in the air as she turned to make her way back up the stairs. She didn't rush, maintaining an almost leisurely pace. Both to give him time to gawk, and because she wasn't concerned about the possible scenario where he doesn't wait for her, despite that being the rule now that he's submitted to her.

Once she'd stepped through that door and closed it, she immediately shed Daeva's character, letting a big smile form on her face. Evelyn immediately sat up when she saw it, ready to hear the sanitized gossip.

"Ai avut dreptate!"

"Corect, despre ce?"

Her steps were bouncy as she approached the bed, each one making her excitement loud and clear. It was a scene reminiscent of high school; watching a girl making her way back to her clique to report that the school heartthrob had just asked her out. Now, Evelyn didn't have to fake her smile here: She genuinely was happy to see her sister all excited. But Emilia was a lonely soul who yearned for companionship. When someone catches her eye, makes an impact of some sort, she falls fast. And it often hurts her.

Emilia sat down and continued. "Am purtat conversații întregi, încă de la prima întâlnire a ochilor noștri încolo.' Înțeleg acum cuvintele acelea."

"Chiar așa?"

"Da! Îți voi povesti mai multe despre asta mai târziu. Dar a fost un lucru important."

"Spune-mi!"

"L-am mușcat. I-am băut sângele." The would be a brief beat as she recalled the taste of him, still as fresh on her tongue as when she'd done it. But that taste, or indeed, the shedding of blood by themselves wasn't what excited her. "Și încă are încredere în mine!" And what bigger showing of trust in another person could one display than in sharing their blood?

Evelyn, having dated a woman who gets her biggest kicks from bloody brawls, remained unfazed as she heard that detail. And Emilia has always had some rather peculiar interests.

Emilia, with an impish grin, continued, "Supereroul tânjește după dominația unui ticălos." She slid off the bed and reached underneath for the box that had been hidden beneath the hanging covers. Inside was a collection of goodies: Handcuffs, ropes -- she'll take a short length, thank you -- riding crops, paddles...

"O, vino la mama!" She picked the one with holes. Less wind resistance, more fun. She stood up and gave it a few swings. "S-a mutat?"

Evelyn checked back into the cameras...

Translation

"Ai avut dreptate!" -- "You were right!"

"Corect, despre ce?" -- "Right about what?"

"Am purtat conversații întregi, încă de la prima întâlnire a ochilor noștri încolo." -- "We were holding entire conversations, from the very first meeting of our eyes, onwards."

"Înțeleg acum cuvintele acelea." -- "I understand those words now."

"Chiar așa?" -- "Is that so?"

"Da! Îți voi povesti mai multe despre asta mai târziu. Dar a fost un lucru important." -- "Yes! I'll tell you more about it later. But there was one big thing."

"Spune-mi!" -- "Tell me!"

"L-am mușcat. I-am băut sângele." -- "I bit him. And I drank his blood."

"Și încă are încredere în mine!" -- "And he still trusts me!"

"Supereroul tânjește după dominația unui ticălos." -- "The superhero craves the dominance of a villain."

"O, vino la mama!" -- "Oh, come to mama!"

"S-a mutat?" -- "Has he moved?"

[Jaystar]

Starboy wasn't sure how Daeva would take his quick submission. To be frank, he hadn't even had time to consider it. The most important thing had been to just get out of the situation, out of the imminent line of fire - if you could even call being subjected to Daeva's actions that - and to preserve his seeming innocence. It had truly been a hasty decision done in panic mode... And now that he had tapped, and the villainess wasn't immediately letting him free, he finally got the question over her acceptance of his action inside his head.

But even if Daeva was a little slow, she still released him, first ceasing the pain, and only after some considerable delay, relieving his mental pain as well. Not before making it pretty clear for Star what was the direction that she was intending to take things tonight though... And while that was certainly a source of anxiety for the Lonely Superhero, he eventually managed to remind himself what After Dark was really meant for. Scenarios such as this, where he should have just been able to relax, and...

To free himself, and become dishonorable? That still sounded like a... Not great thing to do. And funnily enough, that was exactly what Daeva was counting on now, after stating out her words. Star being an honorable superhero. Doing exactly what she says.

And all simply for the sake of facilitating her dishing out some punishment.

Yeah, right.

Starboy may have cherished being honorable, but he wasn't one to cherish being stupid. Was he just going to let Daeva play her games with him? And just conform to anything that the villainess might had wished to dictate for the hero?

Of course not.

Exactly what he could, or should do though was a trickier question. Having not replied anything to Daeva's words, Star simply watched her swaying hips making their way up the stairs, and disappearing into the darkness... Before he could actually start to ponder his dilemma. Gazing around, he was simply lying on the mat, observing the foyer... Of course, his mission was to find the key. But where could it be? If he wasn't going to stay in the foyer, where should he had gone? Follow the villainess into the darkness? Or pick a completely different direction?

The more Star thought about it, the more likely it felt that the key was always going to be in the direction of Daeva's hiding place. But was it going to be wise to simply go after her into the darkness? Probably not.

Besides, it was kinda honorable to wait for her in this foyer. Perhaps just not as stayed put as she might had expected.

Getting up, Star went for another scan of the foyer, browsing all the surfaces that had any light illuminating them. But no traces of any kind of key in sight... Thus, it was best to go into hiding.

As Daeva had gone up the stairs, those were where she was surely going to be coming back down as well... And Starboy decided to go into hiding underneath the stairs, hoping to get disguised by the shadows. From there, he could perhaps launch a surprise attack, once he would see Daeva wondering around the mats, or the foyer in general, and having her back turned towards him...